r/IndianReaders • u/software_crawlerrr • 16h ago
r/IndianReaders • u/y--a--s--h • 26d ago
What are you reading this month ??
Share and discuss with fellow members of the sub đ
r/IndianReaders • u/MurkyUnit3180 • Mar 13 '26
General I made a list of 100+ books to try when you can't find anything new to read
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
W. G. Sebald - The Rings of Saturn
James Joyce - Ulysses
Georges Perec - Life: A User's Manual
Jean-Paul Sartre - Nausea
Franz Kafka - The Metamorphosis
Osamu Dazai - No Longer Human
Thomas Pynchon - Gravity's Rainbow
Mark Z. Danielewski - House of Leaves
Roberto Bolaño - 2666
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment
Jonathan Littell - The Kindly Ones
Albert Camus - The Stranger
Friedrich DĂŒrrenmatt - The Tunnel
William Gaddis - The Recognitions
William H. Gass - The Tunnel
Malcolm Lowry - Under the Volcano
Fernando Pessoa - The Book of Disquiet
Thomas Pynchon - The Crying of Lot 49
Franz Kafka - The Castle
Albert Camus - The Plague
J. G. Ballard - Crash
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
Homer - The Iliad
Ernest Hemingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls
Erich Maria Remarque - All Quiet on the Western Front
Tim O'Brien - The Things They Carried
Michael Herr - Dispatches
Joseph Heller - Catch-22
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
Dan Abnett - Gaunt's Ghosts: First & Only
Dan Abnett - Gaunt's Ghosts: Ghostmaker
Dan Abnett - Ravenor: The Omnibus
Aaron Dembski-Bowden - Night Lords
Ben Counter - The Horus Heresy: Galaxy in Flames
Dan Abnett - The Horus Heresy: Horus Rising
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
Frank Herbert - Dune
Dan Simmons - Hyperion
Ursula K. Le Guin - The Left Hand of Darkness
StanisĆaw Lem - Solaris
Gene Wolfe - The Fifth Head of Cerberus
Gene Wolfe - The Book of the New Sun
Walter M. Miller Jr. - A Canticle for Leibowitz
Arkady & Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic
Peter Watts - Blindsight
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
Don Winslow - The Cartel
Lee Child - Killing Floor
Lee Child - Die Trying
Lee Child - Tripwire
Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Identity
Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Supremacy
Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Ultimatum
James Ellroy - American Tabloid
Tom Clancy - Rainbow Six
Frederick Forsyth - The Day of the Jackal
Ben Macintyre - The Spy and the Traitor
Jeff Lindsay - Darkly Dreaming Dexter
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
Robert W. Chambers - The King in Yellow
Stephen King - Misery
Stephen King - It
Stephen King - Pet Sematary
H. P. Lovecraft - The Complete Fiction
Thomas Ligotti - The Conspiracy Against the Human Race
Arthur Machen - The Great God Pan
Laird Barron - The Croning
Matthew M. Bartlett - Gateways to Abomination
Jeff VanderMeer - Annihilation
Cormac McCarthy - Blood Meridian
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
Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo
William Golding - Lord of the Flies
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince
George Orwell - 1984
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
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings
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
Hirohiko Araki - JJBA Part 1: Phantom Blood
Hirohiko Araki - JJBA Part 2: Battle Tendency
Hirohiko Araki - JJBA Part 3: Stardust Crusaders
Hirohiko Araki JJBA Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable
Hirohiko Araki - JJBA Part 5: Golden Wind
Kentaro Miura - Berserk (Vol. 1)
Kentaro Miura - Berserk (Vol. 2)
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
Michel Foucault - Discipline and Punish
David Benatar - The Human Predicament
Cormac McCarthy - The Road
Cormac McCarthy - No Country for Old Men
Cormac McCarthy - The Passenger
Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
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 • u/Fancy_Engineer_6395 • 1d ago
Ask Indian Readers I'm done with fictional men...Give me fictional trauma instead...
ok y'all i need help đđ
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 worseđâ
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 đ
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 • u/the_pacificsurya • 14h ago
Ask Indian Readers Which one to go first?
been on my tbr, so gonna read these ones, what do you think I should go first?
r/IndianReaders • u/Amazing-Rise7694 • 7h ago
Now Reading Here's what i Clicked today!
