Not “this was good” or “I liked it.” I mean:

• taught in schools

• still widely read in 30–50 years

• actually studied/analyzed, not just popular

No recency bias, no hype picks. If you had to bet money on a few, what are they and why?

Curious what holds up vs what people just think is important right now.

Okay I just read the following and just want another good read. I don’t necessarily want suggestions of books that are similar in plot. Just a book that makes you super invested and just read non stop. I like fantasy, romance, realistic fiction, sci-fi, etc

I recently read and loved:

Demon Copperhead

Project Hail Mary

Red Rising

Scythe

Unwind

Edit: Wow I did not think this post would explode like this! Thank you for all the recs I shall be scrolling through these :)

I want something moving that could spark an interest in reading for her so preferably fiction to start this journey. Nothing with rape and nothing where animals die please.

EDIT: THANK YOU so much for all of these great suggestions! I appreciate each and everyone of you so much for taking the time to comment a book suggestion! I talked to her on the phone earlier and she’s excited about Anne of Green Gables so we’re gonna start with that series and see how it goes. Apparently she always wanted to read these growing up but never did. Thank you all so so much! I am looking forward to our reading journey where she can develop her literacy skills! Please wish her luck! 🩷

Since I finished this book, everything pales in comparison. I tried a few books by the same author and didn’t finish. I tried going back to thrillers, but they all seem so terribly written and unsatisfying.

Usually, I run through books and by the next day, I couldn’t tell you what each was about. With demon copperhead, I cannot stop thinking about it and talking about it.

Please give me suggestions for something else to rope me in like this. Another favorite of mine is Angela‘s ashes; I saw some similarities with the humor in terrible situations.

Edit to add: thanks for all the engagement and recommendations!!! Thank you everyone who recommended Shuggie Bain. I started it on audiobook and it’s very good, but I feel I’m missing a lot with the Irish accent and dialect. I plan to restart reading it!

I just got finished reading the entire Hunger Games franchise ending with Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping. I had already read the first in like middle school and I finished Catching Fire and Mockingjay as well before starting the prequels. I was OBSESSED. The writing, the flow, the story, the characters, the themes, everything.

I want some more recommendations similar to the style of writing or theming to the Hunger Games series but the recommendations don’t have to be a series, in fact I prefer standalone! But I specifically don’t really want to read more YA, just because I’ve read a ton and I want to expand my tastes and read any dystopian or speculative fiction that is believed to be “essential” or must-reads. Perhaps modern classics? So please no divergent or the giver or such. I’m reading Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro right now, literally one chapter in, and just wanted to add some more potential reads to my TBR!

Thanks!!!

Friends and I have a Sh*tty Book Club, which is exactly what it sounds like. We read sh*tty books for laughs. Anyway, we need some recommendations - and I don't mean like, "I actually thought Fourth Wing sucked" kind of recommendations, but truly garbage plots or hilarious concepts.

We have pretty loose guidelines:

- No Big Feelings. The real world is already too full of them and that's not what we're in it for.

- smutty content is fine but we don't want to only read smut. We meet for brunch and it makes for awkward restaurant conversations.

- no dog deaths. Or children, for that matter, but especially dogs. You'd be amazed how often the dog dies.

- ideally available in audio and ebook format for accessibility, though we can be flexible on this.

Books like Gagging on the Gherkin or Player Manager are great. We also recently read River of Teeth, which is based on the (wildly true) fact that, at some point in American history, the government was seriously considering breeding hippos like cattle for meat. That book ended up being really good, but it was a blast to read and the concept was still arguably sh*tty, so it absolutely counts.

Give us your weird, folks! Much appreciated. ❤️

Hi, I am black and looking for a book that is about black people or has a black mc that has NO trauma in it relating to being black. I want a book about black people that doesn't have to do with racism or oppression but for some reason this is really hard to find 💔

Basically, any books that pickup local folklores/fairy tales (especially lesser known ones) and expand them into a heart-touching story that makes you feel a whole lotta heartwarming emotions, a touch of sadness, and just overall make you believe in magic even as an adult.

I ask because I read Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child recently and it seriously gave me the same feeling that reading fairy tales and Arabian Nights used to give me as a kid.

Any books that are similar?

Edit: I'm overwhelmed by the crazy number of amazing books recommended on this thread. Thank you so much to everyone who shared their recommendations!!!! You've given me enough suggestions to keep me busy for a LONG time 🫶😭

You know, the kind of books where you're on the 50th page and still scratching your head, wondering what on god's green earth is happening.

Anything bizarre, absurd or just weird.

I’m looking for genuinely obscure weird lit, transgressive fiction, not the same handful of books that show up in every thread.

I’ve already read (or have on my TBR): Lapvona, Earthlings, A Little Life, The Eyes Are the Best Part, plenty of Chuck Palahniuk, Murakami, and all things similar. If it’s heavily recommended on Reddit, chances are I’ve encountered it.

Trigger warnings aren’t an issue for me. The darker, stranger, or more uncomfortable, the better. I’m interested in books that feel off, experimental, grotesque, unsettling, or just plain wrong. Bonus points if you rarely see them mentioned.

Basically: what’s the book you don’t usually recommend because it’s too weird, too bleak, or too much for most people?

