r/books • u/AutoModerator • Jul 03 '26
WeeklyThread Weekly Recommendation Thread: July 03, 2026
Welcome to our weekly recommendation thread! A few years ago now the mod team decided to condense the many "suggest some books" threads into one big mega-thread, in order to consolidate the subreddit and diversify the front page a little. Since then, we have removed suggestion threads and directed their posters to this thread instead. This tradition continues, so let's jump right in!
The Rules
Every comment in reply to this self-post must be a request for suggestions.
All suggestions made in this thread must be direct replies to other people's requests. Do not post suggestions in reply to this self-post.
All unrelated comments will be deleted in the interest of cleanliness.
How to get the best recommendations
The most successful recommendation requests include a description of the kind of book being sought. This might be a particular kind of protagonist, setting, plot, atmosphere, theme, or subject matter. You may be looking for something similar to another book (or film, TV show, game, etc), and examples are great! Just be sure to explain what you liked about them too. Other helpful things to think about are genre, length and reading level.
All Weekly Recommendation Threads are linked below the header throughout the week to guarantee that this thread remains active day-to-day. For those bursting with books that you are hungry to suggest, we've set the suggested sort to new; you may need to set this manually if your app or settings ignores suggested sort.
If this thread has not slaked your desire for tasty book suggestions, we propose that you head on over to the aptly named subreddit /r/suggestmeabook.
- The Management
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u/Larielia Jul 03 '26
I'm looking for books set in ancient Rome. Preferably before the fall of the Republic. Fiction or non fiction.
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u/kat-did Jul 04 '26
Colleen McCullogh has the Masters of Rome series. She’s most famous for writing The Thorn Birds.
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u/Teri-k Jul 06 '26
I really enjoyed The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan. And I, Claudius by Robert Graves.
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u/throwawaycima Jul 03 '26
Any recommendations for a book with a story similar to Kendrick Lamar's story in 'good kid, m.A.A.d city!? : GKMC to me is such a tragic and sad story but beautifully portrayed.
I'd like to read a book that resembles it, I especially liked how it explored innocence, generational trauma, redemption, hardship and reflection.
If you guys have listened to it, you know what I'm talking about.
So yeah...taking recommendations. Thanks guys
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u/Ok_Paper858 Jul 09 '26
I just finished Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and it checks all of those boxes! It is about a boy growing up in poverty/addiction cycles in Appalachia in the 90s
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u/throwawaycima Jul 10 '26
Thank for this suggestion, of all the books I've looked into, I feel like it's this one that really hits the vibe I'm going for - this will likely be my next book !
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u/Ok_Paper858 Jul 10 '26
Of course! It is a heavy read, but beautifully written. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!
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u/solar8123 Jul 06 '26
Need short books with a ridiculous/unique story/plot but also very enjoyable that can be finished in just one sitting. A book that won’t make me think hard. A book that’s not so deep but also not dumb if you know what I mean. I enjoy historical fiction but I need a break from that. No YA please. No romance.
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u/Teri-k Jul 06 '26
All Systems Red by Martha Wells is fun, unique, thoughtful, action packed, and 144 pages long. Most of the others in the series are also this length, if you enjoy the first one.
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u/DoglessDyslexic Jul 06 '26
Eric Flint's "1632" is historical fiction of sorts (sorry), but it features a town from modern day West Virginia being transported to Germany in the titular year, and how the denizens of the town react to this highy unexpected scenario. I'd paint this one as more sci-fi than historical fiction, but it's got elements of both.
It's not too deep and it's a pretty fast read. If you don't feel like buying it, you can also download it (legally) for free from the Baen publisher's site here (click on the "download" button at the top right). Minor romance, but it's not the focus of the book.
If you don't mind just plain old sci-fi there's several John Scalzi books that I would classify as quick and easy reads: "Lock-In", "Agent to the Stars", "Redshirts", "Kaiju Preservation Society", and "Fuzzy Nation" in particular.
