Ideas for What I Should Read Next in General?
ConversesBook Recommendations Requests
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1ahd923
I am really trying to get better at identifying the kind of fiction I’ll like, but I've read a lot of books I didn't like in the past few months (not all of which are mentioned here!), and I feel like I'm at a loss about what to read next! Does anything spring to mind from this info?
Books I liked:
The Tiger’s Wife — Téa Obreht (So atmospheric. I got very enveloped in the world she created and felt swept up in the Central European folklore that the novel draws from. I love how Obreht’s writing has this quality where every word seems chosen so exactly.)
Station Eleven — Emily St John Mandel (So beautiful. Mandel also has a way of writing that makes every word feel so particularly chosen for the exact sentence it’s in. This book made me feel so grateful for the things I have in the modern world.)
Music for Wartime — Rebecca Makkai (Makkai’s writing feels very real to me. Her dialogue reflects how how people actually talk; it doesn’t feel like she’s writing, it feels like she’s hearing real people speak to her. And I love classical music and old European settings, and this book was so much of that. I also really liked Makkai’s The Great Believers for the writing style that felt so real and not manufactured by an author.)
All the Light We Cannot See — Anthony Doerr (Also incredibly atmospheric. Very lyrical writing. As I read this book, I got so sucked in, I would look up and suddenly remember where I was in the real world.)
Other books I liked:
Pachinko —Min Jin Lee
Les Sept Mariages d’Edgar et Ludmilla — Jean Christophe Rufin
Our Souls at Night — Kent Haruf
The Little Prince — Antoine de Saint Exupery
Une Gourmandise — Muriel Barbery
My Brilliant Friend — Elena Ferrante
Housekeeping — Marilynne Robinson
Global Mom — Melissa Dalton Bradford
In Other Words — Jhumpa Lahiri
Circe — Madeline Miller
Memoirs of a Geisha — Arthur Golden
Books I didn’t like:
The Snow Child — Eowyn Ivey (I thought this book would be well written, and have the same kind of subtle magical realism as The Tiger’s Wife in a cozy winter setting. I was surprised to find the writing style ordinary and I couldn’t connect with the characters. There wasn’t anything in particular in the story to keep me reading, although I did finish the book.)
Anything Is Possible — Elizabeth Strout (I loved Our Souls at Night and thought this might be similar. I found it depressing and didn’t connect with the characters. In fact, I felt similarly disconnected while reading Julia Phillips’ Disappearing Earth. I don’t think interconnected short stories is the genre for me!)
Exit West — Mohsin Hamid (I read this one a while ago, so I don’t exactly recall why I didn’t like it. I remember feeling that the concept was good but the execution was poor, and that the writing itself was rather clunky.)
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous — Ocean Vuong (I read this a while back too, so my memory of it isn’t perfect. What I recall is very lovely writing early on, and then an emphasis on struggle and coming of age through personal trial. I can appreciate books like this at times, but it wasn’t a joy to read.)
Other books I didn't like:
Afterlife — Julia Alvarez
The Distant Marvels — Chantel Acevedo
Gilead — Marilynne Robinson
Vers la Beauté — David Foenkinos
The Swan Thieves — Elizabeth Kostova
The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho
Books I liked:
The Tiger’s Wife — Téa Obreht (So atmospheric. I got very enveloped in the world she created and felt swept up in the Central European folklore that the novel draws from. I love how Obreht’s writing has this quality where every word seems chosen so exactly.)
Station Eleven — Emily St John Mandel (So beautiful. Mandel also has a way of writing that makes every word feel so particularly chosen for the exact sentence it’s in. This book made me feel so grateful for the things I have in the modern world.)
Music for Wartime — Rebecca Makkai (Makkai’s writing feels very real to me. Her dialogue reflects how how people actually talk; it doesn’t feel like she’s writing, it feels like she’s hearing real people speak to her. And I love classical music and old European settings, and this book was so much of that. I also really liked Makkai’s The Great Believers for the writing style that felt so real and not manufactured by an author.)
