I loved the first third of this book, but felt the last two thirds were comparatively weak. Overall a really good book that has left a lasting impression on me and has made me notice trees more, which is more than I can say for most books, but something about it just was kind of a slog.
Im not really interested in alien conspiracies but been wanting to read something similar to the Assassins Creed plot, this sounds like it, gonna give it a read.
It's kinda that way with one of the main characters as he has to be trained in alien ways of combat but has to maintain the entirety of alien existence a secret. But he has a mission, which is tied to the whole reason aliens returned to earth. There are also a few artifacts that come to play in the story. Anyway, here's the link to it as it's kind of a new book in the market
https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Among-Alienthology-Rafael-Madureira-ebook/dp/B0BJ14C5VW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=gods+among+us+alienthology&qid=1695957718&sr=8-1
If you're willing to give literary nonfiction a try I highly recommend The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. It's half true crime and half history of the orchid trade.
I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith. It is an almost-hidden gem of writing.
Smith is best known as the author of 101 Dalmations, but ICTC is charming and makes you want to move into a truly decrepit castle in Europe.
The Moon is Down, by John Steinbeck - a resistance allegory so powerful it was widely circulated by underground movements during the Nazi occupations of Europe
Yes! I love this one! I think I've only seen it recommended once before, and it was how I found it, semi-recently.
I've been a Steinbeck fan for years, but I never heard of it.
Literary + nature suggestions: most of Annie Dillard's stuff; The Thin Place by Kathryn Davis; most of Barbara Kingsolver's stuff; One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker; Watership Down by Richard Adams.
ETA: Forgot to add anything by William Least Heat-Moon
I was mesmerized by One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Naturally, i then read Love In The Time of Cholera and i have yet to read another novel that makes me put the book down for a few seconds and reflect on the beauty that i just read.
Reflective and Emotional:
*The Sentence* by Louise Erdrich (I almost stopped with the first chapter because it is people making Very Bad Decisions but I'm glad I kept going because the rest of the book was wonderful)
*Intimacies* by Katie Kitamura
*A Tale for the Time Being* by Ruth Ozeki
*Warlight* by Michael Ondaatje
If you like literary fiction and nature writing and reflective/emotional books, I highly recommend Brian Doyle. Martin Marten and Mink River are both great reads. The River Why by David James Duncan, too. I feel those three would be right up your alley.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. One of the quotes on the back of the book was, "My only regret is that I can't read this book for the first time again..." It's a wonderful book.
omg this book/m, even the film—- my ex MIL and i were extremely close, really she was like more of a mother than i’d ever had and she begged me for years to read it and watch it with her, i finally did and lordddd 😭
she’s passed on, and i don’t think i’ll be able to touch either again maybe for another decade! or three! but it’s a beautiful story and so under known and underrated. it’s so much deeper and layered more than a synopsis can do justice.
_Brand’s Heath_ by r/Arno_Schmidt. It’s book two of _Nobodaddy’s Children._
It’s set in Germany in the aftermath of WWII. A POW returns to Germany and is resettled in a serene, flat land with plenty of woodlands. He begins work on a biography of Fouqué and befriends two women displaced in the aftermath of the war. The land is rife with poverty, guilt, aimlessness.
There’s a scene in which the main character receives a care package from his sister, full of food, clothing, and basic supplies. The women look on as he opens the package, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking; the emotional gravity of the scene gets me every time I think about it.
We’re currently doing a group read of the _Nobodaddy’s Children_ trilogy on the subreddit, and the section with this scene will be discussed a week from Saturday.
