TLDR:
Please recommend exceptionally good fiction books/novels published after ~1970 that…
- Match my taste: inspirational / go-getter / strong characters, educational content, intelligent and meaningful dialogues/reflections, complex social interactions, and witty humor.
- Can be regarded regarded literary masterpieces (optional).
DETAILS (initially, written for ChatGPT, but I'm sure you'll beat it!):
I normally read non-fiction and occasionally sci-fi, but want to explore more non sci-fi fiction / novels.
1. Fiction books I liked:
- Great: Project Hail Mary, The Martian, and Death's End.
- Good: Americanah, A Gentleman in Moscow, Dune, Exhalation, 1984, Seveneves, Stories of Your Life and Others, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, and The Remains of the Day.
2. Non-fiction books I liked:
- Great: Sapiens, Shoe Dog, Elon Musk by W. Isaacson, Outlive, and Bad Blood.
- Good: Becoming by Obama, 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 by S. Mukherjee, The Spy and the Traitor, Thinking, Fast and Slow, This Is Your Brain on Music, and Why Buddhism is True.
- Pretty good, but could be better: Behave, Homo Deus, How I Built This, The Sovereign Individual, How to Change Your Mind, Moonwalking with Einstein, and Lifespan.
3. Movies, shows, and documentaries I liked:
- Great: Ex Machina, Contact, Arrival, The Big Short, Before Sunrise, Her, Frost/Nixon, and Chernobyl by HBO.
- Good: 12 Angry Men, Succession show, Knives Out, Thank You for Smoking, AlphaGo, Icarus, The Pursuit of Happyness, and It's a Wonderful Life.
4. Preferences, in order of importance:
- I like inspirational go-getter characters. I like when intelligent, inspirational, competent, strong, and ambitious protagonists attempt positive hard things with dignity (e.g., make the world better and bend the world to their will, build a business, start a movement, make a major scientific discovery, create an excellent piece of art, etc), face challenges, and succeed
- I like characters that mostly remain content, optimistic, or even happy, regardless whether the world and their situation is challenging or not
- I like when at the end the book leaves you with an uplifting feeling that one’s life and the world can be improved
- I like beautifully written books: rich vocabulary and masterfully delightful use of language, that’s playful, inventive, and witty; a language so good that it makes one savor every sentence and be enlightened by them
- I like educational content (e.g., new important knowledge, such as on science, technology, business, philosophy, history, culture, etc) and intellectually-stimulating content (e.g., puzzles for readers to solve)
- I like books that widely considered as exceptional and greatest masterpieces of literature; positive reader reception on Goodreads & Amazon
- I like witty humor
- I like deep, meaningful, intelligent, and engaging dialogues and reflections (I like when there is more talking than shouting or shooting)
- I like complex social interactions. E.g., the characters might be problem solving, collaborating, debating, strategizing, planning, building on each other’s insights, persuading, negotiating, colluding, conspiring, forming and breaking alliances, solving puzzles, philosophizing, changing their opinions, or simply exploring their ideas.
- I like books that respect the audience and their intelligence
- Optional, not required: won or were short-listed/long-listed for well-regarded awards like Booker, Pulitzer, or Nobel.
- Optional, not required: global perspectives, e.g. non-US authors
- Feel free to include some less well-known suggestions
5. Dislikes:
- I dislike if at the end the book leaves you a sad and feeling powerless to improve one’s life or the world
- I dislike pessimistic or defeatist worldviews
- I dislike protagonists who are psychologically or cognitively weak, uninspiring, and mostly unhappy; and never get better
- I dislike moralizing and patronizing tones
- I dislike simplistic content
- I dislike excessive, contrived, and unnecessary drama
- I dislike overly Hollywood-style action (e.g. more shouting and shooting than talking)
by imreallyjustaguest