r/suggestmeabook

I don't usually go for sci-fi, but my partner is a huge fan and is set on winning me over. I read a lot more than I watch, so maybe that's a good avenue to explore. (He's the opposite, so I need the internet's help).

It might be easier to explain what I don't like and why, and ask for suggestions that fall through the cracks or would challenge my assumptions.

- Dystopian societies: my anxiety goes off because I can logically see how we're 2-3 degrees of separation from these scenarios (Station 11, Don't Look Up). I cried a LOT watching these and Station 11 still haunts me. I know it's a book/series and I think this would cement in my mind even more if I read it than when I binge-watched the miniseries.

- Zombies: I hate them. I have never wanted to watch anything with them. The closest I got to them was Plants vs Zombies and even that sometimes gave me anxiety on boss levels. I both hate them and fear them? Idk at this point. But I find them overused and redundant and I cannot be bothered.

- Long, very slow development: Dune. I fell asleep within the first 40 min of the first movie. Excellent vibes for napping. Hans Zimmer should be proud. I made it to see a lot of Oscar Isaac (thankfully) and slept through the rest. Don't get me wrong, I like some world building, but I need things to happen or I will get bored.

- (Hokey) space wars: I never got into Star Wars, Star Trek, or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (I read the book and bleh). I do not care for this. It's boring to me.

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While I know this knocked out 99% of normal sci-fi stuff, I will say that my partner showed me Bladerunner 2049 and I think that was alright. I saw Her and count that as sort of dystopian/sci-fi and thought that was alright, too. I work in tech and am in the "we should really caution our use of AI" party. The robot humanoids freak me out, but I think it's less sci-fi and more critical thought nowadays, and a conversation worth considering.

I read mostly non-fiction, some fantasy for fun (nothing like the dragon seggs books), more like re-reading HP and LOTR. I read literary fiction and occasionally poetry, but find the latter to be heavily laden with grape, S-A, s-harm, and the like, which is usually too much for me.

I like thought narratives, some world building, unlikely heroes, underdogs, magical realism, feminist perspectives, and unconventional roles, themes, or plot lines. I roll my eyes at predictable plot lines, smut, excessive pew pew, triggers mentioned in the poetry flags, and anything too cheesy.

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With that being said, are there any books you'd recommend for me? I want to believe there's something to be read from this genre before I throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Thanks in advance!

So I never read any of the classic books some people have in school. Lord of the Flies, 1984, Moby Dick, Frankenstein, Dracula, Odyssey, Brave New World, The Hobbit, Beowulf, Fahrenheit 451, The Great Gatsby, etc

Only books I have read and completed in my life are Wheel of Time Book 1: The Eye of the World, Ready Player One, Hail Mary Project, Be Water, My Friend.

So what are some classic books you that you read in school growing up that stuck with you, clicked for you and just absolutely loved journey you had reading it, that I might be missing out on? Or am I not really missing out on reading any of these and they were better suited for kids learning to read, do critical thinking and studying the plot as a group.

I'm really interested in reading more books that deal with a post-collapse society, along the lines of Station Eleven or the album The New Faith. I'm primarily interested in books that deal with the aftermath of climate collapse, and I'm happy to read across genres and age ranges. I'm not as interested in high-tech stories like Becky Chambers writes, but I did enjoy A Psalm for the Wild-Built!

I've read The Dispossesed and loved that, and some other Ursula K. Le Guin like Always Coming Home.

Thanks in advance!

I’m re-reading Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind and I don’t think I’ve come across another book so far that’s this well-written. Looking for a suggestion that reads just as well - where you find yourself pausing and re-reading a paragraph just to appreciate how beautifully it’s written.

I usually enjoy fiction/fantasy but am open to any genre. Thank you in advance!

Hello,
Have read quite a lot of antiracist books, social justice themes, and generally books with race and civil rights as a key theme by Black authors.

I’ve read a lot of heavy stuff recently and I’d like to try some fiction that covers different themes around Black experience, particularly Black joy and love etc (not to say that there can’t be any mention of racism in there, appreciate that’s a big ask)

Any good suggestions out there?

Open to non-fiction and other suggestions by Global Majority authors too!

I am looking for a novel that involves women and quilts or quilting or even sewing. This is a birthday gift for my MIL and she is notoriously picky and lets me know when she doesn’t like what I chose. She is very involved in her small town library but they have a fairly limited selection, so it can be something that is a hidden gem or one that is very well known. Thank you!

I got into reading last year and I have really been into classic detective novels but I also want something more modern.

What I have read:

-The original Sherlock Holmes books by Doyle

-Various Agatha Christie books (mostly Poirot, my favorite detective so far)

-The Bizarre House Mysteries by Yukito Ayatsuji

-The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

-The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo

What are some of your favorite detective novels?

Hi, everyone! I am in the mood to read something bone chilling and overall eery. I don't like gore, but I love distopian and eery mysteries. I love stories with a subtle creepiness that builds up, too. I'm into weird conspiracy theories on the side and true scary stories on YouTube, if any of that helps spark any ideas.

If there's any gamers on here, Thief is one of my favorite game series for this reason.

I'm looking for a book where fantasy is just part of everyday life, not the plot.

Nobody explains these things or makes a big deal out of them. The characters are just like trying to get through a Tuesday.....in a fantacy world. MC doesn't have to be a hero sort of deal.

Does anything like this exist?

Imagine you’re tasked with mentoring a 16-year-old whose background you know nothing about. Your goal is to build them into a productive, mentally healthy, and well-intentioned member of society. However, there’s a catch: the only thing you can do for them initially is to give them a book to study for the next five years. After that, you can’t speak to them again until that span is up. What book would you choose to give them?

Just finished a fantasy series and want to listen to a palate-cleanser nonfiction book.