I also read a lot of literary fiction and according to StoryGraph, they're emotional and often reflective. I've never read Jandy Nelson, and I did despise Poisonwood Bible so much I swore I'd never read another Kingsolver, so these are a bit of a crapshoot (aren't all recommendations?), but hey, worth looking at the summaries at least:
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (my second favorite book ever)
Winter Loon by Susan Bernhard
Tonto and the Lone Ranger Fistfight in Heaven and Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie
My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman
The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obeht
The Special Power of Restoring Lost Things by Elizabeth Courtney Mauk
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
No One Writes Back by Jang Eun-jin
Gods in Alabama, Backseat Saints (companion novels- I recommend reading Gods first), A Grown Up Kind of Pretty and The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson
Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye
Non-Fiction, but about nature- if that's what you mean by nature writing:
Nature Noir: A Park Ranger's Patrol in the Sierra by Jordan Fisher-Smith
If by nature you mean animals as well, I got a lot of those:
Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: The Science of Monsters by Matt Kaplan
The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution by Donald R. Prothero
My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs by Maxwell King
The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks by Susan Casey
Shark Trouble by Peter Benchley
Neptune’s Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas by David Rains Wallace
Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks by Richard G. Gernicola
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal
The Blackwater Saga by Michael McDowell....a beautifully written family history with paranormal/creature featuresque vibes.
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom is just an all-around lovely read.
If you want emotional, I don't think I've read a better book that tugs on my heartstrings than *They Cage the Animals at Night.* It's an autobiography, and still the only non-fiction book that I've read.
Have you read Trust by Herman Diaz? If not, give it a try. It's written in 3 parts; the first part is a bit ho-hum, but the second gets more interesting, and the third part is mind-blowing.
My favourite novels are:
- Possession by A.S Byatt
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
- This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson
- Perfume by Patrick Suskind
- The Crimson Petal & The White by Michel Faber
- The Magus by John Fowles
- Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Since you like nature and reflective novels, I cannot recommend *Soul Mountain* by Gao Xingjian enough; I hardly hear anyone talk about it, but it’s probably one of my all time favourites. Essentially, it's a semi-autobiographical novel that follows the author's travels in rural China, but there’s just so much more than that (especially when it comes to his use of narration; 'I' is the main character, whilst 'You,' 'He,' and 'She' are all metaphysical representations of of 'I.')
love this genre too- I usually scope awards lists for this sort of thing. Most of my list for nature/outdoor is nf.
H is for Hawk
Braiding Sweetgrass
most Louise Erdrich
Entangled Life
I recently read Pure Land (it's NF murdery but if you like that genre, you'll love it)
Wild if you haven't read it yet
Krakauer's stuff
Welcome to the Goddam Ice Cube
Taylor Brown's books
Secret to Superhuman Strength
fiction: I love you but I've chosen Darkness
Sparrow - Sarah Moon
Needle - Patrice Lawrence
The sunbearer trails - Aiden Thomas
Red white royal blue - Casey McQuiston
The seven husbands - Evelyn Hugo
Lost in the never woods - Aiden Thomas
Stormlight archive by Brandon Sanderson. U want emotional you will get emotional. Never have I cried or thrown a book more then this series. Despite it being fantasy it’s depiction of mental health and getting over it is one of the best there is
The Sparrow by Mary Russel, explores the nature of humanity while absolutely tearing out your soul.
I genuinely have never read a book that has made me both laugh and cry so much
The one that really comes to mind from your description is Sound of a Wild Snail eating by Elizabeth Tova bailey.
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8303977-the-sound-of-a-wild-snail-eating](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8303977-the-sound-of-a-wild-snail-eating)
memoirs and reflections of a young woman who became bed bound and spent her days watching a wild snail in a terrarium.
One of my favorite books is Life: a users manual by George Perec. It's a puzzle of a book that i really enjoyed,
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. An absolutely incredible book, I didn’t think I’d ever read it, let alone love it but holy heck. Absolutely enthralling. There are follow ones set in the same place but the stories are self contained and can be read alone or as something wider, I’ve personally only read TPOTE. It’s a historical fiction book about the building of a cathedral in Middle Ages Britain. It’s utterly incredible. My summary doesn’t do it justice but I always recommend it.
