Suggest me a book like the show Carnival Row
By strangeteacuphoney
I’m trying to find a book like Carnival Row—anything at all would be great!
Reader discussion: Carnival
Public reader discussion about Carnival in the WeRead Catalog by Compton MacKenzie.
Ok...So I watched Carnival Row and I gotta read a book like that!!
By strangeacorn55
Just finished watching Carnival Row and honestly I loved the whole thing. It felt like it got a lot right, but I’m kind of surprised more people don’t seem to bring it up. (Maybe it’s a “talk about later” situation.) Anyway, I wanna know if there are any books that have a similar vibe. Like: - a Victorian-ish or at least pretty developed world, but not fully like ours - maybe steampunk if that’s a thing in the book - fast plot, no dragging - a romance that isn’t super cheesy (not totally required, but I’d prefer it) - something intense with lots of plot twists - a world with factions that actually feel fleshed out - and yeah, a grim-dark feel with morally grey characters
Looking for some horror books about carnivals or circuses
By LRainy
I already read “Something wicked this way comes,” and I really liked the vibe—especially the whole haunted carnival thing. Any other books that are kind of similar?
What do you guys think of James Thurber?
By notebooktender24
Just finished Thurber Carnival. Some of the pieces felt really uneven, but I still enjoyed the short, stripped-down little character moments where you can kind of feel the emotion without it getting too dramatic. I think “The Evening’s At Seven” and “One is a Wanderer” were my favorites. “Evening’s At Seven” especially—honestly, it’s one of the best short stories I’ve read. It suggests a lot without going into big, overly sentimental stuff. If you want it, here’s the link: http://wolaver.org/literature/the_middle-aged_man_on_the_flying_trapeze.htm#The%20Evening%27s%20at%20Seven I did notice that some of his stuff that plays around with African-American slang or Southern speech feels dated now, but I still find plenty of his work genuinely funny. What’s everyone else’s take on him?
Suggestions for good fiction books that take place in a Circus, Carnival, or something like that?
By grand-lamp40
I’m cool with pretty much any genre, honestly.
What’s the opinion of carnival row?
By FallenTurtle
I keep seeing people rave about Arcane, Witcher, Wheel of Time, Vox Machina, all that, but I haven’t really seen much about Carnival Row. Does anyone actually like it? I watched the first couple episodes and it was okay, but I’m kind of on the fence and don’t have a strong take either way.
As a Man Grows Older - Toxic Relationships in 1898
By ivyharbor
It feels like one of those books where you stumble on a real hidden gem that most people don’t seem to mention. This one’s an Italian classic by Italo Svevo, and it’s basically about a bunch of people dragging each other down—narcissistic, manipulative friendships and relationships all tangled together. There’s also this fourth person in the background who’s just quietly getting worn out by everything. What really got to me is how badly they communicate (or don’t), and the lack of empathy and honesty. It’s pretty frustrating, but also weirdly relatable in a “we’re all on our screens now” kind of way. The title is Senilità, which is kind of “senility,” and I think it fits—like that annoying cycle where people end up going back to something toxic even when they know it’s bad, and they keep justifying it as they go. The writing is gorgeous, though, and the psychological side is honestly wild. By the end you’ll probably hate most, if not all, of them—and I’m pretty sure Svevo wanted them to be totally repulsive. It’s one of those reads that’s unpleasant in the best way.
Finished Night Circus. It wasn't for me and I am curious to hear what makes it so good for others.
By DawnBookworm2
I wanted to give modern fiction a shot, but I usually avoid it because some stuff I’ve read before really turned me off (like *To the Lighthouse* and *Lolita*) and I’m not a fan of those super over-designed covers with all the fancy lettering and pictures. That said, I *did* try this one. Barnes and Noble had that “blind date with a book” thing where you don’t see the cover, just the keywords, and the ones that grabbed me were “Victorianesque London” and “ethereal enigma.” The magician + fated duel to the death sounded like fun too. My first big issue was the way the chapters are written in second person, present tense. It honestly made me think of *Goosebumps* when I was a kid, and even if it was only a few chapters, I still skimmed because I hate feeling like the author is talking to me like “you.” Then there’s also the third person present tense stuff that feels confusing, especially when it suddenly jumps to the future for no clear reason. The time hopping just doesn’t help the storyline at all, and I’m not even sure what it’s adding. I also didn’t buy the whole 1880s–1900s setting. It didn’t feel like that era to me at all—more like modern people dressed up in bowler hats and dresses, talking in that old-fashioned British way. Pregnancy and birth were treated so seriously back then, and the book kind of glosses over how unlikely it would’ve been to just “go to a hospital.” The whole tent birth part didn’t sit right with me. And Celia’s strapless dress at the start as the Illusionist also felt like it would’ve been a huge scandal, not just casually mentioned. Even little word choices felt off—like how they refer to things in ways we’d use today. Credit where it’s due: the imagination is really good. There are tons of magical, imaginative moments. But I feel like that’s also where the book falls apart—so many cool scenes happen instead of actual plot. One minute it’s snow and gryphon statues and people barely moving, and then suddenly things go wild and people start dying. After that, everything’s frantic and the “game” is apparently too dangerous… but it doesn’t feel like the book really builds that up or follows through in a way that makes me care about the people in it. Even the romance felt kind of meh to me. I get the whole “Sherlock and Moriarty” vibe—two sides, they’ve been connected forever, etc.—but it didn’t land. They mostly just collaborate. He knows her, but she doesn’t know him, and they don’t really interact much. Then suddenly both of them are head over heels. Also, Marco is introduced like he keeps to himself, but like right away—early on when he’s like 18—he goes to a pub, loses his notebook, finds Isobel, and asks her out immediately like he’s super smooth. That didn’t match the way he was described. One line also bothered me. It sounded pretty, but it didn’t make sense. When Celia and Isobel are at the cafe, it’s like the author says they weren’t *trying* to avoid talking about the circus, they were “dancing around it” or something like that. But if you’re actively dancing around it, aren’t you basically avoiding it? Those are my main problems. I’m sure there’s stuff I might’ve missed, or maybe I just didn’t get it. It seems popular enough to have a TV show/movie, so I’m curious what other people think—but for me, it ended up feeling like mostly aesthetics and visuals, with not enough plot or substance. I do want to try modern books again, I just didn’t have the best start with this one.
