Questions About The Library at Mount Char

by Scott Hawkins (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (64)

What the hell am I supposed to read now? I'm chomping at the bit for something that will blow my mind for at least a week like this did. Any suggestions?

Scott Hawkins Hi Kelsey,

I was just typing up a reply saying something like "I love playing the recommend-me-a-book game, but it's tough to come up with good recomme…moreHi Kelsey,

I was just typing up a reply saying something like "I love playing the recommend-me-a-book game, but it's tough to come up with good recommendations if I only know one book that you--"

Then I remembered I'm on goodreads, and that's not really a problem. It sucks getting old. Anyway, I have recommendations! All of these are things that left me reeling for at least a couple of days.

You might try The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. It's a slow build, but it's got a kind of surreal, not-quite-a-dream, trapped-in-the-suburbs vibe that I really like. I pull that one out and reread it every couple of years. The audiobook version is also excellent.

Kind of in that same surreal/literary vein, there's one called The Orphan Master's Son that I absolutely love. In terms of sheer tour-de-force literary technique, it's one of the strongest books I've ever read. It is PITCH BLACK DARK, however.

This isn't one I recommend to everyone, but you might try a graphic novel called Black Hole by a guy named Charles Burns. It's kind of hard to describe. There's no superheroes or anything--it's about this sort of v.d. epidemic in the 1970s suburbs that turns teenagers into kinda-sorta monsters? Again, dreamy and surreal.

I highly, highly recommend Stephen King's The Long Walk. It's one of his first--he wrote it when he was (I think) an undergrad, well before Carrie. It's a little raw in terms of technique, but it's a sledgehammer of a book.

Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin is one of my all-time favorites.

Last but not least--this one's kind of a long shot in that I didn't see a lot of hard sci-fi in your list, but if you're in the mood to branch out you might try one called Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds. It's a real page-turner, and also mind-blowing in a hard science fiction kind of way.

Hopefully at least one of those works for you.

Scott
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I think it is pretty awesome that you communicate with your readers and answer their questions. Thanks for the good read!?

Scott Hawkins It's fun! Also, to be honest, I'm still sort trying to adjust to the idea that I have readers. I keep waiting for someone to tell me its all been a hu…moreIt's fun! Also, to be honest, I'm still sort trying to adjust to the idea that I have readers. I keep waiting for someone to tell me its all been a huge mistake. (less)

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I enjoyed that WAY more than I expected. Dark, funny and every arc brought full circle. I feel a bit ruined forever. I want there to be a sequel because I want more and I don't want there to be a sequel because the story was closed so well. (Will there be a sequel?)

Scott Hawkins Marking this as spoiler so I can speak freely.

I go back and forth on this one. I'd like to--I miss those guys too--but I'm a little worried that anyth…moreMarking this as spoiler so I can speak freely.

I go back and forth on this one. I'd like to--I miss those guys too--but I'm a little worried that anything I come up with might be unsatisfactory. I'm not sure where Carolyn would go next, in terms of character arc. She's kind of peaked. Also--almost by definition--it would be tough to find a bad guy who could pose a legit challenge to her at this point.

It's crossed my mind that there might be some room to look at the story through other points of view. There were a dozen librarians, and a lot of them didn't get much page time.

So maybe?

I'm committed to doing at least one short story in the Mount Char universe. I'll get started on that as soon as my current book is done.

Sorry about the delay & thanks for your patience. I work slow.

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Scott Hawkins LOL. I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do.

At the moment I'm working on a piece with Erwin's ex-wife. She's fun too.

…moreLOL. I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do.

At the moment I'm working on a piece with Erwin's ex-wife. She's fun too.

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Is there going to be a sequel? I need more!

Scott Hawkins Hey Brooke,

Right now I'm working on something unrelated, but when that's done I'll probably take a whack at one or two short stories set in the Mount …moreHey Brooke,

Right now I'm working on something unrelated, but when that's done I'll probably take a whack at one or two short stories set in the Mount Char universe. I can't promise anything, though.

Here's the thing. I spent a good chunk of last summer working on a short story--actually a novella--that I ended up not releasing. I wanted to give it away as a freebie to people who liked the book, but it just wasn't very good, honestly. After six weeks or so of not doing much else besides that, I finally decided it was best to keep it on my hard drive rather than release something substandard.

But I do want to try to do something, partly because I already promised and partly because I sort of miss those guys myself. The thinking right now is to do a short story using one or two of the librarians who didn't get much page time and see how that works out.

If I ever do put together anything serviceable, I'll mention it here. Thanks for asking!(less)

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