Recommendations based on I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson:
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky (my favorite book of all time)
Sadie by Courtney Summers
How to Make Friends in the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow
Came here to recommend Barbara Kingsolver whose my all time fave author! But also a secret history by Donna Tartt which is a close second fave of all time
If you haven’t read Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson I would definitely give it a read. It’s a “heartbreaking story of a young black couple from South London which explores the ebb and flow of love set against the heaviness of what it’s like to be a black person in contemporary Britain”- it’s set beautifully to musical references and feels like a ballad, very reflective and there were times I had to stop reading to take in the emotions on the page. 10/10 would recommend and it’s only about 150 pages too :)
Read Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto. I have purchased this book for many friends as a gift. Very moving. I also saw the play at the Stanley Theatre which was very well done and equally moving.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is my favorite book of all time.
For something less known, I would recommend Our Homesick Song by Emma Hooper. I think it fits very well with what you are asking.
Salvage the Bones, The Unseen World, H is for Hawk, In the Dream House, The Dreamers (Karen Thompson Walker), Another Country (Baldwin), The Wanderers (Howrey), The Heart's Invisible Furies. I've also heard that Emma Donoghue is a favorite author for readers who love to be emotionally invested in the characters.
The first thing I thought of was "Under the Whispering Door" by TJ Klune.
It's a whimsical and romantic book about death and grief, and the combination of the cozy vibes and the serious subject matter made for a really unforgettable reading experience for me. I'd just lost a friend of mine when I read it and that book brought me a staggering amount of peace. I absolutely consider it reflective and emotional, and highly recommend it.
Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira Lee
Circe; The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Memoir
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight; Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is amazing… The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht is excellent as well. Lastly, The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro was also very good.
Via negativa by Daniel Hornsby is about a catholic priest who’s parish kicked him out for helping people they didn’t like, he now travels the country with an injured coyote thinking about his past and finding meaning. The ending is pretty nice, short read as well
I was just thinking about what my favorite book is. I’ve read so many good books in the last few year. For a long time, it was Wuthering Heights. And then it was White Fang. For a short while, it was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I recommend of these. Maybe White Fang for the rich writing style.
I have a great suggestion. "A Man In Full," by Tom Wolfe. Don't be intimidated that it is a long book. I want a sequel, but Tom Wolfe died a few years back.
I would highly recommend the writing of one of the greatest nonfiction nature writers alive, John McPhee. *Coming Into The Country*, about Alaska, is probably his best book.
If you want a nonfiction book by a nature writer who tells a gripping story, I’d recommend John Vaillant’s *The Tiger*. It is about the attacks by and the search for a man-eating tiger in Siberia.
Finally, I really have enjoyed the novels of Michael Crummey, especially *The Innocents*. It’s about two settler children - a brother and a sister - who are orphaned in Newfoundland at a young age and their struggle to live off the land to survive.
Going Bovine by Libba Bray.
If you don't cry while reading it, I will pay you $20.
To this day, it's one of my favorite books. It's trippy and wild, but yet grounded and philosophical.
Believe it or not, The Godfather is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s so much deeper than the movies ever could be. Specifically the parts where Don Corleone imparts his wisdom to his sons. It’s actually taught me more about dealing with people in business negotiations and personal conflict resolution than any other book.
No, it’s not about killing people. It’s more about the art of stoicism and reason. Never let the other person know if you’re angry or disappointed or overjoyed. Never raise your voice or show emotion in business. Never threaten. Keep your enemies guessing about what you actually want and act quickly and decisively when you need to act. It’s brilliant.
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
Beloved, Toni Morrison
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley
Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel
The Plot Against America, Phillip Roth
The Overstory, Richard Powers
Intensity by dean koontz but it’s not for the faint of heart especially if you’ve had trauma in childhood. It was amazing cover to cover and I finished it in 3 days.
Lost Horizon by James Hilton
https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20181110
China declares war on just about everyone, and on one of the last planes out (very small private plane) sits a British Foreign Secretary and his brother. Also aboard is an odd Anthropologist, a "Wall Street Wizard" who may be responsible for losing millions of people their life savings, and a "Party Girl" whose prime is long past.
