Books like 'My Ishmael'
Readers who enjoyed My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy psychological action / adventure spirituality animals philosophical religion outdoors classics
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The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsMara Dyer knows she isn't crazy. She knows that she can kill with her mind, and that Noah can heal with his. Mara also knows that somehow, Jude is not a hallucination. He is alive. Unfortunately, convincing her family and doctors that she's not unstable and doesn't need to be hospitalised isn't easy. The only person who actually believes her is Noah... -
After the Fall by Dan Santat
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 UKLA BOOK AWARDAfter the fall, Humpty Dumpty is a broken egg. Life is tough: he's so afraid of heights, he can't even bear to climb onto his bed, or reach his favourite cereal on the top shelf at the supermarket. But one day, fuelled by his passion for bird-watching, he decides to conquer his fears and something amazing happens.. -
Jack Be Quick by Fiona Quinn
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStrike Force: An Iniquus Romantic Suspense Mystery Thriller The prayer on her lips is JACK Be Quick. It’s been months since ex-Navy SEAL Jack McCullen last saw his fiancée, Suz Molloy. He was on the other side of the world involved in a grueling black ops mission for Iniquus Corporation at the behest of the US government... -
Hyper Lynx by Fiona Quinn
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIf she fails, her whole team could be destroyed.Lexi “Lynx” Sabado is more than ready for her marriage with ex-SEAL Striker Rheas. But getting her happily ever after is fraught with hurdles when her psychic abilities start going haywire, giving her vague warnings of impending danger.As it turns out, identifying threats can be overwhelming when everything and everyone is the potential source... -
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This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 40 ratings"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12Ashton is just a typical small town...Categorized as:
classics high-school religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure angels audiobook -
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsHarry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is a work of alternate-universe Harry Potter fan-fiction wherein Petunia Evans has married an Oxford biochemistry professor and young genius Harry grows up fascinated by science and science fiction. When he finds out that he is a wizard, he tries to apply scientific principles to his study of magic, with sometimes surprising results... -
The Good Egg by Jory John
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn this follow-up to Jory John and Pete Oswald’s popular picture book The Bad Seed, meet the next best thing: a very good egg, indeed!The good egg has been good for as long as he can remember. While the other eggs in his carton are kind of rotten, he always does the right, kind, and courteous thing... -
Brainwalker by Robyn Mundell, Stephan Lacast
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsOne teen’s incredible journey may just blow his father’s mind…Fourteen-year-old Bernard thinks outside the box. The only problem is that neither his school nor his ultra-rational physicist father appreciate his unique ideas. When he reacts to a stressful situation at school by mooning the class, his suspension sends him straight to his father’s workplace... -
Scaredy Squirrel by Mélanie Watt
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsScaredy Squirrel never leaves his nut tree. It's way too dangerous out there. He could encounter tarantulas, green Martians or killer bees. But in his tree, every day is the same and if danger comes along, he's well-prepared. Scaredy Squirrel's emergency kit includes antibacterial soap, Band-Aids and a parachute.Day after day he watches and waits, and waits and watches, until one day .. -
Del tiempo y sus demonios by Diego Armando Arciniegas Malagón
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDEL TIEMPO Y SUS DEMONIOS: PERSIGUIENDO LA VERDADEsta novela se desarrolla en un pequeño y misterioso pueblo. En un territorio hermoso, inhóspito a la luz de aquellas certezas que las mayorías consideran irrefutables. Lejos del tiempo que, arbitrariamente, tomara la sabia decisión de separar el bien del mal...Categorized as:
magical-realism classics literary-fiction mystery fiction horror psychological fantasy -
Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsGerald the giraffe longs to dance, but his legs are too skinny and his neck is too long. At the Jungle Dance, the warthogs waltz, the chimps cha-cha, and the lions tango. "Giraffes can't dance," they all jeer when it's Gerald's turn to prance. But with some sound advice from a wise cricket, Gerald starts swaying to his own sweet tune... -
Born of Fire by A.L. Knorr
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Right? Saxony Cagney counts herself lucky when she wins a position as an au pair in Venice for the summer. It's her responsibility to take care of two young boys - speak to them in English, make sure they get to their swimming lessons on time. Piece of cake, right? She unexpectedly forms a strong bond with the youngest, Isaia, although its a mystery why...Categorized as:
female-mc action-adventure audiobook book children coming-of-age contemporary fiction -
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIn the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders.. -
Pyro by A.L. Knorr
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWill she give up her greatest secret for the greatest opportunity? Saxony has barely stepped off the plane from her life-altering summer in Venice when friction in her family rises up to meet her... -
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Hunter by Stasia Black
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSnow White’s on the run and sexier than ever… ISOBEL:I’m on the run from my evil stepmother but no one can know.Least of all my new boss and major pain in the ass, Hunter Dawkins.We might have had one amazing night together but the next morning he went colder than a Wallstreet banker’s heart during a charity ball.I have zero tolerance for assholes in my life. No thank you... -
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 66 ratings'A narrative particle accelerator that zooms between Wild Turkey Whiskey and Bob Dylan, unicorn skulls and voracious librarians, John Coltrane and Lord Jim. Science fiction, detective story and post-modern manifesto all rolled into one rip-roaring novel, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is the tour de force that expanded Haruki Murakami's international following...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult asia audiobook -
A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck, Sergei Burbank
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn ordinary family man, geologist, and Mormon, Soren Johansson has always believed he'll be reunited with his loved ones after death in an eternal hereafter. Then, he dies. Soren wakes to find himself cast by a God he has never heard of into a Hell whose dimensions he can barely grasp: a vast library he can only escape from by finding the book that contains the story of his life...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magical-realism religion spirituality 21st-century action-adventure adult afterlife -
Deadly Little Lessons by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCamelia Hammond's trying junior year of high school is finally over...but her troubles aren't. After she discovers a painful truth about her family, she escapes to a summer arts program in Rhode Island. Determined to put family - and boyfriend - drama behind her, she throws herself into her artwork.At the arts school, she gets caught up in the case of Sasha Beckerman, a local girl who is missing... -
Sheila Rae, the Brave by Kevin Henkes
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsSheila Rae, the Brave is a warm, humorous, and loving story of sibling sympathy and support. Just because Sheila Rae is older, she doesn't always know better!This classic picture book about overcoming fear is written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes, the nationally bestselling and celebrated creator of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Owen, and Kitten's First Full Moon... -
My Next Mistake by Sarah J. Brooks
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMy next big mistake has a name: Cole Cumberland. Whoever created him used the following recipe: Dreamy eyes, playful smile, and rock-hard muscles that give you chills. Add a pinch of humor, coupled with quick-witted intelligence and a mysterious aura that will make you feel slightly insecure. When I met him on a winter climbing excursion, I didn’t expect to wake up in his tent the next morning...Categorized as:
female-mc romance fantasy billionaire fiction psychological military action-adventure -
The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsMara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.There is.She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.She should.She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.She will now.Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.Retribution has arrived... -
The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsHarry Mulisch's magnum opus, is a rich mosaic of twentieth-century trauma in which many themes—friendship, loyalty, family, art, technology, religion, fate, good, and evil—suffuse a suspenseful and resplendent narrative.The Discovery of Heaven begins with the meeting of Onno and Max, two complicated individuals whom fate has mysteriously and magically brought together...Categorized as:
classics humor literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism religion satire spirituality -
What Lies Beyond The Stars by Michael Goorjian
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Something in me knows of a life I was meant to live but for whatever reason, I have not . . . ”Words that ring painfully true for Adam Sheppard, a San Francisco programmer who has spent the vast majority of his 30-something years lost in the dim glow of a computer screen...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction magical-realism spirituality action-adventure adult book contemporary -
White Silence by Jodi Taylor
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratings*The first instalment in the new, gripping supernatural thriller series from international bestselling author, Jodi Taylor.* "I don't know who I am. I don't know what I am." Elizabeth Cage is a child when she discovers that there are things in this world that only she can see. But she doesn’t want to see them and she definitely doesn’t want them to see her... -
