Am I the only one who gets irritated when a book description starts with "abcbook meets xyzbook"? It makes me lose interest in the book immediately, especially if they're comparing them with books that I don't like.

It's also very silly because sometimes the book has NOTHING to do with the books they're comparing it too💀

Hi everyone! I had a small realization today: I don’t really read sci-fi… yet I clearly love it. I just have no idea where to begin. 🫠

It’s not that I dislike the genre. I think I’ve just been a little intimidated by it, especially the very alien/space-heavy side of sci-fi. I know the genre is so much more than that, but I’ve never intentionally explored it in books.

Maybe future me will be into aliens. Who knows. Maybe I’ll even read alien-monster romances. But current me? Not there yet.

That said… when I look at the stories I do love in other media, sci-fi is everywhere.

📺 Movies & Series I love:

1- Black Mirror. San Junipero (my favorite episode of all time), USS Callister, The Entire History of You, Fifteen Million Merits, Playtest, Nosedive, Men Against Fire, Black Museum, Striking Vipers, Joan Is Awful, Beyond the Sea, Bandersnatch, etc. 2- The Handmaid’s Tale. I haven’t finished it yet, but I really want to read the book! 3- American Horror Story. I have seen almost every season. Although I know it's mainly horror, some seasons lean more towards sci-fi+horror and I like them too! 4- Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro’s version). I'm obsessed and have been meaning to read the book for the longest time ever. 5- The Substance. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and was talking about the movie nonstop. 6- I Am Legend. It was a longtime fave growing up.

🎮 Games I love:

1- The Last of Us. Part II is my favorite game of all time. Ellie will forever be my fave lesbian crush. 🩷 2- Detroit: Become Human. Connor is such an icon, Markus is an inspiration and Kara is awesome. 3- Beyond: Two Souls. I loved it growing up. 4- Resident Evil. I enjoyed it less for the zombies, and more for the corporations, experiments, and moral decay.

So yeah...I do like sci-fi.

I think I’m especially drawn to character-driven stories that explore:

🤖 technology, ethics, AI 🧠 memory, identity, surveillance, power 👁️‍🗨️ dystopia / speculative fiction 🖋️ psychological or philosophical themes 🖤 horror-adjacent or deeply unsettling vibes

If this sounds like your kind of sci-fi, I’d love any recommendations on where to start. 🫶🏻 What would you suggest based on this?

Please help a sci-fi newbie out! Tysm ✨🩷

find a book you’ve read for each letter of your name/nickname/username!

i’ll start : S - Spells by Aprilynne Pike A - A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee R - Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare A - Acide Sulfurique by Amélie Nothomb H - Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (the only one I could think of 😙)

the list is a bit of mess but… your turn 🫵

edit: i’m happy you guys liked the game! i think i read them all, even though i couldn’t comment on all 😅 thank you for participating 🫶

"I was half asleep and headed for three quarters when I heard a board creak in the hallway."

That's some really clever phrasing! It shows that Easton was nearly asleep, but phrases it in an uncommon way. Keeps the mundane details from getting boring. I find little things like that quite clever.

"I was half asleep and headed for three quarters when I heard a board creak in the hallway."

That's some really clever phrasing! It shows that Easton was nearly asleep, but phrases it in an uncommon way. Keeps the mundane details from getting boring. I find little things like that quite clever.

The ending is radically different from the movie's ending. That's as close to a spoiler as I'm gonna get. I greatly enjoyed the movie when I watched it, and the book gave a similar sense of enjoyment, but the emotional impact was more intense. (The movie is a loose adaptation that ignored the existence of the sequels, with permission from the author apparently).

I'm definitely reminded of Hell's Paradise, a manga series I love that has some things in common (mostly the Area X/Hell's Paradise locations and how they affect humans). They're very different series, but as a fan of Hell's Paradise, I can't help but to notice the similar tropes used. (If anything, it upped my enjoyment)