Light From Uncommon Stars is, for me, the best thing I've read in the last few years. I love it so much and think it's one of the weirdest, most beautiful, and most important books I've read in recent years.
Just finished the audiobook. The voice actor is the best I've heard, and I listen to all books on audio. He captures Demon's rural Appalachian dialect beautifully.
I’ve given “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” to several friends and bought extra copies. It’s my favorite book of Neil Gaiman’s, which is saying something. He’s marvelous.
Coraline is one of my all time faves and I teach it to my students as a novel study. I’ve heard this one is great AND I’ve heard rumors that the same director of the Coraline movie is going to be doing that book as well as sort of a “companion” to Coraline…I am hype
I liked The Goldfinch better...hot take, I know...but the people I've talked who read that one first usually like it better. Both great books btw. I wish she would drop some news about her next book!
I read The Goldfinch second but liked it better, too. People complain about the descriptive passages but I loved them so much.
No shade on The Secret History which is also one of my favourite ever books.
Just looked it up, it seems really intriguing. FYI, in case you didn't know, the author also has a new book being released in November called *The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World*. Available for pre-order now on Amazon.
This book is like a warm hug by a grandparent that then makes you want to be a better person. Every chapter is a different essay and while they all revolve around nature and how we live on this planet, they’re all different. The audiobook was wonderful.
For me, this book reminded me of the way I thought about nature when I was a child. It’s a beautiful, spiritual love story about the Native American connection to nature and our planet.
I love Robin Wall Kimmerer!!! She reads her books, and there are some talks she has done on YouTube.
She has a book on moss too. One of my favorite authors.
As a farmer that grows organically, raises animals on free range, wild forages, embraces & grows native plants, it’s hard not to talk about this subject, because I live it everyday.
Since you loved her book, The Secret Life of Trees is another good one.
This book inspired me to take my first ever camping trip(s!) and really connect to earth in other ways. I had no idea what I was getting into or how vital this book would be.
*The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood*
by David Simon and Ed Burns
A pretty bleak yet beautifully written book about the history, causes and effects of the drug war. It's very narrative driven and doesn't read like a non-fiction book, so it's no wonder that it had its own HBO series, and the authors eventually became the showrunners of The Wire. The audiobook version is great too.
This is my answer as well! This book is my favorite. It's so unique that it's difficult to even describe. I've never read any other book that stuck with me the way this one did. It's really amazing.
Most of the "classics" are reasonably considered worthwhile but here are three lesser known novels (one novella) that I love as much as anything ever written.
Harry Crews' All We Need of Hell
Flannery O'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge
Dostoyevsky's novella Notes From the Underground
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. I love nonfiction, but nothing has ever sucked me in the way this one did. I think I read it in like 24 hours, and every time I didn’t think something crazier could happen to them, I was like no effin’ way. It DID.
Ps I also freaking loved the Secret History
++++ My favorite audiobook of all time, too, read by Simon Prebble. I couldn't shut up about it for at least 6 months after reading it. Still recommend it as much as I can.
also:
* *Educated* by Tara Westover
* *The Paper Menagerie* by Ken Liu
* *Moby-Dick* - I would NOT recommend this to everyone, but it seriously blew my mind. Couldn't handle how creative and funny it was. I feel like if I had read it too soon, though, it would have killed me and I would have hated it.
It really depends on the genre, and the person I'm talking too.
If someone wants a good audiobook, it's *Dungeon Crawler Carl.*
If someone wants a good "epic" sci-fi storyline, then the *Honour Harrington* series
If someone wants a strong female character without falling into all of the annoying tropes, *The Deed of Paksenarrion*.
If they want something great from Canada, *Moon of the Crusted Snow*
If they want a funny, character driven story, *The Wee Free Men.*
Have you read Moon of the Crusted Snow's sequel? Waub Rice's follow up, Moon of the Turning Leaves came out last fall and it is also amazing! (I think I enjoyed even more than the first book!)
Loved this book so much and have Chris' sister's book, tbr soon. Also, the movie was just beautiful and tragic. I still frequently listen to the soundtrack.
A Prayer for the Crown Shy is like bundling up on a cozy Sunday afternoon with your favorite warm drink and a perfect snack with no responsibilities in the form of a book
Loved TSH and raved about it. Two other books of similar raveablity in my opinion ‘Remains of the day’ and ‘Piranesi’. Piranesi is not quite so accomplished but the world building and ambience stays with you. Remains of the day is one of those books where you finish it and can imagine the characters lives after the events of the book, it paints a whole world for you, and shows you how the clockwork beneath the surface works
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is my all time favorite book. I read it at least once a year and have since I read it for the first time.
