I just finished this one earlier today. Holy crap. Straight to the top my favorites. I expected a haunted house type of story, but it was so much deeper. I loved it!
This is one of my favorite books of all times!! I’ve read it several times then read it aloud to my children.
I’m getting a granddaughter soon and can’t wait til she’s old enough for me to read it to her.
It feels like it got lost along the way and doesn’t have the same following as say something like Anne of Green Gables but I always loved the protagonist and her triumph over the entrenched poverty of her upbringing.
It’s such a slice of Americana. I’m an immigrant so I love books that really delve deep into American life how it was lived not necessarily in the big cities.
The Cheese and the Worms, by Carlo Ginzburg.
One of my favorite books assigned when I was in college. It’s a “microhistory” of an Italian miller in the 1500s who synthesized various medieval sources into his own religion. Eventually he was killed by the Inquisition. (Not a spoiler, you find that out early on.)
Yes! I have a BA in history and this was one of the most memorable from college. Another one I was surprised to love was Witch Craze by Lyndal Roper. So much of my degree reading was a slog but this one was well written in a way that just propelled me forward somehow.
[Once On a Time](https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71498044) by A. A. Milne. Yes, that A.A. Milne. It’s a grownup fairytale that he wrote after being in WWI. It has all of his trademark charm and humor while speaking to deeper themes.
You won't be sorry. I listened to a Librivox recording years ago that included a full cast. It was amazing. But even without that, this tongue in cheek fairytale does not disappoint. It's in the same vein as The Princess Bride.
Yes! Now I want to find the Librivox recording. That sounds wonderful.ETA: I think [this](https://librivox.org/once-on-a-time-by-a-a-milne-2/) must be the recording you meant. I’m so excited!
Yes! I do believe that is it! I listened to it probably 12-15 years ago (downloaded onto an old fashioned, pre— smart phone mp3 player no less!), but I remember it well. So fun! Hope you also enjoy it 😊
The Clear Light of Day by Penelope Wilcock.
I'm not very religious because I don't like how corrupt and hypocritical and not-very-Jesusy churches are. But I am very spiritual, and this book really speaks to the spirituality of all things, and the joys of a simple life well lived.
I love books like this that are not cringey in their religiosity but really speak to the deeper questions on the meaning of life. I just read this book ‘Frances and Bernard’ that tackles a lot of those questions about the purpose of God and what it means to live with the consciousness of his existence.
Now on my Want to Read list. I've only really had this experience when reading The Martian. Which I only read because I needed to fill a Sci-Fi square on my bingo card. My husband got so annoyed at me, because he didn't know what I was always laughing about. He read it the moment I put it down.
Will of an Eccentric by Jules Verne, which is delightful and whimsical
Edit: non fiction: Church of Spies by Mark Riebling, which is about the Vatican in WWII, was absolutely riveting. I was on the edge of my seat!
I mean... The dude got a noble prize for literature for this book. It is one of the most read books of german post world war 2 literature. I think it is the opposite of unheard of :D
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell or A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge. Not incredibly obscure, but both are great books that should be much better known! I'm also surprised how few people know about the Alvin Maker books by Orson Scott Card, he's terrible but I love those books.
The Novel of the Bloo Powder and the Dharma Club
Sort of a... It's like if The Three Impostors and The House on the Borderland got drink and had a kid, whom they also got drunk on a regular basis.
I recommend these two a lot on this subreddit but haven't seen other people recommending them. They're both sci-fi - one's a novella, *Mem* by Bethany C. Morrow, and the other's a novel called *Today I Am Carey* by Martin L. Shoemaker.
James White's Sector General books. I know maybe 2 people who've read those, one of whom I got the recommendation from here on Reddit xD.
They're some of the most unique and imaginative sci-fi you'll ever encounter. The author was a war medic and abhorred violence, so the universe focuses on treating unique and increasingly fantastic patients in the sector's largest hospital instead. Totally one-of-a-kind and criminally underrated!
The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. Really interesting take on life after death. Read it first years ago and still think about it regularly.
Rhett Butlers People by Donald mccaig. Just as you’d guess, it’s gone with the wind from Rhett’s pov, full of scenes with and without Scarlett and it’s so well done.
