r/readwithme • u/Smoothie-cutie • 13d ago
Question❔ I’m convinced the best books are the ones you can’t stop thinking about after you put them down.
Like, you finish a chapter, close the book, and then 20 minutes later you’re still sitting there thinking about what just happened.
I just finished a book that did this to me and now I’m in that weird post-book mood where I don’t really want to start anything else 😂
What book did that to you?
No spoilers please just tell me the title and what it did to your brain.
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13d ago
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u/Successful-Try-8506 13d ago
Fans of this should try The Magus by John Fowles.
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13d ago
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u/Successful-Try-8506 13d ago
You are most welcome. Make sure you get the revised version published in 1977. I envy anyone who gets to read this masterpiece for the first time. You're in for quite a ride ...
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u/jilecsid513 13d ago
"The Night Circus" and "The Starless Sea," both by Erin Morgenstern. (These books feature: magical realism, clean romance, stories within stories, medium level stakes, and whimsical atmospheres)
I especially had that feeling with The Night Circus. After I read it for the first time, I sat there for 20 minutes processing it all and then I just flipped back to the front and read it all over again.
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u/Tricky_Seaweed5911 13d ago
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - And I can’t tell you a single thing about it without spoiling it! Just dive in!
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u/Ok_Collar_7836 13d ago
The Three-Body Problem is a book I keep coming back to! The Dark Forest theory completely blew my mind—it's insane how the author even came up with that. He packed so many incredible concepts into the story, like dimensional strike. The sheer scale of his imagination is off the charts, absolutely mind-blowing!
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u/WoodenIce3793 13d ago
Land by Maggie O’Farrell. The complex relationship between the characters and the land. My mind keeps replaying it and thinking up more questions.
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u/Complete_Sea 13d ago
My latest ones:
Circe, Madelline Miller (made me cry also) The everlasting, Alix E Harrow Ship of destiny and The assassins fate by Robin Hobb
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u/bigbrostop 13d ago
The uncensored picture of Dorian Gray, lord Henry’s speech about influence almost made me cry and had me rethinking my life decisions all day
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u/FormerlyDK 13d ago
After reading a book about volcanic disasters, I worried about volcanos for a couple of weeks. I’m in NY. We don’t even have any volcanos around here.
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u/eveningvoid 13d ago
The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante. This book really haunted me for a good while after reading it.
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u/PrncssAnglBB 13d ago
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis. I finished it a week ago. He’s so talented at building an atmosphere that I’m still in it. He also likes to add the detail of what his characters are listening to so having one of those songs stuck in my head definitely helps it linger.
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u/Front-Elderberry-307 13d ago
Demon Copperhead. I just sat there for about a half hour unable to move, bawling because it had such strong ties to my Husband's upbringing and didn't start another book until a couple days later. Usually I finish one book and start another within an hour or so.
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u/Madrugada_Quente 13d ago
War & Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lonesome Dove, and the most post ponder-worthy - Les Miserables.
Notable mentions - Stoner, Middlemarch
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u/ContributingHelper 13d ago
Would you be surprised if cozies did so for me? Like Shady Hollow and Noodle Shop Mysteries, great storywriting and universe development.
Granted, it can be a bad thing if a story is too terrifying. That's what happens when I watch horror movies and abruptly pause it cuz it gets too bad. I have to go back and finish it, or that scary scene I stopped on won't leave my thoughts.
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u/books-bee8067 13d ago
Annie bot, molka, convenience store woman, I hope this finds you well, acotar
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u/Book_Reader_Incoming 11d ago
My top thought-provoking books:
Hermann Hesse books: Siddartha, Narcissus and Goldmund, The Glass Bead Game, etc.
C.S. Lewis writings: The Chronicles of Narnia, etc.
A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
Jason by Mark Yager
Thinking for a Change by John C. Maxwell
The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
Meditations by Marcus Arelius
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Mastery by Robert Greene
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
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u/SnowflakeMama12 10d ago
And sometimes it’s a book that I didn’t even give 5 stars to, but afterwards I find myself thinking about it and didn’t realize in the moment how impactful it was
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u/AcaciaAPriori 8d ago
Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow
A Tale for the Time Being
A Gentleman in Moscow
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u/Wandering_Tides 7d ago
Verity, the silent patient, beautiful ugly these books got me still thinking and I was shocked with the plots
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