Count of Monte Cristo - Albert de Morcerf's character
By oceanlost
I started reading *The Count of Monte Cristo* and honestly it shot up to my favorite book really fast. The prison sections were the best part to me. I also ended up loving Albert pretty quickly—almost as much as young Dantes. I’m especially stuck on the part where he gets kidnapped and how he deals with it. He just comes off really honest, genuine, and brave, and it reminded me a lot of young Dantes (though I felt like Dantes was a bit more naive). Does anyone else feel like Albert was totally going to turn out to be Dantes’s son? I was kind of disappointed when that wasn’t the case. I know the plot is still great, but I can’t lie, it would’ve felt more satisfying to me. Still, I guess it kind of shows that a son isn’t responsible for his father’s sins. And the duel chapters… wow. My heart was pounding the whole time. I don’t get how anyone can call Albert a coward. He gets through it like the bigger man, admits what he did wrong, and can apologize without caring what everyone thinks. I did feel like Monte Cristo and Albert were getting close at points, but then when the duel comes around, it feels like neither of them would’ve hesitated if Mercedes hadn’t been there. That made me wonder if Albert was kind of just another path for Monte Cristo to get at Fernand. Also, I noticed a resemblance between Albert and Monte Cristo’s younger self. I really loved Albert, and I was sad when he left because we didn’t really get to see him again.
What is the best short story you've ever read?
By atombeacon789
My favorite so far is “The Open Window.” I’ve also read “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and that one stuck with me too.
Books set in or around carnival/circus life
By rainmole
I’ve always been really drawn to carnivals and circuses—the people, the “magic” vibe, the whole traveling setup, the chaos of it all. If anyone’s willing, could you share some of your favorite books that take place in that kind of world, or are mostly about carnival life? Edit: I’m open to any genre. Edit 2: Thanks so much for the recs—I’m excited to get started!
Looking for a more interesting reading challenge
By Mirror_Late
Has anybody else had a rough time with the Goodreads reading challenge? I’ve done it for about 8 years now, but I’m pretty sure I’m done with it. I get that it doesn’t really matter and nobody’s paying attention if you hit the goal or not, but seeing “you’re X books behind” over and over is getting kind of annoying. Lately I keep picking short books instead of the big ones I actually want to read, just so I can stay on track, and it makes me feel kind of silly. I kind of wish the challenge had more variety instead of just being a number. Like, read from 5 different genres, read something about astrophysics, read X books by women authors, leave 1 review, start a new series, read a book my wife gave 5 stars, stuff like that. Does anyone have any ideas for a reading challenge that’s actually more interesting?
Looking for a book that features carnivals
By Seal-Field9719
Honestly, I’d love it if it’s horror (or even more gothic would be cool). I’ve been wanting to jump back into reading, and I’m really into anything carnival-related, so a story set in or around a carnival would be perfect. But I’m not totally stuck on that—if it’s got that kind of whimsical, strange vibe, that would work too. Like something with a bunch of oddball characters, maybe similar to *Home for Peculiar Children*—I just really want some weird stuff in there.
Dark Carnival - Ray Bradbury
By grand-shelf42
Hey everyone. I was just reading that R.L. Stine has an adult horror hardback called “Red Rain,” so I looked it up. I also saw that Stephen King and him were inspired by Dark Carnival (Ray Bradbury), but I can’t seem to find the actual book anywhere. Does anyone know where I can get it? P.S. If it’s available in Spanish too, even better.
Best monologues in literature?
By CrowFollows1973
I’ve been going back over Jekyll and Hyde lately, and honestly, that last speech Henry Jekyll gives is kind of jaw-dropping. So I started wondering what people here think are some of the best monologues in books. If I’m picking favorites, I’ve got to say I love Macbeth’s “tomorrow” speech and Hamlet’s “too too solid flesh” bit, but even if you leave Shakespeare out, I’m still really into the “fire, blood and anguish” speech in An Inspector Calls, the Jekyll and Hyde monologue I mentioned earlier, and some of the rambling from the Underground Man in Notes from the Underground. What about you?
A book with a magical circus or carnival
By Starlight_Mist
I can’t tell if I genuinely like this whole magical circus vibe, or if I just like the concept of it 😂 I really enjoyed Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury and Weave the Lightning by Corry L. Lee—both felt super atmospheric and kind of gritty in a good way. But I was only kind of okay with The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. The romance didn’t grab me, though I did love the competition and the whole setting. And Caraval by Stephanie Garber didn’t work for me at all for some reason. The plot and setting were there, but the characters weren’t enough to pull me in. So yeah… any recommendations for the best magical circus you’ve got?
Looking for a book like carnival row
By BeanBee
Like the title says, I just started Carnival Row and I’m really into it so far. I like stories where magic and non-magic are blended together, and it feels like everyday stuff but with a little magic thrown in.
Carnivals, circuses and freak shows.
By StrangeTowerLynx
I’m trying to find a really interesting book about carnies, carnivals, and circuses. I’ve already read Water for Elephants, so I’m open to either historical fiction or something more factual.