About Recommended Reading: In this opposites-attract YA rom-com inspired by Emma, a failed romantic gesture puts a damper on a queer teen bookseller’s summer of book matching and matchmaking until a handsome lifeguard and romance skeptic waltzes into his bookstore. Sometimes you get a second chance at happily ever after when you least expect it . . .

Hi, I’m Bobby Ashton, main character of the young adult rom-com Recommended Reading. I’m known around my town as the Book Whisperer, i.e. the fat, nice, gay boy who can matchmake anyone with their next perfect read and partner. Here are ten romances ranging from the classics to up-and-coming legendary novels that you will match with… and maybe a few extra credit bonus picks thrown in for good measure because you can never make just one (or ten) book suggestions(s).

Emma by Jane Austen

I’ve always felt a certain affinity for Emma Woodhouse. She’s smart, blessed, driven, and accomplished. She gives back to her community and has a knack for matchmaking. We’re very similar. But she’s got a touch of superiority and a few blindspots that make her her own worst enemy and nearly cost her her chance at true love. Maybe we’re too similar.

Speaking of, if you loved the original or the movie Clueless, L.C. Rosen wrote a queer YA contemporary version called Emmett.

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena

It takes guts and skill to start your debut YA novel with the death of the lovers and still draw the readers in. Bhathena’s got both in spades! You’ll love Zarin, labeled as a bad girl when she is displaced to Saudi Arabia, and Porus, who only has eyes for her despite everyone’s warnings. The talent and depth of thought the author poured into the characters and story is clear from the first page to the last.

Bonus! Bhathena’s sophomore YA is a sweet, cozy rom-com, and her latest novels are fierce, girl power fantasies inspired by medieval Indian mythology with great banter.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Emily Brontë’s (of the famous Brontë  siblings) only published this one novel. The intensity! The passion! The devotion that defies death! The songs by Kate Bush and Céline via Meatloaf! Heathcliff is one of the original brooding bad boys, stomping around the Yorkshire moors as he and Catherine pine for one another. True love has never been so deliciously sadomasochistic. Read the OG classic that inspired both the Twilight and Fifty Shades franchises which, in turn, helped legitimize fanfic.

Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse by Anne Carson

Anne Carson reimagines an ancient Greek myth into a contemporary coming-of-age love story. Geryon uncovers the potential of his art when Herakles, the object of Geryon’s affection, leaves at the height of infatuation and reappears years later. Told in verse, Geryon’s monstrosity and journey through heartbreak is gut-wrenching and uplifting at the same time. Readers will ache with Geryon in this romance where maybe the lovers shouldn’t end up together.    

Out of the Blue by Jason June

You can’t go wrong with a Jason June rom-com. I dare you. Double dog dare you. You can’t! Every single one is an absolute delight. OOTB has a familiar Little Mermaid feel with Crest, the merperson, on their mer version of Rumspringa, as they must aid a human before time runs out and they remain stuck on land forever. Enter dual narrator, plus-size swimmer, Sean, who has just been publicly dumped by his boyfriend and is devastated by the unforeseen breakup. Seems like Crest found his human to help and what better way than to pretend to be a couple. Fake lovers to true love trope? Hello! Yes!

Bonus points if you check out the rest of Jason June’s titles. Extra credit super duper bonus points if you also check out the audiobooks because Jason June is a superb voice actor and hearing the author read their work as intended is pretty special.

All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kauffman

Tom is just a normal guy stuck in a world where everyone is a superhero, including his wife, the Perfectionist. When his wife’s ex uses his powers to make the Perfectionist no longer see or hear Tom, he must somehow get her to before she moves on perfectly, as per her name, and forgets him forever. This one is a short novel and makes a perfect gift even for non-readers who don’t have a lot of time to commit. Prepare for your nails to dig into the cover of the book as you flip those pages and hope Tom manages to save his relationship.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Two magicians challenge one another to a magical duel to prove who can raise the best successor, in a battle that will result in death. The venue, a midnight circus that arrives filled with spectacles unlike anyone has ever seen. But it all disappears by the morning. The contenders, Celia and Marco, who fall in love with one another’s spells and then each other even when they know they must win the competition or perish. High stakes much? Lavish descriptions of settings create an unforgettable story of seemingly doomed love.

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

What do you get when two writing best friends, one known for her revolutionary body-positive writing and one known for her no-holds-barred romance. A series of Christmas adult romances following former boyband members and unforgettable female leads that are like spicy Hallmark holiday movies in book form. AMLMC is the first book in the series that follows bad boy boyband member, Nolan, who needs to redeem his image through good behaviour and a wholesome holiday film, and Bee, a curvaceous adult film star who accidentally gets cast opposite Nolan, her teen crush and the guy who subscribes to her content. Sex positive and body positive, you will fall in love with the main characters and all the side characters. There are three Christmas Notch Series novels, two novellas, and three bonus chapters to keep you busy from January through December.

Extra credit if you want to delve into either author’s awesome other books that range from warm-your-heart to set-your-loins-on-fire.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples

Imagine if Romeo and Juliet were from two warring, intergalactic species instead of families and not only survived, but had a daughter who decided to tell their story in graphic novel space opera form. The result would be Saga. Better yet, the parent lovers bond over their shared adoration of a romance novel! Books really do bring couples together! A broad spectrum of diversities coupled with positive messaging about acceptance and tolerance provides the perfect balance of heart-melting and kickass moments.

The post The Book Whisperer’s Annotated Recommended Reading (AKA Bobby Ashton’s Brief List of Romances You Don’t Want to Miss) appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

About Christa Comes Out of Her Shell: Just when she thought she’d gotten far enough away . . . a life-changing phone call throws an antisocial scientist back into her least favorite place—the spotlight. A hilarious and insightful new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

There are many reasons to love a book. Maybe it has characters that make you laugh or think or want to run screaming into the understairs cupboard. Maybe it has a twisty plot or surprise ending that you can’t stop thinking about. For me, the biggest appeal of a book is the way it draws me into a world I want to escape to, a place where I can lose myself and emerge, blinking, hours later without any sensation of time passing. Like walking out of the movie theater in the afternoon, unsure if the world has kept spinning in your absence. I’ve picked six not-very-well-known books (and series) from different genres that excel at this, each of them also strong in character and plot, and with writing that catches your mind from the first chapter.

The Jeeves and Wooster books by P.G. Wodehouse

 Luckily, P.G. Wodehouse wrote many stories and novels about hapless aristocrat Bertie Wooster and his all-knowing butler, Jeeves. A good one to start with is Carry On, Jeeves, a collection of short stories including the one where Jeeves first enters Bertie’s employment. From the moment he arrives he is a balm, and if you want to escape into upper crust 1920’s England, where the biggest challenge of the day is what to eat for lunch, then this is your jam.

As Bertie says: … he floated noiselessly through the doorway like a healin zephyr. That impressed me from the start. Meadowes had had flat feet and used to clump. This fellow didn’t seem to have any feet at all. He just streamed in.

Bertie is a goofball and manages to repeatedly get himself into scrapes that Jeeves then has to free him from. These situations are pure escapism at its best. Another good choice is The Inimitable Jeeves, and either collection works. There are no plot spoilers or references to earlier stories, so you can just jump in.

The Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins

Author Suzanne Collins is much more famous for the Hunger Games series, but this set of five high fantasy novels is just as exciting and involving as its bigger cousins. Theoretically YA, the novels follow Gregor, a New York kid, as he is drawn into a secret subterranean world of giant rats, translucent people and ancient rivalries that spill over into war.

The first novel, Gregor the Overlander, sets the scene and the world building is so skillful and all- encompassing that I ended up reading the five novels one right after the other, and being desperately sad when they were over. Anyone who loves fantasy will fall into these, especially if you’re a fan of giant cockroaches and talking bats. And who isn’t?

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Not a series, but a book that is so fun, action-filled and light-hearted that it’s like watching the best kind of monster movie. John Scalzi writes very funny science fiction, and in this novel he imagines a version of our world where giant monsters (the Kaiju of the title) actually exist and need to be protected by (and from) humans.

A laconic food delivery guy gets drafted to help out and finds himself in the parallel world where the Kaiju have been hidden for their safety. Bad guys appear, shenanigans ensue, and you come out the book as exhilarated as the first time you watched a really good Godzilla flick. This is not classic literature, but it is a book I recommend over and over and have always gotten happy feedback on.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Sure, it’s a classic novel, but most people are more familiar with Pride and Prejudice (for good reason) and overlook this brilliant, romantic and compelling novel. The Dashwood sisters are left essentially penniless when their father dies and leaves his estate to a step-brother (for legal reasons that made sense in the 19^th century but which leave you scratching your head these days).

Elinor is practical and Marianne is not, but their romantic adventures drag you into their small world filled with frustrations and impossible dreams. I think Austen is at her best in this one (no shade to P&P) and the characters are wonderful. The ending is deeply, deeply satisfying. There’s a movie adaptation with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet that is also amazing, so that’s a bonus.

The Miss Silver novels by Patricia Wentworth

Something for mystery fans. Agatha Christie is still the queen, but the co-queen, if there can be such a thing, is Patricia Wentworth, who was writing at the same time. Her series of mysteries featuring the elderly but razor-sharp Miss Silver are amazing, with excellent plots and a mid-20^th century atmosphere that defines cozy.

Start with Grey Mask (the first one) or The Listening Ear (where a deaf character lip reads details of a crime and is murdered to keep her quiet) and take it from there, there are over thirty of them!

The Human Comedy by William Saroyan

Another straight piece of literature, but one with a compellingly romantic atmosphere and a wonderful small-town, second world war setting. Homer McCauley is a 14-year-old boy growing up in the California central valley. He takes a job as a telegraph boy, occasionally having to deliver very bad news to the families of soldiers away fighting.

The whole novel is infused with the tangled sensations of the mid-teens, when the world is just starting to make sense, while at the time being overwhelmingly confusing. (Homer says at one point, “I’m lonely for something, but I don’t know what I’m lonely for.” Relatable.) Less bitter and more hopeful than A Catcher in the Rye, this book won the Academy Award for best story and is a wonderful and emotional escape.

The post Six Slightly Overlooked Books To Escape Into appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve devoured the books or seen Keira Knightley running through a field, sporting a bonnet and petticoats or not—everyone knows something about or at least has heard of Jane Austen. Her literature can be seen in modern adaptations, such as Clueless (1995) or parodied in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), there are tours of the homes she lived in, theories over her love life, and her face is even on the ten-pound note. Since her death, Austen has become a character in herself. So, in our modern times of technology, socially acceptable showing of the ankles, and Harry Styles, who is our new “Jane Austen”?

Well, the name of this article is misleading because simply there cannot be another Jane Austen as her cultural impact remains her own and there can never be someone whose career and life align perfectly with her. We will never have another Austen, just as we will never have another Shakespeare or Chaucer, however, that does not mean we will not have ground-breaking romance and contemporary novelists following in the steps of our beloved writer. Brilliant in their own right, we’ve rounded up just a few stellar authors!

EMILY HENRY

Do you want friends to lovers? Or is enemies to lovers more of your cup of tea? Do you love fiction about people that also love fiction? Emily Henry is your gal. The queen of the summer romance novel, Henry keeps delivering bangers of a novel time and time again. The stories she continuously creates and has you devouring will undoubtedly leave you smiling and giddy. Henry has currently written three novels, Book Lovers (2022), Beach Read (2020), and People We Meet on Vacation (2021). Her newest book Happy Place released in April.

SALLY ROONEY

Now if you’re looking for something that has the intimacy of an Austen novel and the societal observations of an Austen novel, but without the required happily ever after, Sally Rooney is the author for you. Rooney rocketed to authorial fame through her novel Normal People, which looked at the lives of two teenagers and how society and class identities get in the way of their love for one another. Think, Marianne in Sense and Sensibility without the charming Colonel Brandon to come and eclipse her love John Willoughby. Rooney has three published novels under her belt, two of which have been turned into TV shows of the same name—Normal People (2018), Conversations with Friends (2017) and Beautiful World, Where are You (2021).

TAYLOR JENKINS REID

This is a must-read author for cinema and TV fans with multiple of her works currently being adapted for screen and TV. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a powerhouse, who is constantly working on mastering different types of genres—all under the umbrella of contemporary fiction. If you’re looking for some heartwrenching romance, Reid has books such as One True Loves (2016), which has just been released starring the magnificent Phillipa Soo, and Forever Interrupted (2013). Or if you’re a fan of Fleetwood Mac and all the drama that went into the fabric of their music, you should try Daisy Jones and the Six (2019), which released earlier this year on Prime Video.

It would take an entire article to go through all of Reid’s wonderful novels, but the one that prompted the Taylor Jenkins Reid fan frenzy was the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (2017), also in production to be become a film. Evelyn Hugo will leave you believing in love again and crushed to the core, Mr Darcy is nothing compared to Cecilia St. James, but he’s a whole lot better than Mick Riva.

TIA WILLIAMS

As many an literature teachers will tell you, Austen’s characters were complex. You just needed to look at the details of what they did and spoke. Tia William’s takes these romantic, flawed, three dimensional characters and gives them space to express themselves beyond implications and connotations. Williams has written and published six books, her two most famous books being Seven Days in June (2021) and The Perfect Find (2016), which is being turned into a movie. Her beautiful work gives romance to the everyday person. She does not gloss over the character’s issues and she does not make that a reason for them not to deserve a happy ending because, after all, everyone deserves a happy ending.

HOLLY BOURNE

One aspect of Austen’s novels that are often ignored is the female sisterhood that is promoted. Think of Anne Elliot in Persuasion, who is always there for her sister Mary and shows no hostility towards Louisa and Henrietta whilst they flirt with the man she loves. Holly Bourne takes this sisterhood and focus on female friendships and turns it up to the max. In her novels we have the romantic love story, but what really shines in Bourne’s writing is the platonic friendships and their importance in our lives. She brings to centre stage the beauty that is friendship and celebrates all its iniquities. Plus, her books are wonderfully and promotingly feminist, an extra bonus. The Spinster Club Trilogy is a brilliant place to start when reading Bourne’s work as you follow a trio making their way through college and discovering themselves in the least cliché ways imaginable. 

