A comic novel about a chronic procrastinator who realizes he’s letting life pass him by. Inspired by Inside the mind of a master procrastinator (Tim Urban). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff How to Structure a Novel Before You Write It. In this Reedsy Live video, NYT bestselling author Caroline Leavitt talks about plot structure — and a simple way to go about it. Consistently cited as one of the most influential graphic novels ever written, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ ground-breaking story of an alternate USA in which it won the Vietnam war and welcomed (and later shunned) a generation of masked vigilantes resonates as much today as it did in 1986. As, indeed, does the recurring anti-Reaganist mantra ‘who watches the watchmen?’. Comic fan or not, everyone needs to own this.

If you wanted to get something off your chest or initiate a conversation with a stranger, but you didn’t have the courage, then put it to paper and see where your imagination takes you — hopefully to your next book idea! The Age of Surveillance Capitalism is one of the top must-read books on technology. The author gives us a look at how personal data has become a new form of capital. 32. Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener Think about the genre: If you’re writing a horror book, then you’ll need a scary or dark book title to suit your story. If you’re writing a children’s story, make sure you think about words that your target readers will understand. Keep your genre in mind when coming up with book titles. And keep your audience in mind! The ‘laureate of American lowlife’, in Factotum Bukowski presented his alter-ego Henry Chinaksi, a shambling booze-hound meandering from one disastrous menial job to the next with an increasing level of disdain as he struggles to get himself published as a writer. Set in the seamy world of the 40s LA barfly, this is a grubby classic.The fiction, nonfiction and poetry that shifted our perspectives, uncovered essential truths and encouraged us forward Wondering what the difference is between alright and all right? Or which spelling is correct? This posts breaks it down using plenty of examples. Burroughs didn’t so much disregard the literary rule book with Naked Lunch - he tore it to shreds and reassembled it as he saw fit, making his book one of the first examples of postmodern literature. Soaked in drug use, junkie William Lee (an alter ego for Burroughs himself) chases his next fix, warping from reality on the road between the US and Mexico into the Interzone, a dreamlike place based on Tangiers. Insanity in print.

This is a bizarre and bonkers science-fiction novel that's set in a futuristic Manchester. People are able to enter alternate dimensions through drug-induced hallucinations by eating feathers, or vurts. The story is about a man called Scribble who is on a surreal quest through several dimensions to find his missing sister. Chaotic, psychedelic, and dripping in hallucinogens, this is Thompson’s crowning work of gonzo madness. Centring around the exploits of journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr Gonzo, things rapidly degenerate (including the integrity of the narrative) as the pair ditch their assignment to cover a motorbike race and lose themselves in a haze of acid, ether, cocaine and mescaline in Sin City. Jane Eyre is often considered one of the must-read books of all time. It follows the emotions and experiences of a strong, unbroken woman who continued to grow morally and spiritually despite a troubled childhood and a sexist, repressed Victorian society. 12. Animal Farm by George Orwell

A thriller that follows a psychopathic liar and the detective trying to figure him out. Inspired by How to spot a liar (Pamela Meyer). A young American Jew travels to the Ukraine to try and find the woman who saved his grandfather’s life during the Nazi occupation. Bizarre, funny and touching, it marked its author Jonathan Safran Foer out as a smouldering talent. A sci-fi novel about a community trying to live in harmony with Mother Nature. Inspired by The ancient, earth-friendly wisdom of Mongolian Nomads (Khulan Batkhuyang). All the best books start life as great book ideas. For some, inspiration strikes during a morning shower. For others, creative writing is a more deliberate process. Even some of the most experienced authors write their best stories from writing prompts — or use other writers’ tried-and-true strategies to gather book ideas from the world around them. The archetypal ‘great American novel’, Gatsby, like so many works of literary genius, went underappreciated while Fitzgerald was alive. Only after his death did its resonance become deafening. The decline of the American Dream and a withering social commentary of moral decline and social decay typify this defining moment in literary history.

A thoughtfully written book in which Award winning author Michael Morpurgo crams a great deal of emotion into. Imagine this. You are lying in a hospital bed, in a coma, apparently dead to what is happening around you. But you experience it all the same, hear what is being said about and to you, and try in vain to communicate with your loved ones and the world outside.

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The Catcher in the Rye is the classic coming-of-age story. It follows sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield’s adolescent journey of angst and alienation as he leaves his prep school and moves to New York City. 11. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte