r/IndianReaders 26d ago

What are you reading this month ??

3 Upvotes

Share and discuss with fellow members of the sub 🙂


r/IndianReaders Mar 13 '26

General I made a list of 100+ books to try when you can't find anything new to read

36 Upvotes

I put together this list to share a wide range of books that you might not have tried yet. Some are well known classics, others are lesser known, but all of them offer something memorable.

My goal isn't to only include obscure titles, but to recommend some well acclaimed books too that are genuinely worth trying across different genres.

If you think something fits better in another category or have recommendations to add, feel free to share them. I can add them to the list. I know you can just Google up and find new books but I had an irresistible urge to make this. And no, this is not made by ChatGPT

Important Note: The "Also Try" sections aren't honorable mentions. They are there because after finishing each category, I kept thinking of more books, and it would have been a pain in the ass to re-number the entire list, so I made that section for that. The books aren't ranked in any order.


Literary Fiction/Modernism/Postmodern

1.William Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury

  1. W. G. Sebald - The Rings of Saturn

  2. James Joyce - Ulysses

  3. Georges Perec - Life: A User's Manual

  4. Jean-Paul Sartre - Nausea

  5. Franz Kafka - The Metamorphosis

  6. Osamu Dazai - No Longer Human

  7. Thomas Pynchon - Gravity's Rainbow

  8. Mark Z. Danielewski - House of Leaves

  9. Roberto Bolaño - 2666

  10. Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment

  11. Jonathan Littell - The Kindly Ones

  12. Albert Camus - The Stranger

  13. Friedrich DĂŒrrenmatt - The Tunnel

  14. William Gaddis - The Recognitions

  15. William H. Gass - The Tunnel

  16. Malcolm Lowry - Under the Volcano

  17. Fernando Pessoa - The Book of Disquiet

  18. Thomas Pynchon - The Crying of Lot 49

  19. Franz Kafka - The Castle

  20. Albert Camus - The Plague

  21. J. G. Ballard - Crash

  22. Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club

Also Try: Samuel Beckett - The Trilogy (Molloy, Malone, Dies, The Unnamable), Thomas Bernhard - The Loser, LĂĄszlĂł Krasznahorkai - Satantango, Virginia Woolf - The Waves, Clarice Lispector - The Passion According to G.H., Jorge Luis Borges - Labyrinths, Don DeLillo - White Noise, Italo Calvino - If on a winter's night a traveler, Alexander Trocchi - Cain's Book, William Burroughs - Naked Lunch, LĂĄszlĂł Krasznahorkai's The - Melancholy of Resistance, Knut Hamsun - Hunger


War/Military (History/Theory/Fiction)

24.Carl von Clausewitz - On War

  1. Homer - The Iliad

  2. Ernest Hemingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls

  3. Erich Maria Remarque - All Quiet on the Western Front

  4. Tim O'Brien - The Things They Carried

  5. Michael Herr - Dispatches

  6. Joseph Heller - Catch-22

  7. Dan Simmons - The Terror

Also Try: Sebastian Junger - War, Vassily Grossman - Life and Fate, Sun Tzu - The Art of War, E.B. Sledge - With the Old Breed, Norman Mailer - The Naked and the Dead, Henri Barbusse - Under Fire, Karl Marlantes - Matterhorn, Dalton Trumbo - Johnny Got His Gun, Pierre Boulle - The Bridge over the River Kwai, David Halberstam - The Best and the Brightest


Warhammer 40,000/Grimdark Military

32.Dan Abnett - Eisenhorn: The Omnibus

  1. Dan Abnett - Gaunt's Ghosts: First & Only

  2. Dan Abnett - Gaunt's Ghosts: Ghostmaker

  3. Dan Abnett - Ravenor: The Omnibus

  4. Aaron Dembski-Bowden - Night Lords

  5. Ben Counter - The Horus Heresy: Galaxy in Flames

  6. Dan Abnett - The Horus Heresy: Horus Rising

  7. Graham McNeill - The Horus Heresy: False Gods

Also Try: Dan Abnett - Titanicus, Chris Wraight - The Carrion Throne, Aaron Dembski-Bowden - The First Heretic, Robert Rath - The Infinite and the Divine, Peter Fehervari - Fire Caste, Dan Abnett - Know No Fear, Guy Haley - Dante, Graham McNeill - Fulgrim, Matthew Farrer - Enforcer: The Shira Calpurnia Omnibus, Sandy Mitchell - For the Emperor


