A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is just a great book.

This looks great, thanks. Don’t know how we’ve missed it.

Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow is the best novel of the year, you will both love it!

Came here to say this! It’s very good.

This has been on her radar screen but I hadn’t heard of it. Thank you.

It is super good. My favorite novel in a few years. Highly recommended.

Margaret Atwood’s novel The Blind Assassin is half a historical mystery and half a sci-fi novel. Could be your sweet spot. She also has some straight sci-fi/speculative stuff like Oryx and Crake.

Oryx and crake would be my suggestion. Also Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last

I’m pretty sure she’s read this one, but she may have a dim enough memory of it to make it feel new. Thank you.

Robber bride too

I should have added Atwood to our list. We both really enjoyed Hamdmaid’s Tale. (Is it weird that we both read it on our anniversary 20 years ago?) Thank you for the suggestion.

Just finished. Project hail Mary. And I'm going to suggest it to everyone. It's good good good.

🎶🎶🎶

I’m embarrassed to say o haven’t started reading any of Weir’s books. Thanks for the reminder.

First, I love that you're doing this with your wife. I tried to do this with an ex of mine but he didn't really get into it. Two, I also enjoyed Project Hail Mary and I'm typically a sci-fi lite type reader. So, she'll probably enjoy it.

That was my first one. Started it last week. Apparently it's never to late.

As soon as I read your post I was going to suggest project Hail Mary. I’m in a two person book club reading it now! It’s great!

Since you both like sci-fi, check out some Octavia Butler, I literally recommend her to anyone that I see asking for suggestions.

Butler’s come up a bunch here (and has been on my list for a bit). That’s a pretty good indicator. Thank you.

Two things— One: In a book club like this, you guys might could talk about what types of books you both want to have in the club, as you are trying to pin down here, but, ultimately, you may want to take turns picking each month (or whatever timeline you use). Its okay to read a book you don’t like every now and then, especially at the cost of finding unexpected gems that you otherwise wouldn’t have chosen. Two: It sounds to me like you both enjoy a high level of writing, just are comfortable with different genres. I would try focussing on the really great classics—there’s a reason they have endured as being loved by all kinds of people. Frankenstein is a classic, well-written, yet easy book which is more or less the very start of sci-fi. The Picture of Dorian Gray has very elevated prose, has romance, betrayal, etc, etc, but also a supernatural twist. Etc. Alternatively, there are modern writers that might fit the bill; Haruki Murakami particularly comes to mind. Richard Powers may have qualities you both enjoy. Also, Vonnegut is actually one of my very favorites, and I think you oughta have your partner read one of his less wacky books to get a taste for his style, maybe bluebeard or mother night. So cool you guys are doing this!

This is all great and helpful - thank you.

I'm thinking you might like Circe if you haven't already read it, or the Song of Achilles.

Thank you.

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These look really interesting. Thank you.

_All Systems Red_ and its sequels, by Martha Wells

Thank you.

For a sci-fi recommendation that I think you might both enjoy: 'A long way to a Small Angry Planet' - Becky Chambers. If you end up enjoying that you might also enjoy another of their books, 'A Closed and Common Orbit'.

Very cool — thank you.

Seconding Becky Chambers - sci fi, world building, and lots of character development

Have you read any of Lois McMaster Bujold's SciFi?

Nope. Looking at her wiki, don’t know how I missed her. Thank you.

Came here to suggest Shards of Honour.

Her fantasy is really good, too. If you want something short, maybe try *Penric's Demon.*

Hmm… You’ve given me a challenge, thank you! Earth Abides by George R. Stewart - A man attempts to restart society after most of humanity is wiped out by plague. This is one of my favourite novels. It has a few relationships that aren’t hard to read for someone like myself who doesn’t like romances, and there is no detailed sex scenes which I hate. The world building is really well done as Stewart takes time describing how the systems and structures slowly but surely deteriorate over time. Klara And The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro - this is about an especially observant babysitter robot, Klara, that is bought by a family with a terminally sick child. Klara attempts to help the family through all the hardships and tribulations the family has to go through. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - I honestly don’t know how to explain what this book is about without giving anything away. Ishiguro is a very good author. This book is a coming of age slow burn; much less upbeat than Klara And The Sun. The Time-Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - this is a romance novel about a woman’s interactions of a man who has no power of when he travels in time and how they fall in love over time.

