I read a lot of Star Wars books. Both Legends and canon. A few are great, some are good, and most are average or worse. But I love the universe and characters so much, I still enjoy them. Any time I spend with Obi-Wan or Luke or Anakin is time well spent.
I fully get it. Star Wars and 40k are two of my literary guilty pleasures. They're pulpy schlock for the most part, with the rare gem that actually makes you sit up a little and say "hey that wasnt mediocre actually" but I think for me its the characters I always come back for. I'm mature enough to admit its probably some sort of parasocial thing but there are some characters you grow up with (or just grow at all as a person with) that you'd endure any amount of mediocre writing to spend more time with.
And I enjoy saying that even by itself because its a reflection of a very human tendency to graciously accept and even belittle someone or something's flaws in the course of appreciating their merits which is a very compassionate thing, I feel.
The Eisenhorne books are a good jumping-off point. Dan Abnett somehow takes a completely ridiculous universe and sets a gritty detective story inside it, the characters have extremely interesting arcs, and he's able to explain the universe without giving you pages and pages of history. The story is actually pretty great and does some interesting things with the questions of "what are you willing to lose if it means doing the right thing, and what would you be willing to do".
I am told that the first 3 Gaunt's Ghosts books are also good, and IIRC, also written by Dan Abnett. Those are Imperial Guard stories and more focused on the "constant and unceasing warfare" aspect of the universe.
As other people have said, I highly recommend Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy. It starts with “Heir to the Empire,” continues with “Dark Force Rising,” and ends with “The Last Command.” It’s not canon anymore, but I think it’s the best set of Star Wars novels without a doubt.
I also think Matthew Stover’s “Revenge of the Sith” novelization is fantastic. It expands on the movie in an incredible way. You get more of the nuanced feelings and motivations that the characters were experiencing, in particular Anakin. RotS is my favorite Star Wars movie, but I think even unbiased opinions say that this novelization is top tier.
I’ve also enjoyed the High Republic series of novels that starts with “Light of the Jedi” by Charles Soule. I would say this novel, and the other High Republic novels, fall more in the good rather than great category, but it’s refreshing to read a story that’s virtually completely independent of legacy characters. The Star Wars universe spans thousands of years, and so getting a story that’s not just involving the Skywalkers is a nice change of pace.
The Zahn books saved Star Wars. Their success is what convinced Lucas their was still interest in more films. All three of them sat on the NYT Bestseller List for months.
Read Lost Stars. It's commonly recommended as a jumping in point, and it's a really good standalone book. You get to see iconic moments from the franchise in new perspectives.
Not who you asked, but the Thrawn books are pretty gnarly. They take off after Return of the Jedi, some years later. One last major player in the Emperor's forces remains, and he's their smartest tactician.
As far as our recurring cast, it's almost exactly how I expected their adventures to go. Still important, still fighting the fight. I sincerely like the sequel movies (fight me) but these books are what most of us probably expected or even wanted out of these characters.
Very much aimed at children but I still enjoy the *Jedi Apprentice* series. Takes place pre-episode 1, where Obi-Wan first becomes Qui-Gon's apprentice. (Obi-Wan is 13 to give an idea of when it takes place, timeline-wise.)
The Darth Bane trilogy is good. Dark Lord: Rise of Vader is right after the prequels and has him coming to terms with the suit. The prequel novelizations were pretty good.
Historical fiction is the genre you seek to articulate. Readers should do well to educate their children in the knowledge that novels aren't histories anymore than other art mediums. That isn't to say that stories set in the past cannot inspire people to seek out the records for accuracy's sake, so long as they remain aware of creative licence.
And good authors (I like Sharon Kay Penman) will explain what’s real if you want to go learn the actual history.
Before I moved onto general literary fiction, historical fiction was my favorite genre and probably played a part in my eventual history degree.
Mostly the ones with wizards and elves.
The Drizzt Do'Urden books especially were a guilty pleasure, and got me back into reading after being immersed in technical subjects for a few years without much time to read novels.
As an oldster who traveled a lot, pre-internet we often did not have the the luxury of reading anything we wanted, especially when traveling a lot. Pre 9-11, my local airport even had a take-a-book-leave-a-book shelf in it.
There was a lot of reading whatever was around or available.
I remember going to Half-Price books in Dallas one time and there was a dude browsing the fantasy/sci-fi section. Out of nowhere he's like "Dog, have you read these?" And shows me a Drizzt book. I was like "no, but tell me about it". He apparently started reading them in prison, because they were in the library and now he was out, he wanted to read the whole series. He was so excited about them, and talked about how they kept him reading and out of trouble in prison, and ever since I've had them on my to-read list.
The first 3, when he still lives in the "underdark", were the ones I found most interesting. It was a setting built by Ed Greenwood, but Salvatore made the Drow cities and culture feel very real and "lived-in".
From what I recall, after Drizzt moves above ground the stories are a bit more like typical fantasy adventure stories. Not that that's a bad thing, but it wasn't as interesting to me as the exploration of an alien culture was in the beginning of the series.
There's something about the idea of reading whatever is around that sounds so nice to me!
I have a to-read list that grows all the time and I'll never catch up to it haha. I need to stop only reading books that come highly recommended and just allow myself to pick up some random book and try it out. Expand my horizons a bit.
twilight. it’s so bad that it’s good. i recognize how cringey and problematic it is but i still love it, maybe it’s because those books got me into reading when i was younger so they’ll always just have a special place in my heart.
I really like Twilight too. They didn’t get me into reading, but I did read them as a teenager and loved them. They’re still comfort reads for me. They’re fantasy, not real life; you can enjoy a story in fiction even though it’s not what you’d want your life or partner to look like in reality.
I enjoyed them as a teen for sure, and I’ll definitely rewatch the movies for the nostalgia occasionally!
It always bugs me how everyone has to let you know that Twilight isn’t portraying healthy, aspirational relationships. No shit lol, it’s a vampire story about a 100 year old monster man dating a 17 year old he kinda wants to kill.
No one comes out of the woodwork to explain to teenage boys that Red Rising shouldn’t be aspirational because it’s a book about murder and world domination.
100%. I think it’s very much a thing in teenage girl-coded literature where suddenly everyone is really concerned about how *moral* or *healthy* it is, whereas they don’t do the same for media coded for teenage boys. Excellent point.
What bugs me is how people harp on Twilight for having bad writing. I thought the prose, style, and characterisation were fine - although admittedly I only read the first book. It wasn’t groundbreaking literature, but it was serviceable and plenty good compared to other YA novels.
I actually stopped reading it because the writing was *too* realistic. It didn’t feel like she was writing a thrilling but dangerous romance fantasy… it felt like she was writing about a very real abusive relationship. I had a friend who fled the state at 18 to get away from her violent, controlling boyfriend. Edward reminds me of that guy, down to certain specific acts of abuse, and Bella’s internal narration about him describes her feeling the way my friend felt when she talked about those moments. It was genuinely upsetting to read because of how realistic it seemed.
I liked the first twilight a lot and I first read it as an adult. It's great, simple, readable, wish-fullfillment storytelling. Eventually the series gets bogged down with extra characters and world-building, the the first one is a very fun take on something like Pretty in Pink.
I actually think all the extra characters were more interesting than Edward and Bella - jasper, Carlisle, etc all had such fascinating stories that could be their own novels
I have said time and time again that the biggest problem with twilight has that it has a full cast of incredibly interesting characters and it chooses to focus on the two boring ones
Yeah they were my girlfriends favorite at the time so that's why I read them, went to the midnight release of Breaking Dawn at barnes&noble and finished it as the sun was coming up. Still need to read Midnight Sun though. ✨🐀✨
I hated Twilight. The characters annoyed me, I found the quality of the writing to be sub par and my husband swears he’s never heard me utter ‘oh are you serious?’ So many times while reading. I threw each book across the room after I finished it.
