I was playing with Bard last night and gave it a list of books I’ve read and enjoyed recently, and asked it to recommend other books I might enjoy.
Here’s my prompt
The following are the title and author of books that I read and enjoyed recently. Can you recommend other books I might enjoy?
- Project Hail Mary, Weir
- Fall, Stephenson
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Gaiman
- A Memory Called Empire, Martine
- A Desolation Called Peace, Martine
- Murderbot Diaries books, Wells
- The Kingston Cycle trilogy, Polk
- Ancillary Justice, Leckie
- Ancillary Sword, Leckie
- Ancillary Mercy, Leckie
- Gideon the Ninth, Muir
- All Clear, Willis
- Blind Lake, Wilson
- Nettle and Bone, Kingfisher
- The Graveyard Book, Gaiman
- Saturn’s Children, Stross
- The Anomaly, Le Tellier
- The Daughter of Dr. Moreau, Moreno-Garcia
Bard response
Based on your reading history, I can recommend several books you might enjoy:
Science Fiction:
- The Martian by Andy Weir: If you enjoyed Project Hail Mary, you’ll likely appreciate Weir’s other work. The Martian is a gripping story of an astronaut stranded on Mars and his fight for survival.
- Seveneves by Neal Stephenson: Like Fall, Seveneves explores a near-future disaster scenario where the moon is destroyed and its fragments threaten to destroy Earth.
- The Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor: This humorous series follows the adventures of Bob Johansson, whose brain is uploaded into a computer and who then travels the galaxy aboard a self-aware spaceship.
- The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu: This award-winning Chinese science fiction novel tells the story of first contact between humanity and an alien civilization.
- The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells: If you enjoyed the Murderbot Diaries, you may also like Wells’ Raksura series, which features shapeshifting creatures and political intrigue.
Fantasy:
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch: Like The Ocean at the End of the Lane, this book features a magical setting and a cast of memorable characters.
- The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin: This award-winning trilogy explores themes of race, gender, and power in a post-apocalyptic world.
- The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater: This YA series follows a group of teenagers who discover they have magical powers.
- The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss: This epic fantasy series tells the story of Kvothe, a legendary musician and adventurer.
Other:
- The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson: This timely novel explores the challenges of climate change and offers solutions for a more sustainable future.
- Exit West by Mohsin Hamid: This magical realist novel follows the story of a young couple who are forced to flee their war-torn country.
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders: This experimental novel tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s grief over the death of his son.
- The Overstory by Richard Powers: This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel explores the interconnectedness of all living things.
In addition to these specific recommendations, I can also suggest some general tips for finding books you might enjoy:
- Read reviews and recommendations: Look for books that have been praised by critics and readers with similar taste to yours.
- Explore different genres: Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and try something new.
- Ask for help: Librarians and booksellers can be a great resource for finding new books to read.
- Join a book club: This is a great way to discuss books with other readers and get recommendations for new titles.
I hope this helps!
Thanks for the warning, and thanks for the recommendations. I watched The Expanse, and meant to put it on my reading list - I’ll do that. Mistborn sounds really familiar, but I looked it up and I’m pretty sure I haven’t read it. I’ll put it on the list.
The show stops at book 6, so there’s a whole chunk you never got to see! (Plus some changes in characters/plot that were necessary to streamline the show) I liked both for different reasons, but there are certain characters that definitely got an upgrade in the show because the casting was so goddamn amazing (Ashford’s role was expanded because … David Straithern)
Another couple series came to mind as well: The Codex Alera and Cinder Spires series, both by Jim Butcher. Cinder Spires is ongoing, the 2nd book just came out.
Okay, thank you very much
I enjoyed the Mistborn books, but Sanderson is definitely a bad writer. Also, I tried 4 times to get through The Three Body Problem, and never managed to finish it.
Three Body is such an odd book. I was a little prepared for that, being it was written in Chinese and translated -sometimes that makes for an odd feel - but some of it was just so damned unlikely. There were parts of it that I loved, including the game and how that fit into the plot, but I couldn’t suspend enough disbelief to really enjoy it overall.