Metafiction & playing with form
Books that play with the "book" as a medium or are otherwise self-reflexive/meta.
My current criteria for this list are (1) does the book highlight its own textuality consistently or (2) do the metafictional elements add significantly to the themes explored or (3) does the book's use of discourse and form (e.g., narrative situation, layout) significantly differ from the norm?
Make sure to comment your suggestions with a small explanation even if you're not 100 % sure if they fit!






the new wave of climate fiction
i donโt need to explain to anyone why the proliferation climate fiction has skyrocketed over the past few years. this new wave of climate fiction, from 2020-present (ongoing), refuses to exclude climate catastrophe from depictions of or changing world. these works are grounded in present and future realities, the speculative less โspeculativeโ, and more predictive.






NPRโs Books We Love 2025
Books We Love from NPR began in 2013, always boasting over 200 books (almost 400 in recent years) featuring genres from memoirs, to cookbooks, to graphic novels, to childrenโs literature, to nonfiction, to novels. Check out NPRโs website to filter this massive list.
The list is in reverse alphabetical order directly from NPR.






books for purple readers
book recs for purple readers according to read your color on substack | updated periodically






Non Russian Slavic books
Book about or by authors from Slavic countries that aren't Russia!






The Climate Fiction Prize 2026
Everything on the longlist for the 2026 Climate Fiction Prize!
"The Climate Fiction Prize celebrates novels that explore what it means to be human in our rapidly changing world. It highlights how climate fiction spans genres, from thrillers and sci-fi to romance and comedy, showcasing the breadth and diversity of stories that engage with the social, cultural and emotional dimensions of climate change."






Literary Climate Axiety
Books that use climate change as a major force or backdrop.






weird and wonderful
weird. strange. off putting. confusing. despite this you cannot put these books down.






The Climate Fiction Prize: Complete Longlist
The Climate Fiction Prize celebrates 'the most inspiring novels tackling the climate crisis.' This list collects all longlisted titles since the award's inaugural year, 2024, and will be updated as future longlists are released. 2025 Winner: And So I Roar by Abi Darรฉ | 2026 Winner: pending






Books That Break The Rules
Books that ignore the traditional way of telling a story. These books tell their stories in unexpected ways, through letters, transcripts, diaries, documents, text messages, or unconventional layouts.






alphabet soup group
Books on my TBR with LGBTQIA+ characters or themes.






snails
i'm constantly on the hunt for more books about snails (that aren't kids books) and these are the ones I've found so far! mix of fiction and non-fiction (anything with a snail and i'm in!!) very open to suggestions even if the snail is just included and not the main theme.






eco fiction
Iโm assembling a team. a team of books related to ecological and earth sciences. recs more than welcome!






Voices of Ukraine
As war is still raging in Ukraine, it is important to uplift Ukrainian voices with our readings.
The aim of this list is to allow us to discover new Ukrainian books and authors, and to promote their works.
Books contained in this list are either written by Ukrainian authors, taking place in Ukraine or both






lit fic for the soul
books that stick with you for months and leave you thinking






2026 Tournament of Books
The shortlist and play-in round books for the 2026 Tournament of Books






Weird Older Women
List formerly known as weird girl elders. "Weird girl literature" books with characters that are over 30.
๐ yarnandbooks






2025 Booker Prize Longlist
Winner: Flesh by David Szalay






Underrated Gems
An assortment of underrated fiction that will have you questioning the publishing industry and why certain books are promoted at length while others are left to fend for themselves. This list is to help boost discoverability of amazing books. Drop your recs in the comments!






A little Meta with my fiction
Stories altered or enriched by the context of a frame or self awareness