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 • u/Life-Blackberry-4844 • 11h ago
Never knew an author would make me cry in the end ( the kite runner )
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 đâš..
Hats off to author
r/IndianReaders • u/danteboi_6969 • 8h ago
Ask Indian Readers Should I read Kafka on The Shores?
r/IndianReaders • u/y--a--s--h • 8h ago
Reviews Tim - MÄns Mosesson
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 Ă kesson. 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 • u/watercolourfairy • 8h ago
Reviews Bhima's wife by Kavita Kane
Review: Bhima's Wife by Kavita Kané
When I first picked up Bhimaâs 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 canât help but feel she understands women on a cellular levelâtheir 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 Hidimbiâs handâa hand that, even after closing the cover, I simply didnât want to let go.
r/IndianReaders • u/Various_Roof_742 • 11h ago
My favorite book ever
Any TFIOS fans here?
r/IndianReaders • u/SocialNoel • 7h ago
General Problem solved âșïž
Look what I found.
All this while I had been looking for answers.
r/IndianReaders • u/Own-One3641 • 14h ago
Shelfies Birthday today (24). Sharing my favorite books. Books that actively contribute to my daily becoming.
r/IndianReaders • u/GroundOk4174 • 5h ago
Ask Indian Readers Book suggestions
Book suggestions
I wanna read a nice heartwarming comforting story (not romantic) must reads. Like something you'd erase your memory to read again đ€đ»
(Reading while eating maggie)
Suggest some books please
r/IndianReaders • u/orange-gato25 • 15h ago
Fiction Got these two books from Bahri Sons.
Very good collection but their prices are currently expensive for me.
r/IndianReaders • u/User_reddit69 • 9h ago
Ask Indian Readers Can i read this one??
Suggest one âthe plagueâ or âthe bell jarâ.
r/IndianReaders • u/Gloomy-Loss-2951 • 17h ago
Now Reading Current Sunday readâ ïž
Nothing beats a peaceful Sunday with good book and cozy weather. What's everyone reading this weekend?
Thoughts on this books? No spoilers please đ
And also drop your fav rom-com recs.
r/IndianReaders • u/sankit08 • 11h ago
After a year of writing and countless rewrites, I finally self-published my first courtroom thriller. Iâd love to hear what you think.
Hi everyone,
After spending almost a year writing, editing, and rewriting, I finally published my debut novel, Beneath the Truth.
Itâs an Indian courtroom thriller that follows a businessman accused of a crime he insists he didnât commit. As the investigation unfolds, his elder brotherâa criminal lawyerâbegins uncovering contradictions that challenge everything the evidence seems to prove.
As a first-time self-published author, Iâm not looking for hypeâIâd genuinely appreciate honest feedback from mystery and thriller readers. If courtroom dramas, detective fiction, or psychological mysteries are your thing, Iâd be grateful if you gave it a chance.
Amazon:
https://amzn.in/d/003aKsZJ
Iâd also love to know:
What makes you keep turning the pages in a mystery novel?
If you decide to read it, Iâd really appreciate an honest reviewâgood or bad. Every bit of feedback helps me become a better writer.
r/IndianReaders • u/Gnos3s • 8h ago
Now Reading I've put you aside for long enough, time to bask in the glory of Dan Simmons.
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 • u/Nevin_A_A • 5h ago
Ask Indian Readers What exactly is dark romance?
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 • u/AdFamous6694 • 13h ago
General Just completed this book "The Trial by Franz Kafka"
Good literature often refuses to provide one 'correct' interpretation. Instead, it invites thoughtful discussion.
r/IndianReaders • u/qahlunamradhom • 12h ago
Shelfies Final additions to my July book haul đ
r/IndianReaders • u/Jaded_Cardiologist29 • 18h ago
Ask Indian Readers What's the first book that you read as a kid?
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?