The best contemporary fiction that will make you think

Rich Marcello Author Of The Latecomers
By Rich Marcello

Who am I?

I’ve been drawn to thought-provoking novels from my early days as a reader, and especially later when my own work took shape. My books tend to deal with life’s big topics––love, loss, creativity, self-discovery, aging, forgiveness, what it means to be a good man, and the climate crisis––so I tend to gravitate to ambitious novels focused on how we humans might evolve in a healthy way. My characters do have flaws, many of them, but in the end, they are resilient and figure out a way to take a step forward. All of the books I mentioned are similar in scope and approach.

I wrote...

The Latecomers

By Rich Marcello,

Book cover of The Latecomers

What is my book about?

Maggie and Charlie Latecomer, at the beginning of the last third of their lives, love each other but are conflicted over what it means to age well in a youth-oriented society. Forced into early retirement and with grown children in distant cities, they've settled into a curbed routine, leaving Charlie restless and longing for more. When the Latecomers and their friends discover a mystical book of indecipherable logographs, the corporeal world and preternatural world intertwine. They set off on a restorative journey to uncover the secrets of the book that pits them against a potent corporate foe in a struggle for the hearts and minds of woman and men the world over.

A treatise on aging, health, wisdom, and love couched in an adventure, The Latecomers will make readers question the nature of deep relationships and the fabric of modern society.

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The books I picked & why

Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy

By Jostein Gaarder, Paulette Møller (translator),

Book cover of Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy

Why this book?

This is one of my all-time favorite novels. The setup is fantastic. One day a young girl, Sophie, comes home from school to find two questions, Who are you? and Where does the world come from? From there, she and the reader learn much about the history of philosophy. It’s one of the most thought-provoking novels I’ve ever read, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy

By Jostein Gaarder, Paulette Møller (translator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Sophie's World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The international bestseller about life, the universe and everything.

When 14-year-old Sophie encounters a mysterious mentor who introduces her to philosophy, mysteries deepen in her own life. Why does she keep getting postcards addressed to another girl? Who is the other girl? And who, for that matter, is Sophie herself? To solve the riddle, she uses her new knowledge of philosophy, but the truth is far stranger than she could have imagined.

An addictive blend of mystery, philosophy and fantasy, Sophie's World is an international phenomenon which has been translated into 60 languages and sold more than 40 million copies.

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Ishmael

By Daniel Quinn,

Book cover of Ishmael

Why this book?

Another of my favorite novels, Ishamel starts off with a simple ad. Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person. From there, the reader is taken on one of the great spiritual adventures in modern literature. I can’t say enough positive things about Ismael. Everything about it––the writing, the story, the ideas––works.

Ishmael

By Daniel Quinn,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Ishmael as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the most beloved and bestselling novels of spiritual adventure ever published, Ishmael has earned a passionate following. This special twenty-fifth anniversary edition features a new foreword and afterword by the author.

“A thoughtful, fearlessly low-key novel about the role of our species on the planet . . . laid out for us with an originality and a clarity that few would deny.”—The New York Times Book Review

Teacher Seeks Pupil.
Must have an earnest desire to save the world.
Apply in person.

It was just a three-line ad in the personals section, but it launched the adventure of…

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The Moviegoer

By Walker Percy,

Book cover of The Moviegoer

Why this book?

The Moviegoer was the first novel I read which had little plot and a great deal of meaning. Basically, it’s about one man’s search for meaning in a world which values shallowness and consumerism above all else. It’s as relevant today as it was when written and the prose is amazing!

The Moviegoer

By Walker Percy,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Moviegoer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the 1962 National Book Award and one of Time magazine’s 100 Best English-Language Novels, Walker Percy’s debut The Moviegoer is an American masterpiece and a classic of Southern literature. Insightful, romantic, and humorous, it is the story of a young man’s search for meaning amid a shallow consumerist landscape.

Binx Bolling, a young New Orleans stockbroker, fills his days with movies and casual sex. His life offers him nothing worth retaining; what he treasures are scenes from The Third Man or Stagecoach, not the personal experiences he knows other people hold dear. On the cusp of turning thirty,…

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being

By Milan Kundera,

Book cover of The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Why this book?

This is another philosophical novel and Kundera, more than any other novelist, inspired me to become a writer. It’s a novel of ideas couched in a great story, a love story, yes, but much more. Oh, and read the book before you watch the movie. While I like the movie, too, it’s not nearly as good as the book.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

By Milan Kundera,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Unbearable Lightness of Being as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A cult figure.' Guardian
'A dark and brilliant achievement.' Ian McEwan
'Shamelessly clever ... Exhilaratingly subversive and funny.' Independent
'A modern classic ... As relevant now as when it was first published. ' John Banville

A young woman is in love with a successful surgeon; a man torn between his love for her and his womanising. His mistress, a free-spirited artist, lives her life as a series of betrayals; while her other lover stands to lose everything because of his noble qualities. In a world where lives are shaped by choices and events, and everything occurs but once, existence seems…

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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

By Ocean Vuong,

Book cover of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Why this book?

This novel made me think for a different reason. The prose is absolutely the most beautiful I’ve seen in a novel in many years. I had to stop often and reread the sentences because they were an experience in and of themselves. The story is interesting and autobiographical, but it’s really the prose that carries the novel. If you love incredibly well-written novels, this one is for you.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

By Ocean Vuong,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An instant New York Times Bestseller!

Longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction, the Carnegie Medal in Fiction, the 2019 Aspen Words Literacy Prize, and the PEN/Hemingway Debut Novel Award

Shortlisted for the 2019 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

Winner of the 2019 New England Book Award for Fiction!

Named one of the most anticipated books of 2019 by Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Oprah.com, Huffington Post, The A.V. Club, Nylon, The Week, The Rumpus, The Millions, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and more.

"A lyrical work of self-discovery that's shockingly intimate and insistently…

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Interested in cultural heritage, gorillas, and philosophy?

8,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about cultural heritage, gorillas, and philosophy.

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And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

We think you will like The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, About Philosophy, and Language, Truth and Logic if you like this list.

Book cover of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold Book cover of About Philosophy Book cover of Language, Truth and Logic