Hey guys! As you learned in kindergarten reading can take you to all sorts of wonderful and exotic places while sitting in your living room. What your teacher didn’t tell you is that these are called escape books. If you are in funk over work, problems at home, or money woes; these tales are the best to help you escape to a wonderful worry free place. So let’s begin!

10. The Long Walk by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King

With some of the other entries on this list you might find this an odd choice. But honestly what’s a better escape when you are depressed than reading about characters who are in a situation that is much worse. This interesting novel written by Stephen King’s alter ego Richard Bachman takes place in a future society where the “Government” has created a simple contest. 100 young fellows stroll down a road in Maine and start walking. The last one standing wins untold power and riches. What does the last man standing mean? Soldiers shoot you in the head once your speed falls below a certain amount three times in a row. Sound dark? It is trust me. But it is also a fascinating character story. Essentially these guys are on a mini life’s journey like we all are. Except their dying is coming a lot sooner! https://amzn.to/2XastZJ

9. Dune Series by Frank Herbert

The Dune series is one mountain of a series of novels to undertake. The world and the characters are numerous and extremely difficult to keep up with. However, if you can follow along you will be well rewarded on a fantasy experience like no other. You’ll travel to a world of endless deserts, giant sandworms, priest cults, space travel, addiction to Spice, clones, and a character called Duncan Idaho. Written by Frank Herbert in the 60s, the Dune series has continued even after Herbert’s death, carried on by new writers eager to take up the story. https://amzn.to/2XexpwI

8. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

Who doesn’t love a good series of the adventures of a private investigator. Well how about that PI also being a wizard? Boom! That’s right these adventures follow Harry Dresden a magical PI who investigates supernatural forces in Chicago. Although it is a lot more complicated than that. Jim Butcher published the first of these novels, called Stormfront, in 2000. The audio books are also great, read by James Marsters, for nerds that is Spike in the Buffy/Angel verse. https://amzn.to/31Ltsz0

7. The Hercule Poirot Novels by Agatha Christie

I love mystery novels. And though a bunch of great mystery writers and novels are out there I am old school. And it doesn’t get much better than Agatha Christie’s best detective (sorry Miss Marple) Hercule Poirot. This slightly OCD mustachio welding Belgian detective is a really great character with a brilliant mind. Using his little grey cells and keeping all the facts in place, the great detective takes you all over Europe, the Middle East, and Egypt where a murder seems to always happen right where he is staying, weird. Check out what I think is his biggest adventure, The Big Four. https://amzn.to/2Fb7L1I

6. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King

You can tell I’m a Stephen King fan. The Dark Tower series is an epic fantasy/western/Sci-Fi/kickass series of seven novels. King started writing these back in the 70s and finished them in the 2000s. It follows the adventures of the last gunslinger, Roland Deschain and his search for the Dark Tower. A mystical building that basically holds up all reality. In addition to the seven Dark Tower novels, a myriad of other King novels cross into the Roland’s universe including It, The Stand, Insomnia, and Heart’s in Atlantis. https://amzn.to/2XfKUMl

5. The Chronicles of Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis

Some jerks call this the poor man’s Lord of the Rings series. But they are jerks so who cares. The Chronicles of Narnia are fantastic books, easier to read than Tolkien and almost as entertaining. Unlike Lord of the Rings, which takes you through just a small slice of the mythos’ history; the Chronicles of Narnia basically gives you everything that happens from Narnia’s creation till . . . well you will have to read them and see. https://amzn.to/2FbVvxM

4. The Works of H.P. Lovecraft by well you know

I think the collected works of the madman known as H.P. Lovecraft are super creepy and super engrossing. If you thought the names in the Dune series are bad, try pronouncing some of the creatures names in these stories. Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, Azathoth, and Yog-Sothoth just to name a few. But if you can follow along you will be taken on a dark ride as you peer into other worlds and dimensions very close to ours, where dark gods and monsters dance and dream. https://amzn.to/2Kmbk9c

3. A Song of Ice and Fire Series (Game of Thrones Novels) by George R. R. Martin

So if you haven’t heard of Game of Thrones either the book or hit TV show I’m assuming you have just walked out a cave you have been trapped in for 50 years or been in a multi decade coma. Welcome back to the world. Now go check out Game of Thrones. Seriously it’s that awesome. When I’m asked to describe Game of Thrones I call it a fantasy. But it’s the most realistic fantasy show I’ve ever seen, despite the dragons and ice zombies. Martin does just a phenomenal job taking a bunch of characters who mostly live in the moral grey zone and show them competing to become ruler of the Kingdom of Westeros. I won’t say anymore because of spoilers, for the ten people on Earth who haven’t seen the show or read the book. I’ll just say this, if you haven’t read Game of Thrones yet, I envy you very much! https://amzn.to/2Ik7JXg

2. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

I defy anyone on this planet to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and not binge read the next six books in the series as soon as humanly possible. Rowling has created such a fun and exciting world you will never want to leave it. Harry Potter is a boy wizard, although he doesn’t know that at first, who is rescued from his abusive home with his aunt and uncle and invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You know that old chestnut. And from that there spawned a multi-billion dollar cash cow, with books, movies, theme parks, and a mountain of merchandise. You’ve probably read this already, but if not drop what you are doing and GO! https://amzn.to/2MTFenm

1.The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” From that one sentence came the father and mother of all modern day fantasy novels and stories. I’ve been reading these novels for years and years and I honestly never get tired of them. You can walk the roads of Middle-Earth countless times and find something different to enjoy on each journey. The films, which were very well done, introduced a whole new generation to these novels, but I’ll always go back to the books whenever I’m feeling the need for a little escape. I keep a copy of The Hobbit permanently in my pool/beach bag, it’s the perfect book for lounging by a body of water with. In fact now that I am I writing about it, I think I’ll go start it again. See-ya! https://amzn.to/2Rfy4IA