Best family life fiction books according to redditors
We found 620 Reddit comments discussing the best family life fiction books. We ranked the 246 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 620 Reddit comments discussing the best family life fiction books. We ranked the 246 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
The Dinner by Herman Koch. Not as good as Gone Girl, but it's still pretty good. The entire novel revolves around this one dinner and you learn more and more about the four characters. I mean... these people are crazy. The ending will shock you. You'll be reading the last paragraph over and over just to wrap your head around what it's actually saying.
Here you go
I"m sorry, but I don't think your pop score is a very good way to rate books. "Number of amazon reviews * average review" is going to very heavily weight your score toward more recent releases. Even if books in the 60s or 80s were 10 times better as literature (whatever that would mean), almost no one reviews those books, so their pop score would never rise above low values.
There are several amazing works of actual literature that are not on your list. Just off the top of my head I could think of Engine Summer by John Crowley or Into the Forest by Jean Hegland or The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson. Or even The Stand, by Stephen King. Or even Cloud Atlas. While on the other hand you have books like Emergence, which are absolute crap.
I guess it's maybe true that there are a lot of post-apocalyptic books being written today, but your pop score metric seems pretty pointless to me.
I read a LOT and am always trying to find new collapse fiction. Whenever I see these kind of threads they always list the same 5 novels. To be fair that is because they are great books. Here is a list full of novels you might not know about. Anything you find here is worth reading. Even bad collapse fiction is useful because you can make mental notes of what the characters are doing wrong. I'll try to list them in rough order of best to worst.
Tunnel in the Sky By Robert Heinlein
Holding Their Own By Joe Nobody
Swan Song By Robert McCammon
A Distant Eden By Lloyd Tackitt
The Jakarta Pandemic By Steven Konkoly
77 Days in September By Ray Gorham
The Walk By Lee Goldberg
Folk of the Fringe By Orson Scott Card
World Made by Hand By James Kunstler
American Apocalypse: The Collapse Begins By Nova
Into the Forest By Jean Hegland
Year of the Flood By Margaret Atwood
Last Light By Terri Blackstock
TEOTWAKI: Beacon's Story By David Craig
The Pulse By Scott B. Williams
Grid Down Reality Bites By Bruce Buckshot Hemming
Desperate Times By Nicholas Antinozzi
Armageddon's Children By Terry Brooks
Desperate Times By Nicholas Antinozzi
I recommend both! For Stiff, I advise getting the audiobook version. It's very well done. The book itself is not any more graphic than it needs to be and is respectful (although I did take issue with the author's apparent negative view of cosmetic surgery in an early chapter.) I found the whole thing fascinating. I was actually most fascinated though when she got to the chapter about the possibility of human head transplants. Here's the page on Amazon.
As for A Dog's Purpose, I messed up and accidentally failed to notice there was an Audible version until literally just now, so I can't attest to the quality of the reading. But the book itself (as stated, I'm only half way through) is really good. Here it is.
And a sequel.
Read the book. It's so much sadder, and every single one of her books makes me cry. I highly recommend The Pact and Nineteen Minutes.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. I got it as a Kindle daily sale. Enjoying it so far!
Thank you, but I prefer the illustrated platinum edition.
I made a list based on where you can purchase them if you want to edit it onto your post:
This Month's Book
January:
by Iain Banks]
(https://www.amazon.com/Consider-Phlebas-Culture-Iain-Banks/dp/031600538X)
by Aldous Huxley]
(https://www.amazon.com/Brave-New-World-Aldous-Huxley/dp/0060850523)
by Ray Bradbury
by Oscar Wilde
by Adrian Tchaikovsky
by Jordan B. Peterson]
(https://www.amazon.com/12-Rules-Life-Antidote-Chaos/dp/B0797Y87JC)
February:
by Richard Matheson
by Frank Herbert
by Haruki Murakami
by Bret Easton Ellis
by Max Tegmark
by Friedrich Nietzsche
March:
by Ernest Hemingway
by Herman Melville
April:
(https://www.amazon.com/Dice-Man-Luke-Rhinehart/dp/0879518642)
https://www.amazon.com/Stoner-York-Review-Books-Classics/dp/1590171993)
(https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Punishment-Fyodor-Dostoyevsky/dp/0486415872)
https://www.amazon.com/No-Longer-Human-Osamu-Dazai/dp/0811204812)
May:
https://www.amazon.com/Spring-Snow-Sea-Fertility-1/dp/0679722416)
(https://www.amazon.com/Runaway-Horses-Sea-Fertility-2/dp/0679722408)
November
Books Pewds suggested but hasn't talked about in any of the episodes yet:
linking pewds to see this u/pewpewpewPEWdie
Stoner by John Williams
It's the most undervalued book I've ever read. The protagonist, a teacher, is either a loser or a hero depending on what you take from the story. The story is frustrating, overwhelming, sad, and touching. I've raved about it on here before, so I won't go much further. Just give it a shot if it looks like your cup of tea. It will stick with you long after you finish... and no it has nothing to do with drugs.
