If you have a particular affinity for the darker and more disturbing end of story-telling, I must recommend for your reading pleasure The Death of Bunny Munro. It gets a bit mind-squelching as it goes along, saturated with booze and the steady decline of human dignity, but it is just the right length that it doesn't exhaust your mental stamina before you get all the way through. The story isn't feel-good, or awe-inspiring. It doesn't make the imagination soar, or your heart beat faster in anticipation. It, in fact, keeps you filled with a steady stream of dread as you plummet further into what you know is inevitable. And with a final twist and shake that makes you stop to hold your breath for the final chapter, it delivers exactly what you did and did not expect simultaneously.

It is penned by the enigmatic Nick Cave, and it is waiting for you to pick it up and take the short and shattering road-trip it contains.