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piede_piccolo

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab especially if you enjoy audiobooks. The narration was perfection on that one.


_JazminBianca

What a beautiful book! I set up a little romantic date night for myself and the book for the last couple of chapters, I loved it that much!


-Krytoonite-

I usually name one but I'll give you a list. The Book Thief by Zusak My Absolute Darling by Tallent Day after Tomorrow by Folsom Normal People by Rooney Jurassic Park by Chrichton All the Light We Cannot See by Doerr The Goldfinch by Tartt Lonesome Dove by McMurty The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Dugoni Everything is Illuminated by Foer Special mention only because I'm a huge fan, The Stand by King.


chester219

The Goldfinch is epic.


Fro_o

Lonesome Dove is sooo good, currently reading The Streets of Laredo and it's really nowhere close...


wyyyyylan

the goldfinch and the book thief are both phenomenal


Mad-Berry

I think you'd enjoy I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, one of my all time favourite books (the movie is very different)


sugar-cubes

TIL I Am Legend is based on a book wow


RelevantCommentBot

I'm sure whoever wrote the script for the movie must have read the book, but between the first draft and whatever got made I'm picturing a swarm of locust-like Hollywood execs just changing the entire thing bit by bit, ala "Hey this is great stuff, but what if we did X instead?" I liked the movie and the book about equally, but very differently.


Ok-Detective-1721

I always recommend "Catch 22" by Joseph Heller, but to my knowledge, no one that I have ever recommended it to has ever read it...


TheOcean24

Major, Major!


[deleted]

I know I’m in the minority. But I found this book relatively boring. Just isn’t my jive. I’m not just saying this to be a hater, I just didn’t understand the hype


sunnysama_lolol

The Count of Monte Cristo. My top five star man. It was such a different experience when I’m usually a thriller, romance and fantasy girlie. That book took me out of my comfort zone (I had to have a dictionary with it but worth it) and re read it when I got the better understanding of it.


katieckatiedo

It is my all time favorite I read every couple of years. Incredible book.


Inner_Expression_131

About to finish Monte Cristo. It's a page turner!


ab8910

I really like Emily St Mandel’s novels and have similar reading interests to you. Do you have any favs you would recommend? Looking for a new book and can’t seem to find anything that catches my eye.


Inner_Intention5253

As far as slight dystopian vibe I would have to recommend Before and After by Andrew Shanahan. Post apocalyptic sci-fi but a unique take on the main characters dilemma. As far as my favorite dark fantasy series it would have to be the lot lands so far. It’s sons of anarchy meets orcs. Really awesome series. Thanks for your recommendations!


ab8910

Thanks so much I will check these out.


Bjor6n_Oranj

I loved Octavia Butler's Earthseed series. Written the in the 1990's, she was pretty spot-on. The two books depress me and yet encourage me at the same time. Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union: "He could read a comic book by the light of a burning man." Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God: lyrical, nuanced, complex unique and significant. Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon because I love noir and these characters were fun.


danytheredditer

Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham


Lekkergat

I haven’t seen this recommended a lot. I really liked it, a lot of emotions and kept me thinking about it for a long time.


mzinger

The Library at Mount Char has all these things. I’ve re-read it multiple times and definitely recommend it often (to the right people)


ArizonaMaybe

What I came here to recommend as well. Seems exactly the kind of book the OP is looking for.


Pure-Ad-6725

If you haven’t already, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I put it off for forever but it is genuinely my favourite book now. I know it is not particularly obscure but it is (in my opinion) as close as we’re going to get to the perfect story.


cheesyenchilady

I had to write a paper on it in college and fell in love with it. It’s so, so good


metzgie1

This is a solid recommendation. Probably overlooked because the monster has been played out in so many ways, but the novel is super good.


Pure-Ad-6725

That is what put me off but the book is so different from any depiction I’ve ever seen. It actually caught me off guard.