Same! I highly recommend checking out his book, South of the Pumphouse. It's super twisted. I had a hard time getting into it and I was a little iffy on the style of writing. But after like 30 pages it takes off, and I ended up finishing it in a day.
Also, Les and Dean Ween of Ween are coming out with a fishing show. I guess it's produced by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. I'm pumped.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
I am going to take issue with that Brave New World and Hunger Games are dystopian, but not science fiction" line. The article linked to explain that distinction is based around the idea that dystopia must involve an ideological critique and uses The Matrix as an illustrative example, but doesn't seem to talk about what makes something science fiction rather than just blanket speculative fiction. (e.g. According to the author, The Matrix is not dystopian because the central narrative line is a messiah's human triumph over machines in thriller format, not the prediction/parable about humanity's end that would mark it as dystopian according to the thesis. I disagree.)
As far as I'm concerned, science fiction incorporates technology and/or science that is conceivable, but not currently available. So I'd say Brave New World's Bokanovsky's Process and The Hunger Games' genetic engineering in the form of mockingjays and tracker jackers as well as the flight craft and force fields and massive leaps in other technologies easily qualify them both as sci-fi. And dystopian.
So ha. ^Though ^you ^might ^get ^me ^to ^argue ^that ^Brave ^New ^World ^is ^actually ^utopian.
More Recommended Dystopian Sci-Fi Reads:
Dystopian and Not Quite Sci-Fi Recommendations:
But really, this whole article setup is eerily reminiscent of the "____ Literary Trope is Not Worthy!" followed by "Rebuttal!" linkbait we've been seeing a lot.
Oryx and Crake is excellent, and I would recommend it to anyone. It's part of a trilogy that continues with The Year of the Flood, which covers the same time period viewed by entirely different characters (segregated lower class and a hippie-ish religious cult rather than the biotech-happy upper crust in Oryx and Crake). MaddAddam is meant to tie the two together.
Depending on what type of dystopia you're interested in, I have several recommendations:
Sounds like the "job" would have been more like this,
http://www.amazon.com/Room-A-Novel-Emma-Donoghue/dp/0316098329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398896017&sr=8-1&keywords=room+book
To be fair, it is based on a novel of the same name. There's also a sequel novel called China Rich Girlfriend, and another one coming out in spring so it must have some niche.
Stoner, by John Williams.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is one hell of a book if you want more racing-based wisdom.
