Thank you so much for this post, I've been wanting to read more lately and these all look like such fun books. I started to eat back into reading recently with "We Are Okay" by Nina Lacour(fantastic book btw, it's about grief and addressing trauma, and the main character is lesbian), then I read Hold Still by her which was okay, and then I tried to read Yerba Buena by the same author, and the full blown sexual assault of the underage main character from a long time family friend in the first few chapters just was too much for me. I've kinda been on a break since that point, that book was just way too much for me to handle.
Hey now looking for something to chill, really recommend you to read the Discworld series (there are 41 books in this series but don't be overwhelmed by that number as almost all the books are standalones) start with Guards Guard's and then read the rest. This series is very funny with brilliant storytelling the audiobooks are great too
For healing and chill watch Mushishi, just don't binge it. It's mostly an episodic show so no cliffhangers to worry about
Also I gave some recommendations to a person asking for lesbian fantasy in this thread so you can check those books out.
Added We Are Okay to my TBR thanks
Definitely a fan of the Tales of the Grand historian in the original classical Chinese, the world building in there is amazing, though personally I think the book of Han is a better read on account of its more focused narrative that allows for more in depth storylines.
Lmao, I always feel like people suggesting FW as a thing to just sit down and read are like the people who respond to drug threads like, "just drop acid, that'll sort you"
The Blade Itself is such a wild inclusion to me. It's a huge tonal shift away from any of the others that I've read. The idea of recommending Abercrombie, the guy who takes grimdark fantasy further than GRRM, alongside *Sir Terry Pratchett* is crazy
You read The Blade Itself and most of the characters are assholes and you feel bad for the rest and when you're done, you read The Colour of Magic and Rincewind and Twoflower cheer you back up.
It's a nice soothing pint of frozen custard after the emotional gut punch.
(I really like The Blade Itself. I blew through the first book in the series in like a week because the writing and prose were so fun and not -that- overly complicated)
I love both Sir Pratchett and Abercrombie so much. Plus both have a fantastic sense of humour. By the way I also wanted to include Assassin's Apprentice but I hate the cover art with a passion so I didn't lol
I mean, while incredibly dark, Joe Abercrombie puts a lot of grade-A gallows humor into the writing. Honestly, it's one of the funnier series I've read, outside of all the torture, murder and psychological torment.
"Bah" Kaladin growled, blushing furiously as light exploded and undulated around him. He raised an eyebrow and grunted.
There we go, short but basic summary that covers the whole book.
Nice, those are some great picks!
Recently read time war and really liked it. Blade itself is peak fantasy and guards,guards is peak fantasy parody. Legends and lattes was sooo cozy and amazing, truly great.
I dont know orconomics but simply from the cover i am intrigued.
Obligatory recommendation of mistborn, warbreaker and stormlight.
Currently i am reading Cradle. Its super fun and fast paced and kinda reminds me of reading a shonen in book form.
I also have priory of the orange tree on my reading list and my wife wants me to read empire of the vampire
I'm actually rereading Earthsea currently. I just finished The Farthest Shore today, and am waiting for Tehanu to come in at my library. However, I don't think I'm a book club kind of guy. I am just now repairing the damage that years and years of post-secondary education and undiagnosed ADHD did to my ability to read.
Absolutely! I love how they're not about epic external conflicts, but rather the challenges of personal growth.
I think Tombs is my favourite. Tenar's story is just so unique compared to anything else I've read.
TOMBS OF ATUAN MY BELOVEDDDD
yeah Tenar is an amazing protagonist and the visual progression of the drabness of the desert temple complex to the stifling darkness of the tombs and tunnels to finally the escape into the mountains is the most incredible visual storytelling in anything and continues to influence my writing constantly Tombs of Atuan is easily my favorite
but I love the short stories so much too I love Otter finding a way to escape the nightmarish quicksilver mines and Diamond and Darkrose is such a wonderful tragedy about love and magic
I think the actual tombs are the only setting in fiction that made me feel physically uncomfortable. The literally oppressive darkness; the need to navigate by memory, touch, and even scent; the way Tenar's hard-earned ability to move through them effortlessly falls away as her devotion to the Nameless Ones wanes. It's just a fantastically realized and tactile setting, done with so little pomp or grandiosity.
I only read the first two books back in the day, and haven't gotten to the short stories yet. I'll be starting Tehanu as soon as it arrives at my library location, and am VERY nervous about Tenar's return, so many years after the original three novels. I know that's crazy, because I've heard that Le Guin blew it away (unsurprising).
Le Guin was a master of her craft, and the earthy realism of her worlds is an appeal of the series that's both difficult to oversell and hard to fully describe. Nowhere is that more apparent than with the Tombs. It's in that dearth of pretension, as you describe, that you feel the presence of the Old Gods of the Earth more strongly than in any grandly worded temple.
I won't spoil anything. There's a lot to enjoy with Tehanu, but it's super different from the novels that come before it. You're in for a good time ;)
That's so real I read the entire series two summers ago and both I and others were sort of stunned that I got through the whole thing cuz I'm pretty easy to distract as a reader and not that fast but it just keeps you interested like nothing else augh I love it
which one is your fave?
those are bangers, I love how they serve as a fulcrum for the series to turn away from what people traditionally expect from fantasy series and stories. The way that they both are about our prior protagonists, Ged and Tenar, raising younger people to face new challenges, is fantastic. And through being the most grounded and believable, the conflict of Tehanu is some of the most intense and frightening in the whole series, bordering on becoming a horror story. I love it
Agree. I love how modern the whole Earthsea series feels despite their age, in prose, content, and storytelling all of them seem like something that could've been published yesterday. If A Wizard of Earthsea or Tehanu were written now 100% there'd be tons of dudebros calling it woke or the death of fantasy.
the only one of those I have read is this is how you loose the time war which I really enjoyed
funnily enough I had earlier started a different series from noami novik who wrote book number 7 called His majesty's Dragon/Temeraire which is about an alternate universe during the napoleonic wars but with dragons
edit: also if I remember correctly novik was also one of Ao3 co-founders
The Blade Itself is excellent (it is part of the First Law Trilogy. Age of Madness is the sequel series of this trilogy). It is pretty dark.
Guards Guards ( it is part of the Discworld series which has 40+ books but don't worry almost all books in this series are standalones).
Would recommend every book in the Discworld series but start with Guards Guards and after that start listening from either the first book or follow any order you want. Very funny with amazing storytelling. It's my comfort listen/read
Neil Gaiman has great audiobooks as he reads most of them himself.
Lies of Locke Lamora (part of the Gentleman Bastard series. It is great.)
All of these books have fantastic audiobook versions.
PS: Libby has free audiobooks if you have a library card and if not you can get a library card online for free
Discworld now has new audiobook versions read by new people. Both old and the new versions are great
Hello Hello Cosmere mentioned.
The first book in Mistborn is called The Final Empire. There's 7 books and the first one has "final" in the title, so don't be confused
the second mistborn series is kinda "eh" tho, I couldn't be arsed to finish it, I guess it's worth reading if you're really into the setting but the original trilogy is far superior
you should learn to phrase opinions as opinions. I loved Era 2 just as much as Era 1. It takes a bit to find itself, but The Lost Metal was really really cool. I enjoyed it a lot.
Earthsea fucking slaps. Le Guin coming back to the series after 20 years saying "Got you MFers its a feminist series now" was a perfectly in-character power move. The Other Wind remains one of only two books that have ever made me cry.
I reccomend reading Horizon of War on RoyalRoad, a great kingdom building novel with war tactics and some magic,also no harem.
Another RoyalRoad novel i reccomend is Super Suportive, there honestly is a reason this novel is top 10 constantly. a VERY detailed novel, with amazing character progression, and losses of characters, that actually make you feel sad.
If you just want a novel about an undead girl, who doesnt give too many fucks about anything, because she cant die , and love system elements in novels, then read Crimson eternal by WolfShine
Hope this was understandable,i find it hard to write long texts on mobile.
The book is set as an old man recanting his life and his many mistakes during a several laundered year long war for humanity’s survival. The first book is a little slow but awesome as you get to know more about Hadrian (the main character). The second book has a 50 year time gap (50 years is nothing in the scope of this series) it starts slow, but the second half of the book is some of the best world building as well as story telling I’ve read since A Storm of Swords. Book 3 is considered the best of the series (so far, book 6 of 7 is being released next month). Book four is such a brutal gut punch of a book, it’s hard to read but impossible to put down.
If you prefer audiobooks, this series has a fantastic narrator on Audible, he adds so much depth to the characters.
Cradle was really good overall but the first book is kind of slow and I almost dropped it there, book two and onward are really good though so I second the recommendation.
Priory of the Orange Tree
Light from Uncommon Stars
The Unspoken Name
Gideon the Ninth
Starless
The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkowski (series of two)
Crier's War by Nina Varela (series of two)
Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard
This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Check out r/ queersff
And search in r/ fantasy they have great recommendations for your criteria. Some of these I haven't read yet but are on my TBR
I’m reading “The Romanov’s: 1613-1918”. Russian History is becoming a bit of a hobby of mine and this is a pretty good exploration of pre-revolutionary Russia. Sure, it focuses on the ruling class, but it’s a good overview prior to your own exploration.
Have you read Worm? Please read Worm for the love of god please I have been thinking about Worm nonstop for the past few weeks nothing can ever be as good as Worm it's literally free read it right here [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/1-1/](https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/1-1/)
Wtf how did it escape my notice. I will gladly read it. Considering the synopsis I have something very special for you.
Check out Fallen Hero: Rebirth (1st in the series, the sequel Fallen Hero: Retributions has been released), it is a text based game available on both PC and mobile. I think since you liked Worm you might like it too. There are romances which are fantastically written in the game both homo and hetero, you can play as a trans and NB character too plus your choices affect the story.
There is quite a lot of branching too, every playthrough I find something new in the 2nd book. Come join us over at r/ hostedgames
Earthsea is a series of 6 novels and 4 short stories set in the titular fantasy world of Earthsea, made up of myriad islands, where magic can be cast by saying the true name of a thing, animal, or person. Though largely forgotten by the public conscience today, it's an undisputable classic of the genre worth being read by any fantasy enjoyer. All published Earthsea works are available in one beautiful volume called the Books of Earthsea, alongside over 50 illustrations, a new introduction, and the essay Earthsea Revisioned; altogether it comes out to around 1072 pages, so it's a great choice if you're not into super long books.
The first book, A Wizard of Earthsea, follows a talented young wizard named Ged and called Sparrowhawk, who has to travel all the reaches of Earthsea to escape, and later defeat, the evil he released from hubris during his time attending the School of Wizardry on Roke.
