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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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
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
Removed by mod
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
Water, Water Everywhere
The title refers to some form or body of water. HARD MODE: Not liquid water.
- On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
- Midnight Riot (The original UK title of this is River’s of London) by Ben Aaronovitch
Award Winner:
Has won a significant literature award. HARD MODE: More than one award.
I would love some suggestions for awards to look up, that you’d consider big for your country or preferred genre. I’ve looked up lists of awards, but they tend to be pretty US-focused, and it’s hard to tell what’s actually significant.
I’m familiar with the Hugos (SFF), Nebula (SFF), Bram Stoker (horror), Edgars (mystery), Pulitzer (lit), Booker (lit), and Newbery (kids).
- Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
- Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
- Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
- A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Stranger in a Strange Land:
The primary PoV is dropped into a completely unfamiliar situation or location. HARD MODE: Not portal fiction or isekai.
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
- A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Questions, Complaints, Whines, General Commentary, Shitposting
Just a quick note, Jaymes and I seeded the Storygraph challenge they built with literally hundreds of literary and genre fiction books (some of which they’ve crossposted here), in case you’re looking for ideas and prefer a more visual browse. (No account required!)
ALT - Same Author, New Work
An author you’ve read before, but a series (or standalone) you haven’t. HARD MODE: Give an author you didn’t like a second chance.
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
There Is Another…:
Not the first in a series. HARD MODE: Series has 5 or more entries.
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
It Takes Two:
Written by two or more authors. HARD MODE: Written by three or more authors.
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohta
- Good Omens by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
- Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (Corey is a pseudonym for the team of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck)
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)
One Less:
A book that’s been on your TBR list for a long time. HARD MODE: Overlaps with at least one other bingo square theme.
