Hey all!
I've been having a hard time finding my next book to dig into.
Books I've enjoyed so far this year:
The long way to a small angry planet – Becky Chambers (I've read the others in this series as well)
Meet me in another life – Catriona Silvey
The Other Valley – Scott Alexander Howard
Circe – Madeline Miller
All's Well – Mona Awad
Moon of the Crusted Snow – Waubgeshig Rice (read the second one as well)
Looking for a smiling vibe: kinda magic, kinda scifi, pretty writing, LOTS of escapism.
Thanks for your suggestions!
by neonkiwi111
1 Comment
We have a lot of overlap! Here are some that might be of interest.
Ik you read the rest of Wayfarers, but the Monk & Robot series and To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers are also incredible. You really can’t go wrong with Becky Chambers!
For more sci-fi, The Teixcalaan series by Arkady Martine is a fantastic duology with a political system based on poetry and lots of drama.
For something lighter, Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is a really fun book about a nature preserve for Godzilla-type monsters and all the antics that go on there.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is another top-tier escapism sci-fi, and I can’t say much without spoiling it but there’s a really nice friendship at the center of the story.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley is a unique take on time-travel with another really compelling central relationship and focus on characters.
For more literary/weird girl fiction like All’s Well, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is an equal parts funny and depressing story about an awkward young woman, the man she is sure will change her life, and her traumatic childhood.
Another is Beartown by Fredrick Backman, a really emotional story of a small town that becomes so deeply reliant on the success of their hockey team that they’re willing to ignore the crimes of one of the players. Beautiful and kind of depressing, but I love Backman’s writing, I’ve read all of his books.
Another if you’re feeling really out there is Sky Daddy by Kate Folk, about a woman who is…sexually attracted to airplanes and wants to marry one by…getting into a plane crash. I actually loved this, surprisingly strong depiction of mental health and the ending is amazing.
For a intense/emotionally impactful thriller like Moon of the Crusted Snow, Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka is the story of a serial killer told through the perspectives of the women in his life. I stared at the wall for like ten minutes after I finished it.
For, as you say, “kinda magic, kinda scifi, pretty writing, LOTS of escapism” I have a ton of recommendations!
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is a deeply strange and beautiful fantasy about a man who lives in a labyrinth of endless hallways and statues, and the one other person there who knows a lot more than he lets on.
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley is a historical fantasy about a man who finds a strange watch in his house. After it saves his life, he tracks down the even stranger watchmaker who created it. There’s a clockwork octopus in this series named Katsu, need I say more? The second book is great to but I especially love the 1.5 book set in the same world, The Bedlam Stacks.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is a fantasy about a man who finds a book that tells the story of his own life. Also, it’s about pirates, bees, magical libraries, keys, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Genuinely a love letter to storytelling.
I have more if you need! let me know what you think if you read any of them