Before the fantasy series, I listened to I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara and absolutely loved it. I have also recently listened to Killers of the Flower Moon and was very into the kind of, sort of small-town mystery that it was. Yes, I’ve read In Cold Blood more times than I can count. In fact, the top ten true crime books that pop up when you google it…I’ve read 7 or 8 of them.

The last non-true crime nonfiction that I read was Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. I really loved that it focused on a bit of history that we all know about, but most people don’t have the interest to delve deeper. I was looking for book about the Black Death, but my library only has them in print.

I also love autobiographies read by the author, but not sure if I’n in the mood to delve into someone’s life.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Although I'm 37 years old and doing fine financially but not really clear in defining what i actually want from life. I'm looking for a book that gets me to think and evaluate life.

I'm currently not happy what I am but I am also not clear what i want to become.

Any book recommendations?

I haven’t found or even heard of any books with aro/ace MC or side characters. It would be really cool to find a book with a character like me. There are SO MANY romance centered novels. An abundance of books where it’s just the subplot. But it would heal my soul to read a story with a character who sees the world through the lens of being aro/ace.

I especially love sci-fi (space and aliens specifically). Got a soft spot for coming-of-age stories and whodunnits. Coming-of-age would probably be the best to have the full experience.

I’ll happily accept anything though!!!

Recently, I was having catastrophic thoughts leading to stress and anxiety. Catastrophic thinking is a mental habit where your brain automatically skips past realistic outcomes and jumps straight to the absolute worst-case scenario.

I also started having medical catastrophic thoughts. Medical catastrophic thinking, or medical catastrophizing, is a mental habit where you fixate on the absolute worst-case scenario regarding your health, such as believing a mild headache is a sign of a terminal brain tumor.

Although, it is under control now because I'm able to recognise signs. But, I want to know why this happens in the first place.

Suggest me a book that deals with these things, why does our brain create a loop with these thoughts, why do certain people have these, is the cause of the environment or related to the brain, any studies or experiments done on this etc.

I've been going through it and right now i desperately want to turn my brain off and think happy thoughts. All my comfort podcasts still bring up the state of the world and how scary it is or talk about bad things from the past and I genuinely just want something light hearted and silly and nice that I can listen to and relax. I like educational stuff but as i said, im desperate for something with no negativity. Books I've already listened to in the vein of what i want right now are The Secret History of Food by Matt Siegel, Who Ate the First Oyster by Cody Cassidy, and basically Bill Bryson's entire catalogue (although even his work could be a bit too "old man yells at clouds" for me right now even though i love him deeply)

Any genre, any topic, I'll take any suggestions. I listen to audiobooks at work so I prefer longer ones that take up most of my shift but honestly anything longer than 4 hours I'll take. Thanks in advance!

Edit to add I've been told about David Suderis and I do plan on checking him out too

i feel like ive tried all the standard depression books and they just havent been doing much for me anymore. recently finished the midnight library and i just felt so damn empty afterwards and upset i didn’t have the same magical epiphany on life that everyone else seems to get after reading it.

for context i’ve got severe insomnia and ive been having a really bad episode. cant sleep for days on end and it really messes with my mental faculties. when you’re up for that long and all you can do is think it just fucks you up mentally tbh.

i’m looking for an easy read that might help out with things a bit. even a boring one that’ll put me to bed lol — i don’t wanna be excited by cliffhangers or else because that’ll keep me up. i love me some nonfiction, if that helps. memoirs are my FAVORITE (please no more matt haig guys ive tried).

i know people like to jump straight towards super optimistic books but remarkably bright creatures didnt really do it for me either.

honestly id love a book that has an insomniac as the protag but i feel like insomnia is never really portrayed in its true clinical sense much. if you’ve got one that’s medically accurate i’d eat it up, if its just a quirky character trait pls dont even bother itll just make me sad.

sorry this is a super scattered post lol if you can tell i havent slept much. i just want something thatll help. interesting enough to keep me invested, not too crazy that itll keep me up, not overly optimistic, not overly pessimistic. and i also want an iced chai latte with that please!

Hey everyone. I'm just looking for recommendations on a good adventure book. I've recently read the wager a true historical book on a British man o war stranded at sea, and if love more books along that line. It can be true history or fiction.

Maybe this is specific, but I’ve recently rediscovered my childhood love of Scooby Doo and I’d love to find books that give that vibe. I know the obvious one is Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero, but I’ve heard mixed things and would love to know if there are more books that fit here.

I’m not opposed to a little horror, but it’s not my preferred genre; I’d much rather ‘spooky’ than ‘scary’ if that makes sense.

Bonus points if it has queer characters, bonus bonus points for sapphic rep.

I recently finished "So You've Been Publicly Shamed" by Jon Ronson and I feel cheated. The excerpt we went through in class was really gripping and convinced me to borrow the book, but reading the entire thing was... lackluster? disappointing? It was like biting into a hamburger and parting with a mouthful of sawdust.

The main idea behind the book is SO interesting and his interviewees were eclectic (in a good way) but the way this guy writes... maybe it's because I borrowed an e-book and the formatting made some things wonky but i did not enjoy myself.

Does anyone have any book suggestions to fill this Jon Ronson-sized crack in my heart? Preferably non-fiction as well. I enjoyed "Doppelganger" by Naomi Klein so books similar to that would be good. Appreciate it.

I recently finished reading braiding sweetgrass and absolutely loved it. It reshaped my brain. I am now reading the lost art of dying, and it talks about cultural practices from medieval europe surrounding end of life care in comparison with modern medical care. BUT I know there is so much more missing from this book by way of well... the rest of the world lol

I am specifically interested to know about native american cultural beliefs and practices about living well and dying well, but also open to other cultures from around the world too :)