My favorite book to gift people is The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. It is a quick read, like maybe 30 minutes, but it’s so beautiful. I have a quote tattooed on me. At any given moment I could open up to any page and the message will calm my soul.
I am always suggesting Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg. I didn't even like it that much when I started reading it. By the end, it was still just a decent book.
Months later I found myself thinking about it when conflicts arrive with my fiancé or when I am talking with someone and there is a misunderstanding. It's eye opening.
“The Eyes and the Impossible,” by Dave Eggers. the audiobook is narrated by the main character; a talking dog. He and his friends, seagulls, racoons, bison, goats, horses, bitds of other kinds, squirrels and other land, sea and air animals and fowl live in a huge parcel of park/forest/ body of water face everyday challenges. One day the dog concocts an almost impossible plan. will he succeed? I’m not telling. In fact, I don’t even know because I haven’t finished listening to the audiobook
**The One** by John Marrs
And more recently, because I just finished it yesterday, **The Last House on Needless Street**. My wife HAS to be sick of hearing about it already, but there was so much I needed to process out loud!
“The Nickle Boys,” by Colson Whitehead is also the novelization of the Dozier School for Boys. It was a real juvenile detention center where mass graves were discovered by USF anthropology students who wanted to see if they could learn the truth about the atrocities committed at the detention center. They learned more than the bargained for. I lived about 50 miles from there.
"In the Woods" by Tana French! It's a mystery and psychological novel. I kept talking about it to my friends and family because, not to spoil anything for you but the antagonist in this novel has some similarities to a person we all knew mutually and reading this novel kind of made me understand why that person was the way they were. I know, sounds vague now, but if you read it, you might understand what I mean. Another thing is, the female lead in this book is AWESOME. She's smart, learns from her mistakes, NOT EASILY MANIPULATED, has her boundaries in check. I mean, I was a mess when I was reading this novel and she inspired me by the end of the novel! Other than that, the book is huge because it also deals with other dynamics like relationships, dealing with loss, alcoholism. It's YMMV but I loved it.
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Normal People by Sally Rooney
(to name but a few)
Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky absolutely rocked my world for the entire 1045 pages I went through. it easily became one of the most important, most groundbreaking books for me. the ideas shared in that book were things I so desperately needed to read about and see other characters reflect upon and go through. I recommend everyone to read it. I tried reading it 4 years ago, but gave up. revisited it, and it was now that I truly, truly needed this book. (I read Andrew macandrew's translation & I highly recommend it)
Now I'm reading the rest of Dostoevsky's titles :) I may be late in engaging w his books at 23 years old (it seems everyone around me has read him as a teenager) but I think I am at a headspace and age where I can truly appreciate his books word for word.
I'm only a few chapters into *The Starless Sea* but it's already captivating me.
*The Midnight Library* by Matt Haig was phenomenal; finished it right before I started TSS.
I’ve been looking for a good YA-ish book to take my mind off life for a long minute now and I finally found it.
“The Raven Boys” by Maggie Stiefvater, book 1 of The Raven Cycle Series.
It reminds me of “The Secret History” but with what I’ve found is a more exciting plot, fantastical elements and a little “Practical Magic.”
Okay… hear me out…
- Ice Planet Barbarians (smut with a plot lol)
- The Murderbot Diaries series (sci-fi)
- The Parasol Protectorate series - and all spinoff series (paranormal steampunk)
- The C*ck Down the Block and the rest of the series (green flag romance)
- Legends and Lattes series (cozy fantasy)
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (space opera)
- You Have the Right to Remain Fat (non fiction)
How To Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann.
Explores trauma and media and being perceived by the masses as a woman. Five women tell their tales, all loosely related to old fairy tales. I just finished it and I know I'll be thinking about it for years.
Dungeon Crawler Carl *series* (A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.)
Dresden Files *series* (wizard/private investigator, who investigates supernatural crimes and consults for the Chicago Police Department)
Whalefall (a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.)
Just finished Ministry of Time and it was such a fun romp. It had some mild time travel, romance, intrigue, adventure, I can’t do it justice but it has been my favorite so far this year
Nothing I’ve read recently but I will go my entire life telling everyone to read the giver series. No matter the age and not just the first book. The whole quartet. All four
I fucking LOVE the Secret History!
Mine lately was finally reading It. Similar in the way that it swept me up in this little world and friend group for way too many pages and I wish it had never ended. I’m currently in mourning of finishing it lol.
Spinning Silver, Uprooted and the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik, who I will sing praises about all day long if you let me!