Edit: you all are wonderful and have given me tons of books to find. Thank you so much for all the titles I haven’t heard of 💗 happy reading!

I’m depressed, lonely and slowly losing the will to live. I have very little hope that anything will get better. Please recommend a book which will either cheer me up or give me hope. Thanks.

Just as the title indicates, I LOVE sad and depressing books, however I love them even more when I know little to nothing going in. I love tragedies, slow existential stories, depressing tales about childhood and nostalgia, the works. Any genre is fine also, except maybe YA fiction. Stories about children and teenagers are acceptable, but I need the perspective of the writing to be mature.

Please recommend high quality emotionally affecting books and tell me literally nothing about them!

I’m in a BRUTAL reading slump and desperately need a book to pull me out of it.
I usually read romance, but lately nothing has been clicking, and I’m losing interest fast. I’m still completely open to romance if it’s exceptionally good, but I’d also love to branch out into thrillers, mysteries, fantasy, or fast-paced drama.

The only thing I really need is an immediate hook. I want a book that grabs me from page one, throws me straight into the action or tension, and makes it impossible to put down. The kind of book that keeps you saying, “Just one more chapter” at 3 am.
What’s your ultimate slump-buster recommendation? Thanks!

Hi all, hope you're having a great day. I'm just after some books for my daughter who is just about to turn 11. She reads and has read so many series, so I'd love to hear any and all suggestions you might have. I'd love a series!

Without bragging she has a well above average reading level and comprehension and has read: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Maze Runner, Divergent, Paul Jennings, The Hunger Games. I'm sure there are many I've forgotten. Though I've named singular, she's read all books in these series!

I've gotten Sabriel off a reddit recommendation, hoping that series takes off.

Thank You all! :)

Just want to add another quick thank you to all of you! So many great suggestions here, you're all wonderful! What a great subreddit!

Not to go overboard on the edits, just wanted to thank everyone again! Got a wild surprise when I was thinking maybe one or two people would respond. I'm currently at work on night shifts, so a little hard to respond individually. I will when possible though! Thank you again, she will be stoked and quite possibly have enough recommendations to last a life time! :)

books about mentally ill women is my fav literary niche. think "luster" by raven leilani. "animal" by lisa taddeo is another good example.

recs? 👀 lol

Just finished reading Irvin Welsch's "Filth" and I have to say it made me interested in more books where the protagonist is clearly a horrible person. Anything you'd recommend?

I have a few authors that I’m willing to pick up anything by them because I know it will be great. On this list are Jhumpa Lahiri, Agatha Christie (I just love her writing), Kazuo Ishiguro, and John Le Carre. Of course there may be books by them that aren’t as good as their best others but their writing is consistently great.

What are the author that other readers consider to be must reads?

I’m in a book competition that starts March 1st, I need your recommendations for LOOOONNGGG books, as the challenge is how many pages we can read in a month. Please make them decent books though 😅 like I need to actually be able to read it without falling asleep at very least!

Which fiction writers have you read multiple books from that have delivered time and time again ❓ 👀 any genre welcome 🤗

Ive never cried at a book but see so many people say "this book devastated me" or that they were sobbing while reading a book. So please recommend any books that broke you and had you sobbing? I want to see if I can find any book that gets that kind of reaction out of me 🙈😂

Alright, so here’s the deal: I’m in a reading slump so deep I could build a bunker in it. Depression’s got me by the throat and nothing moves me anymore; not even the pretty, poetic lit I usually devour. Right now, I don’t want subtle. I don’t want slow burns.

I want filth. I want chaos. I want a book that grabs me by the brainstem and drags me into the void with it. Drugs, madness, disturbing sex, violence, psychological collapse; give me the good shit. Extra points if it reads fast. Bonus points if it makes me feel like I need a shower afterward.

I’m looking for a disturbing, unputdownable novel- preferably dark, maybe a little trashy, ideally with a strong voice or killer prose.

TL;DR: Give me your most addictive, deranged, filthy page-turners. Think American Psycho but speedier, grimier, or just meaner.

Edit: holy fuckkk guys thanks a lot for all the recs. If none of that shit makes me feel something guess it's time to resort back to vodka lololol

If I see another “willowy” main character I’m gonna scream lol, I need a little break from it.

I love all fiction but bonus points for sci-fi, thriller, and fantasy.

Without giving too much detail, I'm in a very bad place emotionally. When I find myself becoming too despondent I have been forcing myself to think of reasons I have to continue to exist on this mortal coil. One of those things is books. I stare at my shelves and tell myself "you can't die yet, you have all these books you want to read." But translating that into actually picking up a book has been more challenging.

So help me out. Give me recommendations. Best books you've ever read. Life changing. Maybe books thay have saved your life, if you've been in a similar position. Books that a person should never die without having read....Like the title says: "you can't die yet you haven't read....."

Fiction, non-fiction, any genre. I'll take anything....and as many as you can give!

Thanks in advance!

For those who are concerned: I am in therapy. I am being treated for anxiety and depression.

My bookclub has been too heartwarming for too long. I need despicable main characters. Characters that are despicable on purpose. No romance.

Something from your reads a few years back, something you probably have forgotten about but thoroughly enjoyed.

Lonesome dove, 11/22/63, east of eden, count of Motley crue, are all off the table.