Looking for magical, transporting books that aren’t completely silly

Question

Rachel G · Answer

The invisible life of Addie Larue: Long but worth it- if you like historical fiction with a hint of magical realism try this one out!

Nitabel · Answer

The Everlasting (read by Moira Quirk): Specifically Moira Quirk’s atmospheric, yearning-infused delivery, and her gift for nuance, which lends clarity to a wide cast of characters and a nonlinear timeline. Lovely Arthurian-adjacent time-travel tale that contemplates the power of storytelling and what we sacrifice when we control the narrative.

Nitabel · Answer

His Dark Materials Trilogy (Philip Pullman): World-renowned fantasy series with kids as central protagonists and storytelling worthy of all audiences, exploring themes like free will versus institutional control, the vital pursuit of knowledge over ignorance, and growing up through the lens of experience and self-trust. Great for reading aloud, with lots of opportunities to do cool voices — animal spirit companions, witches, armored bears…and that’s just the first few chapters!

Jess · Answer

The Steerswoman series (Rosemary Kirstein): This is a science fantasy series that takes culture seriously. Even the premise is focused on Steerswomen as custodians of knowledge. They must answer any question put to them to the best of their knowledge, but they may also ask any question and expect to get the truth. This makes it very, very dangerous for one Steerswoman to start asking questions that powerful people don't want her to answer.

One caveat: the series is still unfinished. If you know how much I hate reading unfinished series, you'll have a good sense of just how great these books are.

Amy · Answer

The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Hisashi Kashiwai): These books are very charming and a series, if you end up liking them. I liked the descriptions of all the food and stories of why people loved them. Very lighthearted.

Jeanine Nault · Answer

Sharks in the Time of Saviors: “She’d lost everything and was only continuing to wake up because it’s what she’d always done. Or maybe she thought there was something in Dean and me that she could live for. I don’t know about that. But I do know Noa will always be her favorite; it wasn’t even about Noa, really, or at least not just the person. For Mom, Noa was a son but he was also the legends that came with him. How those contracted everything they hurt us —the broke years, the love move to the city, the shit jobs she and Dad had—into a single point of purpose. And that purpose was so big she didn’t have to understand it to know she had an important part to play. Big destiny is a thing you get drunk on.”

Tori · Answer

Circe: Such a rich story based on Greek mythology, written by a classics scholar. Even as someone not specifically into mythology, I absolutely loved Circe’s world and wanted to stay there long after the book was over!

E_C_B · Answer

Beautyland: Lovely, touching, fantastical in a very grounded way.

chelsi · Answer

The Solitaire Mystery (Jostein Gaarder): This book immediately came to mind even though it has been over a decade since I read it. It’s magical, but not unserious and so good that I still think about it after all these years.

Overall I would describe it as a feel good read, but the writing definitely wrung a lot of different emotions out of me which is hard to do since I am nothing if not a massive hater.