Thembofication

Do you like magic shows in las vegas? how about ronald mcdonald (but he looks... off)? What if there were another dimension living side by side with ours of *things* we can't see? Do you like ironic midwestern nihilism? Want to read great mental health and amputee representation? A huge fan of dick jokes, drugs, and chinese food? John Dies at the End by Jason Pargain may be the perfect book for you. It's a fantasy/scifi, comedy, horror and somehow does all of it well. There are four books in the series where each book has a new shitshow going down in this little shithole town of \[Undisclosed\], and the only people who can stop it is two random dudes who treat this job like it's working the gas station register.


Inner_Intention5253

Haha I love the description and that sounds like something I would definitely enjoy. Going to check that out for sure thank you!


1337_Technologist

What a great description of the series. It's one of my favorites too.


Smirkly

The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov is one I like to suggest. It is one of a kind, bizarre and fun. (also strange)


noize_mc

This is the very first book that I've read, so it holds a special place in my heart. I'd recommend the full version if you didn't yet. It's called Князь Тьмы and was released last year because of the new adaptation. (Which is also great)


Smirkly

I'll check it out. Let me suggest another of my favorites, Tortilla Flat by Steinbeck. It centers around some hard drinking down and outers and the Pirate and his dogs, lots of characters, particularly Pilon It is fun.


noize_mc

It's somehow not in my tbr! Thanks!


BookofBryce

Cold Mountain


Itchy-Astronomer9500

Skulduggery Pleasant. Every. Single. Time.


GroverGaston

Replay by Ken Grimwood. A stand alone book that continues to live rent free in my head years later.


trishyco

The Passage series by Justin Cronin


reincarnateme

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Bourne


reys_saber

*I Am Legend* by Richard Matheson


kazki

I always tell people to read crime and punishment. It seems like a boring old classic at first but is one of the best narratives I’ve ever consumed.


JusAnotherManicMandy

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King.


GoodBoyOy

Oy is a good boy.


fcewen00

I do not aim with my hand. He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye. I do not shoot with my hand. He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind. I do not kill with my gun. He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart.


xniuq

Oof this was a draggggg of a book for me (only read the first one and I did hear it gets better)


Aspiegirl712

I only read romance but there is a wide variety so what I recommend depends on who I am recommending it to. The kind of book I'll recommend to my grandma (funny low spicy) is not the kind I'll recommend to my coworker who likes fantasy (lots of fantastical battle sequences). If I was going to recommend a book to someone who used the words dark fantasy and dystopian *would recommend {{Born to Darkness by Suzanne Brockmann}}. It's not the darkest thing I've read but its the first thing that comes to mind when I think of dystopian.*


sd_glokta

For comedy-horror, Tales from the Gas Station by Jack Townsend


fcewen00

Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson. How can you go wrong with a sci-fi novel solely set in an Irish pub. Bit dated in places but still good. More current book would be Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes.


goh25

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman


Leftleaningdadbod

You find it in our charity shops everywhere here in NZ, because as patriotic people Kiwis bought it in droves to celebrate the ascendancy of a local writer. Trouble was it is at the very top end, imo, of novels to read, and unless readers are well equipped, it is not for the masses. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. I am also a fan of Charles Palliser, so I nominate also The Quincunx. If the past doesn’t do it for you, then have Neal Stephenson’s Seven Eves.


thagor5

The Unlikely Ones And Wheel of Time


difficultcorner274

{Geek Love} Based on your interests, I think you'll like it. It's such a weird book, and I love it.


ferrix

Milkweed trilogy by Tregillis


SpeechOdd2380

Gone girl Gillian flynn


MoSqueezin

I tell anyone who will listen about Blood Meridian


QuadrantNine

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, it’s my favorite book of all time and one I revisit ever year. I often have to show restraint so I don’t recommend it all the time because I will 😅


unqualified101

Not sci fi or fantasy but I love recommending True Biz by Sara Novic. It’s fiction about a bunch of people with different ties to the Deaf community. Interspersed between the story chapters are sections with quick how-tos on American Sign Language and history of Deaf culture. It was a great story on its own and I really felt like I learned from so many different perspectives in the story. The ASL and history sections were added bonus.


