When I was eighteen, I discovered science fiction, and I read almost nothing else.
This went on for about ten years. Scifi, scifi, scifi. Lots and lots of science fiction.
And then I stopped.
I discovered literary fiction and nonfiction that reads like fiction, and I never went back.
But now, forty years later, I want to read the books I've missed. Science fiction. Fantasy. Speculative fiction.
Could you suggest some titles?
Here are some of my favorite science fiction and fantasy books. Maybe this will give you a good idea about what I have loved in the past.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Color of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Animal Farm by George Orwell
1984 by George Orwell
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Babel by R. F. Kuang
A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
What speculative fiction have you loved?
What would you recommend to me?
Ooh nice picks! I can't really remember what I read before I discovered my paranormal books. There were still some contemporary reads happening as the paranormal books were few and far between in the YA genre. But I still cling to those. I've expanded into fantasy as well, which is still in the same area. I guess the paranormal books were also magical just on a different level! Lol.
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The only science fiction books that I have read, as far as I recall, are “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” and “The Day of the Triffids.”
ReplyDeleteMargaret Atwood’s speculative fiction includes Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid’s Tale. I’m a lifelong Atwood fan, and I would recommend these two — and if you like them, they have sequels.
ReplyDeletePS — another very literary speculative fiction: The Fifth Child, published 1988, by Doris Lessing
DeleteI have liked The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa ... Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (Klara & the Sun is also great) ... The Prophet Song ... and Station Eleven ... you've probably read these. Some speculative fiction can be dark ....
ReplyDeleteI second the recommendation for Margaret Atwood’s work, especially those two titles.
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday.
This genre is very much a hit or miss for me. I want to retry Babel though as it's now published in my native language. I struggled so much with this one in English, merely due to the science behind language et cetera.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2026/03/03/top-ten-tuesday-books-to-diversify-your-reading-3-the-ya-edition/
I have not read much in this area of books. However, my husband listens to his books while working out or driving and he has read a lot of fantasy. He's finally caught up on Brandon Sanderson's books I think and enjoyed those. And he was a Tolkien fan from way, way back. Hope you get some new suggestions, Deb! Hey, I saw some bluebonnets yesterday!!
ReplyDeleteProject Hail Mary was a great read, and there’s a film version coming out in a few weeks.
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