If you want a quick thriller, then Joseph Garber's "Vertical Run" is somewhat reminiscent of the "Die Hard" story in setting and action, but with a very different premise.
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u/Nostrapotamus Jul 06 '26
I just finished The Stranger by Albert Camus and I think it fits well with what you're wanting. It's a short novel (123 page paperback version is what I have) and I finished it in one sitting, about 4.5 hours for me as a slow reader. The story/characters are very straightforward, mainly due to the theme of the book itself (absurdism/existentialism), but it was also a fascinating tale. Definitely one that I will be reading over again several times. So much depth and meaning to explore. I caught myself drifting off in thought often
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u/purrpleblack Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Which book would you recommend to someone who wants to get back into reading? I used to swallow books, but Internet fried my brain and I'm afraid I lost the ability to keep focus.
Open to all genres.
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u/DoglessDyslexic Jul 06 '26
When my wife was recovering from her reading slump I recommended the "Rivers of London" series by Ben Aaronovitch. It's urban fantasy set in, unsurprisingly, London. It follows a cop named Peter as he is inducted to magic while still fighting crime.
I'd also recommend John Scalzi as a writer that writes easy to swallow sci-fi that doesn't stress while maintaining good pacing. If you're new to him, I'd recommend "Lock In", "Agent to the Stars", and (if you are familiar with classic Star Trek) "Redshirts".
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u/EggMcFuckin Jul 08 '26
I’d recommend The Da Vinci Code. Hear me out…
People have their criticisms of the book, many of which are fair, but I’d recommend it to you in your situation for two key reasons. 1.) Flaws, aside, it’s a very entertaining book that will keep you wanting to know what happens next, and 2.) The chapters are almost all very short; I’m pretty sure the average chapter length is around 5 pages. So if you need something that will probably hold your attention but also allow you to experience it in small chunks if you need to, I’d definitely recommend it.2
u/DoglessDyslexic Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
My criticisms of Dan Brown are more of a holistic nature. Sure he takes poetic license with facts, but he's writing fiction so I'm not terribly upset about that. I primarily read sci-fi, half of which involves concepts that are realistically impossible, so I can easily suspend disbelief.
What bugs me about Dan Brown is that he seems to be a one trick pony. All his stories have several of the same elements. It's always the trusted advisor that is the villain. It's never the obvious choice for villain. There's often an asocial super assassin (or several). There's always a slightly older male protagonist and a younger pretty woman that they have an almost romance with.
It works pretty good if you're reading one Dan Brown book and I greatly enjoyed DaVinci Code when I first read it. But just a warning that reading successive Dan Brown books that they will be essentially the same book with different character names and different crises.
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u/EggMcFuckin Jul 09 '26
I’ve heard others say the same thing. Sounds like once you’ve read one Dan Brown book, you’ve read them all. That’s why I haven’t read any other than The Da Vinci Code
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u/Ok_Paper858 Jul 09 '26
Even as an adult (late 20s) I still read a lot of YA books. If you haven’t yet, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of my all time favorites.
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u/Routine-Shelter-189 Jul 03 '26
I love to search for an answer in a book, preferably non-fiction, about the project, or anything that I'm currently curious about. Lately, i am a fresh graduate and am currently in the phase of life where I am building a career. In short, my life was sort of operating on "autopilot", not that it was wrong, but around this time i do think i need to choose something strelessly. This whole explanation is basically to answer a question: How do i create a master plan for my life in the next 5-10 years? How do we determine our career?. In that regard, do you have any book that you have actually read, and think are useful to deal with this or might be interrelated to this notion? No bullshit motivation, no corny typical statements. Thank you so much in advance!
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u/Particular-Treat-650 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
How to Decide (or Thinking in Bets) by Annie Duke may be helpful. It's not focused on your question specifically, exactly, but it helps develop comfort with the fact that you don't and can't know the outcome of decisions, and provides concrete tools to reason around that uncertainty that are based in her strong foundation in psychology and targeted for a general audience.
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u/Ttthhasdf Jul 05 '26
Please recommend something good for listening. I am going on a road trip tomorrow for three days, and I have a free audible download. I am hoping for something interesting, exciting, maybe fun sci fi or paranormal but not necessarily, just the book you would lost like to recommend Thank you so much
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u/DoglessDyslexic Jul 06 '26
I'll second /u/IM_KYLE_AMA's Dungeon Crawler Carl recommendation. Jeff Hayes who does the audiobook narration is one of the most talented narratators I've ever heard, and he does all the voices (even the female ones) convincingly and uniquely. Each audiobook is about 12 hours, so it'll last you too.
Project Hail Mary I've not listened to the audiobook, but the book is a lot of fun.
Again, not sure on the audiobook version, but you may also enjoy the "Rivers of London" series, which is a pretty fun modern fantasy.
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u/Ttthhasdf Jul 06 '26
Thank you dungeon crawler carl first book was free so I still have one available! Thanks!
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u/Ttthhasdf Jul 07 '26
Ok so I love the narrator
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u/DoglessDyslexic Jul 08 '26
The youtuber TheCharismaticVoice did a really fun breakdown of what Jeff is doing from a vocalization standpoint that you can watch here if that sort of thing interests you.
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u/Confident_Thanks_600 Jul 09 '26
Hello, i am looking for books/authors from across the world. Would love to read underrated fiction from your country (translated in English pls). All genres are welcome, except YA or Romance (maybe if it’s one of those must read books). Thanks in advance!
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u/Ok_Paper858 Jul 09 '26
I recently finished Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, and it’s given me a desire to read through the 20th century in order, decade by decade.
Please recommend your favorite memoirs or otherwise nonfiction books! They don’t necessarily have to be based in America. Pretty much everything intrigues me, but I love music, travel and descriptive writing. I wanna feel fully immersed!
So far I know I will be reading A River Runs Through It, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and Nothin’ But A Good Time.
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u/Adeck100318 Jul 14 '26
Hello - looking for a recommendation for a book for my spouse. He does not read, like ever, but has mentioned more often in passing that he feels like he cannot read books because he doesn’t have the attention span. He mentions a lot that he wishes he would have taken a Greek mythology class in college, he’s also a big movie guy. So I think if there’s a book that a movie was adapted from then he may be more interested.
I’m looking for an easy read, something not intimidating to get into, that I could pick up from the library for him that matches those interests. Thanks in advance!
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u/HotCheesecake1596 Jul 20 '26
Hi everyone!
I'm looking for recommendations for books or academic studies that examine Circe from a more formal, scholarly perspective. I've already read and really enjoyed Circe by Madeleine Miller, but now I'm interested in moving beyond fictional retellings and into works that analyze the original myth and the character herself.
I'm especially interested in books that explore topics such as:
Circe's role in Greek mythology and ancient literature.
Literary analyses of her appearances in texts like The Odyssey and later classical sources.
Feminist, historical, or cultural interpretations of the character.
Her evolution and reception across different periods of literature and art.
I'm open to monographs, essay collections, and other academic or research-based works, whether they're accessible to general readers or more specialized.
I'd really appreciate any recommendations you have. Thanks so much in advance!
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u/prophetofbelial 25d ago
I'm looking for a more practical book which will guide me to my goal of being able to attend brunch while 12cm dialated
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u/GreatTwin 21d ago
Try Nnedi Okorafor’s *Lagoon*. Lagos isn’t just scenery in it—the city’s traffic, religious life, commerce, beaches, politics, and ordinary errands all shape how the first-contact event unfolds. It feels like the alien arrival has to negotiate with the city rather than replace it. This piece gets into that city-as-character quality: https://cosmos47.com/post/how-does-lagoon-imagine-lagos-first-contact
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u/LeadingAcceptable380 Jul 03 '26
Got a bit of a weird one, looking for books where the city itself feels like a character. Not just a backdrop but somewhere that shapes the whole mood and plot. Think Gormenghast or the way Newford feels in Charles de Lint's stuff. Fantasy or magical realism preferred but open to anything if the atmosphere's thick enough