My favorite book recommendations rarely come from bestseller lists. They arrive sideways: from friends, my local librarian (shout out to Katie C.!), Reddit threads, or the acknowledgements page of another book I loved. One of my favorite methods of finding a new book is to follow literary breadcrumbs If Meg Wolitzer blurbs an author, I'll investigate. If an acknowledgements page thanks a novelist I've never heard of, onto the library hold list they go.

And while I hate admitting how susceptible I am to algorithmic persuasion, Reddit is uncannily good at recommending books. BookTok occasionally gets me too.

The first time I stumbled across a recommendation for The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins was on Reddit. The original poster adored I Who Have Never Known Men (also one of my evergreen Top Five suggestions) and was seeking a book that would also melt your brain with an unusual premise or different kind of twist. The prevailing opinion from the literati of Reddit (the Redditrati?) was that Hawkins’ debut novel was exactly what the OP needed.

Immediately, I reserved it from the library and resolved to learn nothing more about it. A book celebrated for its unusual premise and unique twists can easily be ruined by an errant book review.

“Ah,” I thought, twelve pages in. “I get it now. Reddit strikes again.”

I cracked the spine of Mount Char on a Friday evening, entirely unaware of the journey before me; the violence, the wit, the intricate plot that implies a comprehensive universe and mythology without stopping to explain either. Hawkins simply begins and unravels a taut, engrossing story with characters who leap out of the pages and suck you in, like the gravity of a delightful black hole.

Three days later, I closed the book with a deep nod of satisfaction. This is an odd, compelling, and intriguing novel and my gasts are completely flabbered that Hawkins’ publishers were willing to publish such an unusual first novel. Bravo to you, Crown. Lucky for us.

It’s challenging to describe this book without giving away crucial plot points, but with respect to brevity, here goes.

Father is missing and his librarians are looking for him. Perhaps his enemies are also looking. Perhaps his enemies got there first. Perhaps his librarians - who are also his 12 children - are also his enemies. Carolyn, a librarian with mastery over languages (and much more) aims to unmask Father’s disappearance and its cascading ramifications. Prepare for lion gods, unappetizing barbecue, and questionable fashion choices.

I didn't read the back cover until I finished the novel, and I was surprised by how little it captured. It described the events, perhaps, but not the feeling: the humor, the dread, the wonder, or the delightful weirdness.

It’s dark but humorous, sweeping in scope but compact in the narrative. Violent, funny, character-driven and unusual, The Library at Mount Char is worth a visit.

You will like The Library at Mount Char if you like books that leave a great deal to the imagination. You will not like The Library at Mount Char if you want a personal relationship with your protagonist. Carolyn is fully-formed and opaque to us, her motivations unspool slowly, and she’s both tender and Machiavellian. If you cannot stomach any violence, this book probably isn’t for you, and if you like a neatly-wrapped denouement, this might be a frustrating reading experience.

Some of it, certainly, but that’s okay - Hawkins seeds the narrative with hints and allusions, scattering clues without cleanly mapping the chronology and nuances of Father’s disappearance. That’s part of the fun. If you want a shocking Gone Girl reveal, this isn’t it; but a multitude of surprising “Oh!” “NO!” “Wait, what?” moments unfurl across the entire novel.

So far, this is a standalone novel with a satisfying conclusion. I’d love to watch a mini-series (HBO, step up and make this!) or a limited series adaptation.

It did! Mount Char was published in 2015, and I’m delighted that the recommendations algorithms out there helped me find it instead of only pushing what’s new and fresh.

What's the best novel from ten or more years ago that people have stopped talking about….but absolutely shouldn't have? I'm always looking for another recommendation.

On July 16th at 1PM ET, beehiiv is unveiling the next chapter for audience-led businesses.

For years, creators and brands have been forced to stitch together bloated stacks of tools just to publish content, grow an audience, and make money online.

Newsletters in one platform. Websites in another. Podcasts somewhere else. Analytics scattered everywhere.

beehiiv thinks there’s a better way. Now, they’re ready to show it off at their Summer Release Event.

Reserve your spot.