The Tombs of Atuan, second in the series, follows Arha, named Tenar, who was inducted as a young girl into a cult who believed her to be the reincarnation of their late high priestess. However, when Ged breaks into the the labyrinth in the caves beneath the temple grounds in search of an ancient, powerful artefact, she finds she cannot bear to execute him, and begins to work with him to free them both from the Place of the Tombs of Atuan.
The Farthest Shore follows Arren, prince of Enlad, who has been sent to the School on Roke where Ged is now archmage by his father to enquire about a strange happening where magic is seemingly leaving the world. Though Ged does not know why this is happening, or how it could be stopped, he takes Arren on a journey through Earthsea similar to the first book to investigate further and reverse what has happened.
Tehanu was then released 20 years later firmly in Le Guin's unfathomably based feminist icon era, and follows Tenar again, who is now a widow living a fairly standard life on the island of Gont, until she comes into the care of Therru, an abused, disabled young child who she raises as her own. Tehanu is a lot more domestic than the previous books and explores the life and role of women and girls in partriarchal society. And also explores awesome nonbinary dragons.
Tales from Earthsea, which has nothing to do with the 2006 Studio Ghibli bastardisation of the same name except being in the same universe, is actually 5 more short stories disguised as a novel. The two most notable of these are The Finder, which shows us the origin of the School on Roke, and Dragonfly, which is about Irian, a girl who disguises herself as a man to study at the School on Roke which is men-only, and serves as a prelude for the next book in the series:
The Other Wind, the final Earthsea novel, is about Alder, a village sorcerer who has been plagued by strange nightmares since the death of his wife Lily and seeks out the now-retired Ged for help, but when his nightmares turn out to be more than merely dreams, he is brought into the fray of larger changes concerning magic, dragons, and the afterlife.
A bit off topic, but what do you do to read more? Whenever I want to read the following things go through my mind:
I don't have time
I probably won't like it
I'm so busy
I still gotta do important stuff
Books are too taxing to my mind, I'll just watch video essay about it while eating food
But when I do read a book I get so absorbed and can't stop reading. How do I fix this
Audiobooks baybeeeeee. Seriously audiobooks are amazing I get 2/3rd of my books done through it. Also try to avoid Audible cause their monopoly is fcking over authors.
You can just start an audiobook while doing some work like cleaning and stuff it's great. Audiobooks sometimes during low intensity workouts or during running
All of these books have fantastic audiobook versions.
The Blade Itself is excellent (it is part of the First Law Trilogy. Age of Madness is the sequel series of this trilogy). It is pretty dark.
Guards Guards ( it is part of the Discworld series which has 40+ books but don't worry almost all books in this series are standalones).
Would recommend every book in the Discworld series but start with Guards Guards and after that start listening from either the first book or follow any order you want. Very funny with amazing storytelling. It's my comfort listen/read
Neil Gaiman has great audiobooks as he reads most of them himself.
Lies of Locke Lamora (part of the Gentleman Bastard series. It is great.)
Just keep a book or audiobook on you all the time and when you have a few minutes you might go on your phone or something (eg. on the toilet, on public transport, waiting for a fast food order), read a few pages of the book instead.
i havent read books in so long that i dont know what to find for books anymore
i guess i like werewolves but that's about it and a few of the werewolf stories i've heard of dont interest me :/
The Discworld series books are pretty easy to pick up and extremely entertaining. Start with Guards Guards, all the books in the Discworld series are standalones so you can read them in wheichever order.
Let me present you with something special fellow Werewolf fan, Werewolves: Haven Rising and the sequel is a text adventure game available on both Mobile and PC it is a fantastic read. Blood Moon is also in the same vein. In both of these games you will play as a werewolf and both of them have romance
Hosted Games and Choice of Games specialize in great text adventure games, join us over at r/ HostedGames.
By the way I started reading books due to these games
The Devourers by Indira Das is a great Werewolf book.
Orconomics is a fantastic light hearted and funny book series.
It is collateralized debt obligations, options trading, and dark armies all rolled together
If you are not much of a reader then give it's Audiobook a try, it is fantastic.
For more funny books with great storytelling give the Discworld series a try, it's Audiobooks are also amazing
Orconomics whole trilogy is around 50 hours
The average Discworld book is around 12 hours. Would recommend starting with Guards Guard in the Discworld series. All the books in the Discworld series are standalones so I am not including the total time of all the books
I just wanted to say that currently my best friend and I are writing an LGBTQ fantasy book called Hidden Worlds! Hoping it'll be out within the next few years. So far it's super queer LMAO
Books I've read / reading recently
Recently started the three body problem, it's a very well written science fiction book. And it is Chinese. I like all of the translators notes explaining historical context for some of the passages. It's been on my "to read" for awhile, so I'm finally happy I'm getting around to it.
I almost finished "In Memoriam" by Alice Winn. It is a gay romance about two school boys turned soldiers during WW1. It was really good but I never finished it because I don't want there to be a bad ending. But I should go ahead and finish this one.
I have recently reread Dune in preparation for part 2. Book is just as good as when I read it like 8 years ago in high school (oh god oh fuck im getting old)
If anyone has any recommendations for me please throw them my way. I love reading. Don't be fooled, I do like more than just sci-fi, it's just been what I've been reading recently.
