Carol’s answer to “I especially love your non-supernatural novels that have a protagonist in some sort of academic set…” > Likes and Comments

I'm very excited to hear that! I'm sort of an academic-genre junkie (if there is such a thing). At the risk of sounding like I'm pandering (which I'm really not), several of your novels are some of my favorites in the genre. I've given many of them as gifts to others, in fact. I love the atmosphere you create as well as the realistic protagonist. My area of specialty is 19th-century Gothic Studies, so you can likely see my attraction to your books.

I have lots of other favorites in the genre, too. I really love A. S. Byatt's Possession. I like Tartt's The Secret History. Though I haven't read it for a while, I remember liking Francine Prose's Blue Angel quite a bit. I enjoyed Oates's Beasts--even taught it a few times--though it made me feel like taking a shower after reading it. Oh, and not everyone has heard of these, but I really like Joanne Dobson's Karen Pelletier series: some people classify them as cozy reads, but I think they're quite firmly in the academic novel category.

Any favorites you could share? I'm always looking for another good one!

Ha! You named my favorites--Possession, The Secret History, Blue Angel (I like Beasts but had EXACTLY the same reaction). And I LOVE Joanne Dobson's series. I've always been disappointed and surprised they weren't more popular. So, now I'm wracking my brains for others--SMALL WORLD and CHANGING PLACES by David Lodge, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness (I like the whole series but it becomes less academic and more supernatural as you go along), and an old favorite GRAVES IN ACADEME by Susan Kenney. I'll probably think of more later :)

I also love Lodge. I felt the exact same way about A Discovery of Witches--I loved the first one, but the "magic" of the university was lost after the first book. What do you think about Russo's Straight Man? It's not one of my favorites, despite my near certainty that his setting is a composite of the school I teach at and another one not too far away! Jon Hassler's The Dean's List is kind of fun as is Kluge's Gone Tomorrow.

Thanks for the Graves in Academe suggestion--I haven't read that! I just ordered a copy.
~Nicole

I haven't read STRAIGHT MAN. I'll check out THE DEAN'S LIST and GONE TOMORROW. Thanks for the suggestions!

I know I'm a bit late to the party but I'd really like to recommend "Mary Swann" by Carol Shields. I've recently found it by chance at an Oxfam bookstore and try to share my discovery with the whole world. A great non-supernatural book about a literary scholar and all the tension and intrigues of academia, beautifully written

Never too late--although Goodreads doesn't always notify about additional comments so I apologize if I don't always reply. I'll look for MARY SWANN! Thanks!

Four years late to the party! I want to thank you, Ladies for the wonderful suggestions mentioned above. I have been looking for new books to read. I will try to remember to come back and let you know how I liked the ones that I read. :-)