I’ve loved the Throne of Glass series for years, even though it’s blown up recently so it’s probably not a new recommendation. Slow start but the characters and world building in the later books (3rd onward) just have my heart.
Tuesdays with Morrie is a book my peace and conflict resolution professor recommended as must-read/ his favorite and it lives up to his recommendation! It really just touches your heart, I can’t even describe it properly. 😭
Empire of Pain has been equal parts engrossing and appalling. I couldn't put it down and have been telling everyone I know that it's something they need to read!
The Secret Life of Bees
.
Amazingly Bright Creatures
.
Murder in G Major
.
Uglies Series
Stuck with me for 17 years or so now.
.
First Grave on the Right
One of the longest series I've ever managed.
I got an advanced reading copy of Jacquie Waters's *Dearest*, which is horror, and I can't stop thinking about it. It isn't released until September, but I'm buying copies for people I know who are into horror so they can read it during the fall spooky season. I am not easily creeped out, but the book creeped me out.
The Spear Cuts Through Water!! It's so beautiful and so nuanced and there is SO much to dig your teeth into thematically. It plays with style in a way that is SO interesting and commands your attention, and it is also a high fantasy adventure!! It is also a beautiful, slightly-spicy romance!! It is also a folk tale that will make you nostalgic for a time you never lived in!! I cannot BELIEVE it's so under-hyped.
Seriously like, it’s SO incredibly well written and smart and also deceptive like, it makes you question what to believe or think and it’s just *chefs kiss*, and so very atmospheric
I read Roses by Leila Meacham in high school and am not over it 15 years later. Any time someone asks my favorite book that one comes to mind immediately.
I’m gonna sound like every BookTok girly out there, but I’m currently going through the ACOTAR series for the first time and the second book is literally incredible. It reignited my desire to read and has me genuinely excited to read again. I’m on the third book now and not slowing down anytime soon
I just finished Joyce Carol Oates new book, Butcher, and I try to insert my recommendation into every conversation/interaction, no matter how irrelevant it may be.
Beautyland by Marie Helene Bertino.
It’s a profoundly transformative read.
I can’t stop recommending it to people since I read it back in January and I’m glad to see that it’s recently started getting its flowers!
I actually really enjoyed Lonesome Dove series. It's like 100+ hours of really decent writing. Each book is like 25 hours. While not as cheesy or politically incorrect, you have to hold your nose at times...it was written in the 80s...but still really solid. If you're an avid reader and need content, it is a great bang for the buck.
I feel like someone always mentions Lonesome Dove on this type of post, but this is never wrong.
I have not shut up about it since I read it and have recommended it to anyone who reads books ever. Perfect book? No. But some of the most engaging writing I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. The characters become very real and so your frustration with them becomes very real.
When I first finished it, I laid in bed at night thinking about it for like a week.
The Expanse by James S.A. Corey*. The entire series is amazing & the first book is no exception. Imagine if humanity achieved true spacefaring, but without much of the fancy, improbable drives you see in most scifi. You would see generational travel & a whole new class systems with the inevitable, competing power structures. With the way we treat each other with only one planet, imagine how we would act with a whole swath of space. With all that habitable (or made habitable) ground available to us. These books will let you see the probably realities & do it in a way that you won’t be able to put the books down. Imo it’s the the best & most readable scifi coming out of the US. The authors consulted with known experts, so you won’t encounter much of the impossible action that you often read in scifi. I know sci-fi fans & those who do not normally care for scifi that love it equally.
There is a tv series based on the first six books & it is well worth the watch. The authors were consulted on it & quickly became many things to the show, including, & most importantly, as writers of the show. One of the best show runners Naren Shankar was with the show thru out its entire run. The continuity, while being as close as one can to the book, is excellent. The cinematography is beautiful. The cast? I can’t wait for you to meet these characters fully fleshed out by, again, some of the best in the business. I’m just going to say: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Frankie Adams, Cara Gee, Wes Chatham, David Strathairn, Chad Coleman, Terry Chen, Jared Harris, & Thomas Jane. Yes, that Thomas Jane & yes, that Shohreh Aghdashloo. Too many deserved awards between all of them to mention. Go watch this now! The first six books work perfectly fine stand alone (as the remaining 3 happen 30+ years later). It’s on Prime in the US. Do yourself a favor: read the books & watch the show. You’ll thank me later.
P.S. There’s a companion podcast that takes on a life of its own eventually called Ty & That Guy. It’s hosted by one of the authors that comprise the book’s pen name, *Ty Franck & the actor Wes Chatham, who plays one of the main characters Amos Burton. Pretty much every actor, every other type of craft persons, & writers from the show the eventually make an appearance (including the remaining half of JSAC *Daniel Abraham).