I actually just finished reading Guards! Guards! No joke. It was pretty good, but I prefer Mort over this one. I love the concept of following the grim reaper as he tries to live a menial life.
I saw one at Wally World where it was a rat and a cat (I think) on the cover. Might check them out sometime but I just bought a buttfuck of books at B&N so I gotta read them first.
I’ve read all the “First Law” books by Joe Abercrombie and here’s my diagnosis:
If you’re depressed, these will be the best books you’ve ever read.
If you’re not depressed, these will make you sad and be low key unreadable.
The Naomi novik book made me have to stop reading books with female protagonists for years because I wanted to be a young adult brunette tomboy who didn’t want to be special but was anyway so-so much
If you want to read something a little “smarter” (dont like that word for this but can’t think of anything better) HumanKind: A Hopeful History is an amazing book. Basically just a brief history of how people are actually pretty good most of the time, and it talks about some really cool stories that you might not have heard of.
I remember I saw someone say that Legends and Lattes is bad because the characters didn't join a merchants guild or get inspected by an agency while they set up their cafe
See y’all at the library on the smp I guess
Is it still up? I was thinking of joining but then I read that it brigaded.
It is still online. You have to ask the admin for a discord invite tho
Whats the discord? How do I ask them for an invite?
You could dm them on reddit, tho I don’t know their account name. Just search for the announcement post on 196 and click on their profile.
Only the discord server got brigaded afaik
The Minecraft server had like one guy trying to grief stuff but they were trapped in obsidian rather quickly
Lmao get boxed idiot
Imprisoned for his crimes
i just wanty to be a girl
Don’t we all
I just want to be a girl
Idk how to do it but hopefully someone knows PS: Audiobook listeners are also welcome
Thank you so much for this post, I've been wanting to read more lately and these all look like such fun books. I started to eat back into reading recently with "We Are Okay" by Nina Lacour(fantastic book btw, it's about grief and addressing trauma, and the main character is lesbian), then I read Hold Still by her which was okay, and then I tried to read Yerba Buena by the same author, and the full blown sexual assault of the underage main character from a long time family friend in the first few chapters just was too much for me. I've kinda been on a break since that point, that book was just way too much for me to handle.
Hey now looking for something to chill, really recommend you to read the Discworld series (there are 41 books in this series but don't be overwhelmed by that number as almost all the books are standalones) start with Guards Guard's and then read the rest. This series is very funny with brilliant storytelling the audiobooks are great too For healing and chill watch Mushishi, just don't binge it. It's mostly an episodic show so no cliffhangers to worry about Also I gave some recommendations to a person asking for lesbian fantasy in this thread so you can check those books out. Added We Are Okay to my TBR thanks
the 6th one goes hard
It's actually amazing, I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did
Let's make it hard, everyone should read Ulysses and then the Bible (in Latin)
[Everyone call Ogre stupid, and it true!](https://youtu.be/et2pYQigIhc?si=922OnimdUyBkHYIb)
Definitely a fan of the Tales of the Grand historian in the original classical Chinese, the world building in there is amazing, though personally I think the book of Han is a better read on account of its more focused narrative that allows for more in depth storylines.
I'll add Finnegans Wake and Cain's Jawbone
Lmao, I always feel like people suggesting FW as a thing to just sit down and read are like the people who respond to drug threads like, "just drop acid, that'll sort you"
I genuinely want to just read the Bible as a book idk any Latin tho
Ulysses is actually a good book though
Hell yeah the blade itself. Sand dan glokta is my favourite shithead and logan and the apprentice should have banged one out
The Blade Itself is such a wild inclusion to me. It's a huge tonal shift away from any of the others that I've read. The idea of recommending Abercrombie, the guy who takes grimdark fantasy further than GRRM, alongside *Sir Terry Pratchett* is crazy
You read The Blade Itself and most of the characters are assholes and you feel bad for the rest and when you're done, you read The Colour of Magic and Rincewind and Twoflower cheer you back up. It's a nice soothing pint of frozen custard after the emotional gut punch. (I really like The Blade Itself. I blew through the first book in the series in like a week because the writing and prose were so fun and not -that- overly complicated)
I love both Sir Pratchett and Abercrombie so much. Plus both have a fantastic sense of humour. By the way I also wanted to include Assassin's Apprentice but I hate the cover art with a passion so I didn't lol
They're both really good!
I mean, while incredibly dark, Joe Abercrombie puts a lot of grade-A gallows humor into the writing. Honestly, it's one of the funnier series I've read, outside of all the torture, murder and psychological torment.
Legends & Lattes was probably the coziest book I've read in years
If you liked it, then I highly recommend Can't Spell Treason Without T and also Cursed Cocktails.
I'll check them out, thanks!
TERRY PRATCHETT MENTIONED❗️❗️❗️❗️ LIBRARIAN BEST CHARACTER IN WHOLE SERIES
monke :3 Interesting times is probably my favourite but its really hard to not just put all rincewind books at number 1
You said the M word
write something funny on my headstone - havent read the books in like 5 years but i shall not be forgiven
Gonna draw a penis cause I'm emotionally 12
youre so real for that
You called him a Monkey. Quick, go look up the definition of the word "Defenestration", he's about to show you an example.
it is embarrassing that i forgot about that but at least thats one of the less horrific deaths i could find over the discworld
You fool, now I have to recommend the Stormlight Archive to you.
