Books

Hi all. I'm looking to explore contemporary lit fic but I really don't know where to start.

Currently I mainly read horror (usually slower literary horror and weird or Gothic stuff more than gore/extreme/slashers), New Weird, a fair few literary classics, and some SSF and mystery now and then. Some of my favourite books are Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Laird Barron's The Imago Sequence, and Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five.

So stuff with a dark edge and some speculative elements is welcome, but I'm staying open minded and I'll try basically anything as long as it's interesting.

Also, if anyone can recommend some magazines or other sorts of regular publications, I'd like to hear about those too. Both for short fiction and recommendations/reviews.

Cheers, A.

The local high school is considering redoing their selections for their 9th grade Sci Fi unit and I’m privileged enough to be able to provide suggestions. Currently they have a choice of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E Pearson, Scythe by Neil Shusterman, and Unwound also by Shusterman.

It doesn’t have to be explicitly YA, but definitely YA accessible, and preferably something that will keep a 9th grader interested and isn’t just a fluffy book but challenges thinking/perceptions like good Sci Fi can. My goal is something near 300-ish pages but if it’s a faster read more is ok.

TiA

Finished The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson. Book 1 of 2nd era of Mistborn. This was a very interesting book. Set about 300 years after the first era. The changes in the world, and to learn about some of the characters, it was all very interesting, and I am very glad that I re-read the first era before reading this.

Finished Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton. The book was surprisingly good. I quite enjoyed it, and it didn't even feel old.

My kid is already on book 5. So, highly recommended your for your 9-12 year olds.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

There's a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven't started this year's Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are ~~still 6 months remaining~~ only 5 months to go!

For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it's Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.

Hey

What most useful guidebooks or other information focused books do you know?

Had a busy week, wasn't able to read much. Couldn't even go through all the responses from last week's thread.

Still reading Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton. I have read first 40 pages or so, and the book hold up pretty well. I am enjoying what I am reading, and my kid is loving them too.

Also started The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson. Book 1 of 2nd era of Mistborn. I don't start multiple books at a time, but I had to go somewhere where I would have few hours free, and I realised I would finish the Famous Five book in an hour or so, and didn't want to take multiple books, so took Alloy of Law with me.

I am about half-way done, and it's interesting to see how the world has evolved, and the myths / history of the world. Also the changes in allomancy are interesting. Looking forward to finishing it soon.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

There's a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven't started this year's Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are ~~still 6 months remaining~~ only 5 months to go!

For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it's Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.

It’s that time that @[email protected], @[email protected], and I are starting to plan out Bingo for when it relaunches later this year. And we thought that we would reach out to see if we met some of our goals and ask if you had any feedback or suggestions.

While this was initially inspired by the Book Bingo on r/Fantasy, since we are smaller we wanted it to be less genre specific, while still encompassing recreational reading. For those who participated or considered participating, how did we do? Is there a way to improve?

We already have quite a few ideas for squares, but if you have one that you’d be willing to share, please feel free.

We started with the posts that are linked in the weekly book thread and a Storygraph challenge, are there any other resources or opportunities that we missed to make it more accessible?

Any other thoughts are welcome too. Thank you.

hey there, i need some Book suggestions. I love Fantasy/Urban Fantasy and Space Opera First things first MC must be female. I realy love Kate Daniels from Ilona Andrews or Elena Guild Hunter Series from Nalini Singh or The Innkeeper Series from Ilona Andrews.

I hate when a man appears and the Mc is sudenly helpless, to do shit by herself.

I like Happy Endings and absolute hate if the Autor kills a important Charakter of. I want Adult Fantasy and no YA, because i want the full picture if its a brutal Fight let it be brutal and if there is a steamy Scene so be it. By YA i always feel something is missing.

i don't like big Conspiracies, but its not a no no.

I don't like Classics Like Lord of the Rings...

Some Books that are my absolut Favorite: Urban Fantasy: Kate Daniels series Ilona andrews Innkepper series Ilona Andrews House Baylor series Ilona Andrews Guild Hunter Series Nalini singh Mercy Thompson series Patricia Briggs Omega series Patricia Briggs Jane Yellowrock series Faith Hunter T.a. White

Space Opera/Scifi: Class 5 series Michelle Diener Vatta Wars Elisabeth moon Galactic Bonds Jennifer Estep Jessie Mihalik T.a. White

Most Characters of these Books are Ready for a Fight/ Merchanary / or Soldiers Idk i really like Strong Woman

Thanks for Suggestions

If that even makes sense. Perhaps I'm wishing for a book that doesn't or cannot exist. I want to read something that is relaxing while stimulating and satisfying curiosity. I dont want something juvenile. It's ok if it's deep and thought provoking, but doesn't have to be. It should not have conflict.

