74 books like Winter

I’ve long been inspired by Butler’s writing, which features BIPOC characters front and center. As a multiracial person, I seldom saw people who looked and thought like me in the older fiction I read.

The notable thing about this book is that it’s technically science fiction, not alternate history, since the novel's beginning in 2024 (this year!). However, much of what Butler wrote has come to pass, raising one question: Has her vision of the future become an alternate version of the past? I love trying to wrap my head around that conundrum.

In a list about zombie apocalypse references, this is definitely a quirky entry. But it is important for all writers to read outside of their genre, or they run the risk of becoming generic. 

Far more important than the story’s backdrop is the story’s focus. People predominantly care and read about people.

Whether that means writing about people resisting zombies, as is the case with most zombie stories, or writing about zombies doing their best to become human—as seen in Elantris and The Girl With All The Gifts—writers need to know how to tell stories about people.

I don’t write books about zombies, I write books about families. And there is probably no more famous family right now than the Bridgertons (though if I had one more recommendation, it would definitely be Swiss Family Robinson).

By reading books about strong families, I’m better able to translate my own… show more.

I love this book’s original take on the “spore” or “fungal” zombie outbreak. It feels like the author took The Last Of Us (which I also adore) and flipped the story on its head. Melanie is this unique character, at once the snarky, hilarious child of the piece and its terrifying monster.

She’s the threat, battlefield, and hope—and I find that combination so compelling. While it’s a grim, often bleak tale set in a decimated UK, this thread of unexpected hope and unusual connections kept me hooked. This story might not give me the future I wanted at the start of the story, but it offers a different vision with its own version of hope for humanity, and because of that, it has a special place on my shelf.

I debated which of Cosmere’s many books to put here but settled on this one because it was my introduction to Sanderson. The main attraction of his books for me is always the unique and scientific hard magic systems and how they relate to every aspect of his stories, from characters to worldbuilding.

My favorite part was how the characters had to study the magic system and uncover its specific functions to “solve” the problem that was plaguing them. This is a pretty common narrative force behind many of Sanderson’s books, but I also enjoyed this one because of its religious and sociopolitical commentary. I found the high priest’s arc especially compelling, as he found his views on faith challenged by another character.

I may be cheating here. Rapunzel is an old-time fairy tale, and Cress is a science fiction re-writing of that story, so I'm going to count it in this list as "historical." This is the third book in Meyers' Lunar Chronicles and it is my favorite of the bunch. Cress (Rapunzel) is incredibly smart and completely naive to the world. Her romantic interest is a completely dopey bad guy, who you shouldn't waste your time disliking. The odd situations they get themselves into mirror, to an extent, the famous fairy tale. Lots of fun.

I always wanted to know what happened after the episode "The Corbomite Maneuver," which ended with a young crew member sent off to the mysterious First Federation—never to be heard from again in the shows. I always enjoy Christopher L. Bennett’s meticulous sci-fi world-building, and in his hands, the First Federation is revealed to be a suitably fascinating, if isolated, society.

I loved the sense of vastness achieved by getting beyond the United Federation of Planets. I also enjoy when a story takes full advantage of the continuity of the franchise, and The Face of the Unknown smoothly sets up elements of the often overlooked Animated Series of the 1970s as well as Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

I bought the book out of curiosity not even knowing it was for kids. And once I realized what it was, I read it to my son. He loved it. Let me describe it in the style it is written:

High-energy text right from the beginning. Honestly the inspiration for my own series and its style of writing. The protagonist has special powers that are ranked in a game-like manner using levels. It appeals to the gamer youth of today, relating to the games that they play even now despite having been written thirty years ago. A solid A plus production.

This whole book, I kept expecting an epic space battle to break out. That’s how space operas work, I thought, but now I’ve been introduced to cozy science fiction.

The book explored a dozen species. Very different people kept finding common ground, something anyone living in the US right now is struggling with.

My life has been filled with people who didn’t fit the average person mold in various ways. I was moved almost to tears more than once as people who were all so different found their way into something like a family. I particularly enjoyed how the love of friends was given the same weight as romantic love. I gloried in how each relationship interwove into something greater than the parts.

I think every reread of this book unveils another layer to its complexity. The Little Prince is a classic tale that will mean different things to different people—a mesmerizing journey to wide-eyed children, a reminder of the world’s fragility to adults, and a longing for nostalgia by those grown who may have had their innocence stripped away early. The first time I read it, I was swept away by the pictures and pretty words, and yet still, there was an ache in my heart that only later, on my next read, did I truly understand. But every reader can feel it; the beauty and grief for a place or time we may never return to. 

Oliver Jeffers has such a simple way with words (almost as if he is writing as his child self, still) but which always brings a wry, knowing adult smile to my mouth when reading aloud. I love this book too, for being able to make my children smile and feel empathy for the characters.

I love the graphic, simple yet sophisticated illustrations, helping to explain the story along the way. It’s a fantastic blend of the reality of children’s play, along with an imaginative introduction to science fiction. Fabulous!