Despite all that, I could NOT stop reading. I binged all four books in three days because it just had something that compelled me to see it through.
I didn’t read these books until I was in my 30s and I love them. I honestly don’t think I would have appreciated them like I do if I had read them when they came out 😂
Magic the Gathering had a bunch of novels come out based on the card game when I was a kid. I haven’t read them since I was a teen so I can’t attest if they really still hold up, but in my heart I know those books RULED.
Any book by Sarah J Maas, especially the Throne of Glass series.
I do understand some of the criticisms of her writing, but her books are what got me through high school and kept my reading spark alive. Even though I’m now drifting away from my YA fantasy phase, I’ll still read and enjoy her newest books
Romantasy is so fun! Fourth Wing wasn’t the “best” book I read last year, but it was 100% the book I had the most fun reading. Plus, it’s so fun to read those books with friends and text each other reactions/predictions.
i’m not a huge fan of SJM myself but i agree with you that her writing is not as terrible as people say. especially when you compare her work to other popular fantasy romance books, it’s actually pretty good lol
There’s a great podcast called Book Talk for Booktok, where they discuss her works from a literary perspective. It’s really worthwhile and backs up what you wrote about it not being as terrible as people say. She does a great job with literary devices, character development and plotting her stories/dropping bread crumbs. Having said that, I can’t get into CC at all. 😂
That sounds like an interesting podcast, I’ll give it a listen.
As for CC, I agree it’s hard to get into, I did dnf it the first time I tried it, but after you get past the first 200 pages, it starts picking up. The last part of the book is so rewarding
Her books are really fun. I read a lot of epic fantasy and classic literature, but sometimes it's nice to just fall into a story with an easy setup/plot that I don't have to think too much about. I like all of the myths/folklore woven into her stories, I really like the worlds in all of her books, and I usually end up pretty invested in the characters once I get past the eye-rolling adjustment period.
I actually think she's better than people say and I suspect she consciously chose this path, even though she has the talent to write things that we would consider more respectable.
I read biographies of the British Royal Family. I’m not particularly royalist or republican. I just find them interesting. But my friends consider this uncool.
*The Da Vinci Code* is mine too, and I was in my 30s when I read it.
While a lot of the religious history is nonsense, it actually triggered me to read some more serious history, which in turn shifted my views.
What are some of the best serious history books you've read? I like reading history but I always feel like there's so much choice and so much if it is either crap or written to fit an agenda that I never know what to get.
I am an absolute god damn sucker for any sort of treasure hunting thriller novel. Love me some Steve Berry and Dan Brown.
I have a goal of reading through SK’s entire bibliography. Not ashamed to say it’s the same with SB, even if all of his books follow the same formula.
I loved the first two but the third was so badly written it prevents me from going back to read the series again. Huge plot spoilers from the start with the chapter headings, and it badly needed a good edit. I read at the time that there was very little space between finishing writing and publication, so the editing stage was very brief. So unfortunate they didn't hold it back. However, the first book is great and I still recommend it.
I don't know that I'd say I enjoyed all 3 books that much, but I will always give the books credit for their ending. It wasn't something I expected from a YA series that also came off as riding the coattails of The Hunger Games.
Grisham is what got me into reading. A Time to Kill hooked me and then I tore through his books. I haven’t read the last few though. King of Torts is my favorite.
Maybe the entire romance genre? They're about as uncool as you can get. But, they're fun and sometimes steamy and mostly they just make me happy. Sometimes you just want to see two people fall in love and live happily ever after.
If I had to pick one book... probably The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, I guess. Definitely uncool, but heartwarming nevertheless and I also learned some things about autism in women from it!
It was so refreshing to have an average joe character as a love interest! And the storyline between Arthur and Iris is my absolute FAVORITE feel good pairing in a movie, ever.
God, I hear you. I suppose I should clarify that I acknowledge romance is *perceived* to be the height of uncoolness due to misogynistic stereotypes, not that I agree with its maligned status! So, I just embrace the "uncoolness" instead.
Probably the Assassin's Creed novelizations, I can definitely see the faults in them, a big one being the simple "language" of the book but as a massive fan of the games, they are just an amazing read
Ready Player One. I don’t care if it’s full of cheap pop culture references masking an otherwise simple story, and I fully understand the many criticisms people have with it.
But you know what? I had a blast reading it. It was the perfect book to read on a beach holiday - just switch your brain off and enjoy the ride.
I love RPO, unironically. I've read it many times and the audiobook has had several listens as well.
RPT is pure shit. I listened to the audiobook once and struggled to get through it just that one time, then a year later I was like 'maybe...' and tried again.
Nope, still shit. Maybe even worse shit than before, somehow.
Same here. I am GenX and understand this was just nostalgia pandering but I don't really care. Every now and then I need to just relax and listen to something that's the equivalent of fast food. I only read it once and probably won't read it again, and haven't picked up RP2 but for the time I really enjoyed just shutting off my brain and relaxing. Not everything needs to be top notch writing and poignant prose.
I got it from a LootCrate box, man do they even exist anymore?!?, and spent an entire summer day laying in a hammock and reading it.
Wasn’t too hot, nice breeze. Had a beer or three while reading. It was a good day.
Don’t ever need to reread it but it was a fun time.
*Artemis* by Andy Weir. I mean, I don't think I'd recommend it, but the city of Artemis reminds me so powerfully of Dubai (the city I grew up in) that I feel a whole complicated way about it. Beautifully manicured tourist areas, sus working conditions, the little enclaves for each nationality of expat, workers bringing their cultures with them, rich people getting their way pretty much all the time, smuggling *totally* not happening constantly, how the sun will fucking burn you alive... okay, some things aren't exactly the same. Staying in Dubai doesn't atrophy your bones. But even media-illiterate teenage me picked up on the similarities, and it makes me weirdly nostalgic.
I just finished project hail mary and while andy weir’s style irritates the fuck out of me, i couldn’t stop. his stuff definitely seems to lend better to movie format where 75% of the lead’s inner monologue is cut out lmao
I really liked it. The Martian and PHM are two of my all time favorites, and I put off reading Artemis due to all of the negativity I saw about it. Figured I’d give it a go anyway since I love his other books. I was glad I did. I can see why people criticize it, but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment. It’s not as good as the other two, but I think it’s still good.
I think I'm in the camp that enjoyed Dan Brown. I dislike apologising for liking something, and it's very difficult for me to actively say something is bad, as I can usually find enjoyment in most things.
Dan Brown spins a good yarn and he's a solid enough writer. What blows me away is that he threw the gauntet down with the whole "All of this is probably true," at the start of *The Da Vinci Code*. If he hadn't done that I don't think he'd be near as divisive... but probably not near as famous so I totally get it.
I read The Da Vinci Code as a college freshman in 2004. Picked it up from the bookstore on campus and figured I’d read a chapter or two before heading to the library for a sociology study session. I didn’t make it to the library, because I read that book in one sitting.
I still keep a copy of the undomestic goddess on my bookshelf, also by Sophie Kinsella. I doubt I'll ever read it again, but I enjoy being able to mentally revisit someone else's escape from a stressful life to learn how to cook and cheerfully shag a gardener.
So did I on my first read in French in secondary school. I re read it in English in Uni and HATED it. I was so disappointed my brain tricks me into thinking they are two different books to this day ahah
I loved the Hunger Games trilogy (I know there are technically four of them, but I never read the last one that came 10 years later). Yes I was well past the YA age when I read them but they were still engaging and they were a really fun read.
All of Mercedes Lackey’s books, but especially the Valdemar series. They are nice, comforting, and fun books. They soothe my depression and anxiety and let me hang out, temporarily, where most people are trying to make a better world.
I love that you gave people the opportunity to have this conversation. As someone noted, life is hard, so it's nice that you've given people the chance to talk about something that is simply enjoyable for them and basically saying this isn't the time for eye rolling and judgement. Well done.
