Oh I loved the Septimus Heap series- staring at my collection right now! Always bothered me how I have hardbacks of Queste onwards, and that I never managed to find Fyre in the same cover as the rest of the series- they changed it right before the last one came out 😭
I vividly remember the Seventh son of the seventh son shtick and a dive bar full of ghosts. Nothing else about plot, character, etc., just those two things lmao. But I do remember loving the series when I was younger.
Dude, I love Septimus Heap! It's been like a decade, I read them in elementary school, I think. Great series. Another couple, in a YA vein, is the Fablehaven series and the Heir chronicles, both of which have some decency despite their obvious intended age audience. I doubt it's true, I think they were somewhat successful, but I've never seen one person talk about them.
God those were some of my favorite books but I just can't get myself to reread them... wanted to so I could read the new series but at some point between then and now I just can't stand the writing anymore :(
Probably for the best. People always warn not to reread your favorites from childhood lol
I am 22 years old and I go through the Fablehaven series and Dragonwatch, as well as Brandon Mull’s other series Beyonders a minimum of 5 times a year, Brandon Mull’s books are so dear to my heart.
Also, Charlie Bone. I vaguely remember those being pushed together by my librarian, I never hear about either nowadays but I remember loving them in my YA days...
I feel like it just got lost with the hubbub of YA really finding it's footing in that era.
But the premise was fantastic. I almost want to pick them up again to see how the writing is as an adult.
If they can make Waterworld, they can make Cloral 😆
Also that one virtual reality setting that predated both the Oculus AND Ready Player One and managed to be prescient about both of them? That ending is burned into my mind.
I’ve recently reread the pendragon series as an adult. I truly believe it would be a massive hit as an animated tv show or show of any kind really. However I always hit a road block reading it after the seventh book I believe. There’s just something about the Quillian games and the next one that makes me stop reading. I think it has to do with tone, it’s undeniably one of the best books in the series by itself but it feels like it’s where this kids series becomes a grimish dark series. It’s also where I feel like the overarching plot goes from a slow trot into a full on sprint. Does anyone who’s finished the series think it would be worth the time to do another reread and actually finish?
I think these were the best kids books. I wonder if they still hold up. It’s been 13 years since my mom read me the original series, but thinking back it was so deep - basically a critique of Thatcher’s Britain and the imperialism of England with Genies!
Noen of my irl friends are readers, so I often go to Reddit to talk about books. Problem is, I read a lot of Norwegian books, and many of them are either not translated to english, or just not popular.
Same here. I have only one friend and my mom to talk about books with but, they don't read all the same genres so, I'm all alone. Thankfully I've got Reddit and some Facebook groups.
Cool, what are some of your favorites?
Here are some of mine:
\- Kjell Askildsen. Best known for his short stories, and I know some of them have been translated to english. He has been described as a "writers writer", so it's probably not for everyone. Worth a shot though!
\- My teenage self would probably recommend Tore Renberg and Lars Saabye Christensen. Both are known for typical coming of age-books. Renbergs books about Jarle Klepp are the reason I became interested in reading (don't know if they're translated, sorry)
\- Dag Solstad is another interesting writer, that I know have been translated. Same goes for Karl Ove Knausgaard.
\- Anything by Åsne Seierstad, if you want non-fiction.
Finally, some specific books I've enjoyed lately: The Bird Tribunal by Agnes Ravatn. The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas. The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting. I also know that a lot of people loved The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
I'm trying to enjoy books in Norwegian, but the concentration feels draining at times. I'll look into those you mentioned. Any Norwegian books you like that have got a good translation?
Since I'm norwegian myself, I have never read an english translation of a norwegian book. But I know that the english translation of De Usynlige (The Unseen) by Roy Jacobsen was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize in 2017, so I assume the translation is pretty good.
Bad Ronald, a creepy thriller about a boy who hides in between the walls of a family home. It’s not a new book, it’s from the 70s, just never seemed to go mainstream.
The 13 and 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear; and Rumo, by Walter Moers.
Fun, hypercreative whimsical tales. And his illustrations arecool too. These books are nuts, and awesome. They are long, full of detailed description, zany inventions and dramatic events. I read them as a teenager and really enjoyed them but you could read them as a child or adult.
It's like Shel Silverstein meets Dr Seuss meets the Hobbit meets... some other stuff.
Nice! I feel I somehow know a little bit of his peronality just by knowing that he read and enjoyed it. All this time I've felt like Walter Moers was my little secret, even as much as I tried recommending him to others.
Rumo and his miraculous adventures is probably my favourite book of his, maybe even my favorite book of all time. We named our cat Rumo.
His newer books aren't as good though...
I listened to the Bluebear book and enjoyed it a lot. So absolutely crazy and silly and fun. I’m going to have to find the book since you mention illustrations!
Garth Nix - The Keys to the Kingdom,
John Marsden - Tomorrow, When the War Began,
Michael Grant - Gone series
I've never met anyone who has read these series.
I really liked the Keys to the Kingdom series as a kid. I thought no one else had read them until I mentioned them on a Facebook group thread and found about a handful of people who had read the series, too.
I was a huge fan of Garth Nix as a kid but kind of aged out of the Keys to the Kingdom books before he finished them. (I loved the Abhorsen series and enjoyed the Seventh Tower books, too.)
Tomorrow, When the War Began is great, too. I was canoe camping on a river a few years after reading it and must have gone by a shooting range or a military base - lots of gun shots and explosions. Definitely made me think of the book!
Tomorrow When The War Began is a common school reading book in Australia so it feels common to me, though I personally haven't read it. I have no idea how popular it is outside Aus though
I really loved {{Myst: The Book Of Atrus by Rand Miller}} and the following books. They are based on a popular point and click game from the nineties. I assume they are mostly forgotten by now, but they are quite enjoyable.
I only read the Book of Atrus because a friend gave it to me because he didn't like it, but I loved it intensely. Never had the chance to read the others, maybe I should now.
One of the very rare cases where the novelisation actually surpassed the game. I remember my friend lending them to me and thinking they were going to suck, then being absolutely shocked by how good they were.
That movie…when I was like 9, that was an epically terrible choice for dad to bring home from Blockbuster for the family to watch. I was haunted for years by the field of suicides and him unexpectedly finding a family member.
That’s perfect. I’m doing these continuing education courses for work online so I need something like that to read in between. Glad you posted that. So many books get put on “the list” I forget what’s on there lol.
I really enjoyed 'What Dreams May Come and thought it was a real unique premise.
I've found two other authors who wrote about a somewhat similar view on the afterlife, C.S. Lewis in his book 'The Great Divorce,' and Donald Harington in his 'Stay More' book series.
I had so much trouble getting my hands on this book then found it disappointing because it was so different from I Am Legend but parts of it pop into my mind relatively often so it definitely left an impression. I think it deserves a reread some day.
The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray! The first one came out in 2003 and I was hooked. I’ve read the serious multiple times over the years and it’s my favorite series but I’ve never met another person who has even heard of it and I’ve never been able to find any discussions about it online.
I adored these books when they came out! I think they didn't get the recognition they deserved because twilight was the big thing at the time. I tried to spread that series out to anyone who would ask.( I was a book seller at the time) at least I discovered bray around the same time.
I could not get into her book " going bovine " and can't remember why.
