Friday, May 8, 2015

7 Books to Read If You Like "Doctor Who"

I've been thinking about how many fangirls/boys love Netflix almost as much as they love libraries. Reading is awesome. TV shows are awesome. There are so many ways to figure out which book to read next if you like a certain one. You can talk to your librarians, consult Goodreads, find other books that author has written, etc. But there aren't a whole lot of resources to figure out which book to read if you like a certain TV show. I want to fix that, so I'm starting with my favorite TV show, "Doctor Who." The cool thing is it works both ways; If you like "Doctor Who," now you have a whole bunch of new books to read that are similar to it. If you don't watch "Doctor Who," but like the books listed, now you have a new show to watch. ;) Enjoy!

1. Doctor Who: Who-ology by Mark Wright and Cavan Scott, Doctor Who: Official Guide on How to Be a Time Lord by the BBC, Doctor Who: The Krillitane Storm by Christopher Cooper

Reason: "Doctor Who"



I grouped these three together because they're all pretty obvious choices. Who-ology is basically the Whovian bible. It includes information on everything, from Classic Who to the regenerated series up to Matt Smith's era. Timelines, trivia, quotes, and more, it's an addictive read.

How to Be a Time Lord is fluff, fluff, fluff. It's full of pictures and quizzes and has a page for each companion, Doctor, and monster. It's a one night kind of book, great for bridging the gap between depressing novels, or if you just want to feel productive.

I only chose The Krillitane Storm because it's something I've read, but there are tons of DW fan-fiction books I wasn't even aware of. From Tennant to Baker to Smith and everyone in between, you can find all kinds of stories.

2. All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

Reason: Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey



TIME TRAVEL. I won this book in a giveaway and went into it completely blind. It was an excellent surprise! It's fast-paced, unique, and so good. I couldn't put it down until I'd turned the last page. It's told through dual perspectives and has some fantastic (see what I did there?) plot twists that I hadn't seen coming. Highly recommended!

3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Reason: Cyborg, sci-fi, the future, oh my!



The storybuilding in this series is a-maz-ing. You get sucked in immediately, and it refuses to let you go until you've read it all. And the characters? Fantastic. Hovercrafts and spaceships and new technology and other planets and droids and other sci-fi awesomeness. Cinderella is a cyborg. Rapunzel was trapped on a satellite. All these different twists on fairytales make the story familiar, but new and exciting. Just like Doctor Who. Everyone knows about Shakespeare, but what happens when you add a few real witches into the mix?

4. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Reason: Romantic, outer space adventures



This was the first hardcore sci-fi book I read and loved, and this was before "Doctor Who" opened up my interests more. The whole story is set on a remote planet after Lilac and Tarver are the only survivors of a spaceship crash. (I do wonder why anyone thought naming a spaceship "Icarus" was a good idea, though.) Lilac reminds me of a young Donna Noble, and I love the witty banter between her and Tarver. It's a great, simple story with well-written characters.

5. Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Reason: Bizarre road trip w/ interesting creatures



Holy crap is this book weird. And I'm not talking weird like normal amounts of weirdness. I'm talking about garden gnomes that walk and talk and think they're Norse gods. And punk rock angels. And magic trumpets. This is a Doctor Who kind of bizarre that fans of the Russel T. Davies era will enjoy in particular.

6. Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King

Reason: The future . . .



Glory O'Brien drinks a bat and suddenly she can see the future. Strange? Absolutely. But the strange parts of stories--and "Doctor Who" especially--tend to be the best parts. The future in "Doctor Who" tends to be very grim, and so is the future Glory sees. Getting to see what's ahead is often more of a burden than anything. It's a great story.

7.  Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Reason: Best friends have wacky adventures


Who doesn't love the imagination in these stories? Everything from the transmogrifier to Calvin's time machine to the adventures of Spaceman Spiff keeps you laughing and turning page after page. The friendship that Calvin and Hobbes have is reminiscent of the Doctor and his loyal companion, always poking around and getting into trouble. They make friends and enemies, but at the end of the day it's the two of them against the world.

Do you watch "Doctor Who?" What books would you suggest for a Whovian looking for something to read? Leave a comment!

6 comments:

Boquinha said...

I love this idea - books to support a TV show habit. Very clever.

Unknown said...

I love doctor who !! will look for them

The Magic Violinist said...

@Boquinha Thanks! :) I've tried for a while to find resources for this, but nothing. Hopefully this prompts others to do it, too.

@Lucy Urban Yay, always happy to meet another Whovian! :) I hope you enjoy the books!

Rich said...

Doctor Who!! :D I may try some of these out once I'm done with the series I'm in currently. They look great!

Lara Liz said...

Pretty much adding all of these to my 'to read' list. You share my taste, whogirl!

The Magic Violinist said...

@Rich I think that's a great idea! ;) The way you're loving the show, you'll love these books.

@Lara Liz Yay, definitely let me know what you think! :) *high-fives fellow Whovian*