"Bah" Kaladin growled, blushing furiously as light exploded and undulated around him. He raised an eyebrow and grunted. There we go, short but basic summary that covers the whole book.
Good thing that I, a good Vorin man, can't read this comment.
I am making my way through Mistborn currently, 1st book in. Hopefully will get to Stormlight in a year or 2
Another joins the coven
Obligatory Moash was Right!
obligatory WHAT
The hot, angry, slave will be vindicated by history!
Nice, those are some great picks! Recently read time war and really liked it. Blade itself is peak fantasy and guards,guards is peak fantasy parody. Legends and lattes was sooo cozy and amazing, truly great. I dont know orconomics but simply from the cover i am intrigued. Obligatory recommendation of mistborn, warbreaker and stormlight. Currently i am reading Cradle. Its super fun and fast paced and kinda reminds me of reading a shonen in book form. I also have priory of the orange tree on my reading list and my wife wants me to read empire of the vampire
Hey I am currently reading the 1st book of Mistborn. By the way read Dandelion Dynasty and Will of the Many for more peak fantasy
Nice, thanks for the tipps! For more cozy stuff: if you havent allready, The House in the Cerulean Sea is great
Added it to my TBR. Anytime I want something cozy I just read Discworld again lol it's a bad habit cause I know there are so many great cozy books
Discworld really is amazing.
I'm actually rereading Earthsea currently. I just finished The Farthest Shore today, and am waiting for Tehanu to come in at my library. However, I don't think I'm a book club kind of guy. I am just now repairing the damage that years and years of post-secondary education and undiagnosed ADHD did to my ability to read.
Hey I’m just now finishing the first one !!!
Earthsea bangs so hard it's crazy I love the magic system which book is your favorite?
Absolutely! I love how they're not about epic external conflicts, but rather the challenges of personal growth. I think Tombs is my favourite. Tenar's story is just so unique compared to anything else I've read.
TOMBS OF ATUAN MY BELOVEDDDD yeah Tenar is an amazing protagonist and the visual progression of the drabness of the desert temple complex to the stifling darkness of the tombs and tunnels to finally the escape into the mountains is the most incredible visual storytelling in anything and continues to influence my writing constantly Tombs of Atuan is easily my favorite but I love the short stories so much too I love Otter finding a way to escape the nightmarish quicksilver mines and Diamond and Darkrose is such a wonderful tragedy about love and magic
I think the actual tombs are the only setting in fiction that made me feel physically uncomfortable. The literally oppressive darkness; the need to navigate by memory, touch, and even scent; the way Tenar's hard-earned ability to move through them effortlessly falls away as her devotion to the Nameless Ones wanes. It's just a fantastically realized and tactile setting, done with so little pomp or grandiosity. I only read the first two books back in the day, and haven't gotten to the short stories yet. I'll be starting Tehanu as soon as it arrives at my library location, and am VERY nervous about Tenar's return, so many years after the original three novels. I know that's crazy, because I've heard that Le Guin blew it away (unsurprising).
Le Guin was a master of her craft, and the earthy realism of her worlds is an appeal of the series that's both difficult to oversell and hard to fully describe. Nowhere is that more apparent than with the Tombs. It's in that dearth of pretension, as you describe, that you feel the presence of the Old Gods of the Earth more strongly than in any grandly worded temple. I won't spoil anything. There's a lot to enjoy with Tehanu, but it's super different from the novels that come before it. You're in for a good time ;)
NERVES
It's also proof that you can have an incredible, meaningful, well-written, well-paced fantasy book that isn't 700 pages long minimum.
That's so real I read the entire series two summers ago and both I and others were sort of stunned that I got through the whole thing cuz I'm pretty easy to distract as a reader and not that fast but it just keeps you interested like nothing else augh I love it which one is your fave?
It's between The Farthest Shore and Tehanu for me.
those are bangers, I love how they serve as a fulcrum for the series to turn away from what people traditionally expect from fantasy series and stories. The way that they both are about our prior protagonists, Ged and Tenar, raising younger people to face new challenges, is fantastic. And through being the most grounded and believable, the conflict of Tehanu is some of the most intense and frightening in the whole series, bordering on becoming a horror story. I love it
Agree. I love how modern the whole Earthsea series feels despite their age, in prose, content, and storytelling all of them seem like something that could've been published yesterday. If A Wizard of Earthsea or Tehanu were written now 100% there'd be tons of dudebros calling it woke or the death of fantasy.
