Books, much like dreams, have the ability to transport us to strange worlds, dropping us suddenly into imaginary cities, mysterious labyrinths, or alternate realities where the rules and reason we are used to no longer apply. Check out the books below if you’re in the mood to get lost in surreal, dreamy places infused with elements of myth, fairy tales and folklore.
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Three generations of women living in Britain—Perdita, Harriet, and Margo—are bound together by a powerful gingerbread recipe and their origins in a magical, mysterious, possibly mythical country. This fantastical saga is a spiritual successor to the story of Hansel and Gretel and takes readers on a wild and dizzying ride through a family’s history and legacy. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
Piranesi lives alone in a huge, strange house–a place that he chronicles lovingly in his journal–full of endless corridors, enormous statues, and surging tides. He is occasionally visited by a man called the Other for a mysterious scientific project, but their relationship gradually unravels as Piranesi makes astonishing discoveries about his only friend and his home. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
When Zachary finds a chapter about himself in a mysterious book, his investigation leads him to an underground world full of stories, a place that does not always obey the laws of time and space. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
An unnamed zoology student turned novelist wanders through her fictional Chinese city filled with all kinds of fabled “beasts,” creatures that resemble, mix, and sometimes even marry humans. The narrator sets out to document each beast but finds her own life and identity increasingly disrupted by her discoveries in this surreal and unsettling detective story. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on Hoopla.
January is the ward of the extremely wealthy Cornelius Locke and lives in a sprawling mansion filled with his collection of rare and strange artifacts. It is here that January discovers a book that holds the key to exploring other worlds and escaping the limitations of her life, and she begins a magical and luminous adventure discovering hidden secrets of the universe and of her own past. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
A forensic therapist in an unnamed city has just helped put a serial killer behind bars, but after a close brush with death, she is tossed into a mystical realm of spirits and labyrinths where she discovers there is more behind the strange killings. To find out who is truly responsible, she must follow threads of memory through an otherworldly maze in this tale steeped in Caribbean myth and storytelling. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on Hoopla.