Can you recommend a book for me please?
I’ve basically been ordered to pick up any fiction book and read, after a friend discovered I’ve not read anything but non-fiction for a decade.
The ones I’ve enjoyed in the past have been short, fantastical or sci-fi (think Aldous Huxley, Ian McEwan), but crucially with amazing first person descriptive prose - the kind where you’re immersed in the writing so much you’re almost there with the character.
I liked sci-fi as the world’s constraints weren’t always predictable. Hope that makes sense.
Any recommendations?
Edit: I’m going to up the ante and, as a way of motivating myself to get off my arse and actually read a proper story, promise to choose a book from the top comment, after, let’s say arbitrarily, Friday 2200 GMT.
Edit deux: Wow ok I don’t think I’ve ever had this many responses to anything I’ve posted before. You’ve given me what looks like a whole year of interesting suggestions, and importantly, good commentary around them. I’m honouring my promise to buy the top thing in just under 4 hours.
If you're into the sci-fi, you'll probably like Project Hail Mary, it's hard sci-fi and you get very invested in the story.
Ray Porter also does a great audiobook narration of it on audible.
Oh, that's a good choice. That was a fantastic book.
Thirding this. Excellent book. Jazz hands!
+1 for a Project Hail Mary that was great
The time is up. I have a promise to keep.
Thanks for the recommendation!
I hope you enjoy it!
I actually picked it up again after recommending it myself lol
I'm going to be upset if they change the ending in the movie, it was amazing
They could definitely do a fake out after a time skip, even the book does that haha.
I can't believe that **Hitchhiker's guide to the gallaxy **isn't mentioned yet!
Its more of a funny story set in the future but its a classic, and its well worth reading (all 4 books of the trillogy)
The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells is a collection of short books in the first perspective of a cyborg. You might enjoy that.
This is exactly what I came to say.
It is fantasy but if you like hillarious and (in part) absurd stuff, read anything by Terry Pratchett. I personally would recommend starting with "Guards! Guards!". Be aware that there are over 30 books by him out there. There are multiple guides on which to read first to get the best start.
Most agree that it is not the best idea to start with the book he wrote first.
All in all there are are like 40. At some point you will wish there were more.
Guards! Guards! is nice.
I also liked The Wee Free Men and a Hat Full of Sky.
Came to make sure someone had posted Pratchett.
I think it particularly suits OP as the prose is astoundingly good. I'd never been impressed by sentence structure until reading Pratchett.
Also, for someone into non-fiction, there's so much real world brilliance that it crosses over pretty well. (Sociology, science, politics, religion, damnit, everything. The whole human experience can be found in Pratchett's writing.)
Have you read The Martian by Andy Weir?
Diamond hard sci-fi told mostly through the main character's personal log. First time I read it, I couldn't put it down, I read the whole thing in one sitting.
I'd like to add The Hail Mary Project by Weir as I recommended The Martian to a friend looking for sci-fi but he couldn't get into it because it's a little harder on the science and less on character development, although I personally agree it's a great recommendation for immersive writing.
The Hail Mary Project might have more immediate emotional character connection if the Martian feels a little dry.
Really? I actually don't know his history. Was Martian his first one or just his breakout hit? Are all of his later novels more character driven like Hail Mary project?
I like realistic science fiction a lot, but I need some more characterization and plots to really get into it like I did with the Hail Mary project.
If anyone stumbles on this thread, check out the mote in god's eye for some amazing characterization and hard science fiction.
Awesome, thanks, I'll check it out
It's definitely not short, but The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey is absolutely top notch.
The attention to detail that goes into a sci-fi series that lives within a realistic world, with actual physics is incredible - i.e:
Ships need to calculate when to flip around midway through their journey to decelerate by burning the opposite direction.
Torpedoes and tungsten slugs have travel time.
Making hard accelerations or evasive maneuvers can and will crush you into your flight seat due to the intense G forces and the only way to not black out is a cocktail of stimulants, adrenaline, and blood thinners
Communications take place at actual light speed, which means when you're dealing with distances up to several hundred million kilometers, it can take anywhere from minutes to hours for your message to be received.
But fear not! This is truly a traditional sci-fi novel, packed full with ancient alien substances that seem to reprogram human cells for their own use - but to what end? Ancient feuds between those born in space, and those born on a planet. And the answer to the age old question: why not just use asteroids as weapons?
The main characters are an extremely close knit group, who it seems at times get by on sheer willpower and a touch of luck (with some excellent planning).
