I’ll start first: (bear in mind I usually listen to audiobooks)

  • Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir |A guy finds himself stranded in space aboard an international space vessel where he has to remember who he is.
  • The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater |A true story about how hanging with the wrong crowd can have life-altering consequences
  • The Animorphs series by KJ Applegate |Young adult series in which a group of kids find an alien, get the powers to morph shape into animals, as well as uncover an alien takeover conspiracy (Plus, detailed depictions of how grotesque those transformations are!)
  • Saga by Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples (Comic, ongoing) |Following the story of Hazel, a baby born from an ex-soldier and an enemy combatant, Saga shows how gowing up and raising a kid in a wartorn universe can have highs and lows.

Edit: added pipes for better separation

  • B1naryB0t@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    4·
    2 hours ago

    Algorithms To Live By, applying computer science and mathematic principles to real life. Helping make better decisions that are provably more efficient. Really interesting and anyone who has any interest in computing can get a lot from the book.

  • Preacher@lemmy.world
    2·
    2 hours ago

    “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler. Published in 1993 but set in 2024. Definitely resonates with the state of things today.

  • ℕ𝕖𝕞𝕠@slrpnk.net
    1·
    2 hours ago

    Mount Chicago by Adam Levin

    Not as good as his first book, The Instructions, but I’m enjoying it. Try the forward, it’s a good indication for whether you’ll like the rest of the book. If you don’t, still try The Instructions; it’s very good.

  • spy@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    2·
    2 hours ago

    Mistborn: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson. An epic fantasy.

    I loved it and just started the second book.

  • Volkditty@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 hours ago
    • The Mercy of Gods: The first book in a new trilogy from the guys behind The Expanse.
    • How to ADHD: Because I wasn’t diagnosed until 40 and now I have to rethink everything about me.
    • My War Gone By, I Miss It So: The memoir of a British war zone journalist who covered the Bosnian War and other Balkans conflicts. I originally read it decades ago but was reminded of it after watching Civil War earlier this year. I heard lots of criticism about the main characters in that movie not being relatable or very likable so I picked this back up to confirm that yes, that’s accurate, and I think part of the point of the movie…
  • wjrii@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    3 hours ago

    Learned on Lemmy a couple of weeks ago that Neal Stephenson has a new book out, and I’m still a sucker for them. Polostan is (so far) historical fiction and very readable. The Stephenson-esque infodumps seem to mostly concern the game of Polo and interwar Communism, with healthy dashes of 1930s physics and ranching.

  • KammicRelief@lemmy.world
    8·
    4 hours ago

    The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles. My first time reading an ancient classic, and it’s much less scary than I thought. In fact I’m quite enjoying it, and might read The Iliad (Homer’s other epic poem) next. The humanness of the characters (well, the human ones!) is very relatable, even though it’s 2700 years old. I don’t know why I expected it to be crusty and boring. Maybe I assumed it’d be like the Bible.

    The intro explains a lot of stuff about the original Greek poem and how it was written in dactylic hexameterwhich bards back then used to be able to improvise in, which is amazing to me. Reminds me of 8 Mile or something. 😅

  • Bruncvik@lemmy.world
    1·
    2 hours ago

    Recently finished Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. Much of the novel is a real slow burner, but the third act hit me right in the feels. I can’t stop thinking about the author’s wonderful misdirection, which caught me by surprise.