Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Steve Stred
Welcome to the latest update to my Decades Library.
Since January 2021 I have invited a guest to join me each week and I ask them which books they would add to my “ultimate library”. I began this project with a question: If I had to fill a brand new library with nothing but the very best books – which books should I add to the library shelves?
Clearly that is a huge undertaking for one person to take on so I ask my guests to help me select the books for the Decades Library – they have to nominate their favourites or the books they consider unmissable and I will add them to my Library. But there’s a catch! I can’t just keep it vague and ask for “good books” I had to set some rules which would govern their choices. Two Rules.
1 – You Can Choose ANY Five Books
2 – You Can Only Choose One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades
Which is why I call my library the Decades Library.
This week I am delighted to take the Decades Library across the Altantic Ocean to pass the curator’s hat to Steve Stred. I’m a fan of horror stories but don’t read anywhere near as many as I would like. Fortunately Twitter lets me keep track of some wonderful reading recommendations and Steve’s Tweets often flag up new names and suggestions which I then try to hunt down.
When I saw Steve Tweeting about discussing other writer’s work I immedately contacted him to ask if he would like to take part in Decades, happily he was able to spare some time to make his selections – over to Steve.
Steve Stred, A 2X Splatterpunk-Nominated Author. Steve Stred lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with his wife, son and their staffy, Cocoa.
His work has been described as haunting, bleak and is frequently set in the woods near where he grew up. He’s been fortunate to appear in numerous anthologies with some truly amazing authors.
DECADES
1970-80 – The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (Translated by Ralph Manheim), 1979
Now, my first experience with this novel was actually through watching the film adaptation of the same name. Of course, the film only follows the first half of the book, but after I had watched this for about the 100th time, I read the novel and was just blown away. Part fantasy, part thriller, part horror novel, it covers a lot of ground and doesn’t go easy on any of its characters. The book kind of showed me how I could approach my own writing – write what I love and not be confined to a singular genre. I love this novel (and movie) so much, that my wife and I named our son, Auryn, after the all-powerful amulet featured within.
1980-90 – Pet Sematary by Stephen King, 1983
‘Sometimes dead is better.’ I mean, King was my first introduction to true out and out horror. I was eight or nine when my neighbor let me borrow some of her King books. One of my first reads of his was Pet Sematary and I was destroyed and traumatized and begging for more. There are so many phenomenal scenes throughout, but it really set the stage for just how dark dark can be. I loved this one, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to go back and read it, now that I’m a dad.
1990-2000 – Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, 1990
I actually read this novel before the movie came out. Again, my neighbor let me borrow this book (and The Andromeda Strain) and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I think this novel has influenced me heavily in the sense of a lot of my books taking place in the wilderness, things going horrifically wrong, and people having to try and survive against the creatures out there that want to kill them. Crichton has a magical way of writing his stories with fanciful prose, while maintaining a scientific eye to detail.
2000-2010 – The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, 2008
The timing of this novel coming into my life was perfect and horrific. One of my former bosses recommended it to me. I started reading it. Maybe two days after starting it, our dog at the time, OJ, had a spinal stroke and was partially paralyzed in his hind end. So, reading a novel from a dog’s perspective was a unique and enjoyable experience, but also really hard and emotional, knowing that OJ couldn’t speak to us and describe to us things he felt or what he needed. I know they made a movie out of this book, but for me, the book was so perfect, I don’t think I’ll be able to bring myself to ever watch it.
2010-2020 – The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper, 2013
If you follow me on any of my social media pages, you’ll know my love of Andrew Pyper’s work. The Demonologist was my introduction to him, and I can’t understate it when I say, discovering this novel changed my life. Not only as a reader, but also as a writer. When I found this book, I didn’t know this type of material was being written by Canadian authors. Yes, I was a sheltered kid, living in the middle of nowhere and the internet was just becoming a bigger part of my life when I found this book, but up until then, Stephen King and Michael Crichton were the ‘dark writers’ I read. This novel showed me how beautiful horror can still be, but also that you didn’t have to be American to be a successful horror author. It follows an expert on Paradise Lost, David Ullman, who is a non-believer in the demonic. He gets invited to Rome, to see for himself something that will change his beliefs, but ends up having to search for his daughter, when she’s potentially taken by a demon. Just a truly phenomenal and emotional experience.
This was quite the reading journey – The Neverending Story to The Demonologist. Don’t say Decades doesn’t bring a diverse mix of titles to my Library. Huge thanks to Steve.
DECADES WILL RETURN
