TL;DR – looking for something funny/witty balanced with serious/dramatic parts, maybe some heartbreak, preferably not completely grounded in reality. I love Terry Pratchett, I kinda dig Jim Butcher, I like Patrick E. McLean, and at one time I enjoyed Robert Kroese.
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Never posted here before, so apologies if I'm doing this incorrectly or asking something that's been asked 1,000 times (I did a cursory search and got overwhelmed).
I'm a textbook (ha) Binge Reader. Took me almost a year to read my previous book as I kept putting it down and trying other books, then when I finished it last Saturday morning I immediately started then finished the next one in the series by Sunday night. Desperately trying to find something to keep riding this wave of enthusiasm but I'm paralysed by indecision. I haven't actively tried to find a new book to read in decades, they've either been recommended to me or I stumbled on them by accident. I did some searching but got completely overwhelmed. I intend to read at least one thing recommended in response to this post.
My tastes are pretty basic imo. I was thrust into "grown up" books by way of Terry Pratchett (super unique, I know) and have loved anything "witty yet serious with heart" ever since. Whether it's fantasy or sci-fi or even superhero genre; I just want to laugh occasionally, feel a little anxiety now and then, and maybe have a good cry once in a while. If that can take place in settings not entirely grounded in reality, even better.
Aside from Terry Pratchett and the Discworld (I think you've heard every version of that love letter), I've been enjoying the Jim Butcher Dresden Files for a few years – warts and all. I just got caught up and feel like a change. I really liked the urban fantasy setting and most of the humour, disliked some of the misogynistic undertones at times. Have a soft spot for the hero that gets rag-dolled constantly yet never gives up, even if they spell that out themselves constantly.
I have to mention that I really enjoyed Robert Kroese's Mercury series when I read them (fantasy apocalypse-avoidance adventure but themed around Christian mythology), as well as his cyberpunk mystery/crime thriller Big Sheep. I felt his writing was the closest to Pratchett's I'd ever come across at the time. Unfortunately his vocal "politics" soured me on being able to read anything more from him, but I can't deny his witty and intricately researched writing really entertained me.
Honourable mention to How to Succeed in Evil by Patrick E. McLean. This was a random free book I picked up and I loved it, seeing the super hero genre satirised from the point of view of a cold and rational "villain consultant". I read a couple other books in the series but they're too short for me to want to get back into right now. However, I have large soft spot for this book because I still enjoys super hero stories despite their overabundance in media today.
(EDIT I keep having Dungeon Crawler Carl *aggressively* recommended to me via various review sites and friends, currently on the fence about it simply because I don't know how much I'd enjoy an RPG type story despite my love of video games. For some reason Ready Player One gets brought up frequently when discussing DDC so I should add that I did not enjoy that book.)
There's plenty more books I could think of, but when I tried to come up with the top examples to best illustrate my tastes, these are what kept coming to mind.
So, if you've made it this far, please let me know what you might suggest. I'm willing to pay for a "sure thing", also down to borrow something from the library if my damn Kobo eReader will let me (lots of titles unavailable due to the library not having the exact same version as what is in the Kobo library, damn you Count of Monte Cristo).
by TheBrownWelsh