“Any Word You Like Will Fit Its Description”: A Wildly Personal Book List

Aidan will lead our discussion at a one-time Shakespeare Book Club: The Winter's Tale, which we will host at Staunton Books & Tea on May 21, 2025. Right in time before the ASC's adaptation will be on stage.

We love a good list at Staunton Books & Tea, especially when it tells us as much about the reader as it does about the books. And this list—equal parts riotous, thoughtful, and deeply passionate—is one of our favorite kinds: not curated for prestige or prize-winners, but for joy, obsession, and re-readability.

Meet the Curator: Aidan O'Reilly

The mind behind this vibrant collection is Aidan O'Reilly, an actor, writer, and musician. His theatrical journey includes performances with esteemed companies such as the Prague Shakespeare Company, American Shakespeare Center, and Utah Shakespeare Festival. Beyond the stage, Aidan penned the screenplay for the film Last Call, which premiered at the London Independent Film Festival. Source

If I were to make a list of my favorite bookstores, it would be a long list, too, but Staunton Books and Tea would be at the top. - Aidan O'Reilly

This particular list is a treasure trove of literary passions, spanning from Bolaño to Pratchett, from werewolves to Werner Herzog, and from Highsmith’s suspenseful trains to Dylan’s musical musings. It's as eclectic as it is electrifying.

1. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

My all-time favorite novel. I’ve read it more times than I will admit to in public. Funny, dark, sexy, wild, compassionate, profound, beautiful—any word you like will fit its description. I want to learn Spanish so I can read it in the original.

2. White Teeth by Zadie Smith

ANYTHING by Zadie Smith is brilliant and amazing. She’s the best writer out there. White Teeth is my favorite. It has the coolest last line of all time.

3. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

Really smart and really fun. I love a great thriller. 

4. Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

Forget the plot, cause it genuinely doesn’t matter. Go and get lost. It’s well worth it. (DO NOT READ THIS BOOK WHILE YOU ARE EATING THOUGH - JUST TRUST ME) 

5. Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson

Compassionate, smart, enlightening, scary, profound. 

6. Stalker by Lars Kepler

Most suspenseful book I’ve ever read. 

7. Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges (Andrew Hurley translation)

I am always reading Borges.

8. Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre

Witty, brilliant, informative, and tough. 

9. The Tailor of Panama by John le Carré

He’s one of my favorites and this book is one of his many best. 

10. Mort by Terry Pratchett

Satire and fantasy are the best avenues for philosophy. Nobody knows this better than Pratchett. 

11. They All Love Jack by Bruce Robinson

Angry, informed, righteous, fascinating, disturbing.

12. Erebus by Michael Palin

I love reading about arctic expeditions. You’ll read this book in an afternoon. Intelligent and kind - unsurprisingly since it’s by the wonderful Michael Palin.

13. Beeswing by Richard Thompson

A really fascinating autobiography and an insight into songwriting. 

14. Every Man for Himself and God Against All by Werner Herzog

I’m a Herzog nut, so anything he does, I am obsessed with.

15. The Light of Day by Eric Ambler

Clever, funny, sexy, wry.

16. War Music by Christopher Logue

This work is astonishing. A vivid adaptation of The Iliad. True poetry makes you feel more alive, and this book certainly does that. Check it out and let me know what you think.  

17. Up In Honey’s Room by Elmore Leonard

Sexy and fun. Leonard was a master. 

18. The Job of the Wasp by Colin Winnette

I love horror stories and ghost stories, and this one is great. Winnette is one of our most talented writers working today and one of the most underappreciated. 

19. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

Every sentence is an education. It is one of the most incredible books I have ever read.

20. The Man Who Ate His Boots by Anthony Brandt

Another arctic expedition book. Super fascinating and smart.

21. American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee

This book is a history of the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone Park. Astonishingly good journalism. 

22. Molloy by Samuel Beckett

Another book where every sentence is a quote that you want to remember. Very funny and -- Beckett is the only guy I know who can pull this off — both bleak and hopeful. 

23. The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy

I wouldn’t want to hang out with Ellroy, but, maaaaaaan, he can write a great crime novel.

24. Wiseblood by Flannery O’Conner

Southern gothic at it’s best.

25. The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

The first season of True Detective stole all of its best lines from this collation of short stories. They go from ghost and horror stories to romantic stories about living in Paris. Check it out.

26. Go Down Together by Jeff Guinn

Best book about Bonnie and Clyde out there. 

27. The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore

This is the Dracula/Frankenstein of werewolf novels. Scary, mean, and fun.

28. Something like An Autobiography by Akira Kurosawa

I love his movies so I was stoked when this got translated into English. His memories of Japan during World War II are what linger with me the most. Profound, humane, wise. 

29. Ride the Pink Horse by Dorothy B Hughes

Hughes is effortlessly noir of thruller writers. All the other guys were just mimicking her. This book is a tour de force 

30. The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan

This book is both a coffee table book and a series of short lectures on songwriting. Each essay is like a newspaper column about a song from throughout history. Really interesting stuff. You don’t have to read the essays in order. Just flip through and see what grabs your attention. 

31. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

A cross between a romance and a thriller and a great depiction of toxic/regressive masculinity and a very brilliant depiction of the difference between love and obsession.

32. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene

Greene is one of my favorites. Any book by him is wonderful.

33. My Shakespeare by Greg Doran

Like Dylan’s book about songwriting this is a coffee table book about directing Shakespeare. An enthralling education.  

34. 2666 by Roberto Bolano

More Bolano cause he is my favorite. This book will leave you reeling. Utterly astounding and brilliant.

35. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

Best satire of academia out there.

36. Deadmen’s Road by Joe R. Lansdale

This book is FUN. An alcoholic preacher who fights zombies, vampires and monsters in the American West? Sign me up.

37. Collected Plays by Caryl Churchill

Churchill is one of my favorite writers. She proves that you can be as challenging as you want and still be entertaining. Every aspiring playwright should know her work.

38. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

I LOVE this story. Funny, scary, honest. Everybody should read this book. 

Ok! I got to stop here otherwise this list will turn into something longer than War and Peace (A book I have yet to read - I should rectify that).