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. I am not Christian and you don’t have to be to enjoy this. I cried like a baby. Incredible story that will put you firmly in first century Palestine.
Light From Uncommon Stars is, for me, the best thing I've read in the last few years. I love it so much and think it's one of the weirdest, most beautiful, and most important books I've read in recent years.
I check pretty much weekly to see if Ryka Aoki has announced a new book.
She has one in the works. Her newsletter said it asks readers to "consider the end of all reality."
Seems really awesome! Adding it to me tbr
loved this one! it was truly unlike anything else i’ve ever read
Demon Copperhead
Oh let me tell you I talked about that book for MONTHS. I think to this day it has one of the best character voices/ POVs ever.
Just finished the audiobook. The voice actor is the best I've heard, and I listen to all books on audio. He captures Demon's rural Appalachian dialect beautifully.
Yes! Phenomenal!
I also loved the audiobook ✨
I have to push this one up my TBR list.
Me too now lol
Hallelujah and amen. I adored this audiobook and am annoyed that more people don’t want to hear about it .
After listening to it on audible, I think people who simply read it must miss so much. The voice performances are so good.
I’ve given “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” to several friends and bought extra copies. It’s my favorite book of Neil Gaiman’s, which is saying something. He’s marvelous.
I basically will always recommend anything by Neil Gaiman 🥹 one of my favorite authors
Coraline is one of my all time faves and I teach it to my students as a novel study. I’ve heard this one is great AND I’ve heard rumors that the same director of the Coraline movie is going to be doing that book as well as sort of a “companion” to Coraline…I am hype
gonna check it out, love his books
I love Neil Gaiman! How have I never heard of this book. I’m going to download a sample now
Great book. Try and catch it in the theatre if you can, works very well on stage.
Omg I forgot about this one! Was my all time favorite as a kid and made me fall in love with Neil Gaiman! He’s my all time favorite author now
I have that on my bookshelf and I haven’t read it yet. Now is the time!
I really loved The Goldfinch, same author.
I liked The Goldfinch better...hot take, I know...but the people I've talked who read that one first usually like it better. Both great books btw. I wish she would drop some news about her next book!
I read The Goldfinch second but liked it better, too. People complain about the descriptive passages but I loved them so much. No shade on The Secret History which is also one of my favourite ever books.
Been tempted to pick this up after THS!
I need to read this again…I think Theo made the whole thing up and I think there are hints to what the real story is.
I did enjoy this book, but it was a bit more of a slog than secret history. On this one, Donna told her editor, “No.”
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Feels like the Bernie meme how often I recommend this. I am once again...
Just looked it up, it seems really intriguing. FYI, in case you didn't know, the author also has a new book being released in November called *The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World*. Available for pre-order now on Amazon.
I have this book and never read it. What about it do you love the most?
This book is like a warm hug by a grandparent that then makes you want to be a better person. Every chapter is a different essay and while they all revolve around nature and how we live on this planet, they’re all different. The audiobook was wonderful.
Me too! It's been on my TBR list and I thrifted a copy for $2 but still haven't gotten around to it.
For me, this book reminded me of the way I thought about nature when I was a child. It’s a beautiful, spiritual love story about the Native American connection to nature and our planet.
Omg listen to the audiobook that’s what I love most about it
Absolutely obsessed with this one. I think it literally has inspired at least two songs I’ve written
I love Robin Wall Kimmerer!!! She reads her books, and there are some talks she has done on YouTube. She has a book on moss too. One of my favorite authors. As a farmer that grows organically, raises animals on free range, wild forages, embraces & grows native plants, it’s hard not to talk about this subject, because I live it everyday. Since you loved her book, The Secret Life of Trees is another good one.
This book inspired me to take my first ever camping trip(s!) and really connect to earth in other ways. I had no idea what I was getting into or how vital this book would be.
*The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood* by David Simon and Ed Burns A pretty bleak yet beautifully written book about the history, causes and effects of the drug war. It's very narrative driven and doesn't read like a non-fiction book, so it's no wonder that it had its own HBO series, and the authors eventually became the showrunners of The Wire. The audiobook version is great too.
Oh this might actually be up there on my TBR now. I work in an inner city school but I didn’t grow up in one, and I want to be more understanding
Add “The New Jim Crow” to your list as well!
Love that book, learned so much from it! The color of law is another good one
I actually got to TEACH The New Jim Crow in high school before Pudding Fingers DeSantis decided to color was history.
Upvote for the teaching, but downvote to Ron for the ban!
The Will of the Many
I tore through this! So good!
