Best Of MetaFilter

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In Ask Metafilter, sonofsnark is looking for "recommendations for amazing fiction writers that I am unlikely to have heard of before"

detail from book cover: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

doctornemo on cozy horror, including the subgenre's basic elements, a historical perspective, praise, criticism, controversy, and more!

Drawing of a Butterfly - Dibujo de una Mariposa by Marcos Telias (cc by-nc-nd)

Larva Pupa Imago by Eric Schwitzgebel is a short story about love, personhood, and transformation. It's also about erotica for uplifted butterflies.

"We probably don't go around thinking of Agatha Christie as leaving a 'residue of horror' except that is one of its pleasures, isn't it? These people live in a world even more dangerous than our own--piles of strychnine, whole truckloads of it, just lying about, waiting for you to slight the wrong person and wind up dead."

Mittens has a great comment about crime fiction, crime writing, and crime writers in the Agatha Christie thread.

modified from an original image from Gareth Simpson on flickr

In Ask Metafilter, Not A Thing is looking for Skilful criminals criming skilfully: "Donald Westlake/Parker fans, what have you found that scratches a similar itch? I'm looking for something where a criminal is at the center of the story: no cops, wannabe cops or vigilantes. Like a police procedural, but for the other side."

Greetings from Sunny California. (pcard-print-pub-pc-59a) by Fæ (cc by)

In Ask Metafilter, tatiana wishbone says "as a reading challenge, I’d like to read the best novel set in each US state. What are your favorites?"

Sciatrix has some excellent recs and observations for some of Eric Flint's non-1632 series books in the Flint obituary thread.

Summer reading by miyagisan (cc by-nc-nd)

In Ask Metafilter, I'm on staycation in a week and want to spend a good part of my time in my backyard, off the internet and social media, with my nose jammed into a book that I can't put down.

Scene of the crime (novels) at Hay on Wye by Ian-S (cc by-nc)

In Ask Metafilter, There have been many mystery novel questions but this one is mine...

Hands in the sky by ohhhbetty (cc by)

In Ask Metafilter, I'm writing a short story where the main character uses a signed language that developed on a space station: A very interesting question and some great answers on signal's request for cultural and linguistic introduction to signed languages for background.

Ted Chiang's "Story of your life" by hwtnv2006 (cc by)

Helping to play out Doubles Jubilee month, Rhaomi with a grand updating of his 2010 post on Ted Chiang, including links to short stories, articles, essays, and interviews.

Leftovers by JD Hancock (cc by)

GenjiandProust's Increasingly Strange Stories for an Increasingly Strange Year is another faboo roundup of weird audio dramas, again with tons of info and links to each one ... And for yet more weird and wonderful, PussKillian has posted NPR's excellent list of the best Science Fiction and Fantasy books of the last decade. Cheers! 👾

postcard from the day you left, collage, 2020 by yumikrum (cc by-nc-nd)

In Ask Metafilter, azalea_chant is looking for "mysteries that deviate from the standard structure/genre tropes etc. Can be fantasy or science fiction, literary, whatever ... just stuff that’s slightly different"

Black Sheep Meets White Sheep by Ionics (cc by)

In Ask Metafilter, kristi is seeking likable characters, good writing, humor. Please recommend all your well-written, likeable characters. Humor appreciated. Plot optional, while kingdead commands, Bring me the unlikeable characters! I want to read books with unhappy endings, angst and drama, body horror, miserable relationships, etc. Absolutely no redemption! If the writing is experimental, all the better.