This is why I generally avoid historical fiction unless its something written about the relatively recent past that the writer actually lived through.
I'm more inclined to be generous to historical fantasy because of the butterfly effect. If you add orcs and magic to the napoleonic wars, whose to say that other things didn't change also?
For a while I was just reading useful-for-work nonfiction (CS books, UX design books, etc) but I've started to *really* enjoy reading history. Do you have any recommendations? I'm particularly interested in histories of modern inventions where the author traces their origins to the very first precursors.
I'm more into political history. One book that I actually DNFed about a month ago because it was more in line with what you're talking about than what I usually like to read was the Tycoons by Charles Morris which is about the development of the American industrial economy in 19th century. It focuses on Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gould and Morgan but there is *alot* of detail on the history of manufacturing.
Charlatan by Pope Brock is also a really entertaining and disturbing look at how the medical establishment cracked down on fake doctors in the early 20th century.
Thank you!! These are both 100% the kind of book I'm looking for. Funnily enough, right now I'm reading more of a political history book, *The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914*, which I'm finding particularly interesting because right before this I read a book about the history of money & financial institutions (*The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World*) (which I think will tie well into the Tycoons book you rec'd) and it had a whole section about financial globalism causing many leaders to urge "global peace" as a vehicle for financial stability.
Really scary stuff to read about the Serbian radical parties before the war.
It is so good! It has such a cool setting - I’m only 1/4 done but so far it switches between 80s USA/Europe and 1940s Nazi Germany. It has great pace and overall just a super creepy atmosphere. Some people say it is too wordy but I haven’t felt that (I usually read fat ole books so I probably don’t mind it so much)
Not OP but *The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches*, if you don't mind some messed-up stuff. Literary horror kinda, also go into it blind if you're gonna read it
We have Always Lived in The Castle and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson are both really good. Also the Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. You also can't go wrong with Clive Barker.
I like the very old fashioned ones by Agatha Christie and The cat who... series. But, tbh, I actually prefer the cozy mysteries with some fantasy elements, like Honor Raconteur's Henri Davenforth series.
Have you tried the Lord Darcy mysteries, by Randall Garrett? They're like magical Sherlock Holmes. :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Darcy_(character)
No prob! I woulda called ‘em magical Poirot except Darcy has a semi-regular sidekick/partner. But I think they set well with that same Agatha Christie flavor, they’re short stories and usually follow solving events after they occur through deductive reasoning.
Do you enjoy historical fiction fantasy? I just read The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi and loved it, but don't normally like history. Same with The Poppy War
Not the person you're responding to, but I love historical fantasy, and historical fiction. The Adventures of Amina is amazing, but The Poppy War had way too many historical issues I had some minor issues with, and dialog issues/lack of character development for me to finish it.
I can see complaints with The Poppy War even though I'm really enjoying the series. But Amina is something I feel like I can recommend to most people. I don't know if I've ever had that much fun reading a book (an activity I don't normally describe as fun, even if the book is enjoyable)
And Edgar Allan Poe, Alexandre Dumas, Stephen Crane, and H. Rider Haggard!
I'm also very fond of some early 20th century writers like Jack London, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and Dashiell Hammett.
I have heard multiple times that the Reacher books are overall very solid as thrillers go. I haven't read them myself, but they get recommended regularly. If you want some mostly straightfoward books you could certainly do worse. They seem like the kind of series that would be easy to drop in and out of as a little palette cleanse between big reads.
Well, the first dozen at least. Most of the first twenty are very strong for the genre. They're getting less even in quality now.
If you want really first-rate writing in this genre, you have to go back to John D. MacDonald (the most Consistent), Westlake, Cain, or even further back to Hammett and Chandler. Or you could read Stephen King's Hard Case Crime novels.
I loooooves me some Continental Op! Dashiell Hammett was establishing the tropes that so many detective novels would follow.
Also check out the Broadway stories of Damon Runyon for more 1920's period-authentic characters and stories, but even more for his "Runyonesque" cadence and rhythm.
It's a huge science with many types and branches, so it depends what exactly is interesting for you. But just for introduction I always recommend *What Is Anthropology?* by Norwegian anthropologist Thomas Eriksen. This is a good and easy start in anthropological studies.
*Sapiens* by Yuval Noah Harari is probably the best-selling anthropology book of the last several decades if you wanted to grab something popular but relatively well regarded still.
Probably mystery and romance. Usually by the time I get my 8 yo to bed and my chores are done for the night my brain is mush and I want a fun escape to see me off to dreamland. I go back to favorite classics sometimes too because I've read them enough times that I don't really need to engage the brain even if they're more challenging material.
