Looking For A Good Epistolary Novel - Page 2

ereaderbug · 02-05-2012, 04:22 PM

I love epistolary tales too. Are all the suggestions available as ebooks? Guernsey is available, even as an "enhanced" ebook. (I am on wait list for it now..)

I recently read Meg Cabot's "Boy Meets Girl", a YA romance novel. Light, and easy read. The story is told through emails, journal entries, text messages and even grocery store receipts! I got mine from the local library in epub format. Surprisingly, the formatting was totally off at some places. (I could see the html and css source code!) The print version uses several typefaces, which did not transfer well to the ebook format.

I believe the other two novels in the "Boy meets.." series are epistolary. Bridget Jones books are epistolary.

"Other people's mail" an anthology of short epistolary fiction compiled by Gail Pool, unfortunately not available in ebook, is a very good read too.

Christine54 · 04-15-2012, 07:20 PM

I love epistolary novels, ever since reading 84 Charing Cross Road. I have also read several books in email format and enjoyed those as well. Does anyone know of any novels written in letter or email format that are available as an ePub or kindle book?

ATDrake · 04-15-2012, 07:39 PM

Here's a bunch of people's recommendations for epistolary novels in the Reading Recs forum.

hapax legomenon · 04-21-2012, 06:38 AM

I am currently reading a hilarious epistolary book about a curmudgeon landlord/literary magazine editor called Cry of the Sloth by Sam Savage.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cry-Sloth-.../dp/1566892317

LMDalton · 11-11-2012, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christine54

I love epistolary novels, ever since reading 84 Charing Cross Road. I have also read several books in email format and enjoyed those as well. Does anyone know of any novels written in letter or email format that are available as an ePub or kindle book?

You Are Loved . . . an email memoir available for Kindle

BenG · 11-11-2012, 06:33 PM

One of the Cloud Atlas stories is epistolary.

Dazrin · 11-11-2012, 07:06 PM

The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis is in this format, not exactly a novel, but it was entertaining. I really liked the audio book read by John Cleese too.

cghipp · 11-11-2012, 09:23 PM

"Fair and Tender Ladies," by Lee Smith, is a wonderful novel in the epistolary style. Another book that came to mind is perhaps a bit off of the path, but for some reason my mind was drawn to "Archy and Mehitabel," by Don Marquis. If you're not familiar with these characters, Archy is a cockroach and Mehitabel is a can in her ninth life. There are no capital letters because a cockroach can't exactly jump onto the typewriter's shift key and the letter at the same time...

Tattncat · 11-12-2012, 10:09 AM

Imo I would recommend the Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning letters. They are public domain and encompass two Volumes. I have read them twice now and still count them as a favorite read.

Polarpenguin · 11-12-2012, 10:33 AM

We Need to Talk about Kevin: Lionel Shriver

Is a great read

Dr. Drib · 11-12-2012, 11:02 AM

Do you look forward to having bloodshot eyeballs?

Tired of reading about slow-walking ambulatory zombies

or

enduring slobbery wet kisses from your girlfriend or boyfriend?

If you answered "YES!" to the above, then I can help you!

Simply read

*Letters
by
John Barth

This gigantic epistolary novel is waiting right now for your reading displeasure.

Test your patience!
Enjoy the torture!
Tomorrow may be too late!

*Void where ebooks are sold. Available only in a paper edition.

Dr. Drib (actually, I'm a huge Barth fan)

LovesMacs · 11-12-2012, 11:30 AM

Hey, a resurrected thread.

I much enjoyed reading Persian Letters (Lettres persanes in the original French) by Montesquieu. It was written in the 1700s. The novel is about a couple of Persians who travel to France and write back home about what they see and do. Their correspondents tell them about all that happens in Persia during their absence.

The novel is very entertaining and thought provoking in its social commentary. As an old work, it's also in the public domain!

Dazrin · 08-23-2013, 01:16 PM

I am in the middle of "The Martian" by Andy Weir and remembered this thread. Sorry for resurrecting this, but it seemed better than a new thread.

This is a story of how an astronaut is marooned on Mars when an accident happens and how he tries to survive. The majority of the story is told through his journal entries, so not quite letters to someone, but similar. There are portions of 3rd person perspective when discussing situations on earth, but most of it is in the journal format.

So far this has been an excellent story and has been very engaging, I started reading last night and couldn't stop till 1 AM despite needing to be up at 6. Oops. The protagonist must overcome many problems using very limited resources and a hostile planet (MacGyver on Mars?) The story is fast paced and has a lot of humor (despite the situation) and most of the science is accurate and very believable. The science has a couple problems, but is overall very realistic and his solutions make sense.

It could use some editing and clean up, but that should be corrected in the nearish future (see below) and hasn't taken anything away from the story for me.

Now for the bad news, it is no longer available except in Audiobook. The author received a book deal after self-publishing and has withdrawn it until it is available from the new publisher. It will be re-released in February 2014 in electronic and hardcover formats.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EMXBDMA

BookCat · 12-13-2018, 01:48 PM

Does anyone have more suggestions for epistolary books, either fiction or written by and about real people, if you know what I mean?

Dazrin · 12-13-2018, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

Does anyone have more suggestions for epistolary books, either fiction or written by and about real people, if you know what I mean?

I'll add another that I read last year:

Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Not only is it an epistolary story, it was written in an epistolary way too, each author would write one character's letters to the other and they intentionally did not discuss the plot with each other prior to writing (until the very end when they sat down for editing.) It was an interesting way to do this and worked quite well. There are two additional books that follow this but they were written 15 years after this one was published so you can safely read this one as a stand-alone novel if you choose to try it.

