93 books like Ordinary Thunderstorms

I was instantly pulled into this first book in the Rivers of London series because of the main character. I found Constable Peter Grant to be delightfully awkward. His very much unwanted ability to see and speak to lingering spirits results in his assignment to a secret police unit that investigates crimes involving magic.

He’s stunned to meet gods, goddesses, and more fantastic beings who exist in a hidden world alongside mortals. I loved meeting all of the engaging characters, normal and supernatural. I was totally engaged in the believable world created by the author, where the ordinary ticks beside the extraordinary. Even better, the humorous situations Peter stumbles into as he chases down whodunit made me laugh out loud.

This was the book that turned me on to crime fiction, a genre I had always previously spurned. Why should anyone want to read about crime, I’d thought. Isn’t there enough of it in real life anyway?

Then, on my honeymoon in St Lucia, I was staying with my new wife in a magical villa full of books I’d never read. I picked this one up because it was about a publishing house, which reminded me of several I knew as an author. Right from the off, I was drawn in by James’s superb characters and wonderful descriptions. Then the plot kicked in, and I was hooked. When I’d finished it, I moved on to another of her books and was soon reading crime voraciously.

I have always liked the idea of living in a houseboat on the River Thames. This wonderful story simultaneously fed my fantasies and made me realise it might not be as idyllic as I imagined.

The houseboats on Battersea Reach are like a small village–each character is an individual yet integral part of the whole, their fortunes rising and falling with the tide. Through these characters, the book paints a picture of sixties London, swinging yet also unforgiving for those who slip between the cracks. Penelope Fitzgerald lived on a barge in Battersea, and I think much of the story is based on personal experience.

What I particularly liked was the sense of the houseboat dwellers not quite belonging, being offshore in more ways than one. 

As a bookseller as well as a writer and editor, I believe strongly that good children’s books should also be read by adults.

The setting here is 1683, and the River Thames is frozen. I studied history, and I often stand on London Bridge and try to imagine the flowing water as a field of ice with stalls and side shows on the frozen surface. Embankments and new bridges mean the river no longer freezes, but this story brings historical London to life and allows us to feel what it would have been like.

A magic nocturnal Frost Fair, a lost boy, and a determined twin sister are at the heart of this bewitching story, which is dark yet uplifting–a perfect combination that had me gripped throughout. 

If you are of a certain age, you may remember Choose Your Own Adventure novels, where you read an enticing setup of a story, and then you are asked to choose–go to page xx for this action or page yy for this other action. These books were often adventure or mystery tales, and they were fairly short.

Well, this author took this concept to new heights–she wrote over 150 different endings. All written in the second person, in this book, you can fall madly in love as well as die tragically, so caveat emptor!

Schlitz’s latest historical novel, set in Ancient Greece, is one I read aloud to my own kids, who like many are already well versed in Greek and Roman mythology.

The story of the rebellious daughter of a noble family and an enslaved boy, it’s a haunting and beautifully rendered introduction to classical philosophy and the story of Socrates. Reading this together gave us a chance to discuss the classical world as a real place and its culture and religion in detail and depth.

Schlitz’s books are among the most literary and original out there and this one was written to stay with you for a very long time. 

The Soul's Code is a penetrating psychological and spiritual study of how we get to be who we are and the necessity of listening deeply to the call of your own life.

It will surprise and move you to be more aware of those formative experiences that are intrinsic to human experience. This book assisted me greatly in hearing my own soul's voice and inspiring me to write my own book about this experience.

Carosella offers another, refreshing take on Helen. This Helen takes control of her life and tries to defy fate (and the gods do their darndest, as usual in Greek mythology, to make her and everyone else miserable). Carosella’s engaging novel develops the characters’ jealousies, passions, and loyalties, as well as bringing the reader directly into the ancient Greek world. I enjoyed the sense of interconnectedness between different parts of this Greek and Mediterranean world, Troy, Sparta, Egypt, Mycenae, and Athens. This accurately reflects the current understanding of this exotic world. I appreciate a flexible view of all the legendary mythology surrounding this iconic war, and Carosella has flexed some impressive muscle.

As a speculative fiction fan, I love to read horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and Spaceling is one of my favorite science fiction escapes. I first read it as a teenager and immediately connected with the idea of having a power that could literally transport me to another world. I was already a bit of an outsider, but I wanted to be an outsider like Daryl—wisecracking, resourceful, and fearless when it came to taking the leap and letting Fate’s cards fall where they may. This book is sometimes labeled YA fiction, but Doris Piserchia once said she wrote what she liked and had no specific aged audience in mind. I re-read it whenever I want to feel that rush of endless possibilities.

During the sixties, Atiya collected life stories of five Egyptian women from the lower and middle classes, ranging in age from twenty to mid-sixty. The stories show how to them, life starts with marriage. If they mention their childhoods, it is as preparation for marriage. Parents invariably arranged the women’s marriages or gave permission to potential husbands attracted to their daughters from a distance. Once the excitement of their weddings is over, however, most face an endless stream of difficulties. They recount experiences as co-wives, being forced into acrimonious divorces, family conflicts, and problems with children. They discuss witchcraft, female circumcision, poverty, and health issues. The book is unusual in that it conveys in their own words, the thinking of people not usually heard from in Middle Eastern writing.