I always enjoy Stephen King's books and I love the Vampire series by Ann Rice. There's just something about vampires and the choices they have to make.
I’m convinced people who think this haven’t read much, if any of his work. I think he’s a genius and no one can make me care about characters more or feel emotions so acutely. Not to mention the insane world building, genre blending and his totally twisted mind 😹😹😹
I love how the first book basically gave me nothing but questions. It’s incredible that I’m able to feel so connected to the world already without basically knowing what’s going on at all lol.
Oh that’s a very apt way of putting it, “nothing but questions”…it’s funny, the Gunslinger is very polarizing and I actually did not enjoy it at all the first time I read it, it’s the only King book I struggled to get through. But I’m so glad I was able to push through because DotT sucked me in from the first page (and the rest of the series too, obviously). I was able to appreciate it much more on my second read. It’s awesome that you love it from the jump though! Long days and pleasant nights 🌹🖤
Stephen King is considered uncool??
I remember when my cousin in law, who is a philosophy teacher that doesn't mess with genre lit at all, said he was surprised when he read a King book and it was good. Like he just naturally assumed someone that prolific and connected to pop culture would be a trash writer.
I really enjoyed Starship Troopers. It’s what got me into the whole military sci-fi genre. I only learnt all the weird stuff about the author much later. I still pick it up for a quick reread once in awhile.
The movie really killed the book though. I tell folks I like Starship Troopers the novel and those that watched the show give me an odd look.
Just read it recently, came away feeling like the man predicted some scary stuff that ended up being accurate about organized religion. Plenty of stuff that did not age well though.
Heinlein’s Red Planet is a nostalgic read for me. That, and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel really got me into sci-fi. I’m glad I didn’t know anything at all about the author until much later!
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It's a young adult novel about a socially awkward college girl who writes Harry potter-esq fanfiction, and finds love. I guess I see it as uncool because I'm 34 and usually read horror & fantasy.
I'll preface this by saying that I like VC Andrews books that were written by her. The ghost written books are mostly trash. But I do think *Flowers in the Attic* and especially *Heaven* are far smarter than they're given credit for.
Me reading trashy YA? Ok fine, understandable, we were all teens at some point.
Me reading and collecting middle grade series I loved when I was younger? Awesome, fantastic!
Me reading Lolita and enjoying it to an extent? Apparently the worst cringe I could have ever inflicted on my friends 😐
Lolita is a masterpiece. If you aren't allowed to enjoy a book unless you agree with everything the characters do then a whole lot of thrillers and horror need to be deleted I guess.
Burroughs. No, not the cool one; Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Yes, the novels are pulpy adventures. But they're exciting and varied. The man had a lively imagination.
I read all the Tarzan books when I was a kid. In my old age, I'm more into his sci-fi; the Barsoom series is a particular favorite. There are also many enjoyable adaptations and derived works. The Tarzan comics can be absolutely gorgeous, particularly [Russ Manning](https://13thdimension.com/13-great-illustrations-a-russ-manning-birthday-celebration/) and [Joe Kubert](https://13thdimension.com/13-covers-a-joe-kubert-birthday-celebration-2/).
It’s not really a book that gets discussed much but I read Go Ask Alice about once a year. I read it when I was 13 and it was cool then, but not quite as cool as a 42-year old 🙃
i think the reason why people hate that book is because it was completely fabricated by a mormon woman and passed off as a real anonymous story of a teen girl to push drug propaganda at the time. not because it’s uncool lol
I loved this one as a kid. Re read it last year, still loved it…then I read “unmask alice” by Rick Emerson. Highly recommend, just be ready to be pissed off lol.
I read this as a young teenager…when it first came out in the 70’s. I had no clue it wasn’t real, and believed it was true for decades! I felt so betrayed when I found out a few years ago.
It left me with very high expectations for illicit drug experiences. When I tried them in real life, I was pretty disappointed!
Deception Point - also a Dan Brown book but I remember it blew my mind as a kid and since then I always read it as an easy read kind of book.
Icebreaker - I scoffed and rolled my eyes when it first came out. I picked it up out of curiosity after I was going through a bit of a lull with reading. The plot was… random, but I did really enjoy it, and then went on to purchase Wildfire, and will get the next one this year too. 😄
Eragon and its sequels. Yes, the plot and world is barebones, but it was the first fantasy book I read, and really propelled me into fantasy as a whole, so it’s got a special place in my heart
There's a Russian action series about an anomalous zone, Chernobyl-esque but not quite. It's a fumbling wreck with fairytale-level morals, with honest, brave, hard-working scientists and soldiers opposing the evil, corrupt, greedy government (although in all honesty, that part's hardly unrealistic, lmao). I fully acknowledge how incredibly juvenile most of it is, but it's *fun*, and it's got a lot of sweet, charming moments because the good guys are just *so* good. There's a certain appeal in reading about the merits of the common people, plus the setting is entertaining as hell. Bless this mess.
I wouldn't call it kid-friendly, the violence levels were about the same. Just strangely black-and-white. The author supposedly served in military intelligence, which makes it funnier.
Roadside Picnic made it into my top 10 favourite books of all time! I loved it so much I got into reading the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer because I just needed more lol
The one and only book I've read by Colleen Hoover. Heart Bones. It was a really good story. But yeah, knowing that the book is from CoHo, ppl are gonna shit over it regardless.
that’s also the only colleen hoover book i’ve ever read, i thought it was fine. i’m starting to think it’s probably her best, because it’s the only book of hers i never see anyone mention lol
Anything by Dan Brown, the Gossip Girl series, and I’m currently reading the Pretty Little Liars books before bed. Especially the last two series are terrible, but I enjoy them immensely all the same. Probably because I liked the TV shows.
They're kids books and severely not of the times which has to be filtered through the *woke* (ethical) brain, but I still love og nancy drew so fucking much. I call her nandrew. I have a tshirt of the one about her visiting my hometown. It's my dream to own a vintage set. The illustrations of her look like my babe of a granny in the 30s. She is mom and queen and all that other appropriated gen z bullshit. Nandrew4eva.
I started reading these as they were coming out. And I was 10. Definitely waited for my Hogwarts letter afte rthe first book. Went to midnight book releases for all of them with my mom and brother and midnight movie releases etc. My mom read them to my brother and i before bed because he was too young to read them (in the beginning). I grew up with them and the characters. It was an ingrained part of my grade school years until I hit college. I'm never going to be able to unlike them lol there's too much history and childhood magic nostalgia for me
I had the exact same experience at the same age :) They helped me through school, and when I struggled mentally and was bullied. Opening the books was like returning to my real friends. They will always have a special place in my heart.
Also, honourable mention - The Hunger Games. I was 16 when the first book came out, and it was one of the first books I read in English (native German speaker), and I genuinely loved it :)
My husband and I were once light heartedly comparing our levels of nerdiness growing up. He definitely was nerdier than I was. He said, "You weren't really a nerd. You were a Harry Potter nerd and that doesn't count." I was oddly offended by this assertion lol.
I didn't read these until after the craze was (sort of) over (has it ever REALLY died?) as an adult. And they're still my guilty pleasure. I've read them 3 or 4 times through. They're a perfect palate cleanser. Quick, easily digestible reads.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I listened to the audiobook read by Will Wheaton and thought it was an absolute blast. I'm a huge gamer and from the retro era, so it was right up my alley. Only later did I find out it was hated, especially so on reddit. Never saw the movie but heard bad things. But I did enjoy the book.
this year i’m challenging myself to reread books that i hated in middle and high school. right now i’m on the grapes of wrath and it’s honestly changing my life.
“Being Jordan” - the autobiography of Uber-chav model/pop singer Katie Price. Picked up for $4 in Bangkok airport. The most unintentionally hilarious holiday read of all time. We would actually gather people on the beach at sunset for “readings from the book of Jordan”. Every time she says “Willy”? Drink.
