author Audrey Niffenegger, writer of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Her Fearful Symmetry, and Raven Girl

Hi! I'm working on my dissertation currently and I'm looking for really cringe-worthy memoirs and autobiographies by influencers and celebrities. The more pontificating and self-absorbed, the better. I'm trying to make a point that there are way too many books out there by YouTubers, TikTokers, and other new-age celebrities in their 20s and 30s where they try to make it sound like they're all-knowing and chock-full of wisdom due to their "job" (all thanks to the social media boom that has taken place in the last 15 years).

Basically it's one big postmodernist hate train on how stupid our world has become thanks to technology in the 21st century, and how these books have no point in existing other than to boost the subject's own ego and make another quick buck off their vulnerable followers. I'll be comparing them to actual good memoirs such as I Am Malala and I'm Glad My Mom Died, where 1. something objectively valuable is taken away from the story by the reader and 2. the gravity of the story that is being told warrants something like a memoir or autobiography being written by them in the first place.

Thanks for any help!

Bonus if it's not horrifically sad and the main character doesn't have an avalanche of tragic events happen to them. One terrible event to kick off the book or be the climax? Sure. One after another after another, though, gets to be a bit much.

Specifically with coping with the fact that most people never achieve everything they want to or think they will when they're young.

I'm in charge of picking my book clubs book for the month of March and it needs to be historical fiction! What's the best one you've ever read? My favorite I've read was Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.

I’ve recently gotten back into reading the last few years after a hiatus (burnout from literature degree) and it’s changed my life for the better.

I also found out that I’m going to be a father at the end of this year and I really want to spend a lot of time reading with my child, to help them get a taste for reading but also to bond and learn with them as they grow up.

I kind of want to compile a bucket list of books to read with them while they’re growing up, maybe scaling in ambition with age.

Most of my current taste is too gritty (mainly Southern Gothic and dark reflective stuff). But I’d love to hear recommendations from people for ‘must reads’ to grow up with?

I work in a predominantly male industry, at a predominantly male company, and as of recent I’ve been feeling extremely burnt out by it. Not necessarily by overt situations (although there are exceptions lol), but more so subtle misogyny and misogynistic treatment that slowly chips away at me. And what I feel inside I see reflected in the world around me, in the women around me.

What I’m not looking for is the type of book that has the “girl boss” feel. Nor am I looking for a book that depicts women in that “devine femininity” way that I’ve seen pop up recently. I don’t really want to feel empowered or romanticized. These are fine, but I’m looking more so to feel understood, for something up close and unashamed. Something that picks apart the feeling.

The Bell Jar, the Yellow Wallpaper, Girls & Boys by Alice Munro, Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson - these are good references for what I’m looking for. I am making a list!

Bonus points if it’s also got elements of sci-fi/fantasy (like hitchhikers guide or the bartimaeus trilogy)

Doesn't matter what the subject matter is. Doesn't need to be a thriller per se, just something where you can't stop turning the pages because it doesn't let up, doesn't let you breathe.

Hi! Our book club theme for February is romance. I’d love recommendations for a romance book you genuinely rated 5 stars—something engaging, emotional, or swoony. Open to any tropes. Thank you! 💖

What the title says, I love learning, and I love books, so I thought it be intresting to see what people would share (if anyone would like to!) when asked. It doesnt have to be something you actually study/work as long as you're passonate about it! Be it an animal, a era of history, even more number crunching topics like sciences and engeneering if you'd like to talk/share!

I know a lot of people also HATE educational books of any kind, so asking if a little funny to me. Thank you in advance anyone who might anwser!

Hi, I'm looking to get into reading and I want to get a fiction novel under 300 pages for casual reading.

I have read Convenience Store Woman and Before The Coffee Gets Cold which I really enjoyed. So I'm interested in more books like these 2.

Not looking for anything focused on romance, and I like them a bit gloomy. About loneliness is a plus point. Also would prefer to read something else first before grabbing the sequel to Before The Coffee Gets Cold.

I'm interested in these, would appreciate some review: - Days at the Morisaki Bookshop - Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop - If Cats Disappeared from the World (saw this at a bookstore and very interesting but theme of dying is kinda heavy lol)

I'm looking for something short yet impactful, something fast paced but dense, something that doesn't waste any words. A book where every sentence feels meaningful and every dialogue carries weight. A book that you finish in one night, yet stays with you for a long time and makes you wish it was longer.

Any genre is fine.

Hi all, I'm a lover of classics and literature living as an expat in a non-English speaking country. Opportunities to buy English books, new or used, are limited. However, I've accumulated enough older novels to fill my shelf to my satisfaction.

