There's a very specific type of novel I want to read next, only I don't know what it is.
But I do know what I want. I want something relatable, like a Nick Hornby novel, but I want it to be sci-fi.
Not sci-fi like real sci-fi, but sci-fi the way I like it which is basically a novel where some people hang out and do normal things but maybe, for a brief moment, an alien pops by.
I don't think this kind of genre really exists, but maybe it does. I asked ChatGPT for a recommendation and it told to me to read Matt Haig. Problem is, I don't like Matt Haig. I can't remember if I don't like his writing or I don't like him but either way, I won't be reading his novel that they keep recommending.
So onwards I go with my search, but maybe it's not the time for a novel, maybe I need something non-fiction. Maybe something about productivity so I can be a better me.
But I hate those books, so maybe I'll read something about World War 2. But what if I get bored after 20 pages? I'll have to keep reading because it feels important to finish World War 2 books.
Or maybe I should finish Anne Frank's Diary again because I think it's one of the best books ever written.
A month from now, I'll be a Dad for the first time. I probably won't be awake enough to read fiction after he's born, so maybe now this is my last chance to focus on a book for quite some time.
Okay, I will read a big Fyodor Dostoevsky book. It'll be great and it'll make me so much smarter. Only problem is I tried one of his books before and he'd go a hundred pages at a time talking about farming, and it had nothing to do with the plot.
Who am I kidding, I'm not reading Dostoevsky. What I really want is the feeling I had the first time I read 'A Little Life', which is also how I felt the first time I read 'The Rainmaker', which is also how I felt when I read 'High Fidelity'.
You're about to recommend me a book, I know it. But there's no way to tell if I'll welcome it with open arms or if your mere mention of it means I'll discard it forever. Maybe that's why I don't like Matt Haig, someone said he's great and I refused to believe it.
It would be nice if you recommended me a book but unfortunately, you don't know the precise inner workings of my brain, so there's no way you'll pick the right book.
Mostly, I just read Joseph Mitchell's 'Up in the Old Hotel' on repeat. That's what usually happens when I can't think of what to read. My wife says "why don't you just read your book?" And by that, she means Joseph Mitchell.
I want to read a great novel. Maybe an all-time great novel. But not The Great Gatsby. I want to read MY kind of great book.
What is great to me?
Mario Puzo
Arthur Hailey
Joseph Mitchell
Roald Dahl
Jack Kerouac
Nick Hornby
John Grisham (1 out of 5 of his books)
There are many other writers but I've forgotten who they are. I used to say Joseph Heller but the truth is I've only read half of Catch 22 even though I spent ten years saying it was my favourite book.
None of those guys mentioned above write sci-fi, and I never consume sci-fi, so can I trust myself when I say I want to read it?
No, I want to read an Arthur Hailey novel, about the inner workings of a corporation, but the characters should be Nick Hornby type characters, and maybe there's a touch of Puzo, like maybe a storyline about honour and if some important person isn't respected, they end up in a ditch somewhere.
I really want to read a book but I don't know what it is. But, it needs to be exactly, precisely, what I want to read. Send help.
The best book I have read this year by far was Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll - ok - it ticks none of your boxes (apart from a shade of John Grisham) but it was exceptional. The true story of the Brighton bomber, but written like a thriller. Fascinating, terrifying and brilliant…
I know this will be a strange suggestion but why not try something completely new! Isabel Allende is a writer you might want to explore. Start with “The House of spirits” or
“Paula”!