What are the best fictional books you’ve ever read? - eviltoast

I started reading last year, mostly productivity stuff, but now I’m really looking to jump into fiction to unwind after a long week of uni, studying, and work. I need something to help me relax during the weekends without feeling like I’m working.

I’d love some recommendations for books that are short enough to finish in a day but still hit hard and are totally worth it. No specific genre preferences right now. I’m open to whatever. Looking forward to seeing what you guys suggest. Thank you very much in advance.

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    At that length, try Cat’s Cradle, by Vonnegut. It’s debatable how “hard it hits”, with that being subjective, but it’s one of those books that can change how you think about what books can/should bring to the table.

    If you don’t mind reading books meant for a younger audience, try bridge to terabithia. I still can’t read it without crying, and it’s a very fast read.

    If you want light, silly fantasy, try any of the first ten or so books in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. Yeah, he catches some flak from his rather unusual choices, but they’re easy to ignore if you take them in the spirit of the series.

    Same with any of the castle perilous series, by John Dechancie.

    It’s kinda hard to be certain what a given person can read in a single day, so I’m kinda going with stuff that I can finish in less than that, given a lack of interruption.

    • Crackhappy@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I read all of Piers Anthony and I kind of regret it, but his body of work just joins hundreds of other trashy novels that I read. I don’t really read as much junk as I used to.

      For my own recommendation, I’d probably go with Mistborn. It’s reasonably short and pretty fun to read without being awful.

      For a completely different kind of novel The Secret Life of Bees is really quite wonderful.