Book Recommendations?

[Ghostflower]

I am an avid reader and don't necessarily mind books that are about or have romance in them.  Sex scenes don't bother me, either, although I would probably avoid a book that's founded too heavily upon moments like that. 

Still, I'm trying to embrace my aromanticism and fight the amatonormative demon inside my brain by shifting my focus away from stories that revolve around amatonormative values.

Does anyone have book recommendations?  They don't have to feature canonically a-spec characters.  A good example might be "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles, which has a small bit of romance, but which focuses mainly on the protagonist and his non-romantic relationships.  The heart of the story doesn't sit between any two characters, but if I had to pick a single stand-out duo, it would be between the protagonist and his daughter.

It's also nice to read about messy, imperfect romances every now and again, like in Haruki Murakami's writing, where you can see allo people in committed relationships but not envy them for it at all. 

I want to avoid stories that pair up the cast into romantic duos, and while I'm glad that a-spec characters are more common in YA now, I feel out-of-touch reading about high schoolers discovering their identity.  (I am in my mid-20s at the moment.) 

Some books that I currently enjoy are:

1) "The Murderbot Diaries" by Martha Wells (because the protagonist's autistic swag resonates with me, and I like when narrators are also confused by social norms)

2) "Anxious People" by Frederik Backman (because the ensemble cast is great, and the romantic relationships are nuanced and believable, while not stealing the entire show)

3) "Death Note" by Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba (because it's fun to see unhealthy, murderous dynamics play out, and also because the authors accidentally made their cast of characters incredibly autistic and a-spec)

Does anyone have books they enjoy that fit this criteria?  Stories that don't prioritize romance but have compelling characters and realistic dynamics, perhaps spotlighting friendship and family members or personal introspection?  I will read pretty much any genre, and I have no qualms about length. 

 

[Jot-Aro Kujo]

Look into classic gothic literature. There’s a lot of great stuff out there that’s all about introspection and the meaning of the human condition, but a lot of people nowadays just don’t read it because they’re afraid of anything that’s older than the 80s. Dracula in particular is good when it comes to having lots of suspense and thinking one step ahead of the enemy, without having Death Note’s problem of every character other than L and Matsuda having the personality of dehydrated cardboard, lol. 

[Zariah]

2 hours ago, Ghostflower said:

Does anyone have books they enjoy that fit this criteria?  Stories that don't prioritize romance but have compelling characters and realistic dynamics, perhaps spotlighting friendship and family members or personal introspection?  I will read pretty much any genre, and I have no qualms about length. 

Brandon Sanderson is an excellent author, and his books meet practically all of your requirements! There's romance in many of his books, but it's never the main focus, and it's well-written. The focus of his books tends to be more about the actual plot and story. Also, all of his books have really really cool magic systems. He's written a lot of books, but I recommend starting with Mistborn Era 1. Warning, most of his books are fantasy and/or sci-fi, so if you don't like that, it's not for you. 

Hope this was helpful!

Edited August 2, 2023 by Zariah
adding info

[Ghostflower]

5 hours ago, Zariah said:

Brandon Sanderson is an excellent author, and his books meet practically all of your requirements! There's romance in many of his books, but it's never the main focus, and it's well-written. The focus of his books tends to be more about the actual plot and story. Also, all of his books have really really cool magic systems. He's written a lot of books, but I recommend starting with Mistborn Era 1. Warning, most of his books are fantasy and/or sci-fi, so if you don't like that, it's not for you. 

Hope this was helpful!

Ooh, thank you so much! :D I literally just saw the section for his books at the library earlier today, so I will add his name to my to-read list and be sure to check some of them out in the future! ^_^ (Also, I love SF/Fantasy, so never fear!)

Edited August 3, 2023 by Ghostflower

[Holmbo]

Since you enjoy speculative fiction I'll recommend all of Becky Chambers work. They are very light on romance and are generally lgbt+ themed. Record of a spaceborn few even has an aromantic pov character. You could start with the long way to a small angry planet.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Holmbo

[AstrophelDragon]

17 hours ago, Zariah said:

Brandon Sanderson is an excellent author, and his books meet practically all of your requirements!

I would also like to add that Brandon Sanderson is my favorite author

 

Also as stated Dracula is pretty good

 

Besides that, I mostly just reread kids/teen books so idk if I have many other suggestions

Edited August 3, 2023 by AstrophelDragon

[Nix]

If you love fantasy then anything from Terry Pratchett is fun to read, very light on romance too.

I don’t know if you like supernatural horror, but I like the books in the ‘John dies at the end’ series. The humor is dark and pretty crass so that’s a bit of a you love it or hate it situation really. The main character is already in a relationship so there is no will they/won’t they.

And I’ve just finished reading the first book in the ‘Tales from the gas station’ series. Also supernatural horror but the main character is just trying to do his boring job during al the weird stuff that happens. No romance apart from some throwbacks to a past relationship. I really liked it so I’m going to read the rest :)

[Ghostflower]

On 8/2/2023 at 11:27 AM, Jot-Aro Kujo said:

Look into classic gothic literature. There’s a lot of great stuff out there that’s all about introspection and the meaning of the human condition, but a lot of people nowadays just don’t read it because they’re afraid of anything that’s older than the 80s. Dracula in particular is good when it comes to having lots of suspense and thinking one step ahead of the enemy, without having Death Note’s problem of every character other than L and Matsuda having the personality of dehydrated cardboard, lol. 

Thank you for the recommendation!  I actually adore gothic literature and read a lot of it in college.  And I don’t worry about “one-upping” Death Note, because it’s so near and dear to my heart at the moment.  It has some of my favorite fictional characters, too :)

On 8/3/2023 at 2:40 AM, Holmbo said:

Since you enjoy speculative fiction I'll recommend all of Becky Chambers work. They are very light on romance and are generally lgbt+ themed. Record of a spaceborn few even has an aromantic pov character. You could start with the long way to a small angry planet.

Ooh, I’ve heard of that title and author, but I didn’t realize that the books were queer.  Thank you so much for the recommendation! :D 

23 hours ago, Nix said:

If you love fantasy then anything from Terry Pratchett is fun to read, very light on romance too.

I don’t know if you like supernatural horror, but I like the books in the ‘John dies at the end’ series. The humor is dark and pretty crass so that’s a bit of a you love it or hate it situation really. The main character is already in a relationship so there is no will they/won’t they.

And I’ve just finished reading the first book in the ‘Tales from the gas station’ series. Also supernatural horror but the main character is just trying to do his boring job during al the weird stuff that happens. No romance apart from some throwbacks to a past relationship. I really liked it so I’m going to read the rest :)

I am writing all of these down, thank you so much!! ^_^

[Stefasingart]

It's great to see your enthusiasm for reading and your desire to find books that align with your preferences. Embracing your aromanticism and seeking stories that focus on non-romantic relationships is a wonderful journey. Based on your criteria, you might enjoy exploring Emily Henry's books. Her novels often delve into complex relationships, friendships, and personal introspection while not centering around romance as the primary plot. You can find more about her works and other recommendations at https://bookwormera.com/emily-henry-books/. Additionally, if you appreciate nuanced character dynamics and a focus on friendship and family, you might want to consider "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt or "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Stefasingart

[abi]

I'd really recommend The School For Good And Evil, it does have a fair amount of romance, but the central duo are two bestfriends, and they have such a good bond that remains platonic, it also has a really cool world system and its one of my favourite books