Recommendations based on Bellwetherby Connie Willis

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. To Say Nothing of the Dog

    by Connie Willis
    Time-traveling historian visits Victorian England in search of an artifact, amidst a comedy of errors.

    Ned Henry is a time traveler in 1940 studying Coventry Cathedral after the Coventry Blitz of World War II . He is specifically searching for the location of the "Bishop's bird stump ", a MacGuffin ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Doomsday Book

    by Connie Willis
    A time-traveling historian struggles to contain a deadly pandemic in the Middle Ages.

    For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi ... (Goodreads)

  3. Crosstalk

    by Connie Willis
    A romantic comedy set in a near-future world where a new technology allows couples to experience each other's emotions. Chaos ensues.

    Briddey Flannigan, part of the middle management of a tech-company is engaged to one of the senior executives. The company is experimenting with communication technology that transmits neural ... (Wikipedia)

  4. The Eyre Affair

    by Jasper Fforde
    An eccentric literary detective, in an alternate 1985, uses time-travel to save kidnapped characters from classic novels.

    In a parallel universe , England and Imperial Russia have fought the Crimean War for more than a century; England still has a parliamentary government, although heavily influenced by the Goliath ... (Wikipedia)

  5. Cryptonomicon

    by Neal Stephenson
    A thrilling journey through the past and present, combining tech, history and adventure.

    The action takes place in two periods—World War II and the late 1990s, during the Internet boom and Asian financial crisis . In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse, a young United States Navy code ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Sunshine

    by Robin McKinley
    Rae, a young girl, discovers her magical powers and must navigate a world of politics and power struggles to save her kingdom from darkness.

    The story is set in an alternate universe , taking place after the "Voodoo Wars", a conflict between humans and the "Others". The Others mainly consist of vampires , werewolves , and demons , though ... (Wikipedia)

  7. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

    by Douglas Adams
    An offbeat detective story set in a surreal, supernatural world.

    Dirk Gently, who calls himself a " holistic detective", has happened upon what he thinks is a rather comfortable situation. A wealthy man in the record industry has retained him, spinning a story ... (Wikipedia)

  8. First Among Sequels

    by Jasper Fforde
    A madcap, comedic detective story featuring a time-traveling protagonist.

    It's been fourteen years since Thursday pegged out at the 1988 SuperHoop, and Friday is now a difficult sixteen year old. However, Thursday's got bigger problems. Sherlock Holmes is killed at the ... (Goodreads)

  9. The Fourth Bear

    by Jasper Fforde
    A detective story that blends mystery and fantasy, uncovering a unique conspiracy.

    DCI Jack Spratt heads the Berkshire Nursery Crime Division, handling all inquiries involving nursery rhyme characters and other PDRs (persons of dubious reality). After doubts arise concerning his ... (Wikipedia)

  10. Komarr

    by Lois McMaster Bujold
    A murder mystery set on a terraformed planet. Political intrigue and romance ensue.

    In his new role as Imperial Auditor, Miles Vorkosigan finds himself on Komarr, a planet where his father has an unfortunate reputation, being blamed for a massacre of government officials who had ... (Wikipedia)

  11. A Fire Upon the Deep

    by Vernor Vinge
    An interstellar adventure of exploration, uncovering a powerful and mysterious force.

    An expedition from Straumli Realm, an ambitious young human civilization in the high Beyond, investigates a five-billion-year-old data archive in the low Transcend that offers the possibility of ... (Wikipedia)

  12. A Civil Campaign

    by Lois McMaster Bujold
    Miles Vorkosigan navigates the tricky waters of romance and politics in a comedic space opera.

    Miles Vorkosigan has a problem: unrequited love for the beautiful widow Ekaterin Vorsoisson, violently allergic to marriage after her first exposure. If a frontal assault won't do, Miles thinks, try ... (Goodreads)

  13. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

    by Douglas Adams
    An eccentric detective's surreal journey through time and space to solve a mysterious case.

    Richard MacDuff attends the Coleridge dinner at his old college St Cedd's , where he witnesses his former tutor, Professor Urban "Reg" Chronotis , perform an inexplicable magic trick in which he ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Snow Crash

    by Neal Stephenson
    A hacker's quest in a futuristic America dealing with a mysterious computer virus.

    Hiro Protagonist is a hacker and pizza delivery driver for the Mafia. He meets Y.T. (short for Yours Truly), a young skateboard Kourier ( courier ) who refers to herself in the third person , during ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Right Ho, Jeeves

    by P.G. Wodehouse
    A humorous adventure of a young man and his loyal valet, as they attempt to outwit a nefarious scheme.

