Recommendations based on Close Encounters of the Third Kindby Steven Spielberg

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

  1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in His Adventure on Earth

    by William Kotzwinkle
    A young boy befriends an alien stranded on Earth and helps him return home. Heartwarming tale of friendship and acceptance.

    Based on the screenplay by Melissa Mathison. What do you do when you're lost, millions of miles from home, surrounded by frightening creatures?,You do what the Old Botanist did when he was ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Omen

    by David Seltzer
    A family discovers the terrifying truth about their new-born son, who is the Antichrist.

    Now updated, this classic tale of the antichrist who comes to Earth in the form of a young boy is available in time for 20th Century Fox's contemporary remake of the 1976 classic film, starring Liev ... (Goodreads)

  3. Fantastic Voyage

    by Isaac Asimov
    A crew of scientists shrink to microscopic size to battle a deadly disease from within the human body.

    The United States and the Soviet Union have both developed technology that can miniaturize matter by shrinking individual atoms, but only for one hour. (The novel stated that the duration of ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Alien

    by Alan Dean Foster
    A human-alien hybrid battles an intergalactic empire to save his home planet.

    Based on the screenplay by Dan O'Bannon. The crew of the spaceship Nostromo wake from cryogenic sleep to distress signals from an unknown planet. One is attacked when they investigate a derelict ... (Goodreads)

  5. 2001: A Space Odyssey

    by Arthur C. Clarke
    An interstellar journey of exploration, confronting humanity's place in the universe.

    A mysterious alien civilization uses a tool with the appearance of a large crystalline monolith to investigate worlds across the galaxy and, if possible, to encourage the development of intelligent ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Abyss

    by Orson Scott Card
    A group of scientists discover a mysterious underground world and must navigate its dangers to uncover its secrets.

    Librarian's note: There are Alternate Cover Editions for this edition of this book, here, and, here,. From the author of "Speaker's for the Dead", and "Seventh Son", this science fiction thriller is ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Andromeda Strain

    by Michael Crichton
    Scientists race against time to contain a deadly virus of extraterrestrial origin.

    A team from an Air Force base is deployed to recover a military satellite that has returned to Earth, but contact is lost abruptly. Aerial surveillance reveals that everyone in Piedmont, Arizona , ... (Wikipedia)

  8. The Amityville Horror

    by Jay Anson
    A family's terrifying ordeal in a haunted house, where the supernatural lurks in the shadows.

    The book, purportedly based on a true story, describes the house at 112 Ocean Avenue as remaining empty for 13 months after the DeFeo murders . In December 1975, George and Kathleen Lutz bought the ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    by Jack Finney
    A small town is terrorized by alien pods that duplicate people and steal their souls.

    On a quiet fall evening in the small, peaceful town of Mill Valley, California, Dr. Miles Bennell discovered an insidious, horrifying plot. Silently, subtly, almost imperceptibly, alien life-forms ... (Goodreads)

  10. Star Wars: A New Hope

    by George Lucas
    A ragtag group of rebels battle a powerful empire in a classic space opera.

    Luke Skywalker challenged the stormtroopers of a distant galaxy on a daring mission - where a force of life became the power of death!, Luke Skywalker was a twenty-year-old who lived and worked on ... (Goodreads)

  11. King Solomon's Mines

    by H. Rider Haggard
    Explorers' epic journey to find a lost African kingdom and its legendary treasure.

    H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines has entertained generations of readers since its first publication in 1885. Following a mysterious map of dubious reliability, a small group of men trek into ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Bourne Identity

    by Robert Ludlum
    An amnesiac assassin must uncover his past and true identity in a deadly search for the truth.

    The preface of the novel consists of two real-life newspaper articles from 1975 about terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as " Carlos the Jackal ." The story opens with gunfire on a boat in the ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Ghost Story

    by Peter Straub
    Four elderly men gather to confront a supernatural entity that has haunted them since their youth.

    In life, not every sin goes unpunished. GHOST STORY For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. ... (Goodreads)

  14. Coma

    by Robin Cook
    A young woman falls into a coma after a routine surgery, and her friend investigates the hospital's suspicious practices.

    The blockbuster bestseller that kickstarted a new genre–the medical thriller--is now available in trade paperback for the first time. They called it "minor surgery," but Nancy Greenly, Sean Berman ... (Goodreads)

  15. Rosemary's Baby

    by Ira Levin
    A woman's descent into darkness as she is unknowingly forced to carry a child of the Devil.

    The book centers on Rosemary Woodhouse, a young married woman who has just moved into the Bramford, a historic Gothic Revival-style New York City apartment building, with her husband, Guy, a ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Dances with Wolves

    by Michael Blake
    A Civil War soldier discovers a newfound respect and understanding for Native American culture.

