Top 10 Books I Read in 2025

literary, horror, classics, new release, a short story collection, hidden gems, an eclectic list (and a few tangents) #booktube #top10 #ranked

Music used in this video: Fellow Traveller by John Adams

If you like your fiction dark and weird:

The Quick and The Still - Following the gruesome death of his former lover, Jared revisits the old haunts of his sun-scorched, inertia-plagued town of Stanhill, Texas where he must infiltrate a cult with a reverence for parasites if he is to prevent his colleague, Tracey, from suffering the same fate.
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Still-Michael-Wertenberg/dp/B0F7KJZCZH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PLFV2WL180FO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ncDUHpbJPLzCl9zgiOA9JJsAApoipSwFobzknrEDh-Yv7ataDn-C-uU8s-oco_9NbGhOfxOn1AITds7PA2nyDWVOMuhaYhUoDoxH8ODDqGpLn0YCByh6W0CiLP-baHHLz6Zz8Dk8XeF1r87od92NOQp0DtxTjtJGeTTovCI7SVqK7kDlRwYjLvrRR4HHKbYapIV_wAOvBMpVzsu_H-_PKV8iBwrje5LCD-A8CsUy89A.ZRBGLosjfanOHa9yBpbkja1sHG9r-sDgT8PPFEA6HuI&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+quick+and+the+still&qid=1747405390&sprefix=the+quick+and+the+still%2Caps%2C219&sr=8-1
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quick-Still-Michael-Wertenberg-ebook/dp/B0F87VSC9G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1HMGCGT6E8HDF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hGzhB_FJ_2EYBQcAhwUb2IcTPFI2TgwF51g3NybQ5EGDryplEHrz1DpbCdMSOtXLIVOkQXkt8FjXj2fp6iVMeLMBksbpqerE3K3Q0Vi7n0bLCdwWkxd9qGF9vSuKFjZ7IpXqbtG5cy0HsAgYeneC2g.unTjRJ0hL9A3HzVORxXnMTs2ASdZC_cL0PQZxMpUvik&dib_tag=se&keywords=michael+wertenberg&qid=1747405494&s=books&sprefix=michael+wertenberg%2Cstripbooks%2C140&sr=1-2

Edifice Complex - Karim immigrates to Paris and has his tenuous grip on reality further jeopardised when he develops an erotic, obsessive relationship with a residential building set for demolition.
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Edifice-Complex-Micha%C3%ABl-Wertenberg-ebook/dp/B0D42H7Q3D?ref_=ast_author_dp&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bNcuXey7XaoFRnB7qUq9apIT_2cMOvSfZaE7mk-v0HrDOF73R-we4VqN2Z4hZF0E2vHIM2u93r97HpPpnCx_x8NFGnKWGU653gCqhWbPB92njyyBbglEM9gCrDDGMC0c9Cr6bnK4JBHGKmem_w2wYQ.7sbJlmTlRAO-SP6Ro-LjgA3tVa50oyqADQeXO8013WA&dib_tag=AUTHOR
Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifice-Complex-Micha%C3%ABl-Wertenberg-ebook/dp/B0D42H7Q3D?ref_=ast_author_dp&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.m_r-MWQclzIqtfA3QFGwGi0dGOYk_M_nV_8NjQXQg4mYQhAeUbndVUo1hAyogRTPiObefg-ApcLSB4FfKm38r7Gy742d8ysBNl8tS5TB9O7AMsM1W5SaxLwFlh49EKog9Cr6bnK4JBHGKmem_w2wYQ.HotfWmbULiI9YiHA8mer7EujGN7L-Iz4mdCQn_M9SCQ&dib_tag=AUTHOR

The Orthography of Madness and Misgivings - a short-story collection representing 3 years of my career and 5 countries I was living in while creating dark surreal fiction
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Orthography-Madness-Misgivings-Micha%C3%ABl-Wertenberg/dp/1729852505/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1PPFHBkCtnNUimwY3WhomySPGem1KcZHCdr8qMWWwxpJxI4ATgKgnr4SK0VYo65uGzkTw_NF8HIp32mzQWCoAku_DuazlcEbpd_OES70g6gEn_gyOskPEvLc6mEy9YNYb5uBEFALQ2DRuvRXuleCp_HV6exRbSv9kGsCXNtVBrJQFM1eutTewoh47kXK4uF2.OfGu1HOIOqeFWw40rvo6c-OKozTOx479Pag3nKifzwc&dib_tag=se&keywords=michael+wertenberg&qid=1739216687&sr=8-1
Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Orthography-Madness-Misgivings-Micha%C3%ABl-Wertenberg/dp/1729852505?ref_=ast_author_dp&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.m_r-MWQclzIqtfA3QFGwGi0dGOYk_M_nV_8NjQXQg4mYQhAeUbndVUo1hAyogRTPiObefg-ApcLSB4FfKm38r7Gy742d8ysBNl8tS5TB9O7AMsM1W5SaxLwFlh49EKog9Cr6bnK4JBHGKmem_w2wYQ.HotfWmbULiI9YiHA8mer7EujGN7L-Iz4mdCQn_M9SCQ&dib_tag=AUTHOR

Stories to Tell Your Children (assuming you are a very bad parent) - a collection of modern tongue-in-cheek horror fables
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Tell-Children-assuming-parent-ebook/dp/B08PZ461ZW?ref_=ast_author_dp&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bNcuXey7XaoFRnB7qUq9apIT_2cMOvSfZaE7mk-v0HrDOF73R-we4VqN2Z4hZF0E2vHIM2u93r97HpPpnCx_x8NFGnKWGU653gCqhWbPB92njyyBbglEM9gCrDDGMC0c9Cr6bnK4JBHGKmem_w2wYQ.7sbJlmTlRAO-SP6Ro-LjgA3tVa50oyqADQeXO8013WA&dib_tag=AUTHOR
Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stories-Tell-Children-assuming-parent-ebook/dp/B08PZ461ZW/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=JmCmO&content-id=amzn1.sym.f7cacb80-afed-4bd2-a630-ebf24465f0d7&pf_rd_p=f7cacb80-afed-4bd2-a630-ebf24465f0d7&pf_rd_r=262-0087569-5543543&pd_rd_wg=UNY2C&pd_rd_r=f974d6bc-ef20-43be-8077-7a12312aa368&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk

Delirium's Muse - psychological horror available from Running Wild Press

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