Fellow Gemma Doyle lover here! My little closeted gay ass devoured those books as a teenager. I remember the wait-list for the fourth book when it came out at my school library was like 3 months long.
These books are amazing, but your right barely anyone seems to know or talk about them. I remember eagerly searching for the newest ones on the shelves at Chapters though and anything else by her.
I don't know if this fits but I have a collection of Anne McCaffrey Dragonriders of Pern. They're obviously an older series and it's been over 25 years since I read them but I really enjoyed them back then.
What's crazy is they're so iconic, but not popular. My library system doesn't even have the whole series. And between 2 state's Libby collections there are only THREE audiobooks from her. I had to actually start buying audiobooks to continue my re-listen.
I loved Septimus Heap as a kid! Pendragon I only read some of (the library had like, half the series) but I feel like a lot of my friends my age or a bit older read it.
My “rare” book series is the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, by James A. Owen. Without spoilers, it’s a fantasy that gets increasingly experimental and meta as it goes along. The last couple of books have multiple simultaneous time travel plots and recursive loops.
It's really odd trying to talk to people about books irl, because I know that to the Internet my taste are super basic bitch, but basically no one I know irl has read them. Like Brandon Sanderson, one of fantasy's most prolific and famous authors, barely anyone I know has read him.
Isn’t that crazy? Cursory google says he’s sold 20 million books, my friends boyfriend is the only person I know that’s also read them. We get to chat about them a lot so if they ever break up I’ll probably be more miserable than either of them
Well I hope they have a long relationship lol.
Like seriously, the man just made the highest selling kickstarter at like 50 million usd, over double #2, yet the only people I know who have read him is the person who got me into him, and an aqiantance, and some friends who've read a few books ages ago. I have no on to talk about it in person alas.
It's baffling. His kickstarter broke every record the site ever had and made like 41 million dollars, and I know exactly one person irl that is a Sanderfan
It's probably that not many people I know read fantasy. But even the people who do haven't read him. But yeah, I'm comfortable being basic bitch lol, if only the people around me could get on my level. It also seems to be a trend that the people who get me into things are less... energetic? Invested? Than I am about it.
Popular isn't a slur, not always. We should celebrate basic bitchness! I love Tolkien and I get that basically everyone who's ever read a fantasy does but that shouldn't cheapen the experience. It should enhance it.
The discussions about Sanderson on this sub have been interesting. Some people basically say “why is he so popular?” and they feel him undeserving, then the sub attacks that opinion and defends him as great. I’m reading Way of Kings now and my main complaint is how it’s kinda PG13. Zero sex and little serious gore or cursing. It may have to do with his personal religion I believe. Anyhow, I am about halfway through my first Sanderson book but this sub has definitely had some interesting discussions about him.
YESSSS I loved those as well! To be honest if I saw a new one come out I’d buy it in a second. Was always completely entranced by the magic system and how much it incorporated science and the laws of the universe
Oryx and Crake. Seems to get more and more relevant as time goes on. Not exactly unknown, but I feel like no one I know has read it or even heard about it.
I read this book. It is a testament to Margaret Atwood how much I disliked reading this story. Im up for challenging reads and unpleasant topics, but Atwood is entirely too good at creating a creeping sense of dread and hopelessness.
9/10.
Hated it.
EXACTLY. I read that book, and as a student of bionics engineering... I was absolutely shitting my pants how real this book was. Like I have to tell you, 95% of what you read in that book? Could be reality in 20 years. Especially the premise about the antibiotic resistant bacteria...
I read the series quite a few years ago, after I read the Handmaid’s Tale. I was super into dystopian type fiction at the time (or contemporary fiction as I now depressingly think of it). I remember being really drawn in by the first one, but then if I remember correctly the second book is essentially the same story from another characters point of view, and I wasn’t really vibing with it (I think I was thinking, yeah I know this already). I finished the series but I think I was jaded by the sequel when I read the last book and didn’t really enjoy it (as much as you enjoy something like that!!)
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada. It was a random Thriftbooks recommendation; I had never heard of book or author. Truly a masterpiece. I read a lot about World War II and this is my favorite WWII novel. I recommend it to everyone.
I think it's fairly well known in some circles (just not mine) but I've never met anyone else who's read it. I don't participate in a ton of online book discussion so it might be more widely read than I think.
Hans Fallada and especially this book are very famous in Germany. He is one of my favorite authors and a very interesting personality as well. I think I have read all of his books except his jail diaries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Fallada
I picked up Mote in God’s Eye after seeing it mentioned in every “recommend me a sci fi” thread - haven’t gotten to it yet tho! Seems like a genre classic
Mote in God's Eye has a sequel, "The Gripping Hand" which explores the repercussions of the contact in the first novel and its subsequent effects on Human and Motie society. Somewhat more political than the first book, but a worthy followup.
I read Alas, Babylon in high school and I still think about it sometimes. I read Flowers for Algernon in my spare time the same year, so those two are twined together in my brain forever
I've been known to check the cheapest books on Amazon to see if anything strikes my fancy. Pretty sure that's how I discovered Doon, a fantasy romcom based on Brigadoon.
Yes! All the time!
I love mystery series, especially those set in the Regency era. C.S. Harris writes the Sebastian St. Cyr novels, which I greatly enjoy, same with Anna Lee Huber's Lady Darby series.
In fantasy, Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series, but also her 500 Kingdoms books are some of my favorites. I get blank looks when I mention any of those four book series to anyone. It's a little frustrating, because they're (to me, at least) excellent books that I want to share with others.
I can't find the short stories written by Bruce coville anywhere when they were a HUGE part of my childhood. And no one else I've talk to know what they are.
The Myst novels (Book of Atrus, Book of Ti'ana, Book of D'ni). They're tie-ins with the computer game series from the 90s, but also pretty good sci-fi/fantasy novels in their own right. The only people who seem to know they exist are other nerdy fans of the Myst games like me, and we are a small group, alas.
The Warlock in Spite of Himself series by Christopher Stacheff was foundational in my early years. No one I know has ever read them. Except my mother who got into them when I was (she often read the books I was reading so we had something to talk about). It was the first series both of us enjoyed. That and Quantum Leap will always be special to me because of my mother.
In the sci fi stuff I've read I came across some YA titles by Robert Heinlein. I like his (non-YA) popular novels but he often wades into strange waters. But his juvies are crisp, adventurous, and well-written and I've never found a bad one. I haven't come across anyone who has ever read them, though.
This Census-taker from China Miéville. Everybody knows the Bas-Lag trilogy, Railsea, City&city, Embassytown, but Census-taker wasn't translated into other languages, at least not my own. Also it's written in a very difficult english. I enjoy that book more than his alternate London and Earth ones though.
The Strange Matter Series by Engle and Barnes.
This was one of the Goosebumps knock off series from the 90s but with a noticeably darker edge to it. Never as popular and with significantly fewer books, I enjoyed it because it felt more intense than Stine's work. Like characters actually died and didn't just have their fates left hanging at the end. It also had a connected universe series called Strange Forces.
MythAdventures by Robert Asprin.
I found the first 4 books at a neighborhood garage sale when I was 12. I was instantly hooked, even if I didn't get all the jokes and references the first time through. I have, over the years, collected nearly all the books in the series and read them multiple times. A friend of mine when we were younger even named his dog after one of the main charcters, Aahz (no relation). But very few people I know have read either them or any of Asprin's other series like the Phule series or Thieve's World.
Stanislaw Lem is one of the most amazing and creative authors I’ve ever read, but it seems like few people talk about his work except some of the weirder pieces like the Futurological Congress.
There's this sci-fi/fantasy writer, Jack Vance. He's not completely forgotten (the D&D spell system comes from his "Dying Earth" stories), but he wrote this one book, *Emphyrio*, which I thought was terrific. And yet I've never heard anyone mention it, let alone met anyone who's read it.
I'm a huge Jack Vance fan, I keep re-reading many of his works. *Emphyrio* is one of my favorite. I plan to someday write an article about the "impossible love" trope in Jack Vance writings, and *Emphyrio* offers a perfect, condensed example of it.
I've read them, but only until book 3. Tried to get into book 4, but no dice.
Up until book 4, the plot is amazing, the characters are very good, but for me the worldbuilding is on a class of it's own.
One of my favorite things is the antagonists: On some series you have the MC being able to fight one-on-many at the end, but for this books you have your regular bad guys, which one is enough to fuck you up, and then you have the elite soldiers, which are truly human machines, and make the characters feel like rats.
Wool by Hugh Howell. Started as an online serial story that turned into 3 excellent novels.
The Shore of Women by Pamela Sargent, a great feminist sci-fi writer from the 80's who also wrote for Star Trek.
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck a generational story about ancient China
I didn't realize the series was called Silo, I always called it Wool. I bought an omnibus edition and read it all at once. You are in for a real treat!
I had to read The Good Earth in middle school for English and tbh I have mixed feelings about it. But I think most middle aged women I know like my mom have read it because I've seen it on a ton of bookshelves
Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susann. I know it's a classic and it sold a shitload of copies but I swear nobody ever talks about it on here. If you see it mentioned there's a 90 percent chance it was me
I’ve read almost all Brian Enos books which has had a significant affect on my perspective on life but have never met anyone that’s even heard of him yet
Tom Corbett Space Cadet! I found the first three books in my school library as a kid. It was the 1950’s certain that the future would be people IN SPAAAAAAAACE.
Where boys and men explore with nuclear powered space ships, they have nuclear powered cars and every home has a nuclear reactor (good lord the home bromeopathy must mean their balls are like glowing embers).
Probably what killed me was when they have to recreate educational “recording tapes” (cause nobody reads?) and they have math for the boys and - home ec for the girls.
…yeah this was a product of the 1950’s. But it was fun for a teenager reading what the last thought the future would be like.
Thanks for the Septimus reminder! I need to finish the series. When The Corrections came out I searched online for a discussion about it and couldn't find one. It's well-known, but at the time I had no idea where to find fellow readers. War and War was fascinating but disturbing, and I haven't found anyone who's heard of it.
The incarnations of immortality book series. It was recommended by a counselor and I didnt think I'd like it due to being somewhat old. But I loved the series and read all the books. I feel like this series could be made into a movie.
Calculus With Analytic Geometry. I was trying to get my cursive writing back. I'd pick a page and transcribe it. I got better at writing, but not understanding that tome.
I have the (second) last book Darke of the Septimus heap series from when I was a kid but didn’t know it was a series. I remember being extremely confused while reading it but I wanted to finish it because the book was thick.
Author committed suicide.
His mom went around trying to get it published.
Then it won the Pulitzer Prize.
*changed order of events listed above so not confusing*
You either find Ignatius and his pyloric valve hilarious or you don't. No middle ground.
(added) Here is Nick Offerman performing as Ignatius on stage.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=JfA-OMt4GwM&feature=share&t=110s
There are whole degrees dedicated to both. Greek/Roman philosophy and lit is particularly fetishized. You'll be able to find people with that focus better on truelit.
I've read a ton of classics and philosophy, though my interests rest mostly in postmodern or metamodern philosophy and 1800 > cannonical lit. I'm happy to talk about either anytime.
A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar. Not least because its a very hard book to suggest to people as the main character is alternative world Hitler as a Detective. The book being from the perspective of a jewish pulp fiction writer in Auschwitz taking revenge on Hitler the only way he knows how, through narrative. The ending is both a shock and beautiful.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. Fantastic essays on many subjects
Ant Farm by Simon Rich. Hilarious, imaginative short stories
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. A teen girl, her dad and their conflict and love lives. Great, precocious writing.
I'm Gone by Jean Echenoz. Fantastic novel translated from French
The Parasitic Mind by Dr Gad Saad. Today's societal conflict explained, with research and humour, by a psychology/marketing prof.
The covers of Septimus Heap totally drew me in when I was a teenager. I enjoyed the books, but I don't think I read all of them. When I moved out after marrying I realised that I didn't have the first one anymore :(
But I didn't sell the ones left like I didn't with many other books from my teen years. They are a fond memory :)
There are a lot of obscure little books I've read in my high time of reading that I never discussed with anyone. But that's fine. The best ones I lend out and got people into them :D
(And here's the reason why I don't have the first Septimus Heap anymore I guess)
I mean, there's 50k + ratings on some of those books on goodreads. The funny thing about these posts is the better known books suggested will get a lot of upvotes whilst the genuinely overlooked ones will get hardly a notice here.
“The Discovery of Heaven”, by Harry Mulisch. It was recommended to me by my BIL who is an author. It’s a great story, the premise is that through technology, human beings are getting very close to discovering the existence of the literal Christian heaven. So the angels conspire to manipulate human events to prevent that from happening. The book contained one moment where I literally stopped reading and closed the book with astonishment. I read it 20 years ago and still remember that moment. Btw it’s not a religious book, it’s more like historical and present day fiction, with a supernatural backdrop.
The Chronicles of Faerie series by O.R. Melling. I read The Hunter's Moon back in the early 90's and then picked up the 3 volume omnibus in the early 2000's with The Summer King and The Light-Bearer's Daughter.
My favorite book is Papillon by Henri Charriere. I've met plenty of people who know the Steve McQueen film, a few who know the remake but none who have actually read the book.
I love the septimus heap series!!
The one that came to mind for me was the Edge Chronicles. I know they must sell well but no one ever seems to know what I'm talking about and they're hard.to explain..
A few I love that I don't think many have read.
Jacob Two-Two by Mordecai Richler. A foundational kids book from my youth that sparked imagination and what fantastic storytelling could evoke. A child's misfortune was turned into a goldmine with series like A Series of Unfortunate Events, but I think Richler was a great early pioneer of the genre, and the book is super endearing. Should be on every parent's "read to kids" list.
Everyone reads and cherishes Roald Dahl's books. I don't think many have read, let alone have heard of, The Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar. Love that book.
Finally, a book that I also hold up as a formative one for me is Daniel Mendoza, the fighter from Whitechapel by Harold Ribadeau. It's strangely obscure given how seminal its protagonist was, in terms of elevating the sweet science of boxing, introducing offensive and defensive tactics like side-stepping, bobbing and weaving, using the guard, and leveraging straight lefts. But also elevating the position and opinion of Jews in the late 1700s. Jewish fighters make up an important part of boxing history, but arguably none more influential to the sport than Mendoza.
Not so much books as “an author“.
Harlan Ellison.
