Books that make you go "WOW"

[John A. A. Logan]

I second Steinbeck's Cannery Row...

Also, Knut Hamsun's HUNGER

[djgross]

Just finished...



Definitely a WOW book.  Funny, tragic, and deeply moving. 

[Aardvark]

I'm reading David Wong's "John Dies At The End".  It's not WOW but it's very, very good.

[acellis]

I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson. One of my all-time favorite books. Wow!

[Neil Ostroff]

Although, it's very old, MAN'S QUEST FOR MEANING blew me away.

[aecardenas]

There's actually very few books that made me go "Wow", but here's three of them:

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby:
When I was in High School I read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Or I rather, I thought I had read it. Many years later, after my reading habits matured and I myself became a writer, I came back to it for some reason, and I read it again, and I was in awe, I literally went "Wow". I could not believe how perfectly written this book was, how beautifully drawn the characters were, how evocative and exquisite the language. And then I remember why I had dismissed it before.

Back then I had also read Faulkner and Hemingway...the two extremes of the writing style spectrum...one ultra complex while the other utterly simple. Between them, Fitzgerald seemed...almost ordinary. I was enamored by the flash of style, and didn't' realize that the true meaning of good writing is to communicate perfectly your ideas. The words and style shouldn't draw attention to itself, because then you are thinking "Oh, this is Faulkner" or "Oh, this is Hemingway", so in reality it's not the story that is capturing you, but the writer. The writer and his/her style shouldn't overcome the story...but rather should serve the story, and serve it so perfectly as to disappear. And that's what The Great Gatsby is...a perfect novel written by a true artist.

Clive Barker's The Books of Blood:
As a lover of horror fiction, I am always seeking stories that frighten me, disturb me, terrify me and make me question my sanity and beliefs.  Clive Barker's Books of Blood floored me by how stunning and powerful this man's imagination is. The stories contained in these volumes run the gamut of horror--psychological horror, sexual horror, fantastical horror, mythic and monster horror, breaking of social and sexual taboos, and just plain ol' blood and gore type of horror.

I mean, where else will you read stories where a man's hands plot again their owner, or a mythical killer is sustained by urban legend and rumors, or where the fate of the world is determined by some old men racing frogs, or a cancerous tumor gains sentience and goes on a cinematic rampage, or where Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue gets re-imagined in a delightfuly perverse way.

But the one story in the Books of Blood that quite simply blew me away was "In the Hills, the Cities", in which two cities somewhere in Yugoslavia wage an ancient war every ten years. But they don't fight with weapons and armies, instead they spend years constructing these towering giants composed of the actual citizens of each city, binding each person to each other so that they become one single giant monstrous entity. It's an incredible story, which has such mythic power and scope, I can still experience it in my mind after almost twenty five years.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude:
This book was amazing. A true storyteller in the classic tradition, where there's not a lot of the standard "He said then she said, and then he said," Garcia Marquez actually uses prose the way you're supposed to: To tell the d*mn story. There are passages in this book that are so evocative and perfectly written…they humble you, much in the way you are humbled when witnessing something inexplicable and miraculous as childbirth or a tornado touching down on the earth or the terrifying thrill and awe of seeing a woman naked for the first time. This is a beautiful and profound book.

[Nana Malone]

I read it every year and still Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird makes me go WOW!

[KathyLynnHarris]

Totally agree. Fault of Our Stars is still with me weeks after finishing it. Just a great book.

Just finished...



Definitely a WOW book.  Funny, tragic, and deeply moving. 

[EGranfors]

Madeline Miller (coming in March) The Song of Achilles.
This is going to be my 2012 pick for book of the year, I am rather sure already!

[Darlene Jones]

A Cup of Tea by Ephron and The Uncommon Reader by Bennett - two little books that were incredibly well written.

[anguabell]

Most recently, I really felt that "Wow!" feeling after The Hunger Games (but that's not particularly news to anyone).  I was having a tough time following it up and then I read Susan Ee's book Angelfall.



When I saw all the five star reviews, I was sure something fishy was going on.  And then I read the book.  It is really that good.  I want to stand on top of rooftops and shout to the world how good it is!  I can hardly wait for the sequel!

I was just searching this board to see who recommended this. Not my usual type of a book at all but after reading a sample I simply had to get it. Well written in a twisted sort of way, but even if it wasn't, it quite impossible to put it down Thank you Kate!

[Sean Patrick Fox]

Tower by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman. Read a lot of Bruen and love it, but Coleman was new to me. An excellent novel, and the way it was written is unique (at least in my experience).

[JRainey]

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman are the three that immediately come to mind. I feel like I'm constantly singing the praises of these books, but all three touched me very profoundly.

I had a similar reaction to I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan and Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood, too.

Another poster mentioned Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, which I did love, but I'm not sure I'd personally put it in this category. That is a very memorable book, though. I recommend it every chance I get!

