Alright here it is. I honestly have no idea what I’m doing with this since I have barely read anything since middle school (maybe a book or two a year). My contributions will primarily be manga. If I need to add a genre or period let me know. This series will eventually be canonized into the sidebar as a definitive recommendation list of all things C/Lit.
Future threads:
Periods: Pre-1800, 1800s, 1900-50, 1951-99, 2000-20, 2021
Genres: Children’s, Comedy, Coming of age, Folklore, Historical, LGBT, BIPOC Related, Philosophy, Pop Culture, Religious, Thriller, Western, Young Adult, Action, Adventure, Survival, Crime, Mystery, Fantasy, Romance, Horror, Graphic Novel, Biography, Travel, Historical, Propaganda, Philosophy, Political Theory, Poetry, Plays, Manga, Speculative Fiction, Sports, and Miscellaneous
Dune Trilogy and Le Guin are usually what I recommend
Call me basic, but I second Dune. Successfully writing tension with third person omniscient perspectives is an incredible feat in my mind. That way when the reveals come together, you can see how every part plays into it. Children of Dune’s big reveal was especially great for me, a moment where the reveal is both out of the blue and perfectly makes sense.
Ursula Le Guin’s works. Specifically The Dispossed and The Left Hand of Darkness.
I’ll try to add The Dispossessed as a suggestion for the next round of the !anarchism@hexbear.net reading group. I’ve seen it mentioned a couple of times on here and in other Socialist circles.
Frankenstein is a masterpiece. I read it in high school and it instantly became one of my favorite books ever. Hollywood’s interpretations of the OG book don’t do the story any justice: it’s a thoroughly tragic character study with a layered narrative that still holds up today, despite being written in 1818.
Another favorite of mine is The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. Presented as a short story collection but every story takes place within the same overarching narrative about the colonization of Mars. Some of Bradbury’s best work with some really powerful chapters.
Can’t believe no one has mentioned The Culture Series yet. It’s like Star Trek but better.
Also the Altered Carbon Series is a great cyberpunk series
No, the books can technically be read in any order, because they are more or less independent. IMO, Phlebas is one of the weakest books in all the series and unlike the other books in the series (except inversions), it is written as a sort of anti space opera. Still a good book though.
Although, the Idiran war, which is ongoing during the events in Phlebas, is very important moment in the Culture’s history and essential to understand what drives the Culture. But you could just read the appendix which gives a general overview of the war and the reasons for the war.
The second book (A player of Games) is also a very good starting point, and one of my favourites.
The Years of Rice and Salt is an old fave of mine, set in an alt history in which the Black Death wipes out 90% of Europe and following two people being reincarnated throughout time.
The Sparrow, about the Vatican’s doomed expedition to make first contact with an alien civilization