SARA DESAI

Another aspect of Austen’s novels which literature teachers will sing about is that her novels are funny. Yes, some of her jokes do not translate as well in modern day and often they fall flat in comparison to the works of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Romesh Ranganathan, but she is funny. A brilliant romance author, who prioritises the comedic aspects of her novel with the intimate moments of her novel is Sara Desai. Sara Desai’s most popular works are The Dating Plan (2021), The Marriage Game (2020) and The Singles Table (2021). Desai gives us funny, sexy female protagonists that make us laugh and leaves us applauding when they get their man. She also constantly provides a fun, enjoyable family dynamic that helps push the story forward and creates a more enjoyable reading experience.

So, here are six wonderful female identifying authors who are taking the romance genre by storm. They may not be Austen, they are their own magnificent selves and have done and will do amazing things within the genre or whatever genres they decide to explore next. And just remember, if anyone tries to shame you for reading romance novels, remember people once did the same to the original readers of Austen’s work. Look who’s laughing now!

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If the number of people who reconnect with old flames on social media is any indication, the world loves a good reunion story. Being with someone who knew us when can feel nostalgic and exciting all at once.

In actuality, it can be a little more complicated than that, can’t it? Maybe the spark really did die all those years ago. Maybe that other person has developed in ways that aren’t so appealing. (Did he always chew like that? And what’s with the constant self-referencing?) Maybe one or both of you isn’t in the position (emotionally or legally) to romantically reunite. Ahem.

Literary reunions for the save! You don’t have to do it—you can READ about it. These reunions have a far greater chance of working out, and zero chance of getting you in trouble. Bonus!

Writing about romantic repairings can be a thrill, too, as I found with my latest novel, The Half of It (HarperCollins, April 11, 2023). Helen Spencer’s life has been veering off course since she was a teenager, a domino effect of regret that began after a romantic night in the woods with Cal Crosby. Now 40 years later, Cal wants to talk about what happened. He has no idea of the can of worms he’s about to open. In fact, he doesn’t know the half of it.

Here are some other highly satisfying second-chance romance reads to scratch that itch.

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

Romance screenwriter Nora knows how it goes: boy gets girl, etc. But when she writes a screenplay based on her failed marriage, and it’s turned into a movie filmed at her own house, things start to go … off script. Especially when emotionally messy leading man, Leo, plays the part of Nora’s disastrous ex-husband. Things go badly and then very well and then badly again until Leo leaves. Will their paths ever cross again so they can sort out their misunderstandings?

The Stationary Shop by Marjan Kamali

In 1953 in Tehran, teenage Roya finds comfort and friendship in her local stationary shop. Here she meets the wonderful, idealistic Bahman and they decide to marry. But when a coup is staged and violence erupts, Bahman goes missing. Terrified, Roya is forced to go on without him, moving to the United States and marrying another man. Sixty years later, they meet once again, and Roya finally learns what happened.

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Laurie sees a man through the window of a packed bus, and they have a strangely powerful moment of connection. Then the bus pulls away, and she never sees him again … until a year later when her best friend Sarah turns up at a party with her new beau, Jack, the man from the bus stop. Across ten years, Laurie and Jack try to avoid one another, even moving away. But fate has a way of … well, you know. (BTW, the hilarious ongoing banter between Laurie and her best friend, Sarah, was my favorite part of the story.)

The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah

In hopes of passing an elite wine test, sommelier Kate travels to her family’s ancestral vineyard in France to study, hoping to avoid Jean-Luc, her long-ago fiancé. While helping her cousin declutter, Kate discovers evidence that a great aunt they’d never heard of was part of the French Resistance. Chapters alternate between the real story of this great aunt, and Kate’s current day attempts to solve the mysteries of the past, study for her test, and deal with her feelings for Jean-Luc…

The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan

When their famous writer father dies suddenly, the three Sweeney sisters are pulled back to their childhood home in Connecticut to sort out the estate. There’s far more than old books to sort out, however, when they are joined by a previously unknown sister whose biological connection has been recently revealed by DNA testing. The second-chance romance part is a smaller, but still quite satisfying aspect of the story, as one of the sisters is forced to face an old boyfriend who may or may not be interested in another sister.

All Together Now by Matthew Norman

Four childhood friends reunite on Fenwick Island, Delaware, at the behest of one of them, a billionaire who is secretly in ill health. Old feelings—romantic and otherwise—are deliciously stirred as the unusual plans their friend has laid out for them are revealed. Fans of the Beatles (of which I’m one) will particularly like this witty and moving story.

I’ll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos

Just before her wedding, Clare meets an elderly woman named Edith. Their brief conversation results in Clare calling off her wedding and inheriting Edith’s lovely cottage several weeks later. The house contains mysteries, and the story alternates between Edith’s secret activities in the 1950s and Clare’s search for answers. Clare is a running character from the author’s previous books (which I also loved), and her quest throws her into the path of a man from her past.

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

Judd’s father dies just as his wife’s infidelity with his boss is revealed. Things only seem to get worse when he learns that his non-religious father’s dying wish is that his wife and four children sit shiva for a week together. Old grudges are re-ignited as are old flames in this hilarious family comedy-drama. The movie is great, too!

The Friendship Pact by Jill Shalvis

Tae is very close to her single-parent mom, April. But talkative April is strangely silent about Tae’s father. While trying to sort out what actually happened to him without April’s help, Tae’s also trying to hold onto financial stability. She holds a disastrous fundraiser for a new client, an adventure company for athletes with disabilities and wounded warriors. This brings her face to face with her former friend and one-time flame, a marine named Riggs.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

I saved the mother of all second-chance romance stories for last. It’s my personal favorite of Jane Austen’s novels, though I really love them all. At twenty-six, Anne is considered a spinster, and is at the beck and call of her hoity toity family. Seven years before, she was persuaded to call off her engagement to Frederick because he wasn’t of a high enough rank. As the family deals with the effects of their profligate overspending and has to move to a small seaside town, Anne is forced to awkwardly attend social gatherings with Frederick. He is now a wealthy and respected sea captain, and as such is suddenly considered too good for Anne. But are the embers of their love still warm? (Favorite line: “You pierce my soul!”)

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Agnes Grey – Anne Bronte

Synopsis: Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose. The cruelty with which the family treat her however, slowly but surely strips the heroine of all dignity and belief in humanity. A tale of female bravery in the face of isolation and subjugation, Agnes Grey is a masterpiece claimed by Irish writer, George Moore, to be possessed of all the qualities and style of a Jane Austen title. Its simple prosaic style propels the narrative forward in a gentle yet rhythmic manner which continuously leaves the listener wanting to know more.