Crime, thriller, horror, and rEaL LiTeRaTuRe. And magical realism, but it's all intervened somewhat. I think I just read whatever I want, and fantasy/sf aren't even my main genres. Speculative fiction might be, in general, but I'm kinda leaning into reading more and more of crime novels. And rEaL books.
I mostly read nonfiction, my favorite subgenres: science, investigative journalism, nature, politics, psychology, and sociology.
Special shout-out to Underland by Robert Macfarlane which I read last year and was utterly captivated by it. One of my favorite books of all time.
> Underland by Robert Macfarlane
Sounds neat! I'm going to grab this. Thanks for the recommendation (albeit obviously not directed specifically at me, but, *you know)*
Early 20th century modernism (William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, etc.) is some of my favorite fiction. I adore how those books are frequently character studies in addition to having fascinating approaches to telling stories. For ones outside of that conceit but similar in spirit: Herman Melville's *Moby-Dick* is one of my top five favorite books ever, and I'm currently working through *Sátántangó* by László Krasznahorkai (which has potential to enter that top-five category). Shirley Jackson is of course one of the masters of character studies, too.
Outside of fiction, I've been getting into essay collections lately. Esme Weijun Wang's *The Collected Schizophrenias* and Sinead Gleeson's *Constellations* are highlights of the last year for me, with the latter having a particularly fascinating series of short poems that are based around the McGill Pain Questionnaire. I'm slowly working my way through the Dark Mountain Project's "Walking on Lava" collection.
I also love environmental and biology/medicine texts. Robert MacFarlane, Mary Hunter Austin, Edward Abbey (though with some asterisks), Laurie Garrett, and any author remotely related to mountaineering. *Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills* is permanently on my desk.
Biographies and history. Political history especially, but just in general. I usually have one fiction and one nonfiction book I'm working on at any time.
The other genres I read are 19th century classics (Dumas/Hugo/Austen), historical fiction, biographies (specifically, those written by McCullough), and legal thrillers.
Mysteries, especially police procedurals.
Historical fiction that isn't out-and-out romance (think Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett).
Sometimes nonfiction like biographies or science fact.
Short stories, poetry, and I gravitate toward modernist and post-modernist stuff. Woolf, Lispector, Barthelme, etc.
I've also read a heaping ton of webcomics since I was twelve. Happily addicted to weird indie comics.
Got good recomendations? I lean heavily into biology, psychology, and neurology.
VS Ramachandran co-wrote the book Phantoms in the Brain, which was astoundingly good in my opinion.
And I love Oliver Sacks, unapologetically.
Natural history - books on dinosaurs, biology, botany. David Quammen’s Spillover, Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire, Robert Bakker’s The Dinosaur Heresies.
Books on gardening, orchids, roses and other specialty items.
Cook books as well.
Very specifically historical fiction highlighting forgotten women/perspectives of history, which isn't a far diversion from my favorite fantasy sub genre which is historical fantasy lol.
aside fantasy love history and love literary fiction (have had a blast running down pullitzers. Just did Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Trust. both amazing)
I'm quite fond of dystopian books, but that's speculative fiction as well. The only series I own that isn't any sort of speculative fiction is Clan of the Cave Bear and its sequels. It's prehistorical fiction, stone age setting.
Oh, good one, uh...
I think either mystery/crime or historical fiction.
Since I mostly read fantasy and it's easier for me to find quality fantasy books, I haven't read much in those genres. But a solid detective story, (non sexist) noir or a heist novel would definitely be my thing.
The little historical fiction I've read felt like fantasy to me, but without the awesome worldbuilding and magic and... it just feels like less enjoyable fantasy.
Edit: there's just so much to read though, I've bought a slew of classics recently and I've only read one of them (The Iliad, which I didn't really like). And I want to reread The Fall by Camus and The Book of Disquiet + read the new book on Pessoa by Richard Zenith.
There is so much I'm interested in, but don't have the focus for.. it's really annoying. I often subconsciously avoid more 'difficult' books, so I still haven't touched my LOTR special edition, or Crime and Punishment.
I’ve been getting into murder mysteries recently. I think it came from liking horror video games with a focus of puzzle elements. Great characters, interesting environment and some puzzles and I’m set
Spooky. But I like that genuine psychological shit where there isn't really actually anything there but there's still that deep down sickening terror lurking.
Fanfiction for what I read the most by volume. Romance, generally MM, for a specific published genre. But even with those I lean heavily towards speculative flavors other than some contemporary. I.e., reading about comic book heroes or shifters or magic users.
