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
Removed by mod
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
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
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
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!)
Disability Representation:
A main character has or gains a disability to which they must adapt. This disability must be grounded in reality: if a 4,000 year old Prince of the Shokan lost an arm, that would count; if he became a werewolf, it would not. HARD MODE: The piece is at least partially from their perspective.
- Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton
- How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
ALT - She Blinded Me With Science
The author has a background and degree in a hard science. HARD MODE: More than one post graduate degree.
- The Postman by David Brin
- Contact by Carl Sagan
- The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson
- Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
- Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
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
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.
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)
Eazy, Breazy, Read-zie:
A light, popcorn-worthy read that’s not real deep (see also “beach read” and “airport novel”). HARD MODE: You actually read it while on a vacation/staycation.
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
- The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
- The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley
Older Than You Are
Published before your birthdate. HARD MODE: Published before 1924.
- Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
- Ulysses by James Joyce
This category is a bit tougher to recommend because the qualification depends on your age, but these are all over 100 years old and I’ve enjoyed all of them.
- Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
- Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
- King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
- A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Among the Stars:
Features space, astronomy, or stardom. HARD MODE: The title references the theme, too.
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Mr Palomar by Italo Calvino.
Also qualifies for hard mode (the character is named after an observatory).
- Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
- Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
- 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
- Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf (movie stars count)
ALT - Pseudonymous Work
Published under a pen name. HARD MODE: The author generally never writes under their own name.
- Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
- Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
- A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
- Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
- The Beast Master by Andre Norton
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
