Here are 35 books that The Geography of Pluto fans have personally recommended if you like
The Geography of Pluto.
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When I was six, I wrote an eleven-page epic about an adventurous otter named "Ottiga." The causality between that early effort and my career as a novelist is uncertain, but it did establish a pattern. I was the perpetual new kid on the block, and novels provided a pathway to escape the difficulties of being young and introverted. I learned that fiction is an antidote to loneliness; that it has the power to transport us to entirely new worlds, or to show us the familiar world in entirely new and unexpected ways. The speculative novels on this list did that for me, and I hope they do the same for you!
This is a highly propulsive and emotionally engaging novel with a sympathetic protagonist at its core.
It could be considered a portal fantasy, but I'd categorize it, along with the other books on this list, as âspeculative,â because it doesnât fit neatly into either the fantasy or science fiction genres and is anchored in contemporary or near-future realism.
Piranesiâs beautifully executed theme, about how a dramatic change in perspective can lead to a deeper appreciation for the beauty and nobility abiding beneath the ugliness of humanity and our one and only world, is one for the ages.
This highly original and beautiful book is destined to endure as one of the classics of early twenty-first century literature.
Winner of the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction A SUNDAY TIMES & NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The spectacular new novel from the bestselling author of JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL, 'one of our greatest living authors' NEW YORK MAGAZINE __________________________________ Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has.
In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls. On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend,âŚ
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa storiesâall 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 argueâŚ
I write strange, emotional novels from my book-filled apartment in Vancouver, a short walk from the ocean. This may be why Iâm obsessed with islands. Or perhaps itâs because they evoke the feeling of being apart from the world, adrift, of protecting something rare. Whatever the reason, my novel takes place on an uncanny island off the coast of Mexico, where the locals drink tea in the afternoon and pray to skeletons hidden in caves. The story that unfolds on this island could not have taken place on the mainland, and I believe the same goes for the books on my list.
I loved this book because it transported me to the sun-soaked island of Barbadosâbut not only the glossy image from travel magazines, which Iâve visited before like many other tourists.
It offers an unflinching peek at the authentic, sometimes tragic, side of paradise where the locals live and work. Following the intertwined lives of a grieving young mother, her violent husband, a wealthy widow, and a conflicted gigolo, this novel reveals the darkness that festers within the places we call home.
In the tradition of Zadie Smith and Marlon James, a brilliant Caribbean writer delivers a powerful story about four people each desperate to escape their legacy of violence in a so-called "paradise."
In Baxterâs Beach, Barbados, Lalaâs grandmother Wilma tells the story of the one-armed sister. Itâs a cautionary tale, about what happens to girls who disobey their mothers and go into the Baxterâs Tunnels. When sheâs grown, Lala lives on the beach with her husband, Adan, a petty criminal with endless charisma whose thwarted burglary of one of the beach mansions sets off a chain of events with terribleâŚ
I write strange, emotional novels from my book-filled apartment in Vancouver, a short walk from the ocean. This may be why Iâm obsessed with islands. Or perhaps itâs because they evoke the feeling of being apart from the world, adrift, of protecting something rare. Whatever the reason, my novel takes place on an uncanny island off the coast of Mexico, where the locals drink tea in the afternoon and pray to skeletons hidden in caves. The story that unfolds on this island could not have taken place on the mainland, and I believe the same goes for the books on my list.
This novel brings together the past and present experiences of Asian Canadians in a story thatâs bursting with light and energy. Much of the book depicts the discrimination faced by Chinese immigrants in Newfoundland in the early 20th century, and I loved how humour was interspersed between moments that stirred feelings of intense anger and sadness.
Throw in a cheeky, time-travelling spirit named Mo and the privileged millennial who learns about the hardship thatâs granted him the life he leads, and weâve got a fresh take on a tragic history from an exciting new literary voice.
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE TELEGRAM AND WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
The hilarious and heartbreaking story of two William Pings in Newfoundlandâthe lost millennial and the grandfather he knows nothing about
William Pingâs millennial life revolves around eating at restaurants, posting online about eating at restaurants, then overanalyzing it. This changes unexpectedly when a dinner with his Chinese girlfriendâs family goes sideways and his insecurity about his biracial identity and his ignorance of his own Chinese heritage overflow. During a much-needed break from theâŚ
Crossing is a vividly human re-imagining of the love, sacrifices, and accomplishments that two Chinese brothers - American Immigrants - experience as they travel to California to build the Transcontinental Railroad.Â
I write strange, emotional novels from my book-filled apartment in Vancouver, a short walk from the ocean. This may be why Iâm obsessed with islands. Or perhaps itâs because they evoke the feeling of being apart from the world, adrift, of protecting something rare. Whatever the reason, my novel takes place on an uncanny island off the coast of Mexico, where the locals drink tea in the afternoon and pray to skeletons hidden in caves. The story that unfolds on this island could not have taken place on the mainland, and I believe the same goes for the books on my list.