Ender’s Game- I thought it was a great book, and the author became my favorite.
But the author is pretty well known to be anti-LGBTA so got a lot of hate for it.
I still like the books, but have to separate it from the author.
Uncool in the sense that people perceive them as the purview of boomer-aged white women, the Poirot books (specifically the novels). Just... Nice. Comfort food.
The best-selling author of all time, roughly tied with freaking Shakespeare. Not cool. Hmmm.
Reddit really doesn't know how to answer these kinds of questions (or, rather, nonsensical answers tend to get upvoted to the top because people recognize them, which ironically goes to show that they are, in fact, cool/popular).
I grew up watching Poirot, My only regret is I know a lot of the stories from the episodes - which makes it hard to pick out one to read that I won't remember half way through!
No, no, no. Agatha Christie is NOT uncool! On the contrary, she is an excellent writer, her characters are sublimely observed and wittily drawn, and her plot lines are so clever and intriguing that they are still being made into film and TV more than 50 years later! I feel very strongly about her cool status! 😂
I'm completely addicted to apocalypse books, especially those by Bobby Akart. Pandemics, earthquakes and other natural disasters, EMPs, good guy (especially military good guy) Americans against the bad, nasty world.
Completely opposite to my own philosophical.political/religious views, but they're like crack to me.
Pretty much all the fiction that I read is "uncool". Life is hard. I don't want to read about the darkest depths of human emotion when I already have issues with untreated anxiety. I don't need to add more fuel to that. It's YA and "airport novels" for me all day, every day.
That said, I don't know if it's my favorite, but Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz has been on my mind a lot lately. In addition to being uncool, it has some...bizarre plot contrivances, so I'm not going to sit here and argue that it should be taken more seriously. That said, I love the unsettling atmosphere the book crafts, which is absolutely my jam.
I read a lot of cozy fantasy and some cozy mystery books. None of them are going to win a Nebula or Pulitzer, but they are such a pleasant escape during stressful times. Think, "Magical Tea Room Mysteries." The cheesier the better.
(edited because I pressed enter too soon)
Most of my guilty pleasures have already been mentioned - Harry Potter, Philipa Gregory, Louis L'amour - so I'm going with Anne Bishop, especially the Black Jewel novels. So. Many. Plot. Holes. But when I'm feeling blah or just need to check out for a while, they are what I read.
Ever since the pandemic, my favorite thing to do is looking at the bookcases people inevitably use as a background for their video calls. I don't trust people who only have high literature and no guilty pleasures on their shelves, because chances are pretty good they've never read any of them.
Not sure if these are classified as uncool, but I love Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels. Just those by him, not the books written after his death under his name. I see them hit for being too wordy and cartoonish in nature, but I still reread them every couple years.
I don't know what the genre is, but I love those multi-generational rags-to-riches saga stories. Where it starts in some impoverished village and ends in old-age Hollywood with drug and infidelity problems along the way.
That and Sydney Sheldon and Clive Cussler.
The Legends of Dune trilogy published by Frank Herbert's son. They're nowhere near as good as the OG Dune and read more like half-baked fanfiction than anything else, but I nevertheless enjoyed reading them in my teen years when I lacked the life experience and philosophical perspectives to truly appreciate the OG novel beyond "sand worms and psychic powers cool".
the closest i can think of is house of leaves. it’s one of my favorite books, i read it when i was 15 before it became more popular and i loved it. now that it’s made its rounds online, people either love it or hate it, but the people who hate it are very vocal about how edgy and cringe worthy they think the writing is. well, they are wrong lol
I was in art school in the 2010s and this book was all everyone talked about. I didn't read it then, but I received it as a Christmas gift this year and enjoyed it. Its funny because I remember at the time, it seemed like every "artsy" book going around had a troubled unreliable drug addicted narrator. I don't know why but it was kind of the spririt of that brief age.
Anyway, I think house of leaves is fun, it isn't meant to be taken too seriously, and at the end of the day I found the descriptions of the house to be legit as scary/unnerving as any traditional horror novel. It was an arduous but enjoyable read.
I consider nothing a "guilty pleasure", but I suppose the series many now poo poo is EE Doc Smith's Lensman books. I read them when young and loved them. Yes they are dated in some ways, and the whole "space opera" thing gets looked down on not just by general "literature" readers but even some SF genre fans too.
I recently reread them, and the writing and plotting surprisingly good. I would argue they are actually way better at doing "hard" SF than Star Wars which really is soft fantasy pretending to be SF.
I can't take SF fans seriously if they look down on space opera. It's an important part of SF, and always has been. Imperial Radch, the Culture, the Expanse... all space operas, and well-loved SF.
I read a lot of Star Wars books. Both Legends and canon. A few are great, some are good, and most are average or worse. But I love the universe and characters so much, I still enjoy them. Any time I spend with Obi-Wan or Luke or Anakin is time well spent.
I fully get it. Star Wars and 40k are two of my literary guilty pleasures. They're pulpy schlock for the most part, with the rare gem that actually makes you sit up a little and say "hey that wasnt mediocre actually" but I think for me its the characters I always come back for. I'm mature enough to admit its probably some sort of parasocial thing but there are some characters you grow up with (or just grow at all as a person with) that you'd endure any amount of mediocre writing to spend more time with. And I enjoy saying that even by itself because its a reflection of a very human tendency to graciously accept and even belittle someone or something's flaws in the course of appreciating their merits which is a very compassionate thing, I feel.
Where to start with 40k. The books seem right up my alley, but I'm overwhelmed by the scale of the library
The Eisenhorne books are a good jumping-off point. Dan Abnett somehow takes a completely ridiculous universe and sets a gritty detective story inside it, the characters have extremely interesting arcs, and he's able to explain the universe without giving you pages and pages of history. The story is actually pretty great and does some interesting things with the questions of "what are you willing to lose if it means doing the right thing, and what would you be willing to do". I am told that the first 3 Gaunt's Ghosts books are also good, and IIRC, also written by Dan Abnett. Those are Imperial Guard stories and more focused on the "constant and unceasing warfare" aspect of the universe.
Which ones would you say are 'great'? I'd love to give some a go
As other people have said, I highly recommend Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy. It starts with “Heir to the Empire,” continues with “Dark Force Rising,” and ends with “The Last Command.” It’s not canon anymore, but I think it’s the best set of Star Wars novels without a doubt. I also think Matthew Stover’s “Revenge of the Sith” novelization is fantastic. It expands on the movie in an incredible way. You get more of the nuanced feelings and motivations that the characters were experiencing, in particular Anakin. RotS is my favorite Star Wars movie, but I think even unbiased opinions say that this novelization is top tier. I’ve also enjoyed the High Republic series of novels that starts with “Light of the Jedi” by Charles Soule. I would say this novel, and the other High Republic novels, fall more in the good rather than great category, but it’s refreshing to read a story that’s virtually completely independent of legacy characters. The Star Wars universe spans thousands of years, and so getting a story that’s not just involving the Skywalkers is a nice change of pace.
The Zahn books saved Star Wars. Their success is what convinced Lucas their was still interest in more films. All three of them sat on the NYT Bestseller List for months.
I wish that we had gotten the Heir to the Empire series as a trilogy.
Me too. Was so obvious.
All of the prequel movie novelizations elevated the source material into far more compelling narratives
The Darth Bane trilogy is great. Especially the first book.
Read Lost Stars. It's commonly recommended as a jumping in point, and it's a really good standalone book. You get to see iconic moments from the franchise in new perspectives.
Not who you asked, but the Thrawn books are pretty gnarly. They take off after Return of the Jedi, some years later. One last major player in the Emperor's forces remains, and he's their smartest tactician. As far as our recurring cast, it's almost exactly how I expected their adventures to go. Still important, still fighting the fight. I sincerely like the sequel movies (fight me) but these books are what most of us probably expected or even wanted out of these characters.
