100 Books Like Fludd

When the society, culture, and world we live in become unrecognizable and untenable, the genre of literature that best quells anxiety is satire. As the author of Satire State, I believe laughter is essential to survival and sanity. The tightly woven fabric of a society unravels slowly and then suddenly through a consecutive series of multiple actions by malignant forces. All the while, historical memory is gradually erased, and the new fabric is the only one recognized. Satire is the only way to chronicle the malignancy and force people to think hard. The following five books of satire that address urgent issues made me laugh, cringe, think, and mutter “too real” under my breath.

As an undergraduate, I wanted to study the now defunct PPP (Philosophy, Psychology, and Physiology) degree at Oxford, but applicants needed a maths background for the statistics element, and I was a literature major, so I studied Philosophy & Theology instead. Soon after, I fell in love with the philosophy of action, which I discovered via Alan R. White’s marvelous introduction to criminal law, The Grounds of Liability. As a philosophy professor who has since written several books about action and its explanation, I find it hugely important to read as widely as possible so as to avoid the tunnel visions of specialized philosophical theories. 

I’m a writer, journalist, satirist, and novelist. I’ve written humor and satire for McSweeney’s, The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts, The Belladonna, and other publications, often about subjects that make me angry, sad, or both. Sometimes I write as a way to process, to vent, and to make fun of myself. I wrote a humor piece called "Turn Your Princess Toddler Into a Feminist in 8 Easy Steps." The New York Times published it, and it went viral. There was so much interest in the piece it prompted me to start researching the topic of princess obsessed girls. That research became my nonfiction book – The Feminist’s Guide to Raising a Little Princess. 

I am a queer author of over thirty novels, most recently The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, In the Lives of Puppets, and my upcoming novel, Wolfsong. Though I’ve written across many genres, science fiction, and fantasy are where I feel most at home, and my writing reflects that. I love exploring worlds where good people fight for what’s right even when they make mistakes along the way. Humanity is always at the forefront of what I do, and though we can be disappointing, there is nothing quite like us in all the universe—as far as we know.

I’ve always been a fan of dark comedies. Fargo. Heathers. Fight Club. There’s something about being able to laugh about tragedy that feels both cathartic and as if you might get struck down by lightning. But I also grew up on a steady diet of supernatural horror à la Stephen King, Peter Straub, and early Dean Koontz. So combining the supernatural and dark comedy into my writing seemed like a natural fit. While I’m drawn to dark comedies of all sorts in both fiction and film, I have a soft spot for those with a supernatural element that involves death, either in the literal sense or as a character.

From an early age, I was fascinated by the ways in which past events ripple into the present. It started by looking at my own family; one soldier stationed in the Philippines during the Second World War narrowly survives a severe gunshot wound, and so is able to meet my grandmother, and so my entire family exists. In another timeline, he didn’t make it to the surgeon in time and none of us were ever born. Dual timeline sci-fi not only considers the consequences of history on our present, but pushes this exploration into possible futures. 

I’m an intuitive channel and spiritual guide, deeply passionate about personal transformation. Over the years, I’ve worked with countless individuals to help them break through limiting beliefs, tap into their true potential, and live more empowered lives. My own journey of self-discovery has led me to explore topics like spirituality, psychology, self-concept, and energy work—areas that are all interconnected in creating lasting change. As a coach, content creator, and author of Show Up As Her, I’ve gained valuable insights that continue to shape my growth. These books have each had a profound impact on my journey, and I’m excited to share them with you.

When I was a girl, my grandmother called me an ‘old soul’ and said she thought my fascination with the 19th century meant that I’d lived then in another life. Ever since, this notion that a person might have lived before has always fascinated me! I gravitate to books that bring the past and present together in all sorts of ways–through memory, ghosts, time travel…and reincarnation. Now my own books of suspense for kids and teens deal with many of those same themes. I always write books I would want to read myself!

Tina Proffitt is a former educator in love with writing romance novels, who believes there’s nothing more romantic than reincarnating with those she loves. After her first one-on-one past life reading with Dr. Doris E. Cohen, she was hooked and has never looked back. (Pun intended) She wants to share her passion for living a life free from fear and full of love. She writes reincarnation romance novels in the genres of mystery, science fiction, contemporary, and YA.

Tina Proffitt is a former educator in love with writing romance novels, who believes there’s nothing more romantic than reincarnating with those she loves. After her first one-on-one past life reading with Dr. Doris E. Cohen, she was hooked and has never looked back. (Pun intended) She wants to share her passion for living a life free from fear and full of love. She writes reincarnation romance novels in the genres of mystery, science fiction, contemporary, and YA.