Are dreams the neural processing of sensory input for conversion into long-term memory or magical, prophetic gateways into a deeper level of consciousness? Truly fascinating subjects of inquiry and interpretation, each person’s dreams are deeply intimate and inexplicable, despite their universality. With endless possibilities and few practical limitations, this nightly vacation can inspire anything from wish-fulfillment to existential dread.

The books listed below demonstrate how dreams are a bottomless font of creativity, providing rich fodder for storytellers and lingering questions for science.

Fiction:

Anna O Anna O - Matthew Blake

"A forensic psychologist and expert in sleep-related homicides is the last hope for solving a case where a woman with a rare psychosomatic disorder stabbed two people to death while she slept."

The Sleepwalkers The Sleepwalker - Chris Bohjalian

"When a sleepwalker who has experienced episodes of near violence while unconscious goes missing, her eldest daughter, Lianna, finds herself drawn to a lead detective who seems to know more than he is revealing."

Where They Wait Where They Wait - Scott Carson

"Recently laid-off, newspaper reporter Nick Bishop takes a humbling job: writing a profile on the new mindfulness app that sends listeners to a deep sleep with a ballad that is anything but soothing."

Bad Cree Bad Cree - Jessica Johns

"Night after night, Mackenzie's dreams return her to a memory from before her sister Sabrina's untimely death: a weekend at the family's lakefront campsite, long obscured by a fog of guilt."

Sleeping Beauties Sleeping Beauties - Stephen and Owen King

"In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep; If they are awakened, the women become feral and spectacularly violent."

The Night Guest The Night Guest - Hildur Knútsdóttir

"Iðunn knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right. One night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she's walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . ."

The Dream Hotel The Dream Hotel - Laila Lalami

"Agents transfer Sara to a retention center, where she is held with other dreamers, all of them women trying to prove their innocence of different crimes."

My Year of Rest and Relaxation My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Ottessa Moshfegh

"A shocking and tender novel about a young woman's efforts to sustain a state of deep hibernation over the course of a year under the influence of a truly mad combination of drugs."

The Dreamers The Dreamers - Karen Thompson Walker

"A mesmerizing novel about a college town transformed by a strange illness that locks victims in a perpetual sleep and triggers life altering dreams."

Wanderers Wanderers - Chuck Wendig

"A flock of sleepwalkers on the same mysterious journey across America, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it."

Nonfiction:

Why We Can't Sleep Why We Can't Sleep - Ada Calhoun

"Calhoun opens up the cultural and political contexts of Gen X's predicament and offers solutions for how to pull oneself out of the abyss--and keep the next generation of women from falling in."

This is Why You Dream This is Why You Dream - Rahul Jandial, MD, PhD.

"Explores the landscape of our subconscious, showing why humans have retained the ability to dream across millennia and how we can now harness its wondrous powers in both our sleeping and waking lives."

The Sleep Fix The Sleep Fix - Diane Macedo

"After developing a tolerance to sleeping pills, Diane Macedo decided to interview sleep experts to get to the bottom of what really keeps us from sleeping, and the various ways to fix it."

Sleep Reimagined Sleep Reimagined - Pedram Navab, FAASM

"Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-I) program, paired with relatable case studies of different sleep disorders, readers are guided to new and improved sleep in as little as 4 weeks."

Why We Sleep Why We Sleep - Matthew Walker, PhD.

"Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming."

I Must Be Dreaming I Must Be Dreaming - Roz Chast

"Roz Chast illustrates her own dream world, a place that is sometimes creepy, but always hilarious, accompanied by an illustrated tour through Dream Theory Land guided by insights from poets, philosophers, and psychoanalysts alike."


Summaries sourced from publisher materials.

September's Featured Review

Early Riser - Jasper Fforde


Hop on the Holds List

The Black Wolf – Louise Penny

Gone Before Goodbye – Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben

The Intruder - Freida McFadden

Nash Falls – David Baldacci

Return of the Spider – James Patterson

Quote of the Month:

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”
William Shakespeare, The Tempest

Bookish News and Links:

Want personalized recommendations? Fill out a questionnaire to get a customized list sent directly to your email

Love Lists? Try these:

If you are looking for a longer list that includes some classics, Goodreads, as always, has a list for that.

Did you know there is such a thing as The Sleep Foundation? Now you do.

If you want to give "Lucid Dreaming" a try, Mindfunda recommends some books to guide your inner journey.

Adaptation News: Upcoming movies and shows based on books:

The Long Walk by Stephen King: Coming to theaters Sept. 12

One Battle After Another, based on Thomas Pyncheon's Vineland, will arrive on the big screen on Sept. 26

Recent Reads

I have recently finished reading The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth and The Delicacy, a Graphic Novel by James Albon. I also just finished listening to Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose.

I am currently reading The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards and Widows Point by Richard Chizmar. I am also listening to the audiobook of The World Wasn't Ready For You, a short story collection by Justin C. Key.

Do you remember your dreams? Any recurring themes or patterns? If you are willing, share them with me at: jegan@gpl.org.

Until next time: Be safe, be well, and be well-read!

Joelle


So, who am I, anyway? I am a resident of West Groton, with a husband, 3 children in college (and one who just graduated from GDRHS) and a Samoyed that keeps my vacuum well-employed. I am currently working part time at the Groton Public Library and writing monthly reviews for Bookllist Magazine. In a former life, I was a Director of PR/Marketing at a high-tech consulting firm. My BA is in Psychology, but most of my time was spent in college earning a Concentration on the Novel. That is all to say that I make no claims at being an expert of any kind and my thoughts, opinions and mistakes are solely my own. I am just a person whose passion for books has continued to grow from the moment I was first able to grip and gnaw on them. I have been devouring them ever since.

Sep 01, 2025 / Joelle M Egan