August 2025
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    So I decided to pick up a book for the first time since high school, maybe college, and it was a page turner and I loved it, The Color of Water by James McBride. I felt pretty accomplished having read something, so then I read Crying in H Mart (large text version by accident) and it was ok. Then The Kite Runner which was very beautiful. And finished The Martian yesterday, entertaining, quick, a nice light change from The Kite Runner.

    Please suggest some more so I can keep my streak going. Page turners are key for me, I think, based on the above. The Color of Water was my favorite, then The Kite Runner, then The Martian, then Crying in H Mart.

    I suppose I’m interested in peoples favorite books that impacted them.

    by Amandalioe

    6 Comments

    1. If you want beautiful prose, a great story, and a larger challenge, Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle books (only 2/3 have been released) are some of my favorites. If you want scifi, I got a list… just let me know.

    2. If you liked The Martian, and it sounds like you did, check out Andy Weir’s other good book Project Hail Mary

    3. Short_Cream_2370 on

      If you loved *The Color of Water* I’d definitely put James McBride’s latest, *Heaven and Earth Grocery Store* on your list it’s supposed to be great. Similarly if you liked *The Martian* you will probably like Weir’s *Hail Mary* – same quick pacing and lots of scientific problem solving, with more of a heartfelt emotional core to the story.

      Given the order you put these in it sounds like you like page turners but ones that have a literary and emotional bent – it sounds like the story and beautiful writing are important to your enjoyment. If that sounds right, some recs I love you might like are *Chronicle of a Death Foretold* by Gabriel García Màrquez, *The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down* by Anne Fadiman, *Salvage the Bones* by Jasmyn Ward, *Reading Lolita in Tehran* by Azar Nafisi, *My Name is Red* by Orhan Pamuk might be a little long/dense so read a chapter to see if you like it but I found it very zippy and page turnery, and PG Wodehouse if you want to laugh. It can also be fun to play with whatshouldireadnext.com or StoryGraph to try and find books like your faves. Good luck on your reading journey!

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