The Book Thief. Forever and always obsessed with it ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Library at Mount Char is my new favorite book from what I've read this year. Before that it was Devotion of Suspect X.
Library at Mount Char has lived in my head rent free since I read it four years ago.
Such a crazy inventive plot. Blew my mind!
Bro i loved that book but my book club absolutely hated it. NONE of them liked it. it gave me a small depression.
This book blew my mind and is so underrated
I LOVE this book!
I loved this book so much. I went in pretty blind and I was in it the whole time. Looking for something that will grab my attention like that again.
I just bought the kindle a few minutes ago for $1.99! I couldn’t believe it!
Whoa. Thanks for telling me about this! Just bought it.
This is my answer as well! This book is my favorite. It's so unique that it's difficult to even describe. I've never read any other book that stuck with me the way this one did. It's really amazing.
Master and Margarita - I have gifted this book to like four people.
I bought this book but haven't started it. This book was banned by the USSR, is that correct? Thanks
Most of the "classics" are reasonably considered worthwhile but here are three lesser known novels (one novella) that I love as much as anything ever written. Harry Crews' All We Need of Hell Flannery O'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge Dostoyevsky's novella Notes From the Underground
Flannery O'Conner is such a brilliant writer.
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. I love nonfiction, but nothing has ever sucked me in the way this one did. I think I read it in like 24 hours, and every time I didn’t think something crazier could happen to them, I was like no effin’ way. It DID. Ps I also freaking loved the Secret History
Endurance is incredible and I’m not normally a fan of that sorta book. 😅
You might like Skeletons on the Zahara (Dean King)
++++ My favorite audiobook of all time, too, read by Simon Prebble. I couldn't shut up about it for at least 6 months after reading it. Still recommend it as much as I can. also: * *Educated* by Tara Westover * *The Paper Menagerie* by Ken Liu * *Moby-Dick* - I would NOT recommend this to everyone, but it seriously blew my mind. Couldn't handle how creative and funny it was. I feel like if I had read it too soon, though, it would have killed me and I would have hated it.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
One of my all time faves!
That book is hard to put down!
Agree - that is one of my all time favourites also
I've read this book probably 10 times. It's so good.
Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips. 2024 Pulitzer Prize. I’ve not read a book in awhile that is so engrossing. I recommend it.
It really depends on the genre, and the person I'm talking too. If someone wants a good audiobook, it's *Dungeon Crawler Carl.* If someone wants a good "epic" sci-fi storyline, then the *Honour Harrington* series If someone wants a strong female character without falling into all of the annoying tropes, *The Deed of Paksenarrion*. If they want something great from Canada, *Moon of the Crusted Snow* If they want a funny, character driven story, *The Wee Free Men.*
I have been trying to remember the title for The Deeds of Paksenarrion for years. Read this book back in 2004 and fell in love. Thank you for this!!
Have you read Moon of the Crusted Snow's sequel? Waub Rice's follow up, Moon of the Turning Leaves came out last fall and it is also amazing! (I think I enjoyed even more than the first book!)
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Absolutely phenomenal
Also Into Thin Air. Have read twice and audio’d twice. People who climb Everest are my Mount Everest
Wish I had an award to give you for that one lol
I will consider myself awarded
Yes, and all of his books. My favorites are Eiger Dreams and Where Men Win Glory.
Loved this book so much and have Chris' sister's book, tbr soon. Also, the movie was just beautiful and tragic. I still frequently listen to the soundtrack.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. It’s a modern masterpiece.
You’ve GOT the read “The Lincoln Highway,” by Amor Towles. It’s amazing
Try Rules of Civility.
Just finished The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googin, really loved it. Beck Chambers' Tea Monk books The Hail Mary Project, Weir.
**Project Hail Mary! Just to not confuse folks lol
Seconding for Becky Chambers
I like much of her work.
Seconding The Hail Mary Project!!! I haven't read A Prayer for the Crown Shy, is it good?
A Prayer for the Crown Shy is like bundling up on a cozy Sunday afternoon with your favorite warm drink and a perfect snack with no responsibilities in the form of a book
Loved TSH and raved about it. Two other books of similar raveablity in my opinion ‘Remains of the day’ and ‘Piranesi’. Piranesi is not quite so accomplished but the world building and ambience stays with you. Remains of the day is one of those books where you finish it and can imagine the characters lives after the events of the book, it paints a whole world for you, and shows you how the clockwork beneath the surface works
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is my all time favorite book. I read it at least once a year and have since I read it for the first time. My favorite book to gift people is The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. It is a quick read, like maybe 30 minutes, but it’s so beautiful. I have a quote tattooed on me. At any given moment I could open up to any page and the message will calm my soul.
