I haven’t read much read stuff that has been published after 2000s and have barely liked what I have.
I ask this bcz most of the time I look up ‘Best new books’ or ‘popular books’, the recommendations are mostly smut, fantasy smut or cheap romance.
Idk if I just keep getting the wrong books recommended or that’s how today’s books are.
Also, recommend me some more recent books with good prose, well written characters, medium/slow paced.
I second looking at prize lists. I read the Booker Prize longlist every year. They’re not always my favorite, but I like to consume what makes the list.
You can also check out book lists from more respected sources than “the most popular books on Amazon”. New York Review of Books is a source. Or the NYT/WaPo book reviews.
A selection of my favorite books
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (literary fiction): Two friends build a hit video game together, exploring love, creativity, and the blurry line between life and play over decades of partnership.
- Gnomon by Nick Harkaway (science fiction, speculative): A dazzling labyrinth of nested narratives in a near-future surveillance state where truth, memory, and identity intertwine through a mysterious death investigation.
- Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez (horror, literary gothic): A grieving father with occult ties and his son flee an Argentine cult seeking immortality, blending family drama with cosmic horror and political dread.
- **Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park ** (literary fiction, speculative history): A kaleidoscopic alternate history of Korea, identity, and diaspora, mixing espionage, pop culture, and myth into an ambitious, surreal tapestry.
- The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard (speculative fiction): In a valley where neighboring towns exist decades apart in time, a young clerk faces a moral dilemma that could alter her fate and those she loves.
- You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue (historical fiction, magical realism): A lush reimagining of the 1519 meeting between Hernán Cortés and Moctezuma, merging myth, power, and the surreal chaos of first contact.
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (fantasy, philosophical fiction): A man named Piranesi inhabits a vast, mysterious house filled with endless halls and statues, slowly uncovering secrets about reality and himself.
- The River by Peter Heller (literary thriller, adventure): Two college friends on a canoe trip through the Canadian wilderness face a deadly wildfire and a sinister encounter that tests their bond and survival.
- The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (post-apocalyptic fiction): After a flu pandemic, a pilot and his dog live in isolation near an airfield until a radio signal hints at other survivors — and the risk of hope.
- The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher (horror, dark fantasy): Cleaning her late grandmother’s house, a woman discovers a nightmarish manuscript and a terrifying world lurking just beyond the edge of reality.
Thank you so much xD
There are LOADS of modern classics. If you’re into sci-fi, try the Ancillary Justice trilogy by Anne Lecke. If you’re into contemporary fiction, check out Against the Loveless World. If you like historical fiction, Bernard Cornwell has been going strong for a long time.
What genre do you enjoy? I always recommend checking out the relevant awards and go through the shortlist for the last few years. You are sure to find something spellbinding.
Booker - Contemporary literature
Assimov/Philip K. Dick/Hugo/Nebula - Speculative Fiction
Nobel Prize - Contemporary literature
Thanks
Theres so much great modern literature! I’m shocked at your experience.
I love Murakami but read a short story of his before diving into the book. I’ve just posted a short story of his in !shortstories@literature.cafe. if you like it try Norwegian Wood.
Theres Salman Rushdie as well.
The underground railroad by colson Whitehead.
The milkmaid.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.
2666 by bolano.
2666 is one of my favorite books. Also like The Savage Detectives by Bolaño. Have you read Demon Copperhead by Kingsolver? If not I think you’d like it based on your Whitehead and Ferrante to recs.
The only Kingsolver I’ve read was “The Bean Trees”, which I loved. Didn’t realize it was her debut novel at the time.
That’s on my list. Hopefully I’ll get to it in the next few months!
Haven’t read demon copperhead. Ive heard of it. Adding it to the list.
Thanks for the recommendations <3
No problem. I’d recommend checking if they are your style before diving into any book though.
look up ‘Best new books’ or ‘popular books’
Aka, the list of books to always avoid.
I think the lists have become worse in the last two decades
Any suggestions on where to look for book recs online?
In terms of automated suggestions, I’ve had some luck with Storygraph. It has better recommendations than Goodreads, as it actually tries to go by your reading history and recent reads, and allows you to filter by factors like mood, pacing, genre, page count, etc.
It’s not perfect by any stretch, but it has found me stuff that I wouldn’t have otherwise spotted.
Asking a local librarian is also an option. They’re usually happy to offer suggestions, and I’ve seen it in some cases where the library’s website has means to send a request for recommendations online.
Here, and social media recommendations.
Maybe other people can add to this in the comments
Yeah I have asked for suggestions here before and they were pretty good. I also avoid any lists of “Best of” “Best sellers” etc. As much as I can because they are not usually good.
From the past, only the best truly survive, all books that were not worth it are slowly less and less mentioned. But you take the books released in 2025 and the amount is just overwhelming. It’s not that they are worse now, its just that the best haven’t yet gotten over the rest, so the chances of ending on a bad one is higher.
I think the real issue you need to consider is how you choose the books, how you search for them and why are the lists you find so bad.
Maybe you are ending in pretty bad webpages written more to advertise whatever the editorials want or not you kind of book. Maybe try finding some recommendations website that works depending on what books you have read and liked.
I don’t read a ton of modern literary fiction but Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day and Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove come to mind.
When I’m in the mood for gorgeous prose I usually pick up Steinbeck though—hard to beat.
