# Recommend me some fiction with 1st person POV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546 "2003-07-24T04:03:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/1 "2003-07-24T04:03:36Z")
I’m doing the [50 book challenge](http://www.livejournal.com/community/50bookchallenge/), and I’m getting really discouraged- a I just about want to stop reading for a while level of discouraged. I’m 34 books into it, so finishing on time is no problem, but… I’ve truly liked less than 1/2 of the books I’ve read cover to cover. This might have something to do with scoring student writing for a living(too many months of that makes you critical of **all** writing), since I’ve identified the problem- the voice is usually what turns me off the books I have been less than thrilled with. So many authors have voices that are utterly un-engaging. I think this is more a problem when books are in 3rd person POV, or it at least seems so since 90% of the books I’ve read this year have been. It’s time for a switch to first person narrators. Recommend me some books with entertaining first person narrators, please! Oh, if the narration is **really** engaging, the stray 3rd person POV recommendation will be forgiven, but I really do want mostly 1st. Thanks in advance 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/2 "2003-07-24T04:08:41Z")
You didn’t mention what genres you like but: Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series The Assassins of Tamurin (can’t remember the author) I think Sue Grafton’s alphabet series is 1st person ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/3 "2003-07-24T04:21:18Z")
Oops, genres… Not romance novels, and no sci-fi that involves space-travel (other worlds/aliens are ok, but I hate space-ship center stuff), the internet or robots. Any other scif-fi types, fantasy, drama, horror, YA, and humor are all fine by me. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/4 "2003-07-24T04:21:29Z")
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird Herman Melville’s Moby Dick All the canon Sherlock Holmes stories Walter Moseley’s Easy Rawlins and Fearless Jones books Octavia Butler’s Kindred Alice Walker’s The Color Purple Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage and The Oxherders’ Tale ---
**Author:** ![FairyDust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@FairyDust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyDust)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/5 "2003-07-24T04:24:37Z")
The Jeeves stories by P.G. Wodehouse. The two that I have read and enjoyed are: Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit Jeeves and the Tie That Binds ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/6 "2003-07-24T04:26:53Z")
If you like light mysteries… I recently tried out a couple of Carl Hiaasen novels. One of them, **Basket Case** , was 1st person narration. And pretty enjoyable, I thought – since the main character had a pretty good wit and was a bit of a smart-ass, especially when speaking to the bad guys… ---
**Author:** ![BlackLabel1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e5b9ba/32.png) [@BlackLabel1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackLabel1)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/7 "2003-07-24T04:38:12Z")
If you like war stories, theres a really interesting book called Johnny Got His Gun. I’m about a third of the way into it and the story is just amazing. The reading is difficult at first because its not what you would consider commom structure, but when you see the things the main character is going through, it makes you rethink your views on war (if you are a gung ho type person). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/8 "2003-07-24T04:40:50Z")
_The Great Gatsby_ and _Lolita_ both come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/9 "2003-07-24T05:48:34Z")
I am currently reading _A Prayer for Owen Meany_ by John Irving and it is fast becoming one of my favorite books. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/10 "2003-07-24T05:53:02Z")
The Lee Child series of Jack Reacher, starting with “The Killing Floor”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_MacDairmuid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_MacDairmuid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_MacDairmuid)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/11 "2003-07-24T06:08:33Z")
_The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_, Robert A. Heinlein ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/12 "2003-07-24T06:34:34Z")
Chuck Palahniuk’s _Fight Club_ is written entirely in first person, even when it’s in third person. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/13 "2003-07-24T06:38:24Z")
_The Land of Laughs_ by Jonathan Carroll. Part mystery, part fantasy part horror and will stay with you forever. I think all his books are FP POV. _A Clockwork Orange_ by Anthony Burgess. You know this one. _A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius_ by Dave Eggers. Maybe true, maybe not (in parts) but unique. Terrific narrative drive in parts - I felt like it had a beat behind it. _No Beast So Fierce_ by Edward Bunker. Quentin Tarantino says this is the best first person crime novel ever. _Life at These Speeds_ by Jeremy Jackson. The narrator is an eighth grader unlike any you have ever met. _The Monkey’s Mask_ by Dorothy Porter. A detective story told in free verse. The PI is a lesbian. Nice and steamy. All have very distinctive narrative voices. Samples of most are available at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) so you can get a taste. ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/14 "2003-07-24T07:10:00Z")
Any novel by Raymond Chandler. Hells, _all_ novels by Raymond Chandler. _The Long Goodbye_ is a personal favorite. Most of _The Sound and the Fury_ is in first person. All of _As I Lay Dying_ is, even though it’s not just one person. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/15 "2003-07-24T08:00:13Z")
Anything by Roger Zelazny - his short stories especially, which are in first person as often as not. The excellent _Amber_ books are also narrated. _The Book of the Short Sun_ (2 or 4 volumes) by Gene Wolf is also good, if bizzare to the extreme. Very, very stylized. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/16 "2003-07-24T08:05:13Z")
The Jhereg books by Steven Brust. Fantasy where the hero is an assassin. _Dead Until Dawn_ by Charlaine Harris. A modern fantasy mystery that was a fun read and the start of a series. ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/17 "2003-07-24T10:12:59Z")
I thoroughly enjoyed the books I got through the [book swap](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=171263), and they both fall into your category: _Galatea 2.2_ by Richard Powers and _Driving Mr. Albert_ by Michael Paterniti For a description look [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181284&#post3497894). One of my own contributions might be also fitting: _Through Ireland with a Fridge_ by Tony Hawks Exactly what it says it is. Hitchhiking through Ireland. With a Fridge. 'Nuff said. That thread above also contained some interesting reading suggestions in general, by the way, though I haven’t checked them all out yet. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/18 "2003-07-24T10:24:33Z")
I recommend _The Gold Coast_ by Nelson DeMille. A story of a man and his wife and what happens whan a mafia kingpin moves in next door in their wealthy community. Lots of drama, lots of humor. Written in the POV of the husband. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/19 "2003-07-24T11:00:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > \*\*I recommend _The Gold Coast_ by Nelson DeMille. > > A story of a man and his wife and what happens whan a mafia kingpin moves in next door in their wealthy community. Lots of drama, lots of humor. > > Written in the POV of the husband. \*\* Spencerville by DeMille IIRC is first person also. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546/20 "2003-07-24T11:29:02Z")
_The Lovely Bones_ by Alice Sebold - the first person voice is a 14-year-old murdered girl watching the aftereffects of her murder. Amazingly engrossing story-don’t be scared off by the disturbing premise. _Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal_ by Christopher Moore - bizarre, well-written and really funny! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-fiction-with-1st-person-pov/190546.md?page=2)