Reflecting on Emily's Titles (L1S8) by Learn with NoveList

The list of titles we sent to Emily.

Learn_with_NoveList — 2023-01-05 00:39:17 UTC

Here is what was sent back to Emily.

1. The Impossible Us by Sarah Lotz
2. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
3. Second Nature by Alice Hoffman
4. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
5. Kindred by Octavia Butler 
6. Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore 

How did Emily's list of titles compare with the list you created?

While I selected entirely different titles, my choices recognized similar story elements.

2023-01-11 00:21:47 UTC

1. Relatable, complex strong female characters.
2. Relationship-centered stories. Some were romantic (but not romances), some were familial... all were integral to the narrative, and in many cases involved characters (and relationships) evolving over time.
3. Time slip/time travel/parallel narratives set across two eras.
4. I like to promote authors of diverse backgrounds as well, so I tend to include them. In person, I would ask Emily follow-up questions to determine whether or not that's acceptable.

Different selection but similar though process...

2023-02-13 19:43:14 UTC

I selected 5 titles based on Emily's response. I looked for literary fiction with compelling story, relatable characters, twist on time tropes, etc. I also looked for stories that imbedded love or relationships in them -- romantic or familial. Because Emily said she had practically grown up with the main character, and really liked that about the book, I also looked at titles that allowed for reflection on life, life choices, and might ask -- would you make different choices? Or, stories you could relate to at different points in your own life. I chose: Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lin; This Time Tomorrow by Emily Straub; In Five Years by Rebecca Serle; The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab; and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

Focused more on life/relationships

2023-02-15 16:41:08 UTC

with a "twist" of time travel. I listened to her response twice and it seemed to me that she enjoyed how she had grown up with the characters. So it was more literary fiction with certain elements, like time travel & relationships that I was looking for. The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer has the character development I though she would like, with time travel. I also recommended The Impossible Us by Sarah Lotz and Time after Time by Lisa Grunwald, which I thought was especially interesting because it's set in the 1930s.

I also recommended Sea of Tranquility, because it also includes time travel, and is literary fiction. I n addition, I chose some books that included relationships and separation in a world that was much like our own, but slightly different, and narratives that took place over a long period of time.

2023-02-21 17:14:23 UTC

Real world with a twist

2023-02-28 22:28:00 UTC

I focused more on the idea that Emily liked the real world setting with a hint of otherness. Also that she identified with the growth of the character and enjoyed the mix of literary fiction with a thread of romance or mystery.
I chose The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victoria Schwab, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North.

I focused mostly on what Emily said about character and the element of realistic but "different" fiction. I chose Outlander because of the time travel connection, and also because, like Time Traveler's Wife, it has been portrayed on the big/little screen. I chose Eligible because of the romance connection, also because it is fiction with a twist--the fact that the source material is Jane Austen.

2023-03-14 18:25:32 UTC

2023-03-15 15:45:48 UTC

I chose Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. These were not on the list, but are set in the real world with light fantastical elements and unfold over a long period of time. They also both contain a central love story but are not romances.

Those are good books, none of which occurred to me

2023-04-18 20:45:55 UTC

I feel like I got the gist of what she was looking for, and came up with Gabrielle Zevin, Fredrik Backman, and Sarah Addison Allen. But the choices made me realize my book worldview is a little to circumscribed and that adding resources might be a good idea.

2023-05-18 14:31:33 UTC

I came up with Linda Lael Miller, Cheryln Jac, and Anne Kelleher. Different selection than what others provided but definitely shows how important it is to listen to what the reader is saying.

2024-04-22 19:16:20 UTC

I went with An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim, Faye Faraway by Helen Fisher, and This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar. My suggestions were more narrowly focused on the aspects of time travel and relationships. I appreciate the insight into the suggestions that were given here, it gave me a lot to think about in terms of broadening my recommendations and picking up on subtler themes as to why a reader likes a specific book.

I also chose Kindred as my "darkest" readalike, and focused on the "real world, but a little sideways" element of what Emily enjoyed in Time Traveler's Wife. My other picks were Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen (more time travel, and a plot about relationships but not a Romance Novel) and Sunshine by Robin McKinley (another book with a relatable heroine and a world that starts off seeming like ours, but with a twist -- in this case, vampires).

