What books do people enjoy?

I'm sure this will have been a thread before but I like books and I'm particularly into reading at the moment but I also like to talk about my favourite books. I like a pretty wide range.

Harry Potter is my all time favourite and I like other fantasy but it can be a very hit and miss genre. I also like the Percy Jackson and His Dark Materials series. I'm currently really into the Empyrean series and I recently read a book called Ink Blood Sister Scribe which I really enjoyed.

I really like Jodie Picoult as an author and enjoy the twists and moral dilemmas of her books.

I also quite like ww2 based fiction, both based on real stories and not. The Book Thief, Tattooist of Auschwitz and Sisters under the rising sun being my stand outs.

I like a good thriller and enjoy Linwood Barclay, Steve Cavanagh and M.W.Craven books. I do also read the Robert Galbraith books but I do find them too long.

I like books with autistic characters. I enjoyed the Rosie Project series even if the main character was a bit of a stereotype. I loved the Colour of Bee Larkham's murder and the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. I also enjoy the books by Elle McNicoll and Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott. Similarly, I really enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant and a Man called Ove. Their characters weren't said to be autistic but gave out a similar vibe. Where the Crawdads sing was also brilliant for this reason but her character was more because she'd been separated from society rather than being an autistic character.

From being a teenager I also really like Malorie Blackman and the Noughts and Crosses series is one of my favourite series I've read. I find it so clever.

Going against the autistic stereotype, I'm not really one for non fiction books. I do like to read about non fiction things that I'm interested in such as animals and neurodivergency but I like to look up the particular thing I'm interested in rather than reading huge amounts of information.

Do any of you like the same books? What books do you all enjoy?

  • As I've gotten older I've realised I like fiction less and less and gravitate more towards non-fiction. When I was a teenager I used to love the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, and I read Harry Potter like many others during my time in university - I felt the symbolism of Harry going off to school while I went off to university. And I used to read a lot of sci-fi - I never read them, but I'm sure I would have liked The Expanse novels because I loved the TV series.

    Nowadays though, I find I struggle getting into stories. I've learned my brain is more visually stimulated, so I prefer stories in TV and films now. Non-fiction I enjoy though because I can learn from them. There was a book called Quiet I enjoyed, explaining about introversion and how it is a benefit in a world where typically extroversion is rewarded. And I tend to enjoy what I would suppose would be called retrospectives - journalism books explaining the real life stories of people and things that actually happened.

  • Thanks Iain, I did like the wombles myself Orinoco was my favourite. The dwarf books sound interesting thanks for all the info I will check them out. Sounds like there are a few to go at which appeals to me. I tend to listen to a lot books these days, so will see how they are on audible.

  • is it Great Uncle Bulgaria?

    That's the one! The Wombles have been a childrens TV series I have always loved since I was knee high to a recycling bin.

    I think I have heard the Dwarves book, at least maybe seen the book cover?

    Each book is about 700-800 pages so there is a lot of reading.

    It goes into detail about the world the dwarves live in, their history, gods, lifestyle, internal factions, interaction with the wider world during a time of large scale war and, of course, magic.

    All the classic dwarven traits are present and full show is made of their failings as well as benefits. Some political intrigue is present, love interests make interesting turns and some nice twists lead to major upsets.

    Markus also wrote a series set in the same time/place and made it from their arch-enemies perspective (the dark elves) which makes it quite fun to see from the other side of the war.

    The dark elves (5 books I think) series is not quite as chunky but is still a serious sizes read.

    I found them well written and engaging but simple enough to put down for a few weeks and pick back up when time permits.

    They also look good on the bookcase which is a nice bonus - it really bugs me when they change the size or style of the spines of books between volumes.

  • I like the profile picture Iain, is it Great Uncle Bulgaria? Can't quite make it out but looks like it. I probably am stuck in a rut but still continue to love Fantasy books! I have tried writing a few myself but never quite finish them, always get broken off and struggle to get immersed in it again

    I think I have heard the Dwarves book, at least maybe seen the book cover? Was it a typical type of Dwarven affair?

  • I just dismiss stand alone books

    I too prefer a series or larger book but I like to have shorter books for a chance of scenery after finishing a long series (I finished Markus Heitz Dwarves series a while back and that was a lot of reading for such short people) and I like to read something light as a bit of a palate cleanser reading wise.

    I tend to read some fantasy comedy like Tom Holt who does some good standalone books about characters of mythology in a contemporary setting (think Zeus and the Gods of Olympus but in retirement homes now) where they have accidental interactions with people who find their mundane lives turned upside down.

