Read about the other books on the list.You Think That’s Bad by Jim Shepard
The first thing anyone mentions about Jim Shepard is how versatile (and how deeply researched) his stories are (see here and here). This is true: he can actually write about anything, whether it’s the guy who made Godzilla, mountaineers, astronauts, soldiers, government agents, etc. etc. There’s a rare thrill every time you start a Shepard story–you never know what to expect, something that can’t be said about most story collections, which tend to blur together. But really, what makes Shepard so special is writing like this:They say whatever your worst memory is, you see it again most often right before sleep. I climb because once I go back down, the world while I recover is easier for me. Agnieszka’s eyes and mouth become again my garden and our entangled sleep my chair in the sun.
--Marshal Zeringue