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Book Club Read Alikes

Not sure what to read? First choice not available? Try one of these read-alikes based on the book you wanted, or one you've enjoyed in the past. Suggestions have been compiled with the help of the NoveList database (available through NebraskAccess) and include titles we have in our Book Club Kit collection.

Jump to suggestions for:

• After the Flood
• All the Light We Cannot See
• Anxious People
• Before We Were Yours
• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
• Educated
• The Fishermen
• Four Winds
• Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
• The Handmaid's Tale
• Lilac Girls
• The Lincoln Highway
• Little Fires Everywhere
• A Man Called Ove
• The Midnight Library
• The Personal Librarian
• Remarkable Creatures
• Where The Crawdads Sing
• The Woman in Cabin 10

If you liked After the Flood by Kassandra Montag (apocalyptic fiction, strong female characters, action-packed storyline, haunting tone, compelling writing, science fiction), you might try…

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - apocalyptic fiction, flawed characters, nonlinear storyline, haunting tone, lyrical writing, science fiction.
• The Line Between by Tosca Lee - apolcalyptic fiction, sympathetic characters, intricately-plotted storyline, suspenseful tone, compelling writing.
• The Dog Stars by Peter Heller - apolcalyptic fiction, action-packed storyline, moving tone, compelling writing.
• Wool by Hugh Howey - apolcalyptic fiction, well-developed characters, world-building storyline, strong sense of place, compelling writing.

If you liked All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (complex characters, character-driven storyline, haunting tone, lyrical writing, literary/historical fiction), you might try…

• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - family saga, flawed characters, haunting tone, lyrical writing, literary fiction.
• Charming Billy by Alice McDermott - flawed characters, moving tone, spare writing, literary fiction.
• The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
- well-developed characters, haunting tone, engaging writing, historical fiction.
• The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
- complex characters, character-driven storyline, moody tone, lyrical writing, literary/historical fiction.

If you liked Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (quirky/sympathetic characters, amusing tone, witty writing, intricately-plotted storyline, theme of "thrown together", mainstream fiction), you might try…

• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - quirky/sympathetic characters, amusing tone, engaging writing, women's lives and relationships.
• 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - quirky characters, upbeat tone, engaging writing, intricately-plotted storyline, humorous stories.
• Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty - relatable characters, darkly humorous tone, witty writing, character-driven storyline, theme of "thrown together", mainstream fiction.

If you liked Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (historical fiction, inspired by real events, character-driven storyline, heart-wrenching tone), you might try...

• The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham - historical fiction, inspired by real events, moving tone.
• Orphan Train by Christina Baker Klein - literary fiction, unlikely friendship, character-driven storyline, leisurely pace, moving tone.
• Manhatten Beach by Jennifer Egan - historical fiction, life during wartime, complex characters, moving tone, lyrical writing style.

If you liked The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (historical fiction, books about books, likeable characters, atmospheric tone, engaging writing style), you might try…

• The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes - historical fiction, strong female character, lush writing style.
• The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips - histocial ficiton, southern fiction, character-driving storyline, homespun, heartwarming tone, engaging writing style.
• The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins - southern fiction, books about books, likeable characters, whimsical, homespun tone, engaging writing style.

If you liked Educated by Tara Westover (memoir, eccentric/neglectful parents, heartwrenching tone, candid writing), you might try…

• The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls - memoir, eccentric/neglectful parents, reflective tone, engaging writing.
• The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner - memoir, eccentric/neglectful parents, moving tone, candid writing.
• Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt - memoir, bleak tone, witty writing.
• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah - eccentric/neglectful parents, well-developed characters, strong sense of place, engaging writing, domestic fiction.

If you liked The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma (literary fiction, political fiction, character-driven storyline, atmospheric tone, lyrical writing style), you might try…

• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - literary fiction, atmospheric tone, lyrical writing style.
• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri - literary fiction, family saga, authentic characters, sweeping storyline, haunting tone, lyrical writing style.
• Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat - literary fiction, character-driving storyline, hauting tone, lyrical writing style.

If you liked Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (Historical fiction, Depression/Dust Bowl era, dramatic tone, lyrical writing style), you might try...

• The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips - historical fiction, Depression era, Southern fiction, bittersweet tone, lyrical writing style.
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - historical fiction, Dust Bowl era, sympathetic characters, haunting tone, lyrical writing style.
• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson - historical fiction, Depression era, likeable characters, atmospheric tone, engaging writing style.

If you liked Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (Historical fiction, strong female characters, intricately-plotted, bittersweet tone, engaging writing style), you might try...

• The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy - love during wartime, historical fiction.
• Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce - historical fiction, life during wartime, strong female characters, heartwarming tone, engaging writing style.
• Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor - Historical fiction, likeable characters, character-driven storyline, moving tone, engaging writing style..