Black Beauty – Anna Sewel

Synopsis: Black Beauty spends his youth in a loving home, surrounded by friends and cared for by his owners. But when circumstances change, he learns that not all humans are so kind. Passed from hand to hand, Black Beauty witnesses love and cruelty, wealth and poverty, friendship and hardship . . . Will the handsome horse ever find a happy and lasting home? Carefully retold in clear contemporary language, and presented with delightful illustrations, these favourite classic stories capture the heart and imagination of young readers. By retelling the story in a shorter, simpler form, these books become highly engaging for children, and the colour illustrations help with both comprehension and interest level.

Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White

Synopsis: Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte’s Web, high up in Zuckerman’s barn. Charlotte’s spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur’s life when he was born the runt of his litter.

Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes

Synopsis: Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in all sorts of wonderful ways. While Quixote’s fancy often leads him astray—he tilts at windmills, imagining them to be giants—Sancho acquires cunning and a certain sagacity. Sane madman and wise fool, they roam the world together, and together they have haunted readers’ imaginations for nearly four hundred years.

Eight Cousins – Louisa May Alcott

Synopsis: When Rose Campbell, a shy orphan, arrives at “The Aunt Hill” to live with her six aunts and seven boisterous male cousins, she is quite overwhelmed. How could such a delicate young lady, used to the quiet hallways of a girls’ boarding school, exist in such a spirited home? It is the arrival of Uncle Alec that changes everything. Much to the horror of her aunts, Rose’s forward-thinking uncle insists that the child get out of the parlor and into the sunshine. And with a little courage and lots of adventures with her mischievous but loving cousins, Rose begins to bloom.

First and Last Things – H.G. Wells

Synopsis: States the author: I am an ingenuous enquirer with, I think, some capacity for religious feeling, but neither a prophet nor a saint.

Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

Synopsis: The orphan Pip’s terrifying encounter with an escaped convict on the Kent marshes, and his mysterious summons to the house of Miss Havisham and her cold, beautiful ward Estella, form the prelude to his “great expectations.” How Pip comes into a fortune, what he does with it, and what he discovers through his secret benefactor are the ingredients of his struggle for moral redemption.

Hamlet – William Shakespeare

Synopsis: Hamlet is the story of the Prince of Denmark who learns of the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. Claudius murders Hamlet’s father, his own brother, to take the throne of Denmark and to marry Hamlet’s widowed mother. Hamlet is sunk into a state of great despair as a result of discovering the murder of his father and the infidelity of his mother. Hamlet is torn between his great sadness and his desire for the revenge of his father’s murder.

Israel Potter – Herman Melville

Synopsis: The fictionalised tale of a man who really did fight in the American Revolution — a man who lived a life of very real adventure. After fighting in the revolution, he went on to be a part of the newly-established United States Navy, ended up serving as a secret courier for Benjamin Franklin.

Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

Synopsis: Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard. But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?

King Lear – William Shakespeare

Synopsis: Shakespeare’s King Lear challenges us with the magnitude, intensity, and sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Its figures harden their hearts, engage in violence, or try to alleviate the suffering of others. Lear himself rages until his sanity cracks. What, then, keeps bringing us back to King Lear? For all the force of its language, King Lear is almost equally powerful when translated, suggesting that it is the story, in large part, that draws us to the play. The play tells us about families struggling between greed and cruelty, on the one hand, and support and consolation, on the other. Emotions are extreme, magnified to gigantic proportions. We also see old age portrayed in all its vulnerability, pride, and, perhaps, wisdom—one reason this most devastating of Shakespeare’s tragedies is also perhaps his most moving.

Little Wars – H.G. Wells

Synopsis: Little Wars is the game of kings – for players in an inferior social position. It can be played by boys of every age from twelve to one hundred and fifty – and even later if the limbs remain sufficiently supple – by girls of the better sort, and by a few rare and gifted women. This is to be a full History of Little Wars from its recorded and authenticated beginning until the present time, an account of how to make little warfare, and hints of the most priceless sort for the recumbent strategist.

Mansfield Park – Jane Austen

Synopsis: Adopted into the household of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, Fanny Price grows up a meek outsider among her cousins in the unaccustomed elegance of Mansfield Park. Soon after Sir Thomas absents himself on estate business in Antigua (the family’s investment in slavery and sugar is considered in the Introduction in a new, post-colonial light), Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive at Mansfield, bringing with them London glamour, and the seductive taste for flirtation and theatre that precipitates a crisis.

Notre-Dame de Paris – Victor Hugo

Synopsis: In the vaulted Gothic towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral lives Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bellringer. Mocked and shunned for his appearance, he is pitied only by Esmerelda, a beautiful gypsy dancer to whom he becomes completely devoted. Esmerelda, however, has also attracted the attention of the sinister archdeacon Claude Frollo, and when she rejects his lecherous approaches, Frollo hatches a plot to destroy her, that only Quasimodo can prevent. Victor Hugo’s sensational, evocative novel brings life to the medieval Paris he loved, and mourns its passing in one of the greatest historical romances of the nineteenth century.

Oldtown Fireside Stories – Harriet Beecher Stowe

Synopsis: These are 15 charming short stories told by ole’ Sam Lawson to entertain Horace and Bill, two impressionable, curious and clever young boys of Oldtown (a fictional 1850’s New England village).

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Synopsis: Jane Austen called this brilliant work “her own darling child” and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, “as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print.” The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilised sparring. And Jane Austen’s radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Queen Summer – Walter Crane

Synopsis: ‘Queen Summer – Or the Tourney of the Lily and the Rose’ was originally published in 1891. It is an epic poem about the allegorical figure of ‘Queen Summer’, decorated throughout in stunning neoclassical style. It is both written and illustrated by Walter Crane – a true master of the Golden Age of illustration. The text and the artwork are presented as one, with Crane’s full-colour pages further enhancing the beautiful poetry. When Summer on the earth was queen She held her court in gardens green Fair hung with tapestry of leaves, Where threads of gold the sun enweaves.

Rainbow Valley – L.M. Montgomery

Synopsis: Anne Shirley is grown up, has married her beloved Gilbert, and is the mother of six mischievous children. These boys and girls discover a special place all their own, but they never dream of what will happen when a strange family moves into an old mansion nearby. The Meredith clan is two boys and two girls—and a runaway named Mary Vance. Soon the Merediths join Anne’s children in their private hideout, intent on carrying out their plans to save Mary from the orphanage, to help the lonely minister find happiness, and to keep a pet rooster from the soup pot. There’s always an adventure brewing in the sun-dappled world of Rainbow Valley.

Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

Synopsis: Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor’s warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

Twelfth Night – William Shakespeare

Synopsis: The Countess Olivia, a woman with her own household, attracts Duke (or Count) Orsino. Two other would-be suitors are her pretentious steward, Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Onto this scene arrive the twins Viola and Sebastian; caught in a shipwreck, each thinks the other has drowned. Viola disguises herself as a male page and enters Orsino’s service. Orsino sends her as his envoy to Olivia—only to have Olivia fall in love with the messenger. The play complicates, then wonderfully untangles, these relationships.

Under the Lilacs – Louisa May Alcott

Synopsis: Ben and his trained dog, Sancho, run away from the circus and soon find a warm welcome in a kind community where spirited games are played. Theatricals and imaginative pageantry are all part of the fun.