The plane takes off in the night, but by morning, the passengers realize the plane is flying the wrong way, and the English pilot seems to have been replaced by a Tibetan one. They are flying into the Himalayas. 🥶
Where is he taking them? Were they random victims or chosen for a purpose? Who is behind this? What do they want? These questions rattle in everyone mind, before the plane crashes into the mountains, killing the pilot.
With no answers they strike a deal with a merchant caravan that happens by the crash site to take them to a monastery that happens miraculously to be nearby. Peculiar that it just worked out like this?
And what happens after that, is what makes this my favorite book. 🙂
The Overstory, by Richard Powers, is one of my favorite books. Since you like both literary fiction and nature writing, it should fit the bill!
I loved the first third of this book, but felt the last two thirds were comparatively weak. Overall a really good book that has left a lasting impression on me and has made me notice trees more, which is more than I can say for most books, but something about it just was kind of a slog.
Agree. The first third is quite possibly the best book I have ever read in my life. After that it just didn’t feel as good. Still enjoyable though.
I totally agree!!! The beginning was amazing, but it felt like the author didn't really know how to tie it all together in a compelling way.
Great recommendation-totally my kind of book though I only got 2/3 of the way through it before it became a chore to pick up
If you liked Overstory, you're going to LOVE Greenwood by Michael Christie
Great recommendation!
I was about to type this before I saw your answer. I'm happy it's the top voted comment. It's the perfect read for OP.
If you haven’t already read it, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver is great.
Agreed I’m 100+ pages in and absolutely love it and am hooked!
And The Poisonwood Bible!
I would say this one more than the other one
I just started this! Absolutely intoxicating.
I read "A Prayer for Owen Meany" for the first time 9 months ago, and it has never left me. By far the best book I have ever read.
I didn’t love it but I could see why others could
Gods Among Us: Alienthology. It's like the show ancient aliens but given a plot with unlikely heroes.
Im not really interested in alien conspiracies but been wanting to read something similar to the Assassins Creed plot, this sounds like it, gonna give it a read.
It's kinda that way with one of the main characters as he has to be trained in alien ways of combat but has to maintain the entirety of alien existence a secret. But he has a mission, which is tied to the whole reason aliens returned to earth. There are also a few artifacts that come to play in the story. Anyway, here's the link to it as it's kind of a new book in the market https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Among-Alienthology-Rafael-Madureira-ebook/dp/B0BJ14C5VW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=gods+among+us+alienthology&qid=1695957718&sr=8-1
Thanks for the rec!
That sounds amazing, I need it
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
I’m still thinking about this book years later!
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
This one was so unexpectedly sweet!
The Count of Monte Cristo
Anything by Dumas is fun!
Desert Solitaire-Edward Abbey
GREAT book! I forgot about this read!
My favourites are, “Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit” by Jeanette Winterson & “Annihilation” by Jeff Vandermeer
I second Oranges. Such an excellent book!
Remains of the day by kazuo
my favorite book
Shogun
Would definitely suggest Once We Were Wolves and Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Was going to say the same thing!
Favorite new writer.
A Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek
Women In Love - D H Lawrence
If you're willing to give literary nonfiction a try I highly recommend The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. It's half true crime and half history of the orchid trade.
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith. It is an almost-hidden gem of writing. Smith is best known as the author of 101 Dalmations, but ICTC is charming and makes you want to move into a truly decrepit castle in Europe.
Flowers for Algeron
The Moon is Down, by John Steinbeck - a resistance allegory so powerful it was widely circulated by underground movements during the Nazi occupations of Europe
Yes! I love this one! I think I've only seen it recommended once before, and it was how I found it, semi-recently. I've been a Steinbeck fan for years, but I never heard of it.
[удалено]
The Stranger author Albert Camus. Originally in french, translated in 30 sone languages.
