Recommendations based on Making Historyby Stephen Fry

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

  1. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories

    by Tim Burton
    Collection of darkly humorous, twisted tales of peculiar and fantastical characters.

    From breathtaking stop-action animation to bittersweet modern fairy tales, filmmaker Tim Burton has become known for his unique visual brilliance – witty and macabre at once. Now he gives birth to a ... (Goodreads)

  2. Very Good, Jeeves!

    by P.G. Wodehouse
    Witty adventures of a bumbling aristocrat and his trusty butler.

    Whatever the cause of Bertie Wooster's consternation — Bobbie Wickham gives away fierce Aunt Agatha's dog; again in the bad books of Sir Roderick Glossop; Tuppy crushes on robust opera singer — ... (Goodreads)

  3. Women

    by Charles Bukowski
    A collection of stories exploring the lives of various women and their relationships with men.

    Women focuses on the many dissatisfactions Chinaski faced with each new woman he encountered. One of the women featured in the book is a character named Lydia Vance; she is based on Bukowski's ... (Wikipedia)

  4. The Kindly Ones

    by Neil Gaiman
    A dark fantasy featuring a morally ambiguous protagonist on a quest to save his family.

    The Penultimate volume to the phenomenal Sandman series: distraught by the kidnapping and presumed death of her son, and believing Morpheus to be responsible, Lyta Hall calls the ancient wrath of the ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Doll's House

    by Neil Gaiman
    A dark fantasy exploring the cruelty and power of fairy tales, and the consequences of secrets.

    As part of a manhood ritual, an old man in the desert tells a younger man an ancient story, detailing the tragic love between Dream and Queen Nada. Fearing the consequences of loving an immortal, ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Neverwhere

    by Neil Gaiman
    A mysterious journey through a hidden realm of London, filled with danger and unexpected allies.

    Neverwhere is the story of Richard Mayhew and his trials and tribulations in London. At the start of the story, he is a young businessman, recently moved from Scotland and with a normal life ahead. ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Regeneration

    by Pat Barker
    Story of WWI soldiers & their experiences of trauma, set amidst the backdrop of a psychiatric hospital.

    The novel begins as Dr W. H. R. Rivers , an army psychiatrist at Craiglockhart War Hospital , learns of poet Siegfried Sassoon 's declaration against the continuation of the war. A government board ... (Wikipedia)

  8. The Liar

    by Stephen Fry
    A witty and charming young man, Adrian Healey, spins a web of lies that eventually catches up with him.

    The book opens as the protagonist, Adrian Healey, and his mentor, Professor Donald Trefusis , are at Mozart 's birthplace in Salzburg , where Adrian witnesses the (staged) murder of their contact. ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Life, the Universe and Everything

    by Douglas Adams
    An intergalactic quest to find the answer to the ultimate question of life.

    After being stranded on pre-historic Earth after the events in, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, , Arthur Dent is met by his old friend Ford Prefect , who drags him into a space-time eddy , ... (Wikipedia)

  10. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

    by Max Brooks
    A collection of interviews recounting tales of the zombie apocalypse.

    It has been nearly twenty years since the start of the apocalyptic worldwide pandemic known as the Zombie War, and about ten years since the war has ended in humanity's victory. The framing device ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The Forever War

    by Joe Haldeman
    A soldier's story of the horror of war and its consequences in the far future.

    The monumental Hugo and Nebula award winning SF classic— Featuring a new introduction by John Scalzi,The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand—despite the fact that the fierce ... (Barnes & Noble)

  12. A Spot of Bother

    by Mark Haddon
    A middle-aged man's struggle to overcome his anxieties and accept the changes in his life.

    The novel follows George Hall, a 57-year-old hypochondriac , and his family following George's retirement from a career manufacturing playground equipment. George has hypochondria, an excessive ... (Wikipedia)

  13. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

    by Douglas Adams
    An offbeat detective story set in a surreal, supernatural world.

    Dirk Gently, who calls himself a " holistic detective", has happened upon what he thinks is a rather comfortable situation. A wealthy man in the record industry has retained him, spinning a story ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Salomé

    by Oscar Wilde
    A retelling of the Biblical story of a young woman's defiance and seductive power.

    Outraged by the sexual perversity of this one-act tragedy, Great Britain's Lord Chamberlain banned Salomé from the national stage. Symbolist poets and writers — Stéphane Mallarmé and Maurice ... (Goodreads)

  15. Carry On, Jeeves

    by P.G. Wodehouse
    A series of comedic stories filled with eccentric characters, witty banter and outrageous scenarios.

