#suggestmeabook

[courtesansjewelbox]

User katx_x in reddit wanted book suggestions to look like a Cool and Mysterious Girl Sitting in the Library and to make men fall in love with her. If you want to read the responses.

Of course some responses were like: just read what you want. Others were more like: this is what some guys are into but other guys have different tastes. While others are just: here’s a list of classics/here’s a list of everything Rory Gilmore has read.

Pretentious ask? Yes, but an interesting thought experiment nonetheless. I sometimes pick books because of the assumed cultural cache of having read them. (Very rarely though since I resist my own attempts by being distractible/easily bored/prejudiced against literary fiction/more likely to read trashy romances) That’s how I read Hemingway despite hating his work. That’s why I read Great Gatsby and Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions. What’s on my current tbr that’s like that? Probably Persuasion by Austen. What’s on yours?

On the other hand, some classics I want to read for entirely different reasons. I’m going to try and tackle Les Miserables so I can get into the fandom. 😂 I picked some queer classics because I’m interested in queer lit in general. I want to read Hopscotch because I read a book inspired by its form (Mixquiahuala Letters) and I’m curious what the multiple reading experiences will be like. I want to read Life of Pi so I can read Rajiv Surendra’s book about making the movie.

If you were to suggest a book for this ask, which one(s) would you pick?

[hearts-4-eyes]

Can anyone recommend me books similar to Six Crimson Cranes, A magic steeped in Poison, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, etc, but with some spice? I loved these books but I would prefer something with a more mature take on romance scenes. Note: I have already read The God and the Gumiho, Iron Widow (not much spice) and Eona, I have also already read MXTX's books, (I'm not looking for danmei)

[icarus-suraki]

Well damn. What's that leave then??? Nothing worth reading, that's what.

[cobaltocalcito]

on reading for the a e s t h e t i c

on r/suggestmeabook the other day i saw a post that has evidently bothered me enough to stick in my head:

someone asked for book suggestions that "give off the quirky nerdy white-girl into books vibe" e.g. the bell jar, anna karenina, and other highbrow-smart-girl-classics, and someone replied with the 500-long list of books rory is seen reading in girlmore gils -- which, of course, had an incredible range of interesting books.

still, this person's request irked me in a way i struggled to pinpoint. not just the random throwing in of "white girl", as if to underscore that the classics are only for the elite class (a whole nother problem of course), but rather the whole implication of reading purely for the aesthetic, to be seen as that kind of cool, interesting person in public, on the fabled "booktok" or bookstagram or other bookcial media, etc... all immediately gives me feelings of discomfort, toward this performative take on reading as a means of obtaining social clout.

and yet a huge part of my discomfort is my fear that secretly, this is the same way i operate, when i rave to my friends about about my goals of visiting all the bookstores in my city, or carry physical novels and sketchbooks to cafes, or knit on the train -- deep down, how badly i wish to be perceived as that cool, interesting person!

which is ridiculous, and yet so, so forgiveable. don't we all want to be living an aesthetic life? that or the ethical one, which is much less easy to glorify. because aesthetics is not just about how others see you, but how you actively choose to see yourself, a way to empower yourself, to control your own identity.

and everybody deserves to do that.

[abbenai]

solely on reddit in order to follow the r/suggestmeabook sub so that when people go “i loved harry potter growing up but now i feel weird about it but want something that captures that magic as an adult :(“ i can comment GO READ URSULA K LE GUINS EARTHSEA SERIES

[elliesgaymachete]

@everyone in r/suggestmeabook that says they want something similar to Harry Potter— GET BETTER INTERESTS!!!!

[taikonaut-songhai]

Looking for sapphic book recs with dope action

my r/suggestmeabook post got deleted cause I don't have any karma and I'm not really interested in getting any so can someone hook me up?

[spikespiegelfanclub]

goes on reddit and clicks on random r/suggestmeabook thread

someone suggests a john green book

immediately closes app

[1800titz]

would love to get some book recs from you if you have any! i love your writing style, so any books you enjoyed and/or took inspiration from i’d be so interested in reading!!

Oh gosh, sorry for keeping this in my inbox so long! And thank you, this is really sweet! Honestly, I don’t know that I have books recs right now as opposed to like. Where to find pretty prose. I find myself reading a lot of excerpts and have tons in my to read, but I haven’t actually had the time to read lately :T

I would definitely go on r/suggestmeabook and look specifically for threads with lyrical prose if that’s what you’re interested in! I haven’t actually been able to find the kind of prose I’m looking for in romance unless it’s fantasy, where people are more open/likely to experiment with/consume flowery prose, and I’m not huge on fantasy. (But I also probably haven’t dug deep enough.)

Genre/fiction aside, First You Write a Sentence by Joe Moran is beautifully crafted and tickles my brain.

Also, I finally, finally picked up Lolita, and as uncomfortable as the storyline is, Nabokov knew how to sculpt a sentence. The prose is beautiful

Will definitely update this once I’m able to build up a solid list of recs 👍

[holydivers]

i like downloading a bunch of books based on random r/suggestmeabook threads then forgetting what the original prompt was and wondering why the fuck i have this book

[diamondnokouzai]

the r/suggestmeabook bot just replied to a comment i made recommending some books two weeks ago making a joke about my reddit username?????

[deviousdayz]

I am so pissed. I was on r/suggestmeabook looking for shit similar to xenogenesis and someone just completely spoils Wild Seed bc they didn’t like it

[yourghastlycloseness]

come back here whenever you need proof that the world isn’t all bad: https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/s/HCKQaBl1du

[h0ney8ee]

yknow for a sub called r/suggestmeabook none of these people have any reading comprehension. every single time i see someone recommend a book ive read, it has absolutely nothing to do with the prompt op asked for 😐

[icarus-suraki]

From r/suggestmeabook

[cantfuckingputitdown]

Wed, August 12, 2020

Finished The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet today on a 5-hour flight. Loved it so much.

The basic premise: far, far into the future, a young female Martian (human) arrives on a ship that tunnels wormholes through time-space. The crew crosses many alien species and

The Long Way is the first sci-fi book I’ve ever read by a female author. About mid-way, I realized that Becky Chambers is also queer—which made me love the book even more. It’s heartwarming, character-driven futuristic shit that empathetically commentates on cloning, human/species bias (implicit biases), genocide, challenging the gender binary, pacifism, AI, cross-species relationships, racism (in the future, we have specism—fun), and the characters aren’t all white! Nor straight!!

The truth is, I’ve been struggling for a while to find a book that helps me find the joy in reading. This book has reminded me of the power of a good story. I slipped easily, quickly, quietly into the story of this little ship and it’s wonderful crew. I can’t remember the last time it was so easy to be in love with so many characters.

Thank you for bringing me so many moment of wonder, comfort, and joy, Becky Chambers!

Started: 8/12/20

Finished: 8/12/20

Enjoyed (out of 10): 9.5