Olivie Blake’s Recommended Reading List
Olivie Blake, the pen name of Alexene Farol Follmuth, is the author of bestselling fantasy and sci-fi crossover titles for adults. She is the author of the internationally bestselling trilogy, The Atlas Six, The Atlas Paradox, and The Atlas Complex. Her other novels include Alone with You in the Ether, One for My Enemy, and Masters of Death. As Alexene Farol Follmuth, she is also the author of the young adult rom-coms My Mechanical Romance and Reese's Book Club Summer 2024 YA Pick Twelfth Knight. She shares her recommended reading list with us below!
Olivie/Alexene is a first-generation American, and a lover and writer of stories. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, goblin prince/toddler, and rescue pit bull. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @olivieblake and @afarolfollmuth.
“Seems silly to start off with a book I haven’t yet read, but this book is one I’m chomping at the bit to have on my shelves. I won’t lie, the cover and concept (“Will you follow me to the end?”) hooked me, but the primary reason I’m so excited is because the last fantasy I read that really stood out was Chandrasekera’s THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS. I love a weird book, and particularly a weird book that you have to blindly submit to, and I think Chandrasekera brings very vibrant imagination to the table.”
“Okungbowa is also in the middle of a high fantasy trilogy that’s excellent (The Nameless Republic) so I recommend that for anyone who enjoys second-world fantasy, but this cli-fi novella stood out to me as a brilliant, nuanced read. I have a background in urban planning and Okungbowa’s background is civil engineering, so there was something here that particularly tickled my brain with regard to the structure and systems in Okungbowa’s climate-altered world.”
“I often find myself in the mood to read something that reminds me of REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier—"a novel of romantic suspense,” as my high school copy proclaimed on the cover—and this was a very satisfying Gothic written in a similar (although of course very unique) style. I loved the concept of a priest character who is secretly a witch—very believable camouflage.”
Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A. by Eve Babitz
“This book is, to me, necessarily part of the LA cool girl canon. It’s essentially a book of essays that feel like short stories, and while Babitz is incredibly funny, these essays also manage to recreate the ennui of creative life in Los Angeles, from the wild abandon of youth and Hollywood glamor to the unbidden melancholy of a life spent in service to art.”
“I often say my books are thinky books because I am a thinky person, and this is also true of CRAFT, though I might go a step farther (or more specific) as to say this is a creative book for creative people. This is an anthology of short fiction written by a woman who slept with the devil once in the 80s, and the overall shape of the collection is largely slice-of-life with a speculative lean, such that it’s unclear where reality ends and the devil begins. Undeniably about craft, but also very much about souls, and a highly unique read.”
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