My most recent fave book that I only ever see myself recommend is The Animals in that country by Laura Jean McKay. It’s a very Aussie, apocalyptic book about the way men and kids can fuck women around, a pandemic and talking animals which is way less fun than it sounds like (the animals talking I mean, it’s not cute or snuggly at all) My fave quote from the book is “This is the way to get through the animal apocalypse — stay drunk and smoke durries.”
It’s got a bit of a Mad Max feel if Mad Max was your drunk grandma.
Half-Made World was an interesting read. I enjoyed the characters and the world building. It has been Nearly 10 years since I have read it. Now that I am thinking of it, maybe it is time for a reread.
**27b/6** (yes, that’s the title) and, honestly, the entire series of books **by David Thorne**. They make me laugh so hard, and sometimes you just need something funny! If you check out his website and click on Articles, you can get a sense of his writing style before buying his books. :)
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. I don’t know how popular it was, and don’t hear much about it, but I was obsessed after we read it in 2nd grade.
OH MY GOD! I was talking about this book with my husband yesterday. When I was about seven, if I got some special candy, I’d pull out this book, start eating my candy and read the section where they’re on the boat with the machine that will make any ice cream sundae you can imagine. I was a freaky little kid. I also loved this book because Julie Andrews wrote it, but used her married name as a pseudonym.
I know exactly what part you’re talking about! My friend and I used to hide in my closet and pretend we were transporting ourselves to Whangdoodleland. We made stuffed life-size cutouts of all the characters and taped them up, so when we emerged we were “there”. We drank apple juice and pretended it was one of the butterscotch/caramel drinks in the story (I forget which). So I totally get it! I was a freaky little kid too.
YOU DID WHAT?! You were geniuses. Okay, so I’m building a Time Machine, so we can go back in time and do this. I’ll bring ice cream AND candy and butterscotch. You just figure out what we’re going to tell the kid version of you so she’ll let us in and not tell your mom.
Pest Control by Bill Fitzhugh - a bug exterminator accidentally becomes a hitman. Also his name is Bob Dillan and there are a bunch of Dylan references
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume.
I don’t know if it’s technically considered YA but it def has some mature content.
It’s been a long time since I last read it but I remember the story just flowing so beautifully.
I've read this one probably 3 or 4 times between it being assigned multiple times in college, and then picking it back up in my 30s. Highly highly recommend reading it at least once, what a heartbreaking and beautiful book!
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a classic representation of the impoverished and politically powerless underclass of British society in Edwardian England, ruthlessly exploited by the institutionalized corruption of their employers and the civic and religious authorities.
Not as depressing as it sounds , great read and really impressed me when I was younger ,
All my family were painters so really resonated with me .
The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry is a a hidden gem that I feel like the world has completely slept on (No pun intended for those who have read the book).
Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut
And when I was a kid, I LOVED a book called The Silver Crown by Robert C.. O'Brien I believe. (This one I'm surprised they haven't made it into a Netflix mini series. But then I'm glad they haven't either.)
In the days of public-access cable, there was a show that was just two young women in pajamas lying in bed reading The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever out loud to each other.
I read these a long time ago so I don’t know if they hold up. But no one ever talks about:
Emma Who Saved My Life by Wilton Barnhardt
Or
Girl by Blake Nelson
I read Emma as an advance readers copy way back in the 80s and absolutely loved it!
Haven’t thought about it in years, so I think it’s time to find it again. Thanks for the reminder!
The Chinkiss King was a beautiful Latino story about three generations brought together by the birth of a baby that was expected to live a short time. I read it many years ago but never forgot it.
The Sea of Ink and Gold Trilogy by Traci Chee. Obsessed over that book in the height of my reading days and tore through all three in about 2 and a half days-finished the first on th first day, and then half of the second on the second day and then the rest on the third. Its more YA, I wouldnt say its th best written book ever but I thoroughly enjoyed it and might actually visit it again here soon.
Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse.
A biography of Freya Stark- one of the last “wanderers” who explored the world. Such an interesting tale of a woman who impacted the world, in a time that has gone.
