TLDR:
Please recommend exceptional fiction books with inspirational characters, educational content, intelligent dialogues, complex social interactions, and witty humor.
Ideally published after ~1960–1980. Literary masterpieces are a plus.
I usually read non-fiction and very occasionally sci-fi. But now want to explore more traditional (not sci-fi) fiction (a blindspot of mine).
- Fav books: Project Hail Mary, The Martian, Death's End
- Pretty good, but not fav: Americanah, A Gentleman in Moscow, Dune, Exhalation, 1984, Seveneves, Stories of Your Life and Others, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, The Remains of the Day.
- Fav movies: Ex Machina, Contact, Arrival, The Big Short, Before Sunrise, Her, Frost/Nixon, Chernobyl.
Thank you!
Optional Details (originally written for ChatGPT, but I'm sure you can beat it!) are in the comment.
by imreallyjustaguest
3 Comments
**Optional Details (originally written for ChatGPT, but I’m sure you can beat it!)**
**Taste:**
* **Fiction:**
* **Favorites**: Project Hail Mary, The Martian, Death’s End
* **Pretty good**: Americanah, A Gentleman in Moscow, Dune, Exhalation, 1984, Seveneves, Stories of Your Life and Others, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, The Remains of the Day
* **Non-Fiction:**
* **Favorites**: Sapiens, Shoe Dog, Elon Musk by W. Isaacson, Outlive, Bad Blood
* **Pretty good**: Becoming, Doing Good Better, Enlightenment Now, Factfulness, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Life 3.0, Permanent Record, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, The Big Short, The Blank Slate, The Gene, The Spy and the Traitor, Thinking, Fast and Slow, This Is Your Brain on Music, Why Buddhism is True
* **Movies/Shows/Documentaries:**
* **Favorites**: Ex Machina, Contact, Arrival, The Big Short, Before Sunrise, Her, Frost/Nixon, Chernobyl (HBO)
* **Pretty good**: 12 Angry Men, Succession, Knives Out, Thank You for Smoking, AlphaGo, Icarus, The Pursuit of Happyness, It’s a Wonderful Life
**Likes:**
* Inspirational, competent protagonists who achieve positive goals.
* Characters who remain optimistic and content.
* Beautifully written, playful, and witty language.
* Educational and intellectually stimulating content.
* Widely regarded as exceptional literature.
* Deep, meaningful, intelligent dialogues and reflections (more talking than shooting).
* Complex social interactions. For example, negotiating, forming and breaking alliances, debating ideas, etc.
* Books that respect the audience’s intelligence.
* Witty humor.
* Optional: Awards or recognition, global perspectives, lesser-known suggestions.
**Dislikes:**
* Pessimistic or defeatist worldviews.
* Weak, uninspiring, unhappy protagonists.
* Sad or powerless endings.
* Moralizing and patronizing tones.
* Simplistic content.
* Excessive, contrived drama.
* Overly action-oriented narratives.
Now reading: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. It feels a bit slow and even shallow at times.
Considering these next:
* *All the Light We Cannot See*
* *The Goldfinch*
* *Middlesex*
* *The Shadow of the Wind*
* *A Fine Balance*
* *The Nightingale*
* *Homegoing*
* *Demon Copperhead*
* *Atonement*
* *A Prayer for Owen Meany*
* *The Heart’s Invisible Furies*
* *The Poisonwood Bible*
* *Midnight’s Children*
* *Lonesome Dove*
* *Cutting for Stone*
* *The Master and Margarita*
* *One Hundred Years of Solitude*
* *The Overstory*
* *Wolf Hall*
* *The God of Small Things*
* *The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao*
* *The Underground Railroad*
* *The Night Circus*
* *Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine*
* *Pachinko*
* *The Color Purple*
I’m going to throw a few titles that came to mind when reading your criteria…I doubt each book will satisfy every bullet, but a few of the titles you mentioned made me think of these books that I thoroughly enjoyed:
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson for a fun, light-hearted, adventurous novel on a non-terrestrial world with plenty of humor and a smart/thoughtful protagonist.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky for a very beautifully written book about a non-human species rapid evolution and it’s clash between humankind.
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers for an introspective read about an AI pulled from a ship, and forced into a humanoid form.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafon Ruiz for a noir like read set in Spain post WWII. Mysterious, and beautifully written – recommend if you liked A Gentleman in Moscow.
Hope one of these hits home for you! Best of luck!