Books that changed how I think about storytelling
Okay, love bugs, today we’re getting deep. We talk a lot about books that make us kick our feet, or books that break our hearts, but what about the ones that completely melt your brain and rewire how you look at a story?
Every now and then, you pick up a book that devastates you in a weekend. It completely alters your DNA as a reader and writer. It blows up all the rules you thought a story had to follow and shows you what narrative and imagination is really capable of. This is my holy grail list. It’s super personal (so be easy on the critiques). Don’t worry, there shall be no English-degree answers here.
Here are the 5 fiction books that changed how I think about storytelling forever.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
I thought this book was going to be boring. It’s literally just one girl in a library trying out different versions of her own life. But, reader, I was flawed.
It proved that the most high-stakes journey a character can take is entirely internal. Stories can be hyper-focused on one single human emotion, and still feel as epic as a fantasy war.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I used to think that, for a book to work, you had to like someone. Then, I closed this book hating everyone. While still thinking they were utterly, fascinatingly brilliant. Amy Dunne. Need I say more?
It completely freed me from trying to write perfectly likeable characters (which are different to Mary Sue’s). Morally grey characters who do terrible things for complicated reasons are my go-to now.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Death, disease and poverty: the three horsemen of dystopian fiction dictators. And yet, this book has none of that because society is run by a benevolent AI.
Instead of fighting an evil regime, this novel faces the terrifying existential boredom of absolute perfection, where humanity has conquered death only to lose its purpose. I won’t say more. It’s a must-read.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I thought I would get bored of the way it was written, but I very much enjoyed it! If you don’t know, it’s written entirely in interview snippets, rather than standard prose. It felt like a cinematic transcript of a rockumentary, with song lyrics and emails woven. I had to Google a few times whether or not it was a real 70s band (It’s not. I’m just gullible).
Ultimately, it taught me that you can have SO much fun when you play with the format of your novels. Standard structures are meant to be broken. Playing with perspective is elite storytelling.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I originally avoided this book for years because I am terrified of dying, and a book about Nazi Germany told from the perspective of Death sounded like a one-way ticket to a panic attack. Which it was, when I finally read it, but I also ended up being fascinated. With Death.
Zusak choosing Death as the narrator changed how every scene hit emotionally. It changed the way tragedy was presented and made me hyper-aware of who is telling the story and why.
Now it’s your turn!
I really want to hear from you on this one. What is the one book that completely flipped the script on how you see stories? The one that made you stop reading and just go whoa? Email or Insta DM your answers and we can have a big natter!
Happy reading 🙂
