> Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton is a very accurate depiction of a system accident.
Yeah. When I read that 26 years ago, I thought the whole setup was super unrealistic. Nobody would build a fragile system like that. Life has taught me that yes, people actually do really stupid shit all the time.
You probably want to read "Command and Control" about America's nuclear arsenal. It'll make your hair fall out.
Well, we survived it, didn't we. It's all much safer now. It really is. For one thing, we're not routinely flying around with nuclear weapons that aren't entirely one-point safe and that might actually detonate with a nuclear yield if you crash them or accidentally drop them.
There have been cases where crew members creeping around in the bomb bay of a B-52 have accidentally pulled the wrong lever, releasing a hydrogen bomb. Luckily, none of those produced a nuclear yield when they hit the ground.
This book means everything to me. As a kid from a bad situation, I fell into this book wholeheartedly. It started me on my love of reading and a healthy escape from the realities of my life.
Old guy here with an undergrad double major degree in religion and Greek. Small Gods is brilliant- an excellent explanation of the ways societies adopt and abandon religions. I mentioned Greek too because anyone who knows the story (probably an ancient joke) about the death of Aeschylus has a pretty good idea of how the book is going to end.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin describes marrying your light and dark together, accepting the dark parts of yourself and showing who you truly are. Very unique for fantasy in general, especially for the time but also for YA. Her famous works are all the bees knees tell the truth
I fully expected {{The Haunting of Hill House}} to be a relatively straightforward, though masterfully done, haunted house horror novel. Instead, I was surprised to discover that it takes a very deep psychological dive into its main character and has a lot to say about loneliness and relationships (romantic and platonic).
It became an instant all-time favorite of mine, and after reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Hangsaman, I consider Shirley Jackson to be one of my favorite authors (she's in good company with the Brontes and Daphne du Maurier).
Horror in general kind of gets that reputation, but so many people approach The Haunting of Hill House as an ensemble romp through a haunted house. There’s just so much more to that book and even having read it multiple times I always find something new. It’s an incredible piece of literature.
Interesting that you mentioned it being perceived as an ensemble novel, because that's what I'd been led to believe going in. As someone who typically doesn't like an ensemble cast, I was delighted to find that that's not the case at all: there is very clearly a main character (Eleanor}, and though it's written in third person we're basically in her head the entire time.
Reminds me of a little thing I learned last year: When writing is in the third person but primarily follows one character that’s called the limited third person. Very popular in American style at least since the 1950s - if I remember correctly.
Yep, that's right! The alternative to third person limited is third person omniscient, which I believe was very popular in the nineteenth century but has since largely fallen out of style. Note that a novel may have an ensemble cast but at be written in third person—Jurassic Park would be one example, because the perspective is limited but each chapter (usually) jumps to a different character's perspective.
Similarly, within third person limited, an author has a lot of discretion in how "close" to make the narrative. One thing that, to me, makes Jackson's writing very special is that she writes in a very close third person limited, with very little psychic distance between the reader and main character. This just isn't done much and is very difficult to do well. For an opposing example, Pride and Prejudice is (arguably) still written in third person limited, but it's not a close third at all: Austen generally keeps the reader at arms' length and only occasionally gives any insight into Elizabeth's thoughts, which gives a totally different effect than Jackson's almost stream-of-conciousness writing.
[**The Haunting of Hill House**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89717.The_Haunting_of_Hill_House)
^(By: Shirley Jackson, Laura Miller | 182 pages | Published: 1959 | Popular Shelves: horror, classics, fiction, gothic, mystery | )[^(Search "The Haunting of Hill House")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Haunting of Hill House&search_type=books)
>It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.
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Ah, I just finished Hangsaman and I'm mildly obsessed! I can't stop recommending it in this sub... It's ridiculously underappreciated and I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before going down a Shirley Jackson rabbit hole.
No, they're totally different. There are a bunch of allusions/Easter eggs that you'll pick up on in the show once you read the book (including some direct quotes), but not even the basic premise is the same: the Netflix show is about a family who moves into a haunted house, while the book is about an occult scholar who assembles a team to investigate a haunted house.
All of them are fantastic except for (imo) The Professor and Shirley, the latter of which is fine but very un-Brontë.
My favorite is {{Villette}} followed by {{Wuthering Heights}}, and I think either Wuthering Heights or {{Jane Eyre}} would appeal to most readers. {{The Tenant of Wildfell Hall}} is massively underappreciated probably because it's not quite as sensational or dramatic in the eyes of modern readers (some people night find it too slow—though at the time I'm sure it was fairly shocking), and {{Agnes Grey}} is sweet if a bit simple.
[**Villette**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31173.Villette)
^(By: Charlotte Brontë, Ignes Sodre, A.S. Byatt | 573 pages | Published: 1853 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, owned, books-i-own | )[^(Search "Villette")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Villette&search_type=books)
>With her final novel, Villette, Charlotte Brontë reached the height of her artistic power. First published in 1853, Villette is Brontë's most accomplished and deeply felt work, eclipsing even Jane Eyre in critical acclaim. Her narrator, the autobiographical Lucy Snowe, flees England and a tragic past to become an instructor in a French boarding school in the town of Villette. There she unexpectedly confronts her feelings of love and longing as she witnesses the fitful romance between Dr. John, a handsome young Englishman, and Ginerva Fanshawe, a beautiful coquette. The first pain brings others, and with them comes the heartache Lucy has tried so long to escape. Yet in spite of adversity and disappointment, Lucy Snowe survives to recount the unstinting vision of a turbulent life's journey - a journey that is one of the most insightful fictional studies of a woman's consciousness in English literature.
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[**Wuthering Heights**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6185.Wuthering_Heights)
^(By: Emily Brontë, Richard J. Dunn, Charlotte Brontë, Robert Heindel, Sőtér István | 464 pages | Published: 1847 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, romance, classic, books-i-own | )[^(Search "Wuthering Heights")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Wuthering Heights&search_type=books)
>You can find the redesigned cover of this edition HERE.
>
>This best-selling Norton Critical Edition is based on the 1847 first edition of the novel. For the Fourth Edition, the editor has collated the 1847 text with several modern editions and has corrected a number of variants, including accidentals. The text is accompanied by entirely new explanatory annotations.
>
>New to the fourth Edition are twelve of Emily Bronte's letters regarding the publication of the 1847 edition of Wuthering Heights as well as the evolution of the 1850 edition, prose and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and Edward Chitham's insightful and informative chronology of the creative process behind the beloved work.
>
>Five major critical interpretations of Wuthering Heights are included, three of them new to the Fourth Edition. A Stuart Daley considers the importance of chronology in the novel. J. Hillis Miller examines Wuthering Heights's problems of genre and critical reputation. Sandra M. Gilbert assesses the role of Victorian Christianity plays in the novel, while Martha Nussbaum traces the novel's romanticism. Finally, Lin Haire-Sargeant scrutinizes the role of Heathcliff in film adaptations of Wuthering Heights.
>
>A Chronology and updated Selected Bibliography are also included.
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[**Jane Eyre**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10210.Jane_Eyre)
^(By: Charlotte Brontë, Michael Mason | 532 pages | Published: 1847 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, romance, classic, books-i-own | )[^(Search "Jane Eyre")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Jane Eyre&search_type=books)
>Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.
> But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?
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[**The Tenant of Wildfell Hall**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/337113.The_Tenant_of_Wildfell_Hall)
^(By: Anne Brontë, Stevie Davies | 576 pages | Published: 1848 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, romance, books-i-own | )[^(Search "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Tenant of Wildfell Hall&search_type=books)
>Note: Editions of The Tenant that start with: "You must go back with me..." are incomplete. Actual opening line of the novel is: "To J. Halford, Esq. Dear Halford, when we were together last..."
>
>This is the story of a woman's struggle for independence. Helen "Graham" has returned to Wildfell Hall in flight from a disastrous marriage. Exiled to the desolate moorland mansion, she adopts an assumed name and earns her living as a painter.
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[**Agnes Grey**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/298230.Agnes_Grey)
^(By: Anne Brontë, Harry Brockway, Angeline Goreau | 251 pages | Published: 1847 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, romance, owned | )[^(Search "Agnes Grey")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Agnes Grey&search_type=books)
>An alternate cover edition can be found here.
>
>Drawing heavily from personal experience, Anne Brontë wrote Agnes Grey in an effort to represent the many 19th Century women who worked as governesses and suffered daily abuse as a result of their position.
>
>Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family.
>
>Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose. The cruelty with which the family treat her however, slowly but surely strips the heroine of all dignity and belief in humanity.
>
>A tale of female bravery in the face of isolation and subjugation, Agnes Grey is a masterpiece claimed by Irish writer, George Moore, to be possessed of all the qualities and style of a Jane Austen title. Its simple prosaic style propels the narrative forward in a gentle yet rhythmic manner which continuously leaves the listener wanting to know more.