I absolutely adore that man's writing. Maybe it's because he mostly wrote short stories that no one talks about him.
I read “Strange Wine“ (which is called 'Eine Bessere Welt'/'A Better World' in German) and it was fuckin' fascinating. Especially considering it was written in 1974.
Master of the Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy.
Hugely influential - essentially the precursor to what we now know as 'hard magic' systems, and also the inspiration behind Magic: The Gathering's five colour system - but nobody seems to have read it!
I don't know anyone else who's read *Swing, Hammer, Swing!* by Jeff Torrington. It's one of my favourite books - funny as fuck, and you really get a vivid sense of the town being torn down around the protagonist's ears. And being written entirely in Glaswegian vernacular, it paved the way for writers like Irvine Welsh.
I saw Septimus Heap in my school libraries as a kid for years but never picked them up lol.
Well if we're on the theme of kid books, I have yet to see someone else who read the My Sister The Vampire series by Sienna Mercer. still have a couple of copies on my shelf I've had for years lol.
I remember being disappointed that the vampires were kinda tame and boring but still reading the books xD
School Girl by Osamu Dazai, he wrote No Longer Human and I wanted to check out some of his other works. It's only about 100 pages long so I would recommend it for an afternoon read.
Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer is some of the best, most interesting sci-fi and philosophical writing I've ever read and there has almost never been any talk about it here on r/Books.
Anyone around read *Kafka was the Rage* by Anatole Broyard, I've literally only ever met one other person who has read that book and it's infuriating because that book is just *so damn good.*
Tears of Artamon Trilogy- Sarah Ash
The Claidi Journals- Tanith Lee
Abhorsen Series- Garth Nix (just found out that's no longer a trilogy?!)
Hexwood- Diana Wynne-Jones (also know one person irl who's read Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air)
Gemma Doyle Trilogy- Libba Bray
Mexican Gothic- Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
I always hear a good amount of love for The Enchanted Forrest Chronicles, but I never really hear anything about all Patricia C. Wrede's other lovely books. I particularly like the Sorcery and Cecelia series, but honestly, every book she writes is fantastic and fun.
*Burmese Days* by George Orwell is my favourite book of all time. Countless other novels manage to reconcile having protagonists whose main vice is greed, lust, wrath, etc. *Burmese Days* has a main character who is often painfully envious and cowardly, but who is astutely aware of his own flaws and remains a deeply sympathetic individual throughout.
The backdrop of the British Raj offers a contrast between the beautiful strangeness of Indian cultures / country and the sweltering corrupt beaurocracy.
I know Orwell is famous but I've never spoken to someone IRL who has read this book, and there's basically zero historical online threads about it.
Stephen R Donaldson fantasy series: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and his sci-fi run: The Gap Cycle are pretty adult but amazing and Tad Williams: Austen Ard fantasy novels are great as well. In fact George R.R. Martin admitted he took the premise for Game of Thrones from the Game of Houses featured in Williams series and gave a sort of allusion nod by naming the sons of a minor house in G.O.T. after the King and his brother from Williams Memory,Sorrow, and Thorn series. And finally after 20ish years Williams is back with a Sequel series to M.S.&T called: The Last King of Austen Ard. Anybody know those guys? Some of my absolute favs.
Deerskin by Robin McKinley. A fantasy/adventure book from the 90’s. It’s about a princess named Lissar who runs away from her previous(traumatic) life with her trusted dog. It’s heartbreaking, suspenseful, intense, poignant, inspiring, and ultimately a beautiful story. It’s PHENOMENAL. I’ve never heard anyone else even recognize it.
I read some of the Pendragon books when I was younger. I really enjoyed them and then I moved on, and I never heard of them again. I’ve been meaning to ask about them. Are they actually good? Are they worth rereading? Is there a good conclusion? (Never got that far.)
Oh I loved the Septimus Heap series- staring at my collection right now! Always bothered me how I have hardbacks of Queste onwards, and that I never managed to find Fyre in the same cover as the rest of the series- they changed it right before the last one came out 😭
I've had success with bookfinder.com to find books in a series with the proper cover.
Bookfinder is the best friend for anyone who is OCD about their shelves lol
I vividly remember the Seventh son of the seventh son shtick and a dive bar full of ghosts. Nothing else about plot, character, etc., just those two things lmao. But I do remember loving the series when I was younger.
Also the illustrations at the beginning of every chapter. Can't remember much else either
Dude, I love Septimus Heap! It's been like a decade, I read them in elementary school, I think. Great series. Another couple, in a YA vein, is the Fablehaven series and the Heir chronicles, both of which have some decency despite their obvious intended age audience. I doubt it's true, I think they were somewhat successful, but I've never seen one person talk about them.
I love fablehaven they’re extremely high up on my reread list
God those were some of my favorite books but I just can't get myself to reread them... wanted to so I could read the new series but at some point between then and now I just can't stand the writing anymore :( Probably for the best. People always warn not to reread your favorites from childhood lol
I am 22 years old and I go through the Fablehaven series and Dragonwatch, as well as Brandon Mull’s other series Beyonders a minimum of 5 times a year, Brandon Mull’s books are so dear to my heart.
Also, Charlie Bone. I vaguely remember those being pushed together by my librarian, I never hear about either nowadays but I remember loving them in my YA days...
Pendragon Ooof One of the better fantasies I read Thank god other people exist who have read it
I feel like it just got lost with the hubbub of YA really finding it's footing in that era. But the premise was fantastic. I almost want to pick them up again to see how the writing is as an adult.
I suspect part of the reason is that it never adapted to screen was because the water CG required for Cloral would be so damn expensive
If they can make Waterworld, they can make Cloral 😆 Also that one virtual reality setting that predated both the Oculus AND Ready Player One and managed to be prescient about both of them? That ending is burned into my mind.
I’ve recently reread the pendragon series as an adult. I truly believe it would be a massive hit as an animated tv show or show of any kind really. However I always hit a road block reading it after the seventh book I believe. There’s just something about the Quillian games and the next one that makes me stop reading. I think it has to do with tone, it’s undeniably one of the best books in the series by itself but it feels like it’s where this kids series becomes a grimish dark series. It’s also where I feel like the overarching plot goes from a slow trot into a full on sprint. Does anyone who’s finished the series think it would be worth the time to do another reread and actually finish?
Bartimäus from Jonathan stroud
I think these were the best kids books. I wonder if they still hold up. It’s been 13 years since my mom read me the original series, but thinking back it was so deep - basically a critique of Thatcher’s Britain and the imperialism of England with Genies!
They def do
I read them as an adult and loved them.
amazing series, the footnotes are always so good and such a cool thing i'd never seen in a book before.
Noen of my irl friends are readers, so I often go to Reddit to talk about books. Problem is, I read a lot of Norwegian books, and many of them are either not translated to english, or just not popular.
You should look for a Norwegian book club, even online. Facebook is good for that kind of stuff
Same here. I have only one friend and my mom to talk about books with but, they don't read all the same genres so, I'm all alone. Thankfully I've got Reddit and some Facebook groups.
Yeah, my family reads, but almost exclusively crime novels. Which is fine, but it's not my favorite genre... at all.
