Hello, I read all kinds of books. I normally get my book recs from YouTube. Lately I’ve noticed most BookTubers are recommending the same books, or I keep seeing the same recs everywhere. That’s why I want to know what books people read growing up before the internet or when it was less popular.
Thanks!
by Prestigious_Fly_5174
1 Comment
I don’t know that my reading history will be incredibly unique, but 1990 is about when I started choosing my own books, so here we go.
I read Chronicles of Narnia as a kid which sparked a lifelong love of fantasy. In the early 90s I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and loved them both. I’ve never reread them though. I probably should to see if I appreciate them as an adult as much as I did as a kid.
I also loved Susan Cooper’s the Dark is Rising sequence, the Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and the Apprentice Adept, Incarnations of Immortality, and Xanth series by Piers Anthony.
I don’t normally do this but I’m going to actively recommend against reading Piers Anthony. It has not aged well and it’s pretty creepy now.
I then got very into Stephen King and read almost everything he wrote up until a few years ago with the exceptions of Danse Macabre and Cycle of the Werewolf. I’ve kind of fallen off a an SK fan but a lot of his work, especially the earlier books, are still very worthwhile.
I also tried Dean Koontz and Robert R. McCammon with mixed results, though I’ll say McCammon’s Boy’s Life is fantastic. I reread it 2-3 years ago and it holds up.
I stopped reading recreationally for a while after college, but a coworker got me back into it with a few recommendations that appealed to my scifi fantasy roots. I’m now a big fan of, and highly recommend, Robin Hobb, Jim Butcher, Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, Guy Gavriel Kay, China Mieville, John Scalzi, and Andy Weir. No big surprises there.
There’s also a lesser known scifi author who I really enjoy named Robert J. Sawyer. He doesn’t churn out new books every year, it might be 2-3 years in between, but he has a pretty extensive back catalog going back to the 90s, so there’s plenty to enjoy.
I’m also currently reading Wheel of Time for the first time which is one of the big 90s fantasy series. I’m on book 2 and enjoying it so far.
Oh, also lots and lots of Spider-Man.