I’m a 33 y/o American female with zero cultural norms or expectations that would explain their expected control.

I called off an engagement a few years ago (that I’ve not once regretted, I would already be divorced), and they were so disappointed in me for not setting for a man that treated me well and could financially take care of me. I make $200k a year so that felt really irrelevant to me.

I’ve now broken up with my current boyfriend because he doesn’t treat me well, and I’m going to Europe solo for 2 months to travel.

Anything I do is met with contempt. I should be experiencing being married, and having kids, and I’m missing out on everything in their opinion. My mom was absolutely distraught when I told her I was going to Europe alone. Her first words were “absolutely not” and told me it’s so unsafe I’m basically committing suicide.

I’m a 33 year old woman. I’m not asking for permission. I also handle these conversations really delicately bc I know what’s coming. And sometimes, I have to just not tell them things. I went to Africa with my boyfriend for two weeks and didn’t tell them because I just. didn’t. want. to. hear. it.

They seem to have no interest in understanding that my biggest life goal is not to be married and have kids. It is to enjoy my life, learn who I am, experience things, find the right person, whenever that happens to be, and be happy.

I’ve literally told them so many times “I’m happy, I realize it’s not your perfect scenario for me but IM happy and I’d love if you could just be supportive” and they tell me they’re disappointed in me and that um missing out on the best parts of life.

I would like to suggest a book for them to read to help them understand my side of things and how frustrating and suffocating it feels to not feel like I can tell them anything because I’m going to get in trouble.

There was an example in one of Dolly Alderton’s books where the mother wrote in and said she fears for her daughter doing activities alone since she’s not in a relationship, but she knows she can’t hold her back.

Something along those lines. Even when I tell them things like I’d like to run in the mornings, it’s like I’m getting in trouble because they don’t think I should be doing that.

Any recommendations about how important it is to let your children live with the life that they want and our happiness would be greatly appreciated.

Just finished reading Irvin Welsch's "Filth" and I have to say it made me interested in more books where the protagonist is clearly a horrible person. Anything you'd recommend?

m trying to improve my habits and stop watching TV and try to read before goes to sleep instead, I never had the wiliness to read but trying to pick up.

I understand how complicated can be recommending a book to a total stranger, but would like recommendations like on self improvement (maybe the easiest to start with), I’m 38, recently became father To be honest I don’t know kinda happy to read anything that could get me going and start to read.

If you have been in the same situation or there is a book you recommend please do let me know.

Much appreciate it.

I who have never known men - Jacqueline Harpman

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

Both are incomparable to anything I've read before and stayed with me for a long time after I've read them. I'd love to have your suggestion for something similar.

tagging this for historical fiction as that is what I am mainly looking for, but fantasy is also very acceptable.

I am looking for books set during the golden age of piracy/age of sail. Ideally the book would follow a pirate crew (or even just one pirate), but if its about navy sailors or any other sailor that is totally fine. Basically if the book is set some time in the 17th-18th century with lots of ship sailing and sword fighting I will be satisfied.

I am currently reading The Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb (fantastic series by the way), and it has me craving more ocean adventures.

I'm feeling a bit hopeless. My work environment is definitely on the toxic side, and I'm really feeling the effects recently. I've been distracting myself from the work day by listening to audiobooks.

I hoping for something that can give me some hope to contrast with the bleakness of the day to day.

I typically stick to fiction.
I really liked Ready Player One, and it could be because the MC starts in such a rough situation, but ends up in a way better one.

I also liked Legends and Latte's because it's nice and comfy.

I didn't care for Psalm of the Wild Built. For me, it didn't keep my interest for long. I finished it, but I'm not sure it was worth it for me personally.

I guess I want something engaging to keep my interest, but also give me some comfort and hope. My soul needs a hug.

Thank you to anyone who reads this. I appreciate you and hope you have a lovely day.

I 25f am interested in bad family dynamics, childhood, psychology cults and alternative lifestyles

Bonus points if it contains mountains lol

Ty

for context: i was an avid bookworm as a child

i got back into reading this year after a period of time where i’d either read occasionally or not at all. it was due to both mental health and just finding the genre I genuinely enjoy as an adult.

my friend got me back onto reading with a julia quinn, which i did enjoy. i then began reading wuthering heights (not purely to watch the film adaptation but prefer the writing style. then, i read do no harm by jack jordan. i am currently in a classics reading kick and went onto start reading lolita. i have got a few books on my list and wanted people’s honest opinions on them and if they had any other recommendations.

as of right now, my reading list is as follows:

• i who have never known man by jacqueline harpman
• just kids by patti smith
• madonna in a fur coat by sabahattin ali
• the count of monte cristo by alexander dumas
• picture of dorian grey by oscar wilde
• giovanni’s room by james baldwin

Hello Reddit I just watched project hail Mary and I loved it I'm planning on reading the book but I can't get my hands on it yet, so I was hoping to get some recommendations similar to that or "The Darkness Outside Us" by Eliot Schrefer.

Preferably not YA, and if it's queer that would be a great bonus.

Looking for suggestions!!
I’m in the mood to read a non-fiction - like ‘books every woman should read’ vibes. Anything about girlhood, being a woman, feminism in general or just anything with similar vibes 🩷

Hello! I am a 19 year old who works overnights. I recently started listening to audiobooks whilst I work to make the time pass faster. I’m looking for suggestions! I use spotify for the audiobooks btw!

I like LGBTQ, Romance, Thriller, Horrors, Mystery, or pretty much anything!

Thank you in advance :D

I bought a used copy of this book last year and finally got around to reading it a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it and was very excited to learn that it was the first in a series. I’m about to be finished with the 3rd book and I’ve got the 4th and 5th ordered and in the mail.

