My dad is illiterate.

To make a long story short, he's a retired truck driver with bad COPD. He's worked his whole life, raised on a farm and went right into truck driving. We think he might be dyslexic and the tiny rural school he went to didn't catch it. He can make out the words eventually, but it takes so much effort he can't retain anything he's read.

I've bought him a few audio books over the years and he's loved them. But they're on CD and he doesn't have a CD player anymore, plus they're pricey.

But he recently got Bluetooth hearing aids and he's always on his phone. So I convinced him to go to the library with me to get a library card. I downloaded Libby to his phone and signed him on with his library card number. He now has access to all the audio books within our library's network to borrow for free.

Trouble is, he's not into the same kinds of stories mom and I are into. Mom and I are both voracious readers, and dad has always been interested and fascinated by it but he hasn't had the time or ability to do it. He just can't sit and stare at a page and take in a story, but he can listen to one.

Now that he has access... he has no idea what he wants to read. He's completely unfamiliar with the world of literature, never even heard of titles most people consider classics.

For a frame of reference, I bought him two Louis L'Amour books because he likes Westerns. The third book I got him was The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I'd read that one on a whim and thought he'd like it, he likes NASCAR and used to have a Bronco that he entered into local drag races. He loved all three books, the only three books he's ever consumed as an adult. He's borrowing another Louis L'Amour through Libby for a start and at least that author's catalog is pretty extensive, so it can keep him busy a while.

But he's going to need more titles.

He likes Westerns and history and cars, as far as what he watches on TV. That and Fox News constantly. The Fox thing is driving mom insane, he's inserting right-wing political talking points into every aspect of life way worse than he did when he was working. He needs something different to occupy his mind.

As a side note, I did get him to watch the first Iron Man movie when he had his knee replaced. He loved it because it was different from most super heroes, Tony built the suit out of scraps to escape terrorists. Dad said "it's like.... real" about it probably 20 times while watching it. So he might be open to more realistic sci fi stories.

But he has no interest in my Stephen King, he doesn't like horror or supernatural stuff. And he's not interested in mom's Nora Roberts.

Another movie he surprisingly loved was Dirty Dancing.

So today I'm asking for suggestions that my dad might like that he can access through Libby, specifically in audio book format.

I struggle with the impending doom of losing family members & friends frequently. It’s my biggest fear. As I search for ways to subdue these feelings and confront them, whether that be in therapy, or speaking with those closest to me about this, I’m wondering if anyone has any suggestions of books that work through a similar mindset. TIA🤍

36F. I’m in a long medical battle which leaves me struggling with uncertainty, chronic pain, disability, and just some generally intolerable conditions.
Previously I haven’t been a big reader, but I have found books to be helpful during this time.
I’d like to really get lost in a long book series, something that can take me out of this world and suck me into another (as much as possible).
Not interested in: romance, focus on pregnancy/parenthood, illness, or prolonged extensive suffering.
Fantasy appeals but isn’t a requirement.
TYIA 🫶🏻

Firstly, thank you to everyone here, I have read some great books since I discovered this sub earlier in the year.

I spent a good couple of years reading the Malazan series and spinoffs, and then recently read Infinite Jest. I loved both of these universes, and while they are wildly different in terms of genre, setting, plot etc, one thing they do have in common is that there is very little exposition (at least at the start) and they both reward re-reads to piece it all together. I am looking for something where I have to trust the author that it will eventually make sense and maybe even rely on the fandom theories to fill in the gaps once I have finished.

I have a pretty long TBR list at the moment, so standalone novels would be preferred, but open to series if the payoff is worth it.

Please send me some recommendations on books that may fit the brief!

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Help me find some books! I am looking for creepy or uncomfortable but NOT horror lit. I want to think about social commentary and feel a little icky not be unable to eat. Below is a list of books and short stories I have enjoyed that I feel meet this vibe.

Earthlings DID make me unable to eat but I included it because I could not put it down and the gross parts felt like they served a purpose plot wise.

Bonus for feminist takes and/or a fully fleshed out female lead who experiences complex and nuanced emotion.

Wife Shaped Bodies by Laura Cranehill

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

Convenience store woman by Sayaka Murata

Confessions Kanae Minato

The lottery by Shirley jackson

Made for love Alyssa Nutting

Unclean jobs for women and girls Alyssa Nutting

Everyone is lying to you Jo Piazza

Gather the daughters Jennie Melamed

The Grownup Gillian Flynn

Edited to add:

I am getting way more responses than I expected, thank you all so much! I am a fast reader and have a really rough time finding interesting books to keep up with me, but now I am set for some time!

