It’s my favorite book ever. Sometimes One Hundred Years of Solitude wrenches that title back from Jonathan Strange but then I open the book and Strange takes it back yet again.
Márquez is phenomenal—it's the short stories of his that I read first and fell in love with; they may be the reason I write magical realism, too.
Speaking of the devil, Carlos Ruiz Zafón is wonderful, too. Angel's Game has a special place in my heart, but I'd recommend the whole series, also The Mist Trilogy. (Of course I now must exorcise my Rereading Spree demon. 😮💨)
If anyone cares, another (though quite atypical) fantasy recommendation: Marlon James’ The Dark Star Trilogy. People either love it or hate it, I found it a remarkable accomplishment, shocking but also morbidly enchanting
Pedantic correction: it's A Wizard of Earthsea, not The. But I can attest to its excellence and I'm delighted to see it on the list. I also loved what I've read from the rest of the series, particularly The Tombs of Atuan
I can also vouch for The Memory Police. A strange, haunting book. Like a bad dream in the best way possible.
Editing to add a recommendation of my own: Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson. My favorite book that I read in 2025. Like seeing the inside of my own head reflected back to me in a frightening and moving way.
Adding all of these to my list because I want to start reading more next year. Right now I’m with “the secret lives of colours” and loving every second of it so I recommend.
I love this list! I've read eight of these, some more than once, and others are in my stack, just waiting their turn. The feeling among these as a group is so strong.
I wrote about my love of On the Calculation of Volume on Free Words a while back, and the third book in the series just arrived. You might like Claire-Louise Bennet's Pond, and almost anything by César Aira (I think my favorite is Artforum).
The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by E.T.A. Hoffman. Hoffmann is most famous for writing the Nutcracker, but he also wrote this weird and wonderful tale told from the point of view of his cat Murr. Also there is another book inserted inside of the main text
Clarke's Piranesi is brilliant. I highly recommend her debut, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell—among my favourites of all time, not just in fantasy
It’s my favorite book ever. Sometimes One Hundred Years of Solitude wrenches that title back from Jonathan Strange but then I open the book and Strange takes it back yet again.
Márquez is phenomenal—it's the short stories of his that I read first and fell in love with; they may be the reason I write magical realism, too.
Speaking of the devil, Carlos Ruiz Zafón is wonderful, too. Angel's Game has a special place in my heart, but I'd recommend the whole series, also The Mist Trilogy. (Of course I now must exorcise my Rereading Spree demon. 😮💨)
If anyone cares, another (though quite atypical) fantasy recommendation: Marlon James’ The Dark Star Trilogy. People either love it or hate it, I found it a remarkable accomplishment, shocking but also morbidly enchanting
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, by Olga Tokarczuk.
I almost added that here. The only thing that stopped is I haven’t finished it fully yet myself.
Wait until you get to the ending. Are you surprised?
I remember fondly reading The Wizard of Earthsea many years ago. It may be time for a reread.
I recently finished Offill's the Dept of Speculation and I'm excited to see you listed it!
I would add anything by Herve Guibert - To The Friend Who Did Not Save My Life to start.
I accept this challenge.
There's no resisting me.
I'm stranger than any Pilgrim on the Mayflower, baby.
Come to my lair. Find out what Substack already knows.
Wild Milk is one of the most amazing books of all time. It just completely blew me away.
I would only add the subsequent volumes of the calculation of volume, gets better as it goes. Three out now. Thanks for a great list. Cheers.
LOVE The Fifth Season!! Coincidentally reading Impossible Creatures right now!
Master and Margarita was a beautifully baffling reading experience, and it disrupted a year-long reading slump!
If you're interested, here are some of my thoughts on The Vegetarian: https://feelingsdhaba.substack.com/p/biweekly-x-ray-bodies
The Earthsea books are incredible!
Amazing list!
Pedantic correction: it's A Wizard of Earthsea, not The. But I can attest to its excellence and I'm delighted to see it on the list. I also loved what I've read from the rest of the series, particularly The Tombs of Atuan
I can also vouch for The Memory Police. A strange, haunting book. Like a bad dream in the best way possible.
Editing to add a recommendation of my own: Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson. My favorite book that I read in 2025. Like seeing the inside of my own head reflected back to me in a frightening and moving way.
Adding all of these to my list because I want to start reading more next year. Right now I’m with “the secret lives of colours” and loving every second of it so I recommend.
Such an incredible list! I’m reposting for my book club, and The Vegetarian is on our list of possibilities for our January read!
I love this list! I've read eight of these, some more than once, and others are in my stack, just waiting their turn. The feeling among these as a group is so strong.
I wrote about my love of On the Calculation of Volume on Free Words a while back, and the third book in the series just arrived. You might like Claire-Louise Bennet's Pond, and almost anything by César Aira (I think my favorite is Artforum).
The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr by E.T.A. Hoffman. Hoffmann is most famous for writing the Nutcracker, but he also wrote this weird and wonderful tale told from the point of view of his cat Murr. Also there is another book inserted inside of the main text