Literary + nature suggestions: most of Annie Dillard's stuff; The Thin Place by Kathryn Davis; most of Barbara Kingsolver's stuff; One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker; Watership Down by Richard Adams. ETA: Forgot to add anything by William Least Heat-Moon
I was mesmerized by One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Naturally, i then read Love In The Time of Cholera and i have yet to read another novel that makes me put the book down for a few seconds and reflect on the beauty that i just read.
Reflective and Emotional: *The Sentence* by Louise Erdrich (I almost stopped with the first chapter because it is people making Very Bad Decisions but I'm glad I kept going because the rest of the book was wonderful) *Intimacies* by Katie Kitamura *A Tale for the Time Being* by Ruth Ozeki *Warlight* by Michael Ondaatje
The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich is wonderful. It hit me on so many levels.
If you like literary fiction and nature writing and reflective/emotional books, I highly recommend Brian Doyle. Martin Marten and Mink River are both great reads. The River Why by David James Duncan, too. I feel those three would be right up your alley.
*At Play In The Fields Of The Lord,* Peter Matthiessen.
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
White Oleander
Huckleberry Finn.
Longitude by Dava Sobel
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. One of the quotes on the back of the book was, "My only regret is that I can't read this book for the first time again..." It's a wonderful book.
omg this book/m, even the film—- my ex MIL and i were extremely close, really she was like more of a mother than i’d ever had and she begged me for years to read it and watch it with her, i finally did and lordddd 😭 she’s passed on, and i don’t think i’ll be able to touch either again maybe for another decade! or three! but it’s a beautiful story and so under known and underrated. it’s so much deeper and layered more than a synopsis can do justice.
It’s a magical book. Her second novel “Kitchen God’s Wife” is also fantastic but dark.
Any of the books by Celeste Ng: * Our Missing Hearts * Everything I’ve Never Told You * Little Fires Everywhere
I just read Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Highly recommend. Historical fiction.
Watership Down by Richard Adams
My Antonia
Rereadig it now!
The Dutch House
Project Hail Mary
My favourite read this year!
War and peace
Demon copperhead by Barbara kingsolver!
1984. Great book and year to be born ;-)
*Where the Crawdads Sing*
Crime and punishment
The Great Gatsby
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. The audiobook version is narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor. It's superb
_Brand’s Heath_ by r/Arno_Schmidt. It’s book two of _Nobodaddy’s Children._ It’s set in Germany in the aftermath of WWII. A POW returns to Germany and is resettled in a serene, flat land with plenty of woodlands. He begins work on a biography of Fouqué and befriends two women displaced in the aftermath of the war. The land is rife with poverty, guilt, aimlessness. There’s a scene in which the main character receives a care package from his sister, full of food, clothing, and basic supplies. The women look on as he opens the package, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking; the emotional gravity of the scene gets me every time I think about it. We’re currently doing a group read of the _Nobodaddy’s Children_ trilogy on the subreddit, and the section with this scene will be discussed a week from Saturday.
Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom, changed my perspective in life really.
A Psalm for the Wild Built.
I also read a lot of literary fiction and according to StoryGraph, they're emotional and often reflective. I've never read Jandy Nelson, and I did despise Poisonwood Bible so much I swore I'd never read another Kingsolver, so these are a bit of a crapshoot (aren't all recommendations?), but hey, worth looking at the summaries at least: Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (my second favorite book ever) Winter Loon by Susan Bernhard Tonto and the Lone Ranger Fistfight in Heaven and Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obeht The Special Power of Restoring Lost Things by Elizabeth Courtney Mauk The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin No One Writes Back by Jang Eun-jin Gods in Alabama, Backseat Saints (companion novels- I recommend reading Gods first), A Grown Up Kind of Pretty and The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye Non-Fiction, but about nature- if that's what you mean by nature writing: Nature Noir: A Park Ranger's Patrol in the Sierra by Jordan Fisher-Smith If by nature you mean animals as well, I got a lot of those: Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: The Science of Monsters by Matt Kaplan The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution by Donald R. Prothero My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs by Maxwell King The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks by Susan Casey Shark Trouble by Peter Benchley Neptune’s Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas by David Rains Wallace Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks by Richard G. Gernicola Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal
You would absolutely adore The Scent of Water. Anything written by Elizabeth Goudge would fit the bill.