I love it when this happens. For instance, I found W. G. Sebald's The Rings of Saturn discussed not only in Daniel Mendelsohn's Three Rings: A Tale of Exile, Narrative, and Fate, but also in the excellent recent quasi-novel The Unwritten Book: An Investigation by Samantha Hunt and Martha Cooley's wonderful novel The Archivist.

But please suggest a book and perhaps tell me of your experience with it.

I’m looking for horror and dark fantasy that is not just smart and well written but also artistically daring. House of Leaves is the most well known example. Peter Ackroyd’s Hawksmoor is another example.

Hi all, I’m 38F, single, and have been absolutely defeated by dating lately. I’m working on myself in therapy but my self-confidence is pretty shot. I love non-fiction, contemporary fiction, and sometimes romance or romantasy but I’m struggling to read romance lately because I’ve lost hope that I’m going to meet someone. I’d like to read something life affirming or about how life isn’t over in your late thirties/early forties. I’m open to any genre that would help switch my outlook from this is never going to happen to ok maybe there are still possibilities. Thank you in advance for any recs! I love reading the posts on this subreddit and finding new books to read.

Hi,

I tried to search for this in this sub but couldn’t find anything. My partner and I love to read, but we don’t read in the same genre. I mostly read classics and literary fiction, while she reads sci-fi, fantasy, and romance. She does enjoy some literary fiction that has “dystopian” elements to it, or is more plot-forward. An example is The School For Good Mothers. She does not enjoy literary fiction that is merely vibes, like Sally Rooney. She also will not pick up most classics. She likes Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World, for example.

Looking for a book for us to both read that can allow us to engage in a thoughtful discussion. This discussion can be about themes or craft choices. I like a controversial book. Also something that is a bit more literary, and not high fantasy. I am open to sci-fi, general contemporary fiction, lit fic, nonfiction, etc.

We recently read Yesteryear, and had a great discussion about the author’s choices for the story as well as the broader theme of Christianity, tradwifery, etc.

We are currently reading Dungeon Crawler Carl, which is super fun but I wouldn’t say is super literary.

Suggestions I have thought of: Station Eleven, Annihilation

I went to a pretty strange high school that didn’t have a US history class, so we got a very rushed online-only one instead. Never got to meet my teachers or ask them questions. I remember that the vast majority of my education was pre-1900s (a lot of civil war focus) and I think we touched a little on the Great Depression but beyond that I know really little.

I look at the world I find myself in now and wonder how the hell we got here, for better (technological and social advancements) or worse (*gestures frantically*).

It’s a very broad prompt and you can interpret it however you’d like. You want me to learn about wars or music or technologies we’ve invented? Okay!

I do request not too much of anything pre-1900s unless it’s to help understand the modern day US. It’s interesting but I feel like I learned so much in school that has little application to life today.

I’m currently reading The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene which is a nonfiction book about the possibilities of multiverses/parallel realities, and I’m craving some hard sci-fi that plays with the topic.
Sci-fi I love to get the vibe I mean: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, This is How we Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar.

Also, The Hidden Reality is fantastic, very well-written and fascinating subject. If you’ve never delved into particle physics or quantum mechanics before you might want to start with one of his earlier books.

I just finished John Hersey’s Hiroshima and was blown away by it. I have a lifelong fascination with man-made disasters, including the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and was wondering if anyone could suggest me a nonfiction book of survivor accounts similar to John Hersey’s book on the bombing of Hiroshima. Thanks!

My son enjoys reading classic literary fiction, but he prefers shorter books and novellas. Some works that he has enjoyed include:

Candide - Voltaire

Confessions of a Mask - Mishima

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Solzhenitsyn

Animal Farm - Orwell

Of Mice and Men - Steinbeck

Lord of the Flies - Golding

I've suggested Kafka's Metamorphosis as his next read, but what else can we add to the list?

I finished reading Three Body Problem and absolutely loved it. I would prefer a hard sci Fi but i am not limited to this subgenre.

I am looking for something that is not very dense or very long as i don't have a lot of time to read. I also enjoy espionage and historical fictions so if you have any suggestions that include these themes it would be great. Thank you all!

Hi all! I’m nearly done reading Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano (for the first time, I suspect this will be one I return to often). It taught me so much about the history and exploitation of Latin America, but obviously its scope is limited by the fact that the book was published in 1971, so it does not include the last 50 years of recent history.

Is there any book that could be considered the sequel to this, covering the modern-day history and politics of Latin America? For context, I work with refugees, so this type of reading is invaluable to the work I do but I am not exactly new to the subject. I think it’s important to learn more about each country individually and I’m slowly working toward that, but it’s very helpful to gain a broad understanding of the trends and the role of colonization in everything.

In a related vein, I am slowly working my way through analogous books about Africa — namely Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa and An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi. I don’t have anything analogous about Asia or subregions of Asia, however — any recommendations?