Villette – Charlotte Bronte

Synopsis: Lucy Snowe flees England and a tragic past to become an instructor in a French boarding school in the town of Villette. There she unexpectedly confronts her feelings of love and longing as she witnesses the fitful romance between Dr. John, a handsome young Englishman, and Ginerva Fanshawe, a beautiful coquette. The first pain brings others, and with them comes the heartache Lucy has tried so long to escape. Yet in spite of adversity and disappointment, Lucy Snowe survives to recount the unstinting vision of a turbulent life’s journey – a journey that is one of the most insightful fictional studies of a woman’s consciousness in English literature.

Wonderful Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum

Synopsis: When Dorothy and her little dog Toto are caught in a tornado, they and their Kansas farmhouse are suddenly transported to Oz, where Munchkins live, monkeys fly and Wicked Witches rule. Desperate to return home, and with the Wicked Witch of the West on their trail, Dorothy and Toto – together with new friends the Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow and cowardly Lion – embark on a fantastic quest along the Yellow Brick Road in search of the Emerald City. There they hope to meet the legendary, all-powerful Wizard of Oz, who alone may hold the power to grant their every wish.

Xantippe (and other verse) – Amy Levy

Synopsis: Amy Levy (1861-1889) was a British poet and novelist. Levy was born in Clapham, London into a Jewish family that was mildly observant, but as an adult she no longer practised Judaism although she continued to identify with the Jews as a people. Levy wrote stories, essays and poems for periodicals, some popular and others literary. The stories Cohen of Trinity and Wise in Their Generation, both published in Oscar Wilde’s magazine Women’s World, are among her best. Her final book of poems, A London Plane-Tree and Other Verse (1889), contains lyrics that are among the first to show the influence of French symbolism. Her other works include Xantippe and Other Verse (1881), The Romance of a Shop (1888), Reuben Sachs (1888) and Miss Meredith (1889).

Youth – Leo Tolstoy

Synopsis: In Youth, Leo Tolstoy’s protagonist—now a fervent sixteen-year-old—eagerly prepares to strike out on his own. And as he does so, he begins to savour life in all its glory, both grand and miniscule. From his interactions with friends, old and new, to his perceptions of the beauty of nature, the young man has an entirely new world to look forward to. But harsh lessons are waiting to teach him that far-flung expectations are rarely fulfilled to the dreamer’s specifications, and that disappointment, anger, and grief are constant foes that must be contended with if one is to truly live.

Zofloya – Charlotte Dacre

Synopsis: ‘Few venture as thou hast in the alarming paths of sin.’ This is the final judgement of Satan on Victoria di Loredani, the heroine of Zofloya, or The Moor (1806), a tale of lust, betrayal, and multiple murder set in Venice in the last days of the fifteenth century. The novel follows Victoria’s progress from spoilt daughter of indulgent aristocrats, through a period of abuse and captivity, to a career of deepening criminality conducted under Satan’s watchful eye. Charlotte Dacre’s narrative deftly displays her heroine’s movement from the vitalised position of Ann Radcliffe’s heroines to a fully conscious commitment to vice that goes beyond that of ‘Monk’ Lewis’s deluded Ambrosio. The novel’s most daring aspect is its anatomy of Victoria’s intense sexual attraction to her Moorish servant Zofloya that transgresses taboos both of class and race. A minor scandal on its first publication, and a significant influence on Byron and Shelley, Zofloya has been unduly neglected. Contradicting idealised stereotypes of women’s writing, the novel’s portrait of indulged desire, gratuitous cruelty, and monumental self-absorption retains considerable power to disturb.

Hopefully this inspires you to read a classic or three (or even more)!

Which ones have you read? Tell us in the comments below!

The post The A to Z of Classic Books appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Picture this: It’s October, Halloween is looming and spooky season is in full swing. You want to switch things up a bit by throwing a classic onto your TBR whilst still maintaining your spooky October theme. But, the question is, where do you start?

Don’t worry, I have your back. Choosing anything to read next is always difficult. Here’s an unbiased guide to gothic classics to help you make an informed decision.

Something You Wouldn’t Expect… Dracula by Bram Stoker

Oddly heartwarming, Dracula is a story of friendship and the triumph of good versus evil. It’s also not the kind of book you’d expect to have spawned the infamous Count Dracula in all associated works. The ‘Circle of Light’ – AKA the group of good guys – is composed of a traumatised legal clerk, his schoolteacher wife, radical Dutch doctor, his former student turned psychiatrist (or as close to psychiatrist as you could get in Victorian England), a Lord and an American cowboy (I know!). This mismatched group of heroes trying to take down a seemingly all-powerful supernatural being and the beginnings of his undead army is what makes the book so enjoyable to read.

Something weird… The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Now, if you like the weird stuff (and I mean the properly weird stuff), then The Bloody Chamber is right up your alley. A more modern classic, The Bloody Chamber is a collection of short stories that deepdives into the gorier, sexier, more disturbing side of the Gothic genre. However, be warned: this is not for the faint of heart and does come with certain trigger warnings which you definitely need to be aware of before reading. The premise? Twisted fairy tales – Bluebeard, Beauty and the Beast and Red Riding Hood to name just a few. In the world of Angela Carter, nothing is as it seems and everything is interlaced with gothic, innuendo and the unexpected. A perfect spooky season read that you can easily dip in and out of.

Something short… The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe is easily one of the Big Daddies of Gothic and any one of his short stories could have made its way onto this unbiased guide. However, nothing is scary than what’s inside our own heads, right? A man is disturbed by their elderly neighbours’ bulging blind eye and does what any rational person would do – ignore it as not to be rude. Except, this is an Edgar Allan Poe book so instead of behaving like any rational person, our narrator obviously kills their neighbour. That’s not the scary part though as the real horror and gothic twist comes during their fast descent into insanity. Psychological, gripping, intensely interesting, The Tell-Tale Heart is one of Poe’s best by a long shot. But, if it’s not your kind of thing, you might find the Masque of the Red Death eerily relatable to our current global circumstance as well. 

Something to get you thinking… Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

A girl goes on holiday with her boyfriend and a group of other douchey, up-themselves 19th century writers who challenge one another to a scary story contest. The product of this contest? Frankenstein, a novel about a douchey, up-himself man who messes with the balance between God and nature, resulting in his mental deterioration, the death of everyone he loves and a ‘monster’ who just wants to be accepted. Much like Dracula, Frankenstein is not what you would have expected based on the other works it’s spawned. Essentially a story within a story (even within another story, at one point), Shelley expertly frames arguments of good versus evil, science versus nature, whilst straight roasting the men who challenged her to write it in the first place. Excellent!

Something different… Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

We know Jane Austen for her romance and her witty commentary of Regency life. Do you know what’s even better though? Her witty commentary on the Gothic genre and everyone who read it. Northanger Abbey is one big parody, poking fun at Ann Radcliffe, who is another Gothic author who is partly responsible for the whole ‘women fainting at everything’ trope. The novel features a naive protagonist, over-the-top setting and the desire that readers felt for something supernatural crop up at every twist and turn. Definitely not what you’d expect from our girl Jane, who gave the world Pride and Prejudice, Emma and (by extension) the 1995 classic film starring Alicia Silverstone, Clueless.

