Lydia Schoch

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Based on the teetering numbers of books still on my TBR, I don’t need anyone to buy books for me. What I will do with this post is the same thing I did in 2021 and 2022: ask for book recommendations based on specific genres, themes, and types of stories that I currently can’t get enough of.

Please speak up if you can think of anything great to read in the following categories.

Wish #1: Cozy Speculative Fiction 

For example, I adored The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz and Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot series.

If you know of other cozy science fiction or fantasy stories, I want to read them!

Wish #2: Intelligent, Street Smart Characters

Earlier this year, I went through an unfortunate streak of DNF books featuring characters who did not make good life decisions.

For example, imagine a character who is vacationing somewhere new to them being warned not to visit a particular spot after dark by locals who know that area is haunted and dangerous and who tell the main character exactly why they should stay away. The protagonist metaphorically rubs two brain cells together and then decides that they will visit the dangerously haunted area anyways because they’re on vacation and it’s probably all a hoax to scare visitors.

(That’s not actually what happened in the books I decided to DNF, but it was about that level of exasperation for me as a reader).

So, yeah, I’m in the market for characters who make intelligent decisions and do not ignore bright red flags. Any genre other than erotica or inspirational is fine, and it’s okay if they get into serious trouble despite taking reasonable precautions. I just need to read about characters who have basic common sense!

Wish #3: Humorous Books

I think I’ve put this on every one of my wish lists so far, but there can never be too many humorous books.

Wish #4: Zombie Fiction

Here are some recent zombie stories and tv shows I’ve enjoyed:

The Last of Us

The Girl With All the Gifts

World War Z

Basically, I prefer zombie fiction that tries to give a scientific explanation for how it happened, spends as little time as possible showing humans harming each other, and tries to be realistic about what would really happen to humanity if, say, cordyceps evolved to infect humans instead of only infecting certain species of ants.

Wish #5: Science for Non-Scientists

Yes, I know that’s a broad category. I like to read about all sorts of scientific subjects, from the history of sheep to earthworms to the history of vaccines.

It’s amazing to see what scientists have discovered about our world and how long it can take certain breakthroughs to happen.

Wish #6: Books with Vivid Food Descriptions

Once again, I’ll dip into any genre other than the two I mentioned not being interested in earlier. I’m simply in the mood to read books that go to great pains to describe the food served in them in vivid detail.

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Yes, I used a very similar stock photo last week. It amuses me and makes me want to go write my own messages in the sand at my local beach.

On a more serious note, here are some things that will make me instantly not want to read a book.

Please note that my first answer briefly mentions sexual abuse and my seventh answer mentions World War II trauma, so feel free to skip past them if necessary.

1. Sexual abuse

It’s an important and worthwhile topic, but I personally cannot read about it.

2. Characters who don’t have common sense.

Not every character I read about needs to be intelligent by any means, but I cannot read about people who repeatedly make ridiculous decisions for no reason at all. They should at the very least have basic street smarts and make choices that are reasonable for the average person of their age and background.

3. Inspirational stories

No offence is intended to fans of this genre in any way. I am simply not a religious person and am therefore so not the target audience for these types of tales.

4. Historical tales that feel modern.

That is to say, the good guys all have twenty-first century political/social views and/or use modern English.

I give historical writers a lot of leeway, but it’s really strange to me to meet characters from 100+ years ago whose speech and views so perfectly mimic how the average person in 2023 behaves. Honestly, I’d rather meet a protagonist whose speech is a little too formal and who has some views that were acceptable for their era but would be considered horribly old-fashioned at best today.

5. Tiny little (metaphorical) boxes

It bothers me to read books that heavily stereotype their characters, and I stop reading them as soon as I notice it happening.

There’s nothing wrong with a character liking things that are “typical” interests of someone their age, sex, class, race, etc., of course, but it strikes me as odd when most or even all characters in a book fit the stereotypes that have been associated with people like them.

That’s not how folks behave in real life.  I’d much rather read about characters who have been given more time to develop into hopefully well-rounded individuals who resemble the wonderfully complex and sometimes delightfully surprising people I know in real life.

6. 99.99% of self-help books 

I like the idea of personal improvement in book form, but I can think of maybe one or two titles from this genre I’ve ever read that were actually helpful. Many of them are so vague or filled with common sense that I don’t find them useful at all. The ones that deal with serious problems are often talking about subjects that are much easier to tackle with the help of a therapist or support group.

7. 99.99% of World War II stories

Yes, of course it’s important to remember what happened and try to keep something similar from ever happening again, but I have a relative who fought for the Allies in World War II and was traumatized by what he saw in Germany for the rest of his life.

When I see World War II stories being advertised, especially if they’re romances, I think about his struggle with those awful memories and how his pain shaped his life as well as the lives of his descendants (to a lesser extent, of course).

It’s totally fine if other people want to read dozens of fluffy World War II romances if that’s their thing. I simply view that era in a grim light due to how many innocent lives it destroyed and how many people were permanently physically and/or mentally scarred by it.