Before I went to college, I used to love reading fiction. I stopped for a long time and now I’m 29 and rediscovering how much I still enjoy it. But I’m not even sure what type of books I want to read any more. I’ve been going to the library and just checking out things that look interesting, but I’d like to be more intentional.
I recently read Daughters of Erietown by Connie Schultz and really enjoyed it. It’s not an all-time favorite, but definitely a worthwhile read and I’d be interested in others like it. I’m currently reading Between You and Me by Susan Wiggs, and it’s fine, but I’m not enjoying it as much. I’m not sure if I’m into romance books, and this one focuses on a romantic relationship more than I expected from the description. Although I like rom-com movies and used to read every Nicholas Sparks book, so I’m open to the possibility that it’s just this specific book that isn’t working for me and that others might be better.
When I was a teenager, I was really into fantasy books and dystopian novels. I also have always loved the show Doctor Who, so maybe it’d be worth trying some sci-fi books? But I don’t even know what well-written sci-fi books are out there.
So, give me all your best suggestions! A great sci-fi book for me to test if I enjoy that genre? Good fantasy novels for adults? Heartwarming family dramas that might make me cry? I don’t know what I like, so help me discover it!
by sstillbejeweled
6 Comments
If you want a GOOD dark mystery get The Instance of the Fingerpost. Read it 20 years ago and several times since. My favourite book and the one I always suggest to people looking to get back into reading. It was my gateway drug into books.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
favorites:
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
The Brothers K by David James Duncan
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre
Clockers by Richard Price
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel comes to mind. I love all of her books but this was the first of hers I read and it’s also her most recent. Also, it has time travel for that Doctor Who feel.
40 by Alan Heathcock is a dystopian/apocalypse/fantasy novel about a woman who wakes up in a crater and finds she has grown angel wings. As the world falls apart around her she just wants to find her sister and keep her safe.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is the first in the Gentlemen Bastards series and one of my absolute favorites. It’s fantasy gangland, with a bunch of different guilds of Crooks and thugs running amok in a fictional Venice-like city. Locke Lamora is the leader of one of these gangs, the Gentlemen Bastards, and there’s a strong found family dynamic to them that I really adore. The book is genuinely funny, adrenaline pumping and heartbreaking.
Leech by Hiron Ennes is a Gothic horror novel set in a post apocalyptic, steampunk future Canada. The main protagonist is one of the most interesting I’ve read and I won’t spoil it further than that. It’s not terrifying horror by any means, but very dark and moody.
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe is non-fiction, but reads at times like a pure thriller. It’s an account of The Troubles in Ireland, a long-running guerilla war waged between Irish Rebels and English occupiers. It spans maybe 40 years or so and uses one particular Murder case as it’s basis for framing the narrative as a whole. Really well written and engaging.
Also, I’d be remisce if I didn’t suggest Scratchman by Tom Baker – the 4th Doctor himself. It almost feels like two books in one – the first half a genuinely great classic-feeling Doctor Who story, and the second a nightmarish fever dream. I’d be happy to recommend some other Doctor Who books if you’re interested.
And I’ll just rattle off some other favorites of mine:
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Circe by Madeline Miller
Ordinary Monsters by JM Miro
Nightwatch on the Hinterlands by K Eason
I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart
This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohar and Max Gladstone
A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M Miller Jr
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
Sorry if that’s all a bit much lol
Ada by Vladimir Nabokov- the most beautiful prose and world building
Anathem – the most fun world building
The Autobiography of Red – the most convincing depiction of love
John Dies at the End – This one is just alot of humor and alot of horror
The Scythe series by Neal Shusterman
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
Hidden Pictures by Steve Cavanagh
These are my recent favorite reads