As a self-confessed classic skeptic (by this, I mean, that I don’t think classics necessarily deserve all their hype), the classic gothic genre is one I find easy to immerse myself in thanks to its creepy atmospheric descriptions, mountains of angst and yearning and, of course, that little scoop of weird I’ve come to relish. Hopefully, you’ll find something in this list to satisfy your desire to be spooked by something other than the tragically long sentences that most classic authors seem to use like there’s no tomorrow!

Do you have any recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post The Unbiased Guide to Classics: Gothic Edition appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

I suspect I’m not alone among the readers of this site in citing Clueless as one of my all-time favourite films.

However, it still surprises me that what is – in my opinion – the quintessential 1990s movie was actually based on an early 19th Century novel. The film’s director, Amy Heckerling, read Jane Austen’s 1815 classic, Emma, in college and soon realised how similar it was to her experiences as a teenager 150 or so years later. “That thing of leaving a party and wondering who’s going in whose car is exactly the same as leaving a ball and wondering who’s going in whose carriage”, she said. “Emma fit right into the goofy [’90s] teen world I was writing about.”

Clueless is far from an anomaly in this sense. From 10 Things I Hate About You (based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew) to O Brother, Where Art Thou? (based on Homer’s Odyssey), many of the most popular films and books of the past few decades have simply been rebooted versions of classic stories.

Perhaps one of the most frequently retold of these classics is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. From Blackadder’s Christmas Carol, to Bill Murray’s Scrooged, if you want to ignite a quick and easy Twitter feud you can simply put the question out there: What is the best ever adaptation of Dickens’ famous festive book? (For me, it’s A Muppet Christmas Carol, by the way, and I won’t hear otherwise. Michael Caine’s greatest performance. Don’t @ me).

Anyway, this month I am launching myself into this long tradition of using Dickens’ iconic tale as a scaffold on which to build a story. Because my new novel – All About Us – is based loosely on A Christmas Carol.

It centres around Ben – a man in his mid-thirties – who is having a bit of a life crisis. His marriage to his college sweetheart Daphne is on the rocks, and when his old flame Alice gets back in touch, he suddenly wonders what his life might have looked like with her instead of Daphne. A Christmas Eve encounter with a mysterious watch-seller gives him the chance to revisit various Christmases Past, Present and Future. He dives into alternate timelines, and eventually has to make the biggest decision of his life all over again. This time around, though, he must decide if he has the courage to truly follow his heart.

The question is, then: why do I – and so many other writers – keep coming back to this 1843 story? What makes it so intriguing? Its structure is an obvious appeal – that perfect three-act simplicity of the Past/Present/Future idea. But I think the real answer is that A Christmas Carol – like Austen’s Emma – it is a genuinely timeless work.

The themes it explores are woven deeply into the human experience, no matter what age you live in. Regret, hope, grief, self-doubt, self-improvement – no matter who we are or where we live, we can all relate to those things. That ‘Sliding Doors’ idea of imagining how your life might look if you made one decision differently, or took a slightly different path – it all started with old Charlie D and Ebenezer Scrooge.

Another big part of A Christmas Carol‘s appeal is that it’s also – at heart – an optimistic story. It’s about the possibility of change, the possibility of making ourselves better. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and submit my entry for ‘Most Pretentious Statement of 2020’ by claiming that Dickens may have pre-empted Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis: by digging back into his past, Scrooge is able to alter his future.

Despite its quaint Victorian setting, then, it’s a distinctly modern book – and I think that’s why it’s endured so well and remained firmly in the public consciousness. I really hope that if you read All About Us you’ll find it not only funny, romantic and uplifting – but also a worthy inclusion among the many excellent reimaginings of Dickens’ book over the years.

Although, I’m NOT saying it’s better than A Muppet Christmas Carol. Let’s face it: nothing is.

The post Reimagining The Classics appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

We’re sure you all know the feeling. You read a book, you love it even, but there is that part of you that wishes that these characters were queer. So, our contributors Mimi and Simone asked their Instagram followers for their favourite straight reads that they wish were a little… not so straight. 

Now, we would like to present to you: “If you liked… then you’ll like… “ QUEER EDITION. 

We have paired each straight book with a queer book we think you will really enjoy if you’ve liked the original. Our picks vary from all-time classics, to sweet teenage romances, and to fabulous fantasy adventures. We are sure that there is one pick for everyone here!

CLASSICS

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen → Gay Pride and Prejudice by Kate Christie

Pride and Prejudice:

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work “her own darling child” and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, “as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print.” The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen’s radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Gay Pride and Prejudice:

Like other variations on Jane Austen’s classic romance novel, Gay Pride & Prejudice poses a question: What if some among Austen’s characters preferred the company of their own sex? In this queer revision of the classic original, Kate Christie offers an alternate version of love, friendship, and marriage for Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and others among their circle of friends. But even as the path to love veers from the straight and narrow, the destination remains much the same.

Dracula by Bram Stoker → The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Dracula:

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries in his client’s castle. Soon afterwards, disturbing incidents unfold in England: an unmanned ship is wrecked; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman’s neck; and a lunatic asylum inmate raves about the imminent arrival of his ‘Master’. In the ensuing battle of wits between the sinister Count and a determined group of adversaries, Bram Stoker created a masterpiece of the horror genre, probing into questions of identity, sanity and the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.

The Deathless Girls:

They say the thirst of blood is like a madness – they must sate it. Even with their own kin. On the eve of her divining, the day she’ll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller community.

Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fellow slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn’t understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts. They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate… 

ROMANCE

Josh and Hazel’s Guide To Not Dating by Christina Lauren → Tell Me It’s Real by TJ Klune

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating:

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.

Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air. Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them…right?

Tell Me It’s Real:

Do you believe in love at first sight? Paul Auster doesn’t. Paul doesn’t believe in much at all. He’s thirty, slightly overweight, and his best features are his acerbic wit and the color commentary he provides as life passes him by. His closest friends are a two-legged dog named Wheels and a quasibipolar drag queen named Helena Handbasket. He works a dead-end job in a soul-sucking cubicle, and if his grandmother’s homophobic parrot insults him one more time, Paul is going to wring its stupid neck.

Enter Vince Taylor. Vince is everything Paul isn’t: Sexy, confident, and dumber than the proverbial box of rocks. And for some reason, Vince pursues Paul relentlessly. Vince must be messing with him, because there is no way Vince could want someone like Paul.

But when Paul hits Vince with his car – in a completely unintentional if-he-died-it’d-only-be-manslaughter kind of way – he’s forced to see Vince in a whole new light. The only thing stopping Paul from believing in Vince is himself – and that is one obstacle Paul can’t quite seem to overcome. But when tragedy strikes Vince’s family, Paul must put aside any notions he has about himself and stand next to the man who thinks he’s perfect the way he is.

Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane → Almost Like Being In Love by Steve Kluger

Don’t You Forget About Me:

If there’s one thing worse than being fired from the grottiest restaurant in town, it’s coming home early to find your boyfriend in bed with someone else.