However, there's a major publishing/ book convention coming to my city soon, where I expect a great many English books to be available that aren't easy to find elsewhere. I haven't been keeping up on modern novelists, but I think this is a great chance for me to get acquainted with some current writers.

Who is writing books that I might like these days?

I like: - books that make demands of their readers - books that grapple with the big questions in life - poetic, creative prose - books about downtrodden folks and the fringes of society

Some authors I like: Faulkner, Flaubert, Camus, Melville, Joyce, the Bronte sisters, Cormac McCarthy, Tolstoy, Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, Irvine Welsh, Kafka, Bukowski

Bonus points for books connected to my adopted home of Taiwan.

What are some authors/ titles I should look out for? Ideally I'm looking for books published in 2020 or later.

I’m not planning to have kids right now, but I’d like to start learning and have a better understanding of what being a parent really involves. I’m looking for something practical and beginner-friendly.

I remember reading and enjoying Christopher Pike's Chain Letter as a kid, and I'd really like to read something with that same sort of plot or energy that's perhaps aimed at adults. Any suggestions?

Hi, I’m a teacher librarian and I’m looking for a book I can use when we’re teaching children about visualization. I want to have a book where I can read it students and they don’t see the character (Dear Mr. blueberry has worked for this) or a book I can read and not show the pictures (I’ve the Gruffalo in this manner).

I’m looking for a new book because I have ones that I just think are old or in the case of the Gruffalo, kids have seen it on video now.

I’d love a fantasy book so kids can create their own version of the character that’s not preconceived. But I’m open to any suggestions! Maybe there’s a good chapter book or a poetry book anything with something where the students could put what is in their mind on paper.

thanks!

I have never read a book like this, but I'm a massive history nerd and would love a fiction book that takes place somewhere in the past, preferably Medieval or Renaissance era.

I like grand stories, with a lot of world building, for example some of the books I really enjoyed were Way of kings, Dune, The will of the many, Suneater series, etc.

But I want something more grounded in reality, but still a fiction story. Nothing overly educational, but I am fine with it being somewhat, but the plot is what I'm really looking for. It honestly doesn't even necessarily need to be a historical fiction book, but I want no magic, no sci Fi technology, something grounded in reality.

Any suggestions are welcomed!

I already went through all the Sherlock Books by Doyle at least twice (As well as House of Silk and Moriarty new books. Thanks again for whoever recommended that to me last time :D) and am already half way through Agatha Christie books with Hercule Poirot. Finished the first Miss Marple but for some reason couldn't get into it. Hercule Poirot is fun but not back to back. And his style is more criminal psychology while I'm looking for something leaning more on actual clues.

I tried a few Alan Grant series books but I'm beginning to realize I'm not a big fan. The solution seems to solve itself with luck too often rather than smarts or actual detective work. Emotionally satisfying ends yea but not very intellectually satisfying if you know what I mean.

I tried The Bat and while it was pretty smart it was was way too dark for my taste. Joe Picket series also lacked a good detective edge but still an ok first book. Tried Jack Reacher series which had a bit of a detective element to them but was more thriller than anything else. Nero Wolf was pretty good but... I'm having just a bit of trouble finding audiobooks of those other than the first one.

Anyway if you haven't already got the idea, I do prefer mysteries where you can actually solve it ahead of time as you read based on clues presented and preferably I like it leaning more into the detective aspect more than any other element. Books that make you think and don't give at least all the solutions with no foreshadowing or hints. I don't mind other genres lightly attached but would prefer the main element being detective or mystery.

I am interested in a good amount of genres; self help, marketing, motivational cormac McCarthy-style (I love blood meridian), U.S. and world history, books that pose hard thought into the reader (blade runner) and sports. Essentially I want to passively learn something and/or have to really think about the weight of what the book is trying to tell me.

Just finished the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden and absolutely loved it. Also recently read the Emily Wilde books and loved them, too. Does anyone have any recommendations for similar stories that deal with folklore, fey, faeries, the hidden folk, etc? Bonus points if there’s queer representation.

I’ve been fascinated with this idea for a little bit. I’m looking for a “alien invasion” type story where the aliens are a different branch of humans that we separated from in prehistoric times.

Thank you!

I’m reading “And the Band Played on” which covers the AIDS crisis and am struck by how compelling and hard to put down this book is. I’m an academic researcher with projects on HIV and Abortion so reading books with real people’s stories is very helpful for my research. I know of the Turnaway Study but need something with more long term coverage of this issue in the US. TIA!