what book or books have you read that were so good that you didn’t want to put it down?
Looking for new books to read as I am preparing to head out on a much needed vacation and want to dig into some good reading. Can be fiction or nonfiction, just so long as it hooked you and made you want to keep reading and reading until the end.
The expanse. I'm on book 8 right now and it's been going fast. The world building is so good. It makes you wish you were there with them. If you're into hard scifi, then you'll love this series
Same, when I was reading The Expanse I read every moment I had available, even sacrificing sleep time. I just couldn't stop. The last book I read cover to cover without stopping, spending even the whole night reading without sleeping lol
Wait til you get further in. Things just keep building and it gets even better. The books I mean. I liked season one of the tv show and that was it. But the books. Only one book out of the series so far has been a struggle. The rest I've blinked and finished because of how good they were.
I read almost exclusively fantasy and sci fi. Here's a few favourites.
Sci fi:
Red Rising Trilogy
Bobiverse
The Martian and Project Hail Mary
Fantasy:
The First Law Trilogy (my absolute favourite of everything I've read)
Brandon Sanderson (literally any of his stuff. If you're looking for a trilogy, start with Mistborn and if a stand alone, Warbreaker). Don't be overwhelmed by his Cosmere world, if you only read mistborn era 1 it wraps up in a nice bow.
Robin Hobbs first trilogy is a nice introduction to her series. If you don't love it it wraps up nicely after the first trilogy.
Dystopian:
Unwound by Neal Schusterman
Arc of the Scythe by Neal Schusterman
I've read the entire Robin Hobbs Elderlings series, all of Sanderson's cosmere books, and Abercrombie's First Law series.
If I had to pick and start all over again, I'd go with the Elderlings series. It's complete and it's amazing. Cosmere would be next. The first law series wasn't as enjoyable for me.
I haven't read Joe Abercrombie's stand alone novels that follow after The First Law but apparently they're even better. My favourite stuff used to be Sanderson until I read this.
My lemmy name is also my favourite character from that trilogy as well
I feel like I have read quite a few books that I felt that way about, but it's always hard to bring them to mind when someone asks. That said, the first few that popped into my head:
Cradle (series)
Wool (series)
The Martian (Audio book is especially well narrated!)
Overall message too, somehow went from "we are the avantgarde of transhumanism and the universe is our playground" straight up to something like "i wish 50's back". Every single Bob turned to either flat meme or boomer.
I scrolled all the down the comments and didn't see Discworld by Terry Pratchett. Don't listen to anyone and just start reading it. There's no right or wrong way to do it.
Anything by Blake Crouch I've flown through (Dark Matter, Recursion, Upgrade). As others have mentioned, The Martian and Project Hail Mary are really great as well. A few others I couldn't put down over the past few years:
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
Brother by Ania Ahlborn
Mistborn 1 - 3 (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, & The Hero of Ages) by Brandon Sanderson
A Short History of Chinese Philosophy by Fung Yu-Lan. I spent pretty much all of my time off work reading it. I found it insanely interesting since I knew almost nothing about Chinese philosophy, and the book is written specifically for people like that. The way their schools of thought developed through the ages and were influenced by each other constantly as one became dominant was very fascinating.
Since his work hasn't been mentioned yet:
Any of the Discworld Novels by Sir Terry Pratchett. My personal favorites are the ones following the Wizzard Rincewind. But, I'm a sucker for the reluctant hero style story. These start with the the novel The Colour of Magic. One of the more popular series within Discworld are the books which follow Sam Vimes. They play on the Noir genre and start with the novel Guards! Guards!. There are several other threads within the Discworld which can be followed independently, though they all do tend intersect from time to time.
Reading this right now, and a little over halfway through. Enjoying it, but it took a long time for me to really sink my teeth into it. It's a very long book and a slow burn.
I actually read it in 2 weeks. It gripped me in a way that any free time, I was reading it. Every meal, break and bathroom trip 🤪
I sometimes struggle with fantasy stories because it's hard for me to picture the world they are set in. Clive has a way of creating worlds that when you're done reading the book, it takes a while for me to process that world doesn't actually exist somewhere.
for some reason i only get this with biographies or memoirs because i am very stupid - it's easier to process and internalize the writing when you know it's about the real world and you already perhaps know some of the facts
End of the World running club. As someone the UK the concept of a massive apocalyptic event set in the uk was intriguing. I loved the book.