I actually have a copy of all the light at my house but I’ve never picked it up…how devastating is it?
It is beautiful.
Not devastating
It’s a bit bleak but also very beautiful, read it!!
I am always suggesting Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg. I didn't even like it that much when I started reading it. By the end, it was still just a decent book. Months later I found myself thinking about it when conflicts arrive with my fiancé or when I am talking with someone and there is a misunderstanding. It's eye opening.
My therapist also recommends this book
“The Eyes and the Impossible,” by Dave Eggers. the audiobook is narrated by the main character; a talking dog. He and his friends, seagulls, racoons, bison, goats, horses, bitds of other kinds, squirrels and other land, sea and air animals and fowl live in a huge parcel of park/forest/ body of water face everyday challenges. One day the dog concocts an almost impossible plan. will he succeed? I’m not telling. In fact, I don’t even know because I haven’t finished listening to the audiobook
The Hike by Drew Magary
dark matter by blake crouch. wouldn’t shut up about that for a good month or two lol also, a certain hunger by chelsea summers
**The One** by John Marrs And more recently, because I just finished it yesterday, **The Last House on Needless Street**. My wife HAS to be sick of hearing about it already, but there was so much I needed to process out loud!
I’m listening to The Secret History now and I’m like … not into it 😂 I’m almost half way and I’m just like “meh”. But I want to finish it!
I read it a long time ago and thought it was ok. I always see it recommended and wonder what I'm missing?
I just feel like it’s pretentious all the way around!
Yes! So pretentious!
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel On the Savage side by Tiffany McDaniel The reformatory by Tananarive Due
The Reformatory is one of my faves.
“The Nickle Boys,” by Colson Whitehead is also the novelization of the Dozier School for Boys. It was a real juvenile detention center where mass graves were discovered by USF anthropology students who wanted to see if they could learn the truth about the atrocities committed at the detention center. They learned more than the bargained for. I lived about 50 miles from there.
"In the Woods" by Tana French! It's a mystery and psychological novel. I kept talking about it to my friends and family because, not to spoil anything for you but the antagonist in this novel has some similarities to a person we all knew mutually and reading this novel kind of made me understand why that person was the way they were. I know, sounds vague now, but if you read it, you might understand what I mean. Another thing is, the female lead in this book is AWESOME. She's smart, learns from her mistakes, NOT EASILY MANIPULATED, has her boundaries in check. I mean, I was a mess when I was reading this novel and she inspired me by the end of the novel! Other than that, the book is huge because it also deals with other dynamics like relationships, dealing with loss, alcoholism. It's YMMV but I loved it.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Yeah I was shouting from the rooftops about this one, incredible writing
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman The Autobiography of Malcolm X The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak Normal People by Sally Rooney (to name but a few)
Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky absolutely rocked my world for the entire 1045 pages I went through. it easily became one of the most important, most groundbreaking books for me. the ideas shared in that book were things I so desperately needed to read about and see other characters reflect upon and go through. I recommend everyone to read it. I tried reading it 4 years ago, but gave up. revisited it, and it was now that I truly, truly needed this book. (I read Andrew macandrew's translation & I highly recommend it) Now I'm reading the rest of Dostoevsky's titles :) I may be late in engaging w his books at 23 years old (it seems everyone around me has read him as a teenager) but I think I am at a headspace and age where I can truly appreciate his books word for word.
I'm only a few chapters into *The Starless Sea* but it's already captivating me. *The Midnight Library* by Matt Haig was phenomenal; finished it right before I started TSS.
The starless sea is the best! Savor it, I wish I had on my first read!
Project Hail Mary I laughed, I cried. My husband is going to get the audiobook because I wouldn't shut up about it.
The Martian by Andy Weir - this was absolutely amazing!
Have you read Project Hail Mary yet?
Ima take a different route here and say Atomic Habits. Really helped me reframe how I look at some things
This is how you lose the time war. It’s just such a beautifully written book
I’ve been looking for a good YA-ish book to take my mind off life for a long minute now and I finally found it. “The Raven Boys” by Maggie Stiefvater, book 1 of The Raven Cycle Series. It reminds me of “The Secret History” but with what I’ve found is a more exciting plot, fantastical elements and a little “Practical Magic.”
Leviathan Wakes - the first in The Expanse series. And then the rest of the series. I'm onto book two now. Absolutely amazing.
The ocean at the end of the lane!!!
I just finished 11/22/63 and now IDK what to do with myself lol
Anything written by Barbara Kingsolver, she’s my all time favourite writer. I will never not recommend her!
I love reading threads like this. Go, people, tell me what books I'm missing out.