    Bertie returns to London from several weeks in Cannes spent in the company of his Aunt Dahlia Travers and her daughter Angela. In Bertie's absence, Jeeves has been advising Bertie's old school ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Hero and the Crown

    by Robin McKinley
    A young girl's quest to prove her worth, culminating in a battle to save her kingdom.

    Aerin is the only child of Arlbeth, king of Damar, and his second wife. Aerin inherits her mother's pale skin and fiery red hair, setting her apart from all other Damarians and causing her to be ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Phantom Tollbooth

    by Norton Juster
    A whimsical adventure through a magical land, searching for a way out of the boredom of everyday life.

    Milo is a boy bored by the world around him; every activity seems a waste of time. He arrives home from another boring day at school to find a mysterious package. Among its contents are a small ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Blue Sword

    by Robin McKinley
    A young girl embarks on an epic adventure, discovering courage, strength, and her true identity.

    This is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who becomes Harimad-sol, King's Rider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, which no woman had wielded since the legendary Lady Aerin ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Stories of Your Life and Others

    by Ted Chiang
    A collection of short stories exploring themes of science, technology, and humanity.

    Ted Chiang's first published story, ",Tower of Babylon," won the Nebula Award in 1990. Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon ... (Goodreads)

  20. Quicksilver

    by Neal Stephenson
    Epic fantasy adventure set in a world of magic, politics and alchemy.

    The first book is a series of flashbacks from 1713 to the earlier life of Daniel Waterhouse. It begins as Enoch Root arrives in Boston in October 1713 to deliver a letter to Daniel containing a ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Gaudy Night

    by Dorothy L. Sayers
    Harriet Vane returns to her alma mater to solve a mystery, while grappling with her feelings for Lord Peter Wimsey.

    Harriet Vane returns with trepidation to her, alma mater, , Shrewsbury College, Oxford to attend the Gaudy dinner. Expecting hostility because of her notoriety (she had stood trial for murder in an ... (Wikipedia)

  22. Mona Lisa Overdrive

    by William Gibson
    A thrilling adventure through a cyberpunk dystopia, unraveling a mysterious conspiracy.

    Taking place eight years after the events of, Count Zero, and fifteen years after, Neuromancer, , the story is formed from several interconnecting plot threads, and also features characters from ... (Wikipedia)

  23. I Capture the Castle

    by Dodie Smith
    An unconventional family living in a crumbling castle navigate life, love, and the pursuit of happiness.

    The novel takes place between April and October in a single year in the 1930s. The Mortmain family is genteel, poor, and eccentric. Cassandra's father is a writer suffering from writer's block who ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Goblin Emperor

    by Katherine Addison
    A young outcast's ascent to the throne of a vast empire, overcoming obstacles of his lineage.

    The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line ... (Goodreads)

  25. Dawn

    by Octavia E. Butler
    An epic science fiction story of a post-apocalyptic future and humanity's struggle for survival.

    Lilith Iyapo has just lost her husband and son when atomic fire consumes Earth—the last stage of the planet’s final war. Hundreds of years later Lilith awakes, deep in the hold of a massive alien ... (Goodreads)

  26. Star Island

    by Carl Hiaasen
    A pop star's life is in danger when a crazed fan mistakes her for a lookalike. A hilarious satire on celebrity culture.

    Ann DeLusia, the " stunt double " for habitually intoxicated and drug-addicted pop star "Cherry Pye", is mistakenly kidnapped by an obsessed paparazzo . Now, the star's entourage must find a way to ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Neuromancer

    by William Gibson
    A hacker's journey through a dystopian cyberpunk world, searching for a way to survive.

    Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City , Japan. Once a talented computer hacker , Case was caught stealing from his employer. As punishment for his theft, ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Beguilement

    by Lois McMaster Bujold
    A young girl with magical powers is taken in by a widowed farmer, but their peaceful life is threatened by an ancient evil.

    Fawn, a farmer girl of about 20, has run away from her family, because another farmer has impregnated her and made it clear that he will not acknowledge the baby as his own. Dag, a Lakewalker ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Station Eleven

    by Emily St. John Mandel
    Post-apocalyptic exploration of a world drastically changed after a pandemic.

    An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse,, Station Eleven, tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  30. The Stars My Destination

    by Alfred Bester
    A man's quest for revenge in an intergalactic society, using teleportation and telepathy.

    At the time when the book is set, "jaunting"—personal teleportation—has so upset the social and economic balance that the Inner Planets are at war with the Outer Satellites. Gully Foyle of the ... (Wikipedia)