The Gospel Singer by Harry Crews. It's a masterpiece of grit lit. If you're not one to shy away from themes like religious obsession, violence and racism, I can highly recommend it.

motorcycle diaries by che guevara

i don't necessarily think it is a masterpiece, and i'm aware che is quite the controversial character, but the book struck all the right cords for me. adventure and history are some of my favorite themes, which was an immediate plus, but what had me hooked were the encounters with common folk. can't quite put into words why, frankly.

Probably the one I re-read the most with fond memories is Hellspark by Janet Kagan.

A series I enjoy because I felt it captured the sheer horror of the xeno-menace the best was called The Vang series by Christopher Rowley, in particular book 2 always gives me the heebeejeebee's.

For more modern books, the Cradle series by Will Wight that just wrapped up has been a fun time for me and I re-read my favorite sections often.

I have a few favorites, but if I were stranded on a desert island, the one book I’d take with me would be Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The book is so layered, and the world is so unusual. It’s one of the few books I kept trying to put off finishing because I didn’t want it to end.

Well, not sure if Light Novels are accepted, but Mushoku Tensei by Rifujin na Magonote is unquestionably my favourite. Whilst it's understandably critiqued for it's choice of unsavoury topics, it's the only book I've ever read that tells the story of a person genuinely learning from, and reflecting upon the mistakes they've made in the past.

Also Holes by Louis Sacher is pretty neato.

The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager is my absolute favorite.

honorable mentions: Slumberland by Pauly Beatty A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami The Thought Gang by Tibor Fischer The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien The Cider House Rules by John Irving

World War Z

Right now only these come to my mind:

• The Three Body Problem trilogy by Liu Cixin - I am on part two and can't stop reading, it is already joining my favourite books, whole-heartedly recommended. They are sci-fi books. :)
• "Rumo" and "The 13 1⁄2 Lives of Captain Bluebear" by Walter Moers (read in German but available in English), wonderful fantasy books, extremely creative and well written.

I’m a huge fan of a natural history of dragons by Marie Brennan and the rest of books in the series. Also been obsessed with Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series since my partner introduced it to me lol

Gone With the Wind

The Percy Jackson series is probably my favorite, still even as an adult. It's my comfort book series.

• The Alchemist
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull