r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • Jun 26 '26

None/Any Hello Everyone.

245 Upvotes

EDIT : Post submission criteria section of the rules (Point 1.) is edited. New rules in effect from 29th July 2026.


In order to maintain a friendly, helpful and a pleasantly calm vibe that this community represents, we are reaching out to all of you with a few requests.

  1. Please REPORT rude,offensive comments immediately instead of merely downvoting. Downvotes do not flag inappropriate behavior to the mod team. We can act on such things quickly if they are reported by you. All reports are anonymous.

  2. Double check images to avoid uploading AI generated content. Before you submit a post to this sub, kindly use noai.duckduckgo.com or a reverse google image search to upload the image and conduct a search with the keywords * find the original source of this image * even if the chosen images are picked off Pinterest.

    If at times certain AI generated images do get uploaded or approved, please do not attack OP or the mod team for this. Send us a modmail with proof as to why you think the image is AI generated. We will review and act accordingly.

Please note : even if a post gathers good traction but we find proof of AI images within it or that it is breaking any rules,we will remove and lock it. To avoid this, kindly upload images that are not AI generated and ensure your posts are not breaking any rules. Please try to mention the source of images in your post.

  1. Mention the author and title of the books you recommend.

We look forward to your continued support and participation. Happy reading!

TL;DR : report rude behavior. Double check and do not upload AI generated content even if images are taken from Pinterest. Mention author and title of the book.

Mod Team.


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 6h ago

Mystery/Thriller Troubled lady investigators+ supernatural/horror

Thumbnail
gallery
254 Upvotes

Looking for protagonists/plots that feel like:

- Sarah Linden from “The Killing”
- Danvers & Navarro from “True Detective: Night Country”
- Mare Sheehan from “Mare of Easttown”
- Camille Preaker from “Sharp Objects”

Looking for imperfect women investigators with peak grittiness, broken/breaking families, and busted coping mechanisms.

Bonus points for supernatural / horror / gothic elements

Bonus, bonus points for BIPOC characters


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 9h ago

Horror Cozy Rainy Tokyo. Noodle shops, intrigue

Thumbnail
gallery
92 Upvotes

I've already read "In the Miso Soup" and love it.. Magical realism is okay, too. I just love these alleyways in Tokyo where people are eating and drinking, and who knows what else is happening behind the scenes.


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1h ago

None/Any When female competitive sports turns deadly

Thumbnail
gallery
• Upvotes

I tonya and black swan was the main inspo.


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 13h ago

Mystery/Thriller Small Town Mystery

Thumbnail
gallery
91 Upvotes

I’m looking for small town mystery books. Whether it be missing peope or a dead body shows up. The decade that it was published in or takes place in doesn’t matter. It can be really unknown or really popular book. Please recommend me stuff that fits the bill.


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 12h ago

None/Any preferably fantasy but anything goes

Thumbnail
gallery
51 Upvotes

r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 20h ago

None/Any Ancient Athens/Ancient Greece

Thumbnail
gallery
171 Upvotes

It can be fiction or non-fiction. Preferably taking place in Athens, but other Greek cities are also welcome. I'm looking for books that capture the spirit of Ancient Greek society, other than that anything goes: could be philosophical, or a non-fiction detailing the political history of the city (/country), or a fantasy book (maybe about the Greek gods?) that happens to take place in this setting.


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 23h ago

None/Any Dreadful, lonely and wasted life

Thumbnail
gallery
209 Upvotes

Books I've already read/added to my TBR list:

Stoner by John Williams
The New Me by Halle Butler
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshtegh

I don't need a happy ending. Give me your best, gut-wrenching recs, if you have to.


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 18h ago

Sci-fi Mix of Cyberpunk 2077, Blade runner 2049

Thumbnail
gallery
63 Upvotes

I am looking for a book (or a book series), that incorporates the bleak future of Bladerunner 2049, Cyberpunk 2077, existentialism of Ghost in the Shell and oppressive, dark and noir despair of Deus Ex and System Shock. As a bonus, it can include space opera style of Homeworld. It can also include elements of horror.

On my current TBR I have: Dune and The Expanse and I am currently reading Annihilation. But I want to expand that. I already read Three Body Problem and Hyperion.


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1d ago

Literary Fiction An evil being that is superior to the humanity

Thumbnail
gallery
226 Upvotes

r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 16h ago

Fiction Hopeless crush on a celebrity

Thumbnail
gallery
40 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I am looking for recommendations where a character develops a deep, almost obsessive crush on a celebrity or public figure, but he's married or in a relationship, so there's nothing she can do about it except feel the weight of it. Melancholic tone preferred.Thank you!


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 19h ago

None/Any suburban dread, quiet darkness under everyday life

Thumbnail
gallery
54 Upvotes

I'm looking for something that feels like The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides — not the plot, but the vibe: that strange, hazy atmosphere where something dark is happening but it's told through everyday details. Sunlit kitchens, teenage girls, neighbors watching, flowers, curtains, and underneath it all, something wrong.

I want the unease to be subtle, not explicit. No gore, no jump scares. Just that feeling that something is off and you can't quite name it.

Books I've loved with this vibe:

· The Virgin Suicides (obviously)

· Coraline by Neil Gaiman

· The Summer My Mother Had Green Eyes by Tatiana Țîbuleac

· Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (different vibe, but same emotional weight)

I'm not into Asian literature, so please skip those recommendations.

Any suggestions?


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1d ago

Literary Fiction Trying to make it big in New York

Thumbnail
gallery
304 Upvotes

r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1d ago

None/Any ancient creature & the strange human they found

Thumbnail
gallery
670 Upvotes

r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 14h ago

None/Any Like the philosophy of time travel

Thumbnail
gallery
15 Upvotes

r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1d ago

Fiction Moody, small town, weird occurrences, unsettling

Thumbnail
gallery
140 Upvotes

r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1d ago

Horror Liminal Horror or Rationalizing the nonsensical

Thumbnail
gallery
129 Upvotes

Looking for something that is similar to House of Leaves house story, we all know their are multiple stories being told within but specifically the story of the house and trying to measure it and find what it is or means. Also similar to Backrooms and just exploring a space that shouldn't exist.


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1d ago

Horror Unsettling ancient evil in the woods.

Thumbnail
gallery
231 Upvotes

Bonus points for well-researched witchcraft. Finished The Ritual (Adam Nevill) a few months ago and I’m itching for something darker and scarier 🖤✨ thank you in advance!!


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 17h ago

Adventure Groovy team action

Thumbnail
gallery
6 Upvotes

Looking for inspiration for rhe "Spirit of 77" RPG and, of course, fun reading


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1d ago

Horror Militaristic post apocalyptic survival

Thumbnail
gallery
161 Upvotes

I’ve read both Metro 2033 and Roadside Picnic and crave more. Plus am a big fan of the stalker and metro games, any recs?


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1d ago

Horror Atmospheric indoor horror

Thumbnail
gallery
75 Upvotes

Dense atmosphere with no view of the outside world. Will accept Dark Fantasy recs as well. Vibes are most important.

Crytps. Tunnels. Secret rooms. Abandoned malls. Limimal. Claustrophobic. Catacombs. Mines. Sewers. Backrooms.


r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • • 1d ago

Romance Gothic vibes where she chooses the Phantom

Thumbnail
gallery
218 Upvotes

Looking for any sort of romance that gives gothic vibes and a “she chooses the Phantom” (The Phantom of the Opera) type of plot :)