Book recs?

World War Z by Max Brooks (yes the author of the zombie survival guide): ok so if you saw the crappy movie PLEASE dont skip this entry on the list. I really didn't care at all about the zombie genre until I read this. it's a well done atmospheric novel about a person documenting a zombie apocalypse/'zombie war', told in various recorded testimonies and vignettes from people all around the world-- from a doctor talking about the first outbreak in a remote village, to businessmen who peddled a fake cure for money, all the way through an improbable solution and the rebuilding of western society and a bittersweet look at a post-zombie future. I really liked how it chronicled how world governments and people from all different walks of life responded to this type of crisis and how the world changed as a result, but it's told through a human perspective. it's less "zombie gore action" and more about people coming together and finding hope in a hopeless situation. cw for dark themes, death, things you might expect from a zombie genre.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman: I liked the show, but the book is still better in my opinion. an angel and a demon, who are supposed to be sworn enemies, form something of a truce and become friendly enemies (maybe even... friends?)-- then one day, they're assigned to raise the antichrist and deal with the upcoming end of the world. it couples that dry wit that make Pratchett novels so hilarious with this sense of wonder and character-driven storytelling that I've come to love from Gaiman. I've revisited this book at least once a year and it never gets old.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin: this book is so hard to describe and please read my description/content warnings. it's an account of a man in a decaying marriage trying to find his wife in a pseudo-allegorical 'netherworld' that he accesses from the bottom of a well, but also about the horrors of world war 2. i think it was my first real encounter with the concept of mono no aware- roughly translated to mean 'the transience/impermanence of things'. the real-world elements about his search for his wife, the themes of loss, the historical aspect, and the multitude of strange characters make this more of an 'experience' than a book to me. this one is very hit-or-miss for a lot of people: some people find a lot was lost in translation, or are frustrated by the long allegorical story rather than a more literal western-type story of "rising action - climax - falling action - happy end". I would consider giving it a look. cw for death, cheating on a partner, depiction of war crimes (i know thats kind of a ha-ha phrase but theres a scene where a character, in a world war 2 scene, is tortured with a knife).

The Martian by Andy Weir: astronaut Mark Watney is stranded on Mars when his crew are forced to evacuate, thinking he was already dead. told through Mark's logs, he depicts how he survives on Mars and eventually manages to signal for help. I really liked how this book is a great blend of sci-fi and humor-- a lot of the heavier aspects are balanced with the main character's great sense of humor. I found the science portions interesting as a person who knows nothing about space-- they're explained so that the audience can understand easily without bogging down the story with details. if you liked the movie, give this a shot!

Love Bites by Ry Herman: a wlw love story, except one of them is a vampire-- and there are a lot more strange creatures and larger-than-life characters. I liked the development of the romance in this story and how both parties recover from past traumatic experiences in long-term relationships. as someone who was in a toxic relationship, I found it cathartic. cw for abusive (past) relationships, minor violence/suicidal tendencies, and there's a few 'mature' scenes.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuinston: wlw love story with a twist- the love interest is from the 1970s and 'lost in time'! this one was a fun story with an urban fantasy feel.

Dreadnought by April Daniels: a closeted pre-transition trans girl tries to save/shows kindness to a dying superhero (equivalent to superman) and, after he passes, gains his powers. as a result, her body transforms to her ideal self: essentially, she transitions instantly into the girl she's always wanted to be. she has to balance coming out and navigating her new identity with figuring out her new power and responsibility to the people, and there's an underlying wlw love interest (ok so all three of these are wlw books, sue me). i found this to be fun and it made me realize i actually do like the superhero genre and i just hate m*rvel, and this book did a lot for me when i was first discovering my gender identity. i think the hardest part about this book is the realistic depiction of transphobia (the concerned parents, the creepy guys, the friends treating you differently). there's a superheroine character who's a terf and i found those scenes really hard to read. ultimately, it's a really good and trans-positive book, but be warned going in to it.

I was going to type more but this took a lot of time for me so I'll come up with some more later. I love books and I'm kind of all over the place with what I read. I'll rec some comics next time as well!

i think if you like the walking dead game series you would like world war z! my impression of TWDG is that it was really atmospheric and moody and focused more on the people than just killing zombies, and WWZ is like that too!

astraldreams absolutely! I'm glad I could help <3 Dreadnought has a sequel too, and a third book I believe in the works.