Top 10 Books
Written on November 18th, 2025 by Dr Hobo
These are the books that have stuck with me - the ones I return to, the ones that changed how I see stories, and the ones I can’t stop recommending. No ranking, just ten books worth your time. As of October 2025.
Tortilla Flat
Author: John Steinbeck
Year: 1935
Steinbeck is often associated with heavy school reading lists and Of Mice and Men, but my favorite of his is the hilarious and heartwarming Tortilla Flat - probably my most re-read book. It follows a group of paisanos in post-WWI Monterey, California, living life on their own terms with wine, friendship, and questionable adventures. The prose is beautiful and deceptively simple. I think it’s much better than its spiritual cousin Cannery Row. These are lovable characters I’d genuinely love to have a drink with - flawed, funny, and utterly authentic. It’s Steinbeck at his most joyful.
💬 Favorite Quote
Two gallons is a great deal of wine, even for two paisanos. Spiritually the jugs maybe graduated thus: Just below the shoulder of the first bottle, serious and concentrated conversation. Two inches farther down, sweetly sad memory. Three inches more, thoughts of old and satisfactory loves. An inch, thoughts of bitter loves. Bottom of the first jug, general and undirected sadness. Shoulder of the second jug, black, unholy despondency. Two fingers down, a song of death or longing. A thumb, every other song each one knows. The graduations stop here, for the trail splits and there is no certainty. From this point anything can happen.
This Thing of Darkness
Author: Harry Thompson
Year: 2005
This book absolutely blew my mind. Almost every chapter made me stop and think - really think - about history, morality, and the cost of progress. Learning about Captain Robert FitzRoy, one of the most underestimated and under-recognized figures from Victorian England, was a revelation. He’s been completely overshadowed by his more famous passenger, Charles Darwin, and that injustice upsets me every time I think about it. Thompson brings FitzRoy to life with such humanity and detail that you feel his struggles, his brilliance, and his tragedy. RIP Captain FitzRoy - you deserved better from history.
The Blade Itself
Author: Joe Abercrombie
Year: 2006
Just wow. This book introduced me to grimdark fantasy and I’ve never looked back. Abercrombie tears down every fantasy trope you think you know and rebuilds them with brutal honesty and dark humor. But the real star is Glokta - my favorite character in all of fantasy. A tortured former war hero turned torturer, he’s darkly funny, and utterly compelling. The book is epic and haunting in equal measure - once you start, you can’t put it down. Imagine if Gandalf was a complete asshole and the Fellowship was full of morally compromised antiheroes. If that sounds appealing, this trilogy is for you.
💬 Favorite Quote
Every man has his excuses, and the more vile the man becomes, the more touching the story has to be. What is my story now, I wonder?
A Storm of Swords
Author: George R.R. Martin
Year: 2000
The Red Wedding. Need I say more? This is the book where Martin proved he was willing to break every rule and our hearts along with them. The foreshadowing leading up to that moment was masterful - you knew logically that something was wrong, the signs were all there, but your heart refused to let you believe it. Turning those pages was emotionally painful in a way few books achieve. I’ve never had a reading experience quite like it. If you read it before watching the show, it hits even harder - something really special and unforgettable. Martin at his absolute peak. P.S. George, seriously - how much longer until The Winds of Winter?
💬 Favorite Quote
And any man who must say 'I am king' is no true king at all
Wool
Author: Hugh Howey
Year: 2011
This one came out of nowhere and completely blindsided me. Howey’s vision of humanity living in underground silos is fresh and compelling - the mystery unfolds in a way that hooks you from the first chapter. It’s a masterclass in world-building that reveals itself slowly. A page-turner that proves self-published books can compete with the big publishers. The TV adaptation is decent but certainly not a replacement - indeed, it never does justice to the slow build up of tension and claustophobic atmosphere.