Steven Price creates a vision of crumbling palaces and waning tradition in this lush novel, and itâs a joy to lose oneself in its wistful poetry.
Set in post-WWII Sicily, this is the true story of an islandâs last prince who is desperate to leave a legacy in a world that has already forgotten him. Every page is heavy with loss and longingâI found myself mourning a world that no longer existed, the decadent realm of Italian aristocrats that was shattered by the war, even though I didnât identify with anything that world stood for. What I could understand, though, was the princeâs desire to create something beautiful among the waste, something that would outlive him.Â
Like Colm TĂłibĂnâs The Master or Michael Cunninghamâs The Hours, a novel about art and writing in the life of one of the greats
Set in a sun-drenched Sicily, among the decadent Italian aristocracy of the late 1950s, Steven Priceâs Lampedusa explores the final years of Giuseppe Tomasi, the last prince of Lampedusa, as he struggles to complete his only novel, The Leopard.
In 1955, Tomasi was diagnosed with advanced emphysema; shortly after, he began work on a novel that would fail to be published before his death four years later. When The Leopard at last appeared, it won ItalyâsâŚ
Who doesnât like space? I love learning about space!
Tip: Picture books are easier to comprehend compared to graduate courses â thereâs only so much of Newton-Euler dynamics, inertia tensors, eccentricity vectors, etc. one can handle. Plus, there are no nasty mind-boggling equations in picture books. I mean, do you really want to calculate the maximum flight path angle and the true anomaly at which it occurs? Or solve Keplerâs equations for hyperbolic eccentric anomaly? No, right? Always stick to the picture book if you have a choice!
I mentioned some fun picture books (fiction and non-fiction)with amusing or complementing illustrations that helped me on my journey to understanding space. Enjoy!
Poor Pluto! Earthlings are wretched, despicable creatures. How dare they ask Pluto if they can call him Plutoid!
In this hilarious, fact-filled book, Pluto gets the call from us dreadful, âEarthâs meanest jerksâ â humans, giving him the ânews.â All of us on Earth heard the news, but Pluto was informed of his downgrade a wee bit later. Follow newly-demoted Pluto and the rest of the planets on a fun journey of acceptance. The author has done a fabulous job of interleaving (mostly) facts and fiction. The story is told with speech bubbles, many of which will leave you chuckling. There are also some great puns. Donât miss this one!
Pluto gets a call from Earth telling him he isnât a planet anymore, so he sets out on a journey through the solar system to find out why in this funny and fact-filled romp thatâs perfect for fans of The Scrambled States of America.
Pluto loves being a planet. That is, until the day he gets a call from some Earth scientists telling him he isnât a planet anymore! You probably wanted to meet a real planet, huh? So, Pluto takes the reader on a hilarious and informative journey through the solar system to introduce the other planets and commiserateâŚ
I have been in love with the Universe since I was a kid. Astronomy has always been my passion, and eventually became my career. This drove me to get my astronomy PhD and work on Hubble for a decade before starting to write and do public outreach about science. Iâve been on podcasts, radio, TV, and consulted for books and blockbuster sci-fi movies. I love science and science fiction â stories are one of the most powerful ways we relate to the Universe. I live and breathe this stuff every day, and my greatest joy is motivating that passion for science in others.
Astronomer Mike Brown is dedicated to finding small icy worlds beyond Neptune.
His discovery of the frozen object Eris in 2005âonly slightly smaller but more massive than Plutoâis credited for kick-starting the official debate of how we define a planet, and this book is his personal telling of that story.
He weaves it together with the birth of his daughter in a well-told and engaging tale that will give you insight on how discoveries can change how we see the Universe.
The solar system most of us grew up with included nine planets, with Mercury closest to the sun and Pluto at the outer edge. Then, in 2005, astronomer Mike Brown made the discovery of a lifetime: a tenth planet, Eris, slightly bigger than Pluto. But instead of its resulting in one more planet being added to our solar system, Brownâs find ignited a firestorm of controversy that riled the usually sedate world of astronomy and launched him into the public eye. The debate culminated in the demotion of Pluto from real planet to the newly coined category of âdwarfâ planet.âŚ
Almost Home is a fictional retelling of the last great tragedy of the Civil War.