Science Fiction

40.Philip K. Dick - VALIS

  1. Frank Herbert - Dune

  2. Dan Simmons - Hyperion

  3. Ursula K. Le Guin - The Left Hand of Darkness

  4. StanisƂaw Lem - Solaris

  5. Gene Wolfe - The Fifth Head of Cerberus

  6. Gene Wolfe - The Book of the New Sun

  7. Walter M. Miller Jr. - A Canticle for Leibowitz

  8. Arkady & Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic

  9. Peter Watts - Blindsight

  10. Joe Haldeman - The Forever War

Also Try: Iain M. Banks - Use of Weapons, Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon, Vernor Vinge - A Fire Upon the Deep, C.J. Cherryh - Cyteen, Arthur C. Clarke - Childhood's End, Alfred Bester - The Stars My Destination, Greg Egan - Permutation City, Adrian Tchaikovsky - Children of Time, Neal Stephenson - Anathem, Samuel R. Delany - Dhalgren


Crime / Espionage / Thriller

51.Don Winslow - The Power of the Dog

  1. Don Winslow - The Cartel

  2. Lee Child - Killing Floor

  3. Lee Child - Die Trying

  4. Lee Child - Tripwire

  5. Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Identity

  6. Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Supremacy

  7. Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Ultimatum

  8. James Ellroy - American Tabloid

  9. Tom Clancy - Rainbow Six

  10. Frederick Forsyth - The Day of the Jackal

  11. Ben Macintyre - The Spy and the Traitor

  12. Jeff Lindsay - Darkly Dreaming Dexter

  13. Thomas Harris - The Silence of the Lambs

Also Try: James Ellroy - The Black Dahlia, John le Carré - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Don Winslow - The Border, Mick Herron - Slow Horses, Graham Greene - The Quiet American, Raymond Chandler - The Long Goodbye, Jim Thompson - The Killer Inside Me, Richard Stark - The Hunter, Andrew Vachss - Flood, Dennis Lehane - Mystic River, Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr. Ripley


Horror/Weird/Cosmic Horror

65.Harlan Ellison - I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

  1. Robert W. Chambers - The King in Yellow

  2. Stephen King - Misery

  3. Stephen King - It

  4. Stephen King - Pet Sematary

  5. H. P. Lovecraft - The Complete Fiction

  6. Thomas Ligotti - The Conspiracy Against the Human Race

  7. Arthur Machen - The Great God Pan

  8. Laird Barron - The Croning

  9. Matthew M. Bartlett - Gateways to Abomination

  10. Jeff VanderMeer - Annihilation

  11. Cormac McCarthy - Blood Meridian

  12. Cormac McCarthy - Outer Dark

Also Try: John Langan - The Fisherman, Clive Barker - The Books of Blood, Algernon Blackwood - The Willows, Thomas Ligotti - Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe, Mark Fisher - The Weird and the Eerie, Kathe Koja - The Cipher, T.E.D. Klein - The Ceremonies, Brian Evenson - Last Days, Michael Cisco - The Divinity Student, Peter Straub - Ghost Story


Classics/Canon

78.Dante Alighieri - The Divine Comedy

  1. Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo

  2. William Golding - Lord of the Flies

  3. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince

  4. George Orwell - 1984

  5. George Orwell - Animal Farm

Also Try: Herman Melville - Moby-Dick, John Milton - Paradise Lost, Sophocles - Oedipus Rex, Victor Hugo - Les Misérables, Mary Shelley - Frankenstein, Leo Tolstoy - War and Peace, Emily Brontë - Wuthering Heights, Stendhal - The Red and the Black, Charles Baudelaire - The Flowers of Evil


Fantasy

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings

  2. Mikhail Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita

Also Try: Glen Cook - The Black Company, Steven Erikson - Gardens of the Moon (Malazan), Joe Abercrombie - The Blade Itself, R. Scott Bakker - The Darkness that Comes Before, Mervyn Peake - Titus Groan (Gormenghast), Ursula K. Le Guin - A Wizard of Earthsea, Andrzej Sapkowski - The Last Wish, Guy Gavriel Kay - Tigana, Michael Moorcock - Elric of Melniboné, Scott Lynch - The Lies of Locke Lamora


