For years I've had such a specific book recomandation request nobody ever was able to give me a book which fit. Not librarians, not people I know which read thousands of horrors, not book forums on reddit. I guess I'll have to find my luck here.

I haven't found any list specific to this, but if there is one, just tell me and I'll immediately delete this post. I know you shouldn't be seeking recs on the club if there are lists or quests already.

The book should be about a group of teen friends living the zombie apocalypse, or, since I'm desperate at this point, an apocalypse of any kind. What makes this so hard to find is that the book should have at least one important scene set on a train. If you can, please tell me the triggers of the book, if not, I'll look them up.

When I first thought of this, it didn't even cross my mind that it might be hard to find such a specific thing. I thought everyone connected zombies and trains, but apparently, that's rarer than I would've guessed.

though i personally do not have much experience in biology (or plants, specifically), one of my favorite hyperfixations as a kid was strange looking plants! things like the corpse flower, venus flytraps, etc. are all very well known (and i personally LOVE them, they're so cool), but in 4th grade, i did an extra credit presentation on cobra lilies/california pitcher plants (darlingtonia californica) 🤩🤩they're just so bulbous looking and weird (which i love), but also very oddly beautiful. they're carnivorous and tend to grow near bogs and are considered quite rare! also, unlike other pitcher plants, they don't catch rain water to fill their pitchers; rather, they store water they draw up from their roots in their pitchers. apparently, they also smell really bad

what is everyone's favorite creepy plant? what drew you to creepy plants 👀👀

Does it happen to anybody else that, after months of reading in English (with more or less struggle, I'm C1, so I get basically all ya and most adult books, but sometimes classics are hard) you go back to reading in your native language and you struggle just as hard?

I just read the great Gatsby. First chapters were pretty tough. Now I'm reading a book in Italian and I'm struggling just as hard as through Gatsby, and surely I'm struggling way more than reading the adult and ya books I read in English. I'm reading a ya in Italian.

I don't know, maybe I'm just having trouble reading in general due to sleeping way less than I should, and I would struggle through ya books in both languages either way.

This is something I don't do and cannot understand doing, so please share your perspectives with me!

What prompts you to do this? Do you do it for every book or with every book from a certain author? Was it a rec by someone you trust or presented to you in a way that you immediately connected with so you don't need to look up more before going into it?

I've too often misunderstood what a book might be about or expected different things and so have been disappointed. But I wouldn't have such an issue if I just jump in. I don't honestly think I can do that, though. So I guess what I'm asking is, how are y'all so brave?