The story takes turns being told from different characters' perspectives, which really helps you get to know each character intimately - how they think, and feel about the events unfolding - how their morality affects their choices.
If you're looking for a more "realistic" take on sci-fi, this series is absolutely up your alley.
The first novel is called "Leviathan's Wake" and there are 9 main books in the series, with a smattering of novellas between that expand on the world.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8855321-leviathan-wakes
The style of Neuromancer might not fit well with some people but if it does I would absolutely recommend it.
Hard agree with the Eldering Saga. I'm just starting the first book of the last trilogy and I have lived these books.
Haven't seen a mention of Dune yet. It's not first person style but it is absolutely immersive and in terms of world building second only to Lord of the Rings.
Iain M Banks Culture novels are also great. Again, not first person but still great. Lots of people say Player of Games is the most accessible and that may be true but my favourite is Excession.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin.
Can’t believe no one has mentioned it already but the book that got me into reading was “Enders game” by Orson Scott Card. Fairly short and has a split set of follow up books that branch off in 2 directions in you want more.
@Philote @foofiepie Ender’s Game is some top-tier sci-fi
Please choose this book OP, I've read it so many times. It's that book you can't not read again and again
Anything by Octavia E. Butler.
Did she ever finish the earthseed series?
No, unfortunately she did not finish Parable of the Trickster before her death. :-(
I’ve read the first one but I’m not sure I want to read the rest if there’s no closure for the story.
I've read both Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, and while you can tell the general arc she was going for with the next book (and can imagine the broad strokes of what would happen next), I never felt there was a lack of closure for the story.
They are emotionally difficult books to read, so it's also hard to recommend them to people, but I would encourage you to not let the lack of a third book prevent you from reading the first two, they are worth reading on their own merits. The Parable of the Talents especially has significance to the situation in the U.S., as some say it predicted Trump.
I read the first. Just wasn’t sure about the second
Definitely worth reading, I remember it being better than the first book.
Anything by Iain M. Banks.
The Player of Games is reportedly the best place to start but I personally started with Consider Phlebas and can't complain!
If you like Andy Weirs novels, Tchaikowskys books are worth a try. I.e.:
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I second Children of Time!
The Kite Runner (beautiful)
The Stand (incredible character development)
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (hilarious)
I reread the stand yearly. It's a longer book but it definitely hooks you and draws you into the world exactly like how op is asking.
Heads up on The Stand. It’s a huge book. A good one but huge.
I'm going to suggest The Murderbot Diaries. It starts off with the few short novellas before they're being a full length novel. You can finish the novellas in a few hours and you will be hungry to get into the full length novel. Get them off www.libgen.is
First one is called All Systems Red by Martha Wells Followed by: Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Compulsory(just a super short origin story), Network Effect(full novel), Home(four short stories), Fugitive Telemetry, System Collapse (another novel)
I think this would let you break into some really good offbeat sci-fi with some novellas first. Then some full-on novels all within the same universe.
Great recommendation. Extremely easy to get into, great compelling character voice, and most of the entries in the series are very quick reads.
I know you've been recommended a lot of books.
Like you I only ever read non-fiction.
Then someone gave me a copy of Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut.
You might like a lot of his work. It's not exactly fiction and not exactly non-fiction.
Anyway, good luck on your adventure! You are doing something brave and interesting. Let us know how you get on.
I tend to be a slow reader and it can take me a long time to finish a book, but Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five and Cormac McCarthy's The Road are two books that gripped me such that I basically spent every waking moment reading the book until I finished (I think in both cases I finished the books in less than 24 hours).
Slow readers are my favourite humans.
They don't race through a book, but instead the stroll, taking time to look around, think things through, ponder the future and reason the implications. Sometimes they just rest for a while, letting the story mull in their mind, before returning later.
Genuinely have so much time for people that take it slow with books.
That's an interesting perspective, as I have always felt insecure for being a slow reader. I feel like people in my world see it as a sign of being less intelligent, and while I would like to think slower reading helps with my comprehension, I also just feel like it's not much of a choice for me (I mean, the alternative to slow reading for me would be something other than reading, like scanning; it seems people who can read faster than me are somehow also more competent or intelligent).
People lie about how much they read and how quickly they read. I saw one guy online list his yearly reading and if you totalled up the words in those books he'd be breaking records.
People lie because they want people to think they are smart. But reading quickly isn't an indicator of intelligence any more so than people that watch videos at four times the speed.
