1. 200
   Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges (WSB7)

   WSB7: Both have wonderfully imaginative but controlled semiotic exercises.

2. 171
   Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges (Carnophile)

   Carnophile: Both books are liesurely contemplations of fantastical situations, not plot- or character-driven, but conceptual.

3. 113
   The City & the City by China Miéville (snarkhunt)

   snarkhunt: Calvino's book is a travelogue of impossible societies while China's book is a sweet little noir stuck in the middle of one.

4. 40
   Mr. Palomar by Italo Calvino (P_S_Patrick)

   P_S_Patrick: Thes two books are in some ways very like each other, and in some ways quite the opposite. In Mr Palomar various locations, things, and thoughts are described precisely with the utmost eloquence and detail, whereas in Invisible Cities, it is one place being described in many different ways, hazy, as if seen through lenses of different qualities, and warping mirrors. But the effect is much the same, both books give you something to think about, make you see things in different ways, and are a pleasure to read. Both books also contain no strong plot, and consist of many small and diverse sections, and in a way, could be dipped into. Where Palomar gets very much into the mind of the protagonist, and his fixed, elaborate, and definite interpretations of reality, Invisible Cities is similar in that the recollections are also told from the point of view of the narrator, but differ each time, none being tied to reality, all of them containing aspects of truth found through how you interpret them. If you enjoyed reading one of these books, you should enjoy the other.… (more)

5. 30
   Tainaron: Mail from Another City by Leena Krohn (ari.joki)

   ari.joki: An allegory of the human condition by revealing one facet at a time through presenting a foreign, strange city with foreign, strange inhabitants.

6. 52
   The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges (Torikton)
7. 30
   Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was by Angélica Gorodischer (spiphany)
8. 42
   The Dictionary of Imaginary Places {original edition} by Alberto Manguel (VanishedOne)

   VanishedOne: One is systematic and compendious, the other flows freely from one impression to another, but both flit between windows onto imaginary vistas.

9. 20
   Solution 11-167: The Book of Scotlands by Momus (Kolbkarlsson)

   Kolbkarlsson: Written in the same vein, The Book of Scotlands lists a series of alternative scotlands previously unheard of. Every Scotland is written in it's own style, but with similar wit and daunting imagination.

10. 10
    The Logogryph: A Bibliography of Imaginary Books by Thomas Wharton (unctifer)
11. 10
    Paintings by Victor Segalen (defaults)

    defaults: A series of descriptions of imaginary ancient Chinese paintings. Uncannily similar in tone, hieratic and surreal, rabbit-holes inscribed in rabbit-holes... and written several decades earlier.

12. 10
    Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot on and Never Will by Judith Schalansky (CGlanovsky)

    CGlanovsky: Little vignettes about places. Calvino's are more fanciful and there's a twist, while Schalansky's are little anecdotes based on actual bizarre and out-of-the-way places.

13. 10
    The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo (Jannes)
14. 10
    Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente (PhoenixFalls)
15. 21
    Viriconium: "The Pastel City", "A Storm of Wings", "In Viriconium", "Viriconium Nights" by M. John Harrison (Torikton)
16. 10
    Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson (WSB7)

    WSB7: Each has a partially factual/partially imagined frame.

17. 10
    Marcovaldo or The Seasons in the City by Italo Calvino (unctifer)
18. 00
    Ring (Swiss Literature) by Elisabeth Horem (Nickelini)
19. 00
    Urville by Gilles Trehin (VanishedOne)

    VanishedOne: One imagines many cities impressionistically, the other one city precisely, but each offers a window onto imaginary urban environments.

20. 00
    Freud's Alphabet: A Novel by Jonathan Tel (hdcanis)

    hdcanis: A novel starring a historical person (Marco Polo or Sigmund Freud) exploring a city (Venice or London) in fragmentary manner, each fragment handling a different aspect of the city.

(see all 27 recommendations)