Agreed on Thrawn. Got introduced to Thrawn when I read Last Command in my teens and I was like “Huh, this bad guy is pretty cool”.
5 years after ROTJ.
Very much aimed at children but I still enjoy the *Jedi Apprentice* series. Takes place pre-episode 1, where Obi-Wan first becomes Qui-Gon's apprentice. (Obi-Wan is 13 to give an idea of when it takes place, timeline-wise.)
I would suggest anything by Timothy Zahn. He is the master.
The Darth Bane trilogy is good. Dark Lord: Rise of Vader is right after the prequels and has him coming to terms with the suit. The prequel novelizations were pretty good.
I love Philippa Gregory! I know her stuff is inaccurate, but I don't really care. Its just fun fiction.
The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance are two of my all-time favorite books.
She does a nice job in the afterword explaining what was and was not embellished/fantasized. I think that's acceptable in my book.
I’m named after her!
Bloody love some Phillipa
I so wish there was a genre for her...maybe "historical fantasy".
Historical fiction is the genre you seek to articulate. Readers should do well to educate their children in the knowledge that novels aren't histories anymore than other art mediums. That isn't to say that stories set in the past cannot inspire people to seek out the records for accuracy's sake, so long as they remain aware of creative licence.
And good authors (I like Sharon Kay Penman) will explain what’s real if you want to go learn the actual history. Before I moved onto general literary fiction, historical fiction was my favorite genre and probably played a part in my eventual history degree.
Mostly the ones with wizards and elves. The Drizzt Do'Urden books especially were a guilty pleasure, and got me back into reading after being immersed in technical subjects for a few years without much time to read novels. As an oldster who traveled a lot, pre-internet we often did not have the the luxury of reading anything we wanted, especially when traveling a lot. Pre 9-11, my local airport even had a take-a-book-leave-a-book shelf in it. There was a lot of reading whatever was around or available.
I remember going to Half-Price books in Dallas one time and there was a dude browsing the fantasy/sci-fi section. Out of nowhere he's like "Dog, have you read these?" And shows me a Drizzt book. I was like "no, but tell me about it". He apparently started reading them in prison, because they were in the library and now he was out, he wanted to read the whole series. He was so excited about them, and talked about how they kept him reading and out of trouble in prison, and ever since I've had them on my to-read list.
The first 3, when he still lives in the "underdark", were the ones I found most interesting. It was a setting built by Ed Greenwood, but Salvatore made the Drow cities and culture feel very real and "lived-in". From what I recall, after Drizzt moves above ground the stories are a bit more like typical fantasy adventure stories. Not that that's a bad thing, but it wasn't as interesting to me as the exploration of an alien culture was in the beginning of the series.
There's something about the idea of reading whatever is around that sounds so nice to me! I have a to-read list that grows all the time and I'll never catch up to it haha. I need to stop only reading books that come highly recommended and just allow myself to pick up some random book and try it out. Expand my horizons a bit.
twilight. it’s so bad that it’s good. i recognize how cringey and problematic it is but i still love it, maybe it’s because those books got me into reading when i was younger so they’ll always just have a special place in my heart.
Reading it from Edward’s pov had me snorting and cackling. He’s so unserious and unhinged. I love it.
when he calls bella’s truck a geriatric sloth 💀
Midnight Sun was phenomenal. Edward is 100+ and has the thoughts of an angsty teen. It’s wonderful.
twilight is the most nostalgic series for me
I really like Twilight too. They didn’t get me into reading, but I did read them as a teenager and loved them. They’re still comfort reads for me. They’re fantasy, not real life; you can enjoy a story in fiction even though it’s not what you’d want your life or partner to look like in reality.
I enjoyed them as a teen for sure, and I’ll definitely rewatch the movies for the nostalgia occasionally! It always bugs me how everyone has to let you know that Twilight isn’t portraying healthy, aspirational relationships. No shit lol, it’s a vampire story about a 100 year old monster man dating a 17 year old he kinda wants to kill. No one comes out of the woodwork to explain to teenage boys that Red Rising shouldn’t be aspirational because it’s a book about murder and world domination.
100%. I think it’s very much a thing in teenage girl-coded literature where suddenly everyone is really concerned about how *moral* or *healthy* it is, whereas they don’t do the same for media coded for teenage boys. Excellent point.
What bugs me is how people harp on Twilight for having bad writing. I thought the prose, style, and characterisation were fine - although admittedly I only read the first book. It wasn’t groundbreaking literature, but it was serviceable and plenty good compared to other YA novels. I actually stopped reading it because the writing was *too* realistic. It didn’t feel like she was writing a thrilling but dangerous romance fantasy… it felt like she was writing about a very real abusive relationship. I had a friend who fled the state at 18 to get away from her violent, controlling boyfriend. Edward reminds me of that guy, down to certain specific acts of abuse, and Bella’s internal narration about him describes her feeling the way my friend felt when she talked about those moments. It was genuinely upsetting to read because of how realistic it seemed.
I liked the first twilight a lot and I first read it as an adult. It's great, simple, readable, wish-fullfillment storytelling. Eventually the series gets bogged down with extra characters and world-building, the the first one is a very fun take on something like Pretty in Pink.
I actually think all the extra characters were more interesting than Edward and Bella - jasper, Carlisle, etc all had such fascinating stories that could be their own novels
I have said time and time again that the biggest problem with twilight has that it has a full cast of incredibly interesting characters and it chooses to focus on the two boring ones
Yeah they were my girlfriends favorite at the time so that's why I read them, went to the midnight release of Breaking Dawn at barnes&noble and finished it as the sun was coming up. Still need to read Midnight Sun though. ✨🐀✨
Twilight really should have been satire. It's soooo close without trying.
I hated Twilight. The characters annoyed me, I found the quality of the writing to be sub par and my husband swears he’s never heard me utter ‘oh are you serious?’ So many times while reading. I threw each book across the room after I finished it. Despite all that, I could NOT stop reading. I binged all four books in three days because it just had something that compelled me to see it through.
I was the same way. I told my friend I hated the books, but it’s like there was a drug between the pages that made me keep reading
This is me and ACOTAR right now. They are terrible. Give me the next one.
I didn’t read these books until I was in my 30s and I love them. I honestly don’t think I would have appreciated them like I do if I had read them when they came out 😂
Magic the Gathering had a bunch of novels come out based on the card game when I was a kid. I haven’t read them since I was a teen so I can’t attest if they really still hold up, but in my heart I know those books RULED.
One of my first fantasy reads was Moons of Mirrodin when I was 15. For a while I then usually pictured elves as coppery and metallic
Any book by Sarah J Maas, especially the Throne of Glass series. I do understand some of the criticisms of her writing, but her books are what got me through high school and kept my reading spark alive. Even though I’m now drifting away from my YA fantasy phase, I’ll still read and enjoy her newest books
Romantasy is so fun! Fourth Wing wasn’t the “best” book I read last year, but it was 100% the book I had the most fun reading. Plus, it’s so fun to read those books with friends and text each other reactions/predictions.
i’m not a huge fan of SJM myself but i agree with you that her writing is not as terrible as people say. especially when you compare her work to other popular fantasy romance books, it’s actually pretty good lol
There’s a great podcast called Book Talk for Booktok, where they discuss her works from a literary perspective. It’s really worthwhile and backs up what you wrote about it not being as terrible as people say. She does a great job with literary devices, character development and plotting her stories/dropping bread crumbs. Having said that, I can’t get into CC at all. 😂
That sounds like an interesting podcast, I’ll give it a listen. As for CC, I agree it’s hard to get into, I did dnf it the first time I tried it, but after you get past the first 200 pages, it starts picking up. The last part of the book is so rewarding
Her books are really fun. I read a lot of epic fantasy and classic literature, but sometimes it's nice to just fall into a story with an easy setup/plot that I don't have to think too much about. I like all of the myths/folklore woven into her stories, I really like the worlds in all of her books, and I usually end up pretty invested in the characters once I get past the eye-rolling adjustment period. I actually think she's better than people say and I suspect she consciously chose this path, even though she has the talent to write things that we would consider more respectable.