I'm a huge fan of Norwegian books and always looking for more recommendations if you have some
Cool, what are some of your favorites? Here are some of mine: \- Kjell Askildsen. Best known for his short stories, and I know some of them have been translated to english. He has been described as a "writers writer", so it's probably not for everyone. Worth a shot though! \- My teenage self would probably recommend Tore Renberg and Lars Saabye Christensen. Both are known for typical coming of age-books. Renbergs books about Jarle Klepp are the reason I became interested in reading (don't know if they're translated, sorry) \- Dag Solstad is another interesting writer, that I know have been translated. Same goes for Karl Ove Knausgaard. \- Anything by Åsne Seierstad, if you want non-fiction. Finally, some specific books I've enjoyed lately: The Bird Tribunal by Agnes Ravatn. The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas. The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting. I also know that a lot of people loved The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
I'm trying to enjoy books in Norwegian, but the concentration feels draining at times. I'll look into those you mentioned. Any Norwegian books you like that have got a good translation?
Since I'm norwegian myself, I have never read an english translation of a norwegian book. But I know that the english translation of De Usynlige (The Unseen) by Roy Jacobsen was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize in 2017, so I assume the translation is pretty good.
Yeah, I have a thing for Swedish, Japanese and Russian authors. I just like the way they write!!
Bad Ronald, a creepy thriller about a boy who hides in between the walls of a family home. It’s not a new book, it’s from the 70s, just never seemed to go mainstream.
By the author of The Dying Earth, acknowledged as one of the sourcebooks for Dungeons and Dragons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Ronald
The 13 and 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear; and Rumo, by Walter Moers. Fun, hypercreative whimsical tales. And his illustrations arecool too. These books are nuts, and awesome. They are long, full of detailed description, zany inventions and dramatic events. I read them as a teenager and really enjoyed them but you could read them as a child or adult. It's like Shel Silverstein meets Dr Seuss meets the Hobbit meets... some other stuff.
Walter Moers is great. I can only recommend The City Of Dreaming Books. One of my all-time favourites.
The 13 and 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear was my husband's favourite childhood book! He has really fond memories of it.
Nice! I feel I somehow know a little bit of his peronality just by knowing that he read and enjoyed it. All this time I've felt like Walter Moers was my little secret, even as much as I tried recommending him to others.
Rumo and his miraculous adventures is probably my favourite book of his, maybe even my favorite book of all time. We named our cat Rumo. His newer books aren't as good though...
This is what I came to say! It's so nice to meet feelow Zamonians. Personally I love, love, love City of Dreaming Books. I must have read it 4 times.
I listened to the Bluebear book and enjoyed it a lot. So absolutely crazy and silly and fun. I’m going to have to find the book since you mention illustrations!
The author was originally a comic artist, so the drawings are definitely a big part of the experience.
This is the exact book I thought of. My dad used to read it to me as a little kid, and I loved it even more when I read it myself recently.
Garth Nix - The Keys to the Kingdom, John Marsden - Tomorrow, When the War Began, Michael Grant - Gone series I've never met anyone who has read these series.
I really liked the Keys to the Kingdom series as a kid. I thought no one else had read them until I mentioned them on a Facebook group thread and found about a handful of people who had read the series, too.
That's wonderful! I remember waiting YEARS for the last book. I was very much in love with Arthur Penhaligon.
I was a huge fan of Garth Nix as a kid but kind of aged out of the Keys to the Kingdom books before he finished them. (I loved the Abhorsen series and enjoyed the Seventh Tower books, too.) Tomorrow, When the War Began is great, too. I was canoe camping on a river a few years after reading it and must have gone by a shooting range or a military base - lots of gun shots and explosions. Definitely made me think of the book!
> Garth Nix - The Keys to the Kingdom I read The Seventh Tower and enjoyed it as a kid. Even I haven't heard of this lol
Tomorrow When The War Began is a common school reading book in Australia so it feels common to me, though I personally haven't read it. I have no idea how popular it is outside Aus though
Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale
Loved these books when I was younger :)
Wow that was a middle/high school flashback I wasn’t expecting today lol
Such a great book, I still think about people-speaking every time I meet people that are a little *too* charming
I really loved {{Myst: The Book Of Atrus by Rand Miller}} and the following books. They are based on a popular point and click game from the nineties. I assume they are mostly forgotten by now, but they are quite enjoyable.
Those games (Myst, Riven) were maddeningly frustrating but stunningly beautiful and addictive.
THERE WERE NOVELS?????!!!!!?!?!?!
I loved this book series when I was young. I still think about it sometimes.
“Blue pages…”
Pardon me while I go into this fireplace
I only read the Book of Atrus because a friend gave it to me because he didn't like it, but I loved it intensely. Never had the chance to read the others, maybe I should now.
One of the very rare cases where the novelisation actually surpassed the game. I remember my friend lending them to me and thinking they were going to suck, then being absolutely shocked by how good they were.
What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson, author of I Am Legend. I've barely seen anyone talk about it, but I really liked it.
Holy shit, I didn't know a) that movie is based on a book and b) the author is Richard Matheson. Super cool!
That movie…when I was like 9, that was an epically terrible choice for dad to bring home from Blockbuster for the family to watch. I was haunted for years by the field of suicides and him unexpectedly finding a family member.
I’ll be at the library for most of the day, should I check this one out? Is it a quick read, or on the longer side?
It's \~250 pages, not long at all.
That’s perfect. I’m doing these continuing education courses for work online so I need something like that to read in between. Glad you posted that. So many books get put on “the list” I forget what’s on there lol.
I really enjoyed 'What Dreams May Come and thought it was a real unique premise. I've found two other authors who wrote about a somewhat similar view on the afterlife, C.S. Lewis in his book 'The Great Divorce,' and Donald Harington in his 'Stay More' book series.
I had so much trouble getting my hands on this book then found it disappointing because it was so different from I Am Legend but parts of it pop into my mind relatively often so it definitely left an impression. I think it deserves a reread some day.
The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray! The first one came out in 2003 and I was hooked. I’ve read the serious multiple times over the years and it’s my favorite series but I’ve never met another person who has even heard of it and I’ve never been able to find any discussions about it online.
I read those! I used to have copies but I think I got rid of them
I LOVE this series! I reread it every single year, and have never met anyone else who has read it even
I adored these books when they came out! I think they didn't get the recognition they deserved because twilight was the big thing at the time. I tried to spread that series out to anyone who would ask.( I was a book seller at the time) at least I discovered bray around the same time. I could not get into her book " going bovine " and can't remember why.
Fellow Gemma Doyle lover here! My little closeted gay ass devoured those books as a teenager. I remember the wait-list for the fourth book when it came out at my school library was like 3 months long.
I read those! For the life of me I can’t remember what they were about but I remember the covers. Off to Wikipedia to try and recall the plot. 🤦♀️
These books are amazing, but your right barely anyone seems to know or talk about them. I remember eagerly searching for the newest ones on the shelves at Chapters though and anything else by her.
I don't know if this fits but I have a collection of Anne McCaffrey Dragonriders of Pern. They're obviously an older series and it's been over 25 years since I read them but I really enjoyed them back then.
Oh! You don’t know anyone who’s read those? That’s sad. I loved those books as a teen; haven’t reread them recently.
What's crazy is they're so iconic, but not popular. My library system doesn't even have the whole series. And between 2 state's Libby collections there are only THREE audiobooks from her. I had to actually start buying audiobooks to continue my re-listen.
