Here are 100 books that Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm fans have personally recommended if you like
Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm.
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I was an odd kid—a bookworm worried about why I was different from others. Luckily, my family continuously reminded me that I belonged. Once out of the closet, I was able to appreciate the importance of families, both chosen and unchosen. I became a writer because I was compelled to articulate that importance and maybe help others understand how knowledge, trauma, emotions, and love move between the generations. Queer and family histories have inspired a lot of my journalism and fiction, but especially my new novel, This Is It. I hope it fits alongside these recommendations that explore queer multi-generational stories with wit, intelligence, and wisdom.
This book gripped me from the opening page. It’s everything I usually avoid—comics, suspense, memoir, psychology article—but the way it's calibrated invited me in, then wouldn’t let me leave until I’d lapped up every detail. By setting up her childhood review as a mystery that has to be solved through visual exploration, Alison Bechdel justifies every choice she makes. And they are all correct.
With deadpan humor and wry drawings, Fun Home gave me a thickly layered exploration of how queer elements impacted generations of her family. It never felt navel-gazing, and I found it impossible to imagine the story told any other way than in a graphics.
DISCOVER the BESTSELLING GRAPHIC MEMOIR behind the Olivier Award nominated musical.
'A sapphic graphic treat' The Times
A moving and darkly humorous family tale, pitch-perfectly illustrated with Alison Bechdel's gothic drawings. If you liked Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis you'll love this.
Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian home, a third-generation funeral home director, a high-school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with his male students and the family babysitter. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescence, the denouement is…
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
I have been writing books for a while (don’t make me tell you how long), but mostly novels, and mostly not with dads in them. This finally changed around the time my own lovable, unusual dad died in 2018. I knew I had to write about him and figured I would do this in fiction. But when I really dug into the family secrets my dad kept—and discovered details he didn’t know himself until his last years—I knew I’d need to turn to writing a memoir instead. That got me reading and rereading about all the other vivid, maddening dads who were waiting there on my shelves.
That’s right—Charles Dickens! I laughed, I cried, I stomped my feet.
I’ve been in a Dickens reading group since the pandemic and am constantly amazed by how funny he is. His scenes are so colorful and alive that they play like brilliant movies in your brain. In other works, Dickens has some saccharine father-daughter pairs who can induce an eye roll, but in this book his bone-chilling father made me sit up.
The icy-hearted Paul Dombey dotes on his sweet but feeble young son while completely ignoring his adorable and kind little daughter, who barely gets any scraps of his affection. We daughters read on, waiting for the Scrooge-like Dombey to learn his lesson over the course of the novel. Don’t ignore your daughters, dammit!—Oh, did I say that aloud?
'There's no writing against such power as this - one has no chance' William Makepeace Thackeray
A compelling depiction of a man imprisoned by his own pride, Dombey and Son explores the devastating effects of emotional deprivation on a dysfunctional family. Paul Dombey runs his household as he runs his business: coldly, calculatingly and commercially. The only person he cares for is his little son, while his motherless daughter Florence is merely a 'base coin that couldn't be invested'. As Dombey's callousness extends to others, including his defiant second wife Edith, he sows the seeds of his own destruction.
As an editor, I worked with many authors before deciding to become one myself. Most of my twenty-five published books cover theatre and film, but I was especially excited to work on biographies of actors and try to get to the truth behind the public figures.
I wrote three books about my father, who became a star of the silent films during the 1920s and eventually appeared in 172 films over nearly six decades. In researching his life and work, I was astonished to find a very different man from the one I had lived with and known during my childhood and youth.
The writer and poet Blake Morrison had a lifelong struggle to come to terms with his overbearing father.
Arthur Morrison, a Yorkshire doctor, was a smooth talker, a small-time cheat, who took pleasure in outwitting the authorities, living out his motto "I may not be right but I’m never wrong."
He was forever invading his children’s space, a habit which his son found painfully hard to resist, leading him to take up writing to escape this domineering influence. But when his father contracted cancer and lay dying, he was overwhelmed with grief and guilt.
It’s a moving, angry, and sometimes harrowing account of a dysfunctional relationship, which yet manages to be funny, and is written with poetic and humane grace.
The critically-acclaimed memoir and the basis for the 2007 motion picture, directed by Anand Tucker and starring Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent
And when did you last see your father? Was it last weekend or last Christmas? Was it before or after he exhaled his last breath? And was it him really, or was it a version of him, shaped by your own expectations and disappointments?
