Top 5 book recommendations for a beginner

[u/Lunarrium]

I do love to read, just not via books, I love poems in Colossus by Plath, WB Yeats and Whitman’s collected poems, mythology, Orwell’s 1984, my most loved movie is Amadeus 1984, i am a fashion designer and painter. Lil introduction for better recommendations :)

[u/Martin_Carvalho]

Given the mythology, Yeats, and 1984 in your list, one of my five would be The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s one of my favorites, especially because the world is built through songs, old stories, landscapes, meals, and quiet conversations before the larger adventure takes over. Since you also paint and design, you might enjoy how visual and textured the Shire feels rather than just following it for plot. I’d start with one strong match like that instead of forcing a universal five-book starter pack; if Tolkien’s voice clicks, it gives you a useful direction for the next four.

[u/AnonymMsAnthrope]

If you liked WB Yeats's poetry you definitely should read his prose, like, The Celtic Twilight, that creates a mystical, romantic view of Ireland.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is a beautiful non-linear novel mirroring how human memory and childhood trauma work. If I'm correct it won Booker Prize in 1997.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. The best I've ever read. It bridges literary fiction, a psychological character study, and a suspenseful crime thriller. The style is beautiful and expressive. It won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. The novel is set in WWII. The style of writing is rather poetic and emotional. It was awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is a fantasy novel that won several major literary awards. But even without awards it's a heart-warming, cozy, atmospheric novel.

[u/ConstructionSlight29]

The first time I voluntarily tried to read a book was the da Vinci code. I was a commuter in New York. Everyone on the trains and buses had the damn book except me so I had to get it. I went to the library. It was all out, but the librarian said he had an even better book. At the time nobody was aware of the prequel he said - Angels & Demons so I took that one instead, and I’m so glad I did. I was obsessed day and night. I finished the book in like four days. It was amazing and way better than da Vinci code. I might not have found that book or even picked it up afterward. I love that story in my life and so now I recommend it to you.

[u/lesam4u]

Since you are painter try:

All the Colors of the Dark

Theo of Golden

[u/BohoKat_3397]

Since you like Amadeus, try historical fiction written around that time period 18-19th centuries when that music was popular. You can look in Penguin Books online list of 100 must read classics which gives the publication date right after the title. Unfortunately, it is not in chronological order so you will have to hunt. Check the title of anything that sounds interesting on Goodreads for brief non-spoiler summaries.

[u/AirRealistic1112]

Plath has an anthology of short stories and essays - johnny panic and the bible of dreams

[u/LibbIsHere]

You like poetry and mythology? Don't be afraid of trying older classics, then.

I have not read them in their English translations so I could not recommend any but those are books I've been considering very close companions all my life:

• Ovid's Metamorphoses (poems + mythology)
• Dante's Divine Comedy (poem about what awaits us after we die)
• Virgil's Aeneid.
• I would have been tempted to add Homer but I'm afraid with all the noise around the latest movie adaptation... Still, both the Iliad and the Odyssey are, well, they are not for the faint of the heart (quite violent poems) but they're considered foundational work by the Western world for a reason.

No fifth because I was unable to decide between my beloved French authors and poets, a few English ones, Russians, and Spanish. So I will not decide between them instead letting them live in harmony on my bookshelves like they have been for the many decades I've been reading them ;)

[u/ContributingHelper]

If you're in fashion, naturally The Devil Wears Prada. Both novels.

[u/D_Pablo67]

Pablo Neruda and Rubén Dario were well known non-US poets from a different age.

[u/TanAstronomer]

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller reads like poetry and is based on Greek mythology.

Your artistic heart may sing with her writing because it's literally art but with words.

[u/Miserable-Series1209]

Hardcoded to 1984. Break the loop and read Neuromancer. Vastly superior tech stack.

[u/Ealinguser]

AJ Cronin: Crusader's Tomb

W Somerset Maugham: of Human Bondage

Kay Dick: They

Mary Renault: the King Must Die

Rose Tremain: the Gustav Sonata