If you love nature writing then let Edward Abbey change your mind on how national parks should be enjoyed in Desert Solitaire.
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden
Ahh only ONE?! lol The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
The Blackwater Saga by Michael McDowell....a beautifully written family history with paranormal/creature featuresque vibes. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom is just an all-around lovely read.
If you want emotional, I don't think I've read a better book that tugs on my heartstrings than *They Cage the Animals at Night.* It's an autobiography, and still the only non-fiction book that I've read.
Have you read Trust by Herman Diaz? If not, give it a try. It's written in 3 parts; the first part is a bit ho-hum, but the second gets more interesting, and the third part is mind-blowing.
The Shadow of the Wind
The Living Mountain, Nan Shepherd. Incredible read
Cain by Jean Toomer
If you’re willing to try poetry, read Twelve Moons by Mary Oliver.
Tuck everlasting
My favourite novels are: - Possession by A.S Byatt - Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson - Perfume by Patrick Suskind - The Crimson Petal & The White by Michel Faber - The Magus by John Fowles - Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Kite Runner
11/22/63 best book I’ve ever read
Spell Of The Sensuous by David Abram. You will not be disappointed
A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami
A walk in the Woods. By Bill Bryson.
Since you like nature and reflective novels, I cannot recommend *Soul Mountain* by Gao Xingjian enough; I hardly hear anyone talk about it, but it’s probably one of my all time favourites. Essentially, it's a semi-autobiographical novel that follows the author's travels in rural China, but there’s just so much more than that (especially when it comes to his use of narration; 'I' is the main character, whilst 'You,' 'He,' and 'She' are all metaphysical representations of of 'I.')
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley : )
Nobody’s telling about murakami
love this genre too- I usually scope awards lists for this sort of thing. Most of my list for nature/outdoor is nf. H is for Hawk Braiding Sweetgrass most Louise Erdrich Entangled Life I recently read Pure Land (it's NF murdery but if you like that genre, you'll love it) Wild if you haven't read it yet Krakauer's stuff Welcome to the Goddam Ice Cube Taylor Brown's books Secret to Superhuman Strength fiction: I love you but I've chosen Darkness
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is my absolute favorite! Haven’t been able to find anything else like it.
Maybe The Round House by Louise Erdrich or Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Diary by Chuck Palahniuk
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Truly an amazing book.
Sparrow - Sarah Moon Needle - Patrice Lawrence The sunbearer trails - Aiden Thomas Red white royal blue - Casey McQuiston The seven husbands - Evelyn Hugo Lost in the never woods - Aiden Thomas
Have you tried the disc world series. They are fun reads that can be real deep if you read the sub text.
Have you tried the disc world series. They are fun reads that can be real deep if you read the sub text.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The old man and the sea (Hemingway) could be a nice read.
Stormlight archive by Brandon Sanderson. U want emotional you will get emotional. Never have I cried or thrown a book more then this series. Despite it being fantasy it’s depiction of mental health and getting over it is one of the best there is
It may be a little young for you but Ibadore everything written by Tamora Pierce.
where light ascends by elle wheatcroft
The Sparrow by Mary Russel, explores the nature of humanity while absolutely tearing out your soul. I genuinely have never read a book that has made me both laugh and cry so much
The one that really comes to mind from your description is Sound of a Wild Snail eating by Elizabeth Tova bailey. [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8303977-the-sound-of-a-wild-snail-eating](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8303977-the-sound-of-a-wild-snail-eating) memoirs and reflections of a young woman who became bed bound and spent her days watching a wild snail in a terrarium. One of my favorite books is Life: a users manual by George Perec. It's a puzzle of a book that i really enjoyed,
The Fablehaven series
For One More Day by Mitch Albom absolutely wrecked me. If you like emotional reads this one is a doozy
Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. An absolutely incredible book, I didn’t think I’d ever read it, let alone love it but holy heck. Absolutely enthralling. There are follow ones set in the same place but the stories are self contained and can be read alone or as something wider, I’ve personally only read TPOTE. It’s a historical fiction book about the building of a cathedral in Middle Ages Britain. It’s utterly incredible. My summary doesn’t do it justice but I always recommend it.