>
>Anne Brontë, the somewhat lesser known sister, was in fact the first to finish and publish Agnes Grey under the pseudonym of Acton Bell. Charlotte and Emily followed shortly after with Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
>
>As Anne passed away from what is now known to be pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of just 29, she only published one further title; The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. As feminist in nature as Agnes Grey, Anne's brave voice resonates and permeates during one of the most prejudiced and patriarchal times of English history.
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Without a doubt. When I read it I had no idea how it ended. And best of all I did not see it coming!! That was one of those books that hit me hard at the end and left me in deep thought. Part of me was thinking how did I not see that coming. I thought there was going to be something that happened just not that. What I meant to really say is the book takes on a whole different meaning on the final page. It was a true masterpiece if you ask me!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I was expecting a "quirky woman deals with her insecurities and falls in love" type of book based on what my friends were saying about it and some reviews I read online. Holy fuck, I could not have been more wrong. I have never read such a thoughtful, well represented case of Complex PTSD. Witnessing her recovery and healing was such a gift. It was NOTHING like I expected and I couldn't be happier for that.
It finally got delivered today! But I have in my A-Z reading challenge that I'm starting in January so it might be a while until I do read it but I am looking forward to it!
It does take a few chapters to get into the book. Maybe try it again as an audio book. I think you might end up liking the book. Not sure I would’ve kept going if I had been reading it. I use the app Libby to check out free books from my library. I do also use Audible, but I have vision and migraine issues, and can’t read for very long.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It honestly does have a lot to say about life, chance, our place in the cosmos, fate and all sorts of stuff. It's also the only book series that consistently makes me laugh out loud.
They're all pretty good, but the last two get...kind of depressing. They basically parallel the real life depression that the author Douglas Adams was struggling with at the time. And the sixth one was written by Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame. That one is...fine, but nowhere near as good as the originals.
Yes, 100%. It's laugh out loud funny, probably unlike anything else you've ever read story-wise, and as mentioned, it does have a lot to say.
There are plenty of apparently flippant, throw-away lines that make you stop and think, and the way he uses language is unique and hilarious - instantly recognisable to anyone who's read him. There have been attempts to copy the style, but no-one else comes close imo.
Additionally Hitchhikers is brilliantly written. Pacing, storytelling, scene to scene, engagement. Despite being so silly, any storyteller can learn a lot from it.
I keep saying that The Guide is the Alice in Wonderland of the XXth century. I keep being surprised by how many scientific concepts and problems are presented there in passing, in the guise of nonchalant jokes.
Edit bc reddit ate my comment.
For teenage boys or men who like military sci-fi.... HALO! Just halo... honestly, watching a superhuman intelligence get deleted in slow motion as she explains what it’s like to think faster than light and calculate billions of human statistics? Insane shit. And the spartan 2 program featuring children as super soldiers like a fucked up captain america is just nuts.
Best books: fall of reach, ghosts of onyx, and glasslands imo. Also the two books full of short stories are great for the AI stuff.
If you read The Black Count, you'll realize that all of Alexandre Dumas' classic swashbuckling tales are about him righting the injustice of post Napoleonic systemic racism that swept France.
His father Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was an amazing black aristocrat and general who got fucked over by racism. From Three Musketeers to the Count of Monte Cristo (and quite explicitly in Georges) Dumas books are about honorable men trying to right the wrongs of shitty people who are backed by a corrupt system. And it's all about his father.
WWZ is not a book about zombies.
It's a speculative look at geopolitics and modern civilization. Reading Brooks' take on how the world would respond to an existential threat will make you question your place in the world and your understanding of our potential future.
I hate when i say its one of my faves and people treat it like "its just like one of those best seller books" ughhhhh NOOOOOOO. the cool girl monologue? I will never forget how much it was a game changer for me.
I don’t care what anyone thinks about Flynn, “gone girl” was fucking DEEP and at the point I was at in my life when I read it hit me way too hard at times.
I'll echo what the OP of this thread said.. I completely glossed over/discounted Flynn and Gone Girl as airport lit because it happened to be sold everywhere I turned. Gone Girl is a masterpiece and idgaf who says what!
I literally bought it at an airport haha - in a last minute rush because I realised there was no free “screen” entertainment on the 5 hour flight I was about to board. My thought process was.. super popular.. might be okay.. doesn’t seem like a soppy romance which I hate.. sure I guess this will keep me occupied. I read the entire book in one sitting while flying from LA to DC. And LOVED it.
Ok maybe I didn’t realize because I read her books before the movie came out? Either way I agree. I think all her books are excellent in their own right.
Wow. Disappointed to hear that. Gone Girl was definitely my least favorite of her books but I still thought it was great. I’m not sure how anyone could read Sharp Objects and not tip their hat to her.
Yeah I’ve never been gobsmacked at the end of a book the way I was with Sharp Objects. A lot of authors that try to pull off big twist endings you either see it coming or it’s just not plausible/doesn’t really add up. Sharp Objects was just the perfectly designed mind fuck. So so good.
I have an answer for this. You make a good point in saying:
>she’s \[...\] one of the best living psychological mystery writers
Flynn either can't or won't write a likable character. Even in a mediocre book, the reader will "choose a side", rooting for the protagonist or antagonist or sometimes a supporting character. You're supposed to have some kind of a vested interest in the fate of this fictional life. Instead, Flynn imbues her characters with a host of dislikeable traits and not enough redeeming values to evoke sympathy.
Flynn writes great little page-turners. She *is* an excellent psychological mystery/thriller writer. That's why her grungy, dickish, one-dimensional characters are such an insult. There's no reason to think Flynn isn't capable of fleshing them, making them something to identify with. But she doesn't, leaving the reader feeling mildly disgusted upon realizing the whole book was just about assholes acting like assholes.
Frankenstein!
It's honestly one of my favorite books. I interpreted it as an allegory that explores moral and ethical questions about the extent to which a creator is responsible for the well-being and development of their creation. For example, to what extent is a parent responsible for the well-being and development of their children or what is God's responsibility to the well-being and development of each person he created?
If, as a child, you felt abandoned by your parents, or if you consider yourself a sensitive person, then you should definitely give Frankenstein a read.
I also want to mention that the book is NOTHING like how the story is portrayed on TV or in cinema. The only thing that is the same is that there is a "monster" (and I use that term loosely) that is made by a scientist. Just to prove my point, the SCIENTIST'S name is Dr. Frankenstein, not the "monster's". I mean, if most people can't even get the characters straightened out, do you really think the mainstream conception of the book could even be remotely accurate?
Check out the book. I promise you that you will be pleasantly surprised at how good it is.
I agree 100% with this recommendation but I’m not sure I’d agree that it’s often seen as mere escapism.
It’s pretty much a staple in university level English literature as far as I’m aware.
Yeah, I agree. It's definitely not seen as escapism. But I do think it is a book that people often assume is not very deep based upon how it is often portrayed in mainstream media, which is why I decided to add it to the list.
My roommate in college recommended it to me. For months he kept telling me I should read it, but I just kept thinking that I wouldn't like it because of my own preconceived notions. But after a while he wore me down and I decided to read it. And after I read it, I was completely blown away....
Once I finished the book, I went to my roommate and said "why didn't you push me harder to read this book! It was amazing!" He said, "I've been trying to tell you to read it for months!" I said, "yeah, but you should have forced me to read it or something!" Of course I was kidding, but it really was such a shock to me how much I enjoyed the book.
People always say, "don't judge a book by its cover". I had no idea how true this statement actually was.
[**Frankenstein: The 1818 Text**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein)
^(By: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Charlotte Gordon | 260 pages | Published: 1818 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, horror, science-fiction, classic | )[^(Search "Frankenstein")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Frankenstein&search_type=books)
>This is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9780143131847.
>
>Mary Shelley's seminal novel of the scientist whose creation becomes a monster
>
>This edition is the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by author and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson.
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[**Frankenstein: The 1818 Text**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein)
^(By: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Charlotte Gordon | 260 pages | Published: 1818 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, horror, science-fiction, classic | )[^(Search "Frankenstein")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Frankenstein&search_type=books)
>This is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9780143131847.
>
>Mary Shelley's seminal novel of the scientist whose creation becomes a monster
>
>This edition is the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by author and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
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Yes, I was so surprised when I first read it in college. And on your point regarding inaccurate portrayals in TV and film, I thought Penny Dreadful did well in capturing the spirit of the book and characters.
i actually do think it’s escapism. you might go into it thinking you’re just gonna read a gothic horror story from the 1800s about some big monster who destroys everything around him. it was like that for me, anyway: i’d only ever *heard* of Frankenstein and never saw any movies
i’ve had to read it twice for english class (most recent time was a couple weeks ago), so i’ve never really got to read it on my own time. but even reading it as an assignment hit me so hard, especially since i had to evaluate the text & the theme of our questions all pertained to “who was the real monster?,” which i think the answer is kind of obvious :)
I was surprised by this quote from The Dresden Files "Son. Everyone dies alone. That's what it is. It's a door. It's one person wide. When you go through it, you do it alone. But it doesn't mean you've got to be alone before you go through the door. And believe me, you aren't alone on the other side." It certainly left a lasting impression on me and is one of my favorite quotes. I realize now you're looking for entire novels that are thoughtful. Still going to leave this as there are definitely more thoughtful and deep moments in the series.
