Are you tired of the same six books being recommended on BookTok? You’re not alone. Thankfully, there are many TikToks titled, “Best Books I’ve Never Seen on BookTok” that offer up some uncommon recommendations. We’ve compiled a recommendation list of five books that you’ve probably not stumbled across on BookTok yet!
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a story written by Mark Haddon. In the book, Christopher John Francis Boone is a 15-year-old boy with high-functioning autism. He often butts heads with his father, Ed, following the death of his mother two years prior. One night, Christopher finds Wellington, his neighbor’s dog, dead with a garden fork jabbed into his side. As Christopher sets out to find the killer, he learns that the perfect world he has created for himself is not so perfect after all.
BERG
“A man called Berg, who changed his name to Greb, came to a seaside town intending to kill his father.”
This famous quote is from Ann Quin’s Berg, which has often been cited as one of the greatest opening lines in a book. Written in 1964, Berg is a surrealist and slightly disturbing novel. Alister Berg comes to a seaside town in England and stays in a hotel room next to his father’s room. Through the walls, he hears Judith, his father’s much younger mistress, and Berg plans to kill his father as an act of revenge for his mother. The story has a complex style that can be destabilizing but in the best and most entertaining way possible.
THE TRANSMIGRATION OF BODIES
The Transmigration of Bodies by Mexican writer Yuri Herrera is set in an unidentified city in post-apocalyptic Mexico. A plague ravages the city and confines most people to their homes. However, The Redeemer, mainly a criminal in the underworld, is called upon to create peace between two crime families. The Redeemer must switch bodies held hostage by the two families, while also avoiding the deadly plague. This unique story references the gang violence and the War on Drugs in Mexico and its long-term impacts on their culture and society.
CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN
Convenience Store Woman is a relatively short story by Sayaka Murata. Keiko Furukura is a 36-year-old woman living in Tokyo and working at Smile Mart, a convenience store from which she has learned many life lessons from. Though Keiko has never fit in in most spaces of her life, she learns the rules of social interaction through the customer service handbook for employees. Despite pressures from others to move on from the store, Keiko is content in her own little world. But can her world stay small forever? Convenience Store Woman is a must-read story that reminds us how odd ordinary people are in actuality.
DUNE
Dune is a 1965 science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert. The story follows young Paul of the House of Atreides in a futuristic civilization. Paul is the heir to Arrakis, an inhospitable desert planet. Though Arrakis is hostile, the planet is the only source of melange, which is a valuable spice known for extending one’s life. Other houses have their own plans to get their hands on the spice, but Paul will put up a fight like no other to protect his planet and people. Dune was first made into a film in 1984, but the 2021 version starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya is highly anticipated, as well!
Where are you going to start?
Featured image via TikTok