Accessible literary fiction recommendations for broadening my reading beyond holiday reads

[SereneReader]

My parents never placed any value in reading. They never read anything apart from the paper. So, they never took me to the library, bought anything from the book sales etc.

Consequently, I came to reading for pleasure as an adult. Im also autistic so sometimes struggle with understanding infetence etc. Same with films if they are too complicated.

What books do you recommend that I should read that I will understand but are a bit more high brow than my usual reads?

I usually read Mills and Boons, Laurie Gilmore, Danielle Steele etc. Holiday reads really

I don't like thriller/murder

Any recommendations to widen my horizons please?

Robert Harris - superb author, writes historical novels

Seven Sisters series - Lucinda Riley - a series of books following the lives of Seven SisterS

Other authors
Marve Binchy
Bill Bryson
Janes Herriott - All creatures great and small
Agatha Christie
Jeffery Archer
Georgette Heyer

I'd recommend "Black Butterflies" by Priscilla Morris about an artist stranded in Sarajevo as the war erupted. Really engaging writing about how we can adapt to all kinds of situations. Not a thriller and no "hidden meanings" to decipher.

I think there are books that are a stepping stone to literary fiction. They have plenty of forward propulsion… you know… page turners but have a bit more literary merit than the books you’ve read without being too dense. Once you try these you can defintely step it up a notch

As far as more recent books:

The Calamity club by Kathryn Stockett ( she wrote the Help too which is also good)
The Correspondent : Virginia Evans
Anxious People : Fredrick Bakman ( anything by him is accessible )
You are here : David Nicholls ( again anything by him including One Day)
The Bee Sting - Paul Murray
How to Stop Time - Matt Haig
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
American Dirt - Jennine Simmons
The Time Travellers Wife.

Older books :
Jamaica Inn - Daphne du Maurier.
Gone with the Wind -

I do read more literary fiction but like to mix it up. I am a bit of a snob and there are popular titles I’ve abandoned but all these titles have kept me engaged for the end.

Just if you’ve never really used the library then I’d get myself down there and join ( you’ll need ID and proof of address I think ). My library is pretty big but if yours is small don’t worry about it because they can request titles for you from other branches. We have an app so you can order and renew books easily online. ( I volunteer at a small branch but I still come across good recent titles on the shelves ).

Also second hand retailers like World of Books or even Vinted can be a good source for used books.

Good luck.

If you like Mills and Boon, you might enjoy starting with some more literary romance. I’d very strongly second the David Nicholls recommendation from @Divebar2021 - I love his books. I’d also recommend -

The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfield
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans
Queenie by Candice Carter Williams
Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Not all romance, but all accessible and engaging, whilst maybe being a bit more literary.

Georgette Heyer would be a good match for you.

Children's classics like, Little Women or The Secret Garden might also suit.

I am currently reading Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. Booker prize winner. It’s such a beautifully written piece of literature. Like you I usually read “beach” type books with pink or green covers so this was a real departure from my usual choices but I am absolutely loving it. Another book I felt similarly about is The Grapes of Wrath “ by John Steinbeck. Get past the first few chapters and you will not be able to put it down.

Similar to PP, I would also suggest children's classics. I regularly go back to them as they're so lovely. As well as The Secret Garden (one of my all time favourites) I would also recommend The Railway Children, Black Beauty and Charlotte's Web - I've just reread this one

Other novels that you might like
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
The 100 year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

And for a Christmas themed read I highly recommend:
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Susan Stokes-Chapman
The Secret Christmas by Anna Abney

The Correspondent, as mentioned by a previous poster, is a great example of recent accessible literary fiction. A very easy read.

Along the lines of these, most of which I've read and definitely agree with:

American Wife
Demon Copperhead (make yourself read the first couple of chapters to get your head into the voice, then it's compelling)
The Covenant of Water
Memoirs of a Geisha (definitely problematic in some ways, more so as it has aged, but ticks your boxes!)
Water for Elephants
Maybe also try Lisa Jewel - not massively literary but some of her earlier stuff especially is nicely written (and all is easy to read)

I'm also after similar stuff to this at the moment for various reasons so posting here hoping for more recommendations!

Children’s classics is a brilliant idea.

Also you’ve mentioned literary fiction, but is that really what you’d like to read or would you just prefer to read something more challenging? I ask because I studied literature and I still don’t read a lot of literary fiction because I prefer a traditional/ conventional story (something with an immersive world, strong plot and characters). The classics can be more enjoyable if that’s what you prefer, Jane Austen novels are a good starting point and then if you enjoy there are a ton of Victorian novels.

Classics can sometimes seem obviating to a new modern-day reader, but if you want a couple that are very accessible and with strong stories I recommend Jane Eyre, The Moonstone and the Sherlock Holmes collected short stories.