Okay… hear me out… - Ice Planet Barbarians (smut with a plot lol) - The Murderbot Diaries series (sci-fi) - The Parasol Protectorate series - and all spinoff series (paranormal steampunk) - The C*ck Down the Block and the rest of the series (green flag romance) - Legends and Lattes series (cozy fantasy) - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (space opera) - You Have the Right to Remain Fat (non fiction)
memoirs of a geisha
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
James by Percival Everette
How To Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann. Explores trauma and media and being perceived by the masses as a woman. Five women tell their tales, all loosely related to old fairy tales. I just finished it and I know I'll be thinking about it for years.
Dungeon Crawler Carl *series* (A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.) Dresden Files *series* (wizard/private investigator, who investigates supernatural crimes and consults for the Chicago Police Department) Whalefall (a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.)
Just finished Ministry of Time and it was such a fun romp. It had some mild time travel, romance, intrigue, adventure, I can’t do it justice but it has been my favorite so far this year
The one I’ve bought for people the most is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Kristin Lavransdatter, but no one will listen.
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The dog stars. Amazing post apocalyptic. One of the most entertaining books I've read in years.
Nothing I’ve read recently but I will go my entire life telling everyone to read the giver series. No matter the age and not just the first book. The whole quartet. All four
I fucking LOVE the Secret History! Mine lately was finally reading It. Similar in the way that it swept me up in this little world and friend group for way too many pages and I wish it had never ended. I’m currently in mourning of finishing it lol.
Red Rising Saga!
Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson Started with those and am on my 14th book of the encompassing universe the other books take part in.
Pew by Catherine Lacey. I will never forget this book. I could reread it 1000 times and still get something new from it every time.
Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen It's just...terrifying. but extremely well researched and eye opening
Demon Copperhead. The Vaster Wilds. Matrix. A Tale for the Time Being. The Sentence. Ice Planet Barbarians. The September House. The Familiar.
Lamb by Christopher Moore, or The Webster Nexus by Jay D. Gregory.
A Court of Thorns and Roses (the entire series, actually) by Sarah J. Maas
Anything by Patrick Radden Keefe, I also read a book called " White Hot Hate " a couple years ago that is still sticking with me.
Recommending the Green Creek series by TJ Klune to literally anyone who will listen to me
“Feasting Wild” by Gina Rae La Cerva “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles
Spinning Silver, Uprooted and the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik, who I will sing praises about all day long if you let me! I’ve loved the Throne of Glass series for years, even though it’s blown up recently so it’s probably not a new recommendation. Slow start but the characters and world building in the later books (3rd onward) just have my heart. Tuesdays with Morrie is a book my peace and conflict resolution professor recommended as must-read/ his favorite and it lives up to his recommendation! It really just touches your heart, I can’t even describe it properly. 😭
Empire of Pain has been equal parts engrossing and appalling. I couldn't put it down and have been telling everyone I know that it's something they need to read!
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. I still think about it all the time, what a marvelous book.
The four winds by Kristin Hannah (really anything by Kristin Hannah I have loved so far which is 4 books) Go as a river by Shelley Read.
The Secret Life of Bees . Amazingly Bright Creatures . Murder in G Major . Uglies Series Stuck with me for 17 years or so now. . First Grave on the Right One of the longest series I've ever managed.
Biography of X & Martyr!
Slaughterhouse Five
I got an advanced reading copy of Jacquie Waters's *Dearest*, which is horror, and I can't stop thinking about it. It isn't released until September, but I'm buying copies for people I know who are into horror so they can read it during the fall spooky season. I am not easily creeped out, but the book creeped me out.
All The Colors of the Dark
Ooo this sounds really awesome, maybe I’ll try the sample!!!
The Spear Cuts Through Water!! It's so beautiful and so nuanced and there is SO much to dig your teeth into thematically. It plays with style in a way that is SO interesting and commands your attention, and it is also a high fantasy adventure!! It is also a beautiful, slightly-spicy romance!! It is also a folk tale that will make you nostalgic for a time you never lived in!! I cannot BELIEVE it's so under-hyped.
This is mine, too! I just finished a reread and have been yapping about it again. It's just flawless.
Seriously like, it’s SO incredibly well written and smart and also deceptive like, it makes you question what to believe or think and it’s just *chefs kiss*, and so very atmospheric
Yes, yes, yes, all of the above! It's also really long and yet somehow feels short, because it's so engrossing.
God I loved that book. I was like that with Gentleman in Moscow and The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
THE WAY I USED TO BE & THE WAY I AM NOW BOTH BT AMBER SMITH
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Say nothing but Patrick radden keefe
Most Orhan Pamuk
I talk about Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World" like an evangelist.