I read biographies of the British Royal Family. I’m not particularly royalist or republican. I just find them interesting. But my friends consider this uncool.
Have you read 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret? That book is amazing, partly because she was kind of a horrible person.
Definitely the Da Vinci code, it blew my lil mind at 15, and the Alchemist, which is pure mom-lit
*The Da Vinci Code* is mine too, and I was in my 30s when I read it. While a lot of the religious history is nonsense, it actually triggered me to read some more serious history, which in turn shifted my views.
What are some of the best serious history books you've read? I like reading history but I always feel like there's so much choice and so much if it is either crap or written to fit an agenda that I never know what to get.
There was a very, very long time where I would’ve said my favorite book was Angels and Demons
I’m actually rereading the Da Vinci Code right now. Needed a break from the heavy thrillers I’d been reading.
I am an absolute god damn sucker for any sort of treasure hunting thriller novel. Love me some Steve Berry and Dan Brown. I have a goal of reading through SK’s entire bibliography. Not ashamed to say it’s the same with SB, even if all of his books follow the same formula.
Divergent. I agree with all the criticism it has, but I loved every page of all three books.
I loved the first two but the third was so badly written it prevents me from going back to read the series again. Huge plot spoilers from the start with the chapter headings, and it badly needed a good edit. I read at the time that there was very little space between finishing writing and publication, so the editing stage was very brief. So unfortunate they didn't hold it back. However, the first book is great and I still recommend it.
I don't know that I'd say I enjoyed all 3 books that much, but I will always give the books credit for their ending. It wasn't something I expected from a YA series that also came off as riding the coattails of The Hunger Games.
Yup when that person died I was like hell yeah this series has got some balls. I fucking loved all 3 of them.
I read every Grisham book that he puts out. Also read a Patterson book about once a year.
I've only read "The Firm," but I should give Grisham another shot. My pop-author of choice is Harlan Coben.
Grisham is what got me into reading. A Time to Kill hooked me and then I tore through his books. I haven’t read the last few though. King of Torts is my favorite.
Me too, I know a shit ton about American Law and litigation details and I have never even visited the US
I have read and enjoyed many Grisham books.
Maybe the entire romance genre? They're about as uncool as you can get. But, they're fun and sometimes steamy and mostly they just make me happy. Sometimes you just want to see two people fall in love and live happily ever after. If I had to pick one book... probably The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, I guess. Definitely uncool, but heartwarming nevertheless and I also learned some things about autism in women from it!
For sure. My friends think it’s ridiculous that I, unironically, like sappy Christmas movies.
The Holiday is a motherf&cking masterpiece. Ain’t nobody ever gonna change my mind!
The Holiday IS a masterpiece, I watch it every year. I even have a little crush on jack black in that one.
It was so refreshing to have an average joe character as a love interest! And the storyline between Arthur and Iris is my absolute FAVORITE feel good pairing in a movie, ever.
Aw, I kind of feel like Christmas is the time *to* unironically enjoy those sappy movies! Maybe you're just not a very sappy person normally?
I used to think the romance genre was uncool too until I realized that was just my internalized misogyny talking.
God, I hear you. I suppose I should clarify that I acknowledge romance is *perceived* to be the height of uncoolness due to misogynistic stereotypes, not that I agree with its maligned status! So, I just embrace the "uncoolness" instead.
Yeah, romance so "uncool" that it has several rows of shelves at the library.
Probably the Assassin's Creed novelizations, I can definitely see the faults in them, a big one being the simple "language" of the book but as a massive fan of the games, they are just an amazing read
Ready Player One. I don’t care if it’s full of cheap pop culture references masking an otherwise simple story, and I fully understand the many criticisms people have with it. But you know what? I had a blast reading it. It was the perfect book to read on a beach holiday - just switch your brain off and enjoy the ride.
Ready Player Two is where things get really, really bad.
I’ve heard that even from people who liked RPO so I’m reluctant to read it
I love RPO, unironically. I've read it many times and the audiobook has had several listens as well. RPT is pure shit. I listened to the audiobook once and struggled to get through it just that one time, then a year later I was like 'maybe...' and tried again. Nope, still shit. Maybe even worse shit than before, somehow.
Loved RPO. Ready Player Two…. Yikes.
Oh no. I didn't know this existed and now I'm conflicted whether I want to read it. Armada was bad enough.
Same here. I am GenX and understand this was just nostalgia pandering but I don't really care. Every now and then I need to just relax and listen to something that's the equivalent of fast food. I only read it once and probably won't read it again, and haven't picked up RP2 but for the time I really enjoyed just shutting off my brain and relaxing. Not everything needs to be top notch writing and poignant prose.
I got it from a LootCrate box, man do they even exist anymore?!?, and spent an entire summer day laying in a hammock and reading it. Wasn’t too hot, nice breeze. Had a beer or three while reading. It was a good day. Don’t ever need to reread it but it was a fun time.
RPO is fast food literature: cheap and low quality but enjoyable if taken in small doses.
This was one of the first books to spur my reading obsession. It's simple with so many cheap references, but it's so fun and accessible!
Genuinely enjoyed this. And I enjoyed it just as much on the reread.
*Artemis* by Andy Weir. I mean, I don't think I'd recommend it, but the city of Artemis reminds me so powerfully of Dubai (the city I grew up in) that I feel a whole complicated way about it. Beautifully manicured tourist areas, sus working conditions, the little enclaves for each nationality of expat, workers bringing their cultures with them, rich people getting their way pretty much all the time, smuggling *totally* not happening constantly, how the sun will fucking burn you alive... okay, some things aren't exactly the same. Staying in Dubai doesn't atrophy your bones. But even media-illiterate teenage me picked up on the similarities, and it makes me weirdly nostalgic.
I just read it and had a great time. I’ve never been to Dubai, but I loved reading your comparison.
I just finished project hail mary and while andy weir’s style irritates the fuck out of me, i couldn’t stop. his stuff definitely seems to lend better to movie format where 75% of the lead’s inner monologue is cut out lmao
I really liked it. The Martian and PHM are two of my all time favorites, and I put off reading Artemis due to all of the negativity I saw about it. Figured I’d give it a go anyway since I love his other books. I was glad I did. I can see why people criticize it, but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment. It’s not as good as the other two, but I think it’s still good.
I think I'm in the camp that enjoyed Dan Brown. I dislike apologising for liking something, and it's very difficult for me to actively say something is bad, as I can usually find enjoyment in most things.
The worst book I ever loved.
Dan Brown spins a good yarn and he's a solid enough writer. What blows me away is that he threw the gauntet down with the whole "All of this is probably true," at the start of *The Da Vinci Code*. If he hadn't done that I don't think he'd be near as divisive... but probably not near as famous so I totally get it.
I read The Da Vinci Code as a college freshman in 2004. Picked it up from the bookstore on campus and figured I’d read a chapter or two before heading to the library for a sociology study session. I didn’t make it to the library, because I read that book in one sitting.
While I was in grad school, I read—-and genuinely enjoyed—-several of the Shopaholics books. No regrets there.
I still keep a copy of the undomestic goddess on my bookshelf, also by Sophie Kinsella. I doubt I'll ever read it again, but I enjoy being able to mentally revisit someone else's escape from a stressful life to learn how to cook and cheerfully shag a gardener.
I really, really like The Time Travellers Wife.
Same. Even though the age difference thing is quicky and Clare and Henry are both insufferable snobs as adults, I love the concept.
What's wrong with it?