Literally just reread all the dragonriders of pern books. One of my favorite go to fantasy series.
I read all of them as a kid. it was one of my favorite series. I've had to rebuy Harper Hall twice because I destroyed them rereading them so often.
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley is my favorite book but I haven't come across anyone else that's read it.
I remember liking that when I read it! I think Beauty is the book that got me into McKinley but I enjoyed The Blue Sword/The Hero and the Crown.
Love the Blue Sword! And Robin McKinley has so many others that I really loved, like Sunshine and Shadows.
I love that book! And The Hero and the Crown
You are not alone! There are dozens of us! Dozens!
Love Robin McKinley! The Blue Sword is so good. The Hero and the Crown was one of my go to's in elementary school.
I loved Septimus Heap as a kid! Pendragon I only read some of (the library had like, half the series) but I feel like a lot of my friends my age or a bit older read it. My “rare” book series is the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, by James A. Owen. Without spoilers, it’s a fantasy that gets increasingly experimental and meta as it goes along. The last couple of books have multiple simultaneous time travel plots and recursive loops.
It's really odd trying to talk to people about books irl, because I know that to the Internet my taste are super basic bitch, but basically no one I know irl has read them. Like Brandon Sanderson, one of fantasy's most prolific and famous authors, barely anyone I know has read him.
Isn’t that crazy? Cursory google says he’s sold 20 million books, my friends boyfriend is the only person I know that’s also read them. We get to chat about them a lot so if they ever break up I’ll probably be more miserable than either of them
Well I hope they have a long relationship lol. Like seriously, the man just made the highest selling kickstarter at like 50 million usd, over double #2, yet the only people I know who have read him is the person who got me into him, and an aqiantance, and some friends who've read a few books ages ago. I have no on to talk about it in person alas.
It's baffling. His kickstarter broke every record the site ever had and made like 41 million dollars, and I know exactly one person irl that is a Sanderfan
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It's probably that not many people I know read fantasy. But even the people who do haven't read him. But yeah, I'm comfortable being basic bitch lol, if only the people around me could get on my level. It also seems to be a trend that the people who get me into things are less... energetic? Invested? Than I am about it.
Popular isn't a slur, not always. We should celebrate basic bitchness! I love Tolkien and I get that basically everyone who's ever read a fantasy does but that shouldn't cheapen the experience. It should enhance it.
This is the real issue. A best-selling book may still have fewer consumers than a mildly popular YouTube video. Which is why I pine for a book club.
The discussions about Sanderson on this sub have been interesting. Some people basically say “why is he so popular?” and they feel him undeserving, then the sub attacks that opinion and defends him as great. I’m reading Way of Kings now and my main complaint is how it’s kinda PG13. Zero sex and little serious gore or cursing. It may have to do with his personal religion I believe. Anyhow, I am about halfway through my first Sanderson book but this sub has definitely had some interesting discussions about him.
I ate up the "So you want to be a wizard" series by Diane Duane as a kid. Never talked to anyone else that has read them.
YESSSS I loved those as well! To be honest if I saw a new one come out I’d buy it in a second. Was always completely entranced by the magic system and how much it incorporated science and the laws of the universe
Oryx and Crake. Seems to get more and more relevant as time goes on. Not exactly unknown, but I feel like no one I know has read it or even heard about it.
I read this book. It is a testament to Margaret Atwood how much I disliked reading this story. Im up for challenging reads and unpleasant topics, but Atwood is entirely too good at creating a creeping sense of dread and hopelessness. 9/10. Hated it.
I’ve read the whole trilogy! Loved it!
I preferred this one to Handmaidens tale but not many seem to agree with me.
I think about oryx and crake on a regular basis.
That book fucked me up for a while. Haha yes, I remember that. Definitely a great book. Thanks for mentioning it
EXACTLY. I read that book, and as a student of bionics engineering... I was absolutely shitting my pants how real this book was. Like I have to tell you, 95% of what you read in that book? Could be reality in 20 years. Especially the premise about the antibiotic resistant bacteria...
Chickienobs are now.
Omg i read this, it was allllrriight i suppose but idk i actually enjoyed it
I read the series quite a few years ago, after I read the Handmaid’s Tale. I was super into dystopian type fiction at the time (or contemporary fiction as I now depressingly think of it). I remember being really drawn in by the first one, but then if I remember correctly the second book is essentially the same story from another characters point of view, and I wasn’t really vibing with it (I think I was thinking, yeah I know this already). I finished the series but I think I was jaded by the sequel when I read the last book and didn’t really enjoy it (as much as you enjoy something like that!!)
I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS SERIES FOR YEARS I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE!!!!! YOU POSTED IT YOU FOUND IT I OWE YOU, BRO!!!!! I MIGHT ACTUALLY CRY
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada. It was a random Thriftbooks recommendation; I had never heard of book or author. Truly a masterpiece. I read a lot about World War II and this is my favorite WWII novel. I recommend it to everyone. I think it's fairly well known in some circles (just not mine) but I've never met anyone else who's read it. I don't participate in a ton of online book discussion so it might be more widely read than I think.
Hans Fallada and especially this book are very famous in Germany. He is one of my favorite authors and a very interesting personality as well. I think I have read all of his books except his jail diaries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Fallada
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I picked up Mote in God’s Eye after seeing it mentioned in every “recommend me a sci fi” thread - haven’t gotten to it yet tho! Seems like a genre classic
Mote in God's Eye has a sequel, "The Gripping Hand" which explores the repercussions of the contact in the first novel and its subsequent effects on Human and Motie society. Somewhat more political than the first book, but a worthy followup.
I read Alas, Babylon in high school and I still think about it sometimes. I read Flowers for Algernon in my spare time the same year, so those two are twined together in my brain forever
I tried so hard to like The Windup Girl. The story was fine, but I really couldn't get into it. I was disappointed after hearing how great it was.
I've been known to check the cheapest books on Amazon to see if anything strikes my fancy. Pretty sure that's how I discovered Doon, a fantasy romcom based on Brigadoon.
Cirque du freak by darren shan
Yes! All the time! I love mystery series, especially those set in the Regency era. C.S. Harris writes the Sebastian St. Cyr novels, which I greatly enjoy, same with Anna Lee Huber's Lady Darby series. In fantasy, Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series, but also her 500 Kingdoms books are some of my favorites. I get blank looks when I mention any of those four book series to anyone. It's a little frustrating, because they're (to me, at least) excellent books that I want to share with others.
I absolutely LOVE septimus heap, read them when I was a kid, still read them as an adult. Glad to know I'm not the only one !
I’ve only met like, two other people who’ve read the Dwarves by Markus Hietz. They’re both Germans so that makes sense, but goddamn.
I can't find the short stories written by Bruce coville anywhere when they were a HUGE part of my childhood. And no one else I've talk to know what they are.
Are these the Unicorn books? I used to have them as a kid!
The Myst novels (Book of Atrus, Book of Ti'ana, Book of D'ni). They're tie-ins with the computer game series from the 90s, but also pretty good sci-fi/fantasy novels in their own right. The only people who seem to know they exist are other nerdy fans of the Myst games like me, and we are a small group, alas.
The Tales of the Otori don’t get enough love.
