100 books like In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

By Daniyal Mueenuddin,

Here are 100 books that In Other Rooms, Other Wonders fans have personally recommended if you like In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Elephant Vanishes: Stories

Robert Pope Author Of Not A Jot or A Tittle: 16 Stories by Robert Pope

From my list on strangely miraculous short fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

Early on, I identified with American short story writers Bernard Malamud and Flannery O’Connor. Though firmly ensconced in the American canon, neither had a fear of allowing the comic or fantastic to play important roles in stories with serious spiritual values. I enjoyed fabulous writers as well, the wildness of Nikolai Gogol, the magic of Ray Bradbury, the comic impulses of Mark Twain. I came across Dune and read it several times. Since those days, I have taken in many stories that do not stick to representations of reality, discovering writers all over the world with the same fascinations. I can’t keep myself from trying to join them. 

Robert's book list on strangely miraculous short fiction

Robert Pope Why did Robert love this book?

The Elephant Vanishes includes two of my favorite stories by any contemporary writer.

Set in the forested vicinity of a factory that makes elephants, “The Dancing Dwarf” follows the adventures of a marvelous dwarf who once danced for the king, alas, now pursued by soldiers of the revolution. The other side of the spectrum, “The Last Lawn of the Afternoon” partakes of the fantastic only by osmosis. The care this teenage boy takes mowing and trimming his assigned lawns feels so real it reminds me of myself.

This range keeps the reader slightly off balance and full of expectation, which might not be so exciting if we weren’t in the hands of one of the finest practitioners of the craft anywhere in the world.  

By Haruki Murakami,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A dizzying short story collection that displays Murakami's genius for uncovering the surreal in the everyday, the extraordinary within the ordinary

*Featuring the story 'Barn Burning', the inspiration behind the Palme d'Or nominated film Burning*

When a man's favourite elephant vanishes, the balance of his whole life is subtly upset. A couple's midnight hunger pangs drive them to hold up a McDonald's. A woman finds she is irresistible to a small green monster that burrows through her front garden. An insomniac wife wakes up in a twilight world of semi-consciousness in which anything seems possible - even death.

In every…


Book cover of The Stories of Eva Luna

Robert Pope Author Of Not A Jot or A Tittle: 16 Stories by Robert Pope

From my list on strangely miraculous short fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

Early on, I identified with American short story writers Bernard Malamud and Flannery O’Connor. Though firmly ensconced in the American canon, neither had a fear of allowing the comic or fantastic to play important roles in stories with serious spiritual values. I enjoyed fabulous writers as well, the wildness of Nikolai Gogol, the magic of Ray Bradbury, the comic impulses of Mark Twain. I came across Dune and read it several times. Since those days, I have taken in many stories that do not stick to representations of reality, discovering writers all over the world with the same fascinations. I can’t keep myself from trying to join them. 

Robert's book list on strangely miraculous short fiction

Robert Pope Why did Robert love this book?

Isabel Allende shows us marvels from South American traditions, archetypal stories with the excitement of passionate lovers and desperate bandits.

Once you finish the stories—not one a clunker—your mind will have been temporarily readjusted to the dangerous and fantastical world of deeply hidden human motivations. It’s as good as her autobiographical Paula, which is an education between covers. At first, I wouldn’t read Isabel Allende because two friends told me she imitated Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

I later learned they had not actually read any of her books. I decided to see for myself. Not true, I told them. Read the books.

By Isabel Allende,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Stories of Eva Luna as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Told in the voice of Isabel Allende’s beloved character Eva Luna, a “distinctive, powerful, and haunting” (Los Angeles Times) collection of short fiction by one of the most iconic and acclaimed writers of our time.

Eva Luna is a young woman whose powers as a storyteller bring her friendship and love. Lying in bed with her European lover, refugee and journalist Rolf Carlé, Eva answers his request for a story “you have never told anyone before” with these twenty-three samples of her vibrant artistry. Interweaving the real and the magical, she explores love, vengeance, compassion, and the strengths of women,…


Book cover of Autumn Country

Robert Pope Author Of Not A Jot or A Tittle: 16 Stories by Robert Pope

From my list on strangely miraculous short fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

Early on, I identified with American short story writers Bernard Malamud and Flannery O’Connor. Though firmly ensconced in the American canon, neither had a fear of allowing the comic or fantastic to play important roles in stories with serious spiritual values. I enjoyed fabulous writers as well, the wildness of Nikolai Gogol, the magic of Ray Bradbury, the comic impulses of Mark Twain. I came across Dune and read it several times. Since those days, I have taken in many stories that do not stick to representations of reality, discovering writers all over the world with the same fascinations. I can’t keep myself from trying to join them. 

