#best character is the rainbow chicken thing that has all the themes alternating in the round that you get when you join the game

[eviedontyoumind]

hyper fixated on crossy road

[inktae]

Ok so I think I’m honestly just going to submit this because this is probably going to be long and the ask box can be a bit annoying.

So here we go ^^

If both story and writing style are important to you YOU NEED to check out the handmaids tale by margaret atwood! I don’t think there are many authors who combine the two as well as she does tbh. Tht is a bit slow paced (but NOWHERE near as much as atlwcs) but her writing is honestly everything and the atmosphere! Oh my gosh she’s so good at creating the right atmosphere. You know how dystopias often feel kind of unrealistic? This one feels scarily plausible (atwood actually didn’t include anything that didn’t exist somewhere at some point in history) and honestly with the way politics are atm, it’s actually pretty relevant. Her main character isn’t some badass bitch that conspires to take down the system either but a breathing flawed human being who feels incredibly real.

Also literary fiction but with a completely different approach are life after life by kate atkinson and station eleven by emily st. john mandel. I’ve read lal some time ago but I just remember being absolutely hooked. Super shortly put it’s about the main character (a woman born in 1910) who gets to live her life again and again with full knowledge of her previous lives. The story is super engaging and addictive and the plot is so so intricately constructed. Her style is really elegant but the structure’s even more so, there are so many timelines (taking place in alternative realities nonetheless) and so many recurrent themes but she makes it work so well! It also asks some really interesting questions about the definition of living a “right” life, individual responsibility and how much agency an individual really has and how much in life is up to circumstances/out of a persons hand.

Station eleven is about so many things at once but it mainly takes place in north america in the time during and after an apocalypse (not the dramatic zombie kind, but it’s literally just some flue if I remember correctly). It has a lot of different povs and timelines but as in lal it’s awe inspiringly elegantly organized. A central theme is definitely the importance of stories and storytelling for humanity as well as individuals, for example the book focuses partly on a shakespearian theatre company touring the post apocalyptical usa, but there are also multiple narratives relating to a comic book (it’s creator, it’s consumers, the people who derive meaning from it), an aspiring actor in the days before the apocalypse and the cost of fame etc and all the narratives are related to another and slowly come together as the novel progresses.

For space related stuff: consider checking out the book of strange new things by michel faber. The synopsis sounds incredibly weird, it’s literally about a priest assigned to convert aliens who has to leave his wife back on earth for his mission. But it’s actually equal parts literary and science fiction and a metaphor for the relationship between the author and his wife who was dying of cancer as he wrote the book (I honestly cried as I read the interview in which he said that). It’s super hard to describe so you should probably just read some reviews to get a feel for it. Ah and it’s also very readable if you aren’t religious even though the main character is a priest (I’m not religious and really enjoyed it and I’m pretty sure the author himself is an atheist (it deals very respectfully with religion though)). I think I like it slightly less than tht, lal and station eleven but it’s still a really great book and the concept is really something else and it’s space related too, so I figured why not include it. Also the covers of the canongate versions are gorgeous af (and maybe the reason I bought it in the first place)

I’ve only ever read the german translation (the original is czech I think), but if you are into books with more of a philosophical approach read the unbearable lightness of being by milan kundera! I read this like three years ago and I have no idea how to summarise this but it’s really interesting

Another author I’ve only ever read in german is italo calvino (originally italian) of whom I really enjoyed if on a winters night a traveller and invisible cities. Invisible cities is a novella/poetry collection so it’s probably not everyone’s sort of thing but I really enjoy the images he creates. and ioawnat is really something else (it’s also written in 2nd person and I read it before I started reading fanfiction, so I found it very hard to get into at first). I really enjoyed the way he plays with different writing styles and the narrative structure (which is super complex, it’s sort of a book in a book in a book in a book…?) and it’s kind of a postmodern classic, so reading it does make you feel smart lol, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it if you’re in a reading slump, since calvino isn’t very plot or character driven.

Idk if you are into comics/graphic novels, but if yes: the sandman by neil gaiman! The first few issues are a bit weaker than the rest but it’s probably the best fantasy related series I’ve ever read. also if you should read it start with the main series and none of the prequels/spinoffs, it gets super confusing otherwise, and the artist changes all few issues/each arc to reflect the mood of the story which I think is super cool.

Space related and also comics/graphic novels: saga by brian k. vaughan and fiona staples, ok this one is super hard to summarise but imagine romeo and juliet in space paired with star wars and game of thrones? The art is probably my favorite ever but it’s also very explicit and gory (think game of thrones) which honestly took me a while to get used to (but I’m also a bit of a chicken when it comes to this stuff). It’s really really good though and the plot keeps you on edge, unlike sandman the series is still ongoing though.

Also wuthering heights by emily bronte is one of the best things ever written, just saying.

Aaaand if you are into chick flick/cutesy stuff fangirl by rainbow rowell is great!

I can’t believe this got so long, ugh I’m powerless against procrastination sdhfjkl :’). Anyways I hope some of these sound at least kind of interesting to you!

- coffee

DAMN I GOT SO EXCITED WHEN I SAW ALL THESE RECS OMG -

okay, I am definitely intrigued by the handmaids tale. I tried not to read the reviews too much but they seemed to find the plot quite compelling and that definitely caught my attention. also, someone commented about the blind assassin by the same author. have you read this one? it seems quite interesting as well :)

oh boy, life after life sounds very interesting. I saw a few reviews and they seem mixed, but I am still going to keep it in mind. and station eleven... I read the summary and !!! I love it already!! I adore apocalyptic universes and this seems to be a very original take on it. I might read this one first. ^^

ALSO ADULT SCI-FI, THANK YOU FOR THAT REC. yes it’s strange, and that’s what draws me to this book. :)) oh and I did read milan kundera’s book a few years back! it was actually a school assignment, and I ended up enjoying it a lot. I should give it another try though, because I think I would understand it differently now. 

also!!! neil gaiman!! I’ve had his books on pending for ages, so thank you for reminding me about him. even though I have never read a graphic novel, I do enjoy mangas so I’ll probably enjoy this one quite a lot. ^^

AJLSD I THINK A FRIEND ACTUALLY READ SAGA AND WAS REALLY ENJOYING IT. the reviews are also astonishing! will def keep it in mind as well. 

emily bronte is another author I’ve had in my pendings for a while (sorry sorry) and even though I haven’t read fangirl, I do know the author and I remember enjoying eleanor & park when I was younger. I might give it a try, even though I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy her style in the same way now :’D

anyway, thank you for all these recs. I think the handmaid’s tale and station eleven are on top of the list (for now). it depends on what I can find though - since I want to buy books in english and sadly it’s not that easy to find them here ;; but I’ll let you know if I get one of these in my hands!! :)