readers advisory for all discussion

this is another way that readers' advisory tools can be used - comparing authors. here are a couple that i did, but i'm sure some of you people can do a better job, right??

If you like Dorothy Parker, try Dawn Powell

Dawn Powell was a member of the New York literary scene in the 30’s and 40’s, socializing with Hemingway, Clare Luce Booth etc. She paints a vivid picture of struggling artists and the vapidity of the New York social scene with a biting wit and a great eye for detail.

If you like John Steinbeck, try Maritta Wolff

Maritta Woolf ‘s work focuses on characters frustrated by their limitations, usually financial in nature. She is the master of the family story, even when she is using it as a backdrop for much larger themes.

If you like Margaret Atwood, try Liz Jensen

Like Atwood, Jensen can seemingly tell any story, whether it be a World War II story of a family betrayal, a dark fable featuring a comatose boy, speculative sci-fi about the possible future of genetics, or a cautionary tale about global warming and religious mania.

If you like A.M. Homes, try Shelley Jackson

Dark and occasionally grotesque comic fiction that explodes stereotypes and is both compelling and disturbing.

If you like Chinua Achebe, try Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie or Sefi Atta

Two of the best modern-day Nigerian authors, both discuss the difficulties of being a woman in a consistently turbulent land, and do an excellent job of untangling the complicated politics of the region.

If you like Milan Kundera try Adam Thirlwell.

Both writers approach narrative horizontally focusing more on context and synchronistic experience than as plot as a means to an end goal. As well as the internal self experience of the reader, the characters, and the author.

if you like Marguerite Duras, try Amélie Nothomb

i find them to be similar, although i like nothomb way more. both are very spare in their writing, and emotionally detached. and both are translated from french, and are probably "better in the original," but what can you do?

If you like China Miéville try M. John Harrison

An avowed influence on Miéville, Harrison has a similar genre-jumping set of publications, and a more literary bent to genre fiction.

What a great thread! Eeeeee!

i would love more people to get involved on this thread, because i think it is fun!!! funnnn!!

If you like Ernest Hemingway try Willa Cather.

The subject matter is not the same, but the understated, simple writing styles are similar. They wrote during overlapping time periods, though Hemingway was obviously an ex-pat and Cather was a pat. Particularly, I think The Sun Also Rises and My Antonia are similar in being character driven, while A Farewell to Arms and O Pioneers are similar in being more plot driven. One of Ours is Cather's WWII novel, and overlaps with Hemingway because of subject matter. Cather is more home and hearth and Hemingway is more alienation, but I think they even overlap in those sentiments.

If you like David Sedaris (Author) or Augusten Burroughs, try David Rakoff.

Sedaris and Burroughs have a similar dark sense of humor. David Rakoff is in that same vein, but particularly good for the liberal New York crowd. I honestly think that Rakoff is better, but he's definitely a little too smart for some folks.

If you like Douglas Adams, try Tom Robbins.

I realize this may be an obvious one, but I've managed to meet a great many Adams fans who have somehow missed out on the equally whimsical (if much more sexual) Tom Robbins.

Jonas wrote: "If you like Douglas Adams, try Tom Robbins.

I realize this may be an obvious one, but I've managed to meet a great many Adams fans who have somehow missed out on the equa..."

I'd never thought of this connection before, I think I'll end up using this at work at some point on a customer.

oh, my - the group is useful!

If you like Kurt Vonnegut, try George Saunders.

They both use some of the same satirical humor, and they both seem to have the same fatalism mixed with a strange optimism.

If you like Neil Gaiman , try Peter S. Beagle .
They both have a unique voice, but a similar writing style and ability to tell a compelling story that really draws their reader in completely. They are each masters of their own worlds, but I have caught glimpses of Beagle's work in Gaiman's words/worlds before in the cleverest possible way. I would highly recommend either for those who love fantasy or just oddity.

great thread ...

If you like Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Robbins, try James Morrow.
Quirky, outlandish, satirical and humane.

If you like Russell Banks, try David Adams Richards.
Canada's answer to Banks, I think - gritty Canadiana, DAR writes about those on the bottom - what got them there, what the struggle is like. Not a lot of redemption, but a deep understanding of the psychology of failure.

If you like Rohinton Mistry, try Jhumpa Lahiri, and then try (for more edge) Aravind Adiga.
Obviously, the connection is the Indian social and political environment made personal - with Lahiri, very personal. Adiga is, like Lahiri, both a novelist and a short story writer - and great at both. Adiga is very contemporary, and like Mistry - you can almost smell, touch and taste the environment he creates.

If you like Ernest Hemingway, try Paul Bowles' The Sheltering Sky.
Existential ennui in the north African desert - what's not to love?

If you liked (or disliked) Martel's Life of Pi try Timothy Findley's Not Wanted On The Voyage - a much, much better allegory. A better book overall - and oh so heart-wrenching, but also whimsical. Just freakin' lovely - one of my fave books of all time.

If you like Madame Bovary read Jude the Obscure.
both play with the ideals of morals in an earlier historical period but find different solutions to their problems. the hardy however is not as funny.

bumping this thread because i am trying to be better at moderating this group and i think this thread is fun

If a gal likes Ann Aguirre; what should she try?

i have only read her YA stuff, for which ilsa j. bick's trilogy:

Ashes
Shadows
Monsters

is a good readalike, but if you are looking for her more adult sf stuff, i dunno. but maybe if you post in this thread:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

someone can help you out!