do you have any niche (ish) book recommendations? basically anything that isnt popular with book influencers or part of an established canon. always looking for a way to broaden my horizon
all of these i’ve barely/never seen discussed online or found the old fashioned way (poking around a bookstore) <3
Lives of the Monster Dogs: a recounting of that time a bunch of scientifically enhanced anthropomorphic dogs in 19th century german fashion moved into new york city in 2008. obviously we all remember this but in case you want to relive it, their time in new york is recounted in letters, diaries, articles, and a full operetta!
Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart and Other Stories: a very strange and whimsical collection that feel like the grimm brothers take on a welcome to nightvale <3 nathercott is one of my favorite authors and her folklorist backgrounds really comes through in her writing! this also has beautiful illustrations.
Candelaria: i genuinely cannot even begin to describe this one it is so strange 😭😭 it’s a multigenerational novel except the generations are surviving a very strange apocalypse? theres a wellness cult? and zombies? if thats not your speed Lozada-Olivia also has an equally strange novel in verse called Dreaming of You, in which a woman copes with a break up by resurrecting Selena. yes that Selena.
The Fetishist: in short: a punk rock singer kidnaps the man she blames for her mother’s death. in long: a character driven work following Kyoko, the punk rocker, Daniel, the kidnapped and the fetishist, and Alma, the love of Daniels life and cello prodigy. really poignant book about love, music, and the fetishization of east asian women. This was also an unfinished work that Katherine Min’s daughter Kayla edited and published posthumously. if you pick it up a highly recommended reading Kayla’s afterword.
Meet Me at the Crossroads: this is about two sisters who grew up in a church that worships mysterious doors that open go another world. when one steps through disappears, the other is left with the mystery of where she went, and who she is on her own. Giddings is a very loved author but i think this one didn’t get as much love as her other novels bc its much more of a ghost story than the portal fantasy it seems a lot of people were expecting.
Catalina: a somewhat autobiographical novel about an undocumented girl’s experience at an elite college. Catalina is such a vibrant, ambitious, and complex character it’s impossible not to immediately fall in love with her. If you’re interested in nonfiction Villavicencio’s book The Undocumented Americans is also phenomenal.
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