Retention and comprehension are far more important, but still secondary to enjoyment.
If you enjoy how you read and what you read, don't let anyone tell you that you are doing it wrong.
That seems like a wholesome perspective, thanks for sharing it!
I remember when I was a kid, I was amazed by my grandmother who could finish a whole novel in a few sittings across a day or two when she would come and stay with us. I once mustered up the courage to ask her how she learned to read so quickly, and she explained that she doesn't actually read every word, but just scans for major plot points. I felt silly, and unsure how to respond - it seemed to me she wasn't reading, but I didn't want to imply that. lol
She wasn't trying to appear smart, I think she just didn't want to suffer the boring parts, so she scanned ahead to the juicy bits. That's such an interesting and different way of approaching reading than I have, I've only recently started to skip an introduction or preface if it didn't seem crucial to the book, something I would have previously considered antisocial or rougish, haha.
Oh yeah, I'm not shaming anyone who skims, read however you enjoy.
I just know that there's more of a weird stigma for slower readers.
Same goes for finishing books. I know some folk will stick with a book even if they aren't enjoying it, mostly because they've learnt that as part of their education.
I abandon books all the time. Life's a little too short, so I treat reading like the radio... A song comes on that I'm not into, just flip over and see what else is put there.
That said, I've returned to books that I bailed on and in some cases I really enjoyed them at the second attempt. Which makes me think that you have to be in the right place sometimes. Still, it's no reflection on intelligence.
All good points! I have the same tendency to pick up and drop books based on mood and what's going on in my life. I recently just picked back up Sapolsky's A Primate's Memoir which I had abandoned years ago after reading roughly the first half. Picking it back up, I enjoyed it so thoroughly I became a bit avid in my reading and finished the rest of the book in a week or so (which is rather fast paced for me).
I like the metaphor of reading being like listening to the radio. I often feel guilty for dropping books or not powering through (there are many, many books I have read the first quarter or so of and shelved with the intention to finish another time). Probably healthier to have a more free and less "driven" mindset towards reading books.
Sometimes I drop a book because I enjoy it so much I don't want it to end, I want it to always be there and to relish it later. This is a bit silly - there are always other books, but I also will forget the plot over time and eventually the book will be enough like new that I can enjoy re-reading it.
I'd recommend The Martian.
It's hard sci fi and the writing style is quite similar to nonfiction so it should be a fairly fast read for you.
I'd also recommend grabbing a book of Philip K Dick short stories.
Most of the novellas in The Murderbot Diaries are short. If you like the first one, the rest are more of the same. And if you don't, you only invested a little time.
Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson.
And then everything else by Neal Stephenson.
Diamond Age is a somewhat sequel. Seveneves is epic sci Fi on a grand scale.
Fall, Reamde, Termination Shock, and cryptonomicon are good near-present sci fi written in similar style. Very action packed with interesting characters.
Anathemos ambitious, takes work to read, but is worth it in the end.
The Baroque cycle is historical fiction that is framed around real scientists. It is very long and took me three tries to get started, but it was also worth reading.
Out of all of that, I'd argue Snow Crash is the most accessible, followed by the Baroque Cycle.
Cryptonomicon and Anathemos are more or less unreadable.
Cryptonomicon I had no problems with, read it thrice now. Anathem was tough, took effort to get 1/3 thru but then went by easily.
It was only after reading anathem that I felt I could do anything and started Quicksilver for the third time and actually finished it. After that the next two in the Baroque cycle were easy.
Tress of the Emerald Sea I think is the best gateway to Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere. It's styled after Princess Bride if she wasn't helpless. I enjoy a lot of his books, ask if you want more recommendations!
Someone else mentioned the Mistborn Trilogy which is great and has a quality sequel trilogy as well, also Sanderson Cosmere
For something a little shorter and easier to chew through quickly you could check out Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. A short story set in Norse mythology, I remember it being an entertaining read
The book 1984 is a brutal version of Brave New World. Also Dune was pretty good for me.
If you also want some fantasy recommendations:
Malazan book of the fallen is one of my favorites
The King killer Chronicles if you can stand the long wait for book 3 to finally drop is also really awesome
HAIL THE MARINES!
I think I read "The Name of the Wind" in two long sittings, about 12 years ago.
Holy fuck, what a great book that was.
Hasn't been 12 years for me but it sure feels that long. I also pretty much inhaled both books.
Sadly it has been more than 12 years we've been waiting for the next book. 🙁
Four Ways to Forgiveness by Ursula K Le Guin.