Also Sphere by Michael Crichton. In my own head canon, I seem to recall reading this in one sitting over a single night I was doing an all nighter. It was just super gripping!
All the books in the series are very good. Also devoured Kaiju Preservation Society. I'm a huge Scalzi fan - I dream about being as sharp and witty as the characters he writes.
Every time I buy the new Alex Delaware novel written by Jonathan Kellerman I read it straight through in one seating. I own the entire collection in hardback.
Very recently, Mrs March by Virginia Feito. I was just gripped, I finished it in a day. It was compulsive, I just had to know what the main character was going to do next and how it was all going to unravel.
Hyperion Cantos -Dan Simmons
Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson
A deepness in the sly - Vernor Vinge
Insane City - Dave Barry
Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean.
Seconding Babel. Such a powerful read for me as I grew up in a former British colony. Some of the parallels to the real world colonial system and how it affects locals are so relatable, even today!
@Evolone The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers (anything by Becky Chambers, really). Also anything by Gail Carriger.
The Farseer Trilogy is NOT what you think. It drew me into reading the next few (and really long) trilogies... an awesome journey. LONG but not long enough...
For good fantasy I'd recommend the mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. It's also a great entry point to the cosmere, especially since the subsequent quadrolgy set on the same planet is finished now.
Beware you will almost certainly get sucked into the rest of the cosmere, it's awesome!
Not exactly “book books” per se, but I’ve been obsessed with Junji Ito lately. Just finished Uzumaki, and I did literally start it and not put it down until I was finished lol
Here are a few nonfiction books I couldn't stop reading and ultimately finished in a couple of days. They might be a little niche, but I'd recommend them for everyone.
"Tranny" by Laura Jane Grace (autobiography by the lead singer of the band Against Me!)
"Where You'll Find Me" by Ty Gagne (story and analysis of a woman who died hiking New Hampshire's White Mountains in winter)
"This Land" by Christopher Ketcham (kind of one big reported essay on how big industry and cowboy culture are destroying the American West)
Camino by Anya Niewierra. She's Dutch so I'm not sure if the book also exists in English.
Before that, Ready Player One. Later on I heard there is some criticism/toxicity around genders, right elitism and the like, but I never noticed that when reading it.
The Anthropocene Reviewed is the coziest book I’ve ever listened to. John Green reads it himself for the audio book and you can really feel his emotions and charm through it.
J.R.R. Tolkien - Lord of the Rings
Tom Robbins - Jitterbug Perfume
Can Toraman - Malik-i Mevt
Orhan Pamuk - Kara Kitap (Black Book)
Trevanian - Shibumi
FWIW I am a 29 yo man who has read alot of scifi/fantasy including WoT, Malazan, Cosmere, Lotr, Dune, etc.. but back when Brandon Sanderson released his YA book (now trilogy? series?) "Skyward", I read the whole thing in 2 sittings. I was enthralled. Haven't experienced a total immersion like it since.
Oh interesting. Good to know! I dug The Stormlight Archives (still need to read the latest one…), but couldn’t get into Mistborn at all. Maybe I’ll give Skyward a go. If it’s YA it should be a fast read and I’ve heard good things!
I think it's like 500 pages but it's a pretty quick read. Definitely feels YA at times but overall I enjoyed it immensely. If you do read it, let me know what you think!
For some chill, positive vibes that had me up rather too late flipping pages, I'd recommend either or both of:
Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - Sangu Mandanna
They're basically the novel version of a slice of life comic/manga. L&L is more high fantasy, while Very Secret Society is here on Earth if witches were real. It feels like there's a sub-genre of these kinds of stories popping up post pandemic and I'm all for it.
For something more action-packed, this one was incredibly engaging:
My favorite book that I read in one sitting (though not hard to do because it’s so short) is The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman… made me cry with its beauty!