the poppy war, by r. f. kuang. it’s a fantasy trilogy based on the sino-japanese war, and my favorite series of ALL TIME. i inhaled all three books in two days, and then was NOT able to function for a good while. definitely look up the trigger warnings tho.
Ok_Prune_5437 on
The Crying of Lot 49 was my first real postmodern book, and afterwards I felt like it shifted my idea of literature to the extent that I had trouble engaging with other stuff for a bit. I needed some non-fiction after that amazing fever dream
I think it taught me to not hang on so tightly to a perfectionistic detailed understanding of a text, but instead to try to relax and enjoy the ride. Which might be one of the themes of the book itself and Pynchon in general.
tkinsey3 on
I recently binged Becky Chambers’ **Wayfarers** series and I am genuinely at a loss for what to do next.
rolandofgilead41089 on
East of Eden. I bounced through several books after finishing that one, nothing could compare.
hashingw on
The Wolfhall series
howlsmovintraphouse on
Project Hail Mary was def a little like that for me, still think about that book almost daily 🥲
Active_Letterhead275 on
Hyperion
spookyandspice on
The Pacific and Other Stories by mark Helprin. It’s a collection of short stories that I devoured and really impacted me emotionally when I was in my early 20s. Each story is poignant and human. I’ve read a lot of books I’ve enjoyed since then but none have had the same effect on me as this collection.
WriterofaDromedary on
Pillars of the Earth. I will never pick up its sequel out of fear of its ruining the first
LadyMirkwood on
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth.
It’s a long book, so you really have a chance to wallow in his beautifully descriptive writing and character work. The sights and sounds are almost tangible, the heat of the evenings and scent of the garden were made so real.
I was thinking about the characters and where their lives would go after the story finished. It was very hard to not to compare every book after.
GlumDistribution7036 on
My Brilliant Friend quartet.
EvrthngsThnksgvng on
Strength In What Remains by Tracy Kidder. I have purposefully not finished it because I don’t want it to end.
Similarly The Texture of Dreams by Fasil Yitbarek
horrorjunkie8684 on
My Dark Vanessa
C02_Maverick on
East of Eden as another redditor said, but the one that sticks with me the most is Shogun. That book literally took me to another place – provided a real escape in my mind while reading. Makes everything else Mad Magazine in comparison.
Quirky_Dimension1363 on
11/22/63 by Stephen King
pinklemon36 on
tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.. i read it 4 months ago and just got back into reading. i still think about that book
kissingdistopia on
*Between Two Fires* by Christopher Buehlman
A fighty man, a girl, and a priest travel from point A to point B through plague soaked France and in the midst of a war between heaven and hell.
Fantasy/horror
mmillington on
_Mason & Dixon_ by Thomas Pynchon.
SeatMurky6227 on
It’s a fan fiction but Manacled; I couldn’t read anything for like 2 weeks after
Berbigs_ on
A book that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough- Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. It’s incredibly depressing but one of the most beautiful pieces of literature I’ve ever read. The books I picked up afterwards just felt too happy, like they were lacking a rawness of some kind. Highly recommend
Wide_Delivery7376 on
The Poisonwood Bible. I went into it blind. What an incredible journey. The audiobook is beautifully narrated.
run66 on
Lonesome Dove did that to me.
IndieBookshopFan on
I know this is not a popular take, but for me it was Iron Flame (from the Fourth Wing series)
servothecow on
Gravity’s Rainbow is one I finished a couple months ago, and I’ve read some awesome books since, but they’re not GR, and my brain wants more GR.
Dungeon Crawler Carl. I just finished the 6th audiobook and the 7th isn’t out until October. Every time I try to read another book I just keep finding fault with it because I’m sulking over it not being DCC
HoldenCaulfield3000 on
That’s Panchinko for me, read it last month. This book put me on a lock down cant read anything else (Im used to reading 2-3 books simultaneously). Im back to reading 3 books again 😅
kryssi_asksss on
One flew over the cuckoos nest.
Impossible_Assist460 on
I read & re-read (immediately afterwards) Cutting for Stone
AwareAssignment7082 on
Name of The Wind is mine
Upstate_Gooner_1972 on
I read “I am Pilgrim” by Terry Hayes a few years ago. I can’t find anything else that tops it since then.
FloofyHeadUnihorse on
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. The books just gave me that escape I’ve needed for a while and since reading the 9 books in the series published so far, I cannot seem to get sucked into anything else I’ve tried to read since.
Irksomecake on
The realm of the elderlings series by Robin Hobb. I thought she had broken fantasy for me as every book I tried for months after fell flat. In the end I went back to classics and build my love of reading back up from there.
Electrical-Scar-5710 on
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
vdpreader on
Code name Verity, incredible book
notwavingbutdrownin on
How to Sell a Haunted House. I teach English so for years I have been caught up in reading books that are “high brow” (aka read by my colleagues seemingly for bragging rights alone). Last summer I decided to just read for me—-even if the book is about a possessed yet sympathetic demon doll and would earn me judgmental glances from my colleagues.
One year and 30 books later I am so in love with reading again. Thank you, Grady Hendrix!
Equal_Barracuda2397 on
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – I struggled to like any of the characters for the first 50 pages, but after that, I was hooked. It got to the point where I was sitting in a cafe promising myself “I’ll close this book after one more chapter”…until I realized 3 hours had passed. It took a long time to find the right book it follow it up with ❤️
Technical-Pudding-51 on
The magus by John Fowles. As soon as I finished it I wished I could have read it again for the first time.
