wordnerd

Jane Austen

Beautifully written but not really my genre. I can respect the craft without loving the story.

Bram Stoker

The found-document format adds verisimilitude. You almost believe you're reading real accounts.

Daniel Kahneman

Prospect theory explained clearly for non-economists. Kahneman is a gifted communicator.

Aldous Huxley

Required reading for the modern age. Huxley understood that control through comfort is far more effective than control through fear.

Mary Shelley

Historically important but the prose style is very much of its era. Hard to get through at times.

Herman Melville

The sermon by Father Mapple is worth the price of admission alone. Absolute fire and brimstone.

J.R.R. Tolkien

The scouring of the Shire is the most important chapter and they left it out of the movie. Read the book!

Charlotte Brontë

One of the great first-person narratives. Jane's voice is so vivid you forget you're reading fiction.

George R. R. Martin

A transitional book that sets up a lot but pays off little. Still, Martin's prose is always a pleasure.