6 Books to Pair with Your Favorite Netflix Series

If you love Marvel’s Luke Cage, try Blood Red Blues, by Teddy Hayes
Easy Rawlins is name-checked in the first episode, and you can never go wrong with Walter Mosley’s classic detective series (now 14 books and counting), set in L.A. during the 1960s and ’70s. But if you’re looking for a crime-and-politics story set in Luke’s Harlem, pick up Harlem noir Blood Red Blues. Devil Barnett’s a former C.I.A. agent who returns to the neighborhood to run his dad’s bar, the Be-Bop Tavern, following his dad’s murder. Soon he’s embroiled in a separate murder case, that of a Japanese diplomat, with men on both sides of the law demanding his help navigating the underworld in which Devil grew up.

If you love Jessica Jones, try Heroine Complex, by Sarah Kuhn
Both tales depict damaged women in their twenties who battle bad guys in urban settings (Jones takes place in Hell’s Kitchen, Heroines in San Francisco). The comparisons don’t end there: both are sexy, fast-paced, and full of lovable supporting characters. Best of all, in both stories, female friendships take center stage. In Heroine Complex, Evie Tanaka is personal assistant and BFF to superheroine Aveda Jupiter, San Fran’s favorite daughter and official protector, but behind the scenes, Evie might actually be more powerful than her boss. Their fight against human-hybrid demons culminates in a karaoke battle that’s not to be missed.

If you love BoJack Horseman try Furiously Happy, by Jenny Lawson
For those who’ve never seen BoJack, it’s hard to categorize the brilliant show, which is chock full of bonus jokes for people who work in film, TV, or publishing. It’s a comedy about depression, narcissism, substance abuse, relationships, the entertainment industry, and the exquisite frailty of human connection. Each season is deeper, more bittersweet, and more poignant than the last. Furiously Happy, Lawson’s second memoir, delivers on a similar premise—”A Funny Book About Horrible Things”—by striking a tone that encourages hilarity and introspection. After all, Lawson is “crazy like a fox that has really gone insane.”

If you love Black Mirror, try Notes From the Internet Apocalypse, by Wayne Gladstone
Those who enjoy Black Mirror’s dark, satirical look at the world’s collective technology addiction will be intrigued by Gladstone’s three-book series. When the web flat-out disappears, forcing everyone to unplug, the Manhattanite main character (also named Gladstone) teams up with an obnoxious blogger and an Australian webcam girl to uncover the where’s, when’s, and why’s of the new world order. Although the loss of the Internet may seem as though it will “bring back a simpler time,” Gladstone quickly realizes it only means “a search for something new to fill the void.”

If you love Master of None, try Adulting, by Kelly Williams Brown
The clearest pairing to this Emmy Award–winning show is Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg’s book, Modern Romance, but that would be too easy. So, while you wait for season two, why not honor Dev, Rachel, Arnold, Brian, and Denise—and their quest for fulfillment—by digging into Adulting? The book’s funny, helpful nuggets of advice run the gauntlet from cooking/hosting (“How to make a dope cheese plate,” “Do not fear the puff pastry”) to socializing (“The small-talk bell curve”) to employment (“Do not steal more than three dollars’ worth of office supplies per quarter.”) A self-help book with a little something for everyone.

If you love House of Cards, try The Hopefuls, by Jennifer Close
Imagine Frank and Claire Underwood in their 20s, invigorated by the campaign process, eager to make their mark as White House staffers. (Okay, that’s really hard to picture.) Imagine House of Cards minus the cynicism. (Even tougher? All right, you got me: The Hopefuls is the anti-House of Cards.) But for anyone who misses the relatively saner 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns (which are depicted in the book), and anyone who loves funny, boozy, inside-baseball immersion into the world of politics, this book is a delicious feast. Close is a genius at writing contemporary realism. The central relationship, between two young D.C. couples who aspire to greatness, is so real it hurts.