To start I hate fantasy, horror, and sci-fi.
Books I've loved recently:
– All Fredrik Backman (especially My Friends and Anxious People)
– First Lie Wins — Ashley Elston
– Remarkably Bright Creatures — Shelby Van Pelt
– The Heir Apparent
– Where the Crawdads Sing — Delia Owens
– Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine — Gail Honeyman
– Where’d You Go, Bernadette — Maria Semple
– Lessons in Chemistry — Bonnie Garmus
– The Rosie Project — Graeme Simsion
– Nita Prose books (The Maid, etc.)
– All The Thursday Murder Club books — Richard Osman
I’m looking for similar books with:
– strong writing / good prose
– character-driven stories
– contemporary setting
– some humor is great
– not overly dark or heavy
Any recommendations?
by FriendlyPiranha21
5 Comments
The One Hundred Years of Leni and Margot by Marianne Cronin and Heart the Lover by Lily King
You would love all of Clare Pooley’s books!
Also, The Guncle by Steven Rowley, although I didn’t like his others are much.
Sounds like we have similar taste.
Anything by Ann Patchett, especially Bel Canto, Tom Lake or The Patron Saint of Liars.
Also The Covenant of Water, or Cutting for Stone, both by Abraham Verghese
Actually fitting your criteria (really nice prose but not absolutely top tier): _Beautyland_
If you are willing to relax some of your criteria and want something amazingly well written: _The Bell Jar_, _Remains of the Day_, _A Wizard of Earthsea_
I’ll vote for The Rosie Project because it’s a short and feel-good book. Good payoff for minimal investment.