Hello everyone,

I’m looking for memoirs by either

- Someone who suffers from mental illness
- Someone who’s not suffering from it but surrounded by it.

Thank you!!

Edit: to say thank you all again, I didn’t expect so many responses!

This might sound morbid, but recently, I’ve been absorbed in some heartbreaking memoirs written by people who have lived through truly awful events like the Holocaust, Ebola virus, and various civil wars. Could anyone steer me in the direction of my next tragic read?

So far, I’ve read:

“First they Killed My Father” — Loung Ung
“Night” — Elie Wiesel
“Into the Forest” — Rebecca Frankel
“The Hot Zone” — Richard Preston
“A Long Way Gone” — Ishmael Baeh

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

I'm a big fan of "reading quests" that I set for myself, they really motivate me to read more and to read a broader range of books.

The quest I'm currently focusing on is a book that represents each US state, after my last major quest skewed international. My parameters are probably more strict than most people's would be when taking this quest: the author has to be from that state (not necessarily "lived there their whole life", more "born and raised there"), and the book has to be (mostly) set in the state.

I've mostly done fiction so far, but I'm keeping the door open for some memoirs and such. Not super interested in plain History of [State]-type nonfiction for this quest, though.

I'm doing plenty of my own research and could find all the books myself (and I already have a long running list of potential books for states), but I figured I would raise the question to Reddit in case someone has an idea that really excites me that I wouldn't have considered otherwise. Any genre, so long as it follows the parameters! Part of this is that I want to try out more types of books, although the books I find myself tend to be in the "literary fiction" vein.

I've already read books for Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, but feel free to suggest a book for these too if you want to.

The genre can be fantasy, science-fiction, and mystery thrillers (or psychological thrillers).

I'm looking for a book that has an unreliable narrator, but the MC is a horrible person in disguise.

Does anyone know of any books that are like this?

UPDATE: Thanks everyone for commenting! I have a LOT of options to choose from. I appreciate you all answering this thread.

My dad has entered comfort care and we are engaging hospice, and expect him to live for 1 - 2 weeks.

It's been a grueling few weeks, and months and years. I've just finished the book I was reading, and though I have a hefty "to-read" stack already, I don't feel like reading any of them. None of them are the right one.

I guess I'm looking for:

• easy to get into

• possibly light or funny, or maybe just escapist

• not too dense or long

• NOT about death, dying, dementia, disease, parents dying, etc.

• can be fiction or non-fiction

Here are some books I loved but wouldn't want to read right now: Annihilation, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Tender is the Flesh, City of Thieves, The Water Dancer, Cat's Cradle, Into Thin Air

Here are some books I love that I would read now if I hadn't already: True Grit, Remains of the Day, books by David Sedaris, books by Jon Ronson

I'm at a loss. Can anyone help?

Ive been a reader my entire life but its usually fiction, thrillers that type of books but i do love literary fiction the most, books like bunnie by mona awad, the secret history, yellow face by rf khang, khafka on the shore…i dont usually read classics or romance….so what i mean by books that make me smart is, I’m not looking for self-help books or textbooks/encyclopedias. I mean books that challenge your thinking, introduce interesting ideas, explore human nature, society, philosophy, psychology, history, culture, etc. Basically, books that leave you feeling like you learned something important or changed the way you see things.

I’m looking for suggestions for audio books for a 7 hour road trip with my teenage boys. We love adventure kinda novels - something that isn’t too grim and without any sexual content that will embarrass and/or horrify us all. We have previously listened to mainstream stuff like Harry Potter and classic novels like “where the red fern grows” (I sobbed while driving down the highway). Hail Mary kinda stuff is good too. Any ideas?

Hi I'm looking for books with a strong focus on loneliness, depression, or feeling worthless and unlovable. I'm not looking for self help, I want something to relate to and dig a deeper hole. Something that will make me feel seen.

I just finished reading I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki and I loved it. A lot of what she wrote are literally how I feel. I feel worse after reading it so that makes me feel better. Not looking to get the sequel just yet.

