15 Great Psychological Thriller Books To Bend Your Mind
Apparently even business-oriented folks like to read novels, especially psychological thrillers. In this article for Forbes, Sughnen Yongo writes that a “good psychological thriller book earns readers’ respect by capturing their attention with high-stakes conflict, unforgettable tension and unpredictable twists,” then offers a list of “15 great psychological thrillers that have defined the core of the genre over decades, making a lasting impact on reading culture, public acceptance and popularity.”
I find the list somewhat uneven; it includes light-weight works like The Da Vinci Code, Along Came a Spider, and The Woman in the Window alongside more classic books such as Rebecca, Strangers on a Train, and Crime and Punishment. Nonetheless, as Yongo concludes, “From the psychotic baseline of Gone Girl to the heavy-paced thrill of The Da Vinci Code, these multi-faceted novels are a must-read for every type of literary enthusiast.”
New translation of Ovid’s ‘Heroides’ offers insight into ‘ancient fan fiction
Tara Welch, a professor of classics at the University of Kansas, discusses a new translation of Ovid’s Heroides. Ovid was a Roman poet, contemporary with Virgil and Horace. The newly translated work is a collection of letters written by women to the men who have left them behind.
Welch said there are several reasons why modern audiences should appreciate the work of a poet who lived two millennia ago.
“One, it’s just a beautifully written text. It’s artistically gorgeous. Another is that many of our ideas about heroism, myths, culture and women come from ancient Roman culture. It’s easier to see those ideas at work and hold them up to scrutiny when it’s voiced by someone else,” she said.
When It’s Time To Change Your Reading Habits
“Are you prone to reading ruts? Or do you crave a little more focus? what have you been waiting for?”
Molly Templeton describes some long-standing habits she’d like to break:
I buy books I am incredibly excited to read and then I let them gather dust on a shelf. I order things out of absolute rushes of interest and then decide it’s not the time. Inexplicably, I rarely—unless I am reading them for work purposes—read brand-new books. I think with curious fondness about books I’ve heard so much about, and then simply do not pick them up.
“Why?” she wonders. And what should she do about it?
The Unstoppable Rhys Bowen
“At age 82, the bestselling author has written 150 books, traveled the world, and palled around with Simon & Garfunkel. And she’s just getting warmed up”
Elaine Szewczyk profiles author Rhys Bowen for Publishers Weekly: “Revered for her witty prose and irresistible dialogue, Bowen is like the protagonists in her novels: clever, fun, and a pleasure to be around.”
The Ghosts of Prague
“Helen Oyeyemi and the borderlands of realism”
In another writer profile, this one for The Nation, Sarah Chihaya discusses the novels of Helen Oyeyemi: “In a moment when so much contemporary fiction is concerned with redefining new conventions of realism or reasserting old ones, Oyeyemi is more interested in pushing past its boundaries altogether.”
Are You an Artist?
“The creative life is shrouded in mystery. Two new books try to discover what it takes.”
Alexandra Schwartz discusses what makes someone an artist by looking at two recent books on the subject: The Long Run: A Creative Inquiry by Stacey D’Erasmo and The Work of Art by Adam Moss. In both books the authors examine art by talking with practitioners across a wide variety of achievement, including writers, dancers, film makers, painters, sculptors, architects.
“When you read these books, you may feel that the art you are confronting becomes at once more and less knowable,” Schwartz concludes. “It’s a good, life-giving feeling—that you can look as long and hard as you want, and still some mystery remains.”
Sisterhood
“These deep and personal connections of women often ignore … all the barriers that, in male or mixed society, seem so difficult to cross.”
This article by Gloria Steinem appeared in a section of New York magazine on December 30, 1971. That section, or insert, from New York launched Ms. Magazine.
On the False Promise of Climate Fiction
In this piece from November 2023, climate journalist and fiction writer Emma Pattee asks, “Are We Already Beyond Raising Awareness?”
Pattee writes, “As a climate journalist, I am familiar with the cognitive dissonance that imbues every conversation about the climate crisis.” But, she continues, “Buying books will always be easier than questioning one’s own consumption.” Here she examines fiction about the climate by authors such as El Akkad (What Strange Paradise and American War), Karen Russell (“The Ghost Birds,” published in The New Yorker), Anthony Doerr (Cloud Cuckoo Land), and Jenny Offill (Weather).
Making Waves: A Page-Turning History of the Beach Read
“There’s no tradition more satisfying than cracking open a good book on a sandy beach. Here’s how it all started.”
Summer’s not quite over yet. You still have some time to fit in some beach reads. April Snellings offers a history of the term.
© 2024 by Mary Daniels Brown