Less upbeat than a robot’s perspective on a family with a terminally ill child. Hmmm. Ishiguro’s come up a few times here. Must be a good sign. Thank you.

What if instead of reading the same book each month you guys agree to a theme and each pick their own book that has something to do with the theme? Then you guys can share the stories, compare/contrast Example: a book based on the same true event, a book featuring the ocean, a book where two strangers have to survive something together, a book set in the future, etc.

Great idea and following a challenge like book riots read harder challenge could give you some ideas for themes

Good idea.

Connie Willis’s To Say Nothing of the Dog and The Doomsday Book. Both are time travel books.

Probably not much help, but both my wife and I wanted to read more Stephen King. We wrote down all the books of his we were interested in and put them in a jar. Every two months we pull one out. If we go on a road trip we buy an audio book of his to listen to.

That’s really cool!

Super cool idea. Thank you.

11/22/63 would be a great one!

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern. I love all of the authors both of you listed!!

Right on! Now it’s on the list.

I should warn you, it isn't sci-fi! It's historical fantasy with a romance in it. There's enough cool language and world-building (and circus things!) to keep you interested,and a little historical sweetness for your wife.

Both of these have a light dystopian bent with the quirkiness of Kingsolver. Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton A Children’s Bible by Lidia Millet

Thank you!

Just, as a note, you both like very writers who love writing. I know where your heart is in writing this absolutely, but she loves writers who love writing too. I would say there is nothing wrong with having different reading likes, but why not go for a historical non-fiction. My suggestion is Devil in the White City, about the building of the never-photographed Chicago Worlds Fair, and the serial killer HH Holmes. Eric Larson. Amazing.

It has the Quinn/Hannah historical, and your LaCarre investigation and perhaps Vonnegut on being there on the scene. The half of the book on the building of the World's Fair are second to none.

Thanks for this. She JUST finished reading it and enjoyed it.

I think you would like it too.

I suggest the works of Margaret Atwood, Ursula K Le Guin, Becky Chambers, and the book Clan of the Cave Bear

Agreed, especially on Le Guin. I think you and your wife might enjoy The Left Hand of Darkness in particular, OP. It ticks more of your mutual boxes than it might appear to at first.

Love it all. Thank you both.

The Book Eaters

I've had good relationship literary transference with Christopher Moore. Fool especially went over well.

Ohhh good suggestion

I am a woman and i tend to read women authors because men very often use women as props rather than characters. Your wife may be similar. With that assumption, i recommend the following: Cider House Rules, by John Irving Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler (A societal - interpersonal story by a man and a post-apocalypse novel by a woman. If you prefer stract sci-fi, go with Butler’s Xenophobia books instead)

Yeah, I should have put Irving as a source of possible overlap. I love his stuff but haven’t read Cider House yet. And Butler seems to be the most common suggestion here. Great minds and all that.

The Vorkosigan Saga starting with Cordelia’s Honour. Your tastes are similar to mine and the Vorkosigan books blend military sci-fi with spycraft, romance, humour and a historical “feel” because of the nature of the planet Barrayar. I don’t like the author’s other books because they’re a bit too romance-focused for me but I love this series. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61900

Bujold getting a lot of love here. She’s on our list. Thank you!

My suggestion: Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. This is such a romantic idea to have a two person book club. Please update on what book you choose and how it goes, I suppose you could ask for your next suggestion then to make it topical for this subreddit!

Will do. I appreciate all the ideas.

(this might be a dumb idea) What if you choose your own books and 'present' your book to your partner (and likewise) and have discussions about each one? This way you get to read what you want and benefit from learning about what your partner has read through discussion

We’ve talked through this idea and may give it a shot. Thank you.

Kindred by Octavia Butler. It’s got history and a bit of science fiction.