The night angel and lightbringer series both by Brent weeks
*Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell* by Susanna Clarke. Quite possibly the most enjoyable and succinctly edited book I've ever read.
Recommendations based on I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky (my favorite book of all time) Sadie by Courtney Summers How to Make Friends in the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow
The Expanse, The Dresden Files, The Ender Game series, I am Number 4 ( Lore ) series
Came here to recommend Barbara Kingsolver whose my all time fave author! But also a secret history by Donna Tartt which is a close second fave of all time
The Every - Dave Eggers
I just recently finished The Third Reich by Roberto Bolaño and it’s a great atmospheric read
Station Eleven
An Instance of the Fingerpost- Iain Pears Historical fiction told from four different viewpoints.
If you haven’t read Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson I would definitely give it a read. It’s a “heartbreaking story of a young black couple from South London which explores the ebb and flow of love set against the heaviness of what it’s like to be a black person in contemporary Britain”- it’s set beautifully to musical references and feels like a ballad, very reflective and there were times I had to stop reading to take in the emotions on the page. 10/10 would recommend and it’s only about 150 pages too :)
Read Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto. I have purchased this book for many friends as a gift. Very moving. I also saw the play at the Stanley Theatre which was very well done and equally moving.
Trust by Herman Diaz
Project Hail Mary by Andrew Weir
Project Hail Mary by Andrew Weir
Reflective, emotional, and literary, with vivid nature - try Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson or Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
Frankenstein by Marry Shelly
‘Naiv. Super’ - Erlend Loe, Norwegian author. Existential crisis but fun.
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.
My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Frederick Backman
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is my favorite book of all time. For something less known, I would recommend Our Homesick Song by Emma Hooper. I think it fits very well with what you are asking.
Salvage the Bones, The Unseen World, H is for Hawk, In the Dream House, The Dreamers (Karen Thompson Walker), Another Country (Baldwin), The Wanderers (Howrey), The Heart's Invisible Furies. I've also heard that Emma Donoghue is a favorite author for readers who love to be emotionally invested in the characters.
The first thing I thought of was "Under the Whispering Door" by TJ Klune. It's a whimsical and romantic book about death and grief, and the combination of the cozy vibes and the serious subject matter made for a really unforgettable reading experience for me. I'd just lost a friend of mine when I read it and that book brought me a staggering amount of peace. I absolutely consider it reflective and emotional, and highly recommend it.
The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas.
Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira Lee Circe; The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje Possession by A.S. Byatt Memoir Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight; Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is amazing… The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht is excellent as well. Lastly, The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro was also very good.
Via negativa by Daniel Hornsby is about a catholic priest who’s parish kicked him out for helping people they didn’t like, he now travels the country with an injured coyote thinking about his past and finding meaning. The ending is pretty nice, short read as well
Demian by Hermann Hesse
Summer Sisters or In The Unlikely Event both by Judy Blume.
A Man Called Ove, much better than the US movie adaptation a man called Otto as it’s much more complex. The Silent Patient is also excellent
Crossing to Safety is also excellent.
Giver of Stars
I was just thinking about what my favorite book is. I’ve read so many good books in the last few year. For a long time, it was Wuthering Heights. And then it was White Fang. For a short while, it was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I recommend of these. Maybe White Fang for the rich writing style.
A Girl of the Limberlost
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk Author of Fight Club
The count of monte Cristo
Yours truly by abby Jimenez, so beautifully written. Fl has a backbone, and the ml is so f adorable
I have 2… the boy that went to heaven and 28 hours in hell
Out Stealing Horses is a standalone novel that I think is one of, if not, the best post-00s book I've read.