Reeling from the indignity of a double dumping on the same day, Georgina snatches at the next job that she’s offered – barmaid in a newly opened pub, which just so happens to run by the boy she fell in love with at school: Lucas McCarthy. And whereas Georgina (voted Most Likely to Succeed in her school yearbook) has done nothing but dead-end jobs in the last twelve years, Lucas has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but also has turned into an actual grown-up with a business and a dog along the way.

Meeting Lucas again not only throws Georgina’s rackety present into sharp relief, but also brings a dark secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows the truth about what happened on the last day of school, and why she’s allowed it to chase her all these years… 

Almost Like Being In Love:

A high school jock and nerd fall in love senior year, only to part after an amazing summer of discovery to attend their respective colleges. They keep in touch at first, but then slowly drift apart.

Flash forward twenty years. Travis and Craig both have great lives, careers, and loves. But something is missing …. Travis is the first to figure it out. He’s still in love with Craig, and come what may, he’s going after the boy who captured his heart, even if it means forsaking his job, making a fool of himself, and entering the great unknown.

Told in narrative, letters, checklists, and more, this is the must-read novel for anyone who’s wondered what ever happened to that first great love.

FANTASY

Cinder by Marissa Meyer → Tarnished Are The Stars by Rosiee Thor

Cinder:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Tarnished Are The Stars:

A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher’s chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog — donning the moniker Technician — to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner’s tyrannical laws.

Nathaniel Fremont, the Commissioner’s son, has never had to fear the law. Determined to earn his father’s respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father’s elusive affection is worth chasing at all.

Their game of cat and mouse takes an abrupt turn when Eliza, a skilled assassin and spy, arrives. Her mission is to learn the Commissioner’s secrets at any cost — even if it means betraying her own heart.

When these uneasy allies discover the most dangerous secret of all, they must work together despite their differences and put an end to a deadly epidemic — before the Commissioner ends them first.

Vicious by VE Schwab → The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune

Vicious:

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

The Extraordinaries:

Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right? After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick’s best friend (and maybe the love of his life).

YOUNG ADULT

Geekerella by Ashley Poston → Ship It by Britta Lundin

Geekerella:

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Ship It:

CLAIRE is a sixteen-year-old fangirl obsessed with the show Demon Heart. FOREST is an actor on Demon Heart who dreams of bigger roles. When the two meet at a local Comic-Con panel, it’s a dream come true for Claire. Until the Q&A, that is, when Forest laughs off Claire’s assertion that his character is gay.

Claire is devastated. After all, every last word of her super-popular fanfic revolves around the romance between Forest’s character and his male frenemy. She can’t believe her hero turned out to be a closed-minded jerk. Forest is mostly confused that anyone would think his character is gay. Because he’s not. Definitely not.

Unfortunately for Demon Heart, when the video of the disastrous Q&A goes viral, the producers have a PR nightmare on their hands. In order to help bolster their image within the LGBTQ+ community-as well as with their fans-they hire Claire to join the cast for the rest of their publicity tour. What ensues is a series of colorful Comic-Con clashes between the fans and the show that lead Forest to question his assumptions about sexuality and help Claire come out of her shell. But how far will Claire go to make her ship canon? To what lengths will Forest go to stop her and protect his career? And will Claire ever get the guts to make a move on Tess, the very cute, extremely cool fanartist she keeps running into?

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins → This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender

Lola and the Boy Next Door:

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

This is Kind of an Epic Love Story:

Nathan Bird doesn’t believe in happy endings. Although he’s the ultimate film buff and an aspiring screenwriter, Nate’s seen the demise of too many relationships to believe that happy endings exist in real life.

Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel—but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And in a twist that is rom-com-worthy, someone does come along: Oliver James Hernández, his childhood best friend.

After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after?

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post If You Liked, You’ll Like: Queer Edition appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, middle Bennet sister Mary is the ugly duckling in a nest of swans; serious and prim, with no apparent redeeming features and seemingly no prospects. The Other Bennet Sister shows another side to the middle Bennet sister: an introvert in a family of extroverts, overlooked by an aloof father, a mother who values beauty above all else, and siblings with whom she has little in common. Is it any wonder then that she retreats into books? One by one, her sisters marry, but Mary seems destined to remain at Longbourn, until the day Mr Bennet dies and the house is inherited by Mr Collins. But when that day comes sooner than expected, Mary slowly discovers that maybe there is hope for her after all.

When it comes to retellings of Pride and Prejudice, there is often the temptation to make Mary Bennet – whether she is the focal point or not – at best the misunderstood nerd or, at worst, something far more progressive than the character could or would realistically be. And whilst there’s nothing wrong with the trope itself or with female historical fiction characters for whom romance is not their chief motivation, but it can be argued that Austen wrote Mary as a subtle jab at the indiscriminate intellect.

Television producer Janice Hadlow’s debut novel, The Other Bennet Sister, avoids both of these traps. Her Mary is a psychologically rich and astute creation. An observant child who notices that she doesn’t measure up her Mother’s standards and that she isn’t either of her parents’ favourite. She also recognises, to a certain extent, that these standards are impossible – like Lizzie, she understands her parents’ characters and sees that they are the root of their unequal marriage – but at the same time she tries to live up to them, causing her to adjust her behaviour and the way she sees herself, after all, what child doesn’t want their parents’ approval? So, not unlike an Austen heroine, Mary’s journey is one of journey of self-actualisation, towards self-esteem and self-worth, not just towards love.

Hadlow studied history prior to her career in television, playing an important role in popularising history on TV by making such highly series as Simon Schama’s History of Britain, so it’s no surprise that her knowledge and research is displayed with a deft touch, capturing the essence of the period and making the voice feel accurate rather than pastiche.

The first part of the story encompasses Mary’s early years and, of course, a good portion of the events of Pride and Prejudice, all from Mary’s point of view. This could be in danger of coming across like an extended prologue but it just manages to avoid this by tying it into Mary’s character arc, rather than just simply recounting events from a different point of view, and the fact that it only goes up to a certain point in the original story before continuing with Mary’s. Even so, it’s bit of a slow start.

Slow start aside however, The Other Bennet Sister is definitely one of the better Pride and Prejudice continuations/spinoffs. A very well written debut, for both fans of Jane Austen and Historical fiction in general, that will get you to look at a famous Austen character in a way that you might not have seen her before.

The Other Bennet Sister is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.

Will you be picking up The Other Bennet Sister? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Mary, the bookish ugly duckling of Pride and Prejudice’s five Bennet sisters, emerges from the shadows and transforms into a desired woman with choices of her own.

What if Mary Bennet’s life took a different path from that laid out for her in Pride and Prejudice? What if the frustrated intellectual of the Bennet family, the marginalized middle daughter, the plain girl who takes refuge in her books, eventually found the fulfillment enjoyed by her prettier, more confident sisters? This is the plot of The Other Bennet Sister, a debut novel with exactly the affection and authority to satisfy Austen fans.