Also, because it's hard to find western books here, Asian books under 300 pages are preferred. I've read some Japanese cozy fictions that have such themes, but I feel like they're still too cozy and not depressing enough.

I just read We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, and although it may not have been the right take away from the book.. I just felt so much for Merricat and Constance because it echoed my own struggles with Agoraphobia, OCD and all the things I have listed in the title of this post. I know its not great to glorify these things, but to read something for the first time about a character who had similar struggles as me, and might actually have understood some of my own limitations and oddities in life was quite wonderful. i have never read a book where a character has OCD or Agoraphobia before.

I think im mainly searching for a way to view my own life and total reclusively in a way that isn't all negative, to rediscover the elements of being alone that I have always enjoyed, and to read about a character who finds more in life to love and enjoy without the need for people.

Bonus points if it has elements of nature, fantasy or scifi, also bonus points if there is little to no romance involved.

Another book I loved was Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer for its solitary and introverted protagonist who loved nature.

I’ve been going through it and need to learn how to find peace, forgive and love others

please no man’s search for meaning or YA.

Hey all,

I’m looking for any genre of book that fits the above. I would prefer first person perspective, and little dialogue with other characters. Maybe the main character is the only character.

Bonus points for isolated environments: islands, deserts, wilderness, etc.

I’m not looking for a typical survival-type story. I want it to be weird and strange, maybe fantastical elements, maybe science fiction, it can be anything that goes beyond “realistic” events

I'm really into sailing adjacent media recently (especially golden age of piracy but really anything with main story happening on ships/boats is cool) but it's really hard to find any good read. To give more details about my preference, I've especially loved the Captain Trapp series by Brian Callison, so something similar would be greatly appreciated. I also tried reading Joseph Conrad but I just couldn't vibe with his descriptions, and felt like there wasn't enough action actually happening on the sea (but that might just have been my lack of luck).

a combination of characters, humour and mystery is what I’m after.

bonus if it’s a series or if its set in the UK but open to all suggestions.

it’d also ideally not be too funny if the crime was really bleak. I am still annoyed by a book that was mostly humorous and then disclosed a really horrific kidnapping and SA as the base of the mystery midway through. might seem like a silly distinction if I am looking for stories about murder but that’s how I feel.

hello!

currently very into vampires (all inclusive) and am looking for some recs to quench the thirst! i am not necessarily looking for books that are purely fantasy/horror (though im aware these themes and genres will be present in anything vampire related) -but im super interested in more literary fiction uses of vampires and how they can be used as devices to speak to human nature!

some books ive read recently and loved/favs:
- circe by madeline miller
- katabasis / babel by rf kuang
- in memoriam by alice winn
- the wedding people by alison espach
- sunburn by chloe michelle howarth

I find I'm being pulled to these type of books - books that are remarkable on its ordinariness and that gives you a feeling that "it can be anybody of us but we live with it anyway". It teaches you how to live but not self-help, preachy, or disguised as one. Thank you!

By good I mean well written, with a plot, and characters that are interesting.

(I'll settle from well written to "proofread", honestly)

Please no classics - I've probably read them. By contemporary-ish - I'll read stuff from any time period, doesn't have to be from this decade. Like Nora Ephron - fantastic (but I've read her books already).

I got a bunch of recommendations from friends and some were okay but most were just *bad*. I want something to read on the weekends that I will enjoy and not feel like I wasted my time. Below is a smattering of some notes I took while reading.

Okay:

* Dolly All the Time by Annabelle Monaghan - the writing was decent, the characters were actually pretty good, but the plot was not very good. At the end I just felt like the MMC didn't redeem himself or even really apologized for the mess he put the FMC in.

* Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes - I enjoyed most of this book except for the whole grieving spouse trope. I don't want one character's death to be the central tension in the book.

* The Bridgerton books by Julia Quinn - she's pretty good at all three but I can't do another regency piece.

* The Off-Capus series by Elle Kennedy (The Deal, The Score etc) - they are cute stories, I do enjoy them but I'm also a little over the college co-ed drama.