    Maybe add a dash of Sci-Fi (some Arthur C Clarke and Isaac Asimov) for a more serious story athough these do feel quite dated now and maybe some factual works (my uncle wrote some books about the history of my home town over the last 2 centuries which is surprisingly interesting).

    It is nice to mix it up and not get stuck in the rut of only reading one subject matter all the time as it can make it boring after a while.

  • I just dismiss stand alone books or short books, doesnt matter how good they are....just love a fantasy epic!

  • Sometimes I like long books, sometimes I don't. It depends whether the content is worthy of it being so long. Harry Potter I could have kept on reading, they could never have been too long. But the Strike books she now writes are way too long.

    The current series I'm reading are long books and I love it. But there have been others where I've got bored before the end.

    I like a series but I do also like a shorter stand alone book.

  • Exactly my thinking regarding characters and their development! No I think I have heard of Storm Constantine , certainly not Charles De Lint. I will look them up. I tend to read only fantasy fiction books, the only recent exception was the Pierce Brown outing. Reading a pretty dark book at the moment which is interesting but perhaps a bit too much?

  • I'm not a fan of short books or short stories either, I prefer series to a one off, if I like the main charaters in a book then I want to spend more time with them.

    Have you read any Storm Constantine? Or Charles De Lint, he writes fairy tales for grown ups.

  • If you like Fantasy books it is a must read in my view, it can be a bit dry in places but worth seeing it through. I do like long books though, if a book is too short I dont bother. I don't know if you have ever come across it but the BBC did a great adaptation for radio many years ago worth a go if you dont fancy the book

  • I've never read Lord of the Rings. I'm increasingly thinking that I should. But its a big commitment and I'm worried I won't like it.

  • Factual books, stuff that teaches you about special interests, not sure they are special as they are basically just….interests? I would recommend a trio of books in the same series; Sapiens, Homo Deus and 21 Lessons by Yuval Noah Harari. The main theme is where we came from originally as humans to where we find ourselves today with the introduction of AI into our modern lives and the effects it may have on the future lifestyles of humans.

  • I have always been a huge fan of fantasy books and must have read and listened to hundreds over the years. Some of my faves have been, Lord of the Rings (classic), Most books by Joe Abercrombie, loved Pierce Brown's books which was a bit of a move away from Fantasy stuff, Dragonlance books, too many books to name especially around more dark/gritty fantasy stuff.

    In terms of non fiction which I sometimes go to tends to be anything to do with ancient history stuff, especially Roman and the republic era. I like other historical stuff but ancient history is my big passion Slight smile

  • I've just looked this series up. Sounds like the kind of series I'd enjoy so may give it a go at some point.

  • I love the Jackson Brodie series. 

  • The trouble with googling things like that is you either get more information than you know what to do with or a very simplified version, neither of which do justice to the subject or your curiosity. But then maybe you have better luck with googling things than I do, I look up shoes and get shown airfryers!

    I much prefer a book that I can do a deep dive through, then I go onto the next book, I quite like having two piles of books on a subject on one side the read pile and on the other the unread pile, this was a habit I picked up at uni and have never got out of.

  • Yes sometimes I like to go back and read books that I loved as a child and I still love them as an adult.

    I get this as well. I see new bits as an adult but I still read it as a child, as I did then and I remember those innocent feelings I had back then. In a way for me it's almost like travelling back in time.
    A book I remembered which I think you might like is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

    Goodreads page: www.goodreads.com/.../7126.The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo

    It's a really, really long book but the story is OMG in so many good ways. It's the first mega long book I ever read and it made me think and feel all the way through the story. At the end I felt sad because it meant the story was over and I had to find a new book to read lol.

    Highly recommend this one to you! ^^

  • I do also like a power of the women story so I would probably enjoy that.

  • If you appreciated the human spirit of tattooist of Auschwitz then I think you'd enjoy sisters under the rising sun. Also based on a true story and the human spirit they manage to muster to get through a truly awful situation is a whole nother level. It's a brilliant book.

     You are wise for choosing light reads for before bed. Admittedly sometimes I find myself reading into the night instead of sleeping if I'm really gripped.

    I'd love to learn more about human evolution but I know I wouldn't read a book like that properly.

  • It’s really good! It’s about a woman who became a spy for the French resistance. She’s disabled so she was reject from the U.S., but found a way to help in France. It’s based on a real women.

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