Blake Morrison's subject is universal: the life and death of a parent, a father at once beloved and exasperating, charming and infuriating, domineering and terribly vulnerable. In reading about Dr. Arthur Morrison, we come…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I have been writing books for a while (don’t make me tell you how long), but mostly novels, and mostly not with dads in them. This finally changed around the time my own lovable, unusual dad died in 2018. I knew I had to write about him and figured I would do this in fiction. But when I really dug into the family secrets my dad kept—and discovered details he didn’t know himself until his last years—I knew I’d need to turn to writing a memoir instead. That got me reading and rereading about all the other vivid, maddening dads who were waiting there on my shelves.
I read two great memoirs for a panel I moderated about daughters and fathers. At the event, I enjoyed watching Leslie Absher and Leta McCollough Seletzky meet and realize how much they had in common.
Both authors had dads who kept secrets— big, political secrets. Leta Seletzky’s dad worked as an undercover officer for the Memphis Police Department in the 1960s: he was “The Kneeling Man” in the famous photograph taken after King’s death.
This may sound odd, but I related to Leta Seletzky’s emotional tale of how she gradually got to know her father, as an adult, by uncovering the many layers of his life story.
The intimate and heartbreaking story of a Black undercover police officer who famously kneeled by the assassinated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr--and a daughter's quest for the truth about her father
In the famous photograph of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on the balcony of Memphis's Lorraine Motel, one man kneeled down beside King, trying to staunch the blood from his fatal head wound with a borrowed towel.
This kneeling man was a member of the Invaders, an activist group that was in talks with King in the days leading up to the…
I’m passionate about these books and authors because I’m also a disabled author whose debut young adult novel is coming out this year. We formed the 2024 Debuts group in mid-2022, so we’ve been there for each other through many ups and downs along our individual and collective journeys to publication. Our disabilities add another layer of complexity to that, and we’ve found comfort and solidarity in each other. Many of them are friends, and I couldn’t be prouder to share their incredible books with you. As we approach Disability Pride Month, I hope you consider adding a book written by a disabled author to your TBR!
Years ago, before we had books out in the world or even deals to publish them, I once saw Gretchen Schreiber describe her book as The Breakfast Club set in a hospital. I was immediately beyond sold, and since then, I’ve enjoyed watching every step of that book coming into existence.
This novel explores something about chronic illness and disability that I think about often–the way we almost divide ourselves into two people. For Ellie, that’s who she is in the hospital versus who she is outside of it. For me, that’s one person who’s allowed to be sick and one who isn’t.
The Breakfast Club meets Five Feet Apart in this big-hearted novel from debut author Gretchen Schreiber.
Ellie Haycock has always separated her life into sections: Ellie at home and Ellie at the hospital. At home, Ellie is a proud member of her high school’s speech and debate team alongside her best friend and her boyfriend. At the hospital, Ellie has a team of doctors and a mom who won’t stop posting about the details of her illness online. It’s not hard for Ellie to choose which of the two she prefers.
But this latest hospital stay is different. Ellie becomes…
I started my journey as an author writing YA fantasy books—then the pandemic came, publishing collapsed for a moment, and I found myself at a loss of what sort of author I wanted to be. YA didn’t call to me as it once did—and I was struggling as many of us were then. Then I found romance—it healed me, brought joy and hope back into my life, and made me love writing in a new and powerful way. The Irish Goodbye is my debut adult romance, and I hope to keep writing in this genre for many years!
Cara Bastone is one of my auto-buy authors; any of her books would make this list. Her magnetic prose and fully realized characters always draw me in. In this book, Eve discovers she’s pregnant after a one-night stand.
I’m not usually a fan of pregnancy romance, but this story captured my heart and made me sob by the end. And the hero, Shep, is one of my favorite romance heroes ever! I love how Cara writes about men with big hearts who aren’t afraid to show their feelings, and Shep fits that description to a T.
A surprise pregnancy leads to even more life-changing revelations in this “absolutely buoyant read” (Elle, The Best and Most Anticipated Romance Books of 2024, So Far).