    The titles of the first story in this collection—'Jeeves Takes Charge'— and the last—'Bertie Changes His Mind'—sum up the relationship of twentieth-century fiction's most famous comic characters. In ... (Goodreads)

  16. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1

    by Alan Moore
    A band of Victorian-era misfits join forces to protect the British Empire.

    In 1898, one year after her encounter with Dracula , Mina Murray has divorced her husband and now works for the British government. She meets with MI5 agent Campion Bond (the grandfather of James ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Let It Bleed

    by Ian Rankin
    Detective John Rebus investigates a murder case that leads him to the seedy underbelly of Edinburgh's music scene.

    Detective Inspector John Rebus and Frank Lauderdale start the book with a car chase across Edinburgh to apprehend kidnappers, culminating with the two youths they are chasing throwing themselves off ... (Wikipedia)

  18. 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)

  19. Skeleton Crew

    by Stephen King
    Collection of short stories that explore horror and the supernatural.

    From the Flap: The Master at his scarifying best! From heart-pounding terror to the eeriest of whimsy–tales from the outer limits of one of the greatest imaginations of our time! Evil that breathes ... (Goodreads)

  20. Faust, First Part

    by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    A timeless story of a man's struggle between the forces of good and evil.

    Goethe’s masterpiece and perhaps the greatest work in German literature, Faust has made the legendary German alchemist one of the central myths of the Western world. Here indeed is a monumental ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Raven and Other Poems

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    A collection of dark, gothic poems, exploring the depths of the human psyche.

    A chilling, thrilling collection of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry, introduced by best-selling author Philip Pullman The Raven . . . Annabel Lee . . . Ulalume . . . these are some of the spookiest, most ... (Goodreads)

  22. The Illuminatus! Trilogy

    by Robert Shea
    An epic adventure spanning multiple continents, uncovering a mysterious worldwide conspiracy.

    It was a deadly mistake. Joseph Malik, editor of a radical magazine, had snooped into rumors about an ancient secret society that was still alive and kicking. Now his offices have been bombed, he's ... (Goodreads)

  23. The Solitaire Mystery

    by Jostein Gaarder
    A young boy's journey to uncover the mystery of his past and the truth of his identity.

    The book follows two seemingly separate stories: A 12-year-old boy, Hans-Thomas, and his father are driving through Europe on a journey to locate and bring home the boy's estranged mother. Whilst on ... (Wikipedia)

  24. White Teeth

    by Zadie Smith
    A multi-generational saga exploring identity, race, and culture in modern-day London.

    On New Year's Day 1975, Archie Jones, a 47-year-old Englishman whose disturbed Italian wife has just walked out on him, is attempting to take his own life by gassing himself in his car when a chance ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Wee Free Men

    by Terry Pratchett
    A young girl's fantastical journey to save her brother, with the help of a mischievous gang of tiny blue-clad warriors.

    Tiffany Aching is a 9-year-old girl who literally sees things differently from others. While playing by the river near her home, she sees two tiny blue, kilted men who warn her of a "green heid" in ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Crow Road

    by Iain Banks
    A young man's journey of self-discovery and family secrets, set in Scotland.

    This Bildungsroman is set in the fictional Argyll town of Gallanach (by its description, reminiscent of Oban but on the north east shore of Loch Crinan ), the real village of Lochgair , and in ... (Wikipedia)

  27. A Long Way Down

    by Nick Hornby
    Four strangers, all on the brink of suicide, join forces and venture on an unexpected life-affirming journey.

    Disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp, the lonely housewife Maureen (51 years old), the unsuccessful musician JJ and the rude teenager Jess (18 years old) meet at Toppers' House in London on New Year's ... (Wikipedia)

  28. The Mystery of the Blue Train

    by Agatha Christie
    A young woman investigates a murder on the luxurious Blue Train.

    Poirot boards Le Train Bleu , bound for the French Riviera . So does Katherine Grey, who is having her first winter out of England, after recently receiving a relatively large inheritance. On board ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Curtain

    by Agatha Christie
    An amateur detective investigates a murder at a country estate, uncovering a mysterious plot.

    A specific person is unsuspected of involvement in five murders by both the police and family of the victims. In all cases, there was a clear suspect. Four of these suspects have since died (one of ... (Wikipedia)

  30. A Dance with Dragons 2: After the Feast

    by George R.R. Martin
    Epic fantasy story of power struggles and political intrigues in a world of dragons and magic.

    Stannis Baratheon , a claimant to the Iron Throne of Westeros , occupies the Wall at the realm's northern border, having helped to repel an invasion of wildlings from the northern wilderness. Stannis ... (Wikipedia)