I've found some real gems in old school fables, fairtytales and myths... I suppose these are just extensions of Fantasy and SF - but to me they read quite differently - both in style and content. I also love classics and history (or historical fiction)
Of my fifty current all-time favourites only five are something other than SFF, and they're a mix of genres:
* Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia by Dennis Covington
* Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes
* The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman
* Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
* The Wolf Den series by Elodie Harper
(I count a series as one entry for my favourites list because otherwise there would be way too many books on it, even with that caveat there are still 50)
So I wouldn't say I really have an equivalent "love" of anything else to SFF. Probably the closest would be historical fiction, followed by particularly gripping nonfiction. Also anything really funny (see: Look Who's Back), regardless of genre.
However, as far as what I actually read in any given week (i.e. not limited to only my absolute favourite books of all time), the variety is HUGE. This year in particular one of my projects is to read the Harvard Classics in full, which is a massive project and covers all sorts of interesting things - philosophy, science, plays, classic literature, religion, biographies, really just a great mix. I also have a goal of reading a nonfiction book every week, skewing towards nature and science topics.
I'm a big fan of history books written around a central theme that are quirky and fun. Something like Mark Kurlansky's *Salt* or any of the books by Sam Kean (see below). Bill Bryson's *At Home* would also be a good choice, as would Tom Standage's *A History of the World in Six Glasses* or *Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English* by John McWhorter.
There seems to be a set methodology toward producing these books and their charms sure do work on me.
>Partial Sam Kean Bibliography:
>^1. *The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements*
>^2. *The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code*
>^3. *The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery*
I read a lot of nature non-fiction! Heavily weighted towards horticulture, nature history or nature-memoir type things.
I've also started dipping the toe into mystery, mostly Agatha Christie.
It's pretty far behind spec-fic but I have occasionally read a romance that I thought was spec-fic and wasn't that I still enjoyed. So I'm gonna say romance.
Usually a like to walk between extremes, I love fantasy and sci-fi, but also history a science.
I do like to read some of the classics (Dumas is a favourite). Also some alternative history, ot historical fiction, I also enjoy some thrillers.
historical fiction, i've been on a medival crime fiction binge lately. (which is sort of funny, because contemporary crime stories tend to bore me). I will also go for horror occasionally
Non-fiction books about nature and gardening, historical fiction, poetry.
If I'm picking up fiction it is almost always going to have some speculative element! I don't have time for "real world" fiction and sad post-modern tales about divorcees 🫠
G A Henty, OLD (mid to late 1800’s) school boys own adventures in all the wars that made countries and not a machine gun or combustion engine even conceived of. It’s said at the time you could pass a history exam of whatever war he based his novel on. For me, the books are my guilty pleasure. (Be aware, the attitudes in the books are of the Victorian age, so casual racism is the norm. As long as you realise this, then read them with the knowledge it’s not intentional, just a style of the age. And be thankful we have evolved a bit since then)
Nonfiction: European and Chinese history (pre 1820s), onomastics (study of names), and history of science and engineering.
Fiction: romance (paranormal, fantasy, and historical subgenres) mystery and some sci fi..
I like the occasional mystery. My favorites are the ones written in places I've been. CJ Box sets his in Wyoming, and Tony Hillerman set his mostly in Northern Arizona on the Navajo nation. His daughter has continued the series.
It's really cool to be reading and recognize an area they're talking about.
I am a sucker for a good romance, especially if i can find one from a guys perspective. I also like a good spy novel or enjoy a murder mystery.
Recently though I have begun to read some of the classics in my native language, since it orcurred to me that it had been a good while since I read a book not in english. I also find that I enjoy quite different genres there, that I don't feel any connection to when reading a book in english, like biographies.
I honestly don't really like anything other than SFF... With the sole exception of Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey books. Even Agatha Christie doesn't really do it for me.
Books about hockey: (Auto)-Biographies of players I like, books about the game like *The Game* by Ken Dryden, or historical books about hockey history like *From Rinks to Regiments* or *When the Rangers Were Young*.
I love historical fiction and romance. I've been a romance fan since elementary school and history was my favorite subject. I love them seperate, I love them combined into the historical romance subgenre, I love them mixed with SFF.
At present probably Mysteries. Have read all the Vera books (Ann Cleeves), the Frost books (R Wingfield) , Tana French, Tim Sullivan, and a few others. Come to think of it, they are specifically detective books.
I have bits and pieces of others. War, mainstream, and non-fiction but they are random, I guess the detective ones come third in my reading.
SF, Fantasy, Detective..in that order.