My top recommendation for 'fantastical [...] with amazing first person descriptive prose' is Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. It's beautiful and unlike anything you've ever read. I've bought it for three or four different people now and they've all loved it. Couldn't recommend it more highly, a genuine five star read.
I read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell recently and found it delightful and incredibly original. I haven't heard anything about Piranesi, I'll see if my library has it!
It's quite different from JS&MN, except in being about magic. If your library doesn't have it, it's worth buying a copy!
My favourite read of last year. I know she has a long term illness that hampers her writing speed which is almost criminal as she's incredibly talented.
Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.
My pick if it was Heinlein would be my own first of his, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
I have a moon as a harsh mistress rib tattoo of Simon Jester
The best first-person novel I've read is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. The best first-person sci-fi novel I've read is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
I second Project Hail Mary
Nation by Terry Pratchett. It's a beautiful and introspective book that has all of STP's humor, humanity and insight but it's completely self contained. I read it recently and wanted to read it again right away.
I think so far the Vonnegut is the best recommendation for you. And not sci-fi but Catch-22 by Joseph Heller might also be a good fit. A lot of these suggestions are really good books, but not as pithy and gripping as I think you might be looking for. But more data is needed, any favorite movies?
Ooh difficult question.
The John Woo movie ‘Cypher’ was a great mind bender, I like stuff like Gattaca, Day After Tomorrow(?), anything that plays with time and reality.
Ian McDonald's River of Gods is probably the most enjoyable thing I've read in the last few years.
I tried to go for quick reads. The top 3 recommendations (all novellas, but incredible) would be
Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Or All Systems Red by Martha Wells (already mentioned by others too) Or A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
And 2 honorable mentions that are longer: Thief by Margaret Whalen Turner The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Cordwainer Smith
Adding to the pile.
Peter Watts. Most of his works are available on his site for free - https://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm
Greg Egan. Start with Diaspora.
Alastair Reynolds. I recommend starting with short fiction in Revelation Space and looping back to main novels. I accidentally approached it that way, and the experience of all the stories linking together was downright magical.
Charles Stross’ “Neptune Brood” explores the idea of debt under the guise of a space opera-ish action. Afterwards, Glasshouse and linked books will present a different existential crysis to mull over.
Cory Doctorow’s Little brother is an excellent book to follow 1984 with. And a great start to the rest of his biography.
N. K. Jemisin’s “Broken earth” was quite a treat, prose- and story-wise.
Ann Lecke’s “Imperial Radch” is a brain-twister, especially for someone whose native language is gendered all throughout. It was fun giving up on information I’m used to have in words.
Pierce Brown’s “Red rising” has one of the best flowing prose I’ve read. Do mind that the story was initially planned to be a trilogy, and it clearly shows in narration.
Mark Lawrence’s everything. “Power word kill” is a great play around DnD, and “The broken empire” has the most loathsome protagonist you’ll ever root for.
I enjoyed reading the Arc of a Scythe book series by Neal Shusterman. Its world where people don't die and where a very central AI helps people fascinated me.
I made a comment somewhere else a few days ago so I'll just copy paste.
Les Misérables is easily the best book I’ve ever read in my entire life. A few years ago I read a shorthened version of it and even then I was fascinated by it. I finished reading the full text two months ago and oh my fucking god this book is the best thing ever written.
I’m Turkish so I read the Turkish translation (will read the full text in English and French when I learn it) and on the back of it, it says something along these lines:
“… Les Misérables is the third and the most majestic collumn of the author’s novel trilogy that tells of the society…”
And I completely agree with that. This book is simply timeless. The characters, situations, unjustice, inequalities, all the suffering in it could be applied to any society. This book is real.
The messages that it sends are solutions to topics that seemingly anybody with a functioning brain should be capable of thinking and realizing. And yet, these solutions are ignored and refused because of greed, revenge, bloodlust and most important of all, ignorance.
The main character of the book, Jean Valjean is the embodiment of redemption. His entire arc teaches us how to treat criminals. Some countries today are taking these lessons and applying them. The lessons being; treat them as human, rehabilitate them. The result? They actually do heal and return to society as normal human beings.
And yet you see people against this practice. Those kinds of people are blinded by bloodlust and revenge. They are the same kind of people that were racist, sexist and much more back in the day. The arguments that these people bring don’t hold up either. The most common one I see (at least from my perspective) is this:
“You wouldn’t react this way if they hurt one of your loved ones!”
