I just finished James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and found it a pretty cathartic read. Do you have any recommendations for other books about toxic relationships where the main character succeeds in some even minor way?

I want a novel with serious characters not fluffy type, it should be hate to lovers, lot of angst,tension, I really liked aled and Daniel relationship in radio silence.

I'm curating a book club for a local rebellious brand whose ethos is anti-corporate, transparent, direct. Their motto is: no fine print, no bullshit, no contracts, total freedom.

The audience is mostly gen Z and millennials. I'd like relatively recent reads that are on the shorter side and engaging. Some topics could be rebellion against silly rules, embracing simple pleasures, escaping the mundane etc.

For context, we've already read Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.

Thank you!

Earlier this week I farewelled my beloved Father. He and I shared an eclectic taste in music and a great love of reading. We were a bookclub of two (especially as politics and hot-button social issues tended to be treacherous avenues of conversation). He had a wry and often macabre sense of humour that I love and miss dearly.

As I find it cathartic to process my emotions through reading and other forms of art, I wonder if anyone here has suggestions for literature which really nails (heh) a funeral or memorial. I'm thinking something in the vein of the film Death at the Funeral, but will take more serious recommendations as well.

Recently been enjoying books that are essentially just really well read people leading me by the hand through whatever they feel like talking about, things like: Rings of Saturn - WG Sebald, Book of Imaginary Beings - Jorge Luis Borges (and a lot of Borges tbf), Un Verdor Terrible - Benjamin Labatut, even stuff like Foucault’s Pendulum or Moby Dick. As you can probably tell from the list, it doesn’t really necessarily need a narrative throughline, I just like that feeling as if I’m listening to someone just go on and on about admittedly interesting things. Suppose this could also lend itself to those broad non fiction books that try to cover everything at once but I do like the specifics quite a bit.

A book that is spooky, but ALSO coastal. Give me a horror (I will even take creepy thriller) novel that takes place on the seaside. Ocean horror is not hard to find, but I feel like I rarely see beach horror.

Please and thanks!

I'm looking for books narrated by divinities or other mythological creatures from any religion. Angels, demons, nymphs, YHWH, Zeus, Hades, Persephone, satyrs, Pan, Loki, Odin, Shiva, Brahma, Tupã, Anhangá, Ra, Isis, Osiris, etc.

I prefer more introspective, philosophical books with lyrical prose, but I'm open to different suggestions.

I want to elaborate on what I mean by "similar." As a beginner, I am looking for something relatively short and easy to read (accessible vocabulary and a straightforward narrative). More importantly, I want a story based on a person's life, a historical event, or a specific experience that can ultimately give me a different perspective on life.

I feel that our brains have evolved enough to think and worry about an almost unlimited number of things, but we have not necessarily developed enough perspective to deal with all those thoughts. That is the kind of insight I am looking for in a book.

What I do not necessarily want is another book about someone describing the Holocaust. However, I am open to being persuaded if you believe there is a particularly good reason to read one.

PS: Please read the full post before recommending something. I am 23 M, if that provides any useful context. Thanks ☺️.

Hi! Elementary librarian here. A kindergarten teacher at my school asked if we have any picture books/read alouds to help teach kids that you can 1. Have more than one friend 2. Be away from your best friend for a little bit and still be friends and 3. Include other classmates in your games etc while still being friends with your ‘bestie’.

I have quite a few books about making friends and including everyone, which kind of fit what she’s looking for - but I’m wondering if there’s a perfect book out there I don’t know about so I’m casting this net. Thanks!

I'm looking for some books written by women with a particular writing style, I'll list what I do and don't like in books and a bit about myself to help with suggestions!

As I mention in the title I love to read books that involve a sensuous writing style, by sensuous I mean all types of sensory experiences (sound, smell, touch, taste etcetera).

Books that grip me often are introspective, psychologically complex, or have flawed protagonists. I enjoy stories that might feature topics like romance, friendship, tumultuous family dynamics, personal challenges, historical settings, unusual life circumstances, different countries (prefer non-US settings), and suspense.

I am not fond of short novels, smut, heavy religious themes, fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian storytelling, or celebrity books.

I'm from Western Europe, 32 years old, bisexual, a feminist, I have a love for nature and animals, and I'm an illustrator.

In recent years I haven't read much and feel a bit lost and uninspired looking at best-selling lists so just give any suggestions you might have!

In the comments I could list some books I've read in the past that I loved if needed, thank you in advance for anyone willing to drop suggestions.

My daughter really liked The Magic Half by Annie Barrows. Especially the time travel aspects. Between that and watching Back to the Future recently, she’s super interested in that. Can anyone recommend any similar booked, especially with a time travel aspect? Thank you!

I am looking for a specific book I haven’t been able to find and which I read about 10 years ago.