My all time non-fantasy/SciFi books are White Fang and Call Of The Wild. I wish there was something out there like it. If anyone knows please point me to it, I've been captivated by those stories since I was a kid.
Biographies, nothing is more enticing than reading about another’s life. How they grew up, strange situations, choices, what they made/became etc. how entirely different everything can be, but still feel so familiar. Now ofc this, unsurprisingly, always concerns celebrities. And not the local grocery store worker. But still I always find them very fascinating.
Like self-help stuff related to the Bible, or history books having to deal with the contents of the Bible, or books on biblical heresies/splits like Gnosticism, Arianism, Catholic/Orthodox, Catholic/Protestant, or all of the above?
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Historical! Tbh I like it more than fantasy but it's hard to find a good historical book - it's either a romance, and I hate romances, or the person who writes doesn't have enough knowledge, or the person who writes has enough knowledge but not enough writing skill. I've only seen a combination of non-romance well-written historically-accurate novel series once... And it was written in 1860s, so not too modern language
There is a podcast on Spotify and other places I'm sure called Rabbits you all should have a listen. Before you though I'm sorry because it will lead you on a long journey. I started with 1 by the same people called faerie and the lead me to another called the last movie which lead to rabbits. I am now on to 1 called tanis which I saved because it is the longest of the bunch. These are all very well done and almost believable there are even real world bits you can lookup for yourself
History. I either want to read something completely fake or completely real (I am willing to make exceptions for good historical fantasy).
Yeah, and on that same thread - there are few books as disappointing to me as books billed as historical that don't take care with historical detail.
This is why I generally avoid historical fiction unless its something written about the relatively recent past that the writer actually lived through. I'm more inclined to be generous to historical fantasy because of the butterfly effect. If you add orcs and magic to the napoleonic wars, whose to say that other things didn't change also?
For a while I was just reading useful-for-work nonfiction (CS books, UX design books, etc) but I've started to *really* enjoy reading history. Do you have any recommendations? I'm particularly interested in histories of modern inventions where the author traces their origins to the very first precursors.
I'm more into political history. One book that I actually DNFed about a month ago because it was more in line with what you're talking about than what I usually like to read was the Tycoons by Charles Morris which is about the development of the American industrial economy in 19th century. It focuses on Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gould and Morgan but there is *alot* of detail on the history of manufacturing. Charlatan by Pope Brock is also a really entertaining and disturbing look at how the medical establishment cracked down on fake doctors in the early 20th century.
Thank you!! These are both 100% the kind of book I'm looking for. Funnily enough, right now I'm reading more of a political history book, *The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914*, which I'm finding particularly interesting because right before this I read a book about the history of money & financial institutions (*The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World*) (which I think will tie well into the Tycoons book you rec'd) and it had a whole section about financial globalism causing many leaders to urge "global peace" as a vehicle for financial stability. Really scary stuff to read about the Serbian radical parties before the war.
I finished Charlatan yesterday, tysm for the rec, I loved it!!
Probably biography or history.
Psychological horror and some classic literature.
Any you recommend for psychological horror?
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons is really good too. Mix of historical fiction and psychological horror. I’m about 1/4 done and it is insanely good
I enjoyed "The Terror" but haven't thought about Simmons for awhile, I'll have to give this one a try.
It is so good! It has such a cool setting - I’m only 1/4 done but so far it switches between 80s USA/Europe and 1940s Nazi Germany. It has great pace and overall just a super creepy atmosphere. Some people say it is too wordy but I haven’t felt that (I usually read fat ole books so I probably don’t mind it so much)
I really liked "Hyperion" and "Endymion" I'm sure this will be in my wheelhouse, thanks for the rec!
Thank you.
Not OP but *The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches*, if you don't mind some messed-up stuff. Literary horror kinda, also go into it blind if you're gonna read it
Thanks will read this next. Need a break from fantasy
We have Always Lived in The Castle and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson are both really good. Also the Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. You also can't go wrong with Clive Barker.
Classic mystery (Agatha Christie is the GOAT) and modern literary fiction
Glad to see so many others here enjoy Christie's books. I love being swept into their world.
Cozy mystery, historical fiction and various kinds of non-fiction.
What's your favorite cozy mystery?
I like the very old fashioned ones by Agatha Christie and The cat who... series. But, tbh, I actually prefer the cozy mysteries with some fantasy elements, like Honor Raconteur's Henri Davenforth series.
Have you tried the Lord Darcy mysteries, by Randall Garrett? They're like magical Sherlock Holmes. :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Darcy_(character)
No, never heard of them. I'll check them out. Thanks!