For contemporary fiction, Kathryn Stockett’s Calamity Club is a great page turner (so is her first book, The Help), and anything by Emma Donaghue, Sarah Waters and Barbara Kingsolver (Poisonwood Bible is a great story!). Oh, also I think you’d maybe like Helen Forrester, she’s an easy writing style and the stories really pull you in. Her autobiographies of her childhood are superb.

So - accessible literary fiction - these novelists will make you think but also tell interesting stories in ways that are straightforward:
Margaret Drabble - her earlier books
A S Byatt (try the Frederica Potter series)
Both Drabble & Byatt (sisters ) write wonderfully humane condition-of-England or state-of-the-nation novels.
Kate Atkinson
David Lodge
Kingsley Amis
Elizabeth Bowen
Amanda Craig - just finish her latest, High and Low, about Londoners now. Fantastic

You could go back to the 19century, the great age of the novel and try
Charles Dickens - maybe start with Great Expectations or Tale of Two Cities
Charlotte Brontë
Emily Brontë
Elizabeth Gaskell

and of course, Jane Austen

You asked for literary fiction. Once you get going, there are so many choices - for rather less “accessible” but stunning for her thinking, there’s always Irish Murdoch. Her Booker prize winning novel, The Sea, The Sea was riveting.

I would recommend:

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

If you like that, she has several others that follow on from it.

I think there are books that are a stepping stone to literary fiction. They have plenty of forward propulsion… you know… page turners but have a bit more literary merit than the books you’ve read without being too dense. Once you try these you can definitely step it up a notch.

Agree with @Divebar2021 above.
OP, a title I read recently which I think could be such a stepping stone is The Walled Garden by Sarah Hardy. The cover (of the paperback at least) is in my view a bit misleading as the book is more than just a love story. But I enjoyed it a lot and picking it up never felt like a chore.

Agree with previous recommendation for Kate Atkinson, but not the Jackson Brodie series. My favourites are Shrines of Gaiety, Life After Life and Behind the Scenes at the Museum.

You might enjoy Anne Tyler, very well written, character-driven fiction. Her most famous is the Accidental Tourist, I loved Breathing Lessons and Ladder of Years too. Also John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies.

Ah yes, Anne Tyler would be perfect.

Another vote for Lissa Evans (any) and Kate Atkinson (Behind the Scenes at the Museum).

Also, Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo and Small Island by Andrea Levy and literary but great page turners as well. Both have been made into good dramas.

You might enjoy Normal People by Sally Rooney, it does divide people though so you might hate it (and that's OK too).

As as young teenager I read M&B (that was 90s so perfectly normal 😆). I then moved onto Lesley Pearse, Josephine Cox and Emma Blair.

Lesley Pearse especially wrote some amazing books although I do think the earlier ones are better than the recent ones.

Have you joined your local library? Most come with a free online ebook catalogue so you can dip in and try new authors without parting with hard cash.

What exactly are you looking for, that holiday books are not giving you?
There are plenty of popular books that have several layers (Dickens, Victor Hugo, Shakespeare were all popular among the "plebs" and also very sophisticated).
I like Jane Austen, Elena Ferrante, the hunger games trilogy, etc. Popular but layered.

Kristen Hannah is good - The Women was one I read recently and loved. Also Tracy Chevalier (The Girl With The Pearl Earring).

I agree with whoever said to use your local library. Ours has an app called Libby (I think most libraries use it now) which lets you borrow e-books onto your phone/tablet. On the Home Screen there are recommendations for different kinds of books. It’s a good way to borrow lots of books and see what you enjoy; if you don’t like something then just return it early and try something else. The actual library is also good, and the librarians are good at recommending things.

I also didn’t grow up with access to a lot of books (my parents always encouraged reading, but we didn’t live close to anywhere that I could easily find new books), and I remember the joy of discovering libraries and charity shops so I could figure out what I liked!

I'm not sure you could better Pride and Prejudice. It might take a while to adjust to the wordiness, but those words are sublime, and so funny too.

And then I would go for Jane Eyre. Just brilliant.

If I were you and had missed out on some of the classics, that’s where I’d start. Modern classics. Things they teach on the A Level English syllabus, if you want to move away from easy page turners.
I’m 35 but remember as clear as day reading Lolita (for A Level). And A Streetcar Named Desire.
And The Beach.

Theres a whole list of about 50 alevel text and all the more modern ones are really good - will make you think and if you get into it there’d be loads online to like, help you analyse and gather your thoughts. I think I needed therapy after reading Lolita!! But they’re not difficult reads, and will take you on a journey.

Please can I just thank you, @SereneReader , for asking your question. This thread is pure
gold!