Tag Archives: Goodreads

Recommending Your Next Read [Based on Overly Specific Genres] Pt. 1

Welcome back to Finding Delight! I’m here today to give you some options for your next read. I put together a collection of some of the most popular overly specific book genres. Then, I scoured my shelves and the internet to find the perfect books that fit these categories. (If you don’t see a good fit here – do leave a common below with an overly specific book genre you love and I’ll be sure to reply with some choices!)

So, let’s get right into it…

Book set in a creepy house…

My pick: The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

Others to check out: 

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

The Good House by Tananarive Due

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Magical realism in the American south…

My pick: Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Others to check out: 

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Southern Mystical Moments by Patricia H. Graham 

A book that follows a family through different periods of life…

My pick: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 

Others to check out…

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Science Fiction featuring characters you can fall in love with…

My pick: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Others to check out…

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Historical Fiction about a female artist…

My pick: The Painter From Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein

Others to check out…

Rodin’s Lover by Heather Webb

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

Isadora by Amelia Gray

A book to help you feel happy…

My pick: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Others to check out…

The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

Teens battling it out in a dark game (similar to The Hunger Games)…

My pick: Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Others to check out: 

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Final Six by Alexandra Monir

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Thriller that tackles social issues…

My pick: When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Others to check out:

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

A Science Fiction with a spreading sickness…

My pick: Blindness by Jose Saramago

Others to check out:

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

Severance by Ling Ma

Book set in the circus…

My pick: Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen

Others to check out: 

Death of a Circus by Chadra Pasad

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Pantomime by Laura Lam

So there you have it! I hope you found an absolutely perfect book for your next read! If any of these overly specific genres are your fave, do leave me a comment below and let me know if you think these suggestions might work for you.

For more bookish content, make sure you’re following me on Instagram HERE.

Advertisement

Reading Year In Review

My Top 10 Books of 2020

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Eveningland by Michael Knight

Wolf by Wolf and Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

Brazil by John Updike

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

2020 Reading Stats

I read 68 books in 2020 for a total of 24,298 pages.

The shortest book I read was I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya (96 pages) and the longest book was 11/22/63 by Stephen King (849 pages).

My average book length in 2020 was 357 pages.

The most popular book I read was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and the book I read with the highest average rating on Goodreads was In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado.

The first book I read in 2020 was The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen.

My last read of 2020 was Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick.

I read from many genres but tended to favor literary/contemporary fiction the most. And fiction books in general made up 80% of my reading. (A bit high for me!)

67% of the authors I read from identify as women, 30% men, and 3% non-binary.

mid-week round-up

What are you up to this week? I’m in full hibernation mode this week with these cooler temperatures. I truly look a vision at my desk each morning with blanket, huge cup of coffee, and a space heater on full blast about 2 feet from my feet. God bless working from home! Hope you’re enjoying your October, and here are some things that have caught my eye lately…

Elizabeth Gilbert on writing, grief and her toughest creative challenge yet.

Related: I just finished City of Girls!

The world’s top economists say we need more storytellers.

 Ikea and H&M ran a study on recyclable fabrics to figure out what chemicals are in them.

Stop treating parenting as mom’s burden and dad’s adorable hobby.

This coffee mug is very much my vibe.

Welp, never taking a ride share again.

Bleeps and bloops.

I, too, loved working in a grocery store.

The impact of ICE raids on a community in Mississippi.

Librarians are pretty dang funny.

Halloween costume ideas (and you can buy them on Amazon).

Is the sick day dead?

P.S. I finally took the plunge and joined Goodreads! Wanna be friends?