Jenny in Florida Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I'm sifting through my library's databases, looking for an audiobook. I'm specifically in the mood for a certain kind of story and am not having a lot of luck finding anything. I'm looking for something kind of like The Historian (Kostova) or The Thirteenth Tale (Setterfield) or The Secret History (Tartt) or maybe The Night Circus (Morgenstern). In trying to put my finger on what I want, I think what these all have in common is a certain dense, literary quality, slightly gothic sometimes, a little bit of mystery but not actual horror . . . In all cases, if these authors have published anything else, I've either read it or turned it down for some reason. And some of the obvious choices -- Discovery of Witches -- are things I just didn't like or couldn't get into. Also, since I'm looking for audio (because I already have a couple of physical books in progress), I'm limited to what is available for download through my library system. But I'm hoping if I can gather enough suggestions here, I'll be able to find at least one available there. Suggestions? Thanks! Edit: I should say, probably, that I've spent a lot of time with the "people who bought this also bought that" lists on both Amazon and B&N without a lot of success. I keep coming up with titles that I've already read, that aren't of interest and/or that aren't available through my library. So, I figured it must be time to ask here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I've only read 13th Tale on your list...maybe House of Leaves or Frankenstein? At least I'm giving you a bump. Eta: oops not HOL if you want audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke Anything by Neil Gaiman! Or maybe The Baroque Cycle books by Neal Stephenson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I started reading Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White after seeing it mentioned in The Thirteenth Tale, and it definitely has a similar feel. I really liked The Moonstone too. ETA: Diane Setterfield will finally have a new book out later this year. I can't wait, even though I don't even know what it's about yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Those don't perfectly match your requirements... Thinking here... Maybe the books by Arturo Perez-Reverte (series about booksellers starting with--I think--The Flanders Panel). The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr Personally, I like Dan Simmons: Drood and Summer of Night, but he can veer into some horror aspects. If you like a little romance, Possession by A.S. Byatt *edited to add a series I've wanted to read but haven't gotten around to: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azucena Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl (a novel, despite its title!) reminded me a lot of The Secret History. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I second Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell, also- The Dante Club (a tinge of horror) or The Poe Shadow (Pearl) The City of Dreaming Books (Moer) Lincoln's Dreams (Willis) The House on the Strand (DuMaurier) The Shadow of the Wind (Zafon) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I love the books you mentioned, and often find myself looking for more like them. Going to check out some of the suggestions above. Here are two more, that you may or may not have read (or rejected): The Shadow of the Wind Song of the Exile DH is not a big reader, but he loved the Historian, and the two above. He likens them to eating a very rich dessert. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Oops! I'm not the first to mention Shadow of the Wind. Maybe that's a good sign for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Elizabeth Gaskell's Gothic Tales Ann Radcliffe Sheridan Le Fanu Barbara Comyns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Thanks for all of the suggestions! Some I've already read (Possession, The Alienist, a bunch of Wilkie Collins, etc.). Others, I've tried and didn't like or just could get into (Dante Club, Jonathan Strange). But looking up the others lead me to some good possibilities, I think. I just came back from the library with a nice stack of books and am looking forward to diving into all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl (a novel, despite its title!) reminded me a lot of The Secret History. Yes! It was way closer in feel to The Secret History than Donna Tartt's second novel, which was abysmal. And I third The Shadow of the Wind. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 ANother suggestion is that there a few book recommendation websites out there. THe one I have used is Novelist. YOu put in a book or author and it suggests others like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Yes! It was way closer in feel to The Secret History than Donna Tartt's second novel, which was abysmal. Was the Tartt book The Little Friend or something like that? I tried that one, hoping it would be similar to Secret History, but I didn't make it past the first few chapters. It was too upsetting for me. I happened to find Special Topics in a lovely, seemingly unread hardcover at the library bookstore today for $2.50. It looks like fun! Edit: In terms of audio, I got a notification not long after I posted this question that it was my turn for The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb. I had listened to the same author's Alice I Have Been and liked it sometime last year. I didn't expect to care for this one as much, just because the subject wasn't immediately as intriguing, but I'm enjoying it very, very much. It's prompted me to get online and scrounge the shelves at the library and here at home for information about P.T. Barnum and Lavinia Warren. And I always appreciate a book that sparks that kind of research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Try Kate Morton. The Forgotten Garden, The House at Riverton, and The Distant Hours were all really good. Just the right amount of creepy, excellent storytelling, and compelling mysteries. Edited to correct autocorrect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Like you, I loved The Historian. Seconding quite a few of the recommendations already (Zafon, Pressl, Tartt -- I even enjoyed her 2nd novel, though it was nothing like The Secret History).... Maybe some others.... Dracula by Bram Stoker Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi (loved this one too) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (not really exactly what you're describing, but I think it might appeal to you...) Darkmans by Nicola Barker The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder (if you want a steampunk novel) Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (maybe -- wasn't my favorite, but had that slightly creepy vibe) The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Try Kate Morton. The Forgotten Garden, The House at Riverton, and The Distant Hours were all really good. Just the right amount of creepy, excellent storytelling, and compelling mysteries. Edited to correct autocorrect! Agree. I just discovered Susanna Kearsley who writes in a similar vein. Have you read anything by Daphne Du Maurier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Unless I missed it. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. If you enjoyed the historian you should like that. Totally different, but the same if you know what I mean. Have you read any Anne Rice before? If you don't want to read about witches, then Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat are also really good. It is just the Witching Hour is more in the same vein as the historian. Someone reading the history. The vampire novels are from the vampire's point of view rather than someone researching the history. Daphne Du Maurier is one of my favs! Rebecca and Jamaica Inn are both really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Agree. I just discovered Susanna Kearsley who writes in a similar vein. Have you read anything by Daphne Du Maurier? Love Du Maurier! I fell in love with Rebecca when I read it as a teenager and tore through a bunch of her novels and stories then. I actually did pick up a couple of books of hers I didn't recognize while at the library yesterday, though. On the subject of Rebecca, I just have to share one of the coolest things we did during our trip to NYC this past Thanksgiving. My daughter and I went to this: http://sleepnomorenyc.com/ It's nearly impossible to describe, and I was very unsure I'd like it. But my daughter really, really wanted to go. It turned out to be both mine and her favorite thing of the entire trip. Although the primary storyline is from Macbeth, there are characters and elements from Rebecca sprinkled here and there. For example, actors will occasionally pull an audience member away from his or her group into a private space. One of these one-on-one experiences, reportedly, is that a young woman narrates to the audience member the opening lines of Rebecca. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Unless I missed it. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. If you enjoyed the historian you should like that. Totally different, but the same if you know what I mean. Have you read any Anne Rice before? If you don't want to read about witches, then Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat are also really good. It is just the Witching Hour is more in the same vein as the historian. Someone reading the history. The vampire novels are from the vampire's point of view rather than someone researching the history. Daphne Du Maurier is one of my favs! Rebecca and Jamaica Inn are both really good. Oh yes, I read (and enjoyed) both Lestat and the whole Mayfair Witches series. I definitely see why you'd make that connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Love Du Maurier! I fell in love with Rebecca when I read it as a teenager and tore through a bunch of her novels and stories then. I actually did pick up a couple of books of hers I didn't recognize while at the library yesterday, though. On the subject of Rebecca, I just have to share one of the coolest things we did during our trip to NYC this past Thanksgiving. My daughter and I went to this: http://sleepnomorenyc.com/ It's nearly impossible to describe, and I was very unsure I'd like it. But my daughter really, really wanted to go. It turned out to be both mine and her favorite thing of the entire trip. Although the primary storyline is from Macbeth, there are characters and elements from Rebecca sprinkled here and there. For example, actors will occasionally pull an audience member away from his or her group into a private space. One of these one-on-one experiences, reportedly, is that a young woman narrates to the audience member the opening lines of Rebecca. That looks seriously freaky! Sort of like interactive theatre but turned on its head? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Ok, looks like we might have some similar book tastes. On the Du Maurier side, I lived in Cornwall and had lunch a few times at the Jamaica Inn. How about A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libby Bray. I really enjoyed this first book, but I could not get into the rest of the trilogy. I like books that give a glimpse of history or another culture through fiction. Does that make sense? Anyway, The Poisionwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, The Help By Kathryn Stockett, and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Those don't deal with the supernatural, but are interesting glimpses of other times and places. Also, just really good stories. My friend told me The Help was one of the best audio books she has ever heard. Really well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Was the Tartt book The Little Friend or something like that? I tried that one, hoping it would be similar to Secret History, but I didn't make it past the first few chapters. It was too upsetting for me. Yes. You were wise to bail out early, as it did not get any better. It has been years since I read it--I purchased it in hardback because I loved TSH so much, and I am still bitter about the hours of my life that I devoted to that book. I was younger then and less willing to admit my mistakes and move on. It really made me wonder whether TSH was more autobiographical than one would think, and after writing her own story, Donna Tartt couldn't come up with any decent fiction. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 I started reading Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White after seeing it mentioned in The Thirteenth Tale, and it definitely has a similar feel. I really liked The Moonstone too. ETA: Diane Setterfield will finally have a new book out later this year. I can't wait, even though I don't even know what it's about yet. How funny - Wilkie Collins came to mind immediately for me. Some of Georgette Heyer's mysteries are good too. I don't know about finding them on audio though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone43 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I am always trying to find books like The Historian and The Thirteenth Tale. I second Wilkie Collins The Woman in White. Also anything by Kate Morton (The Forgotten Garden is fantastic) or Kate Mosse. KM has a trilogy (Labyrinth, Sepulcher, and Citadel) -which are excellent! I'm reading The Winter Ghosts by her as we speak ;) I have a good friend that really likes Tobsha Learner, which is supposed to be in the same vein. ETA...anything by Anne Rice. Vampires or witches, or even mummies....that woman is just amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Ok, just finished a book with book club and had to throw it out there. I loved reading it and was enthralled while hating it at the same time. Fascinating read. Gone Girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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