The best book I read last year was Long Division by Kiese Laymon. It's a funny/sad book with time travel and a mystery. A young man becomes a viral sensation after an academic competition goes awry. Searching for a girl lost in the town where he is hiding out while waiting for the sensation to die down, he discovers a wormhole to the past. It's $10 for Kindle on Amazon, but I believe I read it via my local public library's ebook lending on Overdrive. http://www.amazon.com/Long-Division-Kiese-Laymon/dp/1932841725/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426713319&sr=8-1&keywords=long+division
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes was a fun read. The writing isn't bad, it's a mystery, and there is some timeline flipping. Another one that is available on Overdrive, if your library uses it. $9.99 for kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Shining-Girls-Novel-Lauren-Beukes/dp/0316216860/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426713345&sr=8-1&keywords=the+shining+girls
The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander is a mystery of sorts that is set in Argentina during the Dirty War. It is comical, sad and surreal, the story of a couple oppressed by their government, trying to save their son. $9.99 for Kindle. the ministry of special cases
The Dinner by Hermann Koch was recommended to me by someone who said it was like Gone Girl but for men. I'm not sure what that means, but it was a fast read, and relatively enjoyable. $4.99 for Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Herman-Koch/dp/0385346859/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426713379&sr=8-1&keywords=the+dinner
The Garden of Evening Mists by Twan Eng Tan is beautifully crafted and suspenseful. A Malaysian woman who devoted her career to trying Japanese WW2 criminals retires and returns to the estate where she convalesced from her time in a Japanese work camp during the war and learned the art of Japanese gardening under the tutelage of the exiled head gardener of the Emperor of Japan. The story is told largely through flashback and reveals a harrowing story of survival and a fantastic mystery surrounding her host/teacher at the estate. My synoposis makes it sound boring, but I couldn't put it down. $8.63 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Evening-Mists-Tan-Twan/dp/1602861803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426713396&sr=8-1&keywords=the+garden+of+the+evening+mist
(edited to add links)
Stoner by John Williams (not the composer) is one of the best novels I've ever read. Fantastically well written, just a wonderful story of an ordinary man's life. I've read two of Williams' four novels (the other being Butcher's Crossing, about 19th century buffalo hunting, also phenomenal) and one of the others is Augustus, a national book award winner. I should get on that one...
Also, The Dog of the South by Charles Portis(author of True Grit, also an excellent book) is a hilarious, wonderful book that I would recommend to anyone. Actually all five of his books are great too.
Oh, can't forget Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, incredible portrait of a post-apocalyptic world written in its own dialect. It takes a while to get used to, but once you do it's well worth it.
Re-reading North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud because the stories are really, really unique. Not quite your traditional horror collection. Plus, he graduated from UNO & spent some time offshore, so occasionally some So. Louisiana flavor peeks thru his stuff.
I've also just started It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis for obvious reasons. A really prescient read so far that was published in the 30's.
The Beans of Egypt Maine
http://amzn.com/0802143598
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/North-American-Lake-Monsters-Stories/dp/1618730606&ved=2ahUKEwj_yf2F0NbkAhVIzhoKHSA2BMIQFjANegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw1RxQbz_rIamAPwqToSYTBK&cshid=1568681050812
Each story is very disturbing..dont wait for any reconciliation..just wonder who the monsters are. Won the shirley jackson award...look up other winners..they are all creepy
I'm reading All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
https://www.amazon.com/All-Our-Wrong-Todays-Novel/dp/1101985135/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496793953&sr=8-1&keywords=all+our+wrong+todays
It's outstanding
OP - send me a PM and I'll buy it for you
'Stoner' by John Williams - a slow-burn classic about a life unfulfilled. Starting to feel uncomfortably familiar as I get further into my 40s.
I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb.
The narrator isn't schizophrenic, but most of the book concerns his complicated relationship with his schizophrenic twin.
http://www.amazon.in/Dogs-Purpose-Novel-Humans/dp/0765330342
I think this is the book.
A parziale difesa del fumetto, sembra essere una caratteristica dei libri di Cameron (link).
http://www.amazon.com/Know-This-Much-True-P-S-ebook/dp/B000FC128M/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1406079447&sr=1-4
I know this much is true by Wally Lamb. It's about identical twin brothers, one of them is paranoid schizophrenic and the book begins by him walking into the public library and cutting off his hand to protest the war in the Middle East. the book deals with mental illness, dysfunctional families, abuse, and the brothers relationship. It is just an amazing book and I highly recommend reading it and also his book 'she's come undone'.
Stoner by John Williams--covers the story of Stoner from teen to his death
someone just posted a similar question on /r/books, so I'll just copy/paste what I wrote there.
The Dinner, by Herman Koch. The book is very readable and well-paced.
[This] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743454537/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3A4E0QXOZ5L8K&coliid=I1RPF9OHWHP6OY) book is amazing. And so is the movie. Many tears will be shed, but its SO worth it. Get this book, cuddle up with some tea or hot coco, and enjoy this heartwarming book. You won't regret it!!!
Still Alice because it is awesome! Well written, great story.
