I’m looking for a book about a lonely or isolated character, it doesn’t need to be especially hopeful or optimistic in the end - I just want something like that. I don‘t like fantasy, I quite like sci-if though but I usually read sci-fi so I’d quite like to read outside of my comfort zone (in my previous post I said I was looking for something that made me feel like the movie ‘her’ (2013) makes me feel but I didn’t mean I just wanted sci-fi or anything, I should have made that clearer). I’ve quite enjoyed the John Green books and seen myself in some of those characters but I mainly just want something with a lonely character in it that has a sad or melancholic feeling to it. Looking forward to seeing what you awesome people come up with!

hello! i have 14 days of winter break, 4 of which i spent doomscrolling and just not feeling my best.

i'd love to hear your suggestions on books that you felt changed your mindset, make you work harder, use time wisely, follow your dreams and goals, and live life better. i'll take my picnic mat, go to the beach, and read that book! i expect the book to be non-fiction but fiction that meets the above criteria would also work.

i would love it if you could write a simple 1-2 liner on the title you recommend as well!

thank you very much.

i’m interested to see which books had all the right ingredients for a book you’d like, but for one reason or another, you just couldn’t get into it.

For me-

1. Green Lights by Matthew McConaughey
2. A Painted House by John Grisham
3. Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

Edit: I do not mean books published in 2024, i mean books you read in 2024 haha

What is one book that you've read that really had a profound impact on you (for any reason) that you wish everyone would read?

I’ll start - The Night Circus, by Erin Morganstern. It was selected by my book club and I thought I’d have to force myself to read it, but have ended up racing through and really enjoying!

I'm just about to finish the last Wayfarers book, and have already read The Monk and the Robot series. These are my favourites from the last couple of years.

I'm looking for:

• Likable characters

• People who are (at least eventually) capable of talking things out, who want to understand and respect each other. Who are capable of self-reflecting on their values and biases.

• A compassionate approach to life in general. We're all flawed, we all struggle, but I like seeing values like "helping others pays out", "we're stronger together than separated", "everyone has a right to exist", etc.

• There can be a plot or it can be just slice of life.

• Setting can be sci-fi or fantasy or real world. I like descriptions of how things work, how culture is build etc.

• I don't mind some deaths, or there being antagonists, or the like. But I'm not up for cynicism or "the world will always kick you in the head when you least expect it" stories unless that's just the starting point and things start to get better from there.

Just finished North Woods by Daniel Mason, loved it.

Other top reads over the years:

Steinbeck, East of Eden

Simmons, Hyperion Cantos

Follett, Pillars of the Earth

Franzen, Freedom and Corrections

Lee, Pachinko

McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

You get the drift. Thanks!

I’ve read the two books from the Legendborn series that are out and I’m currently reading Children of Blood & Bone. Ive loved reading about books with Black leads so wish I had these when I was a teen, but now I am looking for something that’s less YA and more adult and high fantasy (extra points if there are queer characters.) I also would love something a part of a series but not necessary.

I read so many recommended books about gay relationships and they alllll always end with one of them dying, sexual abuse, having a drug addiction etc.

Please recommend something that is for grown up people but still not downright depressing

I am looking for a book with a cold, winter, snow/ice type setting. I have always loved reading books that fit the season that I am in, and winter is a favorite time of year for me to read a lot. Any suggestions? I have some time off work this week, and I want to fill some of my downtime with a good book with a winter setting. Thanks!

Historical fiction is my favorite genre and I’ve realized that most of the historical fiction I’ve read takes place in the western world. I really like compelling characters and complex dialogue. I’m very interested in Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate, but I’m open to suggestions of any setting!

For reference: I like Jon Krakauer, Erik Larson, Friday Night Lights, Beyond the Beautiful Forevers, anything by Joan Didion. Compelling characters, beautiful writing. Not interested in murder-y True Crime.

Any suggestions?

Trying to read more books and scroll the internet less,. I devoured three books in a little over the past week based on recommendations I found on this sub, they are The Hike by Drew Magary, Sun Dial by Catriona Ward, and The Ritual by Adam Neville. I find that I enjoy a lot of morbid and darker reads, loved House of Leaves and I am Legend, one of my favorite books of all time if Cruddy (Lynda Barry). I'm seeking similar reads.

I also loved the Hot Zone, any nonfiction books that are similarly interesting in a morbid/terrifying kinda way are welcome.

I'm thinking of one of the following: cozy escape, book for partner to recognize mental load/appreciation of partner, or books that you found relatable as a working mother.

Can some recommend a great apocalypse read. Don’t know why, but what I’m into right now

I just finished mindfck series and I loved it too much. Alex cross was somewhat similar, but the mindfck series kept me so engaged I couldn’t sleep. I need more like this. Please send all the suggestions

Something like "Project Hail Mary", and "Gift of a Useless Man" by Alan Dean Foster. Where both the human and alien race aren't just entirely evil. I really prefer it to have a happy ending. Thank you.

I'm just looking to stack my winter tbr! Thanks in advance

Can you suggest a romantic novel that my partner and I read to each other?

I suppose I'm looking for either innocently romantic or light erotica (nothing too heavy in that area) to add some romance and maybe spice into our relationship?

Not a native speaker. So far have read The Border Trilogy and The Road (edit: also read the No Country For Old Men). Abandoned Surttree and The Blood Meridian. Are there any easier to read books by him like the Border Trilogy or The Road?

I read Shutter Island before watching the movie and the book was soo captivating and of course the many twists. What other similar books are out there?

I love love love books centered around wilderness survival stories but the vast majority tend to be pretty depressing in general. I'm fine with dark parts/gritty stories but does anyone have any recommendations for stories that don't have an overall depressing vibe? For reference I like books like The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah even though it has darker themes because it's not all doom and gloom. Thanks in advance :)

I just started reading Braiding Sweetgrass and I'm finding I'm reading slower and pausing between chapters to really absorb

Looking for books (of fanfiction tbh i don't mind it) about two idols falling in love with each other, preferably situated in SK. I'm looking for something well written and with lots of pining and/or slow burn, stories with a more serious tone. Finding it really hard to find books like this.

P.S: It can be an original story or a fanfic about an existing group, i'm just longing for this specific dynamic and can't find anything good.