The fact that these people don’t know anything about me aside, this argument is pointless as it implies that I would be blind to fact and logic when I’m in pain. And while that is true, me being angry over an apple falling onto my head won’t make gravity any less real. In other words, so what?
The biggest victims of this mentality are pedofiles. Not the ones that do engage in action. But rather the ones that don’t harm anybody are aware of their issue. For instance, if a non-engaging pedo went to a therapist and told them of their issue, what would the therapist do? Call the police of course. And what would that do? Their life would be pretty screwed from that point forward. Assuming they are the non-engaging type, of course. I don’t believe this to be the correct attitude towards these kind of cases.
I would also like to dive into other topics that the book covers (and perhaps extend on this one) but it would be way too long for a comment. Thank you anyone reading this far. I would like to hear your opinions on the matter and discuss even!>>
I'd recommend Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
It fits fantastical, I think and it's also listed as sci-fi, but not sure it is.
It's the book I suggested to a mate of mine who wanted to get back into reading again. He loved it so much that he bought a 2nd proper copy with illustrations by Chris Riddell, my favourite illustrator.
I don't think anyone has recommended the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson yet.
Something not by one of the more well known authors I could recommend are the Indranan War trilogy and Farian War trilogy, by K. B. Wagers
Also, The Frontiers Saga series by Ryk Brown is fantastic, and I think getting close to 40 books by now
The Magicians is an excellent fantasy series that deserves much more recognition than it has. It's your classic magic school trope, but a little more realistic than your usual fantasy book.
Its not scifi, but Thieves Emporium by Max Hernandez.
The Mistborn Trilogy (start with The Final Empire) by Brandon Sanderson is superb.
After that initial trilogy they are a massive struggle, but the first three are well worth reading.
I absolutely agree with your recommendation, but man if they're looking for something short, the mistborn series is the opposite lol
To be fair, they say the previous books they've enjoyed have been short... Not that they want to read something short this time! But point taken.
Oh I absolutely agree with you about the sequels as well. I tried reading the one that takes place more of like the Victorian era and just could not get into it
This is a bit of a throwback but I took a break from Post-Modernism over the summer and spent a few days reading H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. So many firsts were made in that book and the story still holds up today as being original, interesting, and unpredictable (kinda). I'd recommend that!
@[email protected] Iain M Banks books are always a treat, and I mean the Culture ones
You might try some of Azimovs short stories. For a bit more meat you might try Frederik Pohls Hee Chee saga. Book 1 was great.
Not really sci-fi, but shirt and very good: Fictions/Ficciones and Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges. Also, Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.
There's a lot of good stuff here but I have to throw Andromeda Strain and World War Z into the pot.
@foofiepie continuing with sci-fi definitely check out the Monk & Robot series by Becky Chambers!
“A Psalm For the Wild Built” & “A Prayer For the Crown Shy”
Short & beautiful.
Daemon by Daniel Suarez. I read that as a young programmer and it’s still in my mind. Written before the whole AI hype.
The godfather. People always say the book was better. This is the case here
Haven’t seen this one mentioned, but The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin might work. I don’t believe there’s a lot of first person, but it’s an interesting read.
IMO this is a wild recommendation to give to someone that doesn't do a lot of reading.
That’s fair, I had thought op had mentioned they didn’t read fiction, not that they didn’t read at all. Maybe I missed some nuance in the comments, thanks for pointing it out if I did. For all I knew they could be reading Foucault. Enjoyable read regardless, I wouldn’t be discouraged.
Naive Super. Not sci-fi, but a quick enjoyable read. I've read it 4 times now. Its just a fantastic simple book to get back into reading fiction.
There are some great suggestions here - I'm also adding to my reading list!
I almost exclusively read sci-fi, and my favourite author is Peter F. Hamilton. He has written some mind-bendingly good space opera, much of it spanning multiple novels.
His best work IMHO is a one-shot, standalone novel called Fallen Dragon. It's got rampant uber-captialism, space marines, geurilla warfare on colony worlds, and aliens. And a very satisfying conclusion that I didn't see coming.
Roadside Picnic. Not too long, but phenomenal overall and told via first person.
Read Everworld
John Scalzi's book are an easy read. Its a lightweight Sci fi though.
Old Man's War, and Starter Villain are the two of his books I've read and enjoyed.
Name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss. The book is a must read if you love prose. The series isn't finished, probably won't be, though I hope it will be. You have been warned.