Or
The Art of Racing in the Rain excellent book. Loved every word.
Not so much.
And, of course, Maine's real stereotype is "spooky small towns with hauntings and Things That Go Bump In The Night."
My own post-apocalyptic novel is After The Fires Went Out: Coyote and I think it fits what you're looking for, but I'm surprisingly biased.
Ah, what the hell?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NIFTII
Hmmm, interesting.
Also this was in the recommended books and it looks amazing.
http://www.amazon.com/South-Pumphouse-Claypool/dp/1933354062/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312657962&sr=8-1
Yes, it has
HI!! Thanks so much for hosting this fun gauntlet!
Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping. Beautifully written and incredibly immersive. Some of the best descriptions of nature I've ever read--they somehow completely avoid being trite, which is a real rarity.
I read "Into the Forest":
>Set in the near-future, Into the Forest is a powerfully imagined novel that focuses on the relationship between two teenage sisters living alone in their Northern California forest home.
>Over 30 miles from the nearest town, and several miles away from their nearest neighbor, Nell and Eva struggle to survive as society begins to decay and collapse around them. No single event precedes society's fall. There is talk of a war overseas and upheaval in Congress, but it still comes as a shock when the electricity runs out and gas is nowhere to be found. The sisters consume the resources left in the house, waiting for the power to return. Their arrival into adulthood, however, forces them to reexamine their place in the world and their relationship to the land and each other.
I read it after seeing the trailer for the movie - if something looks interesting and it's based on a novel I always have to read the book first! It definitely passes the Bechdel, also it's written by a woman. Not sure it lives up to all the hype, but it's a fluffy easy read and a decent page turner.
Try reading A Dogs Purpose and A Dogs Journey. I recommend it to people who have lost their dog one way or another. There's lots of controversy about the way dogs were treated when making a movie from the book, but the books are great. You'll definitely cry, but it's a heartwarming cry.
https://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Purpose-Novel-Humans/dp/0765330342
Here's amazon links for everyone... cleaner.
https://smile.amazon.com/Get-Trouble-Stories-Kelly-Link/dp/0812986490
https://smile.amazon.com/All-Our-Wrong-Todays-Novel/dp/1101985135
https://smile.amazon.com/Mischling-Affinity-Konar/dp/0316308099
https://smile.amazon.com/Doubters-Almanac-Novel-Ethan-Canin/dp/0812980263
https://smile.amazon.com/Most-Dangerous-Book-Battle-Ulysses/dp/0143127543
https://smile.amazon.com/Mexico-Stories-Josh-Barkan/dp/1101906294
https://smile.amazon.com/Nothing-Portrait-Insomnia-Blake-Butler/dp/0061997382
https://smile.amazon.com/Weather-Stations-Ryan-Call-ebook/dp/B005YFEHM8
https://smile.amazon.com/All-Light-We-Cannot-See/dp/1501173219
https://smile.amazon.com/Perfidia-James-Ellroy/dp/0307946673
https://smile.amazon.com/Lonely-Hearts-Hotel-Novel/dp/0735213739
https://smile.amazon.com/Happy-Talk-Novel-Richard-Melo/dp/1935869175
https://smile.amazon.com/TransAtlantic-Novel-Colum-McCann/dp/0812981928
https://smile.amazon.com/Deep-Whatsis-Peter-Mattei/dp/1590516389
https://smile.amazon.com/Watch-Me-Go-Mark-Wisniewski/dp/0399172122
https://smile.amazon.com/Second-Life-Nick-Mason-Novel/dp/0399574344
The Dinner by Herman Koch is one of the best horror novels I've read recently, and even saying that much gives the game away a little. Marketed as literary fiction, this book slowly falls apart as you read it until you come to an ending that's...well, it's pretty horrifying.
It was a big hit across Europe but doesn't seem to be having the same impact in the US.
'The Art of Racing in the Rain' by Garth Stein
I read a hell of a lot. As in, I have a personal library of over a thousand books. Possibly more, I am not about to count them, fuck that. I have so many shelves, each holds this many books, etc. I can recommend books like it's my job, for some genres.
Here is one that had only one print run, but was still somehow made into a totally shitty 80's movie, which should not reflect on the book - the book was mindblowing. The only person I lent my copy to "lost it", meaning, he loved it enough to start his own library. I futilely raged at him, and went and got another. It is good. It is so damn good. Told from the perspective of a German shepherd dog protecting his family from a sudden threat they can't see, but he can smell. That sounds like nothing much, but oh wow; this book, it's amazing.
Also, it's a wild ride, but at the end, you end up happy crying. I don't ever cry about what happens in books, but I legit was doing the same kind of crying you do at Disney movies.
Not many books have that kind of power, so I'm passing on what I know.
Housekeeping is a great literary novel. It doesn't have a mother as the protagonist, 2 young orphan sisters are the main characters. There's a lot of soul searching and wondering if a normal life of housekeeping is the best life. The author, Marilynne Robinson, recently won a Pulitzer for a more recent book and so there's been more interest in this one.
Housekeeping: A Novel https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312424094/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_pA8ZzbTKJE0F3
I read this as part of a college English class, Literature by Women. I don't actually remember reading anything about motherhood, except for The Handmaid's Tale, for that class, which seems kind of odd looking back.
Funny enough, there was a sequel to the book
https://www.amazon.com/Gump-Co-Winston-Groom/dp/1451607547/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506098911&sr=8-1&keywords=gump+and+co+book
Anything by Cormac McCarthy. Especially All The Pretty Horses.
Tom McCarthy's first novel (no relation to Cormac) really impressed me. It's about a man who no longer feels his actions are genuine after a debilitating accident forces him to re-learn how to function his body.
"“Ever since learning to move again,” he explains, “I’d felt that all my acts were duplicates, unnatural, acquired.” Like a character in a novel by Philip K. Dick, he comes off as something between a normal person and a programmed automaton""
Eventually he spends the money from the injury lawsuit creating bizarre and elaborate recreations of memories (or invented scenarios) where he felt more 'real' or natural. The book is truly strange, and following the protagonist down the twists of his psychosis is uncomfortably easy, like the border between his mind and yours isn't as thick or as firm as you'd like it to be.
God is Dead by Ron Currie, Jr. is a series of short stories around the premise that God came to Earth as an African woman only to be killed, and subsequently eaten by wild dogs. The stories are about the varying reactions to the confirmed death of God, and include teenage suicide pacts, child-worshipping cults, and an interview with the dog who ate the flesh of God.
It's a quick read (fewer than 200 pages), and the stories will stick with you.
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson isn't exactly new, but it's easily the most beautiful book I've ever read. It packs more loneliness and pain than should be possible in 219 pages, but every word is perfect. If you like gorgeously constructed, compact prose, read this book.
And for whatever reason, I adore Denis Johnson's Already Dead every time I read it, and then promptly forget the majority of its plot. I couldn't tell you much of what happens, but the characters are bizarrely archetypal forces, and again, the prose is beautiful.
-------------
EDIT: Just realized I missed your stated admired authors. If you're into the Carver-esque, "dirty-realism" scene, God is Dead might not be your thing, and perhaps not even Remainder (which, though psychologically realistic and philosophically intriguing, is not exactly "realism.") Cormac definitely would be, though, if you're not already familiar.
On the "gritty real-life" front, John Brandon's Arkansas was solid and entertaining, but doesn't particularly stand out in my memory. Apart from that, and the novels I mentioned above, I haven't read much in this style recently, apart from the classics (Carver!). Too much school=not enough reading, unfortunately.
There's a book called Thor by Wayne Smith that does a great job of this. It's a werewolf horror story, but told from the point of view of the family dog. The author didn't give the dog a voice, but framed things from the dogs POV, so everything was described how a dog would interpret them based on what we know of animal behaviour. The family is the pack, it's his job to protect the pack while trying to be a 'good boy' and not a 'bad dog'. It's been a while since I've read it, so I don't have a lot of specific examples, but it's worth taking a look at.
​
Edit: The Amazon page has a preview if you want to read a bit to get a sense of what I mean:
Amazon Ebook Preview
North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
Into the Forest by Jean Hegland. Back when I was a shill, I wrote this "multi-"book review of some post-apocalyptic books.
