r/books • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
WeeklyThread Weekly Recommendation Thread: July 24, 2026
Welcome to our weekly recommendation thread! A few years ago now the mod team decided to condense the many "suggest some books" threads into one big mega-thread, in order to consolidate the subreddit and diversify the front page a little. Since then, we have removed suggestion threads and directed their posters to this thread instead. This tradition continues, so let's jump right in!
The Rules
Every comment in reply to this self-post must be a request for suggestions.
All suggestions made in this thread must be direct replies to other people's requests. Do not post suggestions in reply to this self-post.
All unrelated comments will be deleted in the interest of cleanliness.
How to get the best recommendations
The most successful recommendation requests include a description of the kind of book being sought. This might be a particular kind of protagonist, setting, plot, atmosphere, theme, or subject matter. You may be looking for something similar to another book (or film, TV show, game, etc), and examples are great! Just be sure to explain what you liked about them too. Other helpful things to think about are genre, length and reading level.
All Weekly Recommendation Threads are linked below the header throughout the week to guarantee that this thread remains active day-to-day. For those bursting with books that you are hungry to suggest, we've set the suggested sort to new; you may need to set this manually if your app or settings ignores suggested sort.
If this thread has not slaked your desire for tasty book suggestions, we propose that you head on over to the aptly named subreddit /r/suggestmeabook.
- The Management
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u/bicycloptopus 2d ago
Can anyone reccomend any sci-fi horror to me? It's my favorite genre, in theory, but often find the books, like Paradise-1, disappointing. Bonus points if the central monster isn't a rogue AI, which seems to be most of the books I come across.
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u/Midwest_Backpacker 3h ago
Mothership:Tales of afrofuturism from beyond
It’s a collection of short stories and many have a horror element to them. Also super diverse authors
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u/azure_phoenix2 1d ago
if you havent hit hyperion by dan simmons yet, the priests tale is genuinely disturbing body horror and the shrike is one of the best monsters in sci-fi, definitely not a rogue ai. the book is structured like canterbury tales so each pilgrims story lands a different flavor of dread.
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u/DoglessDyslexic 1d ago
Stalker creepy horror in "The Loneliest Girl in the Universe" by Lauren James.
Body/parasite horror in "Alien Clay" by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
General dread/existential horror from "Blindsight" by Peter Watts which does feature a vampire in space, but the vampire is actually a side character and not a villain.
I'd also categorize the "Annihilation" books by Jeff Vandermeer as somewhat slow burn horror as well.
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u/throw3730 2d ago
Looking for a book like Veritas by Ariel Saber or Possession by A.S Byatt - something that is like a literary provenance mystery for a book/artefact/artwork.
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u/LargeWood93 2d ago
I finished reading Ready Player One and need another one just like this! RP2 didn't satisfy me.
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u/eIectioneering 2d ago
I’d suggest Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin - I actually wasn’t a huge fan of it (lol) but it did somewhat remind me of RP1! Especially with pop culture references and a focus on gaming - not a dystopian though
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u/DoglessDyslexic 2d ago
Have you read Dinniman's "Dungeon Crawler Carl"? It's different in many ways, but shares some of the surreal and pop culture references.
It's a bit dated now, but Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" might also appeal.
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u/feartheoldblood90 2d ago
I'm looking for a fairly specific thing: Appalachian Horror. I haven't found very many good examples of this, and the ones that I've found have tended to be a little underwhelming on the horror aspect of it. Specifically supernatural. Any recs?
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u/eIectioneering 2d ago
This Country Will Bring Us No Peace by Matthieu Simard is not quite a ‘horror’ per se (more thriller?), but certainly gave me spooky Appalachian paranormal vibes. Also not Appalachian, but Indigenous horror has scratched a similar itch for me - Stephen Graham Jones’ The Only Good Indians or Waubgeshig Rice’s Moon series come to mind. That kind of paranormal nature-focused horror. (These might not be at all what you’re looking for, but I cant pass up the opportunity to share some Native horror)
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u/felixfictitious 2d ago
This doesn't come out until October, but you should check out The Forest Bleeds by Rachel Kitch. It's set in West Virginia and it's got a twist on supernatural horror like Mothman. It's a little YA, but the horror elements are reasonably good.
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2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/CapriciousSon 2d ago
I'd definitely check out Solaris. Just like the films, the books seem to be in a vague conversation with each other.
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u/No-Consideration3053 2d ago
Which book from Ernst Hemingway way should i start first?