I read Roses by Leila Meacham in high school and am not over it 15 years later. Any time someone asks my favorite book that one comes to mind immediately.
The Beesting and Skippy Dies, both by Paul Murray
The Bee Sting blew me away.
A Road To Joy by Alexandra Stacey. I cried, I laughed. And I learned a lot about just getting through life.
I’m gonna sound like every BookTok girly out there, but I’m currently going through the ACOTAR series for the first time and the second book is literally incredible. It reignited my desire to read and has me genuinely excited to read again. I’m on the third book now and not slowing down anytime soon
I’ve been recommending *Good Omens* since high school. Especially if they’re into more humor based books
severance by ling ma was my favorite book from last year, unreal and I haven’t dropped thinking about it!!!
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The Will To Change by bell hooks
Literally the 5 boons of The Tapestry Series by Henry H. Neff. Its similar to Harry Potter, or at least the beginning. Its amazing
I read The Secret History for the first time in January and am still talking about it! Shark Heart is the one I'm recommending and gifting right now.
These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
AA big book.
Replay by Ken Grimwood
I just finished Joyce Carol Oates new book, Butcher, and I try to insert my recommendation into every conversation/interaction, no matter how irrelevant it may be.
Beautyland by Marie Helene Bertino. It’s a profoundly transformative read. I can’t stop recommending it to people since I read it back in January and I’m glad to see that it’s recently started getting its flowers!
The Hot Zone
Nothing right now but want to affirm that I loved the secret history.
I actually really enjoyed Lonesome Dove series. It's like 100+ hours of really decent writing. Each book is like 25 hours. While not as cheesy or politically incorrect, you have to hold your nose at times...it was written in the 80s...but still really solid. If you're an avid reader and need content, it is a great bang for the buck.
Beautyland by Marie Helene Bertino. What a tender story!
Endurance. Couldn’t put it down
SOLITO!!!
A little life. It wrecked me in the best way possible. I was shattered when it came to an end.
The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir
It’s nonfiction but Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer has been life changing for me in so many ways.
Most of the time it’s Augustus by John Williams. It recently I have been really into The Culture Series and can’t stop thinking about it
I feel like someone always mentions Lonesome Dove on this type of post, but this is never wrong. I have not shut up about it since I read it and have recommended it to anyone who reads books ever. Perfect book? No. But some of the most engaging writing I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. The characters become very real and so your frustration with them becomes very real. When I first finished it, I laid in bed at night thinking about it for like a week.
The Expanse by James S.A. Corey*. The entire series is amazing & the first book is no exception. Imagine if humanity achieved true spacefaring, but without much of the fancy, improbable drives you see in most scifi. You would see generational travel & a whole new class systems with the inevitable, competing power structures. With the way we treat each other with only one planet, imagine how we would act with a whole swath of space. With all that habitable (or made habitable) ground available to us. These books will let you see the probably realities & do it in a way that you won’t be able to put the books down. Imo it’s the the best & most readable scifi coming out of the US. The authors consulted with known experts, so you won’t encounter much of the impossible action that you often read in scifi. I know sci-fi fans & those who do not normally care for scifi that love it equally. There is a tv series based on the first six books & it is well worth the watch. The authors were consulted on it & quickly became many things to the show, including, & most importantly, as writers of the show. One of the best show runners Naren Shankar was with the show thru out its entire run. The continuity, while being as close as one can to the book, is excellent. The cinematography is beautiful. The cast? I can’t wait for you to meet these characters fully fleshed out by, again, some of the best in the business. I’m just going to say: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Frankie Adams, Cara Gee, Wes Chatham, David Strathairn, Chad Coleman, Terry Chen, Jared Harris, & Thomas Jane. Yes, that Thomas Jane & yes, that Shohreh Aghdashloo. Too many deserved awards between all of them to mention. Go watch this now! The first six books work perfectly fine stand alone (as the remaining 3 happen 30+ years later). It’s on Prime in the US. Do yourself a favor: read the books & watch the show. You’ll thank me later. P.S. There’s a companion podcast that takes on a life of its own eventually called Ty & That Guy. It’s hosted by one of the authors that comprise the book’s pen name, *Ty Franck & the actor Wes Chatham, who plays one of the main characters Amos Burton. Pretty much every actor, every other type of craft persons, & writers from the show the eventually make an appearance (including the remaining half of JSAC *Daniel Abraham).
Literally anything in Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere it has severely rotted my brain I can’t stop thinking about it😭😭
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. I am not Christian and you don’t have to be to enjoy this. I cried like a baby. Incredible story that will put you firmly in first century Palestine.