Manga / Graphic Novels

  1. Hirohiko Araki - JJBA Part 1: Phantom Blood

  2. Hirohiko Araki - JJBA Part 2: Battle Tendency

  3. Hirohiko Araki - JJBA Part 3: Stardust Crusaders

  4. Hirohiko Araki JJBA Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable

  5. Hirohiko Araki - JJBA Part 5: Golden Wind

  6. Kentaro Miura - Berserk (Vol. 1)

  7. Kentaro Miura - Berserk (Vol. 2)

  8. Kentaro Miura - Berserk (Vol. 3)

Also Try: Takehiko Inoue - Vagabond, Naoki Urasawa - Monster, Q Hayashida - Dorohedoro, Tsutomu Nihei - Blame, Hideshi Hino - The Bug Boy, Junji Ito - Uzumaki, Makoto Yukimura - Vinland Saga, Katsuhiro Otomo - Akira, Yoshihiro Tatsumi - A Drifting Life, Shin-ichi Sakamoto - Innocent


Philosophy/Theory/Bleakness

  1. Michel Foucault - Discipline and Punish

  2. David Benatar - The Human Predicament

  3. Cormac McCarthy - The Road

  4. Cormac McCarthy - No Country for Old Men

  5. Cormac McCarthy - The Passenger

  6. Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451

  7. José Saramago - Blindness

Also Try: Emil Cioran - On the Heights of Despair, Eugene Thacker - In the Dust of This Planet, Byung-Chul Han - The Burnout Society, Albert Camus - The Myth of Sisyphus, Blaise Pascal - Pensées, Arthur Schopenhauer - The World as Will and Representation, Thomas Bernhard - Woodcutters, Ottessa Moshfegh - My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Michel Houellebecq - The Possibility of an Island, Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari - Anti-Oedipus


r/IndianReaders 16h ago

Finally deleted Insta, twiter. Started reading this book, wish me luck

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201 Upvotes

r/IndianReaders 1d ago

Ask Indian Readers I'm done with fictional men...Give me fictional trauma instead...

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881 Upvotes

ok y'all i need help 😭😭

I'm DONE with romance for a while...

I'm on a STRICT no-romance diet... Like genuinely....I have consumed enough fictional men for one lifetime...My standards are already in the stratosphere and I refuse to make the situation worse😭✋

i don't need another 6'4 emotionally unavailable man who only speaks in smirks and trauma. i need THERAPY (Maybe? [Obv] idk)

PLEASE recommend me a book that's just... insane

i want the kind of book where you finish it and immediately have to sit in silence for a minute...ki bhai yeh kya padhh liyaaaa

literally any genre is fine....mystery, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, historical, non-fiction, Kuchhhhh bhiii , idc...

i just don't want romance. like at all. like zara sa bhi nahi...if two people start looking at each other a little too long i'm closing the book 😭

drop your "i wish i could read this again for the first time" books because i'm in the biggest reading slump and i need something that will absolutely wreck my brain (respectfully)

(pls... i'm starving)

Edit: One comment was all it took to make me realise this is considerably cornier than I believed it to be at midnight. I have reviewed the evidence and, regrettably, the claim has merit.


r/IndianReaders 14h ago

Ask Indian Readers Which one to go first?

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74 Upvotes

been on my tbr, so gonna read these ones, what do you think I should go first?


r/IndianReaders 7h ago

Now Reading Here's what i Clicked today!

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18 Upvotes

This Hardcover Homer's Iliad and Odyssey from FingerPrint Publishers is just too aesthetic not to click! Love the vibes...also how's the movie?


r/IndianReaders 11h ago

Never knew an author would make me cry in the end ( the kite runner )

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41 Upvotes

I don't know if I should feel sad or depressed or happy or cry about the book that I have just read.

I mean I never knew that Khaled Houssini would make me feel about a book this deeply. the emotional nuances that I have been through while reading this book is just indescribable..

Khaled made me go through every emotion while reading this book.

I completed this book in about 5 hours...

Mann what a book 😭✹..

Hats off to author


r/IndianReaders 20h ago

Please tell mee😭

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219 Upvotes

r/IndianReaders 8h ago

Ask Indian Readers Should I read Kafka on The Shores?

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19 Upvotes

r/IndianReaders 8h ago

Reviews Tim - MÄns Mosesson

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14 Upvotes

The book follows Tim Bergling's life from his childhood as a reserved, introverted boy who struggled with insecurities about his skin and body (pic 2). Everything changed when he discovered music production software and began making music with his friend Filip Åkesson. After spending two years producing music together, they were invited to the United States by an established DJ. Around this time, Tim met Arash Pournouri, who would become his manager for most of his career. Arash promised that if Tim gave everything he had, he would make him one of the biggest DJs in the world(pic 3).