If you liked The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Dystopian fiction, complex characters, character-driven storyline, disturbing tone, lyrical writing), you might try…

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - dystopian fiction, twisted charcters, disturbing tone, gritty writing.
• The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist - dystopian fiction, thought-provoking tone.
• Divergent by Veronica Roth - dystopian fiction, courageous characters, intricately-plotted, suspenseful tone, compelling writing, young adult.
• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - dystopian fiction, strong female characters, character-driven storyline, suspenseful tone, compelling writing, young adult.

If you liked Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly (love during wartime, strong female characters, moving tone, compelling writing, historical fiction), you might try…

• The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris - love stories, religiously-diverse characters, historical fiction.
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - love during wartime, dramatic/moving tone, compelling writing, historical fiction.
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn - strong female characters, flawed characters, dramatic tone, compelling writing, historical fiction.
• The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss - historical thriller, intricately-plotted, strong sense of place, fast-paced, compelling writing.

If you liked The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towlesy (coming-of-age stories, historical fiction, intricately plotted, character-driven sotryline, bittersweet tone, compelling writing style), you might try…

• This Tender Land by William Kent Kreuger - coming-of-age stories, historical fiction, well-developed characters, character-driven storyline, atmospheric tone, engaging writing style
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich - coming-of age stories, authentic characters, character-driven storyline, moving tone, lyrical writing style.
• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead - historical fiction, complex characters, issue-oriented storyline, dramatic tone, gritty writing style.

If you liked Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (complex characters, character-driven storyline, multiple perspectives, literary fiction), you might try…

• Digging To America by Anne Tyler - flawed characters, character-driven storyline, moving tone, mainstream fiction.
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - flawed characters, character-driven storyline, darkly humorous tone, compelling writing, mainstream fiction.
• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid - flawed characters, thought-provoking tone, engaging writing, literary fiction.
• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett - large cast of characters, sweeping storyline, moving tone, engaging writing, multiple perspectives.
• The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling - large cast of characters, character-driven storyline, darkly humorous tone, gritty writing, multiple perspectives, mainstream fiction.

If you liked A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (quirky/sympathetic characters, upbeat tone, witty writing, mainstream fiction), you might try…

• The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley - amusing tone, relationship fiction, character-driven storyline.
• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin - quirky characters, moving tone, witty writing, mainstream fiction.
• The Curious Charms Of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick - heartwarming tone, engaging writing, relatable characters, mainstream fiction.
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - quirky characters, heartwarming tone, engaging writing, mainstream fiction.
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - quirky characters, heartwarming tone, engaging writing, mainstream fiction.

If you liked The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (science fiction, mystical tone, engaging writing style, themes of alternative timelines/parallel universes/"time and again"), you might try…

• Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore -relationship fiction, science fiction, likeable characters, heartwarming thom, witty writing style, theme of "time slip".
• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty - relationship fiction, likeable/sympathetic characters, moving tone, engaging writing style, theme of anmesia/lost time.
• Landline by Rainbow Rowell - relationship fiction, flawed/relatable characters, face-paced, whimsical tone, engaging writing style, themes of time loops and fixing history.

If you liked The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict (African American fiction, historical fiction, complex characters, character-driven plotlines, dramatic tone, engaging writing style), you might try…

• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett - African American fiction, historical fiction, complex characters, character-driven storyline, engaging writing style.
• The Gilded Years by Karen Tenabe - African American fiction, historical fiction.

If you liked Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (historical fiction, dramatic tone), you might try…

• The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi - historical fiction, moving tone, engaging writing.
• The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin - historical fiction, moody tone.
• Chocolat by Joanne Harris - likeable characters, atmospheric tone, engaging writing, leisurely-paced, literary fiction.

If you liked Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Quirky/sympathetic characters, character-driven storyline, atmospheric tone, coming-of-age stories), you might try…

• Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt - quirky characters, character-driven storyline, atmospheric tone, coming-of-age stories.
• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah - well-developed characters, strong sense of place, engaging writing, domestic fiction.
• The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister - lush/lyrical writing, atmospheric tone, coming-of-age stories.
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - brooding/complex characters, character-driven storyline, melancholy tone, coming-of-age stories.

If you liked The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (intricately plotted, menacing tone, psychological suspence), you might try…

• The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn - unreliable narrator, intricately plotted, menacing tone, psychological suspence.
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - unreliable narrator, twisted/unlikeable characters, intricate plot, fast-paced psychological suspense.
• Into the Water by Paula Hawkins - unreliable narrator, unlikeable characters, intricately plotted, fast-paced, psychological suspence.