I actually stopped reading East of Eden today. The language style is so hard for me to wrap my head around and leaves me so confused. I really wanted to read it too.
I’ve only read it once. And really want to read it again, it’ll only take a day or two.. but haven’t yet been able to mentally prepare myself to do it over again
Shantaram has been on my "want to read" list for years but I've put it off due to its length and mixed reviews. Is it hard to get into and/or does it get drawn out at all?
The first half is VERY good and well written. It pulled me in all the way. There's a bit in the middle that drags on but overall id say the good outweighs the bad. I enjoyed the poetic descriptive writing and story telling a lot.
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. It was quite the task to read and keep all the characters straight but never have I felt the weight of the humanity of every character like I have with that book. Truly a window into life and place and ends masterfully, with Bolaño essentially saying he did his best but the real portrait is life outside the book.
It ruined the next 3 or 4 books I tried to read because they couldn’t compare
I'll never forget the meaning of "There is a way to be good again." Probably one of the only quotes from a book that has stuck with me this long. Oh sigh- I feel like it's been long enough that I need to re-read that one.
"Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken" - Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
There is a scene where they are describing a system of sending a name through the clacks endlessly.
G: Send the message onto the next Clacks Tower.
N: Do not log the message.
U: At the end of the line, return the message
They use this in remembrance of someone who has passed away. The grief of losing loved ones just hit me so hard when I got to that part in the book. I was in tears, missing everyone and wishing I could send their names over the clacks.
GNU Genny, GNU Dad, GNU Bear ❤️
I have the Haunting Of Hill House on my list already! I keep hearing it’s one of the best horror novels ever. Thanks. Also, just finished the Shining, if you haven’t read that, I loved it.
The last letter by Rebecca yarros
The Flight & Glory series by Rebecca Yarros
The Fourth Wing & Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
Many Lives Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss
Go Ask Alice
Convoluted Universe Series by Dolores Cannon
CPTSD From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker
Not finished but would recommend :
Psycho Cybernetics - Maxwell Maltz
The Biology of Belief - Dr. Bruce lipton
Becoming Supernatural - Dr. Joe Dispenza
I have some more but this is a lot lol
I was never one for non-fiction. I mostly lost interest in Highschool; that being said I am a huge non-fiction fan.
I was profoundly affected by "Light in Gaza: Writings born in fire". I had tears in my eyes multiple times throughout the book. It was Profound, Beautiful and Terrible. It filled me with sorrow & hope. It did all this while being completely non-fiction. I learned a lot about their experience. It moved me very deeply.
The Collector by John Fowles. Really heavy, intense feeling. It felt so real to me. I stayed up all night reading it as a teenager, finished it the night I began it. Also The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (interestingly also stayed up all night, also a teen.)
Same for me with the Bell Jar. I first read it as a teen, with a completely different mindset and it made me feel… completely miserable, but still FEEL. I read it again this year and totally different feels. Haven’t read the John Fowles one, will check it out!
A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara** ;
Untamed - Glennon Doyle ;
Educated - Tara Westover** ;
The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah** ;
The School For Good Mothers - Jessamine Chan** ;
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold** ;
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult** ;
I'm sure there are more, but these are ones I consistently think about (even over a decade later in terms of when I read MSK and TLB).
**trigger warning
(edited for clarity)
Reincarnation Blues. Still think about it regularly even though I read it years ago. Was not what I expected going into it. Only book I refuse to lend out because I need it near me, just in case.
-These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
-If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
I dont want to explain why these books stayed with me to this day cuz then it would then end up me writing long ass essays. But hey, if you know, you know.
Shadow of the wind has always been my go to book whenever someone asked me for a recommendation.It has all that one might expect regardless of your interest in terms of genre. The writing is super poetic.
I'll go with Steinbeck as well, but for me it's Tortilla Flat.
I'd also add:
Windup Bird Chronicle;
Waiting by Ha Jin - saddest ending in any book I've ever read
I have just started this and am only about 20 pages in. Wish me luck. I don’t know details of what happens but I know it gets really bad so the beginning where everything is normal is very unnerving. On edge thinking where the descent will begin
Tbh the first good chunk of this book is lowkey slow… it takes a while to get to the real page turner and jaw dropping portion of it all, but it’s very much worth it! Have a great read!! :)
You won't regret it. Watch out for the Walkin dude. I also think this book should be mandatory reading for teenage boys just because of the Harold character. Really caused me to reexamine myself and my own behaviour.
Scythe by neil shusterman
Black by Ted dekker
Renegades by Marissa Meyer
Each one has it own reason. I would say the one that always makes me come back and think more and more about it would be the scythe trilogy. There are so many small topics and ideas that are in it that I think about throughout the day.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry I think about Lonesome Dove and East of Eden often.