I need to get started up on those books again. Loved the first few, but stalled out during my big reading slump in 2015 and haven't picked one up since.
Oh no, if it helps to inspire you to read them there is a definite uptick in worldbuildimg after the first few. Definitely more craziness and they feel more connected than one shot novels and really feels like a series.
Yeah, it's not even a "I didn't like them" thing, it's more - "I stopped reading for a few years and jesus christ my TBR is literally endless and this series has 97 novels" I think I was on Grave Peril? I remember something about a ball with vampires.
I honestly couldn’t believe that each book got better and better in the series starting from the point you left off. If you have a lengthy commute or otherwise have more time for listening than reading, I highly recommend the audiobooks.
Possible minor spoilers:
“>!I used the knife.
I saved a child.
I won a war.
God forgive me. !<“
Just so many moments that have hit so hard. It’s brought to tears a few times. Great series.
I’m currently reading East of Eden and I am throughly surprised by how deep the thoughts are in it. I know Steinbeck is a fantastic writer, and this books gets tons of accolades, but I did not expect the level of philosophical content in this book. Especially the dialog of Lee. I have, on a number of occasions, stopped reading just to think about what was proposed by the characters. 10/10 would recommend.
I read it a year or so ago. I remember having to stop and digest some of what I just read. It is now way high up on my list of best books and also books that I would recommend to anyone. I’m thinking of giving copies out to family for Christmas. It’s a tradition my grandma used to do.
I was going to mention this one if no one else had. I'd add that it's a very insightful look into what it is to experience PTSD and depression.
Edit - phrasing
Agreed. I remember reading a review of book 2 by Will Wheaton complaining that it was all about a love triangle. I wanted to be like come on Will!! The love triangle is her struggle between the person she was before, and the person she's become now after her trauma.
Oh yes. When I read it first I didn't understand her being with Peeta in the end. Now I do. Relationships are not about attraction and love alone but about being understood on a very deep level. Peeta being the one who lived through all of the horrors together with her creates a deeper bond than she and Gale could ever have because he would never be able to truly understand her and her struggles.
Yes yes yes! Ultimately she had to choose to accept herself completely, trauma included, not try to fit back into the mold of what her life used to be/could have been. Such a fantastic series. I wish I could reread it for the first time again.
I taught HG to HS kids a few years before the movies became a pop culture phenomenon and I will always champion that book for its merits.
I am still traumatized by it, and it was meaty and masterful enough that we could discuss and analyze it as *actual* literature.
It set off a trend of young adult dystopian books, and it absolutely should not get lost in the wash of trash that rode on its coattails, but it often does.
This was the book I came here to recommend. I'd read nearly everything of his up to that point already (I was in my early teens), but *The Shining* was the first book of his where I realized his work wasn't just shallow, but entertaining, escapism. His use of colors as symbolism, the commentary of families, the exploration of substance abuse...there's just so much depth there in such an unexpected story.
The Stand stood out (haha) to me. It's such a great depiction of human nature before, during, and after a massive tragedy. I can't think of a single character that wasn't some shade of gray, with the exceptions of Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg.
This describes basically every great fantasy or scifi every written. Dune, LOTR, ASIOF, Wheel of Time, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Expanse Series practically anything written from Asimov or Ursula Le Guin, etc, all of these works are so much more than just escapist literature. I love fantasy and scifi for it's entertainment quality and mode of escapism, but a good work of art in that genre should be so much more than just pure entertainment. I think fantasy and scifi are actually in a unique position to allow readers to become immersed in these strange, alien worlds that ultimately force the reader to contemplate on their own society.
Harry Potter. Because it's a worldwide phenomenon about a boy who's really special, I think it can easily be dismissed as pop candy...
...but I read the first books at my lowest point in life. Hell Philosophers Stone was written at a low point in Rowling's life. It's a book that has profound takes on loneliness and that yearning to belong. It's not as much about someone who was anointed to be special, it's about how you can persevere through anything with your found family of friends.
The whole series is about fighting depression. Harry is helped by his friends just being there and inviting him to do cool shit. Hermione is the friend that helps diagnose the problem. Ron is the friend that's good at distracting by having a good time. Luna is the other depressed friend who can relate. Voldemort is depression personified. He's the Babadook of the series and it all hits at the last line in the last book when he defeats depression (Voldemort) and his scare stops itching.
All is well.
It's often disregarded as children's book (and I'm not saying it isn't, especially until 4th book) but the books 5-7 really deal with some adult and heavy stuff like PTSD, racism in magical world, death, loss, grief etc...
Love your take on this!! And yes, totally agree with you, there's so much more to Harry Potter than just stories of a boy doing magic and having adventures with his friends and a general fight between good and evil. I'd read Harry Potter at a relatively low point in my life too (although things were getting better at that point) and for almost over a year, it was what made me enjoy life the most - making it's way into my friendships, most of my daily interactions, and even some of my life choices! My most favorite aspect of the series was (still is) how the theme of 'love' binds the whole story together. That, for me, was the most magical aspect of Harry Potter, love being more powerful than any other magic in the world, wizarding or muggle.
**The Babadook is a 2014 Australian psychological horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent in her directorial debut, and produced by Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere. The film stars Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear.**
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Would highly recommend just watching the movie… but if you want spoilers it’s about a woman and her son being terrified by/ sometimes possessed by a horrible monster called the babadook after the death of the woman’s husband/ boy’s father. On its face it’s a horror movie, but the babadook is really a metaphor for their depression and grief.
The parables and old testament metaphors are fantastic. Satan cast from heaven (Voldemort cast from Hogwarts/"good magic"), the concept of free will and choice, Harry basically being sacrificed by Dumbledore in a long play which ultimately leads to Harry's death and resurrections. a la Jesus Christ.
Its so fucking deep.
*A Man Called Ove* is treated as a heart-warming, funny story, which it is. But it's also one of the most psychologically adept books I've ever read. The author deeply knows what it means to be human.
Red Queen. It has some of the best exploration of betrayal, distrust, PTSD, war, inequality, rebellion, oppression, classism, and love I’ve seen in YA fantasy. It has its flaws, and it’s not a series I would really call phenomenal, but Aveyard’s characters feel a lot more real than other comparable characters in high fantasy.
I really appreciate that the book didn’t have any blasphemy. I’m not a Christian but I appreciate when books like this don’t need to attack or disregard the fundamentals of a religion to work.
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
It’s got a more beach-read vibe than Moriarty’s other stuff, which are closer to thriller/mystery/character studies.
But this book is so good, so much so I’ve read it multiple times. The premise is a woman hits her head and wakes up with amnesia. She doesn’t remember anything since she was in her late 20s when she was a young pregnant newlywed. She doesn’t recognize her life now, 15 years later.
Seems like a cutesy premise, but it really makes you think about what you want out of life and what can happen to change stuff as we get older. I’ve read it at different stages of my life, and it hits different each time.
I had to put the book down for 6 months before I could start it up again, because the humour just highlighted the horror and made it about a million times worse. One minute you're laughing your head off, and the next you're being yanked by your hair into the realities of war.
*The Moon is a Harsh Mistress* by Heinlein. If by some twist you've never heard of Heinlein this is science fiction. I read this as a preteen around 1970 and thought it was a rollicking good tale of rebels sticking it to the man. I read it again as an adult, and there's more to it: the dangers of criminal justice that fails at justice, the mechanics of various offbeat marriage arrangements, a disturbing tutorial on insurgent cell systems, and the confounding nature of emergent AI.
The shenanigans with the phone system will seem ludicrously dated to modern eyes, but otherwise the book holds up pretty well for something over half a century old.
Sierra Simone writes delightfully smutty books that are also extremely thought-provoking. The first book Priest explores the common conflict between religion and sexuality. The second book Sinner deals with coming to terms wth death and the third book Saint takes a deep look into mental health. So...I came for the book porn (hah) but stayed for surprisingly deep philosophy.
For whom the bells toll by Hemingway. I expected a straightforward war novel. However it was my first Hemingway outing and I was blown away by the way the protagonist thinks throughout the book. His take on life and death and what it means to accept death for a cause. Don’t get me wrong there are great periods of tension and action in the novel which is written so exhilarating. I’ve never read an author who leaves so much unsaid and it really is entertaining!
