Seeking Book (or Movie/Series) Recs - Slow-Paced, Dreamy Fantasy/Fairytale

[labingi]

I feel the need for some "escapist" literature (or video), and right now I want to escape into something dreamy and otherworldly. I would love recommendations.

An example of the type of thing would be Angel's Egg, the 1980s short anime. On the fast-paced, action, heartwarming end, maybe the recent movie, Flow. At the intellectual/concrete extreme, maybe A Voyage to Arcturus.

Seeking stories with...

* nature/beauty
* a dreamy or surreal quality - like it may be a dream or metaphor or afterlife or enchantment or something.
* on the slow, quiet end.
* vaguely old-timey in setting, like anywhere from 150-7000 years ago or the rough equivalent in an otherworld.
* some story/plot, though it can be slight, long enough that I get to spend time with the characters: novella or long; hour-ish video or longer.

Don't want...

* anything YA
* anything obviously moralizing;
* any "strong feminist heroine" or anything that smacks of contemporary politics of any kind from any side of the aisle;
* anything fast-paced or action packed. (I'm fine with Flow at the extreme end of fast.)
* anything that "feels" like it was written in and for the 2020s or 2010s;
* anything really short.

Fine with or Fine with Caveats...

* melancholy, dark, horror-tinged if not super dark/depressing/horror
* relatively thin characters, as long as what's there isn't any of the "don't want."
* romance if it's subtle, not the main point, not stereotypical. (Romance will be an easier sell if it's m/m.)
* child, teen characters as long as the story itself doesn't feel aimed at modern kids/teens (see Angel's Egg).
* written/created in pretty much any time period from ancient to present, if it more or less fits the above.

Thanks in advance for rec's!

Comments

Beufort Scales

[bookwyrme]

You might want to give the Beufort Scales mysteries by Kim M Watt a try. They're mysteries set in a small town in England. The detectives are dragons and the Woman's Institute, plus one police woman from London. The books are both fanciful and surprisingly grounded. The emphasis is on friendship rather than romance--all shades and shapes. The books are both funny and thoughtful and have an amazing sense of place.

Re: Beufort Scales

[labingi]

Thanks for the rec! My mom loves mysteries, so maybe that's a series we could share. Thanks for your email, by the way. I realize you just emailed me a bunch of book recs, and if you hadn't replied here, I would have emailed you for more recs. :-) Will reply to your email soon.

Re: Beaufort scales

[bookwyrme]

I rambled about a lot of books; I think the only one I ended up recommending was All Systems Red, which I think you will enjoy at some point but which is not what you are asking for now. Despite the fact that Murderbot is, itself, very un-murdery, there is quite a lot of violence in the series as a whole. Also, the book is short.

I'm only about 50% sure you'll like the Beaufort Scales books. I cannot remember us discussing anything like them in our bookish rambles.

Things I think you'll appreciate:

• The love of place and the beautiful descriptions of the land
• The emphasis on friendship
• The way the women all have very different personalities.
• All the characters are adult human beings who act like it
• The deep love of every day life.

You might like:

• The tea-drinking dragons
• The hints of dragon culture (only hints; this isn't deep world-building)
• The relatively low stakes--it's a murdered vicar, not a universe in peril.

Things I'm not sure about:

• The mystery genre. I am not sure you read it at all.
• The silliness. Yes, this is a very skillfully written cozy mystery, but it is a cozy mystery with puns and scones and dragons who drink tea.

Anyway, it would be interesting to see what you think of it!

Re: Beaufort scales

[labingi]

It does sound cool and different. :-) A lot of people have been recommending Murderbot to me. I should check it out.