![]() | Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $4.85 All of Murakami's works belong on this list, but Kafka I think is one of his lesser-known goodies. Blending everything from speculative fiction to mythology to Wester culture, Kakfa... will leave an imprint on you for years to come.
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![]() | Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
Buy new: $12.89 / Used from: $2.82 This book is a puzzle, simply put. I think of it more as a long rambling, or a memoir, but it is definitely a must-read for anyone with a brain.
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![]() | Finnegans Wake (Penguin Modern Classics) by James Joyce
Buy new: $22.94 / Used from: $33.02 I couldn't have made my list without this one. Be sure to check out Joseph Campbell's Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake; you'll need all the help you can get.
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![]() | The Coma by Alex Garland
Buy new: $11.90 / Used from: $0.57 Think Jacob's Ladder, only without the supernatural horror twist. It's short and often contrived, but I think that's what makes it a staple to this list.
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![]() | H. P. Lovecraft: Tales (Library of America) by H. P. Lovecraft
Buy new: $23.10 / Used from: $19.18 Lovers of traditional classics will disagree with this pick, but Lovecraft developed "cosmicism," a subgenre that has influenced everyone in the world of writing.
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![]() | Into the Deep by Ken Grimwood
Buy used from: $0.25 I tried to read this novel as a kid, and failed. I picked it up at a discount sale years later, only knowing it by the front cover. I had no clue what I was getting into, but I had a lot of fun along the way. It may not be the best story out there, but I think it's a bit underrated.
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![]() | Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing by Soren Kierkegaard
Buy new: $11.69 / Used from: $14.34 This one's not fiction, but I have to include something from SK. The way he utilizes paradoxes and seemingly contradicting phrases is enough to confuse anyone.
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![]() | American Supernatural Tales (Penguin Classics)
Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $6.88 This book has one story that EVERYONE should read: Karl Edward Wagner's "Endless Night." It will take a few reads before you start to unravel what it's all really about, but it's necessary.
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![]() | The Intruders by Michael Marshall
Buy new: $16.47 / Used from: $0.24 This is a new book that really confused me. Starting out as a crime novel, Marshall quickly begins hinting towards sci-fi, horror, and speculative fiction. This book is a "mainstream" summer read that is worth picking up.
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