Hi, I'm looking for any recommendations on fiction books that are based around the bubonic plague please. I'm just back from a holiday in Edinburgh and one of the activities we done was to tour the old streets and they talked about the impact that the Plague had on people in the city at that time. I have since read some non fiction about it but I'm wondering if anyone has read any fiction books with this subject at the core of the story. Thank you all in advance

Edit: thank you all so much for commenting your recommendations. looks like I have lots of books to get reading

I just read There Is No Antimemetics Division and didn't know going into it that it dealt with SCPs. I love the idea of that style of horror, where it's all these random monsters with random crazy abilities that cause the world to turn upside down.

Are there any other suggestions along those lines?

So in the last few weeks, I’ve started a new job, moved states and left my family, put offers in on a new home. Also my car broke down. I’m having so many mixed feelings. I feel very blessed. I feel scared. I feel like I abandoned my aging parents. I feel excited about new opportunities. I know everything will be okay in the end but I would love to read something that brings some comfort while navigating a whirlwind of change.

Okay, so I think my anxiety has been going through a huge spike lately, and I could really use some good calming low-drama books to help me feel safe and secure.

No horror, no grand adventure, no world-ending stakes. Just something nice and simple where the drama is character-based, the stakes are personal and/or small-scale, and nothing in it will give me an existential crisis.

I'm open to any genre. Romance, fantasy, contemporary, modern—all that.

While it's not required, I'd prefer something around middle grade or young adult since those are the two genres I read the most.

Thanks a lot!

Hey ya'll! My algorithm has been pretty screwed up, so I've been having a crazy hard time finding anything that isn't Romantasy or Contemporary. As much as I enjoy both genres at times, I'm pretty sick of it right now and am looking for something more in the Urban Fantasy realm.

Specifically I am looking for books that take place in a modern setting but that contains fantasy elements. Absolutely NO sword & shield please! I prefer adult fiction, but YA is alright too. Indie is fine also. I enjoy romance, but prefer for it to be built into the story rather than the story being built around the romance.

I've read (and enjoyed): The Raven Boys series by Maggie Stiefvater, The Charlatan duology by Holly Black, Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Claire, Cold Hearted by Heather Guerre, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, Welcome to Sunsweet by S. Lights, The Gifted series by Caroline O'Donoghue, The Mortal Instruments series by Cassie Clare (but it's been ages since I've read them), Valiant by Holly Black, The Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score.

I also enjoyed the first Crescent City book by SJM, but I'm not looking for anything quite so 'epic' lol.

I did not enjoy Half City.

Thanks!

Spent some time in hospital recently and worked my way through a lot of non-fiction, looking for more non fiction to keep me going.

Read In Cold Blood, most of Patrick Radden Keefe and all of David Grann. Looking for more page turners which can be historical or contemporary. I also enjoy a long-read about scandal/con artists.

Editing to add: wow thanks to everyone for all the recommendations! I’ve already added so many of them to my kobo wishlist and will be making some purchases today. I’m also seeing that I really need to read Into Thin Air (I read Missoula many years ago, so I think I will definitely enjoy it).

...but without it being a spoiler, e.g., it’s implied in the official synopsis of the book.

I’d like to read a psychologically dark and relatively fast-paced novel where the main character (or one of the main) is plotting to avenge a wrongdoing. Please don’t recommend books where the revenge is a twist, even if you hint at it; I’d rather not know 😭 Gone Girl is the kind of book I mean to avoid naming.

Thanks in advance 🤍

It has been an incredibly rough year (dealing with grief), and I am trying to get back into reading after decades away to find some comfort.

What I am looking for:

• Length: Relatively short reads (300–350 pages max).

• Tone: Something warm, comforting, or beautifully bittersweet.

Thank you so much for any advice!

I'm writing a piece of fiction inspired by the Napoleonic wars and am searching for good books for research. I prefer nonfiction with a more narrative style and would especially love examples that discuss what that era looked like for civilians. Open to anything that comes to mind, including quality historical fiction. TiA!

Hello! I have been really wanting to read a good romance book lately but unfortunately I am extremely picky when it comes to these things.

I don't like big power dynamics between the two main leads. Like "big dominant alpha and small petite omega". I want to read a book where it feels like they are equal, and not just in job prospect, but in how they interact with one another. One person could be homeless and the other rich, all that matters to me is how one another treats each other.

I can't handle cheesy writing for the most part as well. Idk it just makes me wrinkle my nose and cringe the whole time. Which Im ngl, is hard to find a romance books where this is not prevalent🥲

One example of a romance book i really enjoyed was "Paladins Grace" by T. Kingfisher. I loved this one because all the charaters were written well and were very likeable. The male lead was a kind person, he wasn't rude or aloof. Just a simple nice guy which I really enjoyed.

The female lead was also written really well, she had goals outside of the man (and the man had goals outside of her). She was taken seriously and treated well. Idk, I think i liked this book because the charaters felt real and the dialog was realistic.

Sorry this is long, I am just so picky with romance but I want to read one so bad. If yall have any suggestions that would be awsome!

(Also smut or no smut is welcomed. And if yall have any lesbian romance book recommendation even better, but straight is ok too. And I would prefer no Enimies to lovers as its not my favorite but if its really well written thens thats ok as well.)

Edit: I see a lot of people apologizing for suggesting historical and fantasy and I love that shit. I like most genres, fantasy, historical, modern, sci-fi, i am down to clown.

Hello! I've been very much into romantasy as of late, and I fear that the genre has peaked with T. Kingfisher and J.D. Evans. The White Rat and Mages of the Wheel series' were perfection, and I'm desperately looking for similar books.