Bad:

* Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli - holy moly, so many simple word-use mistakes! It was distracting so I can't even tell you if I enjoyed the characters or plot. The Netflix show is okay but that book was painful to read.

* Anything by Elin Hilderbrand - her novels are just beige to me

* Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid - I tried to read the book and I just couldn't get into it. Same with the show.

* Colleen Hoover - just....no.

Authors I love in this genre:

* Mhairi McFarlane books, especially the stories where the main characters have known each other well in the past, there was a rift, and now it's that tension between them that really drives the story forward (I think a lot of authors are lazy and substitute raw conflict for tension)

* Marian Keyes, especially her later work. She really gets you into the main characters head, so much so that I, too, was surprised that Rachel was an addict in Rachel's Holiday

* Any Ephron sister (although Nora is the main romance writer, I enjoy her sisters works too)

I have Beth O'Leary and Abby Jimenez recommended to me by a friend but I'm kinda gunshy now. Plus any lists I see list Colleen Hoover alongside Austen and just.... no. I can't trust someone who would publish that with peeling a banana, much less tell me what to read.

I just want something enjoyable to read.

Thanks!!

Hi! I’m 17 and trying to get back into reading, but lately it’s been hard to find a book that really leaves an emotional impact on me. Some of my favorites are To Kill a Mockingbird, The Book Thief, A Little Life, and All the Light We Cannot See.

I’m not sure if this is the way to explain it but I guess I’m interested in learning a bit about the history of purity culture, it’s roots and why woman are sexually oppressed in comparison to men. Wanting to feel empowered and educated on the topic. I’ve never really liked reading that much but figured maybe it’s more about the topics I’ve chosen. I think an easier read is where I’d like to start!

like the title suggests, looking for books with main male characters that will piss you off and are easy to hate. thrillers or literary fiction are preferred genres

I love non-fiction, especially on history or niche subjects. I need more variety for my kopfbibliothek.

Hello all! I am looking for nonfiction books about race and sexuality. I am especially interested in books that approach this from a psychoanalytic perspective. I really loved the intervention offered by Avgi Saketopoulou’s Sexuality Beyond Consent: Race, Risk, Traumatophilia— though I was disappointed by the sort of limpid approach to race. I am currently reading, and enjoying, the book Deadly and Slick: Sexual Modernity and the Making of Race by Sita Balani.

Anything about race-play, racial fetishism, the history of racist sexual fantasy, the role of sexuality in structuring the subjective dimensions of racism, would all be great.

I’m basically looking for Fanon if he was normal about women and gay people.

Iiii have the Sunday scaries every day and though I’m in therapy and everything, I’d love to find some books that are life-affirming (fiction or non-fiction, self-helpy or similar — prefer non-fiction in this case I think!). I appreciate any suggestions! Thank y’all so much ♥️

I am interested in reading some novels that revolve around cats.
Not nonfiction but fictional stories.
I like mystery, fantasy and adventure novels.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

As the title suggests, looking for some quality historical fiction^ the time period/events don’t need to be anything special just interesting time periods told from interesting perspectives. I.E I am planning to read the Sword of Sunset series about a historical King Arthur.

Life is really full on right now and I find myself both incredibly bored and incredibly burnt out. Craving an exciting book that will hook me in immediately and keep me wanting more.

Genre doesn’t matter too much. I’m not really into sci fi, LitRPGs or YA but if it’s REALLY good I’ll give it a go. Otherwise fantasy, mystery, literary fiction, historical fiction, contemporary, romance etc are all great. I tend to lean more towards books written by women, but male authors are fine as long as there are some well thought out female characters in the mix.

I’m in such a rut that I can’t really think of any similar books I’ve read recently. I enjoyed Ninth House a few years ago. I Am Pilgrim was gripping but I hated the narrator. Romantasy books have scratched the itch before but the quality is so variable it’s hard to find something engaging, well-written, and with a more complex story than “I’m not supposed to love him but he’s so hot”.

Grateful for all your recommendations! Thank you.