Certain books stay with you for life. They worm their way into your thoughts when you least expect them to and you can revisit them in your mind whenever you need that escape. No genre does that more for me than bizarro fiction.

In a recent post, I mentioned that Mykle Hansen’s The Cannibal’s Guide to Ethical Living was now on my list of 10 favorite bizarro books (which, if you look at the list below, isn’t true). I realized that while that list existed in my head, I hadn’t written it down.

As I looked through my shelves, I realized that limiting the number to 10 would be difficult. There were so many great bizarro books to choose from—I’ve read close to 70 (not including the Bizarro Starter Kits). To give them credit, I expanded the list to 25—still difficult. I admit that I spent more time and brainpower on this short list than any of my longer, more involved posts.

1. He Digs a Hole by Danger Slater
2. The Orphanarium by S.T. Cartledge
3. Motherf*cking Sharks by Brian Allen Carr
4. House of Houses by Kevin L. Donihe
5. Jimbo Yojimbo by David W. Barbee
6. Impossible James by Danger Slater
7. Fortune Box by Madeleine Swann
8. Slippery When Metastasized by Charles Austin Muir
9. Laser House on the Prairie by David W. Barbee
10. Stacking Doll by Carlton Mellick III
11. All Hail the House Gods by Andrew J. Stone
12. Ecstatic Inferno by Autumn Christian
13. F*ck Happiness by Kirk Jones
14. The Greatest F*cking Moment in Sports by Kevin L. Donihe
15. The Cannibal’s Guide to Ethical Living by Mykle Hansen
16. Help! A Bear is Eating Me by Mykle Hansen
17. Levels by Karl Fischer
18. Cyberpunk Zombie Jihad by Mark Zirbel
19. This is a Horror Book by Charles Austin Muir
20. Flesh Molder’s Love Song by Roland Blackburn
21. Polymer by Caleb Wilson
22. Skull Nuggets by Amy M. Vaughn
23. To Wallow in Ash & Other Sorrows by Sam Richard
24. The Run Fantastic by Luke Kondor
25. Terror Mannequin by Douglas Hackle

There’s a chance that I left something off this list, so I apologize if that’s the case. Some of these books I read 5 or 6 years ago. And while they have stuck with me, there may be certain errors in the ranking. I tried my best.

This list will certainly evolve. I’m not nearly as well-read in bizarro fiction as I would like to be (see the above image). I hope to find many more wonders in a genre that keeps on giving.

Keep reading!

Tchau,

Zé