What Have I Been Reading This Year?

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash

I started this SubStack approximately a year ago to study writing. Along the way, I read and studied a lot of things. What were they?

I actually didn’t keep a list, so this isn’t a complete list, but, anyway: here’s about a hundred things.

Why did I read them? Well, it’s prior art. Can’t write something distinct and different without immersing yourself with the great works already out there.

I learned a lot from these stories, and a lot of the posts over the last year were inspired by them.

Graphic Novels

It isn’t fair to only list the writer when the book is a graphic novel, but I’m studying writing so that’s what I’m listing here. Without great art these stories would not be the same however.

1. Batman: Year One, by Frank Miller

2. Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller

3. All Star Batman and Robin, by Frank Miller (don’t judge me)

4. The Authority, by Warren Ellis

5. Swamp Thing Vol 1, by Alan Moore

6. Swamp Thing Vol 2, by Alan Moore (50% complete)

7. Black Science Vol 1

8. Locke and Key Vol 1

9. From Hell, by Alan Moore

10. The Courtyard, by Alan Moore

11. Neonomicon, by Alan Moore

12. Providence, by Alan Moore

13. The Little Blue Kite, by Mark Z. Danielewski

Video Games

Games with significant stories that I’ve studied to some extent in the last year. Does not include 100 or so that were more gameplay oriented.

1. Emberfate

2. Gilded Shadows

3. Life is Strange

4. Lake

5. Detroit: Beyond Human

6. Oxenfree

7. Tyrion Cuthbert

8. Ace Attorney

9. Hades

10. Signs of the Sojourner

11. Man of Medan

12. Little hope

13. House of Ashes

14. The Quarry (15% done)

15. Amelie

16. Sunless Sea

17. Doki Doki Literaturę Club

18. Tacoma

19. 80 Days

20. Heaven’s Vault

21. Sorcery! 1

22. Sorcery! 2

23. Sorcery! 3

24. Overboard!

25. Plus about 80 others that were less narrative focused—part of my day job involves game design. Yes, this was too expensive… but the novels weren’t free either :p

Screenplays

1. The Hateful Eight, by Quentin Tarantino (screenplay)

2. BAIT, by Bret Easton Ellis

Novels

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, by Quentin Tarantino (novelization)

2. The White Company, by Arthur Conan Doyle

3. Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

4. Less Than Zero, by Bret Easton Ellis

5. The Informers, by Bret Easton Ellis

6. Glamorama, by Bret Easton Ellis

7. Lunar Park, by Bret Easton Ellis

8. The Shards, by Bret Easton Ellis

9. American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis

10. Imperial Bedrooms, by Bret Easton Ellis

11. The Favorite Sister, by Jessica Knoll

12. Razor Strike, by Lee Sarpel

13. Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion

14. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

15. Running with the Demon, by Terry Brooks

16. The Most Dangerous Place on Earth, by Lindsey Lee Johnson

17. Crooked Little Vein, by Warren Ellis

18. Normal, by Warren Ellis

19. Gun Machine, by Warren Ellis

20. Elevation, by Stephen King

21. Later, by Stephen King

22. Joyland, by Stephen King

23. The Colorado Kid, by Stephen King

24. The Long Walk, by Stephen King

25. The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides

26. Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer

27. Authority, by Jeff VanderMeer

28. Acceptance, by Jeff VanderMeer (25% done)

29. Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl

30. Night Film, by Marisha Pessl

31. Neverworld Wake, by Marisha Pessl

32. Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk

33. The Cipher, by Kathe Koja

34. Dark Factory, by Kathe Koja

35. Kissing the Bee, by Kathe Koja

36. Going Under, by Kathe Koja

37. Strange Angels, by Kathe Koja

38. Seventh Mansion, by Maryse Meijer

39. Numerous chapters from a writing group

NonFiction

1. Theory of Fun, by Raph Koster

2. Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences, by Tynan Sylvestor

3. Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer

4. On Writing, by Stephen King

5. A LOT OF GDC TALKS

TV and Film

Again, since I’m studying writing, I am only listing the writers for these projects. These only include works I count as study materials, not things I casually watched

1. Castlevania, by Warren Ellis

2. Guardians of Justice, by Adi Shankar

3. M Doll, by Imagination Rabbit

4. Heartstring Marionette, by Imagination Rabbit

5. Discovery of Witches, adapted from novels by Deborah Harkness

6. Night Gallery, by Rod Serling

7. The Society, by various

8. Luckiest Girl Alive, by Jessica Knoll

9. You, adapted from novels by Caroline Kepnes

10. Devil in Ohio, which must be based on a novel

11. So many more, I don’t want to list them

Short Stories (and a few essays)

1. Why Read, by Oleg

2. The Divider, by Oleg

3. Hand Above the Pan, by Oleg

4. Layers of Unseeing, by Oleg

5. Loneliness of the Headphones Man, by Oleg

6. Shadowboxer in the Park, by Oleg

7. (an unpublished story), by Oleg

8. Six secret stories by six great authors as part of a workshop

9. Snow-Fox vs. Leukemia

10. The Telltale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe

11. Devil in the Belfry, by Edgar Allan Poe

12. Masque of the Red Death, by Edgar Allan Poe

13. Howls from the Dark Ages

14. A whole bunch more... see the short story roundups or the summary

Poems

1. charge of the light brigade

2. The Bells, by Edgar Allan Poe

3. Annabelle Lee, by Edgar Allan Poe

4. Light, by Maddy Robinson

Just for Fun

Some a few books I read without studying them. Things that were just for fun. A way to relax.

1. Bird Box, by Josh Malerman

2. Red Rising, by Pierce Brown

3. Golden Son, by Pierce Brown

4. Morning Star, by Pierce Brown

5. Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown

6. Dark Age, by Pierce Brown

7. Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk

8. Lots of actual play rpg podcasts, although some of those were for study too...

9. Fifth Season (50% done, for a book club)

What have you read or studied over the last year?