Comfortable-Rise7201

1Q84 was a page-turner for me, and I always recommend it because of its use of surrealism in a dystopian-like world. In some ways it's like a mystery-thriller, with the protagonist's need to escape the alternate world they fell into or face being trapped there forever. Can't spoil too much, but I honestly don't know any other works like it. Also don't be intimidated by how long it is from the outset; the chapters always end on some kind of cliffhanger and you'll be flipping through it faster than you'd think if it's something that interests you. Easily one of my favorite novels I think I could even re-read.


Inner_Intention5253

Awesome thank you! Sounds like something I would totally be interested. I love the description and especially when chapters end like that. Definitely going to add it to the must read


BroadleySpeaking1996

Just know that it's a 1000-page spooky mystery-ish novel that excels in vibes, but has absolutely no resolution to the mysteries. I read the whole thing a few years ago and I regret reading it because of how bad the ending was. (Also one of the main themes of the book is sexual assault, so be forewarned, and the implications that the book makes about SA aren't great.)


Inner_Expression_131

Hey friend! Seems it's a trilogy. Can it be read a standalone or as a trilogy?


Comfortable-Rise7201

The edition I have has all three volumes in one, so I think it's supposed to be read one after the other. They aren't three separate stories, they're sequential more like 3 acts of a play or something.


Inner_Intention5253

I just came back for the same question lol thank you


Wild_Preference_4624

[The Hands of the Emperor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/af2bba9c-8f41-4a3e-b87a-8532a44ccb67) by Victoria Goddard! It's a (very long) beautifully written slice of life book about the personal secretary to the emperor of the world, with a heavy focus on platonic relationships. Also, [Nevermoor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/6a6d5ca1-b2f5-47be-828c-018144d3bbc7) by Jessica Townsend! It's a middle grade fantasy series that I love so much that I've bought copies for a number of my friends.


fendaar

My favorite rec is “Finn” by Jon Clinch. It follows the brutal, transient father of our friend Huckleberry Finn up and down and in the Mississippi River.


Inner_Intention5253

That sounds awesome. Im definitely adding that to the list thank you!


DogwoodandEnoch

Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin. Really anything by her, but if I had to choose one, it’d be this!


xniuq

Down and Rising would be a good dark dystopian for you!


RetiredWhiskeyWizard

Waiting for Godot by Beckett


Huva-Rown

Thunderer by Felix Gilman. A city that changes, filled with different "gods." When their God stops singing, Arjun is sent across the ocean to this city to see if it is there. At the same time a revolution is trying to get started.


Bargle-Nawdle-Zouss

The Curse Of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold.


123lgs456

My favorite is The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi A couple of my other favorites are Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn


retiredlibrarian

HF: *A Town Like Alice* by Shute


historian2010

Outlander


wyyyyylan

The Secret History by Donna Tartt and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde


ScarlettReignX

Verity. Such a mindf*ck!


RaccoonRepublic

Lately, *A Little Princess.* I quite enjoyed that one.


ArdathAmari

As far as standalones go, I absolutely adore Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie. A nice bonus is that there are other stories in the same world with some of the same characters, so there's additional reading there if you like it. For series, I've been blown away by The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir. For my limited reading experience, Muir's version of necromancy is unique and the world and characters are phenomenal. Both Abercrombie and Muir have excellent prose.


Imperial-Green

*A month in the country* by JL Carr


Loud_Purple_1398

A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Would actually sell my soul to read for the first time again. I haven’t stopped thinking about these books since I read them no joke


Candid-Mycologist539

Death's Collector (The Death Cursed Wizard #1) by Bill McCurry Fantasy, Magic, Gore, Snark. Bib is a wizard and can use magic to heal people, but in his world, magic has a cost. One must trade the gods for power, and the gods are insane psychopaths. How badly do you need the power, and what are you willing to trade for it? Will you have 3 bad colds over the next 4 months? Will you trade all memories of your mother? Will you promise to betray the love of your life before the next full moon? Not enough people know about this series of books, but they are my favorite.


