> I’m not sure how apocryphal this is but apparently, soldiers would often walk arm in arm, or hand in hand.

Men still do in many cultures - I remember being surprised by it the first time I went to Turkey but it rapidly becomes no big deal. If you tried that amongst the general public here (UK) you'd definitely get funny looks and could be in danger of getting beaten up.

Indeed. Gender is a societal construct but it is often difficult to perceive when you are embedded in that society.

are you telling us your opinion on the book or your opinion on the reading habits of other people?

thank you !! you’ve boosted my confidence :)

It’s basically an alternate history yeah. I wouldn’t say it’s a different planet, just a different world. It takes place on earth but nothing in the real world happened there. There’s no technology I guess. It’s sort of medieval. Best way I can describe it would be kingdoms, super religious people, war, medieval looking houses. They use horses, swords and so on.

you have no idea how much you’ve calmed down my perfectionist brain. thank you!

I guess you’re right but really I just have this thing where I need to know every detail about my book in order for it to be perfect. I really don’t need to know the genre but I spent a good while reading articles about how to write a good book and in most of them they said you should know the genre before hand.

I've only read Cloud Atlas and loved it. the way the stories connected and the structure was very interesting. this thread makes me want to check out all the other books everyone is mentioning!

carmilla - sheridan le fanu

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Comedy changes over time. But the 80s were pretty kicking with jokers as any flip of an 80s sitcom or movie will show. If you can’t read past the 80s because it’s too old you will definitely limit your world view.

Why is the genre important? I'm not a writer, but I imagine it would limit me in my creativity if I had a specific genre in the back of my mind the whole time. You are already limiting yourself by thinking that Fantasy requires magic or supernatural elements.

Hello people. I'm seeking for a book where the main story takes place underground. Deep caves, karsts, multilevel dungeons and other types of depths. It would be ideal if the characters are constantly going deep and deep along the unfolding of the story. Examples are: journey to the center of the earth (Verne), mountains of madness (Lovecraft), some stories from Magnus Archives (if you are familiar). Thank y'all!

The publishers don’t get paid to run those “ads” on books. Normally they request the use of it from the film/tv company as it drives sales of the books, and the film/tv doesn’t mind the extra exposure.

In theory they’d stop using the sticker once they release the new official tie-in artwork cover to the tv/show when it’s out. However, when it’s a series, that new cover usually only applies to book one so the rest of the books with often still get stuck with the sticker!

Good luck!

Join to this. Dark lesbian vampire stories are welcome! Thank ya'll.

Absolutely my favourite book if all time, read it at least once a year

Genre’s an artificial thing really, more useful to publishers than writers. It’s best just to write what you have to write then decide how you want to label it later.

Books don't always neatly slot into a genre. Does your book take place on Earth? Or is it a completely different place with an entirely different history? It could be an extreme case of an 'alternate history'. What is the level of technology in your world? Is it current to our own or more/less advanced?

My friend who grew up in Botswana once told me that the books perfectly depict the joy at the centre of life in Botswana. And the grief. I can’t answer directly though - I have never set foot in the place. One day!

Kind of related- I’ve been thinking about Utopia Avenue all day. I just read Daisy Jones and the Six, which was a totally okay book, but just not as impactful to me as Utopia Avenue with really similar subject matter. I loved when the Bone Clocks characters (can’t remember who) show up in Utopia and it made me want to reread it. David Mitchell is definitely underrated!

Idk I liked it. It's a good view into toxic masculinity from the perspective of a severely mentally ill teenage boy who's been repeatedly traumatized. He's a total shitter and at times incel light but he's also realizes how much he sucks and doesn't want to be the way he is.

For the 1950's this is a pretty unique perspective, especially since the audience is supposed to dislike him yet sympathize with his misplaced rage both toward himself and the world.

The ending 100 pages of Crime and Punishment had me like this. There's a lot of biblical imagery as well that had my theological obsessive brain feeling very happy.

Christianity straight up demonizes sex period. same, different, whatever. Paul was repressed, and took it out on everybody else.

Speculative fiction. Not every book falls into a single genre, however.