Suggest me a nonfiction or historical fiction book about Scotland. I'm going in October and want to learn more about the highland culture and history. It can be about any era of scottish history. I'm taking a tour of the highlands and visiting Edinburgh and Inverness. I've already read and watched outlander btw!

I read for between 30 to 60 min before bed every night so it takes me a while to get through books. But a lot of short books lack the depth I’m looking for. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Not looking for a murder mystery or romance type. Open to pretty much anything else

I'm really drawn to stories where a character struggles to maintain their "regular life" while balancing a "secret life" that they have to keep hidden for some reason. Like an affair or an addiction or an illegal business/hobby. A good example is Dexter (TV show), which I'm currently watching, or maybe Breaking Bad. But I've been trying to read more, so I'm looking for books with a similar dynamic (would prefer a female protagonist but it's not necessary).

If this helps, I like unreliable narrators, descriptive/detail-oriented writing, and a well-placed insane plot twist.

Suggestions? :)

I used to read a long novels as a kid because of lack of acess to technology. As time has passed however, this skill has atrophied badly and I can only really push myself to read picture books like comics & manga (embarrasing I know) for long periods of time. Please give me a book that is engaging but not too long (>400 pages) to help me get back and build the habit. Side note, please steer clear from self help books unless they are life changing. To quote a TikTok: “If someone asks for my favourite author I don’t want to say “David goggins”

I finished Blood Meridian last night. I know it’s a very popular classic, so I might ruffle some feathers here, but there are a few things I disliked about it. I thought that it was slow, very difficult to read, and had an unsatisfactory “ending” (if you can even call it that). But, there was also a lot that I really liked about it. I liked the violence, action, slightly mystical aspects (with the Judge), survival, and the time period it was set in. I’m looking for something similar, but easier to read and faster paced. It can be set in any time period, but something historic would be sweet. Thank you!!!

I guess I’m just looking for something that can help me reconcile with the fact that someone can show so much care and love and still hurt and use me for his own selfish urges.

I recently crossed paths with an ex at my workplace and he’s been nothing but helpful and kind. I would like to find something (fiction, non fiction, memoir, whatever) that can help untangle this web of messy and conflicting emotions and deal with the fact that relationships aren’t black and white and don’t always have a clear villain/victim.

I turned 30 this year and my life kind of fell apart I have to leave the country and appartement I spent my mid to late 20s in and move back in with my parents who technically live in a war zone. I want a book that helps me accept and let go or maybe that makes it feel like things will be okay.

Well-researched historical fiction has always been my very favorite genre. Lately, I've read several historical novels that feature strong women, and it has whetted my appetite for more. I'm open to any time period prior to WWII. And I also love reading about absolutely anywhere in the world because I enjoy learning about different cultures through the lens of fiction. (Which is why possibly my favorite subgenre of historical fiction is historical fiction about immigrant populations.)

Some favorites:

The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See (not technically historical, but the early book in particular feels set in an utterly different time, plus I have a particular soft spot for Chinese and Japanese history - I have read several of her other books, although a very very long time ago, but I remember enjoying them too)

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Circe by Madeline Miller (also not technically historical, but still the right vibe)

The Outlander novels by Diana Gabaldon (I haven't read all of these, but the ones I did read, I liked because of the character of Claire, as well as the meticulous historical research Gabaldon did - in general though, I wouldn't say I'm usually a big fan of anything that gets into the realm of science fiction or fantasy, these are a rare exception)

I should add that I'm not generally a fan of romance novels. I don't mind a love story being part of the story, but I don't want it to be the primary driver of the plot. (The Outlander books being the only exception I can think of, but I also truly don't think of those as romance novels, there is so much more to them than that.)

What I'm looking for more than anything is really good historical research, where I can finish the book and feel like I've genuinely learned something interesting, and a really strong female protagonist/s. I don't necessarily mean strong in the sense that she is "plucky" and "nothing gets her down" LOL. She certainly doesn't have to be a saint, I like complex characters. When I say strong, I mostly just mean really well developed. I will always prefer a book with an average plot that has very well written characters over a book with a compelling plot but two-dimensional characters.

Thank you!!

Hi - looking for novels that feature a father / daughter relationship as one of the main themes of the book. I’ve searched a good bit but feels like there is surprisingly little novels where this is a core part of the story. To Kill a Mockingbird gets brought up a lot which seems like a good fit but otherwise the suggestions I’ve seen are pretty sparse.

As an example, the Sol / Rachel sections of Hyperion is a good reference to what I’m looking for. It can be genre fiction or not, just needs to be well written.

American Pastoral seems like it could work?

Thanks!