M.L. Olmstead

I’ve been asked alot lately about book suggestions particularly in fantasy, and the question actually made me ponder. As a fantasy author, I do love fantasy, but actually I have not read anything new in fantasy in a long time. Why? Well, it wasn’t a super conscious decision, but it was intentional.

One of the special qualities that many writers have is the ability to see and absorb everything around them. A funny experience with a friend, a bad breakup, a beautiful piece of music or art, can all be transformed into a story. So if you read something very close to your own work, you could unintentionally be influenced. I guess I just want a clear mind to finish the series.

I’ve been reading a lot of fiction, but mostly in other genres. So here are some books I have enjoyed that aren’t the fantasy genre but certainly contain the qualities that make you think.

Fiction:

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

How Do you Live by Genzaboro Yoshino

Shane by Jack Schaefer

The Lighthouse by Michael O’Brien

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

Not sure if this was fiction or non fiction: Confessions of a Yakuza by Juichi Saga

The Haunting of Hill House By Shirley Jackson

So simple in concept, but this story scared me beyond belief. I thought about it for months after I finished. The gold standard for the Haunted House story.

I’ve read countless other books in my time including non fiction, but these are the ones that I have read most recently that have stayed in my head from the moment I finished.