In late April 1865, almost 2,000 newly freed Union prisoners of war are packed onto the steamer Sultana, in poor repair and with a listed capacity of 376 passengers. Among them are four Indiana soldiersâŚ
I was a humanistic psychotherapist first and came to astrology later and loved the way it didnât pathologize and gave insight into our character and how that affects our destiny. I started to gather the charts of my psychotherapy clients (with their permission of course) and while not using this in their sessions, I was inspired by how they spoke their charts. Much of my understanding of how planetary positions and aspects manifest has been discovered by listening. I love how aspect patterns repeat through the generations within a family and what ramifications this has on the individuals. Whoâs carrying the families karma?
This book looks in depth at the transits of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto and the changes the universe is insisting upon.
It is reassuring for those undergoing these periods of transition to understand the meaning behind what may be a time of loss, disorientation, or confusion, and what the new beginnings might resemble once we emerge. One way or another we are being cajoled, or forced into adapting and in the process, discovering new aspects of ourselves.Â
Life isn't always easy. It's impossible to live deeply and not to feel pain or go through times of crisis, breakdown or major disruptive change. Although this is clearly inevitable, what is not always obvious is the crucial role pain and crisis play in the process of growth and evolution. While some people fall apart altogether and never make it through difficult times, many others emerge from conflict and turmoil renewed and transformed, indeed, more fully alive. They 'return' to life with a renewed sense of commitment to a neglected potential, with a renewed sense of what one might callâŚ
I am an award-winning childrenâs book author who writes stories about unexpected friends, women who did the impossible, people who are (almost) forgotten & ideas that seem too complicated until I find the right way to tell them.
Plutoâs Secret is the tale of Plutoâs discovery, naming, and demotion from planet to âicy world.â Along the way, it is jam-packed with details about astronomy, with Pluto jumping in with its endearing point of view. Immersed in Plutoâs world this way, Plutoâs Secret is a fun and upbeat way to learn about planets as well as the way astronomy is done.
People, children especially, have been baffled, bewildered, and even outraged by the fact that Pluto is no longer called a planet. Through whimsical artwork and an entertaining dialogue format, Pluto's Secret explains the true story of this distant world, including its recent reclassification. Includes a glossary and bibliography.
Iâm a deeply curious person who has always loved the intersections of science and art, and the related intersection of the humanities and technology. I also have a passion for childrenâs books and have worked as both a writer and an editor, and as a developer of interactive apps and games based on childrenâs books. My latest book is a collaboration with one of my favorite childhood (and teenage) writing partners, Hena Khan. Itâs an adventure where you get to make choices that turn you into a hero or a villain. Itâs called Super You: The Power of Flight. I hope youâll check it out!
I didnât want to leave older children out of this list. This book would make a fantastic gift for a child who loves science but considers themselves âtoo oldâ for picture books. This beautifully illustrated chapter book features children who followed their curiosities and questions to real discoveries that helped the world! A very inspiring read.
A collection of profiles of children and young adults whose scientific inventions made an impact on the world, including Louis Braille who discovered a way for the blind to read and write.
Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration
by
Mark Doherty,
I have woven numerous delightful and descriptive true life stories, many from my adventures as an outdoorsman and singer songwriter, into my life as a high school English teacher. I think you'll find this work both entertaining as well as informative, and I hope you enjoy the often lighthearted reparteeâŚ
For thirty-five years I spent my life in boardrooms, financing motion pictures with major Hollywood studios and learning the inside-out of law firms. Iâve also had a love for mysteries where I have to guess whatâs going to happen next. My favorite authors keep me in suspense and stay a step ahead of me to the very end. I began my career as an author seven years ago. I added my own dose of modernized Shakespearean stories and the twists, turns, and suspense of life at the highest echelons of corporate America. I donât aim to shock, but I do aim to surprise and keep you turning the pages. Obsessively.
If you like your detectives gritty and your murders grizzly, then consider this treasure by an award-winning author. One of the Jonah Geller series, this one has him doing a favor for a very rich dying man, to track down the murderer of Slamminâ Sammy Adler, a Montreal columnist.Â
Jonah has his own childhood memories of Sammy which took him back to a geeky kid he protected in summer camp in a previous lifetime. The clues unfold one by one, as do the personal perspectives on Montreal, until Jonah uncovers the secrets behind Sammyâs murder, tied to a story of love â or is it lust?
Howard Shrier's acclaimed Jonah Geller series continues with Miss Montreal, the Vintage World of Crime trade paperback original and sequel to Boston Cream. Â
After what happened in Boston, P.I. Jonah Geller can't show his face in the U.S. again. Which is fine with him. He's got a new case in Montreal, one of the world's most colourful and downright scandalous cities. An old friend has been brutally murdered there, and the police investigation is stalled. With an election looming and tensions seething, Jonah and former hit man Dante Ryan have to battle religious fanatics, gun runners and a twisted politicalâŚ
