I’m an avid reader, and love the inspiration I get from reading the great works of other writers. Below are some recommendations from me. These appear in my Beyond the Bridge newsletter, so are usually added after issues have been released. (Yet, you might find some new gems added outside of that.)
Science Fiction
- Dark Matter — Blake Crouch. A life split into countless paths, and the fight to reclaim the one that matters most.
- Outland — Dennis E. Taylor. Parallel worlds, looming disaster, and a crew that laughs in the face of apocalypse.
- The Quantum Curators — Eva St. John. A secret organization plucks priceless artifacts from alternate realities, but every choice ripples across universes.
- The Man in the High Castle — Philip K. Dick. A haunting look at a world where the Allies lost WWII.
- The Years of Rice and Salt — Kim Stanley Robinson. A reimagined world history where the Black Death changed everything.
- Wraith Knight — C.T. Phipps. A fantasy take on legacy, power, and who really wins the wars we’re told about.
- The Dread Machine — Ben Farthing. Liminal, eerie, and questioning what makes one timeline “real.”
- The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger. A heartbreaking reminder that love doesn’t care about linearity.
- Recursion – Blake Crouch. Memory, identity, and the terrifying idea of reliving your past with full awareness.
- Kindred – Octavia E. Butler. A powerful look at history, survival, and what happens when time refuses to let go.
- Version Control – Dexter Palmer. A “not quite” time-travel story about causality, choice, and the illusions we live in.
Horror
- I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls (I Found Horror) by Ben Farthing
- This is a great story that puts a spin on puppet characters not being so friendly.
- I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My House (I Found Horror) by Ben Farthing
- If you think you know what lurks just beyond the edge of your property, think again. This one gives you chills to cross into an unknown realm just feet from your home.
- A Lonely Broadcast: Book One by Kel Byron
- The woods at night can be scary all by themselves, but add a sinister element and you find what’s described in this book.
Non-fiction