I’m betting I have friends who could write this list for me. These are topics, themes, and settings that make me immediately interested in a book.
Make your mental guesses before you scroll down…
Victorian England
Gaslit cobblestone streets, magnificent clothes, early forensics, invention, exploration. It is such a rich setting to tell many different kinds of stories.
B
Asylums
The idea of madness and a place devoted to studying it is mesmerizing and terrifying. From nonfiction about Charcot to wild fiction set in Bedlam, I will always gravitate to this topic.
J
Ghosts
Like Mulder, I want to believe in ghosts. Regardless of whether they exist or not, I am fascinated by the folklore aspect of them. Why do we tell ghost stories? What do they say about us?
T
Magic
Not the fantasy epic kind so much, but the vintage stage magic done by the likes of Houdini or Alfred Borden in The Prestige.
Fin-de-sicle Paris
Kind of like Victorian England, there is an odd energy and spirit about it. The art of Toulouse Lautrec set against the backdrop of feats of engineering and the flâneur culture.
.
Archaeology and quest
Is there a lost vault? A cryptic map? A series of clues that lead to a treasure or the answer to a mystery? Then I want to be there for the adventure.
^
Early photography and film
People experimenting with images on film – still or moving – makes for great characters, and often interesting plots. From Daguerre to silent film, it’s all fascinating.
X
Doppelgangers or time slips
I can’t keep up with a technical sci-fi story but if it is something where just one element is out of place, making the whole thing tremble, I love it.
S
Gothic anything
Is there a house in disrepair? A disinherited daughter with a vengeance? A family secret? I want to peer in through those cracked, cobwebbed windows.
Y
What makes you read?
Which Zola? I want to read the one that was turned into “The Paradise.”
Have you read The Seance by John Harwood?
Loved studying Victorian and Romantic lit in college. It really was meant for me!
Oh, I love non-fiction too! I just picked up an Agatha Christie memoir about her days on archaeology expedition.
😉
What? Tell me more…
I don’t know that one. I will check it out – thanks!
I’m reading your categories and I just have to ask: have you read In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters yet? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13112915-in-the-shadow-of-blackbirds It’s got almost all of the categories you’ve mentioned – early film development, ghosts, a gothic flair, and a mystery. I think you’d really enjoy it. 🙂
Asylums yesssss! I passed up an opportunity to get a big history of Bellevue Hospital for a very low price, and I’m regretting my choices now. Asylums are fascinating.
Okay, so awesome how much overlap we have on our lists AND you specified things I didn’t but totally love. I’m a hardcore Victoriana fan.
Yes to so many of these topics for me too, though strictly of the non-fiction variety. it is really interesting as I have been perusing the lists of others, how much I really do have in common with fiction readers 🙂
What a fascinating list! I don’t think I’ve read any since I graduated from college, but the Victorian period was my favorite to read about while I was a student for all of the reasons you mentioned.
Oh, I forgot gothic books for my list! That’s definitely up there especially when combined with magic or ghosts.
I love the idea of something out of place. Great list
I agree with so many of these! Victorian England is a favorite of mine, as well as “gothic” novels. I really enjoy books about magic that are set in our world.
Ooh, so many categories I could have added to my own list! I do love anything Victorian England, and I need to read more fin-de-siecle Paris! I have some Zola on my soon-to-read list, I think that’s about the right time. Also love time slips and time travel, as long as there isn’t too much sci-fi technospeak. I just read To Say Nothing and the Dog and there’s a lot of technobabble, but the Victorian parts are great. And I love Victorian sensation novels, which often have asylums and Gothic elements.