Looking for Good Books Told in First-Person POV

[spursbob]

I'm reading Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series now and they are good.

[flipreads]

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

[sherman]

Since you enjoyed Mira Grant's Feed and Deadline, you will probably enjoy the books she's written under her (real) name Seanan McGuire -- namely the October Daye series.
For something lighter, and dare I say it, slightly...um... different, there is also her new book Discount Armageddon.

[bigbird1227]

The Lock artist by Steve Hamilton - Great book

[hidari]

1984: Part of it....

[John A. A. Logan]

HUNGER by Knut Hamsun, published in Norway 1890, one of the earliest (bar Dostoyevsky, who of course also provided a first-person novel, NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND) "psychological" novels...anarchic, wild, at times literally insane....and available now on Kindle to confound the Heavens!

[Ntsimp]

I just finished reading to my wife Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin. It's good science fiction (won the Nebula Award in 1969), in first person from the POV of an adolescent girl.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by John A. A. Logan

HUNGER by Knut Hamsun, published in Norway 1890, one of the earliest (bar Dostoyevsky, who of course also provided a first-person novel, NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND) "psychological" novels...anarchic, wild, at times literally insane....and available now on Kindle to confound the Heavens!

An earlier English translation of Hunger is available free here on MR and at Project Gutenberg since it's public domain.

This was one of the best books I read last year.

[Pablo]

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

[FizzyWater]

Devon Monk has an urban fantasy series that I really enjoy (starts with Magic to the Bone) that has the magic, the good vs. evil, and some humor.

Gail Carriger has a steampunk urban fantasy series set in Victorian England (with a twist) that I really loved...but I'm going to admit I thought the way she wrapped it up was a bit...stretching believability (if you can claim a need for believability from a story with vampires and werewolves). Oops, nevermind, not first person.

I know a lot of people who love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum "mystery" series. It's utter slapstick. I lost interest after book...10? 8? I can't remember. I enjoyed them at first, but they got repetitive. And the author has fully admitted she has no intention of allowing any character growth in the main character. First book is One for the Money.

[miyabyaofb]

Hi everyone, OP here. Thanks for the continuing replies. I've added them all to my reading list.

My fiancé and I just finished 11/22/63, and wow, that was good. We had also read Gary Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story (also told in first POV, from the POVs of a few different people), right before the Stephen King, and since Shteyngart's book was more of that deep, literary fiction stuff, we decided to go with King for a more casual book-reading experience. (Of course, 11/22/63 is over 700 pages long, so it was a different kind of beast entirely, but oh, well. It was still good. Lol.)

So yeah, thanks again for all the suggestions! I'll continue to throw a few more on here from time to time as well, as the Shteyngart, and perhaps Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters.

Happy reading!

[LOVE_1stPERSON]

Originally Posted by miyabyaofb

Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone!

I have read The Handmaiden's Tale and A Clockwork Orange and enjoyed them both, and I really liked Slaughterhouse-Five. I'm going to put all these suggestions on my reading list and see what I like.

Thanks, everyone!

(Oh, and I would not refuse any additional suggestions, if anyone else would like to contribute.)

I agree with Clockword ORANGE.
(I'll have to check out Handmaiden's Tale (the title seems like it might be boring, but let's see),

Def recommend for visceral first person:

1. Hasford's novel The Short-Timers.
2.Basketball Diaries - Jim Carrol.
3.Three men on a bender -Patrick Rossi
4....
This is not FIRST person but 2nd: but it's sort of a 1st: Bright Lights, big City.

(which is fun, to read, where the author continuosly sais "you're sitting on a stool, you're ordering a drink, you're drunk but not quite..etc..etc.."

[LOVE_1stPERSON]

Originally Posted by miyabyaofb

Hi everyone, OP here. Thanks for the continuing replies. I've added them all to my reading list.

My fiancé and I just finished 11/22/63, and wow, that was good. We had also read Gary Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story (also told in first POV, from the POVs of a few different people), right before the Stephen King, and since Shteyngart's book was more of that deep, literary fiction stuff, we decided to go with King for a more casual book-reading experience. (Of course, 11/22/63 is over 700 pages long, so it was a different kind of beast entirely, but oh, well. It was still good. Lol.)

So yeah, thanks again for all the suggestions! I'll continue to throw a few more on here from time to time as well, as the Shteyngart, and perhaps Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters.

Happy reading!

Is invisbile Monsters any good?

and when I say any good, is super visceral good...or just good?

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by miyabyaofb

Hello all!

I have a very particular reading recommendation request. I am looking for some good books to read aloud, told in first-person. I have read the following books and really enjoyed them.

The Book of Jhereg by Steven Brust
World War Z by Max Brooks
Day by Day Armageddon by J. L. Bourne
Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile by J. L. Bourne
Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective by Calvin A. L. Miller II
Feed by Mira Grant
Deadline by Mira Grant
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (I've also read Catching Fire and Mockingjay - they were alright, but the first book was the one I liked the most.)

Even though I have an obvious preference for zombies and sci-fi, I wouldn't be against extending into other genres. The audience is just myself and my fiance, so we're fine with violence/language/sexual content/whatever. I'm basically just looking for good stories told in first-person point of view that alternate between being funny and thrilling/suspenseful/action-packed.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Have you looked at Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen? Excellent story, traveling with an old time circus. Very well researched too.