Looking for new books to read as I am preparing to head out on a much needed vacation and want to dig into some good reading. Can be fiction or nonfiction, just so long as it hooked you and made you want to keep reading and reading until the end.
here are a few of my favorites
Susanna Clark
- Piranesi
- The ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories
Vonnegut
- Cat’s cradle
- Slaughterhouse Five
Douglas Adams
- literally anything he ever wrote
Mark Haddon
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Margaret Atwood
Oryx and Crake
Ursula K. Le Guin
The Lathe of Heaven
Great list. Piranesi was also a very fast read for me. I loved the way she painted pictures with her words.
Some great books there, that reminds me I need to read some Susanna Clark.
Piranesi is a real gem!
The Kingkiller Chronicles is a series by Patrick Rothfuss. The first book is The Name of the Wind. Definitely one of my absolute favorites
Such a good series! So ready for number 3.
Be forewarned that the author has not released the third book and last I checked there’s no release date on the horizon
I scrolled all the down the comments and didn’t see Discworld by Terry Pratchett. Don’t listen to anyone and just start reading it. There’s no right or wrong way to do it.
Maybe the wrong way is to start with Book 1. I’d say try ‘Witches’ first, as I found the first book a bit offputting.
Not sure if your into light novels, recently I’ve been addicted to Acendence of A Bookworm.
A Short History of Chinese Philosophy by Fung Yu-Lan. I spent pretty much all of my time off work reading it. I found it insanely interesting since I knew almost nothing about Chinese philosophy, and the book is written specifically for people like that. The way their schools of thought developed through the ages and were influenced by each other constantly as one became dominant was very fascinating.
The expanse. I’m on book 8 right now and it’s been going fast. The world building is so good. It makes you wish you were there with them. If you’re into hard scifi, then you’ll love this series
I tried watching the TV series and couldn’t get into it. I finally tried the first book and it is so much better.
Wait til you get further in. Things just keep building and it gets even better. The books I mean. I liked season one of the tv show and that was it. But the books. Only one book out of the series so far has been a struggle. The rest I’ve blinked and finished because of how good they were.
Those books are sooooo good. Cannot recommend them enough
@Evolone The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers (anything by Becky Chambers, really). Also anything by Gail Carriger.
Every time I buy the new Alex Delaware novel written by Jonathan Kellerman I read it straight through in one seating. I own the entire collection in hardback.
I feel like I have read quite a few books that I felt that way about, but it’s always hard to bring them to mind when someone asks. That said, the first few that popped into my head:
- Cradle (series)
- Wool (series)
- The Martian (Audio book is especially well narrated!)
- Murderbot Diaries (series)
- The Bobiverse (series)
Absolutely love cradle. Sad that it’s over now
+1 for Cradle, I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I was going to
The Bobiverse (series)
4th book was such a disappointment.
Overall message too, somehow went from “we are the avantgarde of transhumanism and the universe is our playground” straight up to something like “i wish 50’s back”. Every single Bob turned to either flat meme or boomer.
Haha yeah, I really enjoyed the first few books, and the last one just fell flat.
If you love The Martian, you are going to love Project Hail Mary. The audiobook is really good as well.
Gibson’s sprawl trilogy when I read them back in '89. The fact that it had many short chapters made it easy to consume in quick bursts of reading
I love all of Gibson’s books, have you read anything by Pat Cadigan? Fools may be the most mind bending book I’ve ever read, in a good way
Bobiverse series (science fiction).
It’s probably been said, and is not exactly a hidden gem, but 1984 is something special. I read an excerpt of the first chapter and was hooked.
- A Secret History
- A Gentleman in Moscow
- The Martian
- 11/22/63
- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
- East of Eden
I’d add Artemis too, or really anything Andy Weir writes.
I didn’t read Artemis due to its mixed reviews. But Project Hail Mary was another great one like the Martian. I remember losing sleep reading the Martian because I could not put it down.
Hyperion. And that book was fucking heavy.
I read almost exclusively fantasy and sci fi. Here’s a few favourites.
Sci fi: Red Rising Trilogy Bobiverse The Martian and Project Hail Mary
Fantasy: The First Law Trilogy (my absolute favourite of everything I’ve read) Brandon Sanderson (literally any of his stuff. If you’re looking for a trilogy, start with Mistborn and if a stand alone, Warbreaker). Don’t be overwhelmed by his Cosmere world, if you only read mistborn era 1 it wraps up in a nice bow. Robin Hobbs first trilogy is a nice introduction to her series. If you don’t love it it wraps up nicely after the first trilogy.
Dystopian: Unwound by Neal Schusterman Arc of the Scythe by Neal Schusterman
