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Book comparisons #1 - including comps for several popular, hard to comp books

Photo by Ishaq Robin on Unsplash

Happy Friday! Before I get to the book comparisons (aka book comps) I’ve got lined up for you today, I’d like to chat for a minute about my process and general thoughts about comping one book (especially a popular one) to another. Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with book comps. I love hearing one of my trusted book sources compare a book I loved to another I haven’t read or vice versa - that makes me feel excited about the possibility of reading another book I’m being told is similar because I automatically assume that there’s a good chance I’ll like that book.

That automatic assumption usually turns out ok when I’m following the book comp suggestion of a trusted source. Where book comps can fall off a cliff for me are marketing ones that publishers put as part of a book blurb. How many times have we seen a publisher compare a thriller to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn? Too many to count and it’s rare any of those comps live up to that comparison. (Spoiler alert- I’m sharing my own personal book comp for Gone Girl and it’s the best book I’ve come across in years that I believe actually deserves the coveted Gone Girl comp)

How I Found These Comps

Many of you know that I love to research, so I decided to go through the books I have already read, looking for similar themes, tones, vibes, writing styles, plots etc. If I couldn’t find a good comp from my own backlist and/or for the books I haven’t read, I used The Storygraph Plus feature, deep Reddit searches, plus many other websites/lists that cater to book comps. **I’ll note when I’ve read one or both books I’m comping

For this first issue, I’m starting with 10 comps and giving you what I feel is a nice mix of super popular and under the radar comparisons. And because I LOVE graphics, each pairing is getting its own graphic for ease of viewing.

I would love to know in the comments - how do you feel about book comps? Do you think they’re helpful or do you think they create too many expectations? Do you have any books you’d add to any of my comps? Any books you’d like me to research to include in the next issue?

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - Apparently a hard book to comp, I spent a crazy amount of time researching comps for The Goldfinch (a request from a paid subscriber:) and this book came up again and again as the top comp. I’ve read All The Light We Cannot See (loved it), but I haven’t read The Goldfinch although it’s been recommended to me and I’m planning on reading it!

The Book of Polly by Kathy Hepinstall and The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

Mother in the Dark by Kayla Maiuri and Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo - I’ve read both of these books (Mother in the Dark was 5 stars and Same As It Ever Was was 4 stars) and think if you like one you’ll like the other

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante - I’ve read and loved Little Fires Everywhere and now I want to read The Lost Daughter- of all the comps I came across for LFE, this one popped up in several places

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan and By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate - I’ve read Nora (5 stars) and now I’m excited to try By Any Other Name!

The Defense by Steve Cavanagh and What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline - I’ve read WHTTB (4 stars) and I’m planning on reading The Defense.

The Measure by Nikki Erlick and The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin - I’ve read and loved both of these books and think if you liked one definitely read the other

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent and Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang - I’ve read both of these (5 stars each)

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Birthday Girl by Niko Wolf - I’ve read and loved both of these and actually liked Birthday Girl better than Gone Girl. It’s the first book I’ve read in years that I feel lives up to being a comp for Gone Girl- remember a comp is not an exact match, and in this case it’s similar vibes/themes going on. Boy did the publisher of Birthday Girl miss a golden comp opportunity

Bluebird Bluebird by Attica Locke and The Burning by Jane Casey - I’ve read both of these (4 stars) and think that if you enjoy smart detective mysteries you’d like one or both of these. Both are book 1 of the series and each are favorites of mine because of the main detective characters in both