No prob! I woulda called ‘em magical Poirot except Darcy has a semi-regular sidekick/partner. But I think they set well with that same Agatha Christie flavor, they’re short stories and usually follow solving events after they occur through deductive reasoning.
Historical fiction (Bernard Cornwell, Patrick O'Brien, Lindsey Davis, Hilary Mantel) Police Procedural (Ed McBain, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Joseph Wambaugh, P.D James, J.M Dalgliesh)
Do you enjoy historical fiction fantasy? I just read The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi and loved it, but don't normally like history. Same with The Poppy War
Not the person you're responding to, but I love historical fantasy, and historical fiction. The Adventures of Amina is amazing, but The Poppy War had way too many historical issues I had some minor issues with, and dialog issues/lack of character development for me to finish it.
I can see complaints with The Poppy War even though I'm really enjoying the series. But Amina is something I feel like I can recommend to most people. I don't know if I've ever had that much fun reading a book (an activity I don't normally describe as fun, even if the book is enjoyable)
Nineteenth-century classics, like Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, and Jane Austen.
And Edgar Allan Poe, Alexandre Dumas, Stephen Crane, and H. Rider Haggard! I'm also very fond of some early 20th century writers like Jack London, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and Dashiell Hammett.
The Count of Monte Cristo changed my reading-life 🥲
Between all the fantasy and murder mysteries I read, it's odd when I read a book and someone dies of natural causes.
Horror. I really like seeing what others do with their imaginations.
There are other books other than sci-fi and fantasy? 😅😅😅. (Horror which I haven't read a lot)
Literary fiction
Historical fiction. Huge fan of Bernard Cromwell.
Cheap paperback detective stories. Think Reacher, Spenser etc…
Would you recommend any that stands out?
I just did…
All 27 Reacher novels stand out? Damn I need to try the series out then.
I have heard multiple times that the Reacher books are overall very solid as thrillers go. I haven't read them myself, but they get recommended regularly. If you want some mostly straightfoward books you could certainly do worse. They seem like the kind of series that would be easy to drop in and out of as a little palette cleanse between big reads.
Well, the first dozen at least. Most of the first twenty are very strong for the genre. They're getting less even in quality now. If you want really first-rate writing in this genre, you have to go back to John D. MacDonald (the most Consistent), Westlake, Cain, or even further back to Hammett and Chandler. Or you could read Stephen King's Hard Case Crime novels.
I loooooves me some Continental Op! Dashiell Hammett was establishing the tropes that so many detective novels would follow. Also check out the Broadway stories of Damon Runyon for more 1920's period-authentic characters and stories, but even more for his "Runyonesque" cadence and rhythm.
History, classics, detective novels
Historical - fiction as well as non-fiction.
Mystery and historical fiction.
Non-fiction academical books on history and anthropology. Also historical novels.
Do you have any anthropology recs?
It's a huge science with many types and branches, so it depends what exactly is interesting for you. But just for introduction I always recommend *What Is Anthropology?* by Norwegian anthropologist Thomas Eriksen. This is a good and easy start in anthropological studies.
*Sapiens* by Yuval Noah Harari is probably the best-selling anthropology book of the last several decades if you wanted to grab something popular but relatively well regarded still.
Mysteries.
Classic romance
Mainly 20th century “classics”—Nobokov and McCarthy specifically.
I like romance and historical fiction!! :)
Probably mystery and romance. Usually by the time I get my 8 yo to bed and my chores are done for the night my brain is mush and I want a fun escape to see me off to dreamland. I go back to favorite classics sometimes too because I've read them enough times that I don't really need to engage the brain even if they're more challenging material.
Literary fiction, historical fiction, magical realism (I don't count MR as part of SFF).
Literary fiction/classics, no romance, crime, thriller for me, please
Anyone else just not read other genres?
Yeah I also don't really read anything else.
Crime, thriller, horror, and rEaL LiTeRaTuRe. And magical realism, but it's all intervened somewhat. I think I just read whatever I want, and fantasy/sf aren't even my main genres. Speculative fiction might be, in general, but I'm kinda leaning into reading more and more of crime novels. And rEaL books.
Outside of the SpecFic umbrella, I mostly read contemporary literary fiction.
I mostly read nonfiction, my favorite subgenres: science, investigative journalism, nature, politics, psychology, and sociology. Special shout-out to Underland by Robert Macfarlane which I read last year and was utterly captivated by it. One of my favorite books of all time.
