If you like this you'll LOVE... Book 'dating' service!

[TheTermagantToaster]

The rules:

Pick a book you love and sell it to us in a couple of sentences.

Then, give an idea of the genres or specific work(s) similar to the book. The idea being that if someone has read and enjoyed something from the second part, they will also enjoy your recommendation.

Ok, my first one:

The Temeraire series by Naomi Novak.

An alternative history - the Napoleonic Wars, where the army and navy are supported by an aerial core of dragon riders. Great because it's beautifully written, and because the relationship between one (reluctant, initially) man and his dragon will move you to tears.

Perfect if you also loved The Knife of Never Letting Go and Wolf Brother or any other alt reality which explore relationships between talking animals and flawed, reluctant but fundamentally decent humans. Love stories, in other words :)

Right - 'Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day' - a really sweet story of a down on her luck governess who finds herself swept into a whirlwind of scantily clad young ladies, sexual intrigue, drugs and alcohol - and enjoys every minute of it!

If you loved 'Pride And Prejudice' or any of Austen's novels - imagine Miss Bates finding herself at a nightclub with Henry and Mary Crawford and finding herself snogging Sir Thomas Bertram, or something like that anyway! Trust me - it's lovely. :)

The Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. It follows the life and adventures of the flawed hero, (and his family). Although technically sci-fi, these books transcend genre, in the way adventure, romance, comedy and deeper issues are intwined. The writer delves into the ways in which far-forward sci-fi will affect women's issues, marking it out strongly from other space operas.

You'll like this if you like; Georgette Heyer or Isaac Asimov. Yes, really! The relationships, dialogue and romances remind me of Heyer at her best, and the hero's home planet is inspired by the regency-era. The breadth and depth of the universe in this series is reminiscent of Asimov.

Georgette Heyer or Isaac Asimov! :o

Noting both of these down, love Austen and Asimov.

God, and in my OP I meant corps, not core, obviously.

I know, right?! But it's true. Regency bodice rippers in space. But that sounds lame, and they're not; really well written.

The place to start is either the first 3 Miles stories (published together here)
Or the earlier 2 books about his parents (which can be read later as a prequel, though I read them first, published together here

Miss Pettigrew is a great book too. And the first Temeraire has been in my "too read" pile for aaaages. I must try it out.

Oh, and ignore the lame covers. The books are much better than they look.

Surprised how little traffic this has had so far. Wants more...

I think its great and have it marked to watch :) - just not sure I can write one myself . . .

(I liked the first Temeraire book a lot, but was very uninspired by the sequels, think she should have quit while she was ahead)

Ah! have just thought of one I can do

"Acts of Destruction" by Mat Coward is a lighthearted police procedural set in a near future in which a bloodless revolution has instituted a socialist Green republic in Britain.

Ideal if you like the idea of an episode of the Bill rewritten by Ursula le Guin just after she finished the Dispossessed.

That sounds hilarious Takver! I didn't like the bill though, will I still like it? I like detective stuff in general, and LOVE le Guin?

I've got another one but it's not based on books I particularly like - but somebody might!

'Rivers Of London' by Ben Aaronovitch - it's described as Harry Potter grown up and working as a policeman. It's a kind of urban fantasy with river goddesses, evil magicians, wise old wizard and very silly jokes, interspersed with some fairly interesting London history.

You'll like this if you like Jasper Fffffffffffjorde - although this is probably mildly less irritating to be honest. It's not great literature by any stretch of the imagination but it's written by somebody who clearly has half a brain cell and a sense of humour and knows a bit about London.

Aww, I thought this was an idea for a new dating service where your match is made solely on book taste.

I was having visions of 50 shades of grey fans being paired with lunatics with a riding crop...

Oh really Takver? How disappointing. I shall make the most of this one, then.

Here's another one to try and get the thread going:

The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway. Mind bending near future sci-fi with and awesome twist part way through. Really makes you question what it means to be human - what are we? Our memories, our experiences?

Great if you enjoyed Lanark (Alisdair Gray) for the surreal landscape or Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut) - and Vonnegut actually, it really captures the banality and horror of war, I thought. tough read but worth it.

Sounds like a business plan, Bertie! I wonder if The Prince's Trust would fund you setting it up? :)

Any, not and.

DisorderlyNight - I think you would still like it. Its not great literature, IYSWIM, but very amusing. And (as a vegetable grower) I loved the fact that one of the cases involved stolen unusual veggies

Thanks. I've been reading a lot of kidslit for work research lately, so really needing good, meaty adult recs.

Just seen that mumsnet book club obviously approve of this thread, they tweeted a link to it earlier!

OK, I'll add another (with you in mind, DisorderlyNights)

Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin (and sequel the Judas Rose). A dystopia novel that isn't depressing, this SF series explores the idea that you can change the possible through changing language.

If you enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale, would like something ultimately less gruelling, but still intellectually engaging with a good strong story that carries the book along, then try Native Tongue.

It is a good idea for a thread. I shall lurk. I don't read enough adult fiction to feel able to contribute, though.

You only need to have read one book that is vaguely like something else to contribute Bertie. Come on... Have a go!

Takver, I am going to spend Too Much Money on books this month now! I'm not sure whether to thank you or not!

Am thinking up another rec...

Just so long as you don't come and ask for a refund if you don't like them I am a massive Le Guin fan though (hence the nname) and I think that if you like her books, you'd probably enjoy either of my suggestions.

Yes, you only need one comparison book! Or an author, even.

I tend to read in vague thematic clusters (not deliberately, but often drawn to different treatments of the same theme after I've finished something) so this thread suits the way my brain works.

The Charlie Parker novels by John Connolly. The heroes are deeply flawed, they are seriously bloody (literally) good thrillers, well written and feel like they're superglued to your hands. There is humour amid the horror, and The Black Angel is probably the best novel of the genre.

There are ten in the series, and I recommend reading them in sequence. An eleventh is released on Friday, Wrath Of Angels, a sequel to The Black Angel. Apparently the baddie, Brightwell, makes an appearance. I wonder how his death at the hands of the gay hitman is reconciled...

Okay. The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett are historical fiction at their finest. They follow gifted, erudite, Scotsman Francis Crawford of Lymond through Renaissance Europe, over the course of 6 fantastic novels.

You'll like them if you like... A Game of Thrones. Like GRRM's books, the heroes are far from perfect, villains are multi layered and not just evil, lots of romance and adventure, HUGE twists and surprises, zero sentimentality (be warned!)