My list of books I have read for pleasure is short. I read books for school (way back when), but I've only ever actually read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings as an adult…
I want to start on something that I can get engrossed in. Something that makes me want to stay up past my bedtime and keep me thinking on whilst I'm at work. Something that will leave me thinking about for days after I've read it. Whether that's by leaving me emotionally vulnerable / scarred, or something that challenges my understanding of myself / the world. I'm not after something light-hearted and whimsical. I want to feel.
I don't have a theme or genre preference. With movies and series I mostly enjoy fantasy, sci-fi, and sword and board war films, bonus points for sword and sorcery (think Lord of the Rings).
I've been scouring reddit posts for the past hour and put together a list of the books I see recommended throughout "must read" threads, but I'm not sure which if any meet my criteria.
The ones that pop up frequently are:
Ender's Game,
All Quiet on the Western Front,
East of Eden,
Catch 22,
Slaughterhouse Five,
One Hundred Years of Solitude,
The Count of Monte Cristo,
The Great Gatsby,
Brave New World,
1984,
House of Leaves.
As well as series such as Discworld and The Dark Tower.
by itsaaronnotaaron
8 Comments
Dungeon Crawler Carl
I’ve read a lot of the books you listed and Dungeons Crawler Carl is my suggestion. It’s fast paced and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Definitely something you can get engrossed in. The series is addicting and there’s already 7 books with the 8th coming out in a few months.
Short stay in Hell. You won’t regret it
The Dresden files is really good. Storm Front by Jim Butcher is a P.I. story about a wizard in chicago. The series really catches its feet though with books 3 and 4
If you want emotional scarring, pretty much anything by Cormac McCarthy works.
Some books I’ve read over the past several years that have stayed with me for one reason or another:
Book of M
The Gone World
Blindness
There is No AntiMemetics Division
Annihilation
Dungeon Crawler Carl (series)
Lathe of Heaven
Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world is amazing for adults. It’s all dialogue and 100% character driven. The plot is life, everything happens just because it’s happening. But his characters and dialogue are at the peak of the fantasy genre. The dialogue is witty, philosophical, natural and pushes the limits of writing a conversation between two people and inner dialogue to one’s self. He has 9 linear books, 1 trilogy followed by three individual books with unique stories, followed by another trilogy. The writing starts from good and moves onto great by the 3 book and never lets up. The characters will live in your head, you will think about characters very frequent and very fondly (for most). It’s got politics, old magic, sword and axe fighting, demons, spirits, and just a fun time!
Edit: he has a short story collection in there too, it’s ok.
The name of the wind or the demon cycle if you want to try fantasy. I loved those books.
Red Rising, because its fast paced and gets the story moving quickly. Helps that it’s an easy and enjoyable read with a dash of madness all around. This got me reading again after a lull