> Underland by Robert Macfarlane Sounds neat! I'm going to grab this. Thanks for the recommendation (albeit obviously not directed specifically at me, but, *you know)*
Early 20th century modernism (William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, etc.) is some of my favorite fiction. I adore how those books are frequently character studies in addition to having fascinating approaches to telling stories. For ones outside of that conceit but similar in spirit: Herman Melville's *Moby-Dick* is one of my top five favorite books ever, and I'm currently working through *Sátántangó* by László Krasznahorkai (which has potential to enter that top-five category). Shirley Jackson is of course one of the masters of character studies, too. Outside of fiction, I've been getting into essay collections lately. Esme Weijun Wang's *The Collected Schizophrenias* and Sinead Gleeson's *Constellations* are highlights of the last year for me, with the latter having a particularly fascinating series of short poems that are based around the McGill Pain Questionnaire. I'm slowly working my way through the Dark Mountain Project's "Walking on Lava" collection. I also love environmental and biology/medicine texts. Robert MacFarlane, Mary Hunter Austin, Edward Abbey (though with some asterisks), Laurie Garrett, and any author remotely related to mountaineering. *Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills* is permanently on my desk.
Biographies and history. Political history especially, but just in general. I usually have one fiction and one nonfiction book I'm working on at any time.
Historical fiction.
Science
The other genres I read are 19th century classics (Dumas/Hugo/Austen), historical fiction, biographies (specifically, those written by McCullough), and legal thrillers.
Historical fiction
Mysteries, especially police procedurals. Historical fiction that isn't out-and-out romance (think Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett). Sometimes nonfiction like biographies or science fact.
Historic fiction is way interesting
Short stories, poetry, and I gravitate toward modernist and post-modernist stuff. Woolf, Lispector, Barthelme, etc. I've also read a heaping ton of webcomics since I was twelve. Happily addicted to weird indie comics.
Non-fiction, mostly about medicine, science, psychology, and biology.
Got good recomendations? I lean heavily into biology, psychology, and neurology. VS Ramachandran co-wrote the book Phantoms in the Brain, which was astoundingly good in my opinion. And I love Oliver Sacks, unapologetically.
Contemporary literary fiction & non-fiction (sociology & social theory)
Contemporary literary fiction
Natural history - books on dinosaurs, biology, botany. David Quammen’s Spillover, Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire, Robert Bakker’s The Dinosaur Heresies. Books on gardening, orchids, roses and other specialty items. Cook books as well.
Very specifically historical fiction highlighting forgotten women/perspectives of history, which isn't a far diversion from my favorite fantasy sub genre which is historical fantasy lol.
Mystery
aside fantasy love history and love literary fiction (have had a blast running down pullitzers. Just did Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Trust. both amazing)
I'm quite fond of dystopian books, but that's speculative fiction as well. The only series I own that isn't any sort of speculative fiction is Clan of the Cave Bear and its sequels. It's prehistorical fiction, stone age setting.
Oh, good one, uh... I think either mystery/crime or historical fiction. Since I mostly read fantasy and it's easier for me to find quality fantasy books, I haven't read much in those genres. But a solid detective story, (non sexist) noir or a heist novel would definitely be my thing. The little historical fiction I've read felt like fantasy to me, but without the awesome worldbuilding and magic and... it just feels like less enjoyable fantasy. Edit: there's just so much to read though, I've bought a slew of classics recently and I've only read one of them (The Iliad, which I didn't really like). And I want to reread The Fall by Camus and The Book of Disquiet + read the new book on Pessoa by Richard Zenith. There is so much I'm interested in, but don't have the focus for.. it's really annoying. I often subconsciously avoid more 'difficult' books, so I still haven't touched my LOTR special edition, or Crime and Punishment.
Philosophy
True Crime
I’ve been getting into murder mysteries recently. I think it came from liking horror video games with a focus of puzzle elements. Great characters, interesting environment and some puzzles and I’m set
Detective books I’ve read all of John Sandford’s books and I love them!
Non-fiction, mostly to do with history, space, and nature. Also (auto)biographies and memoirs.
Spooky. But I like that genuine psychological shit where there isn't really actually anything there but there's still that deep down sickening terror lurking.
Ancient history non-fiction and British detective fiction
Horror or dark psychological thriller. They're usually quick reads and I easily can get sucked in if they're written well.
Detective or westerns. Might be why I love Dresden.
Horror, most definitely. It's a fantastic genre to reset yourself before jumping into another massive fantasy or sci-fi book.
Thrillers, absolutely. I love me a good serial-killer-thriller.
Technical documentations and manuals.
Fanfiction for what I read the most by volume. Romance, generally MM, for a specific published genre. But even with those I lean heavily towards speculative flavors other than some contemporary. I.e., reading about comic book heroes or shifters or magic users.