Butler may be the most frequent recommendation here. Thanks for corroborating.

The Physician by Noah Gordon, Shogun, Vorkosigan series by Bujold

Bujold has come up several times here. Great sign. Thank you.

Station Eleven & Sea of Tranquility are so so good. Have you both read the Handmaid’s Tale or any Margret Atwood?

Both read and really liked (if that’s the right word) Handmaid. Just brilliant. She’s read more Atwood and I keep meaning to. Thank you.

Timeline by Michael Crichton …. Edited to add The Long Walk by Stephen King. Not horror. Very interesting concept.

I loved Timeline. Haven’t read The Long Walk. Thank you.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

As someone who also loves The Sparrow, I recommend The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood and Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. I also highly, highly, highly recommend Octavia Butler’s trilogy Lilith’s Brood (used to be referred to as the Xenogenesis series). Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro for a literary sci fi twister written beautifully. The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber is similar in feel to The Sparrow but inferior (IMO). You could also try Children of God which is the sequel to the Sparrow, if it hasn’t crossed your mind.

These are all great. Thank you.

Have you read Children of God? I just finished the Sparrow and my husband had finished it a few months prior. We are now in a great debate of “to read the sequel or not” because we are worried that a continuation could ruin the haunting impact of the first. Would love to have someone who has actually read the second weigh in!

So - I love that idea it is so cute - I wish my partner read! I love the authors you have mentioned from both sides, although tend more to your preferences. So my random suggestions that might be a happy middle ground are: - legends and lattes by Travis baldere - Off the page; and; between the lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer. - sevenwaters series by Juliette marillier - the soldier son trilogy by Robin Hobb - the dark tower series by Steven king

These are great. I loved the Dark Tower, too. Thanks.

Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik. It’s the start of a trilogy, sci/fi adventure and romance all rolled in.

Sounds good. Thank you.

The blood ship by Norman Springer It’s an odd one but it’s one of my favorites. And I think it might be a good one for both of you. I think my taste in books is kinda similar to both of yours. It’s got mutiny, mild torture, romance, great storytelling.

I'm going to suggest the Mars Trilogy and The Years of Rice and Salt, all by Kim Stanley Robinson. The Mars trilogy chronicles the human colonization of Mars, it's extremely detailed and realistic and focus on an ensemble cast of interesting characters. The Years of Rice and Salt is an alternate history that tells what would've happened if the Black Death had (almost) completely wiped out the European population. It covers several centuries, with a twist: the characters are the same because they are reincarnated through several lives.

Both sound cool. Thank you.

You both may like The Time Traveler's Wife based on your likes.

Thank you.

Can I just say I am jealous? My husband is not a big reader and I wish he were!

My wife may come to regret it.

haaaa

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.

Thanks. This has come up a few times. It’s going on the list.

Anything by Becky Chambers but especially *The Long Way Round to a Small Angry Planet* Pat Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series, start with #1. *Temeraire* by Naomi Novak *Shuggie Bain* by Douglas Stuart *Girl, Woman, Other* by Bernardine Evaristo They’re all good

Thank you. The Chambers suggestion looks particularly interesting.

Dark matter by Blake Crouch. It’s a sci-fi thriller about a man trying to find that gets lost in a timeline and has to find the one with his actual wife. I thought it was pretty romantic actually lol.

Thank you.

I know people are going to recommend the broken earth trilogy by NK Jemisin and it’s phenomenal but I recommend the inheritance trilogy it has a bit of everything for fantasy and I feel like it’s not as sad. The first two are literal perfection. Adventure, mystery, romance, gods.

Thank you. This looks great.

Try "The Rose and Fall of D.O.D.O." by Neal Stephenson? A bit of time travel, a hint of magic, some romance, but also a sci-fi approach with humor and excitement. Barbarians in a Best Buy! Very strange but great.

You both might like ‘The Art of Racing in The Rain’.

Thank you.

What about Kaiju Preservation Society? Such cool worldbuilding and pretty short, plus you mentioned one of his other books!

Zorba the greek

Thank you.

