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MANIFOLD
What book should I read?
22
แน€1.2kแน€822
resolved Mar 13
100%4%
Ted Chiang - Stories of your life and other stories
23%Other
11%
Project Hail Mary
0.4%
The Vorkosigan Saga (book 1, Shards of Honor)
1.9%
Anyone by Charles Soule
2.0%
Camp So-and-So by Mary McCoy
18%
There Is No Antimemetics Division
4%
Prince of Nothing Trilogy
4%
Off to Be the Wizard - Scott Meyer
0.4%
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
0.4%
The Stand - Stephen King
13%
Hyperion - Dan Simmons
0.9%
The Gunslinger (first of the Dark Tower books)
8%
Children of Time
3%
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
4%
The Martian
1.7%
Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl
I'll choose the answer whose recommendation I choose to read. It might be fiction or nonfiction (though I don't read a lot of nonfiction). I'm a big fan of weird, intricate, and humorous works which are not precious with their protagonists. I've read and enjoyed the following, - Anything by J.R.R Tolkien - Anything by Terry Pratchett - Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Tom Clancy novels - Bill Bryson works - In the Name of Rose - Kill Six Billion Demons - Unsong - Anything by Douglas Adams - Many things by Diana Wynne Jones - Practical Guide to Evil - The Screwtape Letters - Watership Down - Animal Farm - Anything by Mark Twain (except Pudd'nhead Wilson) I'm lukewarm on, - Things by Neil Gaiman - Sabriel - Foucault's Pendulum - Pillars of the Earth - Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality - Stand Still Stay Silent - Game of Thrones - Circe - Lies of Locke Lamora - Dune - Agatha Christie's works - Ray Bradbury's works - Life of Pi - Witcher books - Wedgwood's The Thirty Years War I disliked, - Most Patrick Rothfuss's works - Most Brandon Sanderson works - Worm - The Welcome Inn - The Black Company books - Ender's Game - Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Catch-22 - Gideon the Ninth Things I'm already considering (but feel free to suggest), - Ladies of Grace Adieu - Mother of Learning - Man's Search for Meaning - First of the Dark Tower books - Snow Crash - Something by Lord Dunsany - Soldiers & Silver: Mobilizing Resources in the Age of Roman Conquest Mar 11, 11:32pm: @M I'll resolve at midnight with the book I choose to read. Mar 12, 7:43pm: Thanks for all the amazing suggestions!
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How this question will be resolved?
It is much better than "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality", please DO NOT compare it to that. I really recommend it if you like SF with interesting worldbuilding.
This one's a quick read, and it's excellent. If you don't want to buy the book, it's available online as a series of SCP articles starting here: https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-055
Buying $1 of this because it's a good book and has low odds. You should definitely read this at some point but it's more of a good book recc, not something specific to your read and enjoyed/lukewarm/disliked IMO. It's really not in the Douglas/Pratchett vein. Some other thoughts on things listed that I've read: Children of Time is good/unique. I like Neal Stephenson in theory (Quicksilver is good if interested in history) but was eh on Cryptonomicon and Snowcrash. The Martian is good/would be my pick if your good books list was a bit different. I tried Vorkosigan and didn't get it at all.
Adding this because it's on your list and it's what the other "What Book Should I Read" market resolved to. It's very highly rated (4.4 on goodreads). I read it a few years ago and have almost no memory of it. It's not what I would pick if I were you but a lot of people think it's good.
Also adding The Martian, by the same author as Project Hail Mary and enjoyable for many of the same reasons.
Slapping down some M$ to recommend my favourite piece of online fiction ever, which I'm pleasantly surprised to see anyone else mention.
The Gunslinger. I recently realized that I can still recite its first sentence, many years after reading it (15, according to my records). The book is great and you'll go through it quickly. It can definitely stand on its own as well. I recently bought and read Project Hail Mary based on similar high internet praise. While an entertaining read, the writing is severely lacking, IMO. Especially compared to a Stephen King. I'm currently going through The Stand, but have found it has held up a little less than some of his other books. But it does pick up after a while and I probably still have to get to the best part.
Hyperion is just really freaking good, e.g. see this guy's list of short SF reviews (ctrl + F for Hyperion): https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/stxovy/thought_you_all_might_enjoy_this_persons_brief/
This is a classic (though super long), King's a great writer and didn't see him on your list. I liked this more than the Dark Tower. Also, while I have another comment box: I abandoned Mother of Learning, but didn't get that far. I'm with you on disliking Ender's Game, which is super overrated. Surprised you didn't like Catch-22, but have limited data I guess.
Highly rated newish book by the author of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It's good/surreal/well written/sort of other wordly/ephemeral with an interesting vibe. Not really humorous. While I have a comment box/since we can't buy no on other options: I personally abandoned Project Hail Mary, though I could see it having potential/being good for the right person (obv a lot of people here like it). Wouldn't nec say it gave me strong quirky/Adams/Pratchett vibes though.
I'm suggesting this based on your enjoyed/lukewarm/disliked list, which are actually fairly different from my personal tastes. This is a humorous/weird/light/quirky type science fiction/fantasy book though with Pratchett/Adams ish elements. Also: it has a great audible narrator if you want to do that or sync with kindle, which is what I did. Also: it's part of a series, and later ones are decent in the same vein too. There was a point in the third book where I was literally laughing out loud/couldn't stop for like 10 minutes, which hardly ever happens to me with books.
This is a good one, free to read, and lighter than most of QNTM's stuff; also, if you like his lighter stuff, the Ed stories are worth checking out.
Somewhere between Unsong and Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, so there's mixed chance you'll like. It's a clever story with interesting ideas.
Project Hail Mary is pretty well-recommended among types that seem similar to you.
It's a must read, also short stories so you don't have to "stay up reading later than you intended"
just bc I'm reading it right now and it's pretty good. (Why did you dislike Worm? I can't quite put my finger on it why I didn't like it. Probably got too dark?)
Young adult fiction with a complex, fast-moving plot. Exciting, humorous, hard to predict. Added in part because it's a good book that I think you'll like, but I'm also betting it's a book you may not yet have read or heard of.
Project Hail Mary is such a good book. I read it very quickly, and know several other people who also really loved the book.
Fast-paced, dark sci-fi thriller about a near-future world with body-swapping tech.
Science fiction, witty and fun with a lot of thoughtful worldbuilding. Warning, may make you stay up reading later than you intended.
A fun, fast-paced read, with science!

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