04-15-2012, 07:20 PM	#17
Christine54 Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: iPad,Nook	Epistolary Novels? I love epistolary novels, ever since reading 84 Charing Cross Road. I have also read several books in email format and enjoyed those as well. Does anyone know of any novels written in letter or email format that are available as an ePub or kindle book?

11-12-2012, 11:02 AM	#26
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,737 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Do you look forward to having bloodshot eyeballs? Tired of reading about slow-walking ambulatory zombies or enduring slobbery wet kisses from your girlfriend or boyfriend? If you answered "YES!" to the above, then I can help you! Simply read Letters by John Barth This gigantic epistolary novel is waiting right now for your reading displeasure. Test your patience! Enjoy the torture! Tomorrow may be too late! Void where ebooks are sold. Available only in a paper edition. Dr. Drib (actually, I'm a huge Barth fan) Last edited by Dr. Drib; 11-12-2012 at 11:04 AM.

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02-05-2012, 04:22 PM	#16
ereaderbug Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Nook STR, Kobo Touch	I love epistolary tales too. Are all the suggestions available as ebooks? Guernsey is available, even as an "enhanced" ebook. (I am on wait list for it now..) I recently read Meg Cabot's "Boy Meets Girl", a YA romance novel. Light, and easy read. The story is told through emails, journal entries, text messages and even grocery store receipts! I got mine from the local library in epub format. Surprisingly, the formatting was totally off at some places. (I could see the html and css source code!) The print version uses several typefaces, which did not transfer well to the ebook format. I believe the other two novels in the "Boy meets.." series are epistolary. Bridget Jones books are epistolary. "Other people's mail" an anthology of short epistolary fiction compiled by Gail Pool, unfortunately not available in ebook, is a very good read too.

04-15-2012, 07:39 PM	#18
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Here's a bunch of people's recommendations for epistolary novels in the Reading Recs forum.

04-21-2012, 06:38 AM	#19
hapax legomenon Erotica Writer Posts: 102 Karma: 106 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Tulsa, OK Device: ipad, Sony Reader PRS 505, Cybook 3	I am currently reading a hilarious epistolary book about a curmudgeon landlord/literary magazine editor called Cry of the Sloth by Sam Savage. http://www.amazon.com/The-Cry-Sloth-.../dp/1566892317

11-11-2012, 06:33 PM	#21
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	One of the Cloud Atlas stories is epistolary.

11-11-2012, 07:06 PM	#22
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,631 Karma: 73864785 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis is in this format, not exactly a novel, but it was entertaining. I really liked the audio book read by John Cleese too.

11-11-2012, 09:23 PM	#23
cghipp Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 2479520 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: South Cackalacky Device: Sony PRS-T1, Kobo Glo	"Fair and Tender Ladies," by Lee Smith, is a wonderful novel in the epistolary style. Another book that came to mind is perhaps a bit off of the path, but for some reason my mind was drawn to "Archy and Mehitabel," by Don Marquis. If you're not familiar with these characters, Archy is a cockroach and Mehitabel is a can in her ninth life. There are no capital letters because a cockroach can't exactly jump onto the typewriter's shift key and the letter at the same time...

11-12-2012, 10:09 AM	#24
Tattncat Bookworm Posts: 673 Karma: 1029391 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Device: Nook Tablet, Samsung Galaxy Tab3, Sony PRS700, Sony PRS505	Imo I would recommend the Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning letters. They are public domain and encompass two Volumes. I have read them twice now and still count them as a favorite read.

11-12-2012, 10:33 AM	#25
Polarpenguin Groupie Posts: 176 Karma: 1834850 Join Date: May 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony PRS-300, Sony PRS- T3S, Kobo aura H2O Kobo aura One Kobo libra	We Need to Talk about Kevin: Lionel Shriver Is a great read

11-12-2012, 11:30 AM	#27
LovesMacs Fanatic Posts: 513 Karma: 2644386 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: iPhone, Kindle Touch	Hey, a resurrected thread. I much enjoyed reading Persian Letters (Lettres persanes in the original French) by Montesquieu. It was written in the 1700s. The novel is about a couple of Persians who travel to France and write back home about what they see and do. Their correspondents tell them about all that happens in Persia during their absence. The novel is very entertaining and thought provoking in its social commentary. As an old work, it's also in the public domain!

08-23-2013, 01:16 PM	#28
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,631 Karma: 73864785 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	I am in the middle of "The Martian" by Andy Weir and remembered this thread. Sorry for resurrecting this, but it seemed better than a new thread. This is a story of how an astronaut is marooned on Mars when an accident happens and how he tries to survive. The majority of the story is told through his journal entries, so not quite letters to someone, but similar. There are portions of 3rd person perspective when discussing situations on earth, but most of it is in the journal format. So far this has been an excellent story and has been very engaging, I started reading last night and couldn't stop till 1 AM despite needing to be up at 6. Oops. The protagonist must overcome many problems using very limited resources and a hostile planet (MacGyver on Mars?) The story is fast paced and has a lot of humor (despite the situation) and most of the science is accurate and very believable. The science has a couple problems, but is overall very realistic and his solutions make sense. It could use some editing and clean up, but that should be corrected in the nearish future (see below) and hasn't taken anything away from the story for me. Now for the bad news, it is no longer available except in Audiobook. The author received a book deal after self-publishing and has withdrawn it until it is available from the new publisher. It will be re-released in February 2014 in electronic and hardcover formats. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EMXBDMA

12-13-2018, 01:48 PM	#29
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,912 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	Does anyone have more suggestions for epistolary books, either fiction or written by and about real people, if you know what I mean?