For some reason reading about computers or texting or even commercial brands is really off-putting to me when I look to fiction to “take me away…” so a lot of the recommendations for books that are both satisfying or light AND eminently readable or even gripping don’t work for me.
I love the classics but my work is in trauma and I don’t have the capacity I used to for enjoying Dostoevsky or Tolstoy much lately.
I don’t normally love fantasy but LoTR is one of my all time favorites that I re-read every few years.
Cant do horror.
Not much for sci-fi.
Like some romance but not smut.
Love Jane Austen for “satisfying” or Wodehouse for “light” but I want something with little more substance.
AND something that I can’t put down. Or forget. Preferably with a good ending.
AND it makes no modern or pop cultural references.
I’ve read some contemporary books that were good… (Lessons in Chemistry, AJ Fikry, Jenny Colgan books, Remarkably Bright Creatures… etc) but they left something to be desired.
Am I just an old fussy person now beligerantly stuck in the past?
by saltwaterRilke
13 Comments
Please read Villette by Charlotte Bronte. It has substance and romance and a lovely ending.
I love fussy old people who are stuck in the past.
Patricia Highsmith. Great plotting and a wicked edge. Her books have some danger, but nothing approaching horror. If you like Austen, Edith Wharton’s society books are also enjoyable but maybe not fully ‘unputdownable’
I’ve heard great things about *A Gentleman in Moscow* by Amor Towles.
Seconding *Villette*. If you’re seeking other classics that are absorbing without the darkness/trauma, consider the following (which you may have already read):
*Middlemarch* by George Eliot (depth, breadth, lovely prose, that classic feeling you may be seeking)
*Vanity Fair* by William Makepiece Thackeray (Becky Sharp would have been an influencer today)
*David Copperfield* by Charles Dickens (not as heavy as other works, with quirky characters and a good old story)
I love *Bel Canto* by Ann Patchett, has the feeling of a classic story, unforgettable, atmospheric, layered…
Dr. No, You only live twice, and the rest of Ian Flemings classics are always good for a re-read.
Rules of Civility – Amor Towles
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
The Night Circus
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (there is some contemporary stuff, but I think it’s still worth the read)
Kingmaker…. Just out 2024 …. All about Pamela Churchill. Fascinating and couldn’t put down😊
I capture the castle,
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Count of Monte Cristo!! It’s a long one, but the entire story is interesting, and the payoff is fantastic.
Anne of Green Gables is lovely.
I loved the book A Man Called Ove. It’s funny and sweet.
I recently discovered cosy fantasy books. They are low stakes, often with found family themes. Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldry is really good and I also liked the sequel
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. It’s sci-fi, I suppose, but I would classify it as more cozy fantasy than sci-fi.
Try Papillon by Henri Charriere. It’s awesome and action packed and has the benefit of being a memoir. You may remember the Steve McQueen movie based on the book. He’s the victim of some terrible circumstances but he maintains a joy in life that most people don’t manage in the best of times. And in the sequel Banco, he goes on a somewhat bumbling quest to pull of one great heist.