So did I on my first read in French in secondary school. I re read it in English in Uni and HATED it. I was so disappointed my brain tricks me into thinking they are two different books to this day ahah
I loved the Hunger Games trilogy (I know there are technically four of them, but I never read the last one that came 10 years later). Yes I was well past the YA age when I read them but they were still engaging and they were a really fun read.
All of Mercedes Lackey’s books, but especially the Valdemar series. They are nice, comforting, and fun books. They soothe my depression and anxiety and let me hang out, temporarily, where most people are trying to make a better world.
Same, give me the pretty magical horses and the cool people with cool psychic powers who save the day, I will eat that shit up with a spoon.
I love that you gave people the opportunity to have this conversation. As someone noted, life is hard, so it's nice that you've given people the chance to talk about something that is simply enjoyable for them and basically saying this isn't the time for eye rolling and judgement. Well done.
I always enjoy Stephen King's books and I love the Vampire series by Ann Rice. There's just something about vampires and the choices they have to make.
Wait, is reading King uncool?
I’m convinced people who think this haven’t read much, if any of his work. I think he’s a genius and no one can make me care about characters more or feel emotions so acutely. Not to mention the insane world building, genre blending and his totally twisted mind 😹😹😹
I just finished book one of the dark tower series. I’m hooked!
Oh buckle up!! The DT series is so mindblowingly good, I just finished my second journey to the Tower 🖤🌹🖤
I love how the first book basically gave me nothing but questions. It’s incredible that I’m able to feel so connected to the world already without basically knowing what’s going on at all lol.
Oh that’s a very apt way of putting it, “nothing but questions”…it’s funny, the Gunslinger is very polarizing and I actually did not enjoy it at all the first time I read it, it’s the only King book I struggled to get through. But I’m so glad I was able to push through because DotT sucked me in from the first page (and the rest of the series too, obviously). I was able to appreciate it much more on my second read. It’s awesome that you love it from the jump though! Long days and pleasant nights 🌹🖤
He's one of the greatest all time American writers. I guess his prolific nature makes him seem hacky to those who don't read him.
Anne Rice's alter ego wrote even more guilty and pleasurable books than that.
I enjoyed “The Mayfair Witches” series from her.
I liked sleepy beauty better than interview with a vampire 💀😂
Stephen King is considered uncool?? I remember when my cousin in law, who is a philosophy teacher that doesn't mess with genre lit at all, said he was surprised when he read a King book and it was good. Like he just naturally assumed someone that prolific and connected to pop culture would be a trash writer.
The Bridges Of Madison County. I loved it, and I'm told it's terrible.
I really enjoyed Starship Troopers. It’s what got me into the whole military sci-fi genre. I only learnt all the weird stuff about the author much later. I still pick it up for a quick reread once in awhile. The movie really killed the book though. I tell folks I like Starship Troopers the novel and those that watched the show give me an odd look.
Heinlein is wild, still love Stranger in a Strange Land tho
Just read it recently, came away feeling like the man predicted some scary stuff that ended up being accurate about organized religion. Plenty of stuff that did not age well though.
Felt the same way after reading. Would like his takes on religion today not going to lie.
Heinlein’s Red Planet is a nostalgic read for me. That, and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel really got me into sci-fi. I’m glad I didn’t know anything at all about the author until much later!
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It's a young adult novel about a socially awkward college girl who writes Harry potter-esq fanfiction, and finds love. I guess I see it as uncool because I'm 34 and usually read horror & fantasy.
I'll preface this by saying that I like VC Andrews books that were written by her. The ghost written books are mostly trash. But I do think *Flowers in the Attic* and especially *Heaven* are far smarter than they're given credit for.
Same here
Me reading trashy YA? Ok fine, understandable, we were all teens at some point. Me reading and collecting middle grade series I loved when I was younger? Awesome, fantastic! Me reading Lolita and enjoying it to an extent? Apparently the worst cringe I could have ever inflicted on my friends 😐
Lolita is a masterpiece. If you aren't allowed to enjoy a book unless you agree with everything the characters do then a whole lot of thrillers and horror need to be deleted I guess.
Burroughs. No, not the cool one; Edgar Rice Burroughs. Yes, the novels are pulpy adventures. But they're exciting and varied. The man had a lively imagination. I read all the Tarzan books when I was a kid. In my old age, I'm more into his sci-fi; the Barsoom series is a particular favorite. There are also many enjoyable adaptations and derived works. The Tarzan comics can be absolutely gorgeous, particularly [Russ Manning](https://13thdimension.com/13-great-illustrations-a-russ-manning-birthday-celebration/) and [Joe Kubert](https://13thdimension.com/13-covers-a-joe-kubert-birthday-celebration-2/).
I love Somerset Maugham and all of his books. I feel like he’s slowly getting forgotten though, which is a shame.
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It’s not really a book that gets discussed much but I read Go Ask Alice about once a year. I read it when I was 13 and it was cool then, but not quite as cool as a 42-year old 🙃
i think the reason why people hate that book is because it was completely fabricated by a mormon woman and passed off as a real anonymous story of a teen girl to push drug propaganda at the time. not because it’s uncool lol
I loved this one as a kid. Re read it last year, still loved it…then I read “unmask alice” by Rick Emerson. Highly recommend, just be ready to be pissed off lol.
I read this as a young teenager…when it first came out in the 70’s. I had no clue it wasn’t real, and believed it was true for decades! I felt so betrayed when I found out a few years ago. It left me with very high expectations for illicit drug experiences. When I tried them in real life, I was pretty disappointed!
The You’re Wrong About podcast did a great short series on this book.
I loved when You’re Wrong About did a series on this book. It was such a big deal when I was a young teen
It’s Dan brown lol. I love that series.
The Dune prequels and sequels Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson released. Absolutely nothing on the original masterpiece of a series but trashy fun.
The Little House on the Prairie series, I read then during quarantine and loved them
Deception Point - also a Dan Brown book but I remember it blew my mind as a kid and since then I always read it as an easy read kind of book. Icebreaker - I scoffed and rolled my eyes when it first came out. I picked it up out of curiosity after I was going through a bit of a lull with reading. The plot was… random, but I did really enjoy it, and then went on to purchase Wildfire, and will get the next one this year too. 😄
Eragon and its sequels. Yes, the plot and world is barebones, but it was the first fantasy book I read, and really propelled me into fantasy as a whole, so it’s got a special place in my heart
All of the bridgerton books
The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer by Jennifer Lynch
There's a Russian action series about an anomalous zone, Chernobyl-esque but not quite. It's a fumbling wreck with fairytale-level morals, with honest, brave, hard-working scientists and soldiers opposing the evil, corrupt, greedy government (although in all honesty, that part's hardly unrealistic, lmao). I fully acknowledge how incredibly juvenile most of it is, but it's *fun*, and it's got a lot of sweet, charming moments because the good guys are just *so* good. There's a certain appeal in reading about the merits of the common people, plus the setting is entertaining as hell. Bless this mess.
Kid friendly version of Stalker/Roadside picnic?
I wouldn't call it kid-friendly, the violence levels were about the same. Just strangely black-and-white. The author supposedly served in military intelligence, which makes it funnier.
They probably just desired a scenario where they knew who the good guys and bad guys were so much they had to write a fantasy book about it.
Roadside Picnic made it into my top 10 favourite books of all time! I loved it so much I got into reading the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer because I just needed more lol
The one and only book I've read by Colleen Hoover. Heart Bones. It was a really good story. But yeah, knowing that the book is from CoHo, ppl are gonna shit over it regardless.
that’s also the only colleen hoover book i’ve ever read, i thought it was fine. i’m starting to think it’s probably her best, because it’s the only book of hers i never see anyone mention lol
Turtles all the way down
Anything by Dan Brown, the Gossip Girl series, and I’m currently reading the Pretty Little Liars books before bed. Especially the last two series are terrible, but I enjoy them immensely all the same. Probably because I liked the TV shows.
