#45. "The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla" by Stephen King

In a lot of ways, the final three books in "The Dark Tower" series are arguably the most urgent in Stephen King's magnum opus. Following a car accident that almost killed him, the fate of his future seemed unknown, especially when it came to his much beloved series. Would gunslinger Roland and the ka-tet ever get to see The Dark Tower, or is it all one of the biggest unfinished mysteries? Thankfully, King was of the mindset that the story needed to be told, and done before he met his inevitable fate (which as of 2018, has yet to happen thankfully). With "Wolves of the Calla," he returns the readers to Midworld, and specifically a group of people who are doomed to be attacked by wolves. It's another entry in the ribald and weird King that is delightfully desired. However, it may also have some signs that King's urgency comes with some errors. 

#44. "1984" by George Orwell

As a genre, sci-fi has gotten credit for presenting outlandish worlds that often serve as metaphors for our own. Of the millions penned to paper, the one whose had the most lasting of impacts is George Orwell's "1984." What is it about this book of a dystopian society that has kept audiences returning to the book, finding contemporary allusions almost 70 years later? In some ways, it's a bit obvious on the surface: Winston Smith lives in a society where the individual is frowned upon in favor of a "slavery," or uniformed love for Big Brother. While this would be enough to keep the book relevant to any form of dictatorship throughout the world, what makes the book more timeless and influential is what is done within those limitations. This isn't just a world where everyone has to love a higher power. It's also one where the tactics to get there are barbaric propaganda, but also maybe relevant in subliminal ways.

#43. "Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas" by Dav Pilkey

For those who think of Dav Pilkey as a one hit wonder, never underestimate the power of underpants. With his latest in the Captain Underpants spin-off Dog Man, he has released 10 million books including three million just for the fifth installment "Lord of the Fleas." So, why is the series so successful in spite of being full of juvenile humor and silly parodies of pop culture mainstays? Well, it could be that at the center of a story about a hero who's half-dog and half-man (get it?) is an emotional core that is stronger than anything from the man who's created such characters as Professor Poopypants. For as silly as the book is, it continues to show how to create characters that grow with each installment in ways that are subversive and honest, and most of all prove that children's literature can be gross and heartfelt.

#42. "The Stepford Wives" by Ira Levin

By now the term Stepford Wife has been ingrained in the pop culture lexicon for almost half a century. It's hard to recognize a time when it didn't hold some impact, or at least was misconstrued as a satire of suburban life. However, Ira Levin's original short book "The Stepford Wives" came at a time when there as a rise in second wave feminism, where there was a struggle for women to appear strong and independent. It's why the gist of the story's submissive housewife seemed like a scary concept, especially since they all acted and dressed a certain way. The story, clocking in just shy of 130 pages, is a quick read about the dangers of indulgence and male domination that is at times funny and other times horrifying. Altogether, it is a thrilling read that brings the reader directly into the lap of the 70's mentality better than most with prose that is both dated in references, but also provocative because of those references' subtexts.

#41. "The Girl in the Spider's Web" by David Lagercratz

In the ream of literature, there was no story as perplexing as that of Stieg Larsson, who died prior to the release of the juggernaut bestseller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." It was a crime thriller that rocked the world of literature with a protagonist who was exciting and new. Lisbeth Salander wasn't so much a hero, but one that the 21st century could adopt as a hacker who sought revenge on the "men who hate women" of the world. The two sequels were also written by Larsson and together spawned four film adaptations. But what does the future hold for the book series that was cut short by an unfortunate event? Well, it took some meddling from the family and the agreement of author David Lagercrantz to write the fourth book in the series "The Girl in the Spider's Web," which continues the series in the actual meaning of the word, though it does little to capture what made the series so exciting in the first place.

#40. "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty

For true horror fans, there's few films as renowned for its scares quite like William Friedkin's The Exorcist. How could it not be, especially as it deals with a fear that goes beyond what can be seen and eats at the very soul of every viewer? It's a demon, Pazuzu, who lives inside the bodies of the innocent, destroying them until they wither and die. If that was all that the story was about, it would be scary, but it wouldn't be accepted as one of the scariest works in 20th century fiction. No, what makes the story far more fascinating is something that can be found more often and effectively in the text, where censorship seems to be misbegotten in favor of the most brutal, intense descriptions imaginable to reasonable man. William Peter Blatty's book may have the blueprint for what the film became, but it's such a gross, ugly vision that no reasonable filmmaker would put any actor through it. And yet, that is what makes Blatty's novel so vital and in some ways superior to the film adaptation.

#39. "The Friedkin Connection" by William Friedkin

If you're a fan of classic cinema, there's a good chance that one of William Friedkin's movies will have crossed your path at some point. Whether it's The French Connection or The Exorcist, he was the master of intense cinema with a documentary-like realism that made his work stand out against his contemporaries like Spielberg, Scorsese, and Coppola. It makes sense then that a filmmaker whose very aesthetic is meant to be intense would take on his own career with a certain honesty and detail that doesn't only debunk the movie magic, but comes to understand what drew Friedkin to film in general. "The Friedkin Connection" is both a love letter to the man who made some of cinema's most exciting films, but also to the hubris that comes with gaining success too early in one's career.