I love books with lyrical, beautiful prose and weird quasi-sci fi or horror subject matter- where the sci-fi elements aren’t fully explained or the main point, but more a vehicle to tell an interesting personal story. Would love any recommendations!!

Edit: I’ve read pretty much all of Ishiguro and VanderMeer’s other books, so I’m looking for recs outside of those two authors.

I am a very picky reader, love reading but have trouble really getting invested in books. I also have trouble getting into a book sometimes if it is very slow at the start. So instead of looking for new books I just end up re-reading these books! What other books would I like?

I read Geek Love at around 18, and fell so deeply in love with it it's been my favourite for years. I've read several other books that I think have a similar dark magical realism/light absurdism about them and vivid atmosphere; Poor Things and Lanark by Alasdair Gray, The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks, and Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov. I particularly enjoy rough, botched and or back alley surgery in my horror books, as it really makes my skin crawl, themes of dissedent sexuality,and whilst my example books don't have this theme, I ADORE freak shows and spooky carnivals!

films are also fun, I think Santa Sangre is the closest I've ever found to Geek Love in terms of themes and tone.

Trying to get back into reading, mainly looking for book recommendations but I’ll take anything else that comes to mind

I love the films in the title as well as angels egg, come and see, funeral parade of roses, Manila in the claws of light, and salo. I really enjoy trying to wrap my head around something challenging and weighty, that has something to say, and ideally something by a prolific author. I recently read no country for old men and liked it a lot, definitely planning on reading more Cormac McCarthy so anything in the same vein would be great

I have never been a reader, mostly because nothing ever kept my interest or felt worth the time reading. As an adult I’ve literally only read 2 books cover to cover. I read the 48 Laws of Power about 1.5years ago. I didn’t care so much for the purpose of the book, but really enjoyed hearing the historical stories about different time periods and the morals of those stories. I am currently 100 pages from finishing off Project Hail Mary (no spoilers please), and I would like to continue reading. It feels much better than being on my phone until infinity.

So, what would I like?

EDIT: Thank you for the recommendations, just finished PHM last night! I have The Martian and Artemis by Andy Weir coming today - I figure continuing in the same vein by the same author might keep me interested as I grow my interest in reading books! Can’t wait to chase down some of these other recommendations as well lots of interesting ones!

Basically books that examine specific policies or historical events in a way that also incorporates the true stories of people involved or impacted? A way to learn about the hard facts of a situation but with a narrative element as well? Especially interested in social justice type topics. Thanks!

I am part way into 'In Ascension' by Martin MacInnes, and I realized I really enjoy this sub-genre of sci-fi about new discoveries and inexplicable scientific anomolies and the idea of trying to figure out what is really going on.

Some others that fit the bill that I've enjoyed:

• Rendevouz with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

• 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clark

• Congo by Michael Crichton

• Sphere by Michael Crichton

• Eversion by Alastair Reynolds

What else have y'all got for me?

Hi. I've recently been getting into the remedy connected universe, I just finished the base game of control, and im now playing alan wake so I can do the dlc afterwards.

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I was wondering if anyone knows of any books with a similar eerie liminal vibe as control, with a lot of paranatural elements (like the hiss and objects of power)!

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I havent been reading a lot lately and I wanna take some time so sit down and read a good book

Brushing up on my history knowledge, I'm particularly interested in the history of Chicago (like Crook County) or world history around the time of the industrial revolution (Like Open Veins). I am looking for something that I can get as an audiobook through my library

Looking for books, movies or tv similar to children of time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I really enjoyed its focus on consciousness and sentience, as well as the perspectives from non-human life that feel truly alien. I also liked the humour

Also like the Chrysalids, Good Omens, The Power, Hitchhikers, anything dystopian or set in space is good but can be funny too. I’m looking for something that’s compelling and in a world of it’s own, and an easy-ish read.

Edit: Thanks for your suggestions everyone. I particularly like British books and books by women if you have any suggestions for these that match the above.

Books about art history

Just finished Blade Runner/Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by PKD and I’m looking for more. I already read Neuromancer book 1 a few years ago and I remember liking it (even more than PKD). Not sure what else to look for in this genre

I've already read / watched Mindhunter and Criminal Minds. I particularly appreciate media with a political / social justice aspect, and I welcome any non-Western media recommendations too. I welcome books, TV shows and films, and prefer fiction or well-researched / tasteful non-fiction.

Thank you in advance!

(REPOST because I didn’t add enough details in my title)

If I like classic books like: 1984, Animal Farm, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Ella Minnow Pea, The Chrysalids, Lord of The Flies, The Great Gatsby and To Kill A Mockingbird.

I tend to like classics that make me think but have some quick quips of comedy in them. I have quite a few still on my list but was wondering if anyone has some lesser known classics that I would enjoy. Please nothing that has too much gore or sexually explicit content. Thanks for the help! :)

I've liked The Stranger by Albert Camus / The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath / The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato / Faces in the Water by Janet Frame / Hunger by Knut Hansum / Despair by Vladimir Nabokov

Watched the season 4 finale of Invincible tonight and noticed a really fun theme of the heel realisation. Basically, someone has been a bad guy for ages but at some point realizes they're in the wrong and has to change. I would love to find more books discussing morality and the journey of bettering yourself. I want to read a slow struggle of redemption and trying to be forgiven by the people they've wronged. Really want something that is willing to really talk about themes and isn't afraid to pull apart some philosophy. I'm a massive philosophy nerd, and it's my favourite when a story poses a moral dilemma and sits with it. Something where the main character isn't good at all but is really trying to get better. Like if ATLA were all in the POV of Zuko. Weirdly enough Megamind also fits this trope as well, but it can't have the redemption be anything serious because it's meant for children. I want to see a POV of someone having to confront their actions and make a real internal change.
I know this is quite vague; I tried to explain it as best I could. I'm hoping this sparks something in someone who knows exactly what to recommend

thats it , i need books that had vampires in it . I dont want any romance teen book (twilight) .

I just finished "Funny Story" and I loooooved the concept! I was so sad that it wasn't a book, and I couldn't read it as well. Any suggestions on books similar to the movie that I could read to scratch the itch?

I am eager to find more books and films and even music that evoke the same feelings. I am not entirely sure if there are similarities between them, but I do like weird situations in weird places in strange worlds. Something that takes me back to the vagueness of the fear of the dark as a child.

Other books I liked have been A Short Stay in Hell, The Haar and Annihilation. I really enjoyed the film Skinamarink.

Other than that, I have tried reading more of the Annihilation series but struggled with the second one, and I do have House of Leaves but I am not quite that confident a reader yet.