the only one of those I have read is this is how you loose the time war which I really enjoyed funnily enough I had earlier started a different series from noami novik who wrote book number 7 called His majesty's Dragon/Temeraire which is about an alternate universe during the napoleonic wars but with dragons edit: also if I remember correctly novik was also one of Ao3 co-founders
Gladstone? Le guin? Pratchett? actually elite taste
I want to start reading and I love fantasy which one should I start with . I listen to audiobooks so pls recommend smth I can listen to
The Blade Itself is excellent (it is part of the First Law Trilogy. Age of Madness is the sequel series of this trilogy). It is pretty dark. Guards Guards ( it is part of the Discworld series which has 40+ books but don't worry almost all books in this series are standalones). Would recommend every book in the Discworld series but start with Guards Guards and after that start listening from either the first book or follow any order you want. Very funny with amazing storytelling. It's my comfort listen/read Neil Gaiman has great audiobooks as he reads most of them himself. Lies of Locke Lamora (part of the Gentleman Bastard series. It is great.) All of these books have fantastic audiobook versions. PS: Libby has free audiobooks if you have a library card and if not you can get a library card online for free Discworld now has new audiobook versions read by new people. Both old and the new versions are great
Oh the gentleman bastard series is fun
the mistborn trilogy is great starter fantasy (it will prepare you for stormlight archive which is Peak fantasy)
Hello Hello Cosmere mentioned. The first book in Mistborn is called The Final Empire. There's 7 books and the first one has "final" in the title, so don't be confused
8 books actually, if you count the short era 1 continuation
the second mistborn series is kinda "eh" tho, I couldn't be arsed to finish it, I guess it's worth reading if you're really into the setting but the original trilogy is far superior
you should learn to phrase opinions as opinions. I loved Era 2 just as much as Era 1. It takes a bit to find itself, but The Lost Metal was really really cool. I enjoyed it a lot.
what do you mean lol, of course it's an opinion, you don't need to put a disclaimer before every opinion you present
I absolutely agree with this, finished Mistborn era 1 and about to finish Stormlight Some of the best books I’ve ever read
Earthsea is SUPER good, and as a series fairly short, so easy to listen to. It's a bit of a forgotten classic of fantasy.
Overlord There is a PDF of the whole series on a Google drive in the r/ Overlord subreddit
Woah incredible taste in books :3
EARTHSEA ENJOYER DETECTED I LOVE EARTHSEA Also can I get a synopsis of the time war one and orconomics those look really interesting
Earthsea fucking slaps. Le Guin coming back to the series after 20 years saying "Got you MFers its a feminist series now" was a perfectly in-character power move. The Other Wind remains one of only two books that have ever made me cry.
Le Guin was unfathomably based
I've heard good things about Always Coming Home. I just need to pick up a copy when I've finished my current books.
Wizard of Earthsea!
Aaaayyyyy. Orconomics is awesome.
I reccomend reading Horizon of War on RoyalRoad, a great kingdom building novel with war tactics and some magic,also no harem. Another RoyalRoad novel i reccomend is Super Suportive, there honestly is a reason this novel is top 10 constantly. a VERY detailed novel, with amazing character progression, and losses of characters, that actually make you feel sad. If you just want a novel about an undead girl, who doesnt give too many fucks about anything, because she cant die , and love system elements in novels, then read Crimson eternal by WolfShine Hope this was understandable,i find it hard to write long texts on mobile.
Cloud Atlas The Left Hand of Darkness Frankenstein
Man, I love the 1919 Frankenstein book. Absolute banger. I taught it a few years back to a class of advanced 10th graders.
Currently reading Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan. Any nerds of my particular sort here?
I recommand « L’Émile » by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
I do intend to get to Rousseau eventually! Why that one in particular?
Only Rousseau book I read lmao
Currently reading A Field Guide To The Birds Of Mongolia
https://www.amazon.com.au/Kitty-Cat-Kill-Sat-Adventure-ebook/dp/B0C41RD5T5 YOU WILL READ THE KITTY CAT BOOK YOU WILL CRY LIKE A BITCH
I love sci fi, anyone here have a breakdown of empire of silence, pic goes hard.
It's a space opera, hard to explain. By the way if you are a Sci-Fi fan then you need to check out Hyperion
The book is set as an old man recanting his life and his many mistakes during a several laundered year long war for humanity’s survival. The first book is a little slow but awesome as you get to know more about Hadrian (the main character). The second book has a 50 year time gap (50 years is nothing in the scope of this series) it starts slow, but the second half of the book is some of the best world building as well as story telling I’ve read since A Storm of Swords. Book 3 is considered the best of the series (so far, book 6 of 7 is being released next month). Book four is such a brutal gut punch of a book, it’s hard to read but impossible to put down. If you prefer audiobooks, this series has a fantastic narrator on Audible, he adds so much depth to the characters.
Also, the sheer amount of trans allegories and deconstruction of gender archetypes is awesome.
I'm morally obligated to recommend cradle by Will wight it's so good
Cradle was really good overall but the first book is kind of slow and I almost dropped it there, book two and onward are really good though so I second the recommendation.
Can we please add a practical guide to evil? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 Please please please I'm going to go insane if I don't have anyone to talk about it with
pls i need adventure fantasy books with women protag (or nb) and without hetero romance bullshit ALSO bonus points for queer characters
Priory of the Orange Tree Light from Uncommon Stars The Unspoken Name Gideon the Ninth Starless The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkowski (series of two) Crier's War by Nina Varela (series of two) Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone Check out r/ queersff And search in r/ fantasy they have great recommendations for your criteria. Some of these I haven't read yet but are on my TBR
holy shit thank u so much!!!!!
I’m reading “The Romanov’s: 1613-1918”. Russian History is becoming a bit of a hobby of mine and this is a pretty good exploration of pre-revolutionary Russia. Sure, it focuses on the ruling class, but it’s a good overview prior to your own exploration.
I have aphantasia. Books don’t really do it for me
Do audiobooks also not work for you?
Have you read Worm? Please read Worm for the love of god please I have been thinking about Worm nonstop for the past few weeks nothing can ever be as good as Worm it's literally free read it right here [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/1-1/](https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/1-1/)
Wtf how did it escape my notice. I will gladly read it. Considering the synopsis I have something very special for you. Check out Fallen Hero: Rebirth (1st in the series, the sequel Fallen Hero: Retributions has been released), it is a text based game available on both PC and mobile. I think since you liked Worm you might like it too. There are romances which are fantastically written in the game both homo and hetero, you can play as a trans and NB character too plus your choices affect the story. There is quite a lot of branching too, every playthrough I find something new in the 2nd book. Come join us over at r/ hostedgames
yipee!!!!! Thanks! I've been looking for a new game to play and that sounds really cool 👍
I edited and added some extra stuff in that reply
I read bard club at first, and was a bit confused
what are these books about, like sell them to me (I already have a ton of to-read books but the more the merrier)
Earthsea is a series of 6 novels and 4 short stories set in the titular fantasy world of Earthsea, made up of myriad islands, where magic can be cast by saying the true name of a thing, animal, or person. Though largely forgotten by the public conscience today, it's an undisputable classic of the genre worth being read by any fantasy enjoyer. All published Earthsea works are available in one beautiful volume called the Books of Earthsea, alongside over 50 illustrations, a new introduction, and the essay Earthsea Revisioned; altogether it comes out to around 1072 pages, so it's a great choice if you're not into super long books. The first book, A Wizard of Earthsea, follows a talented young wizard named Ged and called Sparrowhawk, who has to travel all the reaches of Earthsea to escape, and later defeat, the evil he released from hubris during his time attending the School of Wizardry on Roke. The Tombs of Atuan, second in the series, follows Arha, named Tenar, who was inducted as a young girl into a cult who believed her to be the reincarnation of their late high priestess. However, when Ged breaks into the the labyrinth in the caves beneath the temple grounds in search of an ancient, powerful artefact, she finds she cannot bear to execute him, and begins to work with him to free them both from the Place of the Tombs of Atuan. The Farthest Shore follows Arren, prince of Enlad, who has been sent to the School on Roke where Ged is now archmage by his father to enquire about a strange happening where magic is seemingly leaving the world. Though Ged does not know why this is happening, or how it could be stopped, he takes Arren on a journey through Earthsea similar to the first book to investigate further and reverse what has happened. Tehanu was then released 20 years later firmly in Le Guin's unfathomably based feminist icon era, and follows Tenar again, who is now a widow living a fairly standard life on the island of Gont, until she comes into the care of Therru, an abused, disabled young child who she raises as her own. Tehanu is a lot more domestic than the previous books and explores the life and role of women and girls in partriarchal society. And also explores awesome nonbinary dragons. Tales from Earthsea, which has nothing to do with the 2006 Studio Ghibli bastardisation of the same name except being in the same universe, is actually 5 more short stories disguised as a novel. The two most notable of these are The Finder, which shows us the origin of the School on Roke, and Dragonfly, which is about Irian, a girl who disguises herself as a man to study at the School on Roke which is men-only, and serves as a prelude for the next book in the series: The Other Wind, the final Earthsea novel, is about Alder, a village sorcerer who has been plagued by strange nightmares since the death of his wife Lily and seeks out the now-retired Ged for help, but when his nightmares turn out to be more than merely dreams, he is brought into the fray of larger changes concerning magic, dragons, and the afterlife.
I've read the first book, it left a sour aftertaste because I had to hurry it for a school assignment but I think it was objectively pretty good
Yeah that can happen. Try it again maybe, it's short enough that it isn't a big time investment.
I read Legends and Lattes! A lovely little book of sapphic romance and coffee!
A bit off topic, but what do you do to read more? Whenever I want to read the following things go through my mind: I don't have time I probably won't like it I'm so busy I still gotta do important stuff Books are too taxing to my mind, I'll just watch video essay about it while eating food But when I do read a book I get so absorbed and can't stop reading. How do I fix this
Audiobooks baybeeeeee. Seriously audiobooks are amazing I get 2/3rd of my books done through it. Also try to avoid Audible cause their monopoly is fcking over authors. You can just start an audiobook while doing some work like cleaning and stuff it's great. Audiobooks sometimes during low intensity workouts or during running
Oh I already listen podcasts while doing chores. I'll try audiobooks next time. Tho my main problem is actually finding good narrated ones
All of these books have fantastic audiobook versions. The Blade Itself is excellent (it is part of the First Law Trilogy. Age of Madness is the sequel series of this trilogy). It is pretty dark. Guards Guards ( it is part of the Discworld series which has 40+ books but don't worry almost all books in this series are standalones). Would recommend every book in the Discworld series but start with Guards Guards and after that start listening from either the first book or follow any order you want. Very funny with amazing storytelling. It's my comfort listen/read Neil Gaiman has great audiobooks as he reads most of them himself. Lies of Locke Lamora (part of the Gentleman Bastard series. It is great.)
Thanks I'll try em out!
Just keep a book or audiobook on you all the time and when you have a few minutes you might go on your phone or something (eg. on the toilet, on public transport, waiting for a fast food order), read a few pages of the book instead.
Ooo ive been meaning to read Earthsea for years!
i havent read books in so long that i dont know what to find for books anymore i guess i like werewolves but that's about it and a few of the werewolf stories i've heard of dont interest me :/
The Discworld series books are pretty easy to pick up and extremely entertaining. Start with Guards Guards, all the books in the Discworld series are standalones so you can read them in wheichever order. Let me present you with something special fellow Werewolf fan, Werewolves: Haven Rising and the sequel is a text adventure game available on both Mobile and PC it is a fantastic read. Blood Moon is also in the same vein. In both of these games you will play as a werewolf and both of them have romance Hosted Games and Choice of Games specialize in great text adventure games, join us over at r/ HostedGames. By the way I started reading books due to these games The Devourers by Indira Das is a great Werewolf book.