When I imagine such a book, I think of beautiful descriptions of a forest and the things that live there. The weather. The scenery.

I just had the thought that what Im describing is poetry, but poetry is something which I've struggled to enjoy.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Finished The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. The climax and resolutions was really good, even on my 2nd re-read. Finally done with the first era! Wanted to jump right into next book to find out what happens to that one character, but next book is hundreds of years in the future.

Started Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton. Got the series for the kid, he is already halfway through the book and wanted to talk to me about it, so reading it myself.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

There's a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven't started this year's Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are still 6 months remaining!

For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it's Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.

Before amazon, there was a website that I went to that allowed downloading ebooks. Ibe bought off this website many times.

Books I have enjoyed:

• https://www.baen.com/1632.html
• https://www.baen.com/the-philosophical-strangler.html
• https://www.baen.com/oath-of-swords.html

Let me know if you have enjoyed any of these books in the past as well!

Did he? Or was it like that even back then? I'm reading this book, and it's like a carbon copy of our world in the US nowadays. I keep yelling "oh my god, this is basically happening right now!!!" Not as blatant and (I don't know the word) as in the book, but essentially the same. The book is like now, but on steroids (to explain the word I'm missing). The divide/polarization, the police brutality, the pollution, corporations and exploitation, the government's overreach..... Etc, it's all here now.

Welcome back after the holidays! Hope you had a good time, and your new year is starting well!

I didn't get much time to read, so still reading The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. Third and final book the of Mistborn series (first era).

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

There's a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven't started this year's Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are still 6 months remaining!

For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it's Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.

Just finished reading this book, and it was very moving. I've read one other book by Frederick Backman (And every day the way home gets longer), and loved it as well. Please suggest some books in the same style of these books (a bit more feel good like Ove would be great, but fine either way)

As a memoir, I find it very fascinating, though many of the individual stories are the result of games of telephone and hardly reliable; same as all oral histories. And, of course, the numbers suggested are deeply outdated by the fall of the SovUnion and the opening of the Soviet archives.

The 'rubber-band' effect of disillusionment with a worldview is on full display, certainly, considering Solzhenitsyn's youthful Soviet ideology. His resulting Tsarist apologia is not frequent, but pops up just often enough to be discomfiting.

Anyone else read this and have thoughts?

https://archive.org/details/TheGulagArchipelago-Threevolumes/The-Gulag-Archipelago__vol1__I-II__Solzhenitsyn/mode/2up

Artist: https://www.instagram.com/blanche.draw

I've recently gotten into reading and have completed some novels and graphic novels. I will not care if it's a novel, graphic novel, or something else. Any recommendation is great. Thanks

Edit: Thanks for suggestion. I started reading The Hunger Games. And put other in my read list.

Finished Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore. It was a fine book, enjoyed reading it, at least the latter half.

Started The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. Third and final book the of Mistborn series, well the first era anyway. This is quite a dreary book, but it concludes everything so that's good.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

Just a note, next weekly thread falls on 31st Dec, so we are going to skip that, see you in week after that, in 2025!

There's a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven't started this year's Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are still 6 months remaining!

For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it's Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.

Ideally US focused. Currently have a pocket issue of US constitution w/ related docs and am aiming to include something else, but not sure what exactly. Currently thinking maybe works of MLK Jr? Any suggestions on what else to include?

I've only just finished part one, so there's room for growth of course.

But, it feels like the author puts in grotesqueness at least once every chapter for no reason. For example, when the priest gets pushed over then kicked in the asshole so he shits his pants (and for those who haven't read, I do not mean he gets his ass kicked, I meant literally foot to asshole then shit comes out) and that's all that happens to him. He was then carried off to safety with no further injury. Why even write that. Sure, it could be some odd metaphor about how he's dirty just like everyone else but there are about a dozen better ways to get that across, surely.

I'm failing to see how such a crass book became an LGTBQ+ powerhouse of a musical. Surely there were other stories with similar narratives and less babies sniffing piss, right?

I suppose I don't want an actual explanation. I'm more ranting, but I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts

EDIT:

Finished the book. It was awful. I cannot fathom how this became one of the biggest movies of 2025, I really can't.

If you want my full review I wrote one on bookwyrm

https://bookwyrm.social/book/100941/s/wicked-the-life-and-times-of-the-wicked-witch-of-the-west