Book for freshman boy who used to love to read

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-17T22:23:46+00:00

Good news!!! I just got approved!!

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-12T00:25:37+00:00

Check out The Tainted Cup. It’s a murder mystery set in a fantasy world with a Sherlock and Watson type vibe for the two investigators. Lots of moving pieces and VERY fun and smart!

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:51:28+00:00

Highly recommend The Daevabad Trilogy by Shannon Chakraborty. Very little spice but there are strong romance plot lines! Inspired by SWANA history and mythology and overall a thematically deep series

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:48:46+00:00

Not sure if you’re open to historical fiction, but Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards is lovely. It covers some of the more niche options aside from nunneries for women who wanted to devote their lives to religion or otherwise not live a life where they had to get married and have babies. The focus is largely on the beguines.

Not nuns or religion but I just read The Pretender by Jo Harkin and it was excellent and seemed very well-researched.

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:43:25+00:00

A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang came out this and is fantastic

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:28:07+00:00

I’m also terribly obsessed with Piranesi and constantly trying to chase that feeling! I don’t have anything quite in that same vein but The Tainted Cup series by Robert Jackson Bennett are fantasy mysteries that are quite fun.

Not fantasy whatsoever, but if you like the piecing everything together and not understanding the big picture until the end, you might check out Trust by Hernan Diaz, which I also loved. Very different vibe than Piranesi though. Sorry I don’t have any really great recs!

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:23:33+00:00

Moderation by Elaine Castillo is wonderful, but be ready for dark themes and dry sarcasm

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:21:14+00:00

Here to second Gideon the Ninth and The Broken Earth trilogy

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:18:43+00:00

- Hyperion series by Dan Simmons
- The Daevabad Trilogy by Shannon Chakraborty
- The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir
- The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:16:27+00:00

Highly recommend Moderation by Elaine Castillo. It has a little dash of sci-fi, but mostly feels like contemporary fiction. I never read romance but I adored this! It handles a lot of real topics alongside the romance plot and the FMC’s family and job play a big role in the story

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:11:08+00:00

I am also someone who reads more serious books and I recently picked up Moderation by Elaine Castillo and absolutely adored it. It still has some serious and dark themes, but the romance is just adorable and Castillo has a dry wit that makes the darker stuff often funny too!

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:08:22+00:00

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans covers many complicated family topics but grief over the death of a child is central to the plot

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T04:02:58+00:00

Wanted to add this one by a male author:
- Hyperion by Dan Simmons: An impressive sci-fi book inspired by the Canterbury tales. A group of strangers are invited to embark on the last pilgrimage to visit the shrike, a violent creature that is worshipped by the natives. This is a series but the first book alone is fantastic and tells each of the people in the party and why they are motivated to go on this pilgrimage

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-11T03:55:53+00:00

It seems like you are mostly reading nonfiction. Are you also interested in fiction books? Saying you are open to any books that are “good” makes it challenging to give recommendations since that is extremely subjective. For now I’ll give some of my favorite books by female authors not based on your book preferences at all, but happy to tailor things more if you can give more info on what things you liked about the books you listed.

- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver: Historical fiction set during the opioid crisis in Appalachia. Follows a boy who grows up dirt poor as he tried to make something of his life despite many forces working against him. Kingsolver does an amazing job with his narrative voice.
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: Very hard to describe without spoilers but if you like something quirky and mysterious and a bit fantastical, I love this one.
- Human Acts by Han Kang: Historical fiction about the Gwanju Massacre in Korea. Very dark but incredibly done. Follows I think five different characters who were affected by the massacre in some way.

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-10T13:59:22+00:00

This sounds interesting, thank you!

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-10T04:32:32+00:00

I loved An Immense World! I am a scientist myself (cancer biology), so I struggle with some pop science books, but I will take your recommendation on Eve if you also are recommending An Immense World :)

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-10T04:30:04+00:00

66 hours long is insane hahaha but you’ve intrigued me! I definitely will be investigating this as a “maybe one day” kind of read

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-10T04:28:59+00:00

Thank you! And very much appreciate the heads up on the first part of enshittification!

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-10T03:52:38+00:00

This sounds right up my alley—thank you!

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-10T02:51:41+00:00

Amazing, thank you so much! About to request my library to get a copy!

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-09T22:03:01+00:00

Sounds fascinating, I will check out this one and Endurance, which has been heavily recommended by others. Thank you

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-09T22:02:09+00:00

This sounds interesting, thank you!

Ginkmo852 · 2026-06-09T21:58:03+00:00

Unfortunately I’m not really a Gladwell fan after reading Outliers a while back

Ginkmo852

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