East of Eden stayed with me for a long time. Easily in my top 5 books I've ever read.
I actually stopped reading East of Eden today. The language style is so hard for me to wrap my head around and leaves me so confused. I really wanted to read it too.
Same with East of Eden!
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Same! Read it about 2 years ago and still think about it regularly to this day, can’t think of many other books that have had that impact on me
Same,, piranesi will never leave my psyche 💯💯💯
I just finished this and have to agree. The style is so incredibly different from anything I've ever read, it kept me engaged and raised the tension.
Circe by Madeline Miller
Yes. This book still lives in my head. Circe’s story, woven in those gorgeous words… absolutely haunting.
Rent free! I've heard people complain about her 'flowery prose' but that was one of my favorite components of the book, too.
this this this
Was about to comment this one. Definitely, a page turner book.
We Need to talk about Kevin
Definitely this.
Tuesdays with Morrie
Cried my eyes out.
Came here to suggest this one as well. My favorite book
Flowers for algernon
Uplifting, then heartbreaking.
I’ve only read it once. And really want to read it again, it’ll only take a day or two.. but haven’t yet been able to mentally prepare myself to do it over again
It's a rollercoaster.
I’ve heard this one a lot!! I will definitely be putting on my list, thanks 🙂
Oh God now I’m gonna cry 😭
That was then, this is now and The Outsiders by S. E Hinton. A thousand splendid sun. Those are the ones that immediately come to mind
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I finally felt seen when I read this book!
Shantaram and Young Mungo
Excellent choices.
Shantaram has been on my "want to read" list for years but I've put it off due to its length and mixed reviews. Is it hard to get into and/or does it get drawn out at all?
The first half is VERY good and well written. It pulled me in all the way. There's a bit in the middle that drags on but overall id say the good outweighs the bad. I enjoyed the poetic descriptive writing and story telling a lot.
Thanks! I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually.
A man called Ove
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. It was quite the task to read and keep all the characters straight but never have I felt the weight of the humanity of every character like I have with that book. Truly a window into life and place and ends masterfully, with Bolaño essentially saying he did his best but the real portrait is life outside the book. It ruined the next 3 or 4 books I tried to read because they couldn’t compare
Thank you! Yes, I know that feeling.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier , Dirt Music by Tim Winton 🪻
Replay by Ken Grimwood The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Cloud cuckoo land
Kite Runner and Lonesome Dove, first two that come to mind
Came to say Kite Runner!
I'll never forget the meaning of "There is a way to be good again." Probably one of the only quotes from a book that has stuck with me this long. Oh sigh- I feel like it's been long enough that I need to re-read that one.
The giver has stayed with me since 6th grade. A more recent pick would be the great believers (Rebecca makkai)
Lords Of Discipline by Pat Conroy
So good. All of his books do this to me - I still think about South of Broad often as well.
"Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken" - Going Postal, Terry Pratchett There is a scene where they are describing a system of sending a name through the clacks endlessly. G: Send the message onto the next Clacks Tower. N: Do not log the message. U: At the end of the line, return the message They use this in remembrance of someone who has passed away. The grief of losing loved ones just hit me so hard when I got to that part in the book. I was in tears, missing everyone and wishing I could send their names over the clacks. GNU Genny, GNU Dad, GNU Bear ❤️
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, What the Dead Know by Barbara Butcher
I have the Haunting Of Hill House on my list already! I keep hearing it’s one of the best horror novels ever. Thanks. Also, just finished the Shining, if you haven’t read that, I loved it.
I’ve thought about the Shining! Thank you for the rec!
The opening and closing paragraphs are some of the most extraordinary writing I've ever read
The Pianist
White Nights, Anna Karenina, Love in the Time of Cholera, Norwegian Wood, 1984
The Overstory by Richard Powers. Also, by the same author, The Time of Our Singing
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. I've read it several times, and I'm emotional every time.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
I’ve been looking for this one, can’t believe my library doesn’t have it!
My favorite book!
Yes this is a 5 star book!
I don’t really know why, but I think of Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon all the time
Made me think of This Boys Life by Tobias Wolff, also a good one.
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. Almost anything by Steinbeck.
Sorry, earlier my brain read “almost nothing by Steinbeck” 😅 Sorry, thank you for the recommendation!
Aw come on!!
A Little Life; I hated it totally.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (tissues recommended. This book had me openly weeping)
The last letter by Rebecca yarros The Flight & Glory series by Rebecca Yarros The Fourth Wing & Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield Many Lives Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss Go Ask Alice Convoluted Universe Series by Dolores Cannon CPTSD From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker Not finished but would recommend : Psycho Cybernetics - Maxwell Maltz The Biology of Belief - Dr. Bruce lipton Becoming Supernatural - Dr. Joe Dispenza I have some more but this is a lot lol
I have a favorite book list too, I get it, haha. If I were to start with just one… do you have a favorite favorite?