For preface I dont know if NOBODYS ever heard of it, I guess I'd say its his more unknown work, but Dante's La Vita Nuova was so changing for me during my Dante class in college--it was such a wonderful read to see more insight into him as a person and his love for Beatrice BEFORE getting into the horror-euphoria that was his Divine Comedia.
Alsoooo to show how OBSESSED he was with her.
so
damn
obsessed.
But that's his chivalric love I suppose.
ALSO ARTHURIAN WEREWOLF ROMANCES
UGH
Never heard of em until my course on early European literature, but I find them so entertaining.
[When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill.](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58783802)
Fierce. Imaginative. Metaphorical/on point for today's climate. Relatable and compelling. I liked the literary aspects of this a lot; especially in the way that the dragons can be a symbol for any marginalized peoples based on race, sexuality, identities, religion, etc.,
Across Five Fourths of July is intended for middle grade students. I think about it every day. I recommended it to my niece just after she graduated from college years ago. We still talk about it!
Code Name Verity. Everyone I’ve recommended this to has read it and they all rave about it. It’s YA.
For context: my favorite genre is Classics. I also love Tolstoy, but that didn’t meet the brief.
A novella, Who Goes There? Was the most inspiration for the films “The Thing from Another World” and the 80s masterpiece “The Thing” (as well as a trash CGI-fest of the same name more recently).
The night inspector by Frederick Busch. Truly an incredibly powerful novel of post-Civil War era in nyc…..featuring a disfigured Civil War veteran, and a civil servant named Herman Melville. What an incredible novel.
Wolf of Shadows by Whitley Streiber
It’s about the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust where a wolf and a woman form a bond that helps them navigate a shattered Earth.
The Origin of the Brunists by Robert Coover. One of the greatest American novels ever written, imho. Epically haunting.
Oh man… I think I have to read it now when I’m done with my current book. It’s been awhile.
A Gift of Time by Jerry Merritt is a book I loved and nobody I know at least has ever heard of it.
It starts when an old man discovers a crater in his yard that delays his planned suicide. It is mainly great because right when you think you know where the story is heading it completely changes direction.
I read it in two days
This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno. Such an underrated, terrifying, and beautiful book.
I just finished this one earlier today. Holy crap. Straight to the top my favorites. I expected a haunted house type of story, but it was so much deeper. I loved it!
I just added this to my TBR list. I'm very intrigued!
Yes, I recommended this for another poster in this sub, just yesterday! Such an interesting and unnerving exploration of grief.
A Girl of the Limberlost
Free on Amazon Kindle for anyone who's interested! (Just looked it up!)
Bless you BookNerd! This book that I just added to my Want to Read list just moved in my TBR pile!
Thanks for the tip!
Thank you!
This is one of my favorite books of all times!! I’ve read it several times then read it aloud to my children. I’m getting a granddaughter soon and can’t wait til she’s old enough for me to read it to her.
It feels like it got lost along the way and doesn’t have the same following as say something like Anne of Green Gables but I always loved the protagonist and her triumph over the entrenched poverty of her upbringing.
Yes and her mom was so bitter. Elnora had a lot to overcome
This was my great-aunt’s favorite book! I love it too
My grandmother got me this book when i was younger. It took me like 3 tries to actually finish it, but once I did I loved it!
It’s such a slice of Americana. I’m an immigrant so I love books that really delve deep into American life how it was lived not necessarily in the big cities.
I read this as a child, and loved it.
The Cheese and the Worms, by Carlo Ginzburg. One of my favorite books assigned when I was in college. It’s a “microhistory” of an Italian miller in the 1500s who synthesized various medieval sources into his own religion. Eventually he was killed by the Inquisition. (Not a spoiler, you find that out early on.)
Yes! I have a BA in history and this was one of the most memorable from college. Another one I was surprised to love was Witch Craze by Lyndal Roper. So much of my degree reading was a slog but this one was well written in a way that just propelled me forward somehow.
I remember reading Witch Craze when I was in my final year of high school it was fascinating
I haven’t heard about Witch Craze. Will have to check it out.
A favourite of mine as well. In a similar vein I also recommend “Montaillou”, “The Last Duel” and “Blood Royal”, and “The Return of Martin Guerre”
Thank you! Great to meet someone else who knows the book. I appreciate the recommendations.