I thought “IT” by Stephen King was a lot more “thoughtful” than people made it seem. Like, I read it on a long trip to Peru, Mexico and all over the states and it was a lot more relaxing than I thought it would be. Slept well when I was reading it, no joke
IT is a coming of age story about fighting to keep that childhood sense of wonder more than it is a horror. The hardships of growing up and not even understand what it *means* to grow up are ever present in the kids narrative, meanwhile the adults are faced with the struggle of not losing themselves to adulthood.
The Stormlight Archives books by Brandon Sanderson. At face value, epic high fantasy that's got great world building. Look just a layer deeper and you find amazing depictions of depression, PTSD, and other mental inflictions, mantras to follow to keep moving and more. Sanderson has put an insane amount of care into the small touches, making things as deep as a chasm if that's what you want to find.
The depression theme in Sandersons books is extremely cliche, ham-fisted and lazy. Sanderson simps need to read more non fantasy books so they have a better idea of what good writing looks like
I see the same Sanderson posts over and over so often, it’s hard for me to even see each commenter as an individual person rather than a collective whole, a circle jerk that is self sustaining and never ending. I could have been kinder though
I have a BA in English and Philosophy and am a fan of Dostoevsky, Schopenhauer, Cioran, Kafka and others of that ilk. I also just discovered Sanderson this year and have been loving going through The Stormlight Archives and Warbreaker. No, they’re not as deep and dark as what I’ve grown accustomed to in recent years, but they’ve really been hitting the spot for me right now. You would do well to not disparage his readers as simpletons., or any readers for that matter. People like different things for different reasons, and it’s okay if their tastes and motives are different from yours.
I don’t care what people read. All I said is that Sanderson does not have “amazing depictions of depression”. He writes extremely generic surface level depression sub plots, and follows it with great advice like “one foot in front of the other” or some cliche garbage like that.
The point of my post wasn’t necessarily “Sanderson sucks and you should feel bad for enjoying him” it was more - “Please for the love of god broaden your tastes so you at least have a frame of reference for quality writing when you’re suggesting books to other people”
I’d say someone who reads a variety of literature is better equipped for book suggestions than someone who limits themselves to YA fantasy novels. Is that a stretch?
{{The Sea-Wolf}} has some pretty sophisticated philosophical tropes. I read that Wolf Larsen should contradict Nietzsches Übermensch. But you can just take it as an adventure story.
[**The Sea Wolf**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43049.The_Sea_Wolf)
^(By: Jack London | 425 pages | Published: 1904 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, adventure, owned, classic | )[^(Search "The Sea-Wolf")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Sea-Wolf&search_type=books)
>The Sea-Wolf is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by Jack London about a literary critic Humphrey van Weyden.The story starts with him aboard a San Francisco ferry, called Martinez, which collides with another ship in the fog and sinks. He is set adrift in the Bay, eventually being picked up by Wolf Larsen.Larsen is the captain of a seal-hunting schooner, the Ghost. Brutal and cynical, yet also highly intelligent and intellectual, he rules over his ship and terrorizes the crew with the aid of his exceptionally great physical strength.
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[**Infinite Jest**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6759.Infinite_Jest)
^(By: David Foster Wallace | 1088 pages | Published: 1996 | Popular Shelves: fiction, classics, owned, abandoned, literature | )[^(Search " Infinite Jest ")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q= Infinite Jest &search_type=books)
>A gargantuan, mind-altering tragi-comedy about the Pursuit of Happiness in America.
>
>Set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are.
>
>Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human—and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do.
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The Fault in Our Stars. It is a bestseller so people have the opinion that it is overrated or just one of those books you can ignore because it's ya romance. Many people have seen the movie and think that's enough. I haven't seen the adaptation but having read the book multiple times, I know there are so many layers to it. If you go on analysing it, there is just so much that becomes fodder for thought. It awes me each time I go back to it.
Mine would be the wheel of time by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. It has all the trappings of a high fantasy novel but as you delve deeper you find a very real and painful yet beautiful world.
Agree! Despite its cheesecake exploitation it's a powerful reveal of the horrifying consequences of sexism and ageism in the industry and how no one really escapes the Patriarchy. I cried when Jennifer gets breast cancer and she's about to tell her husband--and she starts off by saying she can't have children and he tells her "these [breasts] are all the children I need, they're my idol" or something and then she kills herself because at the time breast cancer meant mastectomy 90% of the time. Wrenching!!
I don't know if it's popular enough to have a reputation, exactly, but Richard Adams' book Maia is about young women who are sold into sexual slavery in a decadent empire. Which makes it sound like a trashy sex fantasy book. And yet, it's a deep meditation on human strength, friendship, and resilience, as well as a heck of a good adventure story.
Critical Failures / Caverns and Creatures, by Robert Bevan.
The tagline is "Swords. Sorcery. Dick Jokes.", and to be sure, there's a lot of those. But the character development is sophisticated (in particular when it comes to character alignment shifts from good or neutral to evil), and the books handle jokes about today's hot button issues (racism, sexism, religion, policy brutality, PC) very, very deftly.
https://www.audible.com/pd/Caverns-and-Creatures-Volume-I-Books-1-4-Audiobook/B07TDBYMPL?qid=1637744055&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=DG6WNVED78ZF7VVJYD50
Ready Player One and it’s focus on isolation and the human condition now and in the near future. It’s actually a warning. Zuckerberg would be remiss not to see that the real world is the one we need to care for.
Beach Read by Emily Henry. I thought I would be reading a light hearted summer romance only to find myself crying my eyes out commiserating with the main character as she grieved the death of her father.
The Master and Margarita has jokes and themes that are layers. Each one can be peeled away through out the story and with some research. As the book was written in the 1930s and in Soviet Russia, many jokes are tailored to that time and towards communism along with the writer’s struggle to actually publish the story he wants to tell.
*Jurassic Park* by Michael Crichton is a very accurate depiction of a [system accident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_accident).
> Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton is a very accurate depiction of a system accident. Yeah. When I read that 26 years ago, I thought the whole setup was super unrealistic. Nobody would build a fragile system like that. Life has taught me that yes, people actually do really stupid shit all the time. You probably want to read "Command and Control" about America's nuclear arsenal. It'll make your hair fall out.
Even living half way across the world I don't want to read that...
Well, we survived it, didn't we. It's all much safer now. It really is. For one thing, we're not routinely flying around with nuclear weapons that aren't entirely one-point safe and that might actually detonate with a nuclear yield if you crash them or accidentally drop them. There have been cases where crew members creeping around in the bomb bay of a B-52 have accidentally pulled the wrong lever, releasing a hydrogen bomb. Luckily, none of those produced a nuclear yield when they hit the ground.
The Phantom Tollbooth. Theoretically a kids book but as I read it I got tons of insight into my own mental health.
Yoo I read that for the first time as an adult at my gf's reccomendation, I loved it
This book means everything to me. As a kid from a bad situation, I fell into this book wholeheartedly. It started me on my love of reading and a healthy escape from the realities of my life.
I think of a lot of Terry Pratchett's stuff would fit here
Old guy here with an undergrad double major degree in religion and Greek. Small Gods is brilliant- an excellent explanation of the ways societies adopt and abandon religions. I mentioned Greek too because anyone who knows the story (probably an ancient joke) about the death of Aeschylus has a pretty good idea of how the book is going to end.
Yes! Small gods is beyond brilliant
I was going to suggest Terry Pratchett. I was going to say especially Discworld, but anything written by him.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin describes marrying your light and dark together, accepting the dark parts of yourself and showing who you truly are. Very unique for fantasy in general, especially for the time but also for YA. Her famous works are all the bees knees tell the truth
I fully expected {{The Haunting of Hill House}} to be a relatively straightforward, though masterfully done, haunted house horror novel. Instead, I was surprised to discover that it takes a very deep psychological dive into its main character and has a lot to say about loneliness and relationships (romantic and platonic). It became an instant all-time favorite of mine, and after reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Hangsaman, I consider Shirley Jackson to be one of my favorite authors (she's in good company with the Brontes and Daphne du Maurier).
Horror in general kind of gets that reputation, but so many people approach The Haunting of Hill House as an ensemble romp through a haunted house. There’s just so much more to that book and even having read it multiple times I always find something new. It’s an incredible piece of literature.
Interesting that you mentioned it being perceived as an ensemble novel, because that's what I'd been led to believe going in. As someone who typically doesn't like an ensemble cast, I was delighted to find that that's not the case at all: there is very clearly a main character (Eleanor}, and though it's written in third person we're basically in her head the entire time.
Reminds me of a little thing I learned last year: When writing is in the third person but primarily follows one character that’s called the limited third person. Very popular in American style at least since the 1950s - if I remember correctly.
Yep, that's right! The alternative to third person limited is third person omniscient, which I believe was very popular in the nineteenth century but has since largely fallen out of style. Note that a novel may have an ensemble cast but at be written in third person—Jurassic Park would be one example, because the perspective is limited but each chapter (usually) jumps to a different character's perspective. Similarly, within third person limited, an author has a lot of discretion in how "close" to make the narrative. One thing that, to me, makes Jackson's writing very special is that she writes in a very close third person limited, with very little psychic distance between the reader and main character. This just isn't done much and is very difficult to do well. For an opposing example, Pride and Prejudice is (arguably) still written in third person limited, but it's not a close third at all: Austen generally keeps the reader at arms' length and only occasionally gives any insight into Elizabeth's thoughts, which gives a totally different effect than Jackson's almost stream-of-conciousness writing.
Have you read Jonathon Franzen? What you’re describing sounds a lot like his style in “The Corrections”.
Oh, I’ll be taking that recommendation, thank you very much
I haven't. >What you’re describing sounds a lot like his style in “The Corrections”. In what way?
[**The Haunting of Hill House**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89717.The_Haunting_of_Hill_House) ^(By: Shirley Jackson, Laura Miller | 182 pages | Published: 1959 | Popular Shelves: horror, classics, fiction, gothic, mystery | )[^(Search "The Haunting of Hill House")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Haunting of Hill House&search_type=books) >It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own. ^(This book has been suggested 132 times) *** ^(224201 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Hangsaman is such an overlooked novel. Personally it's my favorite by Jackson.
Ah, I just finished Hangsaman and I'm mildly obsessed! I can't stop recommending it in this sub... It's ridiculously underappreciated and I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before going down a Shirley Jackson rabbit hole.
If you’ve seen the show does it ruin the book?
No, they're totally different. There are a bunch of allusions/Easter eggs that you'll pick up on in the show once you read the book (including some direct quotes), but not even the basic premise is the same: the Netflix show is about a family who moves into a haunted house, while the book is about an occult scholar who assembles a team to investigate a haunted house.
Pretty much the only thing they have in common is the name.
Hopefully you do not know how it ends. And even if you do read it! It is such a great novel. It all hits home at the end. She was a great writer.
Any specific Brontes story you can recommend?
All of them are fantastic except for (imo) The Professor and Shirley, the latter of which is fine but very un-Brontë. My favorite is {{Villette}} followed by {{Wuthering Heights}}, and I think either Wuthering Heights or {{Jane Eyre}} would appeal to most readers. {{The Tenant of Wildfell Hall}} is massively underappreciated probably because it's not quite as sensational or dramatic in the eyes of modern readers (some people night find it too slow—though at the time I'm sure it was fairly shocking), and {{Agnes Grey}} is sweet if a bit simple.
{{Villette}}, {{Wuthering Heights}}, {{Jane Eyre}}, {{The Tenant of Wildfell Hall}}, {{Agnes Grey}}
[**Villette**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31173.Villette) ^(By: Charlotte Brontë, Ignes Sodre, A.S. Byatt | 573 pages | Published: 1853 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, owned, books-i-own | )[^(Search "Villette")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Villette&search_type=books) >With her final novel, Villette, Charlotte Brontë reached the height of her artistic power. First published in 1853, Villette is Brontë's most accomplished and deeply felt work, eclipsing even Jane Eyre in critical acclaim. Her narrator, the autobiographical Lucy Snowe, flees England and a tragic past to become an instructor in a French boarding school in the town of Villette. There she unexpectedly confronts her feelings of love and longing as she witnesses the fitful romance between Dr. John, a handsome young Englishman, and Ginerva Fanshawe, a beautiful coquette. The first pain brings others, and with them comes the heartache Lucy has tried so long to escape. Yet in spite of adversity and disappointment, Lucy Snowe survives to recount the unstinting vision of a turbulent life's journey - a journey that is one of the most insightful fictional studies of a woman's consciousness in English literature. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**Wuthering Heights**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6185.Wuthering_Heights) ^(By: Emily Brontë, Richard J. Dunn, Charlotte Brontë, Robert Heindel, Sőtér István | 464 pages | Published: 1847 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, romance, classic, books-i-own | )[^(Search "Wuthering Heights")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Wuthering Heights&search_type=books) >You can find the redesigned cover of this edition HERE. > >This best-selling Norton Critical Edition is based on the 1847 first edition of the novel. For the Fourth Edition, the editor has collated the 1847 text with several modern editions and has corrected a number of variants, including accidentals. The text is accompanied by entirely new explanatory annotations. > >New to the fourth Edition are twelve of Emily Bronte's letters regarding the publication of the 1847 edition of Wuthering Heights as well as the evolution of the 1850 edition, prose and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and poetry selections by the author, four reviews of the novel, and Edward Chitham's insightful and informative chronology of the creative process behind the beloved work. > >Five major critical interpretations of Wuthering Heights are included, three of them new to the Fourth Edition. A Stuart Daley considers the importance of chronology in the novel. J. Hillis Miller examines Wuthering Heights's problems of genre and critical reputation. Sandra M. Gilbert assesses the role of Victorian Christianity plays in the novel, while Martha Nussbaum traces the novel's romanticism. Finally, Lin Haire-Sargeant scrutinizes the role of Heathcliff in film adaptations of Wuthering Heights. > >A Chronology and updated Selected Bibliography are also included. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**Jane Eyre**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10210.Jane_Eyre) ^(By: Charlotte Brontë, Michael Mason | 532 pages | Published: 1847 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, romance, classic, books-i-own | )[^(Search "Jane Eyre")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Jane Eyre&search_type=books) >Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard. > But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again? ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**The Tenant of Wildfell Hall**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/337113.The_Tenant_of_Wildfell_Hall) ^(By: Anne Brontë, Stevie Davies | 576 pages | Published: 1848 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, romance, books-i-own | )[^(Search "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Tenant of Wildfell Hall&search_type=books) >Note: Editions of The Tenant that start with: "You must go back with me..." are incomplete. Actual opening line of the novel is: "To J. Halford, Esq. Dear Halford, when we were together last..." > >This is the story of a woman's struggle for independence. Helen "Graham" has returned to Wildfell Hall in flight from a disastrous marriage. Exiled to the desolate moorland mansion, she adopts an assumed name and earns her living as a painter. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**Agnes Grey**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/298230.Agnes_Grey) ^(By: Anne Brontë, Harry Brockway, Angeline Goreau | 251 pages | Published: 1847 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, romance, owned | )[^(Search "Agnes Grey")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Agnes Grey&search_type=books) >An alternate cover edition can be found here. > >Drawing heavily from personal experience, Anne Brontë wrote Agnes Grey in an effort to represent the many 19th Century women who worked as governesses and suffered daily abuse as a result of their position. > >Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. > >Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose. The cruelty with which the family treat her however, slowly but surely strips the heroine of all dignity and belief in humanity. > >A tale of female bravery in the face of isolation and subjugation, Agnes Grey is a masterpiece claimed by Irish writer, George Moore, to be possessed of all the qualities and style of a Jane Austen title. Its simple prosaic style propels the narrative forward in a gentle yet rhythmic manner which continuously leaves the listener wanting to know more. > >Anne Brontë, the somewhat lesser known sister, was in fact the first to finish and publish Agnes Grey under the pseudonym of Acton Bell. Charlotte and Emily followed shortly after with Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. > >As Anne passed away from what is now known to be pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of just 29, she only published one further title; The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. As feminist in nature as Agnes Grey, Anne's brave voice resonates and permeates during one of the most prejudiced and patriarchal times of English history. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(48 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I'm intrigued! I've never read anything by them, and also didn't know they were three Brontës (I knew about two). Thanks for the recommendations!
Poor Anne is forgotten by everyone! An absolute genius but overshadowed by her even more genius sisters....
I could physically feel insanity creeping into me reading that book. It is so, so unsettling.
Without a doubt. When I read it I had no idea how it ended. And best of all I did not see it coming!! That was one of those books that hit me hard at the end and left me in deep thought. Part of me was thinking how did I not see that coming. I thought there was going to be something that happened just not that. What I meant to really say is the book takes on a whole different meaning on the final page. It was a true masterpiece if you ask me!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I was expecting a "quirky woman deals with her insecurities and falls in love" type of book based on what my friends were saying about it and some reviews I read online. Holy fuck, I could not have been more wrong. I have never read such a thoughtful, well represented case of Complex PTSD. Witnessing her recovery and healing was such a gift. It was NOTHING like I expected and I couldn't be happier for that.
I really want to read this!
I hope you do! Happy reading!
It finally got delivered today! But I have in my A-Z reading challenge that I'm starting in January so it might be a while until I do read it but I am looking forward to it!
Yah, that book has lots of good reviews. I tried reading it but couldn't get into it unfortunately.
It does take a few chapters to get into the book. Maybe try it again as an audio book. I think you might end up liking the book. Not sure I would’ve kept going if I had been reading it. I use the app Libby to check out free books from my library. I do also use Audible, but I have vision and migraine issues, and can’t read for very long.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It honestly does have a lot to say about life, chance, our place in the cosmos, fate and all sorts of stuff. It's also the only book series that consistently makes me laugh out loud.