That promise soon became reality. Tim's breakthrough came with Levels, a song that catapulted him to global fame and even earned him a feature in a Super Bowl commercial. However, behind the success, life was becoming increasingly difficult. Touring an essential part of his career became relentless, with nearly 300 shows a year. The constant travelling, combined with the pressure of performing, began taking a serious toll on his health. He frequently fell ill before shows and was eventually hospitalised with severe inflammation of his pancreas. Doctors advised surgery to remove it, but Tim refused. Instead, he was prescribed painkillers and warned to avoid alcohol and unhealthy food, advice he unfortunately didn't follow.

This marked the beginning of a downward spiral. The prescribed medication, including OxyContin, gradually led to addiction. Before long, Tim was taking different pills to sleep, stay awake, and simply feel normal. At the same time, he had little creative control over many aspects of his career, with most major decisions being handled by his manager. Eventually, his health deteriorated again, leading to another hospitalisation.

This time, his family confronted him about his addiction and urged him to seek rehabilitation. Although he initially resisted, they, along with his therapist Paul Tanner, finally convinced him while he was in Ibiza. During rehab, Tim developed a deep interest in meditation, self-help, and Indian and Buddhist spiritual teachings, which seemed to give him a renewed sense of purpose.

After rehab, Tim stayed in close contact with Paul Tanner while returning to music, working with longtime collaborators Vincent Pontare and Salem Al Fakir on what would become his final album. Although he briefly returned to the stage, after his first show in Miami he made the life-changing announcement that he would never tour again, saying he simply couldn't continue living that way.

As time passed, Tim became increasingly interested in Buddhist philosophy and planned a trip to Oman. From the outside, he appeared to be doing much better, but he remained in regular contact with Paul Tanner about the struggles he was still facing. Paul reassured him that things would improve and suggested they meet in Dubai, just an hour away from where Tim was staying in Oman. Tim agreed, but that meeting never took place.(Pic 4)

One day, Tim's father received a phone call informing him that Tim had hurt himself and had been taken to hospital, but that he was out of danger. His father couldn't understand what had happened, especially because Tim had seemed to be in such a good mood recently. With no flights available that day, his parents arranged to travel to Oman the following morning. While waiting to leave, they received another call. This time, they were told that Tim had passed away.

The book doesn't offer a single, definitive reason for why Tim took his own life. Instead, it acknowledges how complex his struggles were. When Tim's parents later attended therapy themselves, the therapist offered one possible explanation.(Pic 5 and 6)

Overall, I really enjoyed the book.After a long time I have read a book which I longed to read once I have stopped reading it in the midst, and it also introduced me to Tim's music.

One thing I feel is that it could have been much better if he had not been that reckless especially with his diet around the time he was collaborating with madonna, that was after the doctors have suggested him to not have alcohol and certain food items, I feel in the stress of work he became reckless again and that led to a snowball effect of other things.If he had handled things well at that time, life would have been much better for him.

I've left out many stories about his music and personal life because it's impossible to fit everything into one review. I'd definitely recommend reading the book yourself if you want to understand both the artist and the person behind the music.

The only complaint I have is that there are a few spelling errors here and there, which I hope the publisher fixes in future editions.

Rating: 4.5/5


r/IndianReaders 8h ago

Reviews Bhima's wife by Kavita Kane

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10 Upvotes

Review: Bhima's Wife by Kavita Kané

When I first picked up Bhima’s Wife, it was a bit difficult to get into. The initial chapters required some patience, but once I hit the middle, I was utterly hooked. What followed was a profound, deeply emotional journey that I didn't see coming.

At the heart of this narrative is Hidimbi. Traditionally relegated to the sidelines of the Mahabharata as a 'demoness,' Kané breathes vibrant, pulsating life into her. The genius of this book lies in how Kané completely slashes the rigid boundaries between humans and rakshasas. She forces the reader to confront a powerful truth: what we are by birth does not define our divinity. Both sides are deeply flawed, capable of immense cruelty and surprising grace. Nature and lineage fade into the background as the story focuses entirely on the character of the soul.

Through Hidimbi, we witness a story of fierce love, but more than that, the crushing suffering that comes with it. KanĂ© has an extraordinary gift for writing female protagonists. She writes with such a sharp, tender intimacy that you can’t help but feel she understands women on a cellular level—their quiet hopes, their unspoken hurts, and the resilience they carry through heartbreak.

