Time Travel/Alternate Timeline/Reality Out of Order Speculative Fiction Books with Heart

Speculative fiction books that ask the big questions and dig deep into individual choices and interpersonal relationships.

Updated May 6, 2024
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Before the coffee gets cold
Kawaguchi, Toshikazu
Paper Book
The million-copy bestselling series about a cosy Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time. Toshikazu Kawaguchi's uplifting Before the Coffee Gets Cold, translated from Japanese, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could...
The husbands
Gramazio, Holly
Paper Book
A thrillingly original debut, THE HUSBANDS brilliantly asks how we navigate life, love, and choice in a world of never-ending options. "Brilliant, hilarious, surprising and wise. I devoured it!" --Naomi Alderman,  NYT bestselling author of THE POWER. Thirty-something Lauren...
In five years
Serle, Rebecca
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day--a striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever. Where do you see yourself in five years? When Type-A Manhattan...
The invisible life of Addie LaRue
Schwab, Victoria
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER USA TODAY BESTSELLER NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER THE WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER Recommended by Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, NPR, Slate, and Oprah...
Kindred
Butler, Octavia E.
Paper Book
Octavia E. Butler's ground-breaking masterpiece, with an original foreword by Ayòbámi Adébáyò. Now an acclaimed TV series streaming on Disney + 'A marvel of imagination, empathy and detail' NEW YORK TIMES 'The marker you should judge all other time...
The lathe of heaven
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paper Book
The Locus Award-winning science fiction novel by legendary author Ursula K. Le Guin, set in a world where one man's dreams rewrite the future. During a time racked by war and environmental catastrophe, George Orr discovers his dreams alter reality. George is compelled to receive...
The midnight library
Haig, Matt
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestsellerA GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had...
One last stop
McQuiston, Casey
Paper Book
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* *INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER* *INSTANT #1 INDIE BESTSELLER* From the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue comes a new romantic comedy that will stop readers in their tracks... ...
The Other Valley
Howard, Scott Alexander.
Paper Book
A stunning literary debut novel that is a cross between Kazuo Ishiguro's speculative work, and the heart-rending search for where it all went wrong in Matt Haig's The Midnight Library.
This time tomorrow
Straub, Emma
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling author of The Vacationers and All Adults Here combines her trademark charm and wit with a moving father-daughter story, and a playful twist on the idea of time travel. What if you could take a vacation to your past?

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