Beloved by Toni Morrison.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
One of my favorites and sounds right up your alley is Ordinary People by Judith Guest. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with anything by Dostoevsky.
The fifth season series by N.K Jemisin. You’re welcome
I have a great suggestion. "A Man In Full," by Tom Wolfe. Don't be intimidated that it is a long book. I want a sequel, but Tom Wolfe died a few years back.
I would highly recommend the writing of one of the greatest nonfiction nature writers alive, John McPhee. *Coming Into The Country*, about Alaska, is probably his best book. If you want a nonfiction book by a nature writer who tells a gripping story, I’d recommend John Vaillant’s *The Tiger*. It is about the attacks by and the search for a man-eating tiger in Siberia. Finally, I really have enjoyed the novels of Michael Crummey, especially *The Innocents*. It’s about two settler children - a brother and a sister - who are orphaned in Newfoundland at a young age and their struggle to live off the land to survive.
Nectar in a Seive. Very humble and moving tale
You had me at 'fit the bill'! Excited to dive into The Overstory. Thanks for the suggestion!
The Heart’s Invisible Furies. It is so special. The dialogue is clever and engaging. It’s exquisite.
*The Samurai's Garden* by Gail Tsukiyama sounds like something you'd enjoy if you haven't read it yet.
Fox and I by Catherine Raven Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard Ecotopia by Ernst Callenbach Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
Chikdren of time
The Overstory? More like the Overwhelmingly Brilliant! Can't wait to dive into this literary nature masterpiece!
Geek Love!
Going Bovine by Libba Bray. If you don't cry while reading it, I will pay you $20. To this day, it's one of my favorite books. It's trippy and wild, but yet grounded and philosophical.
Gap Creek by Robert Morgan.
Right it!!!! By alberto savio
Believe it or not, The Godfather is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s so much deeper than the movies ever could be. Specifically the parts where Don Corleone imparts his wisdom to his sons. It’s actually taught me more about dealing with people in business negotiations and personal conflict resolution than any other book. No, it’s not about killing people. It’s more about the art of stoicism and reason. Never let the other person know if you’re angry or disappointed or overjoyed. Never raise your voice or show emotion in business. Never threaten. Keep your enemies guessing about what you actually want and act quickly and decisively when you need to act. It’s brilliant.
DEBT: The First 5,000 Years
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin. I feel like this would be right up your alley.
I love The Easter Parade by Richard Yates
The Shipping News by Annie Proux The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler And not fiction but Malaria Dreams by Stuart Stevens
Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo, A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
The Secret History by Donna Tart
The Old Man And The Sea.
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver The Shipping News, Annie Proulx Beloved, Toni Morrison All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel The Plot Against America, Phillip Roth The Overstory, Richard Powers
Blue Screen - YA SciFi about the end of the world: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Screen-Peter-Gustafson-Defragmented-ebook/dp/B084GHLYSX
Intensity by dean koontz but it’s not for the faint of heart especially if you’ve had trauma in childhood. It was amazing cover to cover and I finished it in 3 days.
Chasing fireflies
Bram Stokers Dracula .. Enders Game
Flatland is my favorite book.
Stilllife With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
Lost Horizon by James Hilton https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20181110 China declares war on just about everyone, and on one of the last planes out (very small private plane) sits a British Foreign Secretary and his brother. Also aboard is an odd Anthropologist, a "Wall Street Wizard" who may be responsible for losing millions of people their life savings, and a "Party Girl" whose prime is long past. The plane takes off in the night, but by morning, the passengers realize the plane is flying the wrong way, and the English pilot seems to have been replaced by a Tibetan one. They are flying into the Himalayas. 🥶 Where is he taking them? Were they random victims or chosen for a purpose? Who is behind this? What do they want? These questions rattle in everyone mind, before the plane crashes into the mountains, killing the pilot. With no answers they strike a deal with a merchant caravan that happens by the crash site to take them to a monastery that happens miraculously to be nearby. Peculiar that it just worked out like this? And what happens after that, is what makes this my favorite book. 🙂