Yesterday, I announced my annual Sign & Ship deal (including my new release, MAROONED), so today I wanted to list some other books that are worth picking up this holiday season.
This is not a critical, scholarly approach to what was released in 2018. These are my favorite reads of the last year, nothing more and nothing less. I usually read 1-2 books per month, and listen to another on audio. These titles are the ones that really stood out.
Here they are, in no particular order:
Be Prepared by by Gary Greenberg & Jeannie Hayden. Yep, big life change happening this year — I’m going to be a dad in 2019. This book uses humor and wit to help inform a father-to-be while combating thoughts of “What am I doing?! I’m not ready for this!” and replacing those fears with something that’s starting to resemble confidence.
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. The paperback I found had been rechristened Arrival after the titular story was turned into a Hollywood movie, and I didn’t quite realize what I was picking up when I decided to check this short story collection out. But I’m glad I did. It’s an eclectic bit of storytelling, but each story makes you think about the world in a different way, which is the acme of storytelling, IMO.
The Serpent’s Fang by Ryan Mullaney. Ryan is another self-published writer I discovered through online writer communities. This book is the start to a Tomb Raider-esque series about a female treasure hunter and makes for a fast-paced light read. If you like “popcorn fiction” maybe give it a go.
Steam Highwayman by Martin Noutch. I met Martin when he was still working on his debut gamebook (Interactive Fiction is a small community), and I’ve had the pleasure of watching the start to his publishing career unfold. This book leans heavily on the “game” side when compared to my own series, but if you like rolling dice and keeping stats with pencil and paper, then I’d suggest grabbing a copy. Immersive story and expansive worldbuilding make for many, many hours of play.
Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr. This novella is the basis for the movie The Thing and was a treat to listen to for someone who has written both prose and screenplays. I had a vision in my head from the film, which made it fun to experience in reverse as the original 1938 story. Quite visionary and ahead of its time for early 20th century sci-fi.
That’s it! What about you? Read anything good this year? Any book recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out my annual Sign & Ship deal before it disappears for another year!
Author James Schannep 