Ultimately, Mary’s journey is like that taken by every Austen heroine. She learns that she can only expect joy when she has accepted who she really is. She must throw off the false expectations and wrong ideas that have combined to obscure her true nature and prevented her from what makes her happy. Only when she undergoes this evolution does she have a chance at finding fulfillment; only then does she have the clarity to recognize her partner when he presents himself—and only at that moment is she genuinely worthy of love.

Mary’s destiny diverges from that of her sisters. It does not involve broad acres or landed gentry. But it does include a man; and, as in all Austen novels, Mary must decide whether he is the truly the one for her. In The Other Bennet Sister, Mary is a fully rounded character—complex, conflicted, and often uncertain; but also vulnerable, supremely sympathetic, and ultimately the protagonist of an uncommonly satisfying debut novel.

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The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford

Depending on the version you get, this classic is at around 220 pages, slightly on the higher end of our list of books, however still a short enough modern-period classic that you’ll be sure to feel accomplished reading!

Synopsis: When John Dowell and his wife befriend Edward and Leonora Ashburnham, they appear to be the perfect couple. He is a distinguished soldier and she is beautiful and intelligent. However, what lies beneath the surface of their marriage is far more sinister and their influence leads John into a tragic drama that threatens to destroy everything he cares about.

The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky

More known for his tomes The Idiot and Crime and Punishment, this small classic is much shorter at around 170 pages, which is much less daunting than a 650+ page behemoth of a book. After battling this Dostoevsky classic, you’ll surely be pleased with yourself and can totally claim that you read Dostoevsky!

Synopsis: In this dark and compelling short novel, Fyodor Dostoevsky tells the story of Alexey Ivanovitch, a young tutor working in the household of an imperious Russian general. Alexey tries to break through the wall of the established order in Russia, but instead becomes mired in the endless downward spiral of betting and loss. His intense and inescapable addiction is accentuated by his affair with the General’s cruel yet seductively adept niece, Polina. In The Gambler, Dostoevsky reaches the heights of drama with this stunning psychological portrait.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A book that is pretty well known, yet surprisingly short! Fitzgerald is well-known for short books, such as The Great Gatbsy. At 200 pages, this modern classic is rewarding, and I’m sure you’ll go treat yourself after conquering this one too!

Synopsis: In 1860 Benjamin Button is born an old man and mysteriously begins aging backward. At the beginning of his life he is withered and worn, but as he continues to grow younger he embraces life — he goes to war, runs a business, falls in love, has children, goes to college and prep school, and, as his mind begins to devolve, he attends kindergarten and eventually returns to the care of his nurse.

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Who doesn’t know Tarzan? Who knew the book was short enough that it wasn’t so daunting? Who knows, maybe you’ll think the original classic is better than the movie!

Synopsis: In 1888 Lord and Lady Clayton sail from England but to West Africa and perish on a remote island. When their infant son is adopted by fanged, great anthropoid apes, he is Tarzan of the Apes. His intelligence and caring mother raise him to be king. Self-educated by his parents’ library, Tarzan rescues genteel Jane Porter from the perils of his jungle.

Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon by Jane Austen

We all know of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, but did you know that this 211 page collection of short stories exists? This book is perfect for those too scared to go actually read Pride and Prejudice, or those looking for short stories written in Austen’s time!

Synopsis: Lady Susan, with its wicked, beautiful, intelligent and energetic heroine, is a sparkling melodrama which takes its tone from the outspoken and robust eighteen century. Written later, and probably abandoned after her father’s death, The Watsons is a tantalizing and highly delightful story whose vitality and optimism centre on the marital prospects of the Watson sisters in a small provincial town. Sanditon, Jane Austen’s last fiction, is set in a seaside town and its themes concern the new speculative consumer society and foreshadow the great social upheavals of the Industrial Revolution.

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

Ah yes, a mention of one of the Brontë sisters! This list would be not right without a mention of this short 240 page classic. This one is the smaller of two books written by Anne, and it surely doesn’t disappoint and it is one of my all-time favourites!

Synopsis: Drawing directly on her own unhappy experiences, Anne Brontë‘s first-person narrative describes the almost unbelievable pressures endured by nineteenth-century governesses – the isolation, the frustration, and the insensitive and sometimes cruel treatment meted out by employers and their families.

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

A short book from a popular modern classic author, what more could you want?! This one is more an essay than a work of fiction and only 112 pages! This modern is bound to make you think, and also touches on feminism.

Synopsis: A Room of One’s Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on the 24th of October, 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women’s colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928. While this extended essay in fact employs a fictional narrator and narrative to explore women both as writers of and characters in fiction, the manuscript for the delivery of the series of lectures, titled Women and Fiction, and hence the essay, are considered nonfiction. The essay is seen as a feminist text, and is noted in its argument for both a literal and figural space for women writers within a literary tradition dominated by patriarchy.

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

Who doesn’t love a good mystery? I certainly do, and this short 189 page classic is bound to hit the spot, and surely better than the movie. This book leaves you essentially hanging, and is definitely a great short post-modern classic to dive into!

Synopsis: It was a cloudless summer day in the year nineteen hundred. Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three of the girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of Hanging Rock. Further, higher, till at last they disappeared. They never returned.

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

Another modern classic, but with a twist: this one is known for being a staple spy and adventure story! Coming at a short 148 pages, it is fast-paced, so you’re sure to be done with this one quicker than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Synopsis: Richard Hannay has just returned to England after years in South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his life in London. But then a murder is committed in his flat, just days after a chance encounter with an American who had told him about an assassination plot which could have dire international consequences. An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the killers, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland where he will need all his courage and ingenuity to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.

Shakespeare’s Sonnets by William Shakespeare

We’ve all heard of Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet, but this short collection of sonnets is bound to tide you over if you’re terrified of the bigger plays such as Othello and Richard III. At 154 pages, and with short sonnets, you’ll feel super accomplished flying through this one!

Synopsis: William Shakespeare’s sonnets are a beautiful expression of a range of human emotions – from love to grief, anger, jealousy and lust. Including the instantly recognisable ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ as well as a range of other equally moving works, this compilation brings together the complete collection of all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

At 157 pages, this post-modern classic novella is one not to miss! It’s short and sweet, just how we like to keep a lot of things. Heck, they even turned it into a movie a couple of years after the novella was published, and that’s pretty cool, if you’re asking me!

Synopsis: Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a brilliant glimmer of the excitement of 40’s New York. Holly Golightly – brashly beautiful with a slim black dress, a mysterious past and dark glasses over varicoloured eyes – entrances all the men she meets, including the young writer living above her, though her recklessness may yet catch up with her. Also containing three short stories, this edition shows the elegance and warmth of Capote’s writing at its most flawless.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Another post-modernistic feminist book that is short and is shocking realistic! Some say that this is the female version of The Catcher in the Rye, but we’ll let you decide on that once you power through this short book that doesn’t skimp on detail!

Synopsis: I was supposed to be having the time of my life. When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther’s life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into depression and eventually a suicide attempt, as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take women’s aspirations seriously. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath’s only novel, was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The novel is partially based on Plath’s own life and descent into mental illness, and has become a modern classic. The Bell Jar has been celebrated for its darkly funny and razor sharp portrait of 1950s society and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

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