Damn I can only pick 1?! If ur looking for adventure, 4th wing! Romance, the last letter Changing ur life, many Lives Many Masters
She’s come undone by Wally Lamb.
The Time Traveler's Wife. I sobbed when I finished it. My partner sobbed when he finished it.
Darling Venom, Stolen, A Wrinkle in Time, The Scent of Rain and Lightening
Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller
Dying to be me—Anita Moorjani
* The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai * Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas * Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
I was never one for non-fiction. I mostly lost interest in Highschool; that being said I am a huge non-fiction fan. I was profoundly affected by "Light in Gaza: Writings born in fire". I had tears in my eyes multiple times throughout the book. It was Profound, Beautiful and Terrible. It filled me with sorrow & hope. It did all this while being completely non-fiction. I learned a lot about their experience. It moved me very deeply.
The Collector by John Fowles. Really heavy, intense feeling. It felt so real to me. I stayed up all night reading it as a teenager, finished it the night I began it. Also The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (interestingly also stayed up all night, also a teen.)
Same for me with the Bell Jar. I first read it as a teen, with a completely different mindset and it made me feel… completely miserable, but still FEEL. I read it again this year and totally different feels. Haven’t read the John Fowles one, will check it out!
The Parable duology by Octavia E Butler
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Oh my gosh! Yes! A favorite when I was younger. Have you seen the movie? It’s quite good!
Didn't know there was a movie, I'll check it out tnx
Count of Monte Cristo. The Martian. Matthew Perry's auto biography. Coin Locker Babies. The Cartel.
A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara** ; Untamed - Glennon Doyle ; Educated - Tara Westover** ; The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah** ; The School For Good Mothers - Jessamine Chan** ; The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold** ; My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult** ; I'm sure there are more, but these are ones I consistently think about (even over a decade later in terms of when I read MSK and TLB). **trigger warning (edited for clarity)
The Castle
Reincarnation Blues. Still think about it regularly even though I read it years ago. Was not what I expected going into it. Only book I refuse to lend out because I need it near me, just in case.
Demon Copperhead - I’m still wondering what those characters are up to.
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
I commend this under almost any post like this I see, but for me it will always be The song of Achilles. It's been years and I'm still not over it.
-These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever - The Secret History by Donna Tartt -If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio I dont want to explain why these books stayed with me to this day cuz then it would then end up me writing long ass essays. But hey, if you know, you know.
Shadow of the wind has always been my go to book whenever someone asked me for a recommendation.It has all that one might expect regardless of your interest in terms of genre. The writing is super poetic.
I'll go with Steinbeck as well, but for me it's Tortilla Flat. I'd also add: Windup Bird Chronicle; Waiting by Ha Jin - saddest ending in any book I've ever read
The Humans by Matt Haig and City of Thieves by David Benioff. The first one is very funny and touching, the second one is haunting and touching.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Camera Shy by Kay Cove
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Never Let Me Go stuck with me because it’s so frustrating. It gave me an anxious sense of urgency because the characters are so passive.
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Between Shades of Gray, and The Giver come to mind
A Little Life! But lots of TWs so please be mindful of that before you decide to read
I have just started this and am only about 20 pages in. Wish me luck. I don’t know details of what happens but I know it gets really bad so the beginning where everything is normal is very unnerving. On edge thinking where the descent will begin
Tbh the first good chunk of this book is lowkey slow… it takes a while to get to the real page turner and jaw dropping portion of it all, but it’s very much worth it! Have a great read!! :)
The Kite Runner, House of Sand and Fog
House of Sand and Fog! But not in a fond way…
Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall
The Beartown series by Fredrik Backman
JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN by Dalton Trumbo. DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD by Rebecca Wells
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
The stand by Stephen King
Just bought this!
You won't regret it. Watch out for the Walkin dude. I also think this book should be mandatory reading for teenage boys just because of the Harold character. Really caused me to reexamine myself and my own behaviour.
Huh, I’m really interested now!!
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Cane River by Lalita Tademy Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Scythe by neil shusterman Black by Ted dekker Renegades by Marissa Meyer Each one has it own reason. I would say the one that always makes me come back and think more and more about it would be the scythe trilogy. There are so many small topics and ideas that are in it that I think about throughout the day.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
On the Beach
Five People You Meet In Heaven and Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom
A Little Life, I think about Jude constantly
The Joke, Milan Kundera Ficciones, Jorge Luis Borges A Cup of Sake Beneath the Cherry Trees, Yoshida Kenkō and many more...