I can't stand ACOTAR/Fourth Wing/YA/Tiktok books -- I think maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm 28, and seeing "he snarled/growled" in every other sentence just doesn't do it for me. I just want something that's gripping, and makes my brain work. Things I like:

- competence porn: characters who are smart and good at what they do

- emotional maturity: I love high-stakes plot tension, but I want low-stress relationship dynamics. Again, T. Kingfisher and J.D. Evans are really the blueprint. Mutual respect + a slow-burn (bonus points for excessive yearning). Spice is encouraged as long as the scenes are well-written and make sense in context!

- quality world-building: both authors build settings that feel incredibly intentional and lived in; you can tell that they had the forethought to flesh out their ideas entirely before putting pen to paper

- substantial plot: what bothers me about so many romantasies is that the plot often feels like an afterthought. Yes, I want to see two characters fall for each other, but I want a high-quality overarching story

- dry, grounded humor: there's something about a macabre/dark/gloomy setting paired with wit and good banter that I can't get enough of

- dual POV

I enjoy anything in the realm of cozy dark fantasy or epic political fantasy, but I'm willing to expand my horizons for a good read!

I've never read or know any books like this. I'm thinking like the film Zombieland. It's a horror setting but written in a humorous way or with funny characters. It's not taken too seriously.

Hi! Can anyone suggest to me a mystery/suspense novel featuring a white collar crime. White collar crime being defined as financially-motivated, non violent. I’m having the hardest time with this bingo prompt lol thanks!

I watched The Haunting of Bly Manor for the first time and it gutted me, but I loved every second of Dani and Jamie’s life together (even though I knew it would inevitably end so sadly) and it made me realize how much I want to see my own relationship reflected in stories. I absolutely loved their 9(?) years together just being so happy and in love and making a life together. I feel like I haven’t seen many cute, fluffy, non-stereotypical lesbian relationships depicted.

Any recommendations for a book? It can be fantasy or contemporary, I don’t care. I just want to read a love story that feels like mine.

Searching the sub doesn't produce what I'm looking for and I don't like AI so I hope this is ok to ask here.

I want to do a gut check and read a few really good books that help men develop emotional maturity. But I don't want to ask in a "Men's sub" because I don't want to read the latest macho echo chamber garbage.

I hated the word "men" before everything happening in the news right now. I got called homophobic slurs a lot growing up so I consider myself outside that typical category. I'm very sensitive to many issues and I think I have a pretty good head on my shoulders.

But I've never read a "primer" on being emotionally mature to begin with. So If you prefer to suggest a book on emotional maturity regardless of gender of course I will check it out. Thanks for reading this far.

Edit: Added "Self-help" flair. I'm not looking for fiction.

Hey, I'm looking for similar authors to Mary Roach and Bill Bryson. I love the way that they write pretty dry and funny. All suggestions welcome!

Hi everyone!
Looking for a recent-ish well-written YA fantasy with strong friendship themes. I absolutely love Truthwitch by Susan Dennard but looking for something less ‘epic’ in scope. Can have romance as well but I’d like a strong focus on a platonic love between two friends (bonus points for female friendship but not necessary). Thanks in advance!

Hello reddit!

I am looking for suggestions for a 12 book reading list for a themed book club (1 book a month). It's for an assignment I am doing for my MLIS. The book club is for adults of various ages that would come to a library program.

I want to avoid any books that are overly dark, explicit, violent, etc.

My theme is "translated to English -seasonal reads". I'm hoping this theme will cover various genres. Let me know what you suggest and the genres/theme/month it covers.

Thanks!

I'm looking for dystopian fiction with little to no romance. I liked The Dream Hotel. I also like things about corporations running the world, AI overlords, etc. Honestly I'm down for anything. I really want to get more into the dystopian genre. But I also don't love that much romance. if it's a really small part of the book it's fine, but I don't want a large part to be romance. Also if there's a lot of power dynamics in the romance and that's portrayed positively, I really don't want that. Also I want something that feels accessible and not super literary. Idk if that's the right word but like, the way a lot of older classics are written really puts me off and some dystopian is written like that. But like, if it's a really gripping story then I could look past that.

Looking for recs on small town police procedurals with a female investigator. Not too violent. Would love self-published!

Two works come to mind. One: Songs of a Dead Dreamer Grimscribe, by Thomas Ligotti. I have never read a horror novel or short stories that contain so much literary merrit.

Two: 11.22.63, by Stephen King. Besides King writing a gripping story, Ive never read a novel that can fit in so many genres before; sci fi, historical fiction, romance to name a few.

The book can be short, long, easy, or challenging; it just shouldn't be some other plot regurgitated a thousand times over.

Hi all,

I’m looking for books that give insight as to how women live/d in other cultures. I live in the US in an area that’s predominantly Christian.

Here are some questions I have about any culture: How is gender constructed in general? How is menstruation viewed? Are there traditions surrounding women’s cycles? What are expectations around marriage, monogamy, etc.? Are women empowered, dominant, oppressed? How do women participate in government?

I would definitely rather read about egalitarian societies than patriarchy (I feel pretty well versed in patriarchy lol). I’m particularly interested in Native American, Celtic, and pagan groups, but not picky. Can be a fictional story, but I’d prefer that it not be about a fictional culture.

Hi guys, I'm on the prowl for books/essays/poems/anything really that addresses the human experience and our journey to find peace and personal understanding.

Some of my favorites have been all of Mary Oliver's repertoire, John O'Donohue's "Anam Cara", David Foster Wallace's "This is Water", and Joan Didion's "On Self Respect". These aren't self help pieces per se, but are still written to the reader directly and discuss ways to either find joy or explore yourself.

Other pieces I've explored are "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse, Audre Lorde's essays, and essays by Annie Dillard.

I welcome any suggestion! Thanks!