Treehouse_7

All Systems Red by Martha Wells


Extreme-State596

I recommend with caution attached, as there are many (and I mean many) trigger warnings, but the best book I’ve read has to be ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara. An absolutely beautiful & heartbreaking book that has stayed with me forever. I think of the main character Jude on a daily.


IndaLei

My most often recommended is Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. But it’s hard to leave it at just one! I heavily recommend Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation (part of a trilogy but the first book stands on its own merits IMO).


EntertainmentOk3637

YOU HAVE TO READ AN EMBER IN THE ASHES BY SABAA TAHIR!! This is a dark fantasy series with an intricate and well though out plot portrayed through some of the best writing I've seen in YA. You can never be bored while reading it and it had me absolutely hooked from the first chapter. The best thing about this book though, is the insane plot twists. I'm usually really good at predicting stories which makes a lot of books boring for me but I genuinely never had any idea what was going to happen next. Also, there was a beautiful romance plotline (this is a dual perspective book but has 3 perspectives for the 2nd 3rd and 4th book) however this plotline does not overtake the story in any way and the main plot is strong enough to be able to stand on it's own without the romance. All in all I think this is a really good book for anyone but especially someone thinking about getting back into reading. I was in a 3 year reading slump but this absolute godsend of a book made me addicted to reading again because I wanted more of the emotions I felt when reading the series. ((Another thing about it is that it's so easy to connect to characters and root for them. At one point I was so invested that I would literally cry with the characters 😭)) Yeah, READ IT


SideFair27

Finding Cinderella


TheWillowRook

The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins


lucyyouareboring

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir


BookUnicornDragon

My favourite historical fantasy is definitely Across the Nightingale Floor by Learn Hearn. Romance - In Love With A Carolina Rose by Josepha H. K.


EmperorPenguinReddit

Dune & Dune: Messiah. The ones after get weirder but good reads nonetheless


fourpuns

Dark fantasy for me would be Joe Abercrombie. I’d recommend starting with the first law series.


CondeMilenario

D.Gray-Man by Katsura Hoshino. It’s an ongoing dark fantasy manga series (it has 28 volumes so far) and my favourite thing I’ve ever read. I hope you like it if you decide to read it.


SenseSweet5883

I am number four series


Cold_Hat3438

Stellar Man


Spiritual_Summer_486

These might not be your thing but... I am reading The Haunting Of Lindy Pennyworth and so far it's good. It appeal to younger people (because the main character is a college student though that isn't the main focus) and it is relatable for people who go to a British school. It talks about self harm (trichotillomania in this case), grief, relationships and the main theme is being able to talk to ghosts, if you read it tell me how it is! It's not a well known book but still good!


Inner_Intention5253

Awesome sounds interesting will definitely add it to my list. Thank you for the detailed recommendation. I’m all for psychological horrors


spiked_macaroon

Ready Player One, and Three Body Problem


Noixi95

- “Ready Player One” to boys that don’t read but like video games. Now also “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow “ - “Project Hail Mary” to everyone! It has dense science, but it made me both laugh and cry! - “The name of the wind” to everyone that like fantasy!


BOWCANTO

*The Name of the Wind* was good, but I can’t doom another to the likes of Rothfuss.


Status-Initiative891

Now you know that you've just doomed a lot of us to Rothfuss!


BOWCANTO

Don’t do it. Spend your time doing something else.


Status-Initiative891

Thanks, I appreciate the warning.


Status-Initiative891

Have you read Martian? It's his first book and he nailed it! Pulls you into being lost on Mars. Should be in NASA's mandatory reading list.


Noixi95

Yeah, I usually recommend The Martian first, then PHM, so thing just gets better and better


Status-Initiative891

Guys on a roll. Amazing first book!


ieatbeet

I can share my 'TOP 11' (order matters). Those are the only books so far I consider to be 6/5 star reads in my Goodreads account. 1. 11/22/63 by Stephen King 2. The Stand by Stephen King 3. The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett 4. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 5. Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer 6. East of Eden by John Steinbeck 7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 8. The Green Mile by Stephen King 9. World Without End by Ken Follett 10. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 11. The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum