Best small town & rural fiction books according to redditors

Maybe: That Bright Land

In the summer of 1866, Jacob Ballard, a former Union soldier and spy, is dispatched by the War Department in Washington City to infiltrate the isolated North Carolina mountain community where he was born and find the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Union veterans.

Have you read Laszlo Krasznahorkai? Read The Melancholy of Resistance by him, absolutely amazing contemporary piece of fiction.

Here's the preorder on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/The-Casual-Vacancy-J-K-Rowling/dp/0316228532/ref=sr_tr_sr_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334253057&sr=8-1

And Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/The-Casual-Vacancy-JK-Rowling/dp/0316228532/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334253112&sr=8-1

I don't see/know how to pre-order for kindle, though, which would be my preference :(
(Currently not available: http://www.amazon.com/The-Casual-Vacancy-ebook/dp/B007THA4FI/ref=sr_tr_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1334253216&sr=1-1 )

This is interesting to me. I use the library a lot and would generally prefer to purchase an e-book over a physical book if I have to make the choice; I try to avoid cluttering my place with loads of one and done books.

On the other hand, this seems like a book that many people will want to take a crack at reading--good or bad. I guess for the price difference, $20.94 - $19.99 = $0.95, I guess I'll just get the physical book. I derive some pleasure from sharing books with other people, so I guess that would make up the price difference.

More interesting though, is, you know, why that price point? That's really high. I'm sure she got an enormous advance and all, but yikes.

László Krasznahorkai should have that sweet, sweet combination of serious intellectual ambition, imaginative playfulness and empathic talent which the listed authors all share in some way or another! I'd recommend War&War or The Melancholy of Resistance. Here's a James Wood review for good measure.

Blurbs follow:

War&War:

>War and War, Laszla Krasznahorkai's second novel in English from New Directions, begins at a point of danger: on a dark train platform Korim is on the verge of being attacked by thuggish teenagers and robbed; and from here, we are carried along by the insistent voice of this nervous clerk. Desperate, at times almost mad, but also keenly empathic, Korim has discovered in a small Hungarian town's archives an antique manuscript of startling beauty: it narrates the epic tale of brothers-in-arms struggling to return home from a disastrous war. Korim is determined to do away with himself, but before he can commit suicide, he feels he must escape to New York with the precious manuscript and commit it to eternity by typing it all on the world-wide web. Following Korim with obsessive realism through the streets of New York (from his landing in a Bowery flophouse to his moving far uptown with a mad interpreter), War and War relates his encounters with a fascinating range of humanity, a world torn between viciousness and mysterious beauty. Following the eight chapters of War and War is a short "prequel acting as a sequel," "Isaiah," which brings us to a dark bar, years before in Hungary, where Korim rants against the world and threatens suicide. Written like nothing else (turning single sentences into chapters), War and War affirms W. G. Sebald's comment that Krasznahorkai's prose "far surpasses all the lesser concerns of contemporary writing."

The Melancholy of Resistance:

>A powerful, surreal novel, in the tradition of Gogol, about the chaotic events surrounding the arrival of a circus in a small Hungarian town. The Melancholy of Resistance, László Krasznahorkai's magisterial, surreal novel, depicts a chain of mysterious events in a small Hungarian town. A circus, promising to display the stuffed body of the largest whale in the world, arrives in the dead of winter, prompting bizarre rumors. Word spreads that the circus folk have a sinister purpose in mind, and the frightened citizens cling to any manifestation of order they can find: music, cosmology, fascism. The novel's characters are unforgettable: the evil Mrs. Eszter, plotting her takeover of the town; her weakling husband; and Valuska, our hapless hero with his head in the clouds, who is the tender center of the book, the only pure and noble soul to be found. Compact, powerful and intense, The Melancholy of Resistance, as its enormously gifted translator George Szirtes puts it, "is a slow lava flow of narrative, a vast black river of type." And yet, miraculously, the novel, in the words of The Guardian, "lifts the reader along in lunar leaps and bounds."

Thing from my list!

My plans tomorrow are the same plans as every Friday - go volunteering at The Marine Mammal Center! I'm an animal care volunteer so I spend a lot of time feeding and medicating seals and sea lions. It's super awesome. Then when I get back home I'm hoping to Skype with /u/MeghanAM and have a Pokemon battle with /u/Meitachi :D TGIF

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

https://www.amazon.com/Casual-Vacancy-J-K-Rowling-ebook/dp/B007THA4FI

OR you can get the PDF for free:

https://www.docdroid.net/cvz6EZi/the-casual-vacancy.pdf

Debbie Reese's blog is focused on children's literature, but she has a long list here of Native writers and illustrators on Twitter. Personally, I've enjoyed books by Daniel Heath Justice and Rebecca Roanhorse. There's also a nice short story collection called Walking the Clouds (though if you get bogged down in the first section about non-linear narratives, I suggest skipping ahead to the other stories, which are more straightforward).

On my to-read list: Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia, Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice, The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina.

How many books do you plan to read?

52! Right on the nose!

Have you completed the 52 Book Challenge before?

No. haha. This past year I've read 10 books. That's it. More internet bullcrap then reading. THat's going to change this next year!

What will be your first book of 2016?

[Acoustic Shadows by Patrick Kendrick] (http://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-Shadows-Patrick-Kendrick-ebook/dp/B00TO3RIM2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451407500&sr=8-1) I have a problem with buying books and not reading them. I guess I bought this in October but I don't remember it. I'm going to try to clear out my not read list before buying anything new.

Anything else you want to ask or share!

I'm going to do four week themes! So far I have the first as thrillers! I have a list at home (i'm at work, naturally lol) Should make it more fun, me thinks.

Here's my goodreads profile though! I love new people :)

I suggest A Short History of a Small Place by the same author. *Loved* it.

Congrats, that's awesome!

I'd love this!

Make Good Art

some reading for you

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Department-Chair-Comprehensive-Jossey-Bass-ebook/dp/B006HW13V0/

https://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Department-Chairs-Chair-Book-ebook/dp/B005TGXJCG/

https://www.amazon.com/Straight-Man-Novel-Vintage-Contemporaries-ebook/dp/B005WBGNZS/

My Favorite Book!
This is actually pretty hard. I'm obsessing over ASOIAF (Game of Thrones) lately, and highly recommend it.

But my favorite book is A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. It's much more accessible that his other works and is simply beautiful at times.

Close seconds are Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut and A Clockwork Orange. If you haven't been reading Vonnegut you should start ASAP. Brilliant writer.

I only have a couple books on my wishlist because I kind of impulse buy them as I finish others, but I've wanted to read this for a while, despite terrible reviews, out of sheer loyalty.

This is not for me but for my lovely wife. She loves reading but hates carrying around books. So she reads the majority of her books on her tiny iPhone screen and I always feel sorry for her. She squints and struggles to read when she could be comfy reading on a tablet.

Now, why wouldn't I just buy her one? It's because I'm funemployed for the summer, so we have to save up cash. Otherwise I'd love to help her out.

I haven't read it yet but there is a new novel out called The Dry by Jane Harper:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dry-Novel-Jane-Harper-ebook/dp/B01BSN15F6.
It's set in a small rural town in Australia but It looks like it could be the right vibe you're looking for.

I've found them on Amazon (Books 1, 2, and 3,) but I get this notification on the right side that its not available in my country. Like I said, any leads for getting it in the US would be super helpful.

its a book. a collection of stories about Appalachia.
https://www.amazon.com/Boogers-Witches-Haints-Appalachian-Americana-ebook/dp/B0051ANQBE

what's next?

This Bonhoeffer book looks interesting, or this one for fluff.

Yay! Good job on you for caring enough to keep at it for six months until he was happy!

Cheesy romance novels are perfect for summer.

Why won't you move Mr.Bubbles?

The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig.

The Woman Who Married a Bear by John Straley.

Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance by Stephen Herrero.

I used to come over an hour to work to the big city lol. This was maybe 2002 or so. I didn't have a cell phone at the time as they were still fairly expensive at the time. Anyway, I made it about 3/4 of the way there and my car broke down on the highway. I didn't know what the hell to do. No-one was doing to offer help. Eventually I actually started to walk a bit down the highway. An older man in a fairly nice car pulled over and asked if I needed help. I explained I had no idea what was wrong with my car and how I was surely going to be late for work. We talked and discovered he also worked downtown and was headed that way. At first I was a little freaked out but for whatever reason I felt safe taking a ride with him. Well he drove right to the front door of my office building and we had a nice chat on the way there. I honestly don't remember the details but I'm thinking maybe there was some discussion about who he was or what he did that comforted me about the safety issue. I mean even thinking about it now I think wtf was I thinking but clearly he didn't kill me lol THANKS

This book would be great. Thanks for the contest :)

If you're in the mood for lighthearted romances, check out Books With Benefits for all sorts of romance reviews. Seven Wicked Nights is only $0.99 right now for Amazon Kindle. If you use iBooks, selected Tessa Dare novels (also sexy historical romances) are on sale right now from $1.99. /r/suggestmeabook may also be a good place to ask :-)

Edited to add: First book of Sisters in Love (contemporary romance) now free on Kindle!