33 Comments
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Lucas Johnson's avatar

Want to read them all 😩

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EJ Johnson's avatar

Good news— u can!!!!

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Zach Messer's avatar

Damn it, once again you spend all my money. I’m going to send you an invoice soon.

One to add: The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir. Short, tense, horrific, captivating.

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EJ Johnson's avatar

hahahaha i will gladly pay the invoice if it means people are reading more great books!! have not heard of the night guest!! i will add it to the list— thank you!!

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emily's avatar

Add.to.list!!

Just started short bb The Unworthy

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EJ Johnson's avatar

ooooo yes just read that one too! Interested to hear what you think. thanks so much for reading!

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Milagros Lasarte's avatar

A list I'm adding to my TBR!

You had me with the first novella set in Buenos Aires 👀 had never heard about that author.

And I started reading Casares' novella but couldn't really get into it. Maybe I wasn't in the best mood for something weird then, but your synopsis got me interested. Might pick it up again!

And if you're still looking for slightly weird novellas, could I humbly suggest my own novella Symbiosis? It was published by Blackwater Press ✨️

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EJ Johnson's avatar

Thank you so much for reading! Casares’ novella definitely takes a second to get into — sort of a slow burn, maybe try audio? but yea Comemadre is a must-read!! i would love to hear what you think if you check it out. and omg YOUR OWN NOVELLA!!! i will definitely check it out, thank you so much for recommending it!

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Allsopp Doug's avatar

I opened this hoping to find Ring Shout. Yesss!! I love this book. The author’s “Steampunk Cairo Djinn” series (several novellas, one full-length) is also fantastic (pun not intended!).

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Yusuf Seha Uysal's avatar

This makes perfect sense! Bookstores should make selections like these too

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Baron Aardvark's avatar

Check out "The English Understand Wool" by Helen DeWitt and "A Rebours" by Huysman. (Well known but still not enough read).

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EJ Johnson's avatar

Have not heard of either! will add to the list— thank you for the recs!

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Caitlin Wahrer's avatar

When I read the title of your post my first thought was This Is How You Lose the Time War; yes, no, haven’t read? I’m saving this post!!!

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EJ Johnson's avatar

i have heard of it but haven’t read it!! i will totally add it to the list— thank you for the rec and for reading! 📚💗

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Ellie West's avatar

Immediately saved this post

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EJ Johnson's avatar

OMG best compliment ever, thank you!!!!

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Natalie McGlocklin's avatar

WEIRD because I just finished Samanta Schweblin's FEVER DREAM which is a short weird book and it got me out of my Solenoid-induced active slump. Nothing like a shortie to make you feel good about yourself again.

I've seen Ring Shout around and have never considered actually reading it, but you make it sound good. Sad about Wild Dark Shore but I kinda had a feeling when so many people commented about the prose...

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EJ Johnson's avatar

omg i looooooved Fever Dream!!! Such a visceral read. Hahah idk how i found ring shout but it really was so fun! And look— everyone has opinions! maybe u will love WDS!!! would love to hear your thoughts

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Read Whatever's avatar

I literally just typed out an article about my recent book slump…Wish I had these recommendations last week! I’ll save for when it happens again, good to know we all go through those periods.

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EJ Johnson's avatar

it’s a new strategy for me and it worked well!! let me know how it goes for u in the future. I’m glad you’re through your slump— the only way out is through, fortunately or unfortunately 😅

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Martha's avatar

Ring Shout & The Invention of Morel are perfect for this list. My copy of Comemadre came last week so I am excited to read it this summer!! Nothing has been the same since The National Telepathy (I want more weird)

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EJ Johnson's avatar

omg i just got my copy of The National Telepathy!! i almost don’t want to start it because once its over thats all the roque larraquy books there are… 😂😭 I can’t wait to hear what you think of Comemadre!!

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Carrie P's avatar

hmm now which one to pick up first... such an intriguing list!!

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EJ Johnson's avatar

we love to hear it!! thank you so much for reading— eager to hear what u think!

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Heidi L's avatar

Your Bookshop page has been bookmarked - thanks for the recs!

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EJ Johnson's avatar

omg i’m so honored!!! eager to hear your thoughts on some of these 📚👀

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Geoff Mantooth's avatar

EJ, a trend setter, as always. About to follow in your footsteps of being in a reading funk. Just got Ron Chernow’s “Mark Twain” which on the cover seems good, because Twain was a funny, acerbic write. But crack it open and all 3000 plus (not a typo) pages spill out. Only about a third is backup (notes, bibliography, etc.) leaving a lot of reading, so I’ll soon be in a deep Twain-induced funk and it won’t be funny. LOL.

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EJ Johnson's avatar

omg…. THOUSANDS OF PAGES?!?! maybe break it up into 50 page chunks 🤣

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Geoff Mantooth's avatar

It’s gonna take me a lifetime to read about his life.

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Jo the Smalltown Bookseller's avatar

All noted. Thank you!

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EJ Johnson's avatar

Thank YOU for reading! lmk your thoughts if you pick any of these up! 📚💗

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