DumplingSama on
My yera of rest and relaxation
TIGHTLYROLLEDLUMPIA on
Between two fires.
UnlikelyOcelot on
Probably when I was in college and read The Shining. As an adult, Blood Meridian and Grendel. Both follow me around in my head.
quotidianjoe on
The Cradle series by Will Wight! I plowed through those books like nothing else.
MachineGunTeacher on
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey. An absolute epic. I actually had to stop reading for about a month because everything paled in comparison.
44 Comments
the poppy war, by r. f. kuang. it’s a fantasy trilogy based on the sino-japanese war, and my favorite series of ALL TIME. i inhaled all three books in two days, and then was NOT able to function for a good while. definitely look up the trigger warnings tho.
The Crying of Lot 49 was my first real postmodern book, and afterwards I felt like it shifted my idea of literature to the extent that I had trouble engaging with other stuff for a bit. I needed some non-fiction after that amazing fever dream
I think it taught me to not hang on so tightly to a perfectionistic detailed understanding of a text, but instead to try to relax and enjoy the ride. Which might be one of the themes of the book itself and Pynchon in general.
I recently binged Becky Chambers’ **Wayfarers** series and I am genuinely at a loss for what to do next.
East of Eden. I bounced through several books after finishing that one, nothing could compare.
The Wolfhall series
Project Hail Mary was def a little like that for me, still think about that book almost daily 🥲
Hyperion
The Pacific and Other Stories by mark Helprin. It’s a collection of short stories that I devoured and really impacted me emotionally when I was in my early 20s. Each story is poignant and human. I’ve read a lot of books I’ve enjoyed since then but none have had the same effect on me as this collection.
Pillars of the Earth. I will never pick up its sequel out of fear of its ruining the first
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth.
It’s a long book, so you really have a chance to wallow in his beautifully descriptive writing and character work. The sights and sounds are almost tangible, the heat of the evenings and scent of the garden were made so real.
I was thinking about the characters and where their lives would go after the story finished. It was very hard to not to compare every book after.
My Brilliant Friend quartet.
Strength In What Remains by Tracy Kidder. I have purposefully not finished it because I don’t want it to end.
Similarly The Texture of Dreams by Fasil Yitbarek
My Dark Vanessa
East of Eden as another redditor said, but the one that sticks with me the most is Shogun. That book literally took me to another place – provided a real escape in my mind while reading. Makes everything else Mad Magazine in comparison.
11/22/63 by Stephen King
tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.. i read it 4 months ago and just got back into reading. i still think about that book
*Between Two Fires* by Christopher Buehlman
A fighty man, a girl, and a priest travel from point A to point B through plague soaked France and in the midst of a war between heaven and hell.
Fantasy/horror
_Mason & Dixon_ by Thomas Pynchon.
It’s a fan fiction but Manacled; I couldn’t read anything for like 2 weeks after
A book that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough- Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. It’s incredibly depressing but one of the most beautiful pieces of literature I’ve ever read. The books I picked up afterwards just felt too happy, like they were lacking a rawness of some kind. Highly recommend
The Poisonwood Bible. I went into it blind. What an incredible journey. The audiobook is beautifully narrated.
Lonesome Dove did that to me.
I know this is not a popular take, but for me it was Iron Flame (from the Fourth Wing series)
Gravity’s Rainbow is one I finished a couple months ago, and I’ve read some awesome books since, but they’re not GR, and my brain wants more GR.
Oh yes, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18405.Gone_with_the_Wind](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18405.Gone_with_the_Wind) .
the A good girl’s guide to murder series
Dungeon Crawler Carl. I just finished the 6th audiobook and the 7th isn’t out until October. Every time I try to read another book I just keep finding fault with it because I’m sulking over it not being DCC
That’s Panchinko for me, read it last month. This book put me on a lock down cant read anything else (Im used to reading 2-3 books simultaneously). Im back to reading 3 books again 😅
One flew over the cuckoos nest.
I read & re-read (immediately afterwards) Cutting for Stone
Name of The Wind is mine
I read “I am Pilgrim” by Terry Hayes a few years ago. I can’t find anything else that tops it since then.
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. The books just gave me that escape I’ve needed for a while and since reading the 9 books in the series published so far, I cannot seem to get sucked into anything else I’ve tried to read since.
The realm of the elderlings series by Robin Hobb. I thought she had broken fantasy for me as every book I tried for months after fell flat. In the end I went back to classics and build my love of reading back up from there.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Code name Verity, incredible book
How to Sell a Haunted House. I teach English so for years I have been caught up in reading books that are “high brow” (aka read by my colleagues seemingly for bragging rights alone). Last summer I decided to just read for me—-even if the book is about a possessed yet sympathetic demon doll and would earn me judgmental glances from my colleagues.
One year and 30 books later I am so in love with reading again. Thank you, Grady Hendrix!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – I struggled to like any of the characters for the first 50 pages, but after that, I was hooked. It got to the point where I was sitting in a cafe promising myself “I’ll close this book after one more chapter”…until I realized 3 hours had passed. It took a long time to find the right book it follow it up with ❤️
The magus by John Fowles. As soon as I finished it I wished I could have read it again for the first time.
My yera of rest and relaxation
Between two fires.
Probably when I was in college and read The Shining. As an adult, Blood Meridian and Grendel. Both follow me around in my head.
The Cradle series by Will Wight! I plowed through those books like nothing else.
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey. An absolute epic. I actually had to stop reading for about a month because everything paled in comparison.