Recs if you like The Buried Giant...

were you a fan of BBC’s Merlin? did you like the King Arthur subplot of Once Upon a Time? have you ever dreamt about pulling a sword from a stone? this list of Arthurian inspired books is for you!

disclaimer: I have not read all of these books

as always, taking any and all suggestions!!

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 featuring mythology, legends and folklore from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. (For the purpose of this list 'Ireland' encompasses the entirety of Ireland (Northern & Republic) as the historical mythos is largely the same since the split happened in the 1900's.)

Books where memories are lost, gained, preserved, encountered, or otherwise altered through means that are not of this world. Work in progress, suggestions always welcome!

(Broadly defined) Poetic, dreamy, strange, odd fantasy/sci-fi. Doesn’t have to be all of these things at once, mostly it’s fantasy/sci-fi that ‘breaks the norm’ (in style, prose and story)- whatever that means. Or books wonderfully odd, in any sort of way.

I’m not such a fast reader, neither do I have the golden touch finding only books that fit in this list… ‘Breaking the norm’ can be seen as rather subjective, so I’d love any suggestion that you feel fit (and why do you feel they fit?).

Books where grief is personified, given a body, a voice, or a shape, to explore how loss lives alongside us.

An on-going attempt to track Asian authors in my Interested/TBR (and hopefully Finished) categories. Books are generally fiction/lit fic/fantasy with some memoirs. Authors span West to East Asia, the Asian diaspora, and mixed-race folx.

books about lost chances, 'what ifs', and the lives that might've been. nostalgia and regret are two sides of the same coin: a lingering, a dwelling, on a past you can't return to.

books that shayne topp from smosh has read in 2025 (ones that he talked about or posted on social media at the end of the year)

protagonists with amnesia or memory loss trying to figure out what happened/is going on

For all those recovering anglophiles that aren’t trying very hard to recover. Suggestions super welcome :)

Books with protagonists who aren’t teenagers. You’re never too old for an adventure.

Fantasy or speculative fiction set in the time of King Arthur / with Arthurian characters or influence.

the books shayne topp (from icarly) recommended from his 2025 reads on his instagram story!

Keeping up with the 700+ books featured on Overdue since 2013

books that feel like Hozier's music (work in progress)

Arthurian history, mythology, legends, fantasy, and retellings from history and modernity, as well as books and stories directly inspired by Arthurian myth. Series include just the first book as this list started to get very long

Books which don't treat you like you're an idiot, and trust you to engage with them; complex naming conventions, elaborate worldbuilds, large casts of characters, narrative tricks, beautiful prose, heavy intertextuality.

Gruesome battles? Heavy handed details? Vivid narratives? Not as many women as you would like? From Tolkien to the Arthurian myth to the Plantagenet dynasty, take a deep dive into medieval England. Whether French or Elvish is the language of power, the rugged and epic narratives of this list will either make you want more from the authors or to stop reading about white people entirely.

All the books I can find that Shayne Topp has recommended!