Recs if you like The Left Hand of Darkness...

I've seen so many people say they don't read classics as they aren't diverse, and I wanted to give some suggestions that are.

This is a list of classics written by authors who are not Straight, Cis, White, and Men as the title suggests. I am also aiming to include a variety of cultures and regions in this list. If your looking for something more focused (e.g. diverse US classics) check out the lists I posted in the comments.

Suggestions are more than welcome!

Need a gift for your extremist family member, but they already have a red baseball cap AND a Don't Tread on Me shirt? Were you told "Don't bring up politics at family dinner" and need some safe books to discuss instead? Well we have a full menu for you to choose from! Each just for fun book comes with our guarantee: No real world political messages under the 100% fictional plot! 😉 (Taking Recommendations!)

SFF with worldbuilding that informs the plot, prose, characters, and underlying narrative in deeply meaningful, intentional, and complex ways, so much so that changing the world means changing the shape of the story itself. Or: worldbuilding that goes beyond simple set dressing and becomes a vehicle for the story and narrative. Always open to recs and suggestions! ❤️

These are books that don't rush to impress you. They simmer while the author adds in the layers. They may confuse you or bore you at first - but if you give them time to cook you'll end up with a delicious meal of a book!

Always taking recommendations! If you are recommending a series - the layers need to come together by the end of the first book (not half way through the series).

One of several Non-Humans & Empathy -themed lists by @Myth.Ink (See also: Non-Fiction, GNs/Manga+, Youth Titles, Creature Feature, & the Official @Myth.Ink Curation) | This list is the FICTION edition, including fictional interactions and considerations of interactions between plausibly realistic non-human beings of all types (trees, robots, animals, ai, aliens, objects, science-experiment beings, etc) and humans, empathy and lack thereof. | Suggestions more than welcome!

literary (or literary-leaning) fiction focused specifically on isolation, disconnection, loneliness — and what they teach us about life and humanity.

ft. recs from the community!

Not all collections hold things you can touch. This one holds worlds that breathe, selves that dissolve, and realities that refuse to hold their shape. These are the fictions that live on the edge of what language can contain - and sometimes just beyond. Admission is free, through entry requires a signed waiver: the curator cannot be held responsible for any transformations that occur upon your exit. We welcome specimen recommendations!

Books recommended by musician Lucy Dacus, a solo artist and member of the band boygenius. Pulled from her goodreads list.

Chill-fueled journeys through frostbitten kingdoms, forbidden wards, and legends carved in ice. Perfect for readers craving grand myths wrapped in winter magic.

"you exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you" sci-fi edition canon sci-fi authors (before the year 2000) that have shaped the science fiction we have today. suggestions are enthusiastically welcome ✨ (1 book per author)

Classic books by U.S. BIPOC/fem/LGBTQIA Authors. Inspired by my post in US classic lit quest, I wanted a place to share all the wonderful recommendations by the PB community from the forum! 'Classic' refers to enduring, high-quality works that have stood the test of time, featuring universal themes, memorable characters, and artistic merit that remain relevant and insightful about the human condition across generations, often studied for their cultural significance and literary excellence.

Series starting points for getting into some of the most prolific women authors in sci-fi and fantasy from the 70s-00s.

Fiction has always been where truth hides. Across horror, thriller, literary fiction, fantasy & mystery every book on this list has something to say about power, who holds it, who destroys it, and how it reproduces itself.

older science fiction with lgbtq+ characters and/or authors and books that question gender and sexuality

A list of all the novels which won the Best Novel category of the Nebula Awards. To be nominated for this award a story must be 40,000 words or more and published in English in the US and it must be either a science fiction or fantasy story. This list should be in descending order (most recent winners first while earlier winners are further down.

Books in this list are in at least two quests. Thus helping to earn more badges. Books will span different genres. Once I scan through all the quests, I plan to further organize the list. I am thinking of creating a seperate list and moving the books with three or more quests to the new list and keeping the two badge books in this list. Are there other ways you would organize a list this big?

respect your mothers! and their mothers, and their....

This is NOT for books featuring trans or nonbinary protagonists in worlds with gender systems that mimic modern real-world ones. This is for books like Left Hand of Darkness or the Imperial Radch series, where the setting has an invented system of gender and/or sex, or of assigning gender/sex. I'm including interesting-to-me matriarchies (so, not ones that are just our patriarchy but gender-swapped) and gender systems that include male and female but have other genders/sexes too.

Suggestions are extremely welcome!

a list of sci-fi books containing aliens

Overlooked, lesser known classics from all over the world and of many genres.

This list also exists as a book club on Fable under the same name.