Robert's book list on strangely miraculous short fiction

Robert Pope Why did Robert love this book?

This collection is an Introduction to an established writer of traditional horror with thirteen stories previously published in magazines, anthologies, or collections. I read these now as a single continuous work (like a symphony) with re-emerging themes.

Weaving in and out throughout the collection, the image of the shape-shifter develops with a wild inventiveness that never spins out of control. The same with the writer’s fascination with music that comes out humorously in the story “Collectable,” disturbingly accurate in “Under Iron.”

There is dark humor working beneath the surface that keeps readers alert and tingling with anticipation, a good effect if you’ve never tingled.  

By Tim Jeffreys,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Autumn Country as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this way, the fantastic in these stories takes us away from our lives in the present moment, providing a moment’s escape, but brings us back to ourselves in the end, like that ride on the roller coaster. Our feet find purchase once again; the journey has not only been entertaining, as we screamed in delight and fear, it has taken us somewhere and then left us off in strange territory, entertained, yes, perhaps better off for the experience, yet, miraculously, unharmed. This is the pure experience provided by these stories. Each one takes us for that ride, rewards us…


Book cover of People Like You: Stories

Robert Pope Author Of Not A Jot or A Tittle: 16 Stories by Robert Pope

From my list on strangely miraculous short fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

Early on, I identified with American short story writers Bernard Malamud and Flannery O’Connor. Though firmly ensconced in the American canon, neither had a fear of allowing the comic or fantastic to play important roles in stories with serious spiritual values. I enjoyed fabulous writers as well, the wildness of Nikolai Gogol, the magic of Ray Bradbury, the comic impulses of Mark Twain. I came across Dune and read it several times. Since those days, I have taken in many stories that do not stick to representations of reality, discovering writers all over the world with the same fascinations. I can’t keep myself from trying to join them. 

Robert's book list on strangely miraculous short fiction

Robert Pope Why did Robert love this book?

This collection reads like realistic stories from the perspective of a single point-of-view that throws common life into the realm of the weirdly uncommon.

In fact, I kept reading to figure out what I was reading. What changed in the process? My own perception of the world in which we live. These people may be like us, but the writer looks at them with new and different eyes. These stories sneak up on you and take over your mind for a marvelously short time because it’s a short book of short stories—one I recommend because it’s so unusual.

By Margaret Malone,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked People Like You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Finalist, PEN/Hemingway Award

In this marvelously funny, unsettling, subtle, and moving collection of stories, the characters exist in the thick of everyday experience absent of epiphanies. The people are caught off-guard or cast adrift by personal impulses even while wide awake to their own imperfections. Each voice will win readers over completely and break hearts with each confused and conflicted decision that is made. Every story is beautifully controlled and provocatively alive to its own truth.


Book cover of The Salt God's Daughter

Amorina Kingdon Author Of Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water

From my list on water is a gateway to a strange new world.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been obsessed with the idea of other worlds I can’t sense but can somehow contrive to glimpse, whether with a magic amulet or some fabulous technology. As a kid growing up in the woods and devouring fantasy novels and biology texts alike, I couldn’t decide between science or writing as a way of exploring the unknown, and ultimately, I ended up doing both: becoming a writer specializing in marine and coastal environments, one of the many places in our world where the deeper we look at the senses of the creatures living there, the more we realize just how limited our own perceptions are. 

Amorina's book list on water is a gateway to a strange new world

Amorina Kingdon Why did Amorina love this book?

This book is a summer creamsicle of a book, melting down your fist as you devour it. It’s the sun beating down in parking lots as you run toward the water, sand crunching under your flip-flops. If you took Joan Didion’s descriptions of SoCal and crossed them with Anne-Marie MacDonald’s deft descriptions of mother/daughter pathos, then sprinkled it with 70’s childhood nostalgia, you’d get this daydream of a book.

Oh, yeah, and it’s also about a deadbeat parent who may or may not be an ocean deity. I accidentally grabbed this off the library shelf one day and loved it so much that I bought it. I take every opportunity to recommend it. It’s a beach read in the best, literal sense of the term. 