No, I haven't (as I don't have a smartphone), but that sounds like a really interesting concept!
I just finished Room, and am currently reading The Book Thief. Both are really good! I ended up reading Room in one evening- I just couldn't stop! >.<
Wow your taste is all over the place and we like the same types so if its ok, im going to link a few different ones. I picked ones not Already on your list.
I hope some of these help a little!
Happy friday!!!! I love Fridays :)
It's so hard to choose one when the majority of my wish list is made of books! My next book to read is definitely Room: a novel, which is written from the viewpoint of a child who grew up with his mom captive in one room (I think? Correct me if you've read it and I'm wrong).
This weekend I get to see my parents and siblings together for the first time in months!! We're spread across states and countries so it's rare that we can all see each other. Lots of homemade meals, hiking, waterfalls and general goofiness - I'm excited :D
Have an amazing weekend!! &lt;3
Read this book, the premise of which is that even an undistinguished life is worth living. It is also a fantastic work of literature.
I would highly recommend the book The Art of Racing in the Rain Fictional story told from the dog's point of view, about his owner (a race car driver) and the challenges the owner is going through with his wife and child. I rarely read fiction but borrowed it from my wife one night and read it cover-to-cover by the morning. An absolute tear-jerker but phenomenally well-written. If you love your dog then you'll love this book.
Mirando: termine true detective, viendo house of cards, sigo con vikings y esperando game of thrones. Viendo si me le animo a Treme.
Leyendo: Room, de Emma Donoghue y The Master & Margarita, de Mickhail Bulgakov
Jugando: deje de ser "gamer" hace 10 años, me embola
Okay, this is not only my current earworm, but it is a constant earworm for me.
Kevin Keith - ejband.com Chapman Stick Video
Its short but its so DAMN CATCHY. And he is a total baller.
I cant get it unstuck, this one at least, but others I just listen to a few times then I can move on.
I don't do the MP3s, but this is an eBook for 2.99 if that's fine :D
Heeereee
Darn ear-worms, get out of my head!
Jodi Picoult does this with her books. One that comes to mind is My Sister's Keeper, my favorite of her books.
Marilynne Robinson's HOUSEKEEPING. Very possibly the finest coming of age novel by a living American author.
Relevant: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Great book.
Annnnd here we go again. I'm doing this with all books, just because.
Allegiant
Berenstain Bears
Calvin and Hobbes
Dune
Edgar Allen Poe collection
Fahrenheit 451
Gulliver's Travels
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
Julie of the Wolves
Kite Runner
Little House on the Prairie
Machine of Death
Neverending Story
Omnitopia Dawn (The book I'm reading now, actually!)
Pilgrim's Progress
Quarter Share (Also available free as a podiobook!)
Room
Snow Crash
[Tell-Tale Brain](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&amp;field-keywords=tell-tale brain&sprefix=tell-tale%2Cstripbooks%2C222&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Atell-tale brain&ajr=2)
Uglies
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Watership Down
Xenocide
Year Zero
Zen and the Art of Knitting
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan! It's a well written and funny romantic comedy. It's pretty light, but there's enough there to talk about with someone else I think.
Papillon by Henri Charrière - optimism in spite of imprisonment and physical difficulties
Stoner by John Williams - "William Stoner emerges from it not only as an archetypal American, but as an unlikely existential hero, standing, like a figure in a painting by Edward Hopper, in stark relief against an unforgiving world."
Wally Lamb seems to make mental illness a central theme to most of his works - I have read and enjoyed I know This Much is True, but he has several other books you could try if they suit mood better
This book came out a few days ago. It's not exactly aligned with what you mentioned but you may find it interesting. I'm almost halfway through and I am enjoying it.
