Top 5 Tuesday – One Word Wonders

Underworld by Don Delillo

Honestly, I remember so little about this book that I probably shouldn’t use it for this list (although, I have spent the last twelve hours with it in the back of my mind…at this rate, give me a week and I might be able to talk about it vaguely). However, it’s directly in my eyeline as I look up from my desk, so obviously it was one of the first I wrote down as candidates. I remember a scene or two..and the general impression I got from it back in ’97. As well as the great sense of accomplishment that I finished in the first place—800+ pages of not-at-all-breezy prose. It might as well have been called “A Great American Novel,” (but then it wouldn’t be on this list) discussing the Cold War, celebrity, baseball, and too many other things to list off here. Powerful stuff.

Hounded by Kevin Hearne

This is kind of a cheat, every novel in this series is a one-word title. Oh well.

I’ve read every novel and almost every novella that Hearne’s produced, and it all started with this one. The sole surviving Druid who’s alive millenniums later than the rest because he’s really good at keeping his head down starts fighting back, and everything starts going wrong for him. This book also introduces a canine companion who is one of my favorite characters from the last decade or so (all time, really). I might not be the biggest fan of a couple of the later books—but Hounded has a special place in my heart.

Geekomancy by Michael R. Underwood

What geek/nerd/geek-ly inclined person wouldn’t love it if their passions paid off in an unexpected way…like, say, with magic powers tied to their fandoms? Throw in a plucky and snarky protagonist who’s immediately likable? Underwood has got himself a winner here.

Valediction by Robert B. Parker

It’s possible that this is Parker’s best work. Spenser’s pushed to his breaking point here—possibly past it, actually. But that doesn’t stop him from doing what he needs to in order to close the case. He’s clearly fallible here, making costly mistakes, but he’s still the man we’ve come to know.

Changes by Jim Butcher

If there’s a better way to sum up these 400+ pages than these two syllables, I can’t imagine what it’d be. Nothing is the same after this book, series is altered in ways readers are still figuring out by this book. I love it, it breaks me every time I read or listen to it.