By Ilie Ruby,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Salt God's Daughter as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Beautifully evokes scenes of two girls adrift in the . . . bohemian beach culture . . . a breathtaking, fiercely feminine take on American magical realism.” —Interview Magazine

Set in Long Beach, California, beginning in the 1970s, The Salt God’s Daughter follows Ruthie and her older sister Dolly as they struggle for survival in a place governed by an enchanted ocean and exotic folklore. Guided by a mother ruled by magical, elaborately-told stories of the full moons, which she draws from The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the two girls are often homeless, often on their own, fiercely protective of each…


Book cover of The Ghost Woods

Angie Spoto Author Of The Grief Nurse

From my list on gothic set in Scotland.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I first visited Scotland, I drove north from Edinburgh, driving through much of the country to catch a ferry to Orkney. This northern archipelago is certainly one of the most magical places I’ve ever been to; the steep sea cliffs and standing stones, windblown grasses, and violent waves put me in a gothic state of mind. I moved to Scotland a few years later to live by the sea. Since that first visit to Orkney, I’ve written my own Scottish gothic novels, as well as presented research on the gothic at various academic conferences. It’s a topic that I’m certain will compel me for a long time to come. 

Angie's book list on gothic set in Scotland

Angie Spoto Why did Angie love this book?

I picked up this book for its Scottish setting and gothic vibes (which did not disappoint!), but I devoured the book because of the characters who I was rooting for from page one.

It’s such a surprise and pleasure to read a large cast of (queer) women, each uniquely-drawn and with their own distinct desires and personalities. The setting of the book is brilliant as well–I cannot resist a book set in a Scottish forest. The story is threaded through with folklore, adding another layer to the gothic atmosphere. 

By C.J. Cooke,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Ghost Woods as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Haunting' Sara Sheridan

'Intriguing, atmospheric, thought-provoking' Alexandra Bell

'Beautifully crafted, thrilling and atmospheric' Rebecca Netley

In the midst of the woods stands a house called Lichen Hall.

This place is shrouded in folklore - old stories of ghosts, of witches, of a child who is not quite a child.

Now the woods are creeping closer, and something has been unleashed.

Pearl Gorham arrives in 1965, one of a string of young women sent to Lichen Hall to give birth. And she soon suspects the proprietors are hiding something.

Then she meets the mysterious mother and young boy who live in…


Book cover of The Shrike

V.S. McGrath Author Of The Devil's Revolver

From my list on badass heroines that inspired my main character.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love a smart, capable, skilled, determined heroine who’ll risk it all for the people she loves and the things she believes in. History and popular culture have long overlooked, minimized, or outright ignored the contributions of women and girls, especially in times of strife or hardship. Writing the Devil’s Revolver series, I wanted women from all walks of life proactively working to change the world and their own circumstances, wherever their paths lead them. Throughout, my protagonist, Hettie Alabama, develops allyship and understanding with women who have their own ideas, opinions, dreams, and desires, and together, they shape their own destinies and the fate of the world.

V.S.'s book list on badass heroines that inspired my main character

V.S. McGrath Why did V.S. love this book?

The first time I saw Pretty Deadly on the shelves at my local comic book store, I was fascinated and chilled by the cover art, and the story within did not disappoint. This Eisner-Award-nominated graphic novel by Captain Marvel writer Kelly Sue DeConnick melds Western and horror genres for a macabre tale about Death’s daughter, Deathface Ginny, riding a horse made of smoke and wind across the harsh and unrelenting landscapes of a brutal Wild West, doling out retribution. I love me some grim reaping, and the same dark, evocative imager. I love me some grim reaping, and I wanted the same dark, evocative imagery to come through on my pages and through Hettie’s own journey with the cursed gun Diablo at her side.   

By Kelly Sue DeConnick, Emma Rios (artist),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Shrike as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Kelly Sue DeConnick (Avengers Assemble, Captain Marvel) and Emma Rios (Dr. Strange, Osborn) present the collected opening arc of their surprise-hit series that marries the magical realism of Sandman with the western brutality of Preacher. Death's daughter rides the wind on a horse made of smoke and her face bears the skull marks of her father. Her origin story is a tale of retribution as beautifully lush as it is unflinchingly savage.

"It's a perfect match for the gorgeous, dizzying artwork in a sumptuous palette-overlaid panels add intricate choreography to fight scenes, and detailed, whirling splash pages beg for long-lingering…


Book cover of Fire and Hemlock

Marie Brennan Author Of The Waking of Angantyr

From my list on fantasy novels based on folklore from around the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

From my early days of reading Fire and Hemlock and various books of mythology, I’ve loved traditional tales from all around the world. In college I didn’t aim to major in things that would be useful to me as a fantasy writer, but anthropology and folklore made a great background for that job. Nowadays, I actively seek out books based on traditional stories, especially those that go beyond the most well-known European fairy tales and myths. Sometimes, they inspire me, in turn, to write my own stories!

Marie's book list on fantasy novels based on folklore from around the world

Marie Brennan Why did Marie love this book?

This is quite literally the book that made me decide to become a writer.

