Recs if you like Arboreality...

Shorter books (under 200 pages) that are part of at least one quest. Many are also in the public domain, making them easily accessible when you want to grind for that next badge.

includes contemporary fiction, scifi, horror, speculative fiction and nonfiction

Books that have been shortlisted for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. I compiled this list because the criteria (and Le Guin's works) resonate with me:

"The Prize will be given to a writer whose work reflects the concepts and ideas that were central to Ursula’s own work, including but not limited to: hope, equity, and freedom; non-violence and alternatives to conflict; and a holistic view of humanity’s place in the natural world."

Sci-fi books that I feel are hopeful and have a cozy, often slice-of-life vibe. Some of these could also fall under the solar punk category.

Note: I have not read all of these (and some I’ve dnfed/disliked) but I wanted to include all the cozy sci fi that I know of.

Nominees for the Ursula K Le Guin Prize for for Fiction, awarded since 2022 for imaginative fiction. (Mostly I have made this because they're always really great picks and I want to work my way through all of them.)

A list of books that have been considered for and/or won the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. From the official website - "This award is intended to recognize those writers Ursula spoke of in her 2014 National Book Awards speech—realists of a larger reality, who can imagine real grounds for hope and see alternatives to how we live now."

Cli-fi about relationships, love, self-discovery, etc. But also ft. climate anxiety

Books about societal collapse, apocalypse, and the hopeful idea that those at the bottom of the ladder can work together for a resilient future.

speed reading needs