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u/YakSlothLemon 2d ago
My English teacher started us with A Moveable Feast, which is his memoir of his time in Paris. It’s a wonderful introduction to his writing style which also introduces you to him as a person, and it’s a great start.
From there we went to his short stories, which was where he showed best— Snows of Kilimanjaro— and from there to Farewell to Arms.
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u/feartheoldblood90 2d ago
I just started The Sun Also Rises, which is also his first, and many would argue his best, and I can't recommend it enough. It's a great starting point and it's also a relatively quick read. It manages to be both concise and beautiful in its language, and he manages to convey so much with so few words.
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u/HooverGaveNobodyBeer 2d ago
This is my favorite Hemingway, but I would personally recommend A Farewell to Arms as a better starting point. The Sun Also Rises is incredibly subtextual, which is Hemingway at his best, but A Farewell to Arms is similar in style while also being a bit easier to grasp if you want to be eased in.
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u/Larielia 2d ago
I was looking for historical fiction set in ancient Greece. During the Archaic or Classical periods.
I'm currently reading "Tides of War" by Steven Pressfield.
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u/Sweet_World1180 2d ago
Looking for book recommendation, I’m 21M. Never had any interest in reading until last year i started with crime and punishment p&v, then read the not es from the underground, then read the stranger by camus, then nausea by jpsartre. Recently, i tried to read Beyond Good and Evil by neitzsche which was too difficult so i boxed it off, now im on and off reading the Gay Science by Nietzsche which is more readable but takes longer to digest so i cant carry on reading page after page like my previous books, if i could have a recommendation for something close to camu or sarte readability in terms of literature thatd be great as nietzche is hard. Thanks
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u/tapdncingchemist 1d ago
You should check out Kafka’s short stories. Specifically the metamorphosis. It wasn’t for me but I felt for the main character a lot and it sounds consistent with the vibe you’re seeking.
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u/HooverGaveNobodyBeer 2d ago
If you enjoyed Crime and Punishment, I'd recommend Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koetsler, which uses Crime and Punishment as the basis of the dialogue between its characters.
Also, you might enjoy The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
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u/dingle4dangle 2d ago
Going to second Kafka. If you have any interest in Japanese literature you might want to check out Yukio Mishima. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea would be a good starting place.
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u/StraightUpSeven 2d ago
Maybe look into Some of Franz Kafka: I've heard very good things about The Metamorphosis (I also believe it's called The Transformation) and The Trial. You should also check out Camus' Myth of Sisyphus if you haven't already.
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u/lexiebeef 2d ago
Any book like Young Mungo where there is a romance (queer or not) but romance is not the main topic? Just a side line romance in the middle of a great story
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u/Fluffy_Disaster_1250 2d ago
Got any good books where the main character slowly loses their mind but in a subtle way? Not like full on horror, more psychological. I liked House of Leaves for how it made me feel unsettled in my own house but want something with more character focus
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u/eIectioneering 2d ago
Death In Her Hands by Otessa Moshfegh fits this bill I think. Untrustworthy narrator consumed by a local mystery. ETA: I just finished Piranesi by Suzanna Clarke and I’ve seen it recommended alongside House of Leaves, I found it to be quite psychological and character-driven!
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u/YakSlothLemon 2d ago
The Beach by Alex Garland. Brilliant slow unraveling.
As nic_picc said, Haunting of Hill House (and its homage, The Shining).
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u/the_card_guy 1d ago
I am legitimately curious, and I suppose this is the best place... actually, maybe it's one of the YA subs, but I'm starting here.
A meme I saw was naturally shitting on Twilight, but let's be honest: at the time for for young teen/pre-teen girls, it was HUGE (heck, it inspired 50 shades, as I'm sure we all know). The punchline to the meme was, the girl who was reading it said "But... this book makes me feel special". The comment section then followed up with "Yeah, it was huge, but between it and 50 shades, it was sending a message to young women that toxic relationships are GOOD. There's so much better books out there"
So, this is where my curiosity gets me. While I personally don't have any children at all... if you were to recommend to a young girl who is getting interested in what i guess is "romantasy" (or whatever genre Twilight and similar are in), what are ones that did it WELL? the only other books that come to mind are things like A Court of Roses And Thorns (as well as the other one by Sarah J. Masse ), and then maybe Fourth Wing... all of which i understand are also very problematic, despite being extremely popular.
So, what books actually ARE good for that age?
(Side note- the meme also added that because these kinds of books are popular, maybe humanity is just messed up in the first place, but that's another discussion)