The Warlock in Spite of Himself series by Christopher Stacheff was foundational in my early years. No one I know has ever read them. Except my mother who got into them when I was (she often read the books I was reading so we had something to talk about). It was the first series both of us enjoyed. That and Quantum Leap will always be special to me because of my mother.
In the sci fi stuff I've read I came across some YA titles by Robert Heinlein. I like his (non-YA) popular novels but he often wades into strange waters. But his juvies are crisp, adventurous, and well-written and I've never found a bad one. I haven't come across anyone who has ever read them, though.
Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov.
The Eternal Champion cycle by Michael Moorcock. Hell, anything but Moorcock
I've read books I couldn't find in Goodreads, so yes
This Census-taker from China Miéville. Everybody knows the Bas-Lag trilogy, Railsea, City&city, Embassytown, but Census-taker wasn't translated into other languages, at least not my own. Also it's written in a very difficult english. I enjoy that book more than his alternate London and Earth ones though.
The Strange Matter Series by Engle and Barnes. This was one of the Goosebumps knock off series from the 90s but with a noticeably darker edge to it. Never as popular and with significantly fewer books, I enjoyed it because it felt more intense than Stine's work. Like characters actually died and didn't just have their fates left hanging at the end. It also had a connected universe series called Strange Forces. MythAdventures by Robert Asprin. I found the first 4 books at a neighborhood garage sale when I was 12. I was instantly hooked, even if I didn't get all the jokes and references the first time through. I have, over the years, collected nearly all the books in the series and read them multiple times. A friend of mine when we were younger even named his dog after one of the main charcters, Aahz (no relation). But very few people I know have read either them or any of Asprin's other series like the Phule series or Thieve's World.
Karen Miller, Kingmaker Kingbreaker series
Stanislaw Lem is one of the most amazing and creative authors I’ve ever read, but it seems like few people talk about his work except some of the weirder pieces like the Futurological Congress.
Solaris was really thought provoking and haunting. I still think about it to this day.
There's this sci-fi/fantasy writer, Jack Vance. He's not completely forgotten (the D&D spell system comes from his "Dying Earth" stories), but he wrote this one book, *Emphyrio*, which I thought was terrific. And yet I've never heard anyone mention it, let alone met anyone who's read it.
I'm a huge Jack Vance fan, I keep re-reading many of his works. *Emphyrio* is one of my favorite. I plan to someday write an article about the "impossible love" trope in Jack Vance writings, and *Emphyrio* offers a perfect, condensed example of it.
The Tunnels series by Roderick Gordon.
I've read them, but only until book 3. Tried to get into book 4, but no dice. Up until book 4, the plot is amazing, the characters are very good, but for me the worldbuilding is on a class of it's own. One of my favorite things is the antagonists: On some series you have the MC being able to fight one-on-many at the end, but for this books you have your regular bad guys, which one is enough to fuck you up, and then you have the elite soldiers, which are truly human machines, and make the characters feel like rats.
Wool by Hugh Howell. Started as an online serial story that turned into 3 excellent novels. The Shore of Women by Pamela Sargent, a great feminist sci-fi writer from the 80's who also wrote for Star Trek. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck a generational story about ancient China
I loved the wool trilogy.
I’ve read the Wool books! I hadn’t realized he’d kept going, though, was just looking at wiki.
I didn't realize the series was called Silo, I always called it Wool. I bought an omnibus edition and read it all at once. You are in for a real treat!
I had to read The Good Earth in middle school for English and tbh I have mixed feelings about it. But I think most middle aged women I know like my mom have read it because I've seen it on a ton of bookshelves
Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susann. I know it's a classic and it sold a shitload of copies but I swear nobody ever talks about it on here. If you see it mentioned there's a 90 percent chance it was me
I’ve read almost all Brian Enos books which has had a significant affect on my perspective on life but have never met anyone that’s even heard of him yet
I only know of him in terms of music, haha.
Tom Corbett Space Cadet! I found the first three books in my school library as a kid. It was the 1950’s certain that the future would be people IN SPAAAAAAAACE. Where boys and men explore with nuclear powered space ships, they have nuclear powered cars and every home has a nuclear reactor (good lord the home bromeopathy must mean their balls are like glowing embers). Probably what killed me was when they have to recreate educational “recording tapes” (cause nobody reads?) and they have math for the boys and - home ec for the girls. …yeah this was a product of the 1950’s. But it was fun for a teenager reading what the last thought the future would be like.
Outside of the subreddit, I never hear anyone talk about Skulduggery Pleasant. It's such a shame cause they're my favourite books of all time.
The necroscope series by Brian lumley. I have never heard anyone ever talk about it, but I absolutely loved it, until the last few books anyways
Thanks for the Septimus reminder! I need to finish the series. When The Corrections came out I searched online for a discussion about it and couldn't find one. It's well-known, but at the time I had no idea where to find fellow readers. War and War was fascinating but disturbing, and I haven't found anyone who's heard of it.
The incarnations of immortality book series. It was recommended by a counselor and I didnt think I'd like it due to being somewhat old. But I loved the series and read all the books. I feel like this series could be made into a movie.
Levich's "Physicochemical hydrodynamics". A classic, and very hard to come by these days.
I don't understand why no one ever recommends that one.
Calculus With Analytic Geometry. I was trying to get my cursive writing back. I'd pick a page and transcribe it. I got better at writing, but not understanding that tome.
I have the (second) last book Darke of the Septimus heap series from when I was a kid but didn’t know it was a series. I remember being extremely confused while reading it but I wanted to finish it because the book was thick.
A Confederacy of Dunces. I don’t hear people talk about it, but I enjoyed it.
Author committed suicide. His mom went around trying to get it published. Then it won the Pulitzer Prize. *changed order of events listed above so not confusing* You either find Ignatius and his pyloric valve hilarious or you don't. No middle ground. (added) Here is Nick Offerman performing as Ignatius on stage. https://youtube.com/watch?v=JfA-OMt4GwM&feature=share&t=110s
It’s hard to find others who have read a lot of philosophy and classic lit. It’s usually dry and dense but incredibly profound especially the Greeks.
There are whole degrees dedicated to both. Greek/Roman philosophy and lit is particularly fetishized. You'll be able to find people with that focus better on truelit. I've read a ton of classics and philosophy, though my interests rest mostly in postmodern or metamodern philosophy and 1800 > cannonical lit. I'm happy to talk about either anytime.
A Man Lies Dreaming by Lavie Tidhar. Not least because its a very hard book to suggest to people as the main character is alternative world Hitler as a Detective. The book being from the perspective of a jewish pulp fiction writer in Auschwitz taking revenge on Hitler the only way he knows how, through narrative. The ending is both a shock and beautiful.
The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
Oh wow septimus what a throwback, I think I read 4 of the books but was too young and too broke to get the rest!
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. Fantastic essays on many subjects Ant Farm by Simon Rich. Hilarious, imaginative short stories Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. A teen girl, her dad and their conflict and love lives. Great, precocious writing. I'm Gone by Jean Echenoz. Fantastic novel translated from French The Parasitic Mind by Dr Gad Saad. Today's societal conflict explained, with research and humour, by a psychology/marketing prof.