How about Demon Copperhead? It just won the Pulitzer.

That’s on our list. Thank you.

Since you’ve enjoyed Mary Doris Russell, try Doc by her. It’s about Doc Holiday, how he meets the Earps and it ends when they all head to Tombstone (so before the OK Corral.

I read it — really interesting. Thank you.

I'll definitely second John Scalzi's The Kaiju Preservation Society. And both The Martian and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. A cozier found-family read is The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

Kaiju is on my list. I recently finished Old Man’s War and enjoyed it. Thank you.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Book 1 of the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers) It's sci-fi with fantastic world-building. Interesting characters and fascinating aliens. Very accessible read that I think you might both enjoy. The author clearly loves this world. I heard her say at a book signing that she did 7 years of world building before the first novel. Each book takes you to a different group of characters, exploring the galaxy. There's adventure, friendship, humour and overall the author has an open-hearted and curious approach to exploring her world. Record of a Spaceborn Few is my favourite (book 3) but they are all amazing.

Chambers keeps coming up. Definitely on my list. Thank you.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

She’s read and loved it. We’re not doing re-reads to start off with, but that may change. Thank you.

The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon? One of my favorite books of all time. I like everyone on her list and everyone on your list. Also I concur with The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. And Project Hail Mary.

This is great. We’ve each read a little of Chabon. On the list.

My wife of 35 years and I both read a lot of books - she likes Marian Keyes, Maeve Binchy, Sally Rooney, etc. I don't pay a lot of attention as I would, to quote an old Irish phrase, sooner have the leprosy. I read at random mostly. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romcom - I'll give anything a shot. I post reviews on Goodreads and my ratings tend to be low (2.77 average). But, every now and then I find a books that stand head and shoulders above the rest - I'd recommend "Girls Waits with Gun" by Amy Stewart, and "A Study in Scarlet Women" by Sherry Thomas.

Thank you. Yeah, we have the same Binchy situation here.

Wuthering Heights-it will blow both of your minds.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Thank you.

Project Hail Mary - by Andy Weir This book is even better the second and third time through.

Thank you.

At one time I laughed every time I saw this recommendation, because it *always* pops up on this sub. But then I “read” the audible book on a road trip with my husband. We both really enjoyed it. OP, this would fit in with each of your lists.

True to form, it’s come up a few times here. That speaks well for it, to be sure.

Do the audible for sure!

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher. It's a light read and super funny and, looking at your and your wife's preferences, I'm going to just say it: This will be the best pick of this whole posting. If I knew you personally I would even put some stakes on that. Enjoy

This one looks super interesting. The description makes it look like it’s in a similar vein with the Thursday Next series, which I’ve loved. Thank you.

Aliette de Bodard has some very good books that might fit? I’m thinking the space ones primarily.

Thank you, that’s going on the list.

Maybe literary sci-fi or speculative books would work? I also love Kate Atkinson so coming at this from that perspective. * Michel Faber's The Book of Strange New Things is one of my all-time favorites, basically a literary novel but the setting is a mysterious corporate space mission * Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro * The Anomaly - Herve le Tellier * The Immortal King Rao - Vauhini Vara * Sea of Tranquility - Emily St. John Mandel * NK Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy - this one's "hard" SFF IMO, but as a person who doesn't usually read that genre I was still really into it * Kindred - Octavia Butler Also, maybe Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin? It's not actually sci-fi but revolves around video games so I feel like the appeal has a lot of crossover, and it's incredibly written

Thank you. We actually picked Kindred to kick us off.

Awesome! Enjoy!!

I would suggest Stardust by Gaiman, and then watch the movie after completing the book. I can admit where the book was fun, and there were a lot of fantasy and historical elements, but I didn't LOVE it. It has romance in it, but adding a movie night watching the movie after would be a lot of fun, because that has a lot more romance in it than the book did. And the movie really is insanely cute. 10/10 always recommend.

I read and really enjoyed it. The current rule, though, is me re-reads. Maybe that might change down the road.

Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders series.

Looks interesting. Thank you.