# Recommend a book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323 "2004-11-30T14:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/1 "2004-11-30T14:11:58Z")
I’m heading to the libary this afternoon, and I’m looking for book recommendations. I’m in the middle of Ray Bradbury’s _Something Wicked This Way Comes_, but I’ll probably finish that tonight. A few of my favorite authors are Graham Joyce, Margaret Atwood, China Mieville and A.S. Byatt. Mysteries are great; historical fiction is great; speculative fiction is great. I’ve been tearing through Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series at a rapid clip, but I’d like a break from that for awhile. Share your wisdom, Dopers! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/2 "2004-11-30T14:48:53Z")
I like Robert Goddard (no, not the rocket guy) quite a bit. His stuff tends to be about the unraveling of events that happened in the past – not really mysteries, not really historical novels, but an interesting amalgam of both. For that matter, I’m not sure I want to call it genre fiction, more “lit-ra-chure.” No specific recommendation – see what they have at the library and take one that strikes your fancy. My inevitable default recommendation: Matthew Kneale’s [English Passengers](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/038549744X/qid=1101826014/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/103-8393704-1917432). Every single person I have loaned this to has loved it. A whole bunch of intertwined stories about things happening in Tasmania and Manx and on the bounding main in the 19th century. Really good! ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/3 "2004-11-30T14:57:23Z")
Can’t stand the title, but absolutely _adored_ The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffennegger. When I read the summary, I thought to myself, “Meh, does not sound that great.” Then, at the bookstore, I picked up the paperback and leafed through it. I was hooked. Everyone I’ve shared this book with has been hooked as well. Niffennegger is a clever and imaginative writer structurally as well as descriptively. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/4 "2004-11-30T15:25:51Z")
If you are into historical and mystery novels try the Falco novels by Lindsey Davis. The stories are about a down on his luck investigator in ancient rome. Very funny well written and unputdownable. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/5 "2004-11-30T15:51:54Z")
I’m not quite sure what you mean by “speculative fiction,” but here are some really cool books that involve various musings on what might be or what might have been: _Invisible Cities_, by Italo Calvino _Einstein’s Dreams_, by Alan Lightman _The Aleph and Other Stores_, by Jorge Luis Borges. This one’s especially recommended if you have a fondness for math. Well, really, any of Borges’s fiction would fit in this category. In fact, you might really enjoy \*A History of Infamy[i/], though that’s not fiction, really. _The Name of the Rose_, by Umberto Eco (This one counts as a mystery, too.) Anything by **Julio Cortazar**. Fiction that combines history and/or memoirs with fantasy and/or speculation: _The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts_, by Maxine Hong Kingston _The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas_, by Machado de Assis. I haven’t read any of his other works, but from what I’ve heard, almost any of what he’s written could fit into this category. _Such a Long Journey_, by Rohinton Mistry Any of the novels by **Clarice Lispector** _The Tin Drum_ and _Dog Years_, by Gunter Grass. If the books seem bogged down in history for a bit, have patience–understanding the context laid out in the beginning pays off later. Lots of stuff by **Naguib Mahfouz**. Check out _Palace Walk_, the first of a series (the second book in the series isn’t bad, either, but the last book is depressing and a bit polemic for my tastes. I’d skip it, if I were you.) Mahfouz’s _Children of the Alley_ is interesting and hard to characterize (it’s a semi-allegorical, semi-fantastic reframing of the social histories told in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Koran. There’s also an allegorical retelling of more recent history. I’ll leave it at that.) _Men in the Sun_ by Ghassan Kanafani. This is a very well written and moving collection of short works–several short stories and a novella–about Palestinian exile and loss. You can read more on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). The reader reviews say more than I’m prepared to write up here and now. And, if you like Ray Bradbury, you probably enjoy good writing that focuses on the psychologically weird and/or fantastic. You might like writing by **E. T. Hoffman** , **Carlos Fuentes** , and **Jose Donoso**. ---
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/6 "2004-11-30T16:08:33Z")
Have you ever read anything by Minette Walters, **burundi**? She’s my favorite mystery author! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/7 "2004-11-30T16:27:45Z")
These are great suggestions! Many thanks, y’all. **Scribble** , I’ve found that when I say I like fantasy, people recommend lots of sword & sorcery Tolkien rip-offs, when what I really want is, as you so much more eloquently stated, “good writing that focuses on the pyschologically weird or fantastic.” “Speculative fiction” is just a little shorter to write than “literary writing about the fantastic without any damn elves.” 😉 (I loved _In The Name of the Rose_ and _Einstein’s Dreams_, by the way.) **moi** , I haven’t read any Minette Walters. I’ll have to check her out. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/8 "2004-11-30T16:28:40Z")
I also like the writers mentioned in the OP, so I’m recommending **Ilium** by Dan Simmons (if you want big, fat-- but not bloated – SF) and **The Winter Queen** by Boris Akunin, an historical mystery. And if you don’t mind being seen with mass market best seller type books, I just finished **The Cabinet of Curiosities** by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and it was much better than I expected. And since you like Margaret Atwood, you might like Margaret Laurence, another Canadian – I really enjoyed The Stone Angel and The Fire Dwellers. Have you read Robertson Davies? The Fifth Angel is almost fantasy, and I thought it was just beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/9 "2004-11-30T16:57:40Z")