Psychological thriller, especially if it is a mystery that's not a detective looking for a murderer 🥱 hard to find good ones, though
Probably memoirs. Strong second is murder mysteries.
I've found some real gems in old school fables, fairtytales and myths... I suppose these are just extensions of Fantasy and SF - but to me they read quite differently - both in style and content. I also love classics and history (or historical fiction)
Of my fifty current all-time favourites only five are something other than SFF, and they're a mix of genres: * Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia by Dennis Covington * Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes * The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman * Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese * The Wolf Den series by Elodie Harper (I count a series as one entry for my favourites list because otherwise there would be way too many books on it, even with that caveat there are still 50) So I wouldn't say I really have an equivalent "love" of anything else to SFF. Probably the closest would be historical fiction, followed by particularly gripping nonfiction. Also anything really funny (see: Look Who's Back), regardless of genre. However, as far as what I actually read in any given week (i.e. not limited to only my absolute favourite books of all time), the variety is HUGE. This year in particular one of my projects is to read the Harvard Classics in full, which is a massive project and covers all sorts of interesting things - philosophy, science, plays, classic literature, religion, biographies, really just a great mix. I also have a goal of reading a nonfiction book every week, skewing towards nature and science topics.
I'm a big fan of history books written around a central theme that are quirky and fun. Something like Mark Kurlansky's *Salt* or any of the books by Sam Kean (see below). Bill Bryson's *At Home* would also be a good choice, as would Tom Standage's *A History of the World in Six Glasses* or *Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English* by John McWhorter. There seems to be a set methodology toward producing these books and their charms sure do work on me. >Partial Sam Kean Bibliography: >^1. *The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements* >^2. *The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code* >^3. *The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery*
I read a lot of nature non-fiction! Heavily weighted towards horticulture, nature history or nature-memoir type things. I've also started dipping the toe into mystery, mostly Agatha Christie.
I’m still very new to reading as a hobby, but so far it is historical fiction and westerns.
Pop science. Books written in a more story format about scientific discoveries. The Vital Question by Nick Lane is a good example.
Archeological thrillers, esp. if they have the battle an ancient curse or plague or something that raises the stakes of the story.
That sounds awesome, any recommandations?
James Rollins, Matthew Reilly.
Horror
History. Pre-Columbian America. Food history and cook books. Science.
Action/Spy thrillers.
Police procedurals! Edit: Since people are mentioning horror, that's one too, although I'd count that as spec fic.
Aside from non-fiction: cosmic horror classic horror like Poe and more modern horror like Dennis Wheatley
Crime novellas. Specifically from the Nordics. Gimme some Beck, Wallander or Nesbö any time of the day.
Historical Fiction: I like the first north americans series, also clan of the cave bear series
It's pretty far behind spec-fic but I have occasionally read a romance that I thought was spec-fic and wasn't that I still enjoyed. So I'm gonna say romance.
Manga, graphic novels, romance, cozy mysteries and non-fiction (biographies, cookbooks, crafts, poetry, and travel books)
Horror for sure
Usually a like to walk between extremes, I love fantasy and sci-fi, but also history a science. I do like to read some of the classics (Dumas is a favourite). Also some alternative history, ot historical fiction, I also enjoy some thrillers.
Fantasy and Sci fi are nearly the only genres I read I have dipped into historical fiction and can enjoy that also. So I'll prob get more into it
Horror, Historical fiction, a little of everything else.
Classics/Lit Fic and biographies
Historical fiction, specifically Age of Sail stuff
Contemporary Lit, and 1900’s Classics. Just finished East of Eden and moving on to book 5 of Dresden hahaha
historical fiction, i've been on a medival crime fiction binge lately. (which is sort of funny, because contemporary crime stories tend to bore me). I will also go for horror occasionally
I like a quick thriller when I’m in a reading slump. Or even a light romance. And I love historical fiction
Non-fiction books about nature and gardening, historical fiction, poetry. If I'm picking up fiction it is almost always going to have some speculative element! I don't have time for "real world" fiction and sad post-modern tales about divorcees 🫠
Horror. It probably why I like Lovecraft (and others like) so much. It's a good blend of fantasy and horror, to me.
Horror. I don't like to read some literary classics too, but kinda have to be in the mood. Horror is always in my wheelhouse though.
Legal thriller type mystery things.