“Bastone delivers on this truly heartwarming, funny, and real story. Come for the dog bar, stay for the special, slow-burn romcom.”—Abby Jimenez, New York Times bestselling author
Eve Hatch lives for surprises! Just kidding. She expects every tomorrow to be pretty much the same as today. She loves her cozy apartment in Brooklyn that’s close to her childhood best friend Willa, and far from her midwestern, traditional family who has never really understood her.…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
The stars aligned to ignite my passion for magic-realism romance after a few things had happened. 1) I got heavily into the idea of the multiverse and alternate realities in high school, having been inspired by my physics teacher. 2) I read and fell in love with The Time Traveler’s Wife (see list!). 3) I binge-watched the incredible sci-fi show Fringe, which deals with parallel universes and time jumps. 4) I decided to write my first multiverse romance, inspired by all the above factors and more besides. Since then, I’ve focused most of my reading on romantic novels, with those that share a magic realism twist being auto-reads—of course!
Ahh, Tia Williams, how I love thee. Out of the two perfect New York-set romances she has written, this one is the one that has a somewhat unexpected magic realism twist. This Harlem-based beauty follows two timelines—the present day of our protagonist Ricki, an impulsive, artistic florist with a mission to revitalize Harlem with flowers, and the 1920s jazz-soaked Harlem Renaissance era of our romantic hero Ezra, a grumpy, mysterious jazz musician.
The perplexing nature of how their worlds intersect and the deep passion of their relationship gives this romance so much fire and drive. It’s also very much a love story to Harlem, with a fabulous sub-plot about Ricki’s community initiative and how her colorful friends get on board. I honestly couldn’t put this one down!
'A spellbinding modern fairytale, sexy and warm and full of hope and the power of love' BOLU BABALOLA
'Funny, sexy and breathtakingly romantic' EMILY HENRY
One florist. One pianist. One love story . . . One hundred years in the making.
Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn't one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she's the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a more exciting life awaits her.
So, when she is invited to rent the bottom floor of a Harlem brownstone, Ricki…
I’m a lifelong reader who gravitates toward character-driven stories with a thread of hope. I’m a sucker for a good happily-ever-after, but I will read almost anything that rings true. I love books that make me feel deeply, and I believe stories are one of the best ways to develop empathy and compassion. I’ve been writing my own stories since I was eight years old making books with notebook paper and cereal-box covers.
This book made me laugh, cry, and swoon…so it’s basically everything I want from a romance. It’s about living in the present and realizing that all of our experiences shape who we are. Every element of this story is pitch-perfect, in my opinion, with just the right balance of introspection, heart, and humor.
The characters are endearing and relatable, and I was rooting for them the whole time.
Is living the life you've wished for really a dream come true?
Lucy Young is twenty-six and tired. Tired of fetching coffees for senior TV producers, sick of going on disastrous dates, and done with living in a damp flat with roommates who never buy toilet paper. After another disappointing date, Lucy stumbles upon a wishing machine. Pushing a coin into the slot, Lucy closes her eyes and wishes with all her might: Please, let me skip to the good part of my life.
When she wakes the next morning to a handsome man, a ring on her finger, a…
I love mixing the known with something new and creative–molding two universes in a way that still feels whole and plausible for the reader. Reading is, for me, part entertainment and recreation and also part education. I refuse to divide books into instructive and non-instructive–because broadening my horizon can happen while I enjoy myself. It’s something I treasure in my favorite authors and, therefore, also aim to provide. This requires a certain insight into human nature to build a credible story about how we, as a species, would deal with different circumstances; also the ability and patience to do some proper research before sitting down and shaping it all into a story.
As a person with strong ties to biology, I love that in this book, vampires and werewolves are no more magical or supernatural (and therefore also no more immortal) than any human; they just came from different branches down the evolutionary tree.
What I really liked were the dialogues–the sarcasm, verbal power games, and dry humor. And the character development, where an isolated person learns that opening up and accepting friendship and the feeling of belonging requires courage because it also makes one more vulnerable.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I’m a lifelong reader who gravitates toward character-driven stories with a thread of hope. I’m a sucker for a good happily-ever-after, but I will read almost anything that rings true. I love books that make me feel deeply, and I believe stories are one of the best ways to develop empathy and compassion. I’ve been writing my own stories since I was eight years old making books with notebook paper and cereal-box covers.
I’m a firm believer that a fulfilling, interesting, adventurous life isn’t just for the young, and that’s one thing I loved about this book and its dual storyline between a young woman and her grandmother.
It reminded me that a change in perspective often does wonders and that love can often be found in unexpected places.
A grandmother and granddaughter swap lives in The Switch, a charming, romantic novel by Beth O’Leary, who has been hailed as “the new Jojo Moyes” (Cosmopolitan UK)...
When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some long-overdue rest.
Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen.
So they decide to try a two-month swap.
Eileen will live in London and look for love. She’ll…
