Readers ask me for book recommendations in Questionland all the time. Match Book is about the hunt for the right book, at the right time.

I'm excited about DailyLit's newly-free offerings, but other than The Big-Name Classics (and Cory Doctorow, who I tend to enjoy), I don't recognize a lot of the titles offered. Could you recommend a relatively-new (say, written in the last 40 years) novel or two from their list? My tastes are pretty broad—I like general literary fiction, fantasy (urban and high), and speculative fiction; I dislike crime, horror, and mystery.

Thanks so much!
Christin

Howdy Christin,

I wish I could, but I've looked through all of Daily Lit's books and only one or two specious-looking other titles are from the last 40 years. Copyright concerns mean that besides public domain titles, only fair-use novelists allow their stuff to run on Daily Lit. I wouldn't recommend anything besides the Doctorow.

However, I've been re-reading Flatland via Daily Lit and I really enjoy it. It's fast and weird and a lot of fun. Have you read it? It'd only take less than two months of Mon-Fri reading.

But the short stories section is more promising. Wodehouse's short stories are always entertaining, and "Hell-Heaven" isn't the best story in Jhumpa Lahiri's new book, but it's still a good one.

Otherwise, I'd suggest reading some of the lesser works by Hawthorne, Conrad and Melville. They're so good, and they often get forgotten for Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter, and Heart of Darkness. And, speaking for myself, getting Edna St. Vincent Millay's poems in my inbox every day has been really wonderful.

Awesome! Thanks so much—I'm glad you could confirm my suspicion about the slim pickings novels-wise. Flatland is physically sitting on my bookshelf with my old college bookstore's sticker down the spine, but I'll definitely check out the short stories you recommended—I don't know if I've read any Wodehouse, but I liked "The Namesake." And I definitely owe Hawthorne, Conrad, and Melville some post-high-school time—among others, I'm sure, but they're a perfect starting point.

Thank you!
Christin

Are you about to go on a long vacation? Have you read everything by your favorite author but you still want more? Do you want to learn about a new subject, but don't know where to start? I can help. Ask me for book recommendations on Questionland