Have you really enjoyed reading a work that qualifies and want to recommend it to others? This is the prime spot to help people out with those recommendations.
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Plays With Words:
Written in a stylistically unconventional way. HARD MODE: Fits the definition of Experimental Literature.
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
- Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable by Mark Dunn
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
I asked this question a few months back and had a ton of replies. I’ll leave a link to the thread and highlight my two favourite books so far.
Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky “Evolutionary storytelling”. It tells the story of an entire civilization as it grows and evolves from nothing, whilst simultaneously telling a story that takes place over a much more conventional timescale. Very good book IMO, with two slightly-less-strong sequals
Idaho Winter - Tony Burgess What a bizarre book this was. I don’t know if it’s a good book, but it was weird and kept me entertained so that’s good enough for me.
Spoiler for what made it weird
The author gets dragged into the story at one point and becomes a character in the book by accident
New Release:
New for 2024/2025 (no reprints or new editions). First translations into your language of choice are allowed. HARD MODE: This is the first work you’ve read by this author.
The gathering, by C.J. Tudor
Nuclear war: a scenario, by Annie Jacobsen
Removed by mod
Now a Major Motion Picture:
The work has been adapted into a show or single episode, movie, play, audio drama, or other format. HARD MODE: The adaptation is regarded as better than the original work.
The Expanse series by James S A Corey
The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
- The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
- The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
- Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
- Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
- Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Minority Author:
Minority or LGBTQIA+ author. A minority can be any member of a generally underrepresented population where you live. HARD MODE: Minority and LGBTQIA+.
- Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
- Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
- The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
- Jade City by Fonda Lee
Anything by Roxanne Gay and Nikki Giovanni will work for HARD MODE.
There Is Another…:
Not the first in a series. HARD MODE: Series has 5 or more entries.
Mashup:
A combination of two or more genres or non-fiction topics. HARD MODE: Unusual combo, like fantasy thriller.
Have read and enjoyed:
- Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin - space opera with horror elements
- Leech by Hiron Ennes - gothic sci-fantasy horror, set in some kind of post-apocalypse
- The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison - fantasy of manners mystery
- The Mister Trophy by Frank Tuttle - fantasy mystery
- The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope - historical fantasy
- Ghosts in the Snow by Tamara Siler Jones - fantasy mystery
- Priest of Bones by Peter McLean - fantasy organized crime
- When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger - cyberpunk mystery
Institutional:
Set at a non-commercial institution or facility, like a school, science lab, or prison. HARD MODE: Not a school.
The institute, by Stephen King
- Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King
- Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- Any of The Scholomance Series by Naomi Novik
Disability Representation:
A main character has or gains a disability to which they must adapt. This disability must be grounded in reality: if a 4,000 year old Prince of the Shokan lost an arm, that would count; if he became a werewolf, it would not. HARD MODE: The piece is at least partially from their perspective.
- Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton
- How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
LGBTQIA+ Lead:
A main character identifies as LGBTQIA+. HARD MODE: Includes a significant romance between characters that identify as LGBTQIA+.
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller would fit the hard mode here, for those interested.
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
- The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
ALT - A Change in Perspective
Written in third-person perspective. HARD MODE: Second-person perspective.
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- Space Vampire (Choose Your Own Adventure #9) by Edward Packard
Family Drama:
Family is important, but sometimes it’s also the cause of problems. Family dynamics are fundamental to the narrative. HARD MODE: Involves three or more generations of family members.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
- The Sandman Graphic Novels by Neil Gaiman
- The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
“100 Years of Solitude” Gabriel García Márquez (this works for HARD MODE)
What’s Yours Is Mine:
Theft, piracy, fraud, or espionage is a major topic or plot point. HARD MODE: No MacGuffins.
The Recognitions by William Gaddis
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
- The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes
- The Redemption of Althalus by Leigh Eddings & David Eddings
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
- Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale with Stan Redding
- On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
Independent Author:
Self-published by the author. Works later published though a conventional publishing house don’t count unless you are reading it before the switch, and it’s republished before April 30th, 2025. HARD MODE: Not published via Amazon Kindle Direct.
- Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
- This Quest is Broken! by J.P. Valentine
- Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson
- Orconomics by J. Zachary Pike
- Unsouled by Will Wight
Bookception:
Features a book-related aspect. HARD MODE: Something other than a book, like an author or library.
- The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
- The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