Gotta admit. The premise of discworld sounds enticing already maybe I’ll give it a look Lemme know of any more werewolf books :3
Yar
I love This Is How You Lose The Time War
Holy based selection
I'm reading The Blade Itself rn
Time War, Earthsea, and Discworld are all amazing, can vouch. Right now I’m reading the Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch, incredible stuff
one question, what the fuck is orcnomics and furthermore what is it about
Orconomics is a fantastic light hearted and funny book series. It is collateralized debt obligations, options trading, and dark armies all rolled together
that sounds amazing
If you are not much of a reader then give it's Audiobook a try, it is fantastic. For more funny books with great storytelling give the Discworld series a try, it's Audiobooks are also amazing
i see, thank you one question though, how long is the book? im probably still gonna listen to the audiobook but i want to know how long its gonna be
Orconomics whole trilogy is around 50 hours The average Discworld book is around 12 hours. Would recommend starting with Guards Guard in the Discworld series. All the books in the Discworld series are standalones so I am not including the total time of all the books
i see. thanks!
What do we all think of east of Eden
I just wanted to say that currently my best friend and I are writing an LGBTQ fantasy book called Hidden Worlds! Hoping it'll be out within the next few years. So far it's super queer LMAO
I'm actually rereading Guards Guards right now. I miss Sir Terry more and more each day.
Hopefully death is exactly as Sir Pratchett envisioned
Books I've read / reading recently Recently started the three body problem, it's a very well written science fiction book. And it is Chinese. I like all of the translators notes explaining historical context for some of the passages. It's been on my "to read" for awhile, so I'm finally happy I'm getting around to it. I almost finished "In Memoriam" by Alice Winn. It is a gay romance about two school boys turned soldiers during WW1. It was really good but I never finished it because I don't want there to be a bad ending. But I should go ahead and finish this one. I have recently reread Dune in preparation for part 2. Book is just as good as when I read it like 8 years ago in high school (oh god oh fuck im getting old) If anyone has any recommendations for me please throw them my way. I love reading. Don't be fooled, I do like more than just sci-fi, it's just been what I've been reading recently.
what are your thoughts on unwind and scythe?
i don't like books/reading but i do really love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland so I'll be bringing that i guess :D
I'm in
You gotta read good omens.
I actually just finished reading Guards! Guards! No joke. It was pretty good, but I prefer Mort over this one. I love the concept of following the grim reaper as he tries to live a menial life.
had to catch our attention with that first one didn't you
Of course I did but also it's a genuinely great book
Ursula Le Guin mentioned. Post upvoted
READ THE WINTERLIGHT TRILOGY BY KATHERINE ARDEN GRAAAHHHHHH
I've seen that orc lady on a few books in Wally World (Walmart). Are the books good? Also, I recommend Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare.
They are very good if you are in the mood for some cozy, it's about a cafe in a fantasy world run by a lesbian couple
I saw one at Wally World where it was a rat and a cat (I think) on the cover. Might check them out sometime but I just bought a buttfuck of books at B&N so I gotta read them first.
I’ll make sure to read only Catcher in the Rye and relate to Holden Caulfield to an uncomfortable degree
I’d recommend the lies of Locke Lamora for anyone who lives dry witty dark fantasy books about thieves
I’ve read all the “First Law” books by Joe Abercrombie and here’s my diagnosis: If you’re depressed, these will be the best books you’ve ever read. If you’re not depressed, these will make you sad and be low key unreadable.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a masterpiece
WOOOO GAURDS GAURDS (pls read the rest of the watch series, it's great)
read House of Leaves :3
I really enjoy Douglas Adams and his hitchhiker guide to the galaxy. He is the origin of the phrase 42.
The Naomi novik book made me have to stop reading books with female protagonists for years because I wanted to be a young adult brunette tomboy who didn’t want to be special but was anyway so-so much
I tried reading "this is how you lose the time war" and I could not understand a single sentence
Oh come on, book club without House of Leaves?
Orconomics' cover goes so hard
Fuck yes I love the sun eater series
the last book i read was "no longer human" by junji ito i dont think i like books anymore
If you want to read something a little “smarter” (dont like that word for this but can’t think of anything better) HumanKind: A Hopeful History is an amazing book. Basically just a brief history of how people are actually pretty good most of the time, and it talks about some really cool stories that you might not have heard of.
Maybe "nonfiction"? Because Ursula K. Le Guin's work is pretty damn smart.
I remember I saw someone say that Legends and Lattes is bad because the characters didn't join a merchants guild or get inspected by an agency while they set up their cafe
🔥🐉🦅EARTHSEA MENTIONED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11🦅🐉🔥
I saw the movie of Earthsea and thought it was pretty good except for the villain being queer coded
The books are way way better, try them
I love pratchett, monstrous regiment is my favorite so far.
I don't like reading
Then you can listen to audiobooks
I don't like listening to other people
Record yourself reading the books out loud and then listen to it
Return to my first comment
This is too complex. Ok. You're going back to the past...
NOOOOOOOO