[Rebecca Burke]

Ok, now I know I have to read The Book Thief! I really was wowed by Jonathan Franzen's Freedom.  Couldn't put it down. Loved the environmental themes, the characterizations (note: not the characters themselves! Some of them were pretty awful.). Yeah, yeah--the author shoots himself in the foot every time he opens his mouth--but we're talking about his work, here. I was wowed by The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell and Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. And I loved the book by Julian Barnes that won the Booker, The Sense of an Ending. Great writers who wrap their ideas up in stories that are compelling.

[horsebreaker53]

William R. Forstchen's "One Second After" ... A giant Wow all the way through. Loved it! 

[pavb2]

Largely overshadowed by the events of Scott in the South Pole I found 'The worst Journey In the World' by Apsley Cherry Garrard one of the most evocative books I have read.

He details the hardships they faced and  was one of the explorers who discovered Scott's final camp. The following quotation sums it up.

 “And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore.
 If you are a brave man you will do nothing: if you are fearful you may do much, for none but cowards have need to prove their bravery. Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all will say, “What is the use?” for we are a nation of shopkeepers, and no shopkeeper will look at research which does not promise him a financial return within a year.
 And so you will sledge nearly alone, but those with whom you sledge will not be shopkeepers: that is worth a good deal. If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin’s egg.” – Apsley Cherry Garrard

[cheriereich]

Beth Revis' Across the Universe and A Million Suns. I loved those books, and reading them reminded me why I'm a writer. Of course, Beth's own writing story is inspirational too.

[MaryMcDonald]

William R. Forstchen's "One Second After" ... A giant Wow all the way through. Loved it! 

Just as I was scrowling down this page, I was trying to think of a book that gave me the 'Wow!' factor and it hit me, "One Second After". Then, literally a second later, I saw your post. lol. I bought the book in hardcover the day it came out. (had a pre-order in). The day I finished it, I lent it to my brother in law and haven't seen it since.  I think I may have to go re-buy it in ebook format.

[horsebreaker53]

Just as I was scrowling down this page, I was trying to think of a book that gave me the 'Wow!' factor and it hit me, "One Second After". Then, literally a second later, I saw your post. lol. I bought the book in hardcover the day it came out. (had a pre-order in). The day I finished it, I lent it to my brother in law and haven't seen it since.  I think I may have to go re-buy it in ebook format.

I think you can get it at Amazon for 9.99 right now. Fantastic book. All americans should read this.

[FrankZubek]

"Since the Layoffs" by Iain Levison
A down and out clerk who working at a convenience store in a destitute town accepts a hit contract from a local bookie to kill the man's wife.

He does this and then has the money to keep his rent and put food on the table.

As it turns out, he was so good at it- the bookie offers him a few more jobs!

There are a few twists in there too- its a short novel but easy to read and has a surprising number of funny moments
A dark book to be sure but I still find it to be the book I most recommend out of everything else I usually read. I would think that that says something about Levison.

It almost reads like an autobiography it all has a very real feel to it.

[jlee745]

I just finished Iron House by John Hart and I loved it.

[Derek Clendening]

I have recently read two books, and , where I had that "WOW" moment after finishing them. I'm wondering what books that you have read that make you go "WOW" after finishing them?

Everdead by Rio Youers did that for me. What would have been a run-of-the-mill vampire novel was beautified by some of the finest prose I've ever read. House of Windows was a character study in a haunted house setting that left me breathless.

[EspressoCap7]

Not to make it sound like high school again but The Catcher in the Rye left a pretty profound impact on me. It was "WOW" in the sense that there was so much symbolism and generally a lot of things to piece together. If you guys haven't gotten around to reading it, you should give it a shot. From what I saw though, it's not for "everyone".

[KateDanley]

I was just searching this board to see who recommended this. Not my usual type of a book at all but after reading a sample I simply had to get it. Well written in a twisted sort of way, but even if it wasn't, it quite impossible to put it down Thank you Kate!

You're TOTALLY welcome.  It took me by surprise, too.  I originally was like, "Fallen angels and the apocalypse?  Pffft.  I guess for 99-cents..."  And then it blew my mind.  Just absolutely made my brain explode.  I was totally stalking her Amazon page as if, I don't know, somehow if I kept hitting refresh it would make her type the sequel faster...?  The best book I read last year.  So AMAZING.

But this is the best book I've read THIS year:  The Writing Life by Annie Dillard



She won a Pulitzer for one of her other works, and yet, I had never heard of her.  Even if you haven't written since senior year, I think everyone could get something out of this book.  It is almost poetry on the page.  I want to tattoo every sentence on my body so that I can reread it over and over again.  It is so profound and philosophical and... I don't know... it is like a call to live a truer life.  I have been buying copies for all my friends.  It is stunning and life altering and gorgeous.

[cegesmith]

Hands down, the best book I've read so far in 2012 was Forsaken- A Novel of Art, Evil, and Insanity by Andrew Van Wey. The title kind of says it all- but to me it was really reminiscent of early Stephen King as I was reading it. I'm a horror fan from way back and so I'm pretty jaded about books I read in the genre. This one gave me nightmares (I know- a weird thing to consider "good"- lol).