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The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino, Jefferson Mays
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe definitive edition of Calvino’s cosmicomics, bringing together all of these enchanting stories—including some never before translated—in one volume for the first timeIn Italo Calvino’s cosmicomics, primordial beings cavort on the nearby surface of the moon, play marbles with atoms, and bear ecstatic witness to Earth’s first dawn...Categorized as:
classics humor literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism outdoors 20th-century action-adventure -
Stealing Shadows by Kay Hooper
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat if you could enter a madman's cruel mind as he planned his vicious crimes? What if you could see the terrified faces of his victims ... Psychic Cassie Neill helps the LA police catch killers — until she makes a terrible mistake and an innocent child dies... -
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsYears ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magical-realism 21st-century action-adventure adult book contemporary -
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsImaginary friend Budo narrates this heartwarming story of love, loyalty, and the power of the imagination—the perfect read for anyone who has ever had a friend . . . real or otherwise.Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He's been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends...Categorized as:
literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 21st-century action-adventure audiobook book children -
Skin Deep by Brandon Sanderson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Stephen Leeds is back in a new, double-length novella that Library Journal says has "the pulse of a thriller and the hook of a fascinating hero balancing on the edge of psychosis." It's not his own genius that Stephen Leeds gets hired for... -
The Magus by John Fowles
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThis daring literary thriller, rich with eroticism and suspense, is one of John Fowles's best-loved and bestselling novels and has contributed significantly to his international reputation as a writer of the first degree. At the center of The Magus is Nicholas Urfe, a young Englishman who accepts a teaching position on a remote Greek island, where he befriends a local millionaire...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magical-realism religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAn extraordinary debut novel, Freshwater explores the surreal experience of having a fractured self. It centers around a young Nigerian woman, Ada, who develops separate selves within her as a result of being born "with one foot on the other side... -
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 94 ratingsBetween life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . -
Mystic Tea by Rea Nolan Martin
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA community of quirky, mismatched, and endearing women struggle to find meaning and purpose on a ramshackle monastery in upstate New York. Having spent their lives in service to a church that seems to no longer serve them, they are confused about their own futures and the future of the entire monastery... -
Raven Mask by Winter Pennington
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"I stared down at the lifeless body of a boy whose face was all too familiar..."Following the execution of Lukas Morris, Preternatural Private Investigator Kassandra Lyall told herself that she'd learn more about the local werewolf pack's Alpha female. Just as she begins her investigation, she's interrupted by a phone call from friend and ex-colleague, Detective Arthur Kingfisher... -
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Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA wry, affecting tale set in a small town on the Indonesian coast, Man Tiger tells the story of two interlinked and tormented families and of Margio, a young man ordinary in all particulars except that he conceals within himself a supernatural female white tiger. The inequities and betrayals of family life coalesce around and torment this magical being...Categorized as:
literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism politics spirituality action-adventure adult book -
The Mires by Tina Makereti
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA literary page turner that explores the intertwined lives of three neighboring families in a small coastal New Zealand town—a blend of Little Fires Everywhere and The Island of Missing Trees, combining domestic drama, suspense, indigenous folklore, and the threat of extremism on ordinary lives.Three women give birth in different countries and different decades...Categorized as:
literary-fiction female-mc magical-realism fiction audiobook contemporary female-author multi-pov -
Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe definitive English language translation of the internationally bestselling Ukrainian novel—a brilliant dark fantasy with "the potential to be a modern classic" (Lev Grossman), combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way.Our life is brief . . -
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsLucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far...Categorized as:
high-school humor magical-realism 21st-century abuse action-adventure audiobook book -
Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLast fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition... -
Full Throttle by Joe Hill
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA little door that opens to a world of fairy tale wonders becomes the blood-drenched stomping ground for a gang of hunters in “Faun.” A grief-stricken librarian climbs behind the wheel of an antique Bookmobile to deliver fresh reads to the dead in “Late Returns...Categorized as:
magical-realism action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook contemporary crime dark -
A Wild Light by Marjorie M. Liu
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsView our feature on Marjorie Liu’s A Wild Light.For too long Maxine Kiss has felt an inexplicable darkness inside her-a force she channels into hunting the demons bent on destroying the human race. But when she finds herself covered in blood and crouched beside her grandfather's dead body with no memory of what happened, Maxine begins to fear that the darkness has finally consumed her... -
Deadly Little Games by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHigh school juniors Camelia and Ben have discovered a powerful bond: They both possess the power of psychometry, the ability to see the future through touch. For Ben, the gift is a frightening liability. When he senses a strong threat or betrayal, he risks losing control. Camelia's gift is more mysterious. When she works with clay, her hands sculpt messages her mind doesn't yet comprehend...Categorized as:
female-mc high-school action-adventure book coming-of-age contemporary dark dark-fantasy -
The End of Temperance Dare: A Novel by Wendy Webb
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHaunting and atmospheric, The End of Temperance Dare is another thrilling page-turner from the author reviewers are calling the Queen of the Northern Gothic.When Eleanor Harper becomes the director of a renowned artists’ retreat, she knows nothing of Cliffside Manor’s dark past as a tuberculosis sanatorium, a “waiting room for death... -
Last Call by Tim Powers
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsTwenty years ago Scott Crane abandoned his career as a professional poker player and went into hiding, after a weird high-stakes game played with Tarot cards. But now the cards - and the supernatural powers behind them - have found him again.Crane's father killed gangster Bugsy Siegel in 1948 to become the Fisher King, and to keep that power he is determined to kill his son... -
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Live and Let Drood by Simon R. Green
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Secret Histories Novels combine “witty banter, tough guy standoffs, visceral fight scenes, bad guy atrocities, surprise revelations, and high stakes”* in supernatural adventures that can only come from the imagination of New York Times bestselling author Simon R. Green.The name is Bond, Shaman Bond... -
Beauty's Beast by Lee Savino, Stasia Black
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA Dark RomanceShe'll pay her family's debt one way or another... Daphne’s beautiful, but she doesn’t know it.A wallflower blossoming into the belle of the ball.Years ago her father stole from me and it’s time for my revenge. I’m the monster in the darkness. The Minotaur in the labyrinth. The evil her father warned her about.I’ll steal her away to my castle. Lock her in my tower... -
The Bones of Others by Vickie McKeehan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSome monsters live in your head. Not this one.Brutalized as a young girl by a vile sexual predator, Skye Cree is a survivor. Guided by the visions of her mystical spirit guide to the whereabouts of abducted girls, she uses her unique abilities to turn her horrifying past into a positive force for justice... -
Death with Interruptions by José Saramago
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsNobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago's brilliant new novel poses the question what happens when the grim reaper decides there will be no more death?On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This, of course, causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, morticians, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially mass celebration...Categorized as:
classics humor literary-fiction magical-realism politics religion spirituality 20th-century -
Everville by Clive Barker
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsOn the borderland between this world and the world of Quiddity, the sea of our dreams, sits Everville. For years, it has lived in ignorance of the gleaming shore on which it lies. But its ignorance is not bliss...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
The Protected by Shiloh Walker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA new tale of danger and desire from national bestselling author Shiloh Walker featuring psychic FBI Agent Vaughnne MacMeans… An Assignment She Can't RefuseAgent Vaughnne MacMeans would do anything to avoid setting foot in Orlando again. But her new assignment, keeping tabs on a psychic kid who may or may not be in danger, is forcing her right back to the city where her sister was murdered...Categorized as:
female-mc action-adventure adult book contemporary fiction law-enforcement on-the-run
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