Recommendations based on Hector and the Search for Happinessby François Lelord

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

  1. The City of Dreaming Books

    by Walter Moers
    An adventure through a literary world, as a librarian searches for a mysterious book.

    Protagonist Optimus Yarnspinner ( Hildegunst von Mythenmetz in the German text) is a Lindworm ( dinosaur ) who inherits his authorial godfather 's possessions, including a perfect story written by an ... (Wikipedia)

  2. A Dog's Purpose

    by W. Bruce Cameron
    A dog's journey to discovering its true purpose, through multiple lifetimes and owners.

    The narrator first starts out as a feral Beagle / German Shepherd / terrier mix puppy. A few weeks later, after being nursed by their mother, a feral as well, the dog and his siblings Fast, Sister, ... (Wikipedia)

  3. One Day

    by David Nicholls
    A story of friendship and love, exploring the complexities of life and relationships.

    Dexter and Emma spend the night together following their graduation from the University of Edinburgh , in 1988. They talk about how they will be once they are 40. While they do not become ... (Wikipedia)

  4. The Last Watch

    by Sergei Lukyanenko
    A group of magic users protect humanity from supernatural threats in the shadows of the night.

    Anton Gorodetsky is learning to use his new power when Gesar sends him to assist the Scottish Night Watch in Edinburgh in a murder investigation. A young Russian man has been murdered in a "Vampire ... (Wikipedia)

  5. Twilight Watch

    by Sergei Lukyanenko
    A thrilling fantasy about a secret society of humans and vampires, protecting the balance between the two species.

    Among us live the Others. They are humans who can enter the Twilight, a shadowy world that exists alongside our real world, and gain unnatural powers from it. As long as they are in the Twilight, ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Artemis

    by Andy Weir
    A young woman's daring heist to save her city on the moon.

    Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional ... (Goodreads)

  7. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

    by Haruki Murakami
    A man's journey of self-reflection to address his past and understand his place in the world.

    A mesmerising mystery story about friendship from the internationally bestselling author of, Norwegian Wood, and, 1Q84, Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends at school. By chance all of their names ... (Goodreads)

  8. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

    by Patrick Süskind
    A murder mystery set in 18th century France, exploring the depths of human obsession.

    An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion—his sense of ... (Goodreads)

  9. Griffin & Sabine

    by Nick Bantock
    A mysterious correspondence between two artists, Griffin and Sabine, unfolds through a series of beautifully illustrated postcards and letters.

    Griffin Moss is an artist living in London who makes postcards for a living. He is unhappy and lonely, though he is unaware of these feelings. His life is changed forever when he receives a cryptic ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden

    by Jonas Jonasson
    A quirky and humorous tale of a small Swedish town, and the unlikely events that unfold.

    In 1961, Nombeko Mayeki is born a poor black girl in Soweto . She leaves the slums and a twist of fate – she is run over but survives – puts her into the employ of the engineer who ran her over, as a ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The Family Fang

    by Kevin Wilson
    A dysfunctional family of performance artists reunites after years of estrangement, leading to chaos and self-discovery.

    Annie and Buster Fang are the children of famous performance artists who, in the late 80s and early 90s, perform public interactive pieces with audiences who are unaware that they are performers and ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Brokeback Mountain

    by Annie Proulx
    Forbidden love between two cowboys exploring their sexuality and emotions in a hostile environment.

    Annie Proulx has written some of the most original and brilliant short stories in contemporary literature, and for many readers and reviewers, "Brokeback Mountain" is her masterpiece. Ennis del Mar ... (Goodreads)

  13. Night Watch

    by Sergei Lukyanenko
    A supernatural battle between the forces of Light and Darkness, with the fate of the world in the balance.

    A Mage recently reassigned to field work in the Night Watch, Anton Gorodetsky, is tasked with tracking vampires who have been hunting and killing humans without a licence. As he follows a young boy ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Everything Is Illuminated

    by Jonathan Safran Foer
    A young man's journey to trace his family's past, uncovering the secrets of the Holocaust.

    Jonathan Safran Foer (the author), a young American Jew, who is vegetarian and an avid collector of his family's heritage, journeys to Ukraine in search of Augustine, the woman who saved his ... (Wikipedia)

  15. The Reader

    by Bernhard Schlink
    A man's journey of understanding, uncovering a dark secret from his past.

    Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of ... (Goodreads)

  16. The Penelopiad

    by Margaret Atwood
    A retelling of Homer's "The Odyssey" from the perspective of Penelope, wife of Odysseus. A feminist take on a classic tale.

    The novel recaps Penelope 's life in hindsight from 21st century Hades; she recalls her family life in Sparta , her marriage to Odysseus , her dealing with suitors during his absence, and the ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Blindness

    by José Saramago
    A society is plunged into chaos when everyone suddenly loses their sight.

    Blindness is the story of an unexplained mass epidemic of blindness afflicting nearly everyone in an unnamed city, and the social breakdown that swiftly follows. The novel follows the misfortune of a ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Time Keeper

    by Mitch Albom
    A man is sent on a journey to discover the true meaning of time.

    From the author who's inspired millions worldwide with books like, Tuesdays with Morrie, and, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, comes his most imaginative novel yet,, The Time Keeper,—a compelling ... (Barnes & Noble)

  19. The Uncommon Reader

    by Alan Bennett
    A humorous look at the journey of a monarch who discovers the joy of reading.

    The title's "uncommon reader" ( Queen Elizabeth II ) becomes obsessed with books after a chance encounter with a mobile library . The story follows the consequences of this obsession for the Queen, ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Marriage Plot

    by Jeffrey Eugenides
    A young woman's exploration of love, life, and her place in the world.

    It's the early 1980s - the country is in a deep recession, and life after college is harder than ever. In the cafés on College Hill, the wised-up kids are inhaling Derrida and listening to the ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Last Coyote

    by Michael Connelly
    A detective investigating the murder of his mother, trekking through a criminal underworld.

    Bosch is involved in an incident at work and has been put on involuntary stress leave. He must go through therapy sessions to be able to return to work. This involves talking about the incident and ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Art of Fielding

    by Chad Harbach
    A college baseball team's success and failures are intertwined with the lives of five individuals.

    Henry Skrimshander begins the novel as a 17-year-old playing on a Legion baseball team in Lankton, South Dakota. Although physically short and not muscular, Henry has an unusual gift for fielding, ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Paris Wife

    by Paula McLain
    A woman's journey of self-discovery, navigating the complexities of a passionate and tumultuous relationship.

    The Paris Wife focuses on the romance, marriage and divorce of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson, who met when Hemingway was 20 years old, and Richardson 28. They marry and move ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Yellow Wall-Paper

    by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
    A woman's descent into madness due to oppressive social expectations.

    A woman and her husband rent a summer house, but what should be a restful getaway turns into a suffocating psychological battle. This chilling account of postpartum depression and a husband's ... (Goodreads)

  25. Little Bee

    by Chris Cleave
    A Nigerian refugee's quest for survival and a British woman's search for redemption.

    Using alternating first-person perspectives , the novel tells the stories of Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee, and Sarah O'Rourke (née Summers), a magazine editor from Surrey . After spending two years ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Orphan Master's Son

    by Adam Johnson
    A man's struggle to survive in a totalitarian North Korean regime and his journey to freedom.

    Part 1 details Jun Do's upbringing in a state orphanage and his service to the state, including as a kidnapper of Japanese citizens , and later as a signal operator stationed on a fishing boat. Due ... (Wikipedia)

  27. One Man Guy

    by Michael Barakiva
    A teenage boy navigates his first love with another boy while balancing his Armenian-American identity and family expectations.

    A heartfelt, laugh-out-loud-funny story of romance, family, and self-discovery. Alek Khederian should have guessed something was wrong when his parents took him to a restaurant. Everyone knows that ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Shipping News

    by Annie Proulx
    A man's attempt to rebuild his life in a small Newfoundland town, discovering compassion and joy.

    The story centers around Quoyle, a newspaper reporter from upstate New York , whose father had emigrated from Newfoundland . Shortly after his parents' joint suicide, Quoyle's unfaithful and abusive ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Golem's Eye

    by Jonathan Stroud
    A young magician's pursuit of a powerful, ancient creature threatens to unleash an ancient evil.

    Two years after the events of the first novel, Nathaniel (alias John Mandrake ) serves in London’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, working to eliminate the anti-magician Resistance. Under pressure from ... (Wikipedia)

  30. A Visit from the Goon Squad

    by Jennifer Egan
    A mosaic of characters, lives, and relationships as they intertwine and evolve over time.

    Jennifer Egan’s spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. ... (Goodreads)