For some really strange but wonderful writing try Russell Hoban’s _Amaryllis Night and Day_. I thought I’d throw that in because 1. I love that book and 2. you like China Mieville so you can take a good amount of the weird. ---
**Author:** ![august9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@august9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/august9)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/10 "2004-11-30T17:17:47Z")
If you like A.S. Byatt, I think you’d like Umberto Eco as well. He writes very well constructed, good, solid, entertaining and somewhat intellectual novels. “The name of the Rose”: Philosophy combined with a detective story that takes place in medieval times. “Foucault’s pendulum”: A critical take on secret societies, occultism and peoples fascination of the irrational. Same theme as “The da Vinci code” - just much, much, much better written! (as if that would be hard :rolleyes: ) Another one that you might like, is: “An instance of the Fingerpost” by Iain Pears. It’s a philosophical, historical detective story, that takes place in Oxford around 1660. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/11 "2004-11-30T17:26:41Z")
I’m rereading Diana Gabaldon’s **Outlander** series. Think of it as a romantic time travel novel, incredibly well-written, and I had to put the book down several times because I was either laughing so hard I was falling off the chair or crying so hard I couldn’t see the words. Everyone I’ve lent the books to has loved it. Trust me…you won’t be sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/12 "2004-11-30T17:31:54Z")
Margaret Atwood and A.S. Byatt are among my favorites as well. I really enjoyed reading “Reading Lolita in Tehran.” How about “The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay” ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/13 "2004-11-30T17:40:15Z")
> [@august9](#): > > Another one that you might like, is: > “An instance of the Fingerpost” by Iain Pears. It’s a philosophical, historical detective story, that takes place in Oxford around 1660. Oh ditto! And Pears’ **The Dream of Scipio** is fine too. I was reading it during the presidential campaign, and the concept of civic duty felt especially appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/14 "2004-11-30T17:46:52Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I’m rereading Diana Gabaldon’s **Outlander** series. Think of it as a romantic time travel novel, incredibly well-written, and I had to put the book down several times because I was either laughing so hard I was falling off the chair or crying so hard I couldn’t see the words. > > Everyone I’ve lent the books to has loved it. Trust me…you won’t be sorry. I have to second this recommendation. I tried to resist, I really did. I don’t read romances, I generally hate historical fiction, time-travel turns me off and on top of everything else, it’s both comedic and heart-wrenching. I had NO desire to read this crap. A friend forced them on me, and dammit, you can’t put 'em down. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/15 "2004-11-30T18:21:31Z")
This thread is perfectly timed. I just finished reading Christopher Moore’s **Lamb** subtitled _The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal_ and I have been recommending it to everyone. If you don’t laugh out loud at this book then I think you might be dead. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/16 "2004-11-30T21:02:26Z")
If you liked China Mielville, you should try [url=“[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809532646/ref=pd\_ir\_imp/102-8449230-7113747](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809532646/ref=pd_ir_imp/102-8449230-7113747)”]City of Saints and Madmen[/url by Jeff Vandermeer. It’s very hard to describe what it’s about, but is stunningly well written. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/17 "2004-11-30T21:05:13Z")
[City of Saints and Madmen](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809532646/ref=pd_ir_imp/102-8449230-7113747) by Jeff Vandermeer :smack: ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/18 "2004-11-30T22:40:43Z")
Wow! These books all sound so good! I’m furiously writing down authors’ names. I just back from the library with _The Echo_ and _The Sculptress_ by Minette Walters, _English Passengers_ by Matthew Kneale, and _Debt and Dishonor_ by Robert Goddard. That should keep me busy for some time. **ivylass** and **LifeOnWry** , I really got absorbed in Diana Gabaldon’s _Outlander_ books, despite my initial relcutance. **Dangerosa** , I **adore** _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay_. I’m always trying to get others to read it. My boss also recommended _Reading Lolita in Tehran_, and it sounds intriguing. **august9** , I keep reading the first 20 pages of _Foucault’s Pendulum_ and getting stuck. Someday, I’ll read the whole thing, I swear. **Auntie Pam** , your suggestions seem fabulous! **Pookah** and **Tapioca** , bring on the weird. Oh, yeah! And the funny, **melondeca**. Thank you so much, everybody! ---
**Author:** ![look\_hergo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85e7bf/32.png) [@look\_hergo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_hergo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/19 "2004-12-01T01:49:40Z")
Here’s another vote for Robertson Davies. I read his \*\*Bred in the Bone \*\* and was fascinated and enthralled. \*\*Snow Falling on Cedars \*\* by David Guterson is terrific, too. And if you haven’t already, read **How Green Was My Valley** , by Richard Llewelyn – an amazing read, but especially good if you can listen to it on tape read by Phillip Madoc, whose lovely Welsh accent brings the story to life. ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323/20 "2004-12-01T04:25:34Z")
I don’t have a book reccomendation…well I have a few, but I don’t think any of them are quite what you’re looking for, and my description wouldn’t do them justice anyways, but How did you like **Something Wicked This Way Comes**? Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite books, and I even created a poster of it and hung it up on my wall, but haven’t picked up anything by Bradbury after reading it. Would Something Wicked be a good place to return to Bradbury? . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book/277323.md?page=2)