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Plays With Words:
Written in a stylistically unconventional way. HARD MODE: Fits the definition of Experimental Literature.
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
- Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable by Mark Dunn
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Removed by mod
New Release:
New for 2024/2025 (no reprints or new editions). First translations into your language of choice are allowed. HARD MODE: This is the first work you’ve read by this author.
The gathering, by C.J. Tudor
Nuclear war: a scenario, by Annie Jacobsen
ALT - Translated
Not originally in your native tongue. HARD MODE: Has been translated into at least ten other languages. This Wikipedia page is a good place to start for widely translated works.
“100 Years of Solitude” Gabriel García Márquez (this works for HARD MODE) “Love in the Time of Cholera” Gabriel García Márquez
- Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
- The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
- What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
- Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
- Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief by Maurice Leblanc
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Now a Major Motion Picture:
The work has been adapted into a show or single episode, movie, play, audio drama, or other format. HARD MODE: The adaptation is regarded as better than the original work.
The Expanse series by James S A Corey
The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
- The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
- The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
- Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
- Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
- Storm Front by Jim Butcher
LGBTQIA+ Lead:
A main character identifies as LGBTQIA+. HARD MODE: Includes a significant romance between characters that identify as LGBTQIA+.
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller would fit the hard mode here, for those interested.
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
- The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
It Takes Two:
Written by two or more authors. HARD MODE: Written by three or more authors.
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohta
- Good Omens by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
- Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (Corey is a pseudonym for the team of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck)
ALT - She Blinded Me With Science
The author has a background and degree in a hard science. HARD MODE: More than one post graduate degree.
- The Postman by David Brin
- Contact by Carl Sagan
- The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson
- Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
- Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
Local to You:
The author lives in or writes about a location local to you (city, state, province, territory, etc.). HARD MODE: The author has spent a significant amount of time there, but wasn’t born there.
Water, Water Everywhere
The title refers to some form or body of water. HARD MODE: Not liquid water.
- On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
- Midnight Riot (The original UK title of this is River’s of London) by Ben Aaronovitch
What’s Yours Is Mine:
Theft, piracy, fraud, or espionage is a major topic or plot point. HARD MODE: No MacGuffins.
The Recognitions by William Gaddis
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
- The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes
- The Redemption of Althalus by Leigh Eddings & David Eddings
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
- Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale with Stan Redding
- On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
Disability Representation:
A main character has or gains a disability to which they must adapt. This disability must be grounded in reality: if a 4,000 year old Prince of the Shokan lost an arm, that would count; if he became a werewolf, it would not. HARD MODE: The piece is at least partially from their perspective.
- Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton
- How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Eazy, Breazy, Read-zie:
A light, popcorn-worthy read that’s not real deep (see also “beach read” and “airport novel”). HARD MODE: You actually read it while on a vacation/staycation.
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
- The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
- The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley
Stranger in a Strange Land:
The primary PoV is dropped into a completely unfamiliar situation or location. HARD MODE: Not portal fiction or isekai.
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
- A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
ALT - Pseudonymous Work
Published under a pen name. HARD MODE: The author generally never writes under their own name.
- Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
- Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
- A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
- Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
- The Beast Master by Andre Norton
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