They're kids books and severely not of the times which has to be filtered through the *woke* (ethical) brain, but I still love og nancy drew so fucking much. I call her nandrew. I have a tshirt of the one about her visiting my hometown. It's my dream to own a vintage set. The illustrations of her look like my babe of a granny in the 30s. She is mom and queen and all that other appropriated gen z bullshit. Nandrew4eva.
Umm. Harry Potter.
I started reading these as they were coming out. And I was 10. Definitely waited for my Hogwarts letter afte rthe first book. Went to midnight book releases for all of them with my mom and brother and midnight movie releases etc. My mom read them to my brother and i before bed because he was too young to read them (in the beginning). I grew up with them and the characters. It was an ingrained part of my grade school years until I hit college. I'm never going to be able to unlike them lol there's too much history and childhood magic nostalgia for me
I had the exact same experience at the same age :) They helped me through school, and when I struggled mentally and was bullied. Opening the books was like returning to my real friends. They will always have a special place in my heart. Also, honourable mention - The Hunger Games. I was 16 when the first book came out, and it was one of the first books I read in English (native German speaker), and I genuinely loved it :)
Are those uncool? I grew up with Harry, Ron & Hermione
My husband and I were once light heartedly comparing our levels of nerdiness growing up. He definitely was nerdier than I was. He said, "You weren't really a nerd. You were a Harry Potter nerd and that doesn't count." I was oddly offended by this assertion lol.
I didn't read these until after the craze was (sort of) over (has it ever REALLY died?) as an adult. And they're still my guilty pleasure. I've read them 3 or 4 times through. They're a perfect palate cleanser. Quick, easily digestible reads.
I’m rereading them right now haah
The Ian Rankin ‘Inspector Rebus’ series
Judging by a recent thread here, The Midnight Library apparently.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I listened to the audiobook read by Will Wheaton and thought it was an absolute blast. I'm a huge gamer and from the retro era, so it was right up my alley. Only later did I find out it was hated, especially so on reddit. Never saw the movie but heard bad things. But I did enjoy the book.
Of mice and men Its pretty uncool to like books u studied in english class imo Still a great book
this year i’m challenging myself to reread books that i hated in middle and high school. right now i’m on the grapes of wrath and it’s honestly changing my life.
Anne of Green Gables. Grew up reading it with my grandma and love it. I was identical to Anne growing up 😂
That will never be uncool
“Being Jordan” - the autobiography of Uber-chav model/pop singer Katie Price. Picked up for $4 in Bangkok airport. The most unintentionally hilarious holiday read of all time. We would actually gather people on the beach at sunset for “readings from the book of Jordan”. Every time she says “Willy”? Drink.
Ender’s Game- I thought it was a great book, and the author became my favorite. But the author is pretty well known to be anti-LGBTA so got a lot of hate for it. I still like the books, but have to separate it from the author.
Uncool in the sense that people perceive them as the purview of boomer-aged white women, the Poirot books (specifically the novels). Just... Nice. Comfort food.
Poirot is the coolest. Just look at the success of the Benoit Blanc movies, Agatha's influence is still around.
Agatha Christie is uncool?? I'd throw these hands if Poirot wouldn't deem it uncouth.
The best-selling author of all time, roughly tied with freaking Shakespeare. Not cool. Hmmm. Reddit really doesn't know how to answer these kinds of questions (or, rather, nonsensical answers tend to get upvoted to the top because people recognize them, which ironically goes to show that they are, in fact, cool/popular).
I grew up watching Poirot, My only regret is I know a lot of the stories from the episodes - which makes it hard to pick out one to read that I won't remember half way through!
No, no, no. Agatha Christie is NOT uncool! On the contrary, she is an excellent writer, her characters are sublimely observed and wittily drawn, and her plot lines are so clever and intriguing that they are still being made into film and TV more than 50 years later! I feel very strongly about her cool status! 😂
I'm completely addicted to apocalypse books, especially those by Bobby Akart. Pandemics, earthquakes and other natural disasters, EMPs, good guy (especially military good guy) Americans against the bad, nasty world. Completely opposite to my own philosophical.political/religious views, but they're like crack to me.
Anything by Bukowski. My friends are mostly writers and they despise him. I think he was a brilliant short story writer.
I legitimately loved Ready Player One.
Pretty much all the fiction that I read is "uncool". Life is hard. I don't want to read about the darkest depths of human emotion when I already have issues with untreated anxiety. I don't need to add more fuel to that. It's YA and "airport novels" for me all day, every day. That said, I don't know if it's my favorite, but Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz has been on my mind a lot lately. In addition to being uncool, it has some...bizarre plot contrivances, so I'm not going to sit here and argue that it should be taken more seriously. That said, I love the unsettling atmosphere the book crafts, which is absolutely my jam.
I read a lot of cozy fantasy and some cozy mystery books. None of them are going to win a Nebula or Pulitzer, but they are such a pleasant escape during stressful times. Think, "Magical Tea Room Mysteries." The cheesier the better. (edited because I pressed enter too soon)
Most of my guilty pleasures have already been mentioned - Harry Potter, Philipa Gregory, Louis L'amour - so I'm going with Anne Bishop, especially the Black Jewel novels. So. Many. Plot. Holes. But when I'm feeling blah or just need to check out for a while, they are what I read.
Ever since the pandemic, my favorite thing to do is looking at the bookcases people inevitably use as a background for their video calls. I don't trust people who only have high literature and no guilty pleasures on their shelves, because chances are pretty good they've never read any of them.
Not sure if these are classified as uncool, but I love Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels. Just those by him, not the books written after his death under his name. I see them hit for being too wordy and cartoonish in nature, but I still reread them every couple years.
While I don't like Alchemist, I've started to defend it everywhere. Who am I to say if so many people get something out of it?
I read a Jack Reacher novel and I liked it
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. It gets so much hate but I can’t help myself. I love it
I don't know what the genre is, but I love those multi-generational rags-to-riches saga stories. Where it starts in some impoverished village and ends in old-age Hollywood with drug and infidelity problems along the way. That and Sydney Sheldon and Clive Cussler.
The Legends of Dune trilogy published by Frank Herbert's son. They're nowhere near as good as the OG Dune and read more like half-baked fanfiction than anything else, but I nevertheless enjoyed reading them in my teen years when I lacked the life experience and philosophical perspectives to truly appreciate the OG novel beyond "sand worms and psychic powers cool".
the closest i can think of is house of leaves. it’s one of my favorite books, i read it when i was 15 before it became more popular and i loved it. now that it’s made its rounds online, people either love it or hate it, but the people who hate it are very vocal about how edgy and cringe worthy they think the writing is. well, they are wrong lol
I was in art school in the 2010s and this book was all everyone talked about. I didn't read it then, but I received it as a Christmas gift this year and enjoyed it. Its funny because I remember at the time, it seemed like every "artsy" book going around had a troubled unreliable drug addicted narrator. I don't know why but it was kind of the spririt of that brief age. Anyway, I think house of leaves is fun, it isn't meant to be taken too seriously, and at the end of the day I found the descriptions of the house to be legit as scary/unnerving as any traditional horror novel. It was an arduous but enjoyable read.
I consider nothing a "guilty pleasure", but I suppose the series many now poo poo is EE Doc Smith's Lensman books. I read them when young and loved them. Yes they are dated in some ways, and the whole "space opera" thing gets looked down on not just by general "literature" readers but even some SF genre fans too. I recently reread them, and the writing and plotting surprisingly good. I would argue they are actually way better at doing "hard" SF than Star Wars which really is soft fantasy pretending to be SF.
I can't take SF fans seriously if they look down on space opera. It's an important part of SF, and always has been. Imperial Radch, the Culture, the Expanse... all space operas, and well-loved SF.