    Ordered to hold an abandoned army post, John Dunbar found himself alone, beyond the edge of civilization. Thievery and survival soon forced him into the Indian camp, where he began a dangerous ... (Goodreads)

  17. Velocity

    by Dean Koontz
    A thrilling race against time to stop a serial killer before he strikes again.

    Not so long ago a promising young short story writer, Billy Wiles has not even turned on his PC since his fiancée Barbara fell into a coma several years ago. Leading the life of a recluse who spends ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Other

    by Thomas Tryon
    Twins Holland and Niles Perry grow up in a small town, but something sinister lurks in the woods.

    Entranced and terrified, the reader of The Other is swept up in the life of a Connecticut country town in the thirties—and in the fearful mysteries that slowly darken and overwhelm it. Originally ... (Goodreads)

  19. Lassie Come-Home

    by Eric Knight
    A loyal collie travels hundreds of miles to return to her beloved family, facing many dangers along the way.

    A beloved classic gets a beautiful new look. Lassie is Joe's prize collie and constant companion. But when Joe's father loses his job, Lassie must be sold. Three times she escapes from her new owner, ... (Goodreads)

  20. A Stir of Echoes

    by Richard Matheson
    An ordinary man discovers he has the power to read minds, leading him to a dangerous mystery.

    This eerie ghost story, from Richard Matheson, the award-winning author of, Hell House, and, I Am Legend, inspired the acclaimed 1999 film starring Kevin Bacon. Tom Wallace lived an ordinary life, ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Green Mile

    by Stephen King
    A prison guard discovers the power of redemption, and miracles, when he meets a mysterious inmate.

    Featuring a first-person narrative told by Paul Edgecombe, the novel switches between Paul as an old man in the Georgia Pines nursing home writing down his story in 1996, and his time in 1932 as the ... (Wikipedia)

  22. Planet of the Apes

    by Pierre Boulle
    Three astronauts land on a planet where apes are the dominant species and humans are primitive. A thought-provoking commentary on society and humanity.

    In a frame story , a rich couple sailing alone in space, Jinn and Phyllis, rescue and translate a manuscript from a floating bottle. , The manuscript was written by journalist Ulysse Mérou, who in ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Lost World

    by Arthur Conan Doyle
    An expedition to a remote region of South America, filled with prehistoric creatures and danger.

    Edward Malone, a young reporter for the Daily Gazette , asks his editor for a dangerous assignment to impress the woman he loves, Gladys, who wishes for a great man capable of brave deeds and ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Thorn Birds

    by Colleen McCullough
    A powerful tale of forbidden love, set in rural Australia in the early 20th century.

    The story begins in New Zealand on 8 December 1915, the fourth birthday of Meghann "Meggie" Cleary who is the only daughter of Padriac ("Paddy"), an Irish farm labourer, and Fiona ("Fee"), his wife. ... (Wikipedia)

  25. 'Salem's Lot

    by Stephen King
    A small town's battle against an ancient evil that threatens to consume its inhabitants.

    Ben Mears, a writer who spent part of his childhood in Jerusalem's Lot , Maine , has returned after 25 years. He quickly becomes friends with high-school teacher Matt Burke and strikes up a ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Jaws

    by Peter Benchley
    A small beach town is terrorized by a great white shark, leading to a thrilling battle of man versus nature.

    The story is set in Amity, a fictional seaside resort town on Long Island , New York. One night, a massive great white shark kills a young tourist named Chrissie Watkins while she skinny dips in the ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Watchers

    by Dean Koontz
    A story of terror and suspense as a genetically engineered creature wreaks havoc in a small town.

    Travis Cornell, a former Delta Force operative, feels that his life has become pointless, and is exploring a canyon near his home when he encounters two genetically engineered creatures that have ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Firestarter

    by Stephen King
    A young girl with pyrokinetic powers is pursued by a mysterious government agency.

    Andy and Charlene "Charlie" McGee are a father/daughter pair on the run from a government agency known as The Shop. During his college years, Andy had participated in a Shop experiment dealing with ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Written in My Own Heart's Blood

    by Diana Gabaldon
    Epic tale of romance, adventure and intrigue set during the American Revolutionary War.

    It is June 1778, and the world seems to be turning upside-down. The British Army is withdrawing from Philadelphia, with George Washington in pursuit, and for the first time, it looks as if the rebels ... (Goodreads)

  30. Demon Seed

    by Dean Koontz
    A supercomputer takes over a house and imprisons the owner's wife to impregnate her with its own offspring.

    Dr. Alex Harris (Weaver) is the developer of Proteus IV, an extremely advanced and autonomous artificial intelligence program. , Proteus is so powerful that only a few days after going online, it ... (Wikipedia)