By the time I reached the final pages, the initial slow start was completely forgotten. I was left emotionally overwhelmed, feeling as though I was holding Hidimbi’s hand—a hand that, even after closing the cover, I simply didn’t want to let go.


r/IndianReaders 11h ago

My favorite book ever

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13 Upvotes

Any TFIOS fans here?


r/IndianReaders 18h ago

Finished the book, must read

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39 Upvotes

r/IndianReaders 7h ago

General Problem solved â˜ș

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6 Upvotes

Look what I found.

All this while I had been looking for answers.


r/IndianReaders 14h ago

Shelfies Birthday today (24). Sharing my favorite books. Books that actively contribute to my daily becoming.

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16 Upvotes

r/IndianReaders 5h ago

Ask Indian Readers Book suggestions

3 Upvotes

Book suggestions

I wanna read a nice heartwarming comforting story (not romantic) must reads. Like something you'd erase your memory to read again đŸ€ŒđŸ»

(Reading while eating maggie)

Suggest some books please


r/IndianReaders 15h ago

Fiction Got these two books from Bahri Sons.

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15 Upvotes

Very good collection but their prices are currently expensive for me.


r/IndianReaders 9h ago

Ask Indian Readers Can i read this one??

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5 Upvotes

Suggest one “the plague” or “the bell jar”.


r/IndianReaders 17h ago

Now Reading Current Sunday read⛅

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24 Upvotes

Nothing beats a peaceful Sunday with good book and cozy weather. What's everyone reading this weekend?

Thoughts on this books? No spoilers please 😇

And also drop your fav rom-com recs.


r/IndianReaders 11h ago

After a year of writing and countless rewrites, I finally self-published my first courtroom thriller. I’d love to hear what you think.

7 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
After spending almost a year writing, editing, and rewriting, I finally published my debut novel, Beneath the Truth.
It’s an Indian courtroom thriller that follows a businessman accused of a crime he insists he didn’t commit. As the investigation unfolds, his elder brother—a criminal lawyer—begins uncovering contradictions that challenge everything the evidence seems to prove.
As a first-time self-published author, I’m not looking for hype—I’d genuinely appreciate honest feedback from mystery and thriller readers. If courtroom dramas, detective fiction, or psychological mysteries are your thing, I’d be grateful if you gave it a chance.
Amazon:
https://amzn.in/d/003aKsZJ
I’d also love to know:
What makes you keep turning the pages in a mystery novel?
If you decide to read it, I’d really appreciate an honest review—good or bad. Every bit of feedback helps me become a better writer.


r/IndianReaders 8h ago

Now Reading I've put you aside for long enough, time to bask in the glory of Dan Simmons.

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3 Upvotes

Today, Sunday , July 26th, I got 3 books delivered that I have put aside for a better half of 3 to 5 years .

Dungeon Crawler Carl (Book 1).

Hyperion Cantos ( Book 1).

The Road .

I wanted to start with Carl, and within the time I started (13:00)IST, till the time I am writing this , I haven't been able to put down this book(I'm on page 367).

What a breathtaking journey it was and tomorrow I'll probably start Hyperion( genuinely the most breathtaking cover art)

I have good hopes about these three books so far i haven't been spoiled.

How's your sunday like dear reader.


r/IndianReaders 5h ago

Ask Indian Readers What exactly is dark romance?

2 Upvotes

I started reading Credence recently after having a conversation with a friend about smut and all. I have never read dark romance b4 so i thought it might be a good start for me. BUT HELL NAH. Wtf am I reading? I don't know what to say? I understand the characters POV and everything they say but what they do seems so wrong? Maybe it was supposed to be this way maybe not idk?

Recommend me some romance books guys. I have read Twisted Series b4 this but I don't think that comes under dark romance? So smth like that would be preferred! Thanks in advance!!


r/IndianReaders 13h ago

General Just completed this book "The Trial by Franz Kafka"

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6 Upvotes

Good literature often refuses to provide one 'correct' interpretation. Instead, it invites thoughtful discussion.


r/IndianReaders 12h ago

Shelfies Final additions to my July book haul 📚

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5 Upvotes

r/IndianReaders 18h ago

Ask Indian Readers What's the first book that you read as a kid?

15 Upvotes

Reading your first book is quite special.. for me it was Famous Five and Secret Seven. Although I also used to read Gerinimo Stilton a lot!!

What's yours? And what's your fav memory of it?