I was playing with Bard last night and gave it a list of books I’ve read and enjoyed recently, and asked it to recommend other books I might enjoy.

Here’s my prompt

The following are the title and author of books that I read and enjoyed recently. Can you recommend other books I might enjoy?

  • Project Hail Mary, Weir
  • Fall, Stephenson
  • The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Gaiman
  • A Memory Called Empire, Martine
  • A Desolation Called Peace, Martine
  • Murderbot Diaries books, Wells
  • The Kingston Cycle trilogy, Polk
  • Ancillary Justice, Leckie
  • Ancillary Sword, Leckie
  • Ancillary Mercy, Leckie
  • Gideon the Ninth, Muir
  • All Clear, Willis
  • Blind Lake, Wilson
  • Nettle and Bone, Kingfisher
  • The Graveyard Book, Gaiman
  • Saturn’s Children, Stross
  • The Anomaly, Le Tellier
  • The Daughter of Dr. Moreau, Moreno-Garcia

Bard response

Based on your reading history, I can recommend several books you might enjoy:

Science Fiction:

  • The Martian by Andy Weir: If you enjoyed Project Hail Mary, you’ll likely appreciate Weir’s other work. The Martian is a gripping story of an astronaut stranded on Mars and his fight for survival.
  • Seveneves by Neal Stephenson: Like Fall, Seveneves explores a near-future disaster scenario where the moon is destroyed and its fragments threaten to destroy Earth.
  • The Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor: This humorous series follows the adventures of Bob Johansson, whose brain is uploaded into a computer and who then travels the galaxy aboard a self-aware spaceship.
  • The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu: This award-winning Chinese science fiction novel tells the story of first contact between humanity and an alien civilization.
  • The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells: If you enjoyed the Murderbot Diaries, you may also like Wells’ Raksura series, which features shapeshifting creatures and political intrigue.

Fantasy:

  • The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch: Like The Ocean at the End of the Lane, this book features a magical setting and a cast of memorable characters.
  • The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin: This award-winning trilogy explores themes of race, gender, and power in a post-apocalyptic world.
  • The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater: This YA series follows a group of teenagers who discover they have magical powers.
  • The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss: This epic fantasy series tells the story of Kvothe, a legendary musician and adventurer.

Other:

  • The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson: This timely novel explores the challenges of climate change and offers solutions for a more sustainable future.
  • Exit West by Mohsin Hamid: This magical realist novel follows the story of a young couple who are forced to flee their war-torn country.
  • Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders: This experimental novel tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s grief over the death of his son.
  • The Overstory by Richard Powers: This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel explores the interconnectedness of all living things.

In addition to these specific recommendations, I can also suggest some general tips for finding books you might enjoy:

  • Read reviews and recommendations: Look for books that have been praised by critics and readers with similar taste to yours.
  • Explore different genres: Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and try something new.
  • Ask for help: Librarians and booksellers can be a great resource for finding new books to read.
  • Join a book club: This is a great way to discuss books with other readers and get recommendations for new titles.

I hope this helps!

  • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    2·
    5 months ago

    Neuromancer is going to be the faster read of those for sure - if it were me, I’d probably do that one first.

    Looking forward to hearing what you think of them!

    Edit: autocorrect keeps turning “Neuromancer” into “Necromancer.”

    • JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 year ago

      Thanks again for the input. I will probably read a few pages of those two and see what I feel like reading the most.

      I’ll try to remember to let you know in the future :)

      Have a great weekend

    • JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 year ago

      Merry Christmas!!! In the end I had to choose one quickly before I went home for the holidays so I quickly read one page or so from these two and decided to go with Red Mars.

      I’m now about 100 pages in and while I’m not in love with it, it is definitely intriguing. The writing style is very sober and not embellished almost at all. He does also go on quite a bit about random stuff from time to time but it’s quite clear that he put a lot of thought into so many things so I’m curious to see how it will pan out. The book is also rather long so I feel ( and in a way hope) that it will pick up a bit more and soon.

      • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Yeah, the story is really three long books so you can forgive some long setup. KSR never seems to be in a hurry, but his stuff is well thought out.

        Let me know how you liked it when you’re done.

        • JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world
          2·
          5 months ago

          Hey!! I’m done with Red Mars

          If you are still around I can add some of my thoughts.

          The TL:DR is that I like it enough to read through the first one but not enough to buy/read the second and third books (at least for now).

          Will probably read Contact by Sagan next.

          • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
            2·
            5 months ago

            I’m still around. Was it the giant cast of characters or politics that put you off? It’s been a long time, but I read through the series.

            Contact is a wonderful book. Also been many years since I read it.

            • JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world
              2·
              5 months ago

              At work atm so I’ll keep it succinct but definitely the giant cast of mostly uninteresting characters. The politics were actually quite ok but I usually like that sort of things.

              Also sometimes he goes on these long paragraphs were he describes all the driving instructions in mars and expecting the reader to have lived on Mars for 10 years as well XD

              He also gave as much emphasis to a teenager-like love drama as to a global scale terrorism operation which is, let’s say interesting

              • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
                2·
                5 months ago

                KSM is definitely detail oriented. I sometimes think that’s just part of hard SF: they want to make sure everything is explained, and it doesn’t stop at the science.

                I like those books, but I get that they aren’t for everyone. Contact is different, as is neuromancer.

                • JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world
                  2·
                  4 months ago

                  Hey!!

                  Contact is read!!

                  I really liked it. In a story about ET contact, the focus is basically almost 100% on humans but I actually liked the approach. Halfway there were some chapters where it went on some tangents and it seemed weird filler but by the end it all wrapped up rather nicely.

                  It was also a much easier read, having taken like 1/10 of the time Red Mars took me.

                  I’ll probably read Neuromancer next, even if my gf found it a hard read.

                  • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
                    2·
                    4 months ago

                    Great, I’m glad you liked it. I hope you like neuromancer, it’s one of my favorites. Stay away from the audiobook read by Gibson though, it’s awful.