It draws on two Scottish ballads (“Tam Lin” and “Thomas the Rhymer”), but rather than retelling them straight, it uses them as a springboard for its own original plot. The relationship between the two main characters and the story they are telling together instilled in me a burning desire to tell my own stories for other people to read, and it also sent me off down a lifelong path of reading about the folklore that underpins the novels I pick up.

By Diana Wynne Jones,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Fire and Hemlock as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

In the mind of a lonely, imaginative girl, who can tell where fiction ends and reality begins? An epic fantasy, spanning nine years...

The fire and hemlock photograph above Polly's bed sparks memories in her that don't seem to exist any more. Halloween; nine years ago; she gatecrashed a funeral party at the big house and met Thomas Lynn for the first time.

Despite the fact that he's an adult, they struck up an immediate friendship, and began making up stories together - stories in which Tom is a great hero, and Polly is his assistant. The trouble is, these…


Book cover of The Woman and the Witch

Amy Q. Barker Author Of Rue

From my list on women’s fiction with an unlikely heroine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a women's fiction novelist with a love for drama without trauma. As an avid reader myself, I write what I know—moving stories written for women and about women. In my books, I sweep you off your feet, lead your heart to a place it's never been before, make you think, make you fall in love, make you yearn for justice, make you aspire and hope and dream. And I promise a happy ending every time, or at least a realistic, thought-provoking tote of warm feelings you can take with you. I hope you enjoy my reading recommendations below! 

Amy's book list on women’s fiction with an unlikely heroine

Amy Q. Barker Why did Amy love this book?

I came across this novel after I started following the author on Instagram. It was my first time dabbling in magical realism, and I found myself instantly hooked. Angie is an overweight, fifty-year-old housecleaner with a special skill—she can see the dead. Despite her best efforts to ignore her intuition, the spirits follow her, seek her out, and try to absorb and siphon her human powers. I love the arc of this novel, following the most unlikely of heroines into a death-defying struggle, where she learns that she is stronger than she ever thought possible and more importantly, she doesn’t need anyone else to save her. I rooted for her the entire way through, and now I’m excited to hear the author is making this into a trilogy.

By Amanda Larkman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Woman and the Witch as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet Angie and Frieda, two unforgettable characters who will live in your memory long after you turn the last page.


Nothing ever changes in the village of Witchford until the day a hundred year old, bad-tempered witch falls and breaks her hip, and a fifty year old cleaner decides her life is over.

Both are haunted by ghosts, but can Frieda help Angie find out what her long dead father is trying to tell her? And can Angie help Frieda fight off the wolf who circles ever closer?

A story of empowerment and friendship, 'The Woman and the Witch' explores…


Book cover of Accidental Magic

Dannye Williamsen Author Of Second Chances

From my list on helping you step outside the box.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up, I witnessed my mother have a number of precognitive episodes. I later realized I was very intuitive at times. As a technical analyst in commodities I recognized that intuition was playing a huge part in my success in calling the markets. Feeling uncomfortable in groups, I became very much an introvert. I feel others’ strong emotions and even their physical pain at times. It’s painful to watch shows where people are fighting or being hurt. Later in life I realized there was a name for my discomfort. Clairsentience. Writing/reading paranormal stories about others is not only comforting to me, but psychologically grounding as well. 

Dannye's book list on helping you step outside the box

Dannye Williamsen Why did Dannye love this book?

Paranormal Women’s Fiction: This is a relatively new genre that “celebrates either a midlife or older woman who navigates her life while discovering or developing her own magical powers. Being an older woman, I leapt on this one! Magic realism is present here as is often the case with the paranormal. Interweaving individual paranormal abilities within the town of Myrtlewood, which is itself a city of quirks, with a mystery and a murder demanding to be solved. 

The personalities of the two main characters seem to ruffle the feathers of some readers. However, I viewed the interactions of the mother and daughter as evolutionary journeys, individually and in their relationships with each other. Did it present frustrating moments? Of course, but this is what makes it good.

By Iris Beaglehole,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Welcome to Myrtlewood, a quirky town, steeped in magic, tea, and mystery…

Life’s a struggle for Rosemary Thorn and her teen daughter, Athena. But their regular troubles are turned upside down after Granny Thorn’s mysterious death.

Despite her cousin's sinister manoeuvrings, Rosemary returns to Myrtlewood and the sprawling, dilapidated Thorn Manor. But there's more to the old house than meets the eye, as Rosemary and Athena soon find out — in a whirlwind of magic, adventure, mystical creatures, and endless cups of tea.

Life in Myrtlewood would be bliss if Rosemary could only clear her name in a certain murder…


Book cover of The Elephant Vanishes: Stories
Book cover of The Stories of Eva Luna
Book cover of Autumn Country

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