In a similar vein to the question posted earlier today, I wanted to know what book reco would you see as a huge green flag when dating, and why?

My answer: Lonesome Dove

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Why: It delves into themes of friendship, loyalty, and the complexities of human relationships. If they like the book it tells me they have an understanding of the nuanced dynamics that make human connections meaningful.

  • ceranichole@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Snowcrash.

    I have reread it AT LEAST once a year since it came out, and it’s still my favorite book.

    • nchez@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I love this lol. I would fully swipe right on 11/22/63 and left on Book Thief 🤣

  • saltyfingas@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Is right good or bad? I never did online dating. I’d say the following tho

    Yes: Hitchhikers guide

    Pass: Confederacy of Dunces

    • kdubstep@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I have a slew of tattered Ursala novels that were my moms and which at some point many years ago I’ve read but I’ve not recalled so reminds me to dig th out and read again

    • ghostconvos@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Any le Guin would get me interested in a first date. I’d also be happy to have a polite but heated debate about why I prefer The Word for World is Forest

      • kemellin@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        Regardless of which is better, The Word for World is Forest is underrated (or rather…needs more exposure relative to her other works?). Powerful story

      • Graxxon@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        Word for World is Forest is simultaneously a scathing critique of the Vietnam war and a commentary on the westward expansion and the brutalities inflicted upon that Native American peoples living in North America.

        It’s also better paced and a faster read. Love that book so much.

  • pelicants@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Getting nostalgic about any children’s book. People talk differently about books they loved as children than they do about books that are written for adults.

    • RagingAardvark@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      My husband and I were friends for years before we started dating, but when we got serious, I bought him Matilda and Harriet the Spy, so that he could get to know what I’d been like as a kid. (Though tbf I was only 13 when we met, so it wasn’t like he didn’t already have an inkling!)

    • abzlute@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Idk how generally that applies. I def have a much stronger relationship with the books I’ve loved as an adult. I still like Harry Potter, Eragon, Dragonriders of Pern, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and so on…but most of it tends to feel shallow, significantly flawed, or both, as of my last readings.

      Cradle by Will Wight and The Wandering Inn inspire more childlike joy and fascination for me. Robin Hobb hits the emotional notes in a way no one else can. Malazan, The Exapanse, The Witcher, Grossman, GRRM, even Tolstoy and Dumas, all feel more impactful and I could wax on about them much more comfortably than I could my childhood faves. Maybe the overlap would be like Tolkien, Twain, Pullman, and a few of OSC’s books (Ender’s Game, Ender’s Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead as a set), things I enjoyed as a kid but which I understood very differently as I grew and reread.

  • julienal@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Ocean Vuong poetry collections (so Time is a Mother or Night Sky with Exit Wounds.)

    I loved On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous but Ocean Vuong is a poet first and foremost and I think it really shows in the novel. It’s almost like an unrefined, cliched version of his poetry. Many of the same themes get brought up but with a lot more finesse and care put into it. If poetry had a bigger audience NSwEW definitely would’ve been more than enough to make him a national star (it did in poetry but well, we know how small that category is if you’re not pedalling Kaur-style poetry that slaps you with the meaning).

  • Nikifuj908@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    The Phantom Tollbooth because it shows they appreciate learning and have a sense of humor.

    The Man Who Was Thursday because it shows they appreciate learning and have a sense of humor.

  • Cubsfan11022016@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Glory of their Times by Lawrence Ritter.

    I mean, if I found a woman who knew any of the ballplayers mentioned in the book, I’d be in love lol

  • sophywould@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Between The World And Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates

    Why: Tells me they are aware of and can critically think about things beyond their own self and background.

  • Chrisd765@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Ready Player One

    Why: Because I would know they have low standards so I might have a chance

  • 8grimreaper8@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    For the ladies who keep getting fake men who claim they read books.

    Challenge him to The Power Broker.

    That should make the roaches scurry when the lights are turned on.

    You’re welcome.

  • wegsleepregeling@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Wilhelm Reich

    Neal Stephenson, William Gibson, Stanislaw Lem, PK Dick, Octavia E Butler

    Michelle Tea

    Angela Davis, bell hooks, Adrienne Rich

    Robert Anton Wilson

    Margaret Atwood

    Catch-22

    Anarchist Cookbook

    The City, Not Long After

    Seniotext[e] stuff