The Online Home of Author Chad Lutzke
  • Home
  • About
  • Published Work
  • Cover Design
  • Blog: Write-Brained Leftovers
  • Contact
  • Bleeding Page Podcast
  • AI artwork

Top Reads for 2021

12/29/2021

2 Comments

 
Celebrating my favorite discoveries each year is always a good time, and like most of you, I like to share them. In no particular order, here's my top 10 reads of the year (not necessarily published in 2021).


1. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
Heartfelt, dramatic, adventurous. My wife turned me onto this book a few years back. So glad I got around to it.
Picture
2. Something Rich and Strange - Ron Rash
Rash is like a tamer Ketchum and a harsher Raymond Carver. This thing is packed with amazing lessons in storytelling.
Picture
3. Where All Light Tends to Go - David Joy
Crap hits the fan in this Appalachian noir tale with some great characters.
Picture
4. Moon Lake - Joe R. Lansdale
Lansdale through and through. No uncharted territory, just an old pair of comfortable shoes, as Joe might say.
Picture
5. Pearl - Josh Malerman.
It shouldn't work but did. Creepily. Some unsettling visualization in here. NEEDFUL THINGS meets CARRIE meets CHARLOTTE'S WEB and ANIMAL FARM. Every bit of it thrown in a blender and served with fried potatoes, eggs, and brimstone.
Picture
6. Chasing the Boogeyman - Richard Chizmar
What  THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT did for cinema, this book may do for crime fiction. A pseudo crime bio turned murder mystery.
Picture
7. Creature - Hunter Shea
Heavy on real-life drama with something in the woods. Shea does a masterful job at filling the pages with the drama without it being boring, which is what could happen in other hands.
Picture
8. Off Season - Jack Ketchum
I was late to the game on this one. Brutal, excellent characterization in a believable savage story.
Picture
9. In the Scrape - James Newman and Mark Steensland
Feels like Appalachian noir like Rash or Joy. A lot of tension here and the perfect length. It went by fast.
Picture
10. The Strange Thing We Become - Eric LaRocca
I was sent this one for a blurb. Offering one was an easy decision. Some excellent transgressive stuff in here. If you're one of those who didn't like his novella THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE because of the format, this book will make you a fan. This is where LaRocca's prose really shines.
Picture
2 Comments
Priscilla Bettis link
12/29/2021 07:32:30 pm

So much talent on your list! I had a really good reading year, and I ended it with the fabulous The Radiator Boy and the Holly Country by Zoltan Komor. (And I started the classic Hell House, but I'm only 1/3 of the way through. The writing style is dated, but it's an awesome book.)

Reply
Chad
1/1/2022 07:07:36 am

Glad to hear you enjoyed so much reading in 2021, Priscilla. And you're right. While HELL HOUSE is a great book, it is a little dated. Happy New Year!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    December 2021
    April 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

Proudly powered by Weebly