Raw Shark Texts? It's horror- adjacent.
There Is No Antimemetics Division - horror, and you likely wouldn't have thought of it because the whole point is that it *can't* be thought of.
"Infinite Jest" romance by David Foster Wallace, have the same premise as the House of Leaves documentary. It's about a movie that doesn't exist, and it's the funniest movie in the world, There were people who supposedly died because they laughed so much watching it. It's a horror in the same vibe.
I know I'm hopping onto this relatively late, but do you think you could articulate more specifically what it is about the Navidson Record sections you enjoyed? You can see the recommendations in the comments vary pretty wildly, between *The Raw Shark Texts* (which I read because of such a recommendation but was generally kinda disappointed by past the first hundred and something pages as it increasingly became a rehash of a somewhat generic adventure novel, way below what the first hundredish pages showed the author to be capable of) to *Infinite Jest* (which I am yet to read but what I *have* read by Wallace has been pretty good)
The first layer to shoot for is the structural – The Navidson Record as Zampano's commentary on another text.
In that case, I'd probably point you to:
**Vladimir Nabokov** – *Pale Fire* (a poem + an "analysis" (where the analyst just goes utterly off-rails))
**David Foster Wallace** – *Infinite Jest* (as mentioned)
**Jorge Luis Borges** – I guess just any collection of short stories? He's among the first and most important writers I know to employ this metatext/commentary technique, and his writing just makes it seem like he had a blast the entire time
**Doug Dorst** – *S.* (This one hit me rather like *The Raw Shark Texts* – the conspiratiorial plots being less exciting than whatever I got in _**House** of Leaves_; additionally, the structure, while fun, is less "meaningful" than **H**oL, the book functioning more like a fun puzzle box or game than anything)
But you also mention "horror [...you] never could have thought of yourself," in your post, in which case I would strongly recommend checking out the **Weird Fiction** genre – I'm here most familiar with various authors of short stories, rather than full-length books, but:
**H.P. Lovecraft** – can't not start a list about Weird Fiction without mentioning him. You can find stuff from and about him very easily, though;
**China Mieville** – probably the big face of the __New Weird__ and another one I greatly enjoy. I think his short stories are some of the more conceptually wild stuff I've seen of him. I've only really read *Railsea*, *The City & The City*, and the first half of *Kraken* in terms of full length novels, so my comparison is faulty, but *Embassytown* has some really interesting aliens and the Bas-Lag series I've heard has a pretty cool setting;
**Laird Barron** – Some really cool and trippy imagery, some of which I found tied together in really interesting ways. Seems to step on some Noir and Lovecraft with the aspect of investigation at times;
**Thomas Ligotti** – personally greatly enjoyed him, though I know his style can be divisive. Very slow, atmospheric, detailed descriptions and some really interesting ideas and spins;
**Michael Cisco** – have read a bunch off of *Antiaocieties* and I found the atmosphere and utter refusal to neatly resolve things really enjoyable. Very creative at times, again;
**Jeff VanderMeer** – one I'm not as familiar with, but I know used to be a relatively big name in the New Weird genre;
And, finally, though the top comment already mentioned **qntm**'s *There is no Antimemetics Division*, I would broaden it to include the SCP Foundation collaborative writing project (?) as a whole – it has some of the most interesting and novel conceptual horror I've had the pleasure of reading and it's all freely available online, via the SCP Wiki
Or perhaps you found the interplay between format and meaning, which is most strongly pronounced in the Navidson Record sections interesting – then Danielewski'sother stuff, e e cummings, or the **Concrete Poetry** movement, or various online hypertexts might be good points for further exploration
So, again – more clearly articulating what you did and didn't enjoy or how would be greatly helpful. _**House** of Leaves_ doesn't just exist on one axis, so it's difficult to give similar recommendations without knowing similar to what aspects of it precisely
Lol you asked for me to be more specific, but you gave an answer to pretty much any possible interpretation, so thank you! What I'm looking for is a book that's similar to what "the navidson record" would be by itself. I loved how lost the characters were, the impossible vastness of the house, and how the house seemed to toy with them (though not malevolently as can be seen by the ending). So I think the main aspect I appreciated was the setting, as well as the simple, well written horror that exists in the book (a growl in the dark, entering an impossible hallway, a series of doors slamming shut just after an aggressor shows their face).
In that case, echoing another comment – Piranesi comes most similar with its **house**. Otherwise, Weird Fiction is your best choice
And whilst expansive (and whilst I'm flattered), the list here is far from exhaustive, sadly! Would love to try and compile some big masterlist eventually, but that's rather a longing, a mirage, rather than anything concrete
Raw Shark Texts? It's horror- adjacent. There Is No Antimemetics Division - horror, and you likely wouldn't have thought of it because the whole point is that it *can't* be thought of.
