#not to sound like wildly pretentious but I’ve mostly been reading classics in my spare time so like

[micamicster]

Hiiiiiiii,

I was wondering if you or followers have good reading recs( preference for a published novel but a good fanfic also appreciated). I let Big corporations win and am now trying to avoid the endless scroll but am finding that I’m in a bit of bind to find something that’s scratching the itch and I refuse to regress back into binge reading YA(which is fine! But I believe that there must be a good story even if the protagonist goes to work sometimes) ((also extra preference is NYC is a main character bc I refuse to get a new personality))

I was trying to sit on this ask until I had more to offer you because my brain is completely fried and I’ve forgotten everything I’ve read in the last couple of years other than like. Moby dick. Which does not remotely meet your standards. However I don’t think my brain is likely to get less fried any time soon so I’m going to throw this out to my followers in hopes they can be more helpful than me!

For a couple of suggestions the first book that came to mind was The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wrecker, which is a lovely story about two fantasy creatures crossing paths in turn of the century New York. It is very deeply about the Jewish and Syrian immigrant communities in manhattan and illustrates their world and experiences through the ultimate fish-out-of-water stories of their non-human leads. It is slower paced so it may not be for everyone coming from YA though. Another fave is the girls at the kingfisher club by Genevieve Valentine, a fairytale retelling of the 12 dancing princesses set in jazz age new york. These characters do not have jobs lol. Shorter and quicker than the previous rec, this story focuses on the relationships between the sisters but has a central romance I really enjoyed as well. The next one is not set in new york but when I was younger and transitioning into adult fiction I remember barbara kingsolver being a great entry point. I would recommend The Bean Trees, which is about a young woman striking out on her own through the southwest only for someone to abandon a child in her car. I haven’t read it in years so I’m not sure how it holds up but I remember it being very readable with an engaging cast of weird female characters! Also not set in nyc but one of the few contemporary novels I enjoyed in the last couple years was station eleven by Emily st john Mandel, which is sort of a loosely connected cast of characters and vignettes about art and humanity in the post-apocalypse.

Anyone else with recs for my anon?