All Our Wrong Todays: A Novel https://www.amazon.com/dp/1101985135/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YRhNybQZ30Z74
Just some fun ideas. Not sure what type of stuff she is into. Maybe you could tell us a little more about her.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/484691591/teal-druzy-necklace-geode-necklace-druzy?ga_order=most_relevant&amp;ga_search_type=all&amp;ga_view_type=gallery&amp;ga_search_query=&amp;ref=sr_gallery-2-10
Modern Calligraphy: A Beginner's Guide to Pointed Pen and Brush Pen Lettering https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998906204/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0gI0BbAK1NYYQ
Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345803787/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_YkI0Bb2D8J8WF
This place is super fun and you both could go. I have done this several times with friends and even my husband enjoyed it. https://boardandbrush.com
https://www.lushusa.com/gifts/christmas-gifts/
Just found this today :) https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov-Illustrated-Platinum-ebook/dp/B017YB4AJ4
My favorite book of all is Lolita. A close second might be Rules of Attraction. And I have to mention The Art of Racing in the Rain because it made me cry like a stupid baby. Please read that book. http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Racing-Rain-Novel/dp/0061537969
The Art of Racing in the Rain. It's a fiction book which looks at the love of driving and a generally good story. It's not too long and a great thing to hammer through on a plane ride or over a weekend. The description of a hot lap is amazing.
They think in the language of their human companions. Evidence (it's a cool story that is written from a dog's point of view. It's endearing and witty. The dog likes to watch television and learns quite a bit from the History channel and stuff like that.)
Please tell me you read The Art of Racing in the Rain.
Have you read Thor by Wayne Smith-? A werewolf novel told from the point of view of a German shepherd dog. Yes, seriously, and I thought it was a lot of fun. Avoid Bad Moon, the movie based on the novel.
Just a quick sidenote, have you read Room. I mean, it's right up your alley to be honest. It happens in childhood and, fair warning, it isn't occult horror, it's everyday horror if that makes sense.
But I am with you, stories taking place in childhood would be so much fun. I have many memories of the weird and outright scary when I was young but for it only to be something I didn't understand because I had the brain of a Winnie The Pooh book. Yet if that scary thing was real, how could I get help? I would be a child trying to fight something beyond my power and strength.
Then again, I also like stories where it is something bad happening to the child but the child can't really figure out that it's bad. I like that because the reader is both simulateously going "you idiot kid! Can't you see what is happening to you?!" yet also going; "What the fuck? What if something like that happened to me?".
Good point, /u/GobiusIndustries.
I enjoyed The Art of Racing in the Rain, have you read A Dog's Purpose (http://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Purpose-W-Bruce-Cameron/dp/0765330342/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1344449966&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=a+dog%27s+purpose) Also a great read.
My book of the year: The Passage by Justin Cronin. A couple of other very good books that are also available on the Kindle are Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Good Squad, Emma Donoghue's Room, and Karl Marlantes' Matterhorn.
Acabo de terminar de leer The art of racing in the rain. Muy tierno.
South of the Pumphouse by Les Claypool
It is a short and disturbing read about some guys that go out fishing. I think I finished it in the middle of a long plane flight and never felt more awkward and dirty. Enjoy!
I am not a big reader though I was as a kid/teen. A friend recommended "The Art of Racing in the Rain" and it's the only book I haven't been able to put down in years. It's from the perspective of a very wise dog about his owner. I also remember 'Of Mice and Men' being an easy read in school too.
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Jennifer Government.
Recently finished The Art of Racing in the Rain. A must-read!
More appropriate (though less famous) for Maine would be The Beans of Egypt, Maine.
Some suggestions:
Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan.
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina (but this might be a little young for your kids)
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
I'd also second Feed.
the art of racing in the rain
It's a toss up between:
If you want to be subtle about her relationship, get her The Beans of Egypt Maine.
Other books of hers that also deal with moral/philosophical dilemmas:
My Sister's keeper - deals w Genetic engineering - a child was conceived to help save her sister. but she doesn't want to...
19 Minutes - deals w parents of a son who guns down his classmates (like columbine)
Gotta love used Amazon books!! https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1933354062/ref=tmm_pap_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&amp;condition=used&amp;qid=1482997280&amp;sr=8-1
for anyone who has read "The Beans of Egypt, Maine," this will come as no surprise. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802143598?keywords=the%20beans%20of%20egypt%20maine&amp;qid=1452222867&amp;ref_=sr_1_1&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1
the other reference might be the movie Deliverance: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068473/?ref_=nv_sr_1
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is great. It's a human's story told from the perspective of the dog. I think it touches everything you've asked for.