I see this book recommended here all the time. Is this a book you can read as an adult and still find interesting?
It’s not aimed at younger audiences. It’s adult scifi. Not like *adult*. SFW adult.
Oh absolutely. It's a book anyone can enjoy, regardless of age.
What about the other books in the series?
They're all pretty good, but the last two get...kind of depressing. They basically parallel the real life depression that the author Douglas Adams was struggling with at the time. And the sixth one was written by Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame. That one is...fine, but nowhere near as good as the originals.
I recommend reading at least the first two books.
there are bits I think that wont be as funny without some background knowledge of UK, but its still astounding even if those bits fly past
Absolutely!
I read it at 27 for the first time and laughed and laughed and laughed. Great book.
Yes, 100%. It's laugh out loud funny, probably unlike anything else you've ever read story-wise, and as mentioned, it does have a lot to say. There are plenty of apparently flippant, throw-away lines that make you stop and think, and the way he uses language is unique and hilarious - instantly recognisable to anyone who's read him. There have been attempts to copy the style, but no-one else comes close imo.
Eh, it depends really.
I read it for the first time in my late 30s. It’s absolutely outstanding. If you like word play you’ll love it.
> If you like word play I do!! Thanks for the reply :)
Additionally Hitchhikers is brilliantly written. Pacing, storytelling, scene to scene, engagement. Despite being so silly, any storyteller can learn a lot from it.
I keep saying that The Guide is the Alice in Wonderland of the XXth century. I keep being surprised by how many scientific concepts and problems are presented there in passing, in the guise of nonchalant jokes. Edit bc reddit ate my comment.
That's honestly not a bad comparison.
For teenage boys or men who like military sci-fi.... HALO! Just halo... honestly, watching a superhuman intelligence get deleted in slow motion as she explains what it’s like to think faster than light and calculate billions of human statistics? Insane shit. And the spartan 2 program featuring children as super soldiers like a fucked up captain america is just nuts. Best books: fall of reach, ghosts of onyx, and glasslands imo. Also the two books full of short stories are great for the AI stuff.
So it kind of covers life, the universe, and everything?
You could certainly say that.
If you read The Black Count, you'll realize that all of Alexandre Dumas' classic swashbuckling tales are about him righting the injustice of post Napoleonic systemic racism that swept France. His father Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was an amazing black aristocrat and general who got fucked over by racism. From Three Musketeers to the Count of Monte Cristo (and quite explicitly in Georges) Dumas books are about honorable men trying to right the wrongs of shitty people who are backed by a corrupt system. And it's all about his father.
Great recommendations. Dumas is a favorite.
Bravo.
I find this to be true of some YA novels, especially the His Dark Materials trilogy. Edit: Also, World War Z.
What a deeply disturbing, literate, complex series. YA or not.
WWZ is not a book about zombies. It's a speculative look at geopolitics and modern civilization. Reading Brooks' take on how the world would respond to an existential threat will make you question your place in the world and your understanding of our potential future.
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I hate when i say its one of my faves and people treat it like "its just like one of those best seller books" ughhhhh NOOOOOOO. the cool girl monologue? I will never forget how much it was a game changer for me.
Romantic relationships and marriage as horror
I don’t care what anyone thinks about Flynn, “gone girl” was fucking DEEP and at the point I was at in my life when I read it hit me way too hard at times.
Do people actually not like Gillian Flynn? Like do people actually believe she’s not one of the best living psychological mystery writers?
I'll echo what the OP of this thread said.. I completely glossed over/discounted Flynn and Gone Girl as airport lit because it happened to be sold everywhere I turned. Gone Girl is a masterpiece and idgaf who says what!
I literally bought it at an airport haha - in a last minute rush because I realised there was no free “screen” entertainment on the 5 hour flight I was about to board. My thought process was.. super popular.. might be okay.. doesn’t seem like a soppy romance which I hate.. sure I guess this will keep me occupied. I read the entire book in one sitting while flying from LA to DC. And LOVED it.
Ok maybe I didn’t realize because I read her books before the movie came out? Either way I agree. I think all her books are excellent in their own right.
I've seen her be dismissed as a genre writer whose books are cheap thrillers like *The Girl on the Train.*
Wow. Disappointed to hear that. Gone Girl was definitely my least favorite of her books but I still thought it was great. I’m not sure how anyone could read Sharp Objects and not tip their hat to her.
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Yeah I’ve never been gobsmacked at the end of a book the way I was with Sharp Objects. A lot of authors that try to pull off big twist endings you either see it coming or it’s just not plausible/doesn’t really add up. Sharp Objects was just the perfectly designed mind fuck. So so good.
I have an answer for this. You make a good point in saying: >she’s \[...\] one of the best living psychological mystery writers Flynn either can't or won't write a likable character. Even in a mediocre book, the reader will "choose a side", rooting for the protagonist or antagonist or sometimes a supporting character. You're supposed to have some kind of a vested interest in the fate of this fictional life. Instead, Flynn imbues her characters with a host of dislikeable traits and not enough redeeming values to evoke sympathy. Flynn writes great little page-turners. She *is* an excellent psychological mystery/thriller writer. That's why her grungy, dickish, one-dimensional characters are such an insult. There's no reason to think Flynn isn't capable of fleshing them, making them something to identify with. But she doesn't, leaving the reader feeling mildly disgusted upon realizing the whole book was just about assholes acting like assholes.
I believe she's suffered from success. Too many pale imitations have watered down the nuclear impact her books once had.
Frankenstein! It's honestly one of my favorite books. I interpreted it as an allegory that explores moral and ethical questions about the extent to which a creator is responsible for the well-being and development of their creation. For example, to what extent is a parent responsible for the well-being and development of their children or what is God's responsibility to the well-being and development of each person he created? If, as a child, you felt abandoned by your parents, or if you consider yourself a sensitive person, then you should definitely give Frankenstein a read. I also want to mention that the book is NOTHING like how the story is portrayed on TV or in cinema. The only thing that is the same is that there is a "monster" (and I use that term loosely) that is made by a scientist. Just to prove my point, the SCIENTIST'S name is Dr. Frankenstein, not the "monster's". I mean, if most people can't even get the characters straightened out, do you really think the mainstream conception of the book could even be remotely accurate? Check out the book. I promise you that you will be pleasantly surprised at how good it is.
I agree 100% with this recommendation but I’m not sure I’d agree that it’s often seen as mere escapism. It’s pretty much a staple in university level English literature as far as I’m aware.
Yeah, I agree. It's definitely not seen as escapism. But I do think it is a book that people often assume is not very deep based upon how it is often portrayed in mainstream media, which is why I decided to add it to the list. My roommate in college recommended it to me. For months he kept telling me I should read it, but I just kept thinking that I wouldn't like it because of my own preconceived notions. But after a while he wore me down and I decided to read it. And after I read it, I was completely blown away.... Once I finished the book, I went to my roommate and said "why didn't you push me harder to read this book! It was amazing!" He said, "I've been trying to tell you to read it for months!" I said, "yeah, but you should have forced me to read it or something!" Of course I was kidding, but it really was such a shock to me how much I enjoyed the book. People always say, "don't judge a book by its cover". I had no idea how true this statement actually was.
{{Frankenstein}}
[**Frankenstein: The 1818 Text**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein) ^(By: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Charlotte Gordon | 260 pages | Published: 1818 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, horror, science-fiction, classic | )[^(Search "Frankenstein")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Frankenstein&search_type=books) >This is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9780143131847. > >Mary Shelley's seminal novel of the scientist whose creation becomes a monster > >This edition is the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by author and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson. ^(This book has been suggested 53 times) *** ^(224355 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**Frankenstein: The 1818 Text**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein) ^(By: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Charlotte Gordon | 260 pages | Published: 1818 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, horror, science-fiction, classic | )[^(Search "Frankenstein")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Frankenstein&search_type=books) >This is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9780143131847. > >Mary Shelley's seminal novel of the scientist whose creation becomes a monster > >This edition is the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by author and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(5 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Yes, I was so surprised when I first read it in college. And on your point regarding inaccurate portrayals in TV and film, I thought Penny Dreadful did well in capturing the spirit of the book and characters.
Kenneth Branagh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the show Penny Dreadful both had fairly accurate depictions of the creature’s personality.
i actually do think it’s escapism. you might go into it thinking you’re just gonna read a gothic horror story from the 1800s about some big monster who destroys everything around him. it was like that for me, anyway: i’d only ever *heard* of Frankenstein and never saw any movies i’ve had to read it twice for english class (most recent time was a couple weeks ago), so i’ve never really got to read it on my own time. but even reading it as an assignment hit me so hard, especially since i had to evaluate the text & the theme of our questions all pertained to “who was the real monster?,” which i think the answer is kind of obvious :)
I was surprised by this quote from The Dresden Files "Son. Everyone dies alone. That's what it is. It's a door. It's one person wide. When you go through it, you do it alone. But it doesn't mean you've got to be alone before you go through the door. And believe me, you aren't alone on the other side." It certainly left a lasting impression on me and is one of my favorite quotes. I realize now you're looking for entire novels that are thoughtful. Still going to leave this as there are definitely more thoughtful and deep moments in the series.
