Kharina Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 Hi all, Fairly new here and love to read - always on the lookout for recommendations! What are some of everyone's favourite genres/authors/books? I read a mix of things (except horror, I am easily scared!) but been reading more fantasy lately than I used to and getting in to that a bit more. Really been enjoying Robin Hobb's books recently. Some of my all-time favourite authors are Terry Pratchett and Alexander McCall Smith. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Native Manitou Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Backlash~The Undeclared War Against American Women~ by Susan Faludi Black Elk Speaks by Black Elk & John G. Neihardt Custer Died for Your Sins by Vine Deloria (also the album by Floyd Red Crow Westerman) Eastern Standard Time by Jeff Yang, Dina Gan, Terry Hong & the staff of A. Magazine The Innocent Man by John Grisham House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III (a good movie too) I Am Prepared to Die by Nelson Mandela Indian Givers by Jack Weatherford The Investigation of Ralph Nader by Thomas Whiteside The Last Algonquin by Theodore L. Kazimiroff Material World by Peter Menzel The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford (don't watch the movie) People of the Deer by Farley Mowat The Night Is Dark and I Am Far from Home by Jonathan Kozol North American Wildlife by Reader's Digest Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein The Right to Privacy by Ellen Alderman & Caroline Kennedy Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally (the movie is overrated?) The Sword and the Dollar by Michael Parenti Top of the World by Hans Reusch (the movie version is called The Savage Innocents & it's as bad as that title) The People's Almanac by David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kharina Posted October 10, 2020 Author Share Posted October 10, 2020 Wow that's a good list and don't think any I've read so will have to check some out! I have heard of the Farley Mowat one and I have seen the film of Schindler's list but not the book, so if the book is (as usual!) better may have to have a look. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeepsInTheChiliPot Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 One book I always recommend is A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. I love the story, artwork, all of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmbo Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 My favorite book is The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. It's an utopian sci-fi book about a man who lives in a anarchist socialist society and travel to the neighboring planet which society is more like our present one. The language is beautiful and it has interesting philosophical discussions about what freedom is. Although when it comes to recommendations for aromantics my go to book is The long way to a small angry planet by Becky Chambers, Such a cozy book which is all about found family. And the author has made up interesting alien races which she uses to explore ideas gender fluidness, relationships and child rearing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roboticanary Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 in fiction: Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett (honestly if i was honest i would just list every Pratchett book and let this comment stretch for miles) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (nother good one for humour, and I am a sucker for stories about space) non fiction: Lore of the Land - Jacqueline Simpson and Jennifer Westwood (A reference of english folk stories, one that I dip into very often, I would also recommend Jacquline Simpson's folklore of the discworld book she did with Terry because more discworld makes everything better) The Death and Life of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs (because all that time freed up by not caring for romance is best served reading books about city planning in a different country from me over half a century ago. seriously though, it is a fascinating book) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a tiny tortoise Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 So I love basically any genre for the most part. I am very picky when it comes to romance novels, but I will read any other genre freely Radio Silence (the most amazing friendship on this earth I love it so much) by Alice Oseman Percy Jackson And The Olympians by Rick Riordan The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan Loveless By Alice Oseman House Arrest by K A Holt The Body (not horror and good friendships) by Stephen King The Insignificant Events in the Life Of A Cactus by Dusti Bowling The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth So I Wish You All The Best, The Divergent trilogy, have romance in it, in neither one is romance the main theme, but it is still there. Radio Silence and Loveless have some ace and aroace representation by an aroace author. I Wish You All The Best has nonbinary representaion and the Insignificant Events In The Life of a Cactus has some disability representation. Loveless, The Hunger Games, The Divergent Trilogy and House Arrest all made me cry. If I am being honest though The Phantom Tollbooth and The Insignificant Events In the Life of a Cactus are the only ones that are guaranteed to not make you cry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 (edited) The list is very long, and still incomplete, so I put it in a spoiler for the sake of everyone's sanity: Spoiler - Any and all Terry Pratchett books - Strange the Dreamer series by Laini Taylor - Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann - Any of the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce - Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff - Recursion by Blake Crouch (I just read this, and it is amazing) - Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini - Kane Cronicles, Heros of Olympus, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan - Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull - Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard - The Secret History by Donna Tartt - Any Kate DiCamillio book - The Mortality Doctrine by James Dashner - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 5-part-trilogy by Douglas Adams - On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden - When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman - The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate - Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls - Persepolis series by Marjane Satrapi - Educated by Tara Westover - The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls - Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon - Eleanor Oliphant is Completly Fine by Gail Honeyman - I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Majorie Agosin - A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass - The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth - None of the Above by I.W Gregorio - Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper - The African Trilogy by Chinua Achebe - A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Housseini - Turtles All the Way Down by John Green - We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach - The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple - Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs Not sure if this indicates I read too much, my standards are too low, or both. EDIT: just read a new one, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. It was amazing. I would gush over one particular section and the genius writing that it is, but it can easily be seen as a spoiler. Edited December 3, 2020 by Neon Green Packing Peanut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 My standing recommendations are: The Deed of Paksenarrion, by Elizabeth Moon (fantasy, old favorite of mine, about a woman becoming a soldier. Suppose it is no surprise I was drawn to ace-aro characters even before I had a term for it x)) Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie (sci-fi, about a ship-AI, when I read it I wondered if maybe this wasn't the best book I had read so far) I have currently found myself with a new obsession: the Horus Heresy (there are a lot of books in the series, by different authors, but the first one is Horus Rising). They have a lot of ace-aro representation, to be sure, and I find them (the five I've read so far) to be really powerful! But this is the warhammer 40k universe, and they are tragedies, should be noted, so just know what you're getting into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erederyn Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 If you're looking for more fantasy and enjoy some rich world building, I suggest reading some books in the Cosmere series by Brandon Sanderson! Specifically, I would recommend the Mistborn trilogy. If you like trees and nature and want something non-fiction, then I suggest The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. It was a fascinating read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Bookdragon Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 Sabriel by Garth Nix has amazing world building and a fantastic plot. It's probably the best high fantasy I've ever read. Necromancy does play a big part in it, but the author has a really unique way of working with it. Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann. This has really well done ace representation, and it's super short so you could probably read it in a weekend. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. The book was good but I liked the show a bit better. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I love this book so damn much. It could be triggering for people, as the book centers around Spoiler rape The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah. It's pretty dark, as it takes place during WW2, but it's still a favorite of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmbo Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 On 10/31/2020 at 8:55 AM, Jedi said: Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie (sci-fi, about a ship-AI, when I read it I wondered if maybe this wasn't the best book I had read so far) Have you read A closed and common orbit by Becky Chambers? It's also about a ship AI that doesn't have a ship anymore. And it has lots of lgbt+ themes to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 I haven't, but I remember the first book in the series being brought up before. From the reviews I gather these are cute, cheerful and optimistic. About the opposite of the 'grim darkness of the far future', which I find myself stuck in at the moment. I might check them out next time I need to take a break from Horus Heresy and cheer myself up a little x) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queasy_Attention Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 On 10/18/2020 at 8:03 PM, roboticanary said: (honestly if i was honest i would just list every Pratchett book and let this comment stretch for miles) I've been trying to get into Pratchett, but I have no idea where to start-- it seems like all his books are sort of one-off stories set in the same universe. Which of his books do you think could serve as a good intro to that universe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaAro Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 49 minutes ago, Queasy_Attention said: I've been trying to get into Pratchett, but I have no idea where to start-- it seems like all his books are sort of one-off stories set in the same universe. Which of his books do you think could serve as a good intro to that universe? I would start with Guards! Guards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roboticanary Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 51 minutes ago, Queasy_Attention said: I've been trying to get into Pratchett, but I have no idea where to start-- it seems like all his books are sort of one-off stories set in the same universe. Which of his books do you think could serve as a good intro to that universe? aaah, not sure. Not all the books are one offs in the same universe, in the sense that there are various threads of stories where one sort of follows another. if you are interested in working out what follows what I am sure someone on the internet will have wrote a guide which books follow which broad threads so here are three suggestions if you want to start reading a series of similar books: Guards! Guards! - start of the city watch group of books Equal Rites - start of the books about the witches Mort - start of the books about death If you would rather have a story which is pretty much a one off and is good fun I would recommend Small Gods. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaAro Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 5 minutes ago, roboticanary said: Mort - start of the books about death Agree, that's a good suggestion. The humor is a bit darker than usual, though. Who would've guessed? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonmerci Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 Mort was the first I read. Was fun and no problem to understand. I also read a book he wrote but not in his usual universe : the nome trilogy. Kind of a religious parody. And of course Good Omens that he wrote with Neil Gaiman. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 On 11/28/2020 at 11:35 AM, Queasy_Attention said: I've been trying to get into Pratchett, but I have no idea where to start-- it seems like all his books are sort of one-off stories set in the same universe. Which of his books do you think could serve as a good intro to that universe? I personally started with Small Gods, which is good because it introduced a lot of the concepts present in Discworld. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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