Books Like James

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Dominic Hoffman carries eight hours of Percival Everett's reimagining with a voice that has both irony and gravity in it — the humor of Jim's hidden literacy never tips into farce because Hoffman keeps the performance grounded in what it costs to perform ignorance. The picks here tend toward literary fiction with similar runtimes, and several are award-recognized titles that share that quality of familiar stories told from an angle that makes you reconsider everything you thought the original was about.

10 books for fans of James

  1. 1
    White Cat, Black Dog: Stories cover

    White Cat, Black Dog: Stories

    by Kelly Link, Shaun Tan

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    Link updates Brothers Grimm tales for the modern world: princesses navigate divorce proceedings and witches deal with gentrification in their enchanted forests.

    3.79 Goodreads (7.7K ratings)
  2. 2
    The Correspondent cover

    The Correspondent

    by Virginia Evans

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    An epistolary novel built from discovered correspondence reveals one woman's journey through decades of artistic ambition, romantic heartbreak, and historical upheaval. Evans explores how letters create intimate connections across time and preserve the fragments that define a life.

    4.53 Goodreads (364.9K ratings)
  3. 3
    I Must Betray You cover

    I Must Betray You

    by Ruta Sepetys

    4.40 Goodreads (101.3K ratings)
  4. 5
    Blind Trust cover

    Blind Trust

    by John W. Feist

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    When Japan's natural gas infrastructure collapses, steel executive Brad Oaks and his wife Amaya confront nationwide blackouts and the country's first female prime minister's power struggles.

    4.75 Goodreads (4 ratings)
  5. 6
    The Jungle Temple Oracle cover

    The Jungle Temple Oracle

    The Mystery of Herobrine • Book 2

    by Mark Cheverton

    4.52 Goodreads (569 ratings)
  6. 7
    Forward cover

    Forward

    Eventing • Book 5

    by Natalie Keller Reinert

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    Jules's riding instructor life grows complicated when Pete's new horse faces pressure from an overbearing owner pushing too fast. Reinert explores the cracks showing in the eventing world as summer season intensifies across Florida.

    4.48 Goodreads (477 ratings)
  7. 8
    Forever a Hustler's Wife cover

    Forever a Hustler's Wife

    A Hustler's Wife • Book 2

    by Nikki Turner

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    Brilliant lawyer Yarni fights to clear her gangster husband Des of murdering his own attorney in this sequel that mixes courtroom drama with street politics.

    4.46 Goodreads (3.1K ratings)
  8. 9
    The Oscar Wilde Collection cover

    The Oscar Wilde Collection

    by Oscar Wilde

    4.38 Goodreads (5.7K ratings)
  9. 10
    Never Say Die cover

    Never Say Die

    Alex Rider • Book 11

    by Anthony Horowitz

    4.31 Goodreads (8.5K ratings)