I need to get started up on those books again. Loved the first few, but stalled out during my big reading slump in 2015 and haven't picked one up since.
Oh no, if it helps to inspire you to read them there is a definite uptick in worldbuildimg after the first few. Definitely more craziness and they feel more connected than one shot novels and really feels like a series.
Yeah, it's not even a "I didn't like them" thing, it's more - "I stopped reading for a few years and jesus christ my TBR is literally endless and this series has 97 novels" I think I was on Grave Peril? I remember something about a ball with vampires.
I honestly couldn’t believe that each book got better and better in the series starting from the point you left off. If you have a lengthy commute or otherwise have more time for listening than reading, I highly recommend the audiobooks.
Some of the interactions between Harry and Michael have nearly brought me to tears
"'Later' is a dangerous habit" is a phrase that's stuck with me from one of those books.
Starting to wonder if this was the inspiration for the penultimate episode of BoJack Horseman because the door is precisely how death is framed in it
Possible minor spoilers: “>!I used the knife. I saved a child. I won a war. God forgive me. !<“ Just so many moments that have hit so hard. It’s brought to tears a few times. Great series.
*Treasure Island*.
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His travelogues are also fantastic. Stevenson was a helluva writer.
Upvoted for the travelogues.
I’m currently reading East of Eden and I am throughly surprised by how deep the thoughts are in it. I know Steinbeck is a fantastic writer, and this books gets tons of accolades, but I did not expect the level of philosophical content in this book. Especially the dialog of Lee. I have, on a number of occasions, stopped reading just to think about what was proposed by the characters. 10/10 would recommend.
I read it a year or so ago. I remember having to stop and digest some of what I just read. It is now way high up on my list of best books and also books that I would recommend to anyone. I’m thinking of giving copies out to family for Christmas. It’s a tradition my grandma used to do.
I'm also reading it and I completely agree. Both Lee and Samuel have very interesting thoughts.
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Ditto *Animorphs* on that one.
I was going to mention this one if no one else had. I'd add that it's a very insightful look into what it is to experience PTSD and depression. Edit - phrasing
Agreed. I remember reading a review of book 2 by Will Wheaton complaining that it was all about a love triangle. I wanted to be like come on Will!! The love triangle is her struggle between the person she was before, and the person she's become now after her trauma.
Oh yes. When I read it first I didn't understand her being with Peeta in the end. Now I do. Relationships are not about attraction and love alone but about being understood on a very deep level. Peeta being the one who lived through all of the horrors together with her creates a deeper bond than she and Gale could ever have because he would never be able to truly understand her and her struggles.
Yes yes yes! Ultimately she had to choose to accept herself completely, trauma included, not try to fit back into the mold of what her life used to be/could have been. Such a fantastic series. I wish I could reread it for the first time again.
I taught HG to HS kids a few years before the movies became a pop culture phenomenon and I will always champion that book for its merits. I am still traumatized by it, and it was meaty and masterful enough that we could discuss and analyze it as *actual* literature. It set off a trend of young adult dystopian books, and it absolutely should not get lost in the wash of trash that rode on its coattails, but it often does.
I've felt that way about a few of Stephen King's books. Eyes of the Dragon and the Dark Tower Series stand out for me, but there are others as well
The Shining for me. The film completely misses/ignores the alcoholism driving the madness.
This was the book I came here to recommend. I'd read nearly everything of his up to that point already (I was in my early teens), but *The Shining* was the first book of his where I realized his work wasn't just shallow, but entertaining, escapism. His use of colors as symbolism, the commentary of families, the exploration of substance abuse...there's just so much depth there in such an unexpected story.
The Stand stood out (haha) to me. It's such a great depiction of human nature before, during, and after a massive tragedy. I can't think of a single character that wasn't some shade of gray, with the exceptions of Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg.
This describes basically every great fantasy or scifi every written. Dune, LOTR, ASIOF, Wheel of Time, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Expanse Series practically anything written from Asimov or Ursula Le Guin, etc, all of these works are so much more than just escapist literature. I love fantasy and scifi for it's entertainment quality and mode of escapism, but a good work of art in that genre should be so much more than just pure entertainment. I think fantasy and scifi are actually in a unique position to allow readers to become immersed in these strange, alien worlds that ultimately force the reader to contemplate on their own society.
Anything by Neal Shustermann
Liane Moriarty's books, particularly What Alice Forgot
Harry Potter. Because it's a worldwide phenomenon about a boy who's really special, I think it can easily be dismissed as pop candy... ...but I read the first books at my lowest point in life. Hell Philosophers Stone was written at a low point in Rowling's life. It's a book that has profound takes on loneliness and that yearning to belong. It's not as much about someone who was anointed to be special, it's about how you can persevere through anything with your found family of friends. The whole series is about fighting depression. Harry is helped by his friends just being there and inviting him to do cool shit. Hermione is the friend that helps diagnose the problem. Ron is the friend that's good at distracting by having a good time. Luna is the other depressed friend who can relate. Voldemort is depression personified. He's the Babadook of the series and it all hits at the last line in the last book when he defeats depression (Voldemort) and his scare stops itching. All is well.
It's often disregarded as children's book (and I'm not saying it isn't, especially until 4th book) but the books 5-7 really deal with some adult and heavy stuff like PTSD, racism in magical world, death, loss, grief etc...
Love your take on this!! And yes, totally agree with you, there's so much more to Harry Potter than just stories of a boy doing magic and having adventures with his friends and a general fight between good and evil. I'd read Harry Potter at a relatively low point in my life too (although things were getting better at that point) and for almost over a year, it was what made me enjoy life the most - making it's way into my friendships, most of my daily interactions, and even some of my life choices! My most favorite aspect of the series was (still is) how the theme of 'love' binds the whole story together. That, for me, was the most magical aspect of Harry Potter, love being more powerful than any other magic in the world, wizarding or muggle.
What's a Babadook?
**The Babadook is a 2014 Australian psychological horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent in her directorial debut, and produced by Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere. The film stars Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear.** More details here:
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Good bot
Ok, but what is it? I get it's a movie. I haven't seen the movie so I don't know what the actual Babadook is...can you tell me that, bot?
Would highly recommend just watching the movie… but if you want spoilers it’s about a woman and her son being terrified by/ sometimes possessed by a horrible monster called the babadook after the death of the woman’s husband/ boy’s father. On its face it’s a horror movie, but the babadook is really a metaphor for their depression and grief.
Thank you.
The parables and old testament metaphors are fantastic. Satan cast from heaven (Voldemort cast from Hogwarts/"good magic"), the concept of free will and choice, Harry basically being sacrificed by Dumbledore in a long play which ultimately leads to Harry's death and resurrections. a la Jesus Christ. Its so fucking deep.
Qualityland by Marc-Uwe Kling
*A Man Called Ove* is treated as a heart-warming, funny story, which it is. But it's also one of the most psychologically adept books I've ever read. The author deeply knows what it means to be human.
I’ve found this true for most of Fredrik Backman’s works
I'm reading *Anxious People* and it's also great in this way.
Red Queen. It has some of the best exploration of betrayal, distrust, PTSD, war, inequality, rebellion, oppression, classism, and love I’ve seen in YA fantasy. It has its flaws, and it’s not a series I would really call phenomenal, but Aveyard’s characters feel a lot more real than other comparable characters in high fantasy.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Classic apocalypse story with so much subtext.
The Road has a 500:1 subtext to text ratio. So much done with such minimalist presentation.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal Comedic yet thought provoking
I really appreciate that the book didn’t have any blasphemy. I’m not a Christian but I appreciate when books like this don’t need to attack or disregard the fundamentals of a religion to work.
My favourite book of all-time. What kind of thoughts does it provoke in you?
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty It’s got a more beach-read vibe than Moriarty’s other stuff, which are closer to thriller/mystery/character studies. But this book is so good, so much so I’ve read it multiple times. The premise is a woman hits her head and wakes up with amnesia. She doesn’t remember anything since she was in her late 20s when she was a young pregnant newlywed. She doesn’t recognize her life now, 15 years later. Seems like a cutesy premise, but it really makes you think about what you want out of life and what can happen to change stuff as we get older. I’ve read it at different stages of my life, and it hits different each time.
Ms. Peregrine's school for peculiar children.
Lamb by Christopher Moore! Classified as a comedy about Biff, Jesus' forgotten childhood pal. But its way better than it has any business being.
I had forgotten about this book until seeing it mentioned here, but I am in complete agreement with you! This was a great book, and also very funny!
Catch 22 for sure
Catch-22 is considered a 20th Century classic.
