Horns

Written by: Joe Hill

First line: Ignatius Martin Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things.

Why you should read this book: Powerfully written and executed, this wonderful novel transcends horror themes and the very nature of good and evil to present an eminently satisfying story about love and the sentiments left unsaid. Ig wakes up one morning, hung over, with the nagging suspicion that he did something unspeakable the night before, and having sprouted in the night a pair of slightly painful and fairly prominent horns, which give him the power to see others' worst secrets, persuade them to act on their most inappropriate desires, and inspire them to tell him exactly what's on their mind, whether he wants to hear it or not. The first thing he learns is that everyone, including his family, holds him responsible for the brutal rape and murder of his girlfriend a year earlier, and Ig suddenly finds himself on a painful, horrible, and ultimately enlightening journey of discovery and revenge against those who wronged him and his beloved.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're the type of person who frequently finds things blasphemous.