But I’m reading them too fast and I know I’m going to be lost when I’m done.

Any suggestions for similar books? I’d love another series but one off would be ok too.

If you haven’t read them, they are medieval mystery/crime books with a female main character who has been trained as a doctor and is pretty much a medical examiner. Think CSI in medieval times.

Really, I just love historical fiction that doesn’t involve an overly romantic story line. No shade to romance novels though (Maiden Lane 4ever ❤️)

So I've discovered I really like plot forward books. I don't enjoy books like Theo of Golden, God of the Wood, or The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet because they are so character focused.

Books I've read this year and really enjoyed include: Trad Wife (the one by Saratoga Shaeffer), Everyone is Lying to You, Yesteryear, Hemlock and Silver, Japanese Gothic, We Spread, and The Barren Grounds.

I am open to any genre though I do tend to read more horror/fantasy (but I adored First Time Caller last year).

I just like..things to happen in the books. Any good suggestions??

Hi! I'm looking for an optimistic/inspiring/wholesome sort of nonfiction book recommendation for a radiology technology student that I have been working with who is graduating soon. There are three students, but I was quite inspired for the other two and I am sure they will love the books I've chosen. But for the third, I'm a little stumped!

The student is in his early 20's, a Christian who is a bit of a Bible scholar, and the book he recommended to me (earlier this year when I was asking all my coworkers for recs) was Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. 

The books I've chosen for the other two students are The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green and Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

Any nonfiction ideas that fit the vibe welcome! If it's something I've read that's cool, but if I haven't I'll read it before gifting.

Hello,

I have seen a tiktok with comments about an EMT/Paramedic saying something to them, and it made me think of how good a book would be about it! I mostly read thriller so switching to romance sometimes is nice.

The comments were all stories about how the EMT called them a good girl or how their bpm went up. The tiktok is faith_x_flipflops2 if y'all are interested in checking before recommending me anything.

Thank you!

So context and story. I hate multiple perspectives. That's just my opinion. I personally prefer it being first person. I did like how Jennifer L Armentrout did her Coven series with the other person's perspective at the end.

The other day, I went to target and saw a couple of books i wanted. I headed to check out and then decided I didn't feel like waiting in line. So I took pictures of the books and ordered them from Target online.

They came In today. Keep in mind, i just read what the books were about. Didn't flip through them or anything. Just read the summary and was like " Hmmm this sounds good/interesting. "

Yeah. So both series has the MC's and someone else's perspective 🙃. It's my fault for not looking closer at the books in store. I've been out of the reading game for a bit and ALWAYS just assume its first person ( its also how I found out like dark romance exists because I had never seen a content warning in a book before 😀 when I hear dark romance i think of like vampires and such; not that 😭 ).

SO YEAH! I would like some recs where its just first person 🥹. I like horror, thrillers, mysteries, all that good jazz . It don't gotta be the most recent release either!! Just send me recs please while I try to return these to target 😅

Getting ready for a 10-day trip from Prague, through Germany, and winding up in France. I need something to read during travel and down times. I like murder mysteries, historical fiction, spy stuff. Will probably want a paperback that won’t be too cumbersome to keep in my day pack. Any favorite books come to mind?

Does anyone have some good recs for books about any ancient civilizations? It could be specific to certain empires like the Sumerians, Egyptians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Carthage, Romans, Greeks, Persians, etc or it could be an overview of multiple different empires. I’m just interested in all the early civilizations so any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have never had a chance to read books never had one, i visited a friend who was reading at that time The books was Al Chemist he was really into it and i thought whats so special about reading he gave me that book to read which i took but never really got the time or interest to actually start reading, one day i thought i should read or try to read some of it when i started i liked it so much that i finished it in one go and after that i finished 9 more more or less the same eg 40 rules of love, thousand splendid suns.

Few of them i read them twice and then for reasons i wasn't able to read and now i am trying to make it a habit and start again i need book suggestions that are similar to them, books that are about Spiritual journey, self discovery and purpose.

Thanks in advance

Looking for novels where someone just leaves. Not running from danger exactly, more like they reach a point where the life they built no longer fits and they start over from scratch. Could be a career, a relationship, a whole identity. The kind of story where the character has to figure out who they are when none of the old labels apply anymore.

Not looking for something preachy about finding yourself, more just a story that sits with the messiness of that transition. The uncertainty, the weird freedom of it, maybe some stumbling before anything clicks into place.

Literary fiction is great but I'm open to anything that handles it with some weight. I've already read A Little Life and Olive Kitteridge so if those come to mind, covered. Characterdriven matters more to me than plotheavy, though I won't say no to a story that keeps moving.

Bonus if it's not set in a big city, or if the protagonist is middleaged rather than early twenties, since that angle feels underrepresented in what I usually come across. Happy to take suggestions in any direction though, even if they only partly fit what I described.

Hi, ive never posted but I got tired of browsing the internet and searching for my next read. I’ve read a couple books here and there but they never hit the same in compared to a few i would give close to gold . Recently ive read a court of thorns and roses (and the second series), the housemaid, a problematic summer romance, heart broken. But all the above had such mediocre writing style that it was such boring read. I felt it lacked emotional depth and character development. The few books I’ve read in the past that I would class as almost gold are The good girls bad boys ( from wattpad yeah yeah sue me i grew up on the app) and the school for good and evil series ( although the last few books kinda derailed). If you can recommend fictional book with great characters depth, comedy fun plot and amazing writing styles, please do. many thanks in advance.

Finished Star City on apple (it’s incredible) and am so curious about the historical background.

Any suggestions for a good history book on the Soviet space program?