Recommended Reading: Kris's Picks

Well, Shane got to this before I did, and since we often trade books, some of my picks are the same. If you see repeats on our lists, well, they are just damn good books.

Stephen King wrote in On Writing (which you will find on Shane's list), "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot...Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones."

I read because I like stories. Sure, I do learn about the art of fiction, but what it all comes down to is that I just enjoy reading.

• Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
• From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
• Master of Reality by John Darnielle
• Love is a Mixtape by Rob Sheffield
  
• How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead by Ariel Gore
• Scary Stories Illustrated by Barry Moser
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  
• The Traveling Vampire Show by Richard Laymon