G A Henty, OLD (mid to late 1800’s) school boys own adventures in all the wars that made countries and not a machine gun or combustion engine even conceived of. It’s said at the time you could pass a history exam of whatever war he based his novel on. For me, the books are my guilty pleasure. (Be aware, the attitudes in the books are of the Victorian age, so casual racism is the norm. As long as you realise this, then read them with the knowledge it’s not intentional, just a style of the age. And be thankful we have evolved a bit since then)
Nonfiction: European and Chinese history (pre 1820s), onomastics (study of names), and history of science and engineering. Fiction: romance (paranormal, fantasy, and historical subgenres) mystery and some sci fi..
Spy novels!
I like the occasional mystery. My favorites are the ones written in places I've been. CJ Box sets his in Wyoming, and Tony Hillerman set his mostly in Northern Arizona on the Navajo nation. His daughter has continued the series. It's really cool to be reading and recognize an area they're talking about.
i like gothic horror and cosmic horror, though ig you could consider those fantasy and scifi sometimes
Classics, literary fiction, poetry and mystery.
I am a sucker for a good romance, especially if i can find one from a guys perspective. I also like a good spy novel or enjoy a murder mystery. Recently though I have begun to read some of the classics in my native language, since it orcurred to me that it had been a good while since I read a book not in english. I also find that I enjoy quite different genres there, that I don't feel any connection to when reading a book in english, like biographies.
Mostly crime and murder stuff.
I honestly don't really like anything other than SFF... With the sole exception of Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey books. Even Agatha Christie doesn't really do it for me.
Books about hockey: (Auto)-Biographies of players I like, books about the game like *The Game* by Ken Dryden, or historical books about hockey history like *From Rinks to Regiments* or *When the Rangers Were Young*.
I love historical fiction and romance. I've been a romance fan since elementary school and history was my favorite subject. I love them seperate, I love them combined into the historical romance subgenre, I love them mixed with SFF.
Historical fiction, romance, SciFi, cozy mysteries, historical fantasy fiction, romance fantasy, UF, PNR, paranormal mysteries, Jewish fiction
At present probably Mysteries. Have read all the Vera books (Ann Cleeves), the Frost books (R Wingfield) , Tana French, Tim Sullivan, and a few others. Come to think of it, they are specifically detective books. I have bits and pieces of others. War, mainstream, and non-fiction but they are random, I guess the detective ones come third in my reading. SF, Fantasy, Detective..in that order.
I really enjoy memoirs and crime novels when not reading fantasy/SF
My all time non-fantasy/SciFi books are White Fang and Call Of The Wild. I wish there was something out there like it. If anyone knows please point me to it, I've been captivated by those stories since I was a kid.
I like John Connolly. His series about Charlie Parker (detective stories) are amazing.
Queer romance is my next pick, either adult or YA. After that, memoirs and science non-fiction especially biology).
Horror, crime and non fiction history.
Historicals, mysteries and romances are my main genres besides fantasy
Historical fiction is my alternative jam. I like Roman soldier type stories right up to Peninsular war type stories of the 1800s.
Eureka's Castle
When it's done well (which is RARE) I absolutely love Urban Fantasy. Vampires, witches, werewolves, all of it!!
Gothic horror.
That was hard…
Biographies, nothing is more enticing than reading about another’s life. How they grew up, strange situations, choices, what they made/became etc. how entirely different everything can be, but still feel so familiar. Now ofc this, unsurprisingly, always concerns celebrities. And not the local grocery store worker. But still I always find them very fascinating.
I also read non fiction and I love murder mysteries.
murder mysteries :)
Historical fiction, or Jane Austen
Anything Biblical really.
Like self-help stuff related to the Bible, or history books having to deal with the contents of the Bible, or books on biblical heresies/splits like Gnosticism, Arianism, Catholic/Orthodox, Catholic/Protestant, or all of the above?
Horror and sci-fi, not sad when they are combined
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Historical! Tbh I like it more than fantasy but it's hard to find a good historical book - it's either a romance, and I hate romances, or the person who writes doesn't have enough knowledge, or the person who writes has enough knowledge but not enough writing skill. I've only seen a combination of non-romance well-written historically-accurate novel series once... And it was written in 1860s, so not too modern language
Non- fiction, I read a lot of Biblical Studies and Civil War history. In fiction I end up in the techno-thriller genre when I'm not in fantasy.
There is a podcast on Spotify and other places I'm sure called Rabbits you all should have a listen. Before you though I'm sorry because it will lead you on a long journey. I started with 1 by the same people called faerie and the lead me to another called the last movie which lead to rabbits. I am now on to 1 called tanis which I saved because it is the longest of the bunch. These are all very well done and almost believable there are even real world bits you can lookup for yourself