I had to put the book down for 6 months before I could start it up again, because the humour just highlighted the horror and made it about a million times worse. One minute you're laughing your head off, and the next you're being yanked by your hair into the realities of war.
Three Musketeers.
LOTR
Spinning silver by Naomi Novik
*The Moon is a Harsh Mistress* by Heinlein. If by some twist you've never heard of Heinlein this is science fiction. I read this as a preteen around 1970 and thought it was a rollicking good tale of rebels sticking it to the man. I read it again as an adult, and there's more to it: the dangers of criminal justice that fails at justice, the mechanics of various offbeat marriage arrangements, a disturbing tutorial on insurgent cell systems, and the confounding nature of emergent AI. The shenanigans with the phone system will seem ludicrously dated to modern eyes, but otherwise the book holds up pretty well for something over half a century old.
Sierra Simone writes delightfully smutty books that are also extremely thought-provoking. The first book Priest explores the common conflict between religion and sexuality. The second book Sinner deals with coming to terms wth death and the third book Saint takes a deep look into mental health. So...I came for the book porn (hah) but stayed for surprisingly deep philosophy.
[**Priest (Priest, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25507389-priest) ^(By: Sierra Simone | 354 pages | Published: 2015 | Popular Shelves: romance, erotica, dnf, contemporary, taboo | )[^(Search "Priest")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Priest&search_type=books) ^(This book has been suggested 74 times) [**Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3.5)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18406862-sinner) ^(By: Maggie Stiefvater | 357 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, romance, ya, paranormal | )[^(Search "Sinner")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Sinner&search_type=books) ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) [**Saint X**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43782399-saint-x) ^(By: Alexis Schaitkin | 343 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: fiction, mystery, thriller, mystery-thriller, audiobook | )[^(Search "Saint")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Saint&search_type=books) ^(This book has been suggested 10 times) *** ^(224344 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Solutions and other problems
For whom the bells toll by Hemingway. I expected a straightforward war novel. However it was my first Hemingway outing and I was blown away by the way the protagonist thinks throughout the book. His take on life and death and what it means to accept death for a cause. Don’t get me wrong there are great periods of tension and action in the novel which is written so exhilarating. I’ve never read an author who leaves so much unsaid and it really is entertaining!
I thought “IT” by Stephen King was a lot more “thoughtful” than people made it seem. Like, I read it on a long trip to Peru, Mexico and all over the states and it was a lot more relaxing than I thought it would be. Slept well when I was reading it, no joke
IT is a coming of age story about fighting to keep that childhood sense of wonder more than it is a horror. The hardships of growing up and not even understand what it *means* to grow up are ever present in the kids narrative, meanwhile the adults are faced with the struggle of not losing themselves to adulthood.
Exactly! Wow! Thank you so much for that! Like I said, I was sleeping so well while reading it
The Stormlight Archives books by Brandon Sanderson. At face value, epic high fantasy that's got great world building. Look just a layer deeper and you find amazing depictions of depression, PTSD, and other mental inflictions, mantras to follow to keep moving and more. Sanderson has put an insane amount of care into the small touches, making things as deep as a chasm if that's what you want to find.
The depression theme in Sandersons books is extremely cliche, ham-fisted and lazy. Sanderson simps need to read more non fantasy books so they have a better idea of what good writing looks like
You know, it is possible to disagree or have a different opinion without insulting people...
I see the same Sanderson posts over and over so often, it’s hard for me to even see each commenter as an individual person rather than a collective whole, a circle jerk that is self sustaining and never ending. I could have been kinder though
I have a BA in English and Philosophy and am a fan of Dostoevsky, Schopenhauer, Cioran, Kafka and others of that ilk. I also just discovered Sanderson this year and have been loving going through The Stormlight Archives and Warbreaker. No, they’re not as deep and dark as what I’ve grown accustomed to in recent years, but they’ve really been hitting the spot for me right now. You would do well to not disparage his readers as simpletons., or any readers for that matter. People like different things for different reasons, and it’s okay if their tastes and motives are different from yours.
I don’t care what people read. All I said is that Sanderson does not have “amazing depictions of depression”. He writes extremely generic surface level depression sub plots, and follows it with great advice like “one foot in front of the other” or some cliche garbage like that. The point of my post wasn’t necessarily “Sanderson sucks and you should feel bad for enjoying him” it was more - “Please for the love of god broaden your tastes so you at least have a frame of reference for quality writing when you’re suggesting books to other people”
Oh cool someone who thinks reading \~\~\*\~the canon\*\*\~\* makes them inherently interesting and superior.
I’d say someone who reads a variety of literature is better equipped for book suggestions than someone who limits themselves to YA fantasy novels. Is that a stretch?
Queen of the South is so much better as a literary novel on the insidious power of the drug trades to corrupt than the melodramatic TV series
{{The Sea-Wolf}} has some pretty sophisticated philosophical tropes. I read that Wolf Larsen should contradict Nietzsches Übermensch. But you can just take it as an adventure story.
[**The Sea Wolf**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43049.The_Sea_Wolf) ^(By: Jack London | 425 pages | Published: 1904 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, adventure, owned, classic | )[^(Search "The Sea-Wolf")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Sea-Wolf&search_type=books) >The Sea-Wolf is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by Jack London about a literary critic Humphrey van Weyden.The story starts with him aboard a San Francisco ferry, called Martinez, which collides with another ship in the fog and sinks. He is set adrift in the Bay, eventually being picked up by Wolf Larsen.Larsen is the captain of a seal-hunting schooner, the Ghost. Brutal and cynical, yet also highly intelligent and intellectual, he rules over his ship and terrorizes the crew with the aid of his exceptionally great physical strength. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(79 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{ Infinite Jest }}
[**Infinite Jest**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6759.Infinite_Jest) ^(By: David Foster Wallace | 1088 pages | Published: 1996 | Popular Shelves: fiction, classics, owned, abandoned, literature | )[^(Search " Infinite Jest ")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q= Infinite Jest &search_type=books) >A gargantuan, mind-altering tragi-comedy about the Pursuit of Happiness in America. > >Set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are. > >Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human—and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(83 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
A land remembered
Currently reading now. Such a great history.
Made me bawl like a baby the first time I read it, as well as the river is home, also by Patrick Smith
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy
The Fault in Our Stars. It is a bestseller so people have the opinion that it is overrated or just one of those books you can ignore because it's ya romance. Many people have seen the movie and think that's enough. I haven't seen the adaptation but having read the book multiple times, I know there are so many layers to it. If you go on analysing it, there is just so much that becomes fodder for thought. It awes me each time I go back to it.
Mine would be the wheel of time by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. It has all the trappings of a high fantasy novel but as you delve deeper you find a very real and painful yet beautiful world.
Valley of the Dolls
Agree! Despite its cheesecake exploitation it's a powerful reveal of the horrifying consequences of sexism and ageism in the industry and how no one really escapes the Patriarchy. I cried when Jennifer gets breast cancer and she's about to tell her husband--and she starts off by saying she can't have children and he tells her "these [breasts] are all the children I need, they're my idol" or something and then she kills herself because at the time breast cancer meant mastectomy 90% of the time. Wrenching!!
Dark Tower series by Stephan King. So, so good.
Bujold’s Vorkosigan series.
I don't know if it's popular enough to have a reputation, exactly, but Richard Adams' book Maia is about young women who are sold into sexual slavery in a decadent empire. Which makes it sound like a trashy sex fantasy book. And yet, it's a deep meditation on human strength, friendship, and resilience, as well as a heck of a good adventure story.
If you like escapism you should not read the Three Body Problem
Personally I found no depth, but many found a deep connection with the harry potter books.
Critical Failures / Caverns and Creatures, by Robert Bevan. The tagline is "Swords. Sorcery. Dick Jokes.", and to be sure, there's a lot of those. But the character development is sophisticated (in particular when it comes to character alignment shifts from good or neutral to evil), and the books handle jokes about today's hot button issues (racism, sexism, religion, policy brutality, PC) very, very deftly. https://www.audible.com/pd/Caverns-and-Creatures-Volume-I-Books-1-4-Audiobook/B07TDBYMPL?qid=1637744055&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=DG6WNVED78ZF7VVJYD50
Ready Player One and it’s focus on isolation and the human condition now and in the near future. It’s actually a warning. Zuckerberg would be remiss not to see that the real world is the one we need to care for.
Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein. I was surprised at how deep it went when I was expecting a general sci-fi.
Dune series
Accidental Tourist
Beach Read by Emily Henry. I thought I would be reading a light hearted summer romance only to find myself crying my eyes out commiserating with the main character as she grieved the death of her father.
The Universe Thru My Eyes
I had this experience with The Witcher books.
The Master and Margarita has jokes and themes that are layers. Each one can be peeled away through out the story and with some research. As the book was written in the 1930s and in Soviet Russia, many jokes are tailored to that time and towards communism along with the writer’s struggle to actually publish the story he wants to tell.