Any fiction suggestions for a somewhat picky reader? The Expanse lasted me a long while but I’m finishing up the novellas now and need to start looking for something new. Not necessarily in the same genre.

I don’t have a lot of books under my belt as an adult, but some of my favorites have been Stoner by John Williams, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, East of Eden, Catch 22, Flowers for Algernon, and Harry Potter. Kind of all over the place I guess. 😅

I’ve also enjoyed John Williams’ other novels, Piranesi, The Things They Carried, House of Leaves, and Ender’s Game and the sequel.

Some books I didn’t really care for include Hitchhiker’s Guide (although I loved the first half), Lolita, Sharp Objects, Turtles All the Way Down, The Stand, The Road, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451.

I’m always overwhelmed trying to find something new, so thanks for any suggestions!

EDIT: Thank you all! It’ll be a bit daunting exploring all these new books but not nearly as daunting as if I had no guidance, so I really appreciate it!

  • astreus
    2·
    11 months ago

    Right!?! I even found my own writing spiraling into “and everybody dies” endings recently, so Becky Chambers was a breath of fresh air!

    Not patronising, not naive, but utterly hopeful.

    • GayCosmicHorror@sh.itjust.works
      2·
      11 months ago

      Have you tried looking into the solarpunk genre? I am still looking for a novel that combines concepts of cosmic horror and solarpunk into some complicated jumble of lovecraftian goodness that isn’t about evil gods from the stars, in fact i am writing a novel for myself that fits what i am looking for in this “genre” i am hoping to find someday.

        • GayCosmicHorror@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          11 months ago

          :( Unfortunately no, I am actually still pretty new to solarpunk, so far i just kind of read whatever i can get my hands on. I mostly have read a bunch of random short story compilations, i had two solarpunk books that had collections of various short solarpunk stories. I am also currently on a cosmic horror tangent, and solarpunk doesn’t really scratch that itch as much personally, but i do enjoy it. It also seems there arent many writers of solarpunk fiction as well. If i keep this account for very long, and i come across anything i found really interest and i manage to remember this post i’ll try to come back and reply again with some suggestions :3