Looking for a bunch of different books in different styles

[frogfriend]

Hi, I've been looking for some new book recommendations and was hoping someone could help me out. I put together a list of what styles I am kind of looking for so take a look and let me know of any books you think I may find interesting.

 

Uplifting/happy: I need some uplifting, happy books. I just finished making a list of disturbing and grotesque books so I may need something to lighten the mood a bit after reading some of those books. Also my collection seems to be lacking this style of writing in general.

 

Scary books: Need some good scary books. I don't really find gore/zombie books scary, and plus those were already covered in my list of disturbing books. I prefer paranormal stories.

 

Mysteries: I've never really explored this genre much but it is something I would like to read more.

 

Surreal: Stuff like Jorge Luis Borges, Haruki Murakami, and Phillip K. Dick. Stuff to make to make me think outside the box.

 

Difficult: things like ulysses by joyce and sound and the fury. Things to test the limits of my reading comprehension.

 

Life Changing books: Anything that you think changed your view on life or provided you with profound insights

 

Any sci fi or fantasy novels.

 

topics to study: Any books that you view staples in becoming familiar in a certain field of study. I want to try and learn about different topics such as sciences, history, psychology etc. I'd prefer the books not be too advanced since this may be my first foray into the subject matter, but it doesn't have to be science for dummies either. Also the book doesn't have to be all encompassing in the topic, it could be a history book specifically about roman history or a philosophy book on existentialism. I don't mind if its centralized on a certain area in that field. All I ask is that nothing to math heavy, I'm not very good with math.

 

Thanks for any recommendations I really appreciate it. Also sorry if some of descriptions are a little vague, I wasn't sure what to write for some of them. I'll be happy with any suggestions as long as they fit the criteria a little. Also I prefer fiction except obviously for the books on science, history, etc. Those don't have to be fiction. Once again thanks for anything, I appreciate it.

[Chrissy]

I think your best bet is to take a stroll through the different forum genre sections and see what some other members have thought about different books. From the many quries we get, you may find some ideas in this section;

 

Scary ~ try here

 

Fantasy ~ try here.

 

Thought provoking ~ try here.

 

These should get you started at least. You have a heck of a requirement there. I pity your bank balance if you're going to be buying the books!

 

 

[frogfriend]

Thanks for the advice, I'll check out those sub forums. This is just the tip of the ice berg of the books that I am planning to get. I've got a 25 page list of books that I have in addition to these new ones I'm searching for.

[Chiara]

I think the subforums give you lots of books to consider! Some books I loved and really made me think are The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger. Both are very well written and have a good and unusual story. They are a bit sad though. A book I thought was quite scary is The Guardians by Andrew Pyper. It's a paranormal story about a haunted house and I had a few nightmares about it. I can also recommend Before I go to sleep by SJ Watson. It's not scary, but it's thrilling and I thought it had a very good story with a lot of unexpected turns, it's one of the best books I've ever read. I'm looking for some happy books myself at the moment, so I don't know any I could recommend.