💬 Favorite Quote
People were like machines. They broke down. They rattled. They could burn you or maim you if you weren't careful. Her job was not only to figure out why this happened and who was to blame, but also to listen for the signs of it coming. Being sheriff, like being a mechanic, was as much the fine art of preventive maintenance as it was the cleaning up after a breakdown
River God
Author: Wilbur Smith
Year: 1993
Growing up, I devoured Wilbur Smith’s adventure novels - they were my gateway to historical fiction and page-turners. Picking just one was incredibly difficult, Birds of Prey and ‘Shout at the Devil’ come close, but River God edges it for me. Set in ancient Egypt during the Hyksos invasion, it’s Smith at his best - sweeping historical drama mixed with adventure, romance, and intrigue. The story is told through the eyes of Taita, a eunuch slave who’s cleverer than everyone else in the room, and his devotion to his mistress Lostris drives the entire epic. Smith’s Egypt feels vivid and alive, and the scope spans decades. It’s the first in his Egyptian series, and probably the only one you need to read.
💬 Favorite Quote
Sometimes it is best for men not to attempt to interfere with destiny. Our prayers can be answered in ways which we do not expect and do not welcome
Children of Time
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Year: 2015
I picked this up when I really needed a sci-fi hit, it delivered and then some. Tchaikovsky takes a concept that shouldn’t work - uplifted spiders as the main characters - and makes it utterly compelling. The scope is epic, spanning generations and civilizations, while never losing sight of what makes great sci-fi: exploring what it means to be sentient, to build a society, to survive. The dual timeline structure keeps the tension high, and the payoff is worth every page. This is an example of perfect sci-fi for me - big ideas executed brilliantly with genuine heart.
💬 Favorite Quote
You can never know. That is the problem with ignorance. You can never truly know the extent of what you are ignorant about
Midshipman’s Hope
Author: David Feintuch
Year: 1994
I can’t quite explain why I love this series so much, but I keep coming back to it. It’s a great coming-of-age story set in space - essentially the sci-fi equivalent of Master and Commander, with a young officer thrust into impossible situations and forced to grow up fast. Nicholas Seafort is flawed, sometimes frustratingly so, but that’s what makes his journey compelling. The first and fourth books in the series are particular standouts. Another serious contender for my most re-read novel - there’s something about Feintuch’s spare, direct prose and moral complexity that keeps pulling me back.
💬 Favorite Quote
There is no pity in the endless night, no mercy in infinite space. We do not belong there. Not now, not ever—unless one man summons the unbreakable will and unyielding discipline to survive the dark, silent hell he lives to challenge…
Lonesome Dove
Author: Larry McMurtry
Year: 1985
This book holds a special place in my heart - it connects me to my dad, who has now sadly passed away. It was one of his favorites, and I only read it recently, finally understanding why. Now I can say it’s one of mine too. It’s an epic Western yarn that spans thousands of miles and feels like you’re living every dusty mile alongside the characters. McMurtry’s prose is deceptively simple but devastating when it needs to be. Gus and Call are two of the best-drawn characters in American literature. The miniseries adaptation is excellent and does the book justice, but reading it first is the way to go. Simply unmissable - a masterpiece that earns every one of its 800+ pages.
💬 Favorite Quote
At times he felt that he had almost rather not be in love with her, for it brought him no peace. What was the use of it, if it was only going to be painful?
Taming Poison Dragons
Author: Tim Murgatroyd
Year: 2009
This book transported me completely. Murgatroyd’s medieval China isn’t just window dressing - you step into it with all your senses. The sights, sounds, smells, and politics of Tang Dynasty China feel lived-in and real. The protagonist is compelling and flawed, navigating court intrigue and personal tragedy with a authenticity that makes the historical setting feel immediate rather than distant. It’s literary historical fiction that never forgets to tell a gripping story. Criminally underrated and deserves far more recognition.
Honorable Mentions
These almost made the list, and on another day, some of them might have:
- Sovereign by C.J. Sansom
- Dark Age by Pierce Brown
- Warrior of Rome series by Harry Sidebottom
- L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker
- Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
- The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker
- Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
- The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota (2015)
- And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (2013)
What are your top books? Disagree with my picks? Drop a comment and let me know what I’m missing!