2024-05-01 21:04:00 UTC

I selected different books entirely, but ones with similar plotlines.

2024-05-02 17:45:35 UTC

Book selection for Emily

2024-09-19 23:27:40 UTC

I also chose Sea of Tranquility for the obvious time travel connection and I see that many others have recommended The invisible life of Addie La Rue which was in my list also. I also recommended Last letter from Juliet by Melanie Hudson for it's dual time line and emotional driven plot and Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, a story spanning many years and generations of a family. I thought Emily would enjoy following Mariamma on her journey to womanhood and the love stories which are naturally occurring within the bigger narrative.

2025-04-04 21:24:33 UTC

I chose My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult which also had a female character struggling with loss or separation of a loved one and dealing with the most important relationships of a lifetime. I also chose Garden Spells By Sarah Addison Allen which has romance in a realistic setting with some magical elements at the center of the story. My last recommendation was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig which I think was most similar to The Time Traveler's Wife in terms of setting and the fluidity of time and dreaminess of experience.

My choices were based on the relationship side with a twist of unpredictability. Written where the time line jumps around challenging the reader to piece together the storyline

2025-04-15 05:36:56 UTC

Excellent Options

dianaburke1 — 2025-04-16 00:18:39 UTC

The books selected were either mainstream literature or sci-fi that breaks into the mainstream because of its iconic status in the discourse (Kindred, Sea of Tranquility). There was also consideration to a romantic mood, a dash of sci-fi and affective narrative. My choices were along those lines too.

2025-04-16 01:11:02 UTC

Like the other responses mine fell into a "similar but different" vein. I tried to capture the other-wordliness and memorable characters that might draw the reader in.

I chose They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera, Midnight Library by Matt Haig, Bone Clocks by David Mitchell and Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan.

Not very diverse authors selected

2025-04-16 04:18:43 UTC

I would prefer to see a more diverse range of titles suggested - it was a very narrow selection, and did not address the science fiction elements of Tttw. It could have been a much more adventurous set of suggestions.

Similar but different: the possibilities can be quite varied.

2025-04-17 00:53:50 UTC

My choices focused on the elements of the real world with a twist, time travel and romance which was similar to the suggested list. However, I put less focus on character development.

1. How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

2. Must Love Chainmail by Angela Quarles

3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

4. Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

5. The After Wife by Cass Hunter.

This for me highlights the diverse range of options that could be selected for Emily.

Different titles

2025-04-17 05:22:00 UTC

I chose completely different titles. I tended to go more down the track of time travel and romance rather than growing up with the story. On reflection that could have been a better way to go or mix the two teoether.

Similar but different

2025-04-22 05:01:22 UTC

I focused some of my list more closely on the themes of time travel, with complex relationships. This included titles such as The Ministry of Time and The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells. I also added a recommendation that was similar in it being a tale with magical realism and complex characters but with a twist, in that it covers different serious topics, such as houselessness. That recommendation was Lola in the Mirror

My choice of books recommended to Emily

2025-04-23 04:31:15 UTC

I've selected "The Tiger catcher" by Paullina Simons, "How to stop time" by Matt Haig, " From time to time" by Jack Finney as all three books have similar romance theme and characters that are placed in time travel which adds on the complexity of the book characters and their relationships.

2025-04-23 04:39:27 UTC

My selection of books are reflecting the time travel as the reader has indicated she clearly enjoyed the time travel and how the characters have developed same as the reader changed and has grown reading the Time Traveller's wife in different stages of her life.

Similar but Different

2025-04-24 06:34:05 UTC

I loved reading your excellent title choices and I was happy with how mine compared.

There are Rivers in the Sky travelled back and forth in time and had elements of love stories. This book encouraged self reflection too.

The Dictionary of Lost Words was set in a very important time frame (women's right to vote and inclusion in the workforce) and also had a love story within.

Fourth Wing was my wild card but I am also happy with this choice because it is set in a different magical world where you are hoping the main character gets through many ordeals just like the time traveller does in his magical world of time travel.

A Harvest of Hearts & The Watermark

2025-04-25 00:14:42 UTC

These books I chose for Emily were based on the concept that romance played a part in the story but was not the primary goal of the cahracters. They are both a little fantasy/sci-fi in genre and seem to contain the subject of self discovery which I think Emily would enjoy.

Selections for Emily

laurabush8 — 2025-05-01 02:41:17 UTC

I chose The little shop of found things by Paula Brackston, Where Ivy dares to grow by Marielle Thompson, The circus train by Amita Parikh, How to stop time by Matt Haig and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. The first two books have characters who have personal lives, time travel and romance. The circus train has a character with a complication, romance and the circus changes location.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

2025-05-06 16:12:21 UTC

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is an excellent choice. It's even better because if your reader enjoys a series there are several books that follow this introspective, slice of life story with a variety of characters and how time travel and the choices we make can be reconciled.

choice of books for emily

2025-05-07 02:02:47 UTC

I was thinking about Before the Coffee Gets Cold which explores the desire to revisit the past and the emotional weight of moments left behind. I focussed on books with deep emotional relationships, love across time and themes of loss and longing.

2025-05-13 01:44:42 UTC

One I chose was 'Life after life' by Kate Atkinson. It's not time travel necessarily but a simultaneous displacement of the main character into different lives. I didn't choose anything I saw on the list.

I selected the following titles for Emily:

2025-05-16 23:37:34 UTC

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig: Here the female protagonist has the opportunity to live different versions of her life, trying to undo every one of her regrets. This title is relatable to The Time Traveller's Wife, as it has at it's core elements of magical realism, reality with a twist. Emily might be able to relate to the main character in her different versions of life.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: I chose the Outlander series because of how closely it mirrors The Time Traveller's Wife. This series features well developed characters, time travel, romance and follows the life of Clare and James through different ages.
What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon: I chose this title because it deals with time travel, and historical romance.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese is a sweeping work of literary fiction set in India, spanning three generations of a family burdened by a mysterious medical condition. Rich in cultural detail and emotional depth, the novel centers on the life of Big Ammachi, beginning with her at age 12 and following her remarkable journey over the decades. I believe this title will resonate with Emily due to its beautifully developed characters and its compelling, character-driven narrative.

Titles for Emily

2025-05-19 03:31:00 UTC

I chose the Philip Pullman series (His Dark Materials because it features a world we recognise with strong elements of magic and travel between worlds in an alternative universe, and we grow along with the main character, Lyra. Charlotte Wood's Stoneyard Devotional is the story of one woman and her real life problems but has a strange and spiritual element that focuses on the growth of that character. Shearwater by Andrea Mayes is a favourite of mine, reread regularly, because it tells the story of a woman finding herself amongst the ordinary but not-so-ordinary characters of a slightly mystical place, including an octopus!

2025-05-20 06:48:52 UTC

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon as it has some of the elements Emily described, but it also a book that might extend her reading interests.

Choices

2025-05-21 07:20:54 UTC

Mine were more along futuristic lines, also included more non-US authors

3 Titles I recommended

2025-05-22 01:18:09 UTC

1) Parable of the Sower by Octavia Spencer. Time travel with a lead female protagonist, although it is a much darker science fiction novel in comparison to the Time Traveler's wife, this title has seen a resurgence in popularity as it speaks to current social climates and anxieties which I think makes it relatable to anyone reading.

2)Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Does not have one lead character but this title is a recommendation based on its setting in that its reality is like our own with a slightly different twist. While there is no one lead character, being able to revisit past moments in our own lives and view how things could have been done differently is relatable to life development.

3)Outlander -Diana Gabaldon. Time travel historical fiction with a stronger romance element. While the reader suggested she likes romance to not be the forefront of a title, there are many books in the series and being able to connect to the protagonist at different moments in her life as it spans over many years would be something the reader can enjoy and relate to.

Other titles I didn't recommend but would have now would be Dutch House, Sea of Tranquillity, Midnight Library and the Invisible life of Addie Larue.

2025-05-23 00:51:14 UTC

I chose the books below, mainly focusing on time travel but also on character development and relationships.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

2025-05-25 05:44:57 UTC

I did not suggest any of the same titles as the above by my suggestions carry similar elements.

The sight of you - While this doesn't involve time travelling the male love interest has premonitions about those he loves, and when he dreams about the female lead, the two must decide how to work with their predetermined fates
Time after time - a time travelling crime novel involving jack the ripper, different times in history, and romance
Winter's tale - a darker novel with similar themes, involves a man who loves so deeply he tries to reverse time to bring back the one he loves. Involves elements of love through time and history.

2025-05-26 10:09:31 UTC

I chose The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and How to Be Remembered by Michael Thompson as they have a setting that is familiar but different and characters that we can identify with and learn something from.

I also chose The Here and Now by Ann Brashares as it follows the themes of time travel and romance.

I threw in a wild card of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for its this world/otherly setting.

I also had a range of suggestions.

2025-05-26 23:41:42 UTC

- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (contemporary time travel, thought-provoking, some romance) and the Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by VE Shwab (contemporary but whimsical, spans hundreds of years) hit a few appeals. As a bit of a surprise but may work: 10 Minutes & 38 Seconds on This Strange Planet by Elif Shafak - it's a character driven novel, that centres around the entire life of a woman in Istanbul, with a playful structure, and a colourful setting.

Suggestions for Emily

2025-05-26 23:53:00 UTC

The Notebook

The Help

Water for Elephants

I chose other books to those selected here. My title suggestions covered themes of time travel or revisiting lives. The books also had interesting plot lines, adding something a bit different to the story, as Emily mentioned she enjoyed this. Some suggested titles had the romance element, as Emily had mentioned she enjoyed this also, but others did not, to give the reader variety. One title was a classic time travel young adult novel.

2025-05-27 02:41:21 UTC

2025-05-27 05:37:50 UTC

1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab

Similar genres (Fiction, Historical, literary), emotional and thought provoking. Possibly considered more fantasy than magical realism, but still quite character driven.

2. The Unmaking of June Farrow, by Adrienne Young

This book as similar genre elements of Magical Realism, Time Travel, and Romance.

Character driven and medium pace. Still hopeful and reflective.

3. Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman

Similar in terms of romance and family elements. The magic/fantasy elements are situated in modern day. Character driven plot with strong character development.

Surprise/try something new option:

4.This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This option is a bit more out there if Emily was looking to try something new. Science Fiction, Romance, and time travel are similar genres. Character driven plot and strong character development.

LGBTQIA+ romance, adventurous pace, and the short chapters with alternating point of view are in contrast to the other options.

Similar but different

2025-05-27 22:24:38 UTC

I chose titles that provided multiple timelines and viewpoints, strong characters, familiar setting with a hint of something different, an element of time travel and romance. I looked for a balance of interest and comfort as Emily talks about revisiting The Time Traveler's Wife many times.

I chose another of Audrey Niffenegger's books 'Her Fearful Symmetry' because I remember reading it after 'The time traveler's wife' and really enjoying it. I also chose books by Alice Hoffman because of the magical realism she includes in her stories.

2025-06-25 01:04:48 UTC

I chose one book that had two time lines 100 years apart. The other book had time travel and romance. Both were on the NYTBS list.

2025-08-13 03:09:52 UTC

I chose different titles, but similar plots and themes.

2025-08-26 23:16:20 UTC

I suggested the vampire lestat because it is someone going through decades of time and forms relationships with many

2025-09-04 16:13:21 UTC

2025-10-17 20:04:14 UTC

I chose some of the same titles. I focused on relationships that withstood a lifetime. Stories that were set in different places or where characters had to move often. The stresses of being in a long term relationship with an illness or other debilitating problems.

Similar, but should have leaned more on the relationships over time aspect

2025-11-21 21:29:09 UTC

I chose several books based on the presence of magical realism alongside a very normal lifestyle: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (additional bonus of embedded romance), I Cheerfully Refuse and Peace like a Rive, both by Leif Enger who writes beautiful prose and who focuses brilliantly on relationships between people whether romantic, familial or platonic. My wild card was the Ministry of Time by Katherine Bradley which is more about the time travel aspect of her interest but might not feel familiar enough to be one she actually chooses.