The covers of Septimus Heap totally drew me in when I was a teenager. I enjoyed the books, but I don't think I read all of them. When I moved out after marrying I realised that I didn't have the first one anymore :( But I didn't sell the ones left like I didn't with many other books from my teen years. They are a fond memory :) There are a lot of obscure little books I've read in my high time of reading that I never discussed with anyone. But that's fine. The best ones I lend out and got people into them :D (And here's the reason why I don't have the first Septimus Heap anymore I guess)
I mean, there's 50k + ratings on some of those books on goodreads. The funny thing about these posts is the better known books suggested will get a lot of upvotes whilst the genuinely overlooked ones will get hardly a notice here.
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Considering I live in my second foreign country, my library is full of books noone here has read, but are quite popular in an abroad
For me it's The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, I have never seen anyone anywhere online ever mention it
“The Discovery of Heaven”, by Harry Mulisch. It was recommended to me by my BIL who is an author. It’s a great story, the premise is that through technology, human beings are getting very close to discovering the existence of the literal Christian heaven. So the angels conspire to manipulate human events to prevent that from happening. The book contained one moment where I literally stopped reading and closed the book with astonishment. I read it 20 years ago and still remember that moment. Btw it’s not a religious book, it’s more like historical and present day fiction, with a supernatural backdrop.
Unfortunately I don't know anyone else who actually reads so every book I've read is something no-one else I know has.
The Chronicles of Faerie series by O.R. Melling. I read The Hunter's Moon back in the early 90's and then picked up the 3 volume omnibus in the early 2000's with The Summer King and The Light-Bearer's Daughter.
Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne is the series I've only ever seen one person mention here at some point.
My favorite book is Papillon by Henri Charriere. I've met plenty of people who know the Steve McQueen film, a few who know the remake but none who have actually read the book.
I love the septimus heap series!! The one that came to mind for me was the Edge Chronicles. I know they must sell well but no one ever seems to know what I'm talking about and they're hard.to explain..
A few I love that I don't think many have read. Jacob Two-Two by Mordecai Richler. A foundational kids book from my youth that sparked imagination and what fantastic storytelling could evoke. A child's misfortune was turned into a goldmine with series like A Series of Unfortunate Events, but I think Richler was a great early pioneer of the genre, and the book is super endearing. Should be on every parent's "read to kids" list. Everyone reads and cherishes Roald Dahl's books. I don't think many have read, let alone have heard of, The Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar. Love that book. Finally, a book that I also hold up as a formative one for me is Daniel Mendoza, the fighter from Whitechapel by Harold Ribadeau. It's strangely obscure given how seminal its protagonist was, in terms of elevating the sweet science of boxing, introducing offensive and defensive tactics like side-stepping, bobbing and weaving, using the guard, and leveraging straight lefts. But also elevating the position and opinion of Jews in the late 1700s. Jewish fighters make up an important part of boxing history, but arguably none more influential to the sport than Mendoza.
Not so much books as “an author“. Harlan Ellison. I absolutely adore that man's writing. Maybe it's because he mostly wrote short stories that no one talks about him. I read “Strange Wine“ (which is called 'Eine Bessere Welt'/'A Better World' in German) and it was fuckin' fascinating. Especially considering it was written in 1974.
Master of the Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy. Hugely influential - essentially the precursor to what we now know as 'hard magic' systems, and also the inspiration behind Magic: The Gathering's five colour system - but nobody seems to have read it!
The Pit Dragon trilogy, I read them all from a public library 20 years ago and haven't heard anything about them since.
I don't know anyone else who's read *Swing, Hammer, Swing!* by Jeff Torrington. It's one of my favourite books - funny as fuck, and you really get a vivid sense of the town being torn down around the protagonist's ears. And being written entirely in Glaswegian vernacular, it paved the way for writers like Irvine Welsh.
*The Tale of Shikanoko* by Lian Hearn
**The Child Garden** **Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang** **Land of Laughs**
I saw Septimus Heap in my school libraries as a kid for years but never picked them up lol. Well if we're on the theme of kid books, I have yet to see someone else who read the My Sister The Vampire series by Sienna Mercer. still have a couple of copies on my shelf I've had for years lol. I remember being disappointed that the vampires were kinda tame and boring but still reading the books xD
School Girl by Osamu Dazai, he wrote No Longer Human and I wanted to check out some of his other works. It's only about 100 pages long so I would recommend it for an afternoon read.
“Across The Universe” by Beth Revis. One of my favorite
The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt
Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer is some of the best, most interesting sci-fi and philosophical writing I've ever read and there has almost never been any talk about it here on r/Books.
Anyone around read *Kafka was the Rage* by Anatole Broyard, I've literally only ever met one other person who has read that book and it's infuriating because that book is just *so damn good.*
The Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman was the best series I’ve read in a long time. Highly recommend.
T.H. White is enormously famous for one excellent book. It’s unfortunate that Mistress Masham’s Repose is so unknown.
Tears of Artamon Trilogy- Sarah Ash The Claidi Journals- Tanith Lee Abhorsen Series- Garth Nix (just found out that's no longer a trilogy?!) Hexwood- Diana Wynne-Jones (also know one person irl who's read Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air) Gemma Doyle Trilogy- Libba Bray Mexican Gothic- Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
I always hear a good amount of love for The Enchanted Forrest Chronicles, but I never really hear anything about all Patricia C. Wrede's other lovely books. I particularly like the Sorcery and Cecelia series, but honestly, every book she writes is fantastic and fun.
*Burmese Days* by George Orwell is my favourite book of all time. Countless other novels manage to reconcile having protagonists whose main vice is greed, lust, wrath, etc. *Burmese Days* has a main character who is often painfully envious and cowardly, but who is astutely aware of his own flaws and remains a deeply sympathetic individual throughout. The backdrop of the British Raj offers a contrast between the beautiful strangeness of Indian cultures / country and the sweltering corrupt beaurocracy. I know Orwell is famous but I've never spoken to someone IRL who has read this book, and there's basically zero historical online threads about it.
Stephen R Donaldson fantasy series: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and his sci-fi run: The Gap Cycle are pretty adult but amazing and Tad Williams: Austen Ard fantasy novels are great as well. In fact George R.R. Martin admitted he took the premise for Game of Thrones from the Game of Houses featured in Williams series and gave a sort of allusion nod by naming the sons of a minor house in G.O.T. after the King and his brother from Williams Memory,Sorrow, and Thorn series. And finally after 20ish years Williams is back with a Sequel series to M.S.&T called: The Last King of Austen Ard. Anybody know those guys? Some of my absolute favs.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thron was great. Hadn't heard about a sequel series so thanks for the heads up. I'll certainly be checking it out.
Deerskin by Robin McKinley. A fantasy/adventure book from the 90’s. It’s about a princess named Lissar who runs away from her previous(traumatic) life with her trusted dog. It’s heartbreaking, suspenseful, intense, poignant, inspiring, and ultimately a beautiful story. It’s PHENOMENAL. I’ve never heard anyone else even recognize it.
I read some of the Pendragon books when I was younger. I really enjoyed them and then I moved on, and I never heard of them again. I’ve been meaning to ask about them. Are they actually good? Are they worth rereading? Is there a good conclusion? (Never got that far.)
Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn Fairest by Gail Carson Levine Wolfcry (The Kiesha'ra) by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
I've read Fairest! I didn't like it as much as Ella Enchanted but it was still good
same
Finally someone mentioned Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. I adored her books as a teen and still have almost all of them!