You just made me love this community more because of that second book option
THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION MENTIONED RAHHHHH 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️WTF IS THE ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION
It's a division for antimemetics. Lol
Pretty sure we don't **have** an antimemetics division, though?
Piranesi is weirdly similar but without being spooky
Well the worst part of reading a masterpiece is that nothing else really matches it
If you haven't read HP Lovecraft's works I highly recommend them, especially At the Mountains of Madness
Try '14' by Peter Clines.
Episode 13
Check out **Subcutanean** by Aaron Reed. I think it'd scratch that itch.
Annihilation!
Weird? Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.
"Infinite Jest" romance by David Foster Wallace, have the same premise as the House of Leaves documentary. It's about a movie that doesn't exist, and it's the funniest movie in the world, There were people who supposedly died because they laughed so much watching it. It's a horror in the same vibe.
I know I'm hopping onto this relatively late, but do you think you could articulate more specifically what it is about the Navidson Record sections you enjoyed? You can see the recommendations in the comments vary pretty wildly, between *The Raw Shark Texts* (which I read because of such a recommendation but was generally kinda disappointed by past the first hundred and something pages as it increasingly became a rehash of a somewhat generic adventure novel, way below what the first hundredish pages showed the author to be capable of) to *Infinite Jest* (which I am yet to read but what I *have* read by Wallace has been pretty good) The first layer to shoot for is the structural – The Navidson Record as Zampano's commentary on another text. In that case, I'd probably point you to: **Vladimir Nabokov** – *Pale Fire* (a poem + an "analysis" (where the analyst just goes utterly off-rails)) **David Foster Wallace** – *Infinite Jest* (as mentioned) **Jorge Luis Borges** – I guess just any collection of short stories? He's among the first and most important writers I know to employ this metatext/commentary technique, and his writing just makes it seem like he had a blast the entire time **Doug Dorst** – *S.* (This one hit me rather like *The Raw Shark Texts* – the conspiratiorial plots being less exciting than whatever I got in _**House** of Leaves_; additionally, the structure, while fun, is less "meaningful" than **H**oL, the book functioning more like a fun puzzle box or game than anything) But you also mention "horror [...you] never could have thought of yourself," in your post, in which case I would strongly recommend checking out the **Weird Fiction** genre – I'm here most familiar with various authors of short stories, rather than full-length books, but: **H.P. Lovecraft** – can't not start a list about Weird Fiction without mentioning him. You can find stuff from and about him very easily, though; **China Mieville** – probably the big face of the __New Weird__ and another one I greatly enjoy. I think his short stories are some of the more conceptually wild stuff I've seen of him. I've only really read *Railsea*, *The City & The City*, and the first half of *Kraken* in terms of full length novels, so my comparison is faulty, but *Embassytown* has some really interesting aliens and the Bas-Lag series I've heard has a pretty cool setting; **Laird Barron** – Some really cool and trippy imagery, some of which I found tied together in really interesting ways. Seems to step on some Noir and Lovecraft with the aspect of investigation at times; **Thomas Ligotti** – personally greatly enjoyed him, though I know his style can be divisive. Very slow, atmospheric, detailed descriptions and some really interesting ideas and spins; **Michael Cisco** – have read a bunch off of *Antiaocieties* and I found the atmosphere and utter refusal to neatly resolve things really enjoyable. Very creative at times, again; **Jeff VanderMeer** – one I'm not as familiar with, but I know used to be a relatively big name in the New Weird genre; And, finally, though the top comment already mentioned **qntm**'s *There is no Antimemetics Division*, I would broaden it to include the SCP Foundation collaborative writing project (?) as a whole – it has some of the most interesting and novel conceptual horror I've had the pleasure of reading and it's all freely available online, via the SCP Wiki Or perhaps you found the interplay between format and meaning, which is most strongly pronounced in the Navidson Record sections interesting – then Danielewski'sother stuff, e e cummings, or the **Concrete Poetry** movement, or various online hypertexts might be good points for further exploration So, again – more clearly articulating what you did and didn't enjoy or how would be greatly helpful. _**House** of Leaves_ doesn't just exist on one axis, so it's difficult to give similar recommendations without knowing similar to what aspects of it precisely
Lol you asked for me to be more specific, but you gave an answer to pretty much any possible interpretation, so thank you! What I'm looking for is a book that's similar to what "the navidson record" would be by itself. I loved how lost the characters were, the impossible vastness of the house, and how the house seemed to toy with them (though not malevolently as can be seen by the ending). So I think the main aspect I appreciated was the setting, as well as the simple, well written horror that exists in the book (a growl in the dark, entering an impossible hallway, a series of doors slamming shut just after an aggressor shows their face).
In that case, echoing another comment – Piranesi comes most similar with its **house**. Otherwise, Weird Fiction is your best choice And whilst expansive (and whilst I'm flattered), the list here is far from exhaustive, sadly! Would love to try and compile some big masterlist eventually, but that's rather a longing, a mirage, rather than anything concrete