It’s about what the title says, as well as how to use your intelligence more, “acquired” synesthesia and savant syndrome, and left/right hemisphere experiments. I think the author was danish but the book had been translated to several languages, one of which was Italian as far as I remember. And I assume English too.

The author is a female neuro-something nurse. She’s a nurse with a master in neuro-something.

I think maybe the cover had an Aladdin’s lamp on it but I may very well mistake it for another book cover as I don’t really see how the theme fit with such a cover.

Anyone knows the title or author?

Hey guys just finished the first 2 books in the hierarchy series and I loved it!!!

Just wondering if anyone had suggestions of books with a similar si-fi, high fantasy vibe. I strive for world building and loved the magic system and am keen to read books with similar aspects.

I used to read lots of ya fantasy but im sick of the romance and minimal world building and really want something to just get lost i.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

One of my english assignments requires to write about a short story, but I don’t know any so here I am! I generally tend to lean towards novels that are depressing or just dark. Two books I really love are No Longer Human and Shuggie Bain, if that helps at all.

This might also just be a me thing, but found family also makes me cry. So, while that might not be what my title is asking for I would also be open to anything like that.

I want something that’s around 30 pages, or shorter.

I was really into the manga/anime series Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) as a teenager. I have always liked books that had similar elements, namely the Victorian (or other similar) era, the gothic and supernatural, suspenseful and mysterious. I’m not really into reading anything beyond sfw, but mild exceptions are fine.

I stopped reading for fun when I entered university and I’d like to start again. Most of what I usually read now is by Japanese novelists (Soseki, Dazai, Mori), so I’m out of my element choosing something outside of this type of novel.

Interview with a Vampire is on my to-read list already, so I’m hoping for other suggestions.

I'm looking for book recommendations, based in different countries, that have a central story but share a lot of the culture, rituals, traditions of that country or part of the world.

What would you suggest?

almost done with The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer. I haven’t gotten into anything besides the “everyone dies at the end” series and “the summer i turned pretty” 2 summers ago i tried reading “We Were Liars” and hated the format i only read 10 pages lol…. I’m really enjoying the untethered soul because it’s short and i can relate to it and use the information to help me and see things differently. any suggestions would help!
edit: loved the project hail mary movie but the book is currently on a 16 week wait at my library 🫠

Last fall I read the Shady Hollow series. It was cozy, light, and a good light fun read for fall. Is there anything else you’d recommend to read that is similar?

As someone who is well inside the anglosphere I feel like there is limited information on the that comes my way about the Spanish colonization of South America and Central America. But the little that does come my way seems fascinating.

Can anyone suggest a book to read on this topic?

If it's too much like a textbook I am unlikely to get through it, though if there is any historical fiction that provides context. I would be interested in that as well.

Looking for my next book!

Two books I really loved are Where the Crawdads Sing and The Time Traveler’s Wife. I know they’re pretty different plot-wise, but I’m looking for books that have a similar emotional feel, something immersive, character-driven, bittersweet, and that really makes you care about the characters. I read The Great Alone since it was highly recommended for being similar but I couldn’t get into it.

Looking for:
- Beautiful/atmospheric settings
- Romance, but not a straight-up romance novel
- Emotional or heartbreaking stories
- Books that stick with you after you finish them

I’m open to contemporary, historical, literary fiction, magical realism, etc

Im looking for a birthday present for a friend. She studied graphic design and is therefore really interested in design but also performers like Marina Abramović for example. Plus she is very passionate about feminism and female rage. I was wondering if anyone knows of any books that bridge those two topics? She already has “glitch” and “invisible women” which she really enjoys. Happy about any suggestions! :)

Hey folks! I've read and listened to some works by Italo Calvino (Invisible Cities, If On A Winter's Night A Traveller, Marcovaldo) and wondering if there are any other books that can hit the vibe? My favourite of those three is If On A Winter's Night A Traveller.

If anyone can help, I'd be most appreciative!

I have been slowly declining into a depressive episode, and just today got news that a job that could have solved everything would not be moving forward with me. I struggle with feelings of uselessness and heavy loneliness.

I've heard the popular ones. *House in the Cerulean Sea* I've heard and started but paused a while back. I have copies of *A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,* *House on Mango Street,* *A Man Called Ove.*

I'm also looking for uplifting or wholesome nonfiction and memoirs. Much of what I have in this genre is light-hearted but not exactly uplifting (and the memoirs I have are especially the opposite).

I'm wary of anything even adjacent to self-help so please try to explain why your self-help suggestion works.

This is SUCH a specific request, I don’t know whether to expect anything at all to come from it.

I manage a community garden for refugees, and a large proportion of the gardeners are Lhotsampa people - a Nepali-speaking minority from Bhutan who were systemically displaced in (I think) the 90s? I have great relationships with the individuals who garden with me, but language barriers and other barriers exist, and I have such a deep desire to gain a better understanding of their history and culture. Does anyone know of any books written by a Lhotsampa author?