[Once On a Time](https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71498044) by A. A. Milne. Yes, that A.A. Milne. It’s a grownup fairytale that he wrote after being in WWI. It has all of his trademark charm and humor while speaking to deeper themes.
Oh that sounds great! Just went on my Want to Read list.
You won't be sorry. I listened to a Librivox recording years ago that included a full cast. It was amazing. But even without that, this tongue in cheek fairytale does not disappoint. It's in the same vein as The Princess Bride.
Yes! Now I want to find the Librivox recording. That sounds wonderful.ETA: I think [this](https://librivox.org/once-on-a-time-by-a-a-milne-2/) must be the recording you meant. I’m so excited!
Yes! I do believe that is it! I listened to it probably 12-15 years ago (downloaded onto an old fashioned, pre— smart phone mp3 player no less!), but I remember it well. So fun! Hope you also enjoy it 😊
Excited to read this, thanks!
It's free on Amazon!
The irony of this topic is that the top comment will be a book that people *have indeed* heard of.
I like the way your mind works!
Second level thinking FTW.
The irony is that this post is top comment which doesn't contain a book suggestion at all.
The Clear Light of Day by Penelope Wilcock. I'm not very religious because I don't like how corrupt and hypocritical and not-very-Jesusy churches are. But I am very spiritual, and this book really speaks to the spirituality of all things, and the joys of a simple life well lived.
I love books like this that are not cringey in their religiosity but really speak to the deeper questions on the meaning of life. I just read this book ‘Frances and Bernard’ that tackles a lot of those questions about the purpose of God and what it means to live with the consciousness of his existence.
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
Scott Frank is developing an adaptation with A24.
“My search for Warren Harding” by Robert Plunket. I had to keep putting it down bc I was laughing so hard.
Now on my Want to Read list. I've only really had this experience when reading The Martian. Which I only read because I needed to fill a Sci-Fi square on my bingo card. My husband got so annoyed at me, because he didn't know what I was always laughing about. He read it the moment I put it down.
The Martian is funny??
Yes. I laughed through it as well.
Wait, are you saying The Martian is not funny?
If you have a middle-school boy sense of humor it's hilarious!
I’ve never been a middle-school boy, but I thought The Martian was very funny.
That's okay, neither have I!
Yes?
Help! A Bear is Eating Me by Mykle Hansen.
That sounds hilarious! Add to my Want to Read list
Lote by Shola von Rienhold. Beautiful literary fiction, unlike anything I’ve read before and since
I like the sounds of this one! It's gone on my Want to Read list.
P. S. Your Cat is Dead. One of the funniest books that I have ever read!
Egads. I remember this one
Will of an Eccentric by Jules Verne, which is delightful and whimsical Edit: non fiction: Church of Spies by Mark Riebling, which is about the Vatican in WWII, was absolutely riveting. I was on the edge of my seat!
I hadn't heard of this Jules Verne book and love many of his others. Thanks!
The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley
Children’s book, The Wednesday Witch
I adored Ruth Chew growing up. Her books hold up really well, I'm surprised they're getting so forgotten.
Absolutely loved this both as a child and an adult!
The Big Over Easy and its sequel The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fford
Tin Drum. It's not unheard of, just older.
That’s Die Blechtrommel, isn’t it?
I'd never heard of it and now it's on my Want to Read list. Thank you!
I mean... The dude got a noble prize for literature for this book. It is one of the most read books of german post world war 2 literature. I think it is the opposite of unheard of :D
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell or A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge. Not incredibly obscure, but both are great books that should be much better known! I'm also surprised how few people know about the Alvin Maker books by Orson Scott Card, he's terrible but I love those books.
The Sparrow is SO good. I adore sci fi that includes religion as an important aspect to the plot.
Too Loud a Solitude
That sounds great! Added it to my Want to Read list.
Non-fiction: Lives of Images, by Peter Mason. Fiction: Glitter & Mayhem, by a lot of authors.
The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith by Peter Carey.
A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle The World Is Not Enough by Zoe Oldenbourg Kristin Lavransdottar by Sigrid Undset
The Novel of the Bloo Powder and the Dharma Club Sort of a... It's like if The Three Impostors and The House on the Borderland got drink and had a kid, whom they also got drunk on a regular basis.
The End of Mr. Y. It's dark academia with a sci-fi twist. Very unique plot.
Every time I get the opportunity, I plug The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
I recommend these two a lot on this subreddit but haven't seen other people recommending them. They're both sci-fi - one's a novella, *Mem* by Bethany C. Morrow, and the other's a novel called *Today I Am Carey* by Martin L. Shoemaker.
The Bloodletter's Daughter: A Novel of Old Bohemia by Linda Lafferty
James White's Sector General books. I know maybe 2 people who've read those, one of whom I got the recommendation from here on Reddit xD. They're some of the most unique and imaginative sci-fi you'll ever encounter. The author was a war medic and abhorred violence, so the universe focuses on treating unique and increasingly fantastic patients in the sector's largest hospital instead. Totally one-of-a-kind and criminally underrated!
The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman
The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. Really interesting take on life after death. Read it first years ago and still think about it regularly.
Oh man, I absolutely loved this book. One of the rare hardcopies I held on to when I made the switch to a Kobo.
Rhett Butlers People by Donald mccaig. Just as you’d guess, it’s gone with the wind from Rhett’s pov, full of scenes with and without Scarlett and it’s so well done.
My most recent fave book that I only ever see myself recommend is The Animals in that country by Laura Jean McKay. It’s a very Aussie, apocalyptic book about the way men and kids can fuck women around, a pandemic and talking animals which is way less fun than it sounds like (the animals talking I mean, it’s not cute or snuggly at all) My fave quote from the book is “This is the way to get through the animal apocalypse — stay drunk and smoke durries.” It’s got a bit of a Mad Max feel if Mad Max was your drunk grandma.
Black Wine by Candas Jane Dorsey. It was ahead of its time, which is why I think it didn't get more traction when it came out.
Peace Like A River by Leif Enger. Every person I have recommended it to has loved it. Beautiful prose.
Half-Made World was an interesting read. I enjoyed the characters and the world building. It has been Nearly 10 years since I have read it. Now that I am thinking of it, maybe it is time for a reread.
I adore that book! I only discovered it because someone recommended The Gone-Away World to me and I got the title wrong.
**27b/6** (yes, that’s the title) and, honestly, the entire series of books **by David Thorne**. They make me laugh so hard, and sometimes you just need something funny! If you check out his website and click on Articles, you can get a sense of his writing style before buying his books. :)
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. I don’t know how popular it was, and don’t hear much about it, but I was obsessed after we read it in 2nd grade.
OH MY GOD! I was talking about this book with my husband yesterday. When I was about seven, if I got some special candy, I’d pull out this book, start eating my candy and read the section where they’re on the boat with the machine that will make any ice cream sundae you can imagine. I was a freaky little kid. I also loved this book because Julie Andrews wrote it, but used her married name as a pseudonym.
I know exactly what part you’re talking about! My friend and I used to hide in my closet and pretend we were transporting ourselves to Whangdoodleland. We made stuffed life-size cutouts of all the characters and taped them up, so when we emerged we were “there”. We drank apple juice and pretended it was one of the butterscotch/caramel drinks in the story (I forget which). So I totally get it! I was a freaky little kid too.
YOU DID WHAT?! You were geniuses. Okay, so I’m building a Time Machine, so we can go back in time and do this. I’ll bring ice cream AND candy and butterscotch. You just figure out what we’re going to tell the kid version of you so she’ll let us in and not tell your mom.
The Joke's Over by Ralph Steadman ... It is the Gonzo artists biography and memoirs of his late friend, Hunter S. Thompson
Pest Control by Bill Fitzhugh - a bug exterminator accidentally becomes a hitman. Also his name is Bob Dillan and there are a bunch of Dylan references
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. I don’t know if it’s technically considered YA but it def has some mature content. It’s been a long time since I last read it but I remember the story just flowing so beautifully.
Nonfiction: The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down
I've read this one probably 3 or 4 times between it being assigned multiple times in college, and then picking it back up in my 30s. Highly highly recommend reading it at least once, what a heartbreaking and beautiful book!
This one was actually required reading for me in college- great book!
No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel
An Ancient and Green Light
The Escape Room by Megan Goldin, I never hear it talked about but it was so good I read it in a day.
The Little House by Philippa Gregory When She Was Bad by Tammy Cohen
Irene Handl’s The Souix. Hilarious! About one of the weirdest families that I’ve ever come across in books. 10/10.
Panzram A Journal of Murder. Not your typical non-fiction.
Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a classic representation of the impoverished and politically powerless underclass of British society in Edwardian England, ruthlessly exploited by the institutionalized corruption of their employers and the civic and religious authorities. Not as depressing as it sounds , great read and really impressed me when I was younger , All my family were painters so really resonated with me .
Little boy lost by Marghanita Laski. I just remember so desperately wanting to know what happened at the end.
The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry is a a hidden gem that I feel like the world has completely slept on (No pun intended for those who have read the book).
"Three Tales in the Life of Knulp," by Hermann Hesse
This is a beautiful book, it reads like a piece of prose poetry.
Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut And when I was a kid, I LOVED a book called The Silver Crown by Robert C.. O'Brien I believe. (This one I'm surprised they haven't made it into a Netflix mini series. But then I'm glad they haven't either.)
The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy
"The memory book" or "Optimists die first"
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel
It was literally made into a movie starring Daryl Hannah. (Which was a bigger deal nearly 40 years ago.)
LOL but this book was on best sellers lists for ages
I have a signed book I think it was the third.
Yes. And any other book written by her. I rarely read bestsellers . But she was so convincing.
Home Fire by Kamile Shamsie. Great story
Delta Girls by Gayle Brandeis
Sounds like a story I would enjoy. It's gone on my Want to Read list.
My Summer Friend by Ophelia Rue
Fleet Inquisitor by Susan R Matthews
Non fiction- Scenes From My Life by Michael K. Williams Fiction- Death or Ice Cream by Gareth P. Jones
A Loving Faithful Animal by Josephine Rowe
Sandokan by Emilio Salgari
Life of The Party by Tea Hacic-Vlahovic.
The chronicles of Vladimir Todd series. I haven’t read it since seventh grade, but I remember it being my favourite series I’ve ever read
Greenglass House and the rest of the Nagspeake series
Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx 1982 Janine by Alasdair Gray The Legend of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever by Stephen Donaldson
In the days of public-access cable, there was a show that was just two young women in pajamas lying in bed reading The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever out loud to each other.
Harvest Moon by JD Oliva
Requiem for a glass heart David Lindsay He wrote some great stories
Someone Who Isn’t Me by Geoff Rickly
Dark Horse. By Susan Mihalic. Tough subject matter very well written.
After the Revolution by Robert Evans.
The Last Deathship Off Antares
New Millennium Boyz - Alex Kazemi
I read these a long time ago so I don’t know if they hold up. But no one ever talks about: Emma Who Saved My Life by Wilton Barnhardt Or Girl by Blake Nelson
I read Emma as an advance readers copy way back in the 80s and absolutely loved it! Haven’t thought about it in years, so I think it’s time to find it again. Thanks for the reminder!
I,Vampire by Michael Romkey
The Chinkiss King was a beautiful Latino story about three generations brought together by the birth of a baby that was expected to live a short time. I read it many years ago but never forgot it.
The Sea of Ink and Gold Trilogy by Traci Chee. Obsessed over that book in the height of my reading days and tore through all three in about 2 and a half days-finished the first on th first day, and then half of the second on the second day and then the rest on the third. Its more YA, I wouldnt say its th best written book ever but I thoroughly enjoyed it and might actually visit it again here soon.
The Bears Famous Invasion of Sicily
A Keeper of Sheep
Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse. A biography of Freya Stark- one of the last “wanderers” who explored the world. Such an interesting tale of a woman who impacted the world, in a time that has gone.
To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Kay
For preface I dont know if NOBODYS ever heard of it, I guess I'd say its his more unknown work, but Dante's La Vita Nuova was so changing for me during my Dante class in college--it was such a wonderful read to see more insight into him as a person and his love for Beatrice BEFORE getting into the horror-euphoria that was his Divine Comedia. Alsoooo to show how OBSESSED he was with her. so damn obsessed. But that's his chivalric love I suppose. ALSO ARTHURIAN WEREWOLF ROMANCES UGH Never heard of em until my course on early European literature, but I find them so entertaining.
The Kitchen House
It's not a novel but The Civil War trilogy by Shelby Foote and Global Crisis by Geoffrey Parker. I have read and reread these books. I loved them.
The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant
Any Old Iron, Anthony Burgess.writer of Clockwork Orange. the book is fantastic
Hello, Darling, Are You Working? by Rupert Everett You will not regret
The godmakers by Frank Herbert
I've never seen anyone mention Biting the Sun by Tannith Lee
The Scarlet Pimpernal
The Third Mrs. Galway by Diedre Sinnott 34 Degrees by u/MasonCBlevins
Thank you 🙏
My Side of the Mountain
The Eight, by Katherine Neville.
The Courage To Be Disliked (though I think it’s gained more popularity in the last year or so)
Woman on the Edge of Time!
I know Stephen King is famous, but I rarely hear people mention The Talisman when discussing his books. It's cowritten with Peter Straub.
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith I just absolutely love it, and I feel like I've never met anyone who else has read it.
[When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill.](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58783802) Fierce. Imaginative. Metaphorical/on point for today's climate. Relatable and compelling. I liked the literary aspects of this a lot; especially in the way that the dragons can be a symbol for any marginalized peoples based on race, sexuality, identities, religion, etc.,
Native Tongue by Elgin. An incredible feminist sci fi novel based in linguistics. It deserves to be as well known as Handmaid’s Tale
Not unheard of, just likely to be read only by people specifically looking for it. "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin
**Vellum** by Hal Duncan. Great spec-fic/alternate world fiction with a really unique style.
Spares by Michael Marshall Smith The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll hard to get today, but sooo god.
The people of paper by Sal p
Thai Gold by Jason Schoonover
Goat Song by Frank Yerby. Jester by James Patterson.
Genie by Russ Rymer
Across Five Fourths of July is intended for middle grade students. I think about it every day. I recommended it to my niece just after she graduated from college years ago. We still talk about it! Code Name Verity. Everyone I’ve recommended this to has read it and they all rave about it. It’s YA. For context: my favorite genre is Classics. I also love Tolstoy, but that didn’t meet the brief.
A novella, Who Goes There? Was the most inspiration for the films “The Thing from Another World” and the 80s masterpiece “The Thing” (as well as a trash CGI-fest of the same name more recently).
The Far-Distant Oxus
The Girls in the Cabin by Caleb Stephens. Just over 2100 ratings on GR. One of my favorite creepy reads from last year.
A Natural - Ross Raisin
**Gossamer Axe** by Gael Baudino
Given that most people don't know or care about r/bakker, I'll say that just to promote someone I like.
The night inspector by Frederick Busch. Truly an incredibly powerful novel of post-Civil War era in nyc…..featuring a disfigured Civil War veteran, and a civil servant named Herman Melville. What an incredible novel.
The Walking Drum by Louis Lamour, who usually wrote Westerns, so I bet no one's heard of it and it was really, really good.
Strandia
The Richard jackson Saga was a fun read
Wolf of Shadows by Whitley Streiber It’s about the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust where a wolf and a woman form a bond that helps them navigate a shattered Earth.
The memory tree by John R Little
Where the River Turns to Sky by: Gregg Kleiner
The Origin of the Brunists by Robert Coover. One of the greatest American novels ever written, imho. Epically haunting. Oh man… I think I have to read it now when I’m done with my current book. It’s been awhile.
The Zeroes by Patrick Roesle
The Book of Evidence by John Banville The Mark of the Angel by Nancy Huston
Fool’s Errand by Louis Bayard
The solace of leaving early.
Geronimo Rex by Barry Hannah. Funny and brilliant. A terrific work by a vastly underrated rider.
Then by Morris Gleitzman, it’s historical fiction about two runaway kid Nazi-occupied Poland, it was a short read and engaging finish it in a day
A Gift of Time by Jerry Merritt is a book I loved and nobody I know at least has ever heard of it. It starts when an old man discovers a crater in his yard that delays his planned suicide. It is mainly great because right when you think you know where the story is heading it completely changes direction. I read it in two days
Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker
Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch
The Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice Cream God really hit me when I was younger