All the Light We Cannot See — Anthony Doerr (Also incredibly atmospheric. Very lyrical writing. As I read this book, I got so sucked in, I would look up and suddenly remember where I was in the real world.)
Other books I liked:
Pachinko —Min Jin Lee
Les Sept Mariages d’Edgar et Ludmilla — Jean Christophe Rufin
Our Souls at Night — Kent Haruf
The Little Prince — Antoine de Saint Exupery
Une Gourmandise — Muriel Barbery
My Brilliant Friend — Elena Ferrante
Housekeeping — Marilynne Robinson
Global Mom — Melissa Dalton Bradford
In Other Words — Jhumpa Lahiri
Circe — Madeline Miller
Memoirs of a Geisha — Arthur Golden
Books I didn’t like:
The Snow Child — Eowyn Ivey (I thought this book would be well written, and have the same kind of subtle magical realism as The Tiger’s Wife in a cozy winter setting. I was surprised to find the writing style ordinary and I couldn’t connect with the characters. There wasn’t anything in particular in the story to keep me reading, although I did finish the book.)
Anything Is Possible — Elizabeth Strout (I loved Our Souls at Night and thought this might be similar. I found it depressing and didn’t connect with the characters. In fact, I felt similarly disconnected while reading Julia Phillips’ Disappearing Earth. I don’t think interconnected short stories is the genre for me!)
Exit West — Mohsin Hamid (I read this one a while ago, so I don’t exactly recall why I didn’t like it. I remember feeling that the concept was good but the execution was poor, and that the writing itself was rather clunky.)
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous — Ocean Vuong (I read this a while back too, so my memory of it isn’t perfect. What I recall is very lovely writing early on, and then an emphasis on struggle and coming of age through personal trial. I can appreciate books like this at times, but it wasn’t a joy to read.)
Other books I didn't like:
Afterlife — Julia Alvarez
The Distant Marvels — Chantel Acevedo
Gilead — Marilynne Robinson
Vers la Beauté — David Foenkinos
The Swan Thieves — Elizabeth Kostova
The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho
2HeatherVoight10
These are a bit older so you may have read them already. For the lyrical writing style I highly recommend I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and literally anything else written by Maya Angelou. I'm not a poetry reader as a rule, but I own Angelou's collection of poems and love them.
Barbara Kingsolver's books are atmospheric and have relatable characters. I'm especially thinking of some of her older titles, such as The Bean Trees and Animal Dreams.
Almost forgot to mention Ross Poldark and the rest of the Poldark series by Winston Graham. These books will transport you to Cornwall in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Plus the characters are wonderfully complex.
I'll let you know if I think of others.
Barbara Kingsolver's books are atmospheric and have relatable characters. I'm especially thinking of some of her older titles, such as The Bean Trees and Animal Dreams.
Almost forgot to mention Ross Poldark and the rest of the Poldark series by Winston Graham. These books will transport you to Cornwall in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Plus the characters are wonderfully complex.
I'll let you know if I think of others.
3Ennas
The night circus by Erin Morgenstern is very atmospheric. I think you might like that. :)
4June
I enjoyed some of the titles you mentioned so I will venture a few recs.
The Children Act
World and Town
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
The Children Act
World and Town
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
5ahd923
What wonderful recommendations! Thank you, all; I look forward to looking these up and to reading them!
6anglemark
When it comes to prose style, some of my favourites are:
In the Night Garden by Cathrynne M. Valente
Titus Groan and Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
Anything by William Faulkner
In the Night Garden by Cathrynne M. Valente
Titus Groan and Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
Anything by William Faulkner
8jbegab
I just finished The Midnight Library. A very different read for me. Could be considered light weight and could be food for thought.
9veatch2014
Now or never by Elizabeth Adler or Blue smoke and murder
