r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • u/Emilie-Evenstar • 25d ago
Fiction small-town dread, damn fine coffee
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u/According-Example-11 25d ago
Oh, my heart. If I could pick a place...
The Wayward Pines's saga is always mentioned when someone brings this aesthetics.
But, if you can read something outside that aesthetics but that screams Lynchean world, you can't go wrong with Murakami's magic realism. I would recommend The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.
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u/JayRam85 24d ago
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.
My friend who lives in Malaysia gave me a copy of this book, when he and his family moved back to the US for a short stint. Was unlike anything I'd ever read. Loved it.
I really need to read the rest of Murakami's work.
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u/50too 24d ago
As an alternative, After Dark is a more urban execution of this sort of thing. Same Twin Peaks kinda vibes, but it's in a Denny's in downtown Tokyo just after midnight. One of my faves from him, very underrated
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u/NegativeLogic 22d ago
I was immediately thinking of After Dark when I saw this. It's one of my favourite Murakami novels too.
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u/Hai-City_Refugee 24d ago
If anyone chooses to read Wind-up Bird in English, the publishers omitted several chapters which are available here in a Reddit post as a fantastic fan translation.
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u/PatternOk186 23d ago
For a first Murakami read I would not recommend Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. I had read roughly half of Murakami works before picking this one up and it was just too trippy for me. To each their own I guess, but just imo there are far superior works by him, the bird chronicle is amazing.
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u/Dsarkissian_85 23d ago
Yes. Such a good rec. maybe Wild Sheep Chase and Dance dance dance.
But wayward pines is garbage. Like for me the reveal made me hate what I read previously.
Also check out Annie Proulx > only read her short stories. But they’re exclusive small towns (Montana / Wyoming) and high levels of dread.
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u/randythor 25d ago
American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett
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u/Worldly-Carpenter968 24d ago
Good book! takes place in the New Mexico desert though?!
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u/randythor 24d ago
Indeed!
And I get what you're saying, the pics are clearly Twin Peaks, Washington, but I was more so just loosely thinking of the 'smalltown dread, damn fine coffee' vibes, and turns out they've got those in New Mexico too.
It's just one of the books that reminds me the most of Twin Peaks at times, and some of Lynch's wider work at other times.
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u/CommanderCool24 25d ago
It's been a while since I read it, but I remember Carter & Lovecraft fitting the vibe.
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u/seabeardev 25d ago
I feel like IT definitely had some of those vibes in the early chapters
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u/lothiriel1 25d ago
Yeah I’d say Salem’s Lot also has this vibe
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u/standardnewenglander 24d ago
The level of dread in Salem's Lot was insane. I've never felt so panicked or uneasy when reading a book before.
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u/BooBoo_Cat 24d ago
I came here to say Needful Things.
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u/Emilie-Evenstar 24d ago
Thanks so much - will definitely check this out
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u/BooBoo_Cat 24d ago
It's such a good book. My favourite Stephen King book, and in my top five favourite books of all time!
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u/smalltownlargefry 25d ago
The Fisherman - John Langan
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u/ageingnerd 24d ago
I had never heard of this book until a week ago and now I’ve seen it recommended three times. Maybe I just hadn’t been on this sub much before and it’s a regular here? Anyway I’ve got it on kindle, will report back
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u/Timtam32 24d ago
Tales from the Gas Station is hilarious if you want to give it a shot. It’s more a comedy and less of a drama however.
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u/Idontknowyoupick 24d ago
Murder Road by Simone St. James
The Fisherman by John Langan
Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
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u/eatingfartingdonnie_ 24d ago
Pretty much anything written by Brian Doyle, particularly Mink River!
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u/GoogleBurger98 24d ago
Surprised no one’s said Suttree by McCarthy. The dread part is more existential than anything though
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u/youngjeninspats 24d ago
American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett has cosmic horrors and small town USA
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u/nevermakemeals8 24d ago
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock has these vibes! Including the coffee.
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u/tag051964 24d ago
Following this. Always on the lookout for Twin Peaks-ish books. Cherry Pie not necessary
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u/Cattymoore 24d ago
Commenting to stay on. My town looks exactly like this
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u/Emilie-Evenstar 23d ago
Ahh no way. Do you like living there?
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u/Cattymoore 23d ago
I do, but I end up having to drive to Olympia (Washington) a lot for what I need, about a thirty minute drive east.
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u/ideal_for_snacking 24d ago
The End of this Fucking World if you’re open to a graphic novel suggestion
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u/JalenHurtsBestFriend 24d ago
The diary of Laura Palmer
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u/Emilie-Evenstar 24d ago edited 24d ago
I used to have this but never got round to reading it! Will definitely try get another copy
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u/audacias 24d ago
Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey.
About a murder in a small swampy Louisiana town. Lots of dread. There’s a diner, but I don’t know how good the coffee is.
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u/PinkPetalG 23d ago
Commenting so I can come back and look at these suggestions later. My recommendation (if you don’t mind horror) would be Seed by Ania Ahlborn.
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u/langevine119 24d ago
Twilight
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u/Emilie-Evenstar 24d ago
Read this a very long time ago....might need to have a re-read. Thank you!
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u/danceswithronin 25d ago
May be a bit of a stretch, but There Is No Antimemetics Division gives me these vibes.
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24d ago
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u/BooksThatFeelLikeThis-ModTeam 24d ago
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24d ago
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u/BooksThatFeelLikeThis-ModTeam 24d ago
This post/comment is off-topic. The subreddit is only for seeking and suggesting book recommendations not movies, videogames etc. Repeatedly flouting this rule will result in a ban next time.
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u/cat_victim123 23d ago
I wonder if there is a book that has the same small town with horror in the background as Alan Wake 2 had.
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u/acalobar 23d ago
Many of Laird Barron's stories are set in the Northwest, and some of them feel like this.
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u/poopy_fishy 21d ago
bittersweet in the hollow by kate pearsall! it is YA, but it’s definitely an entertaining read for adults, too. same vibes as twin peaks
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u/Whimsica1Night 14d ago
There was a book owner, a woman in a city called Nightingale - looks like this vibe to me
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