/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.11827495]

I got a job at a bookstore a few weeks ago and I'd like to have recommendations ready for all genres if people ask. Problem is, I've mostly only read old classics for the past few years (stuff like Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Hemingway, etc), and most people that come in aren't really looking for that sort of thing - if they wanted a old classic they could just rent it from the library or get a free ebook version from gutenburg or something. Generally people are looking more for something newer and more "accessible".

I've barely read anything that was made very recently and a lot of genres I have no experience with. So I'm asking /lit/ for help here, the only guidelines are that it's successful enough to be regularly stocked and is decently written but easy to read

so far I've been doing

>Western
Lonesome Dove
>Sci-fi
Lord of Light by Zelazny, Hyperion, Book of the New Sun if they seem experienced
>Fantasy
The Hobbit for kids, Black Company for adults
>Comedy
A Confederacy of Dunces
>Poetry
Dante's Inferno
>Military
Black Hawk Down, Goodbye to All That if they'd be interested in a WW1 biography
>General fiction
Siddhartha, Stoner if they appear serious, East of Eden/Grapes of Wrath/anything Steinbeck really

some of these are older/maybe already too well known (The Hobbit and Inferno feel kinda silly to rec) and I'd like to get newer rec's, and obviously I'm just straight up missing a ton of important genres like Romance, Mystery, Crime, Thriller, YA, etc which honestly seemed to get asked more often than the other genres since a pretty large portion of people that come in are women. Personally I don't even know how to go about finding a YA or Romance novel that wouldn't make me want to blow my brains out reading it, so I figured I'd ask here.

tl'dr - bookstore pleb looking for modern recs that average people could be likely to enjoy. I'd rather rec something halfway decent than generic bestsellers in the hopes they come back for more

[Anonymous No.11827531]

>>11827495
I'll add:
Comedy: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Military: Storm of Steel

[Anonymous No.11827533]

Asimov and Clarke are great for Sci Fi. Chandler is good if they want a crime novel of some kind

For general fiction I'd say Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day. He's a common recommendation (especially post nobel prize) but that is a fantastic novel and most people will find something enjoyable in it.

[Anonymous No.11827544]

>>11827495
Horror: I Am Legend, some H. P. Lovecraft selection
General fiction: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Romance: Love in the Time of Cholera

[Anonymous No.11827550]

>>11827495
Been working at a bookstore for 1.5 years.
>I'd rather rec something halfway decent than generic bestsellers in the hopes they come back for more
Most customers don't want "halfway decent", they want generic bestsellers; they'd be more likely to return if recommended the latter than the former. These customers already know what they wan't, it's just a matter of showing them where to find it. I'd reserve the recommendations you listed for the minority of open-minded customers that are genuinely seeking recommendations. In the meantime, be prepared to point most customers in the direction of Stepen King, James Patterson, the newest "fuck drumpf book", Jorden Peterson et al.

[Anonymous No.11827555]

>>11827495
The Yiddish Policemen's Union for noiresque mystery
Temeraire series for dragons/napoleonic wars fantasy
For kids there's the Tortall Series for young adults/kids for fantasy and knights

[Anonymous No.11827628]

>>11827531
Yeah Hitchhiker's could work for comedy and sci-fi both. Hadn't heard of Storm but it looks very good, I'll add it to the readlist

>>11827533
I've read Remains and really enjoyed it, I just always forget the title for some reason. Good rec, especially with the nobel prize. What Chandler would you recommend stating with?

>>11827550
Oh trust me, I understand. I started when Fear came out so I learned pretty quick most people just come in for the newest bestseller but I'd like to at be least be ready for the other customers. I've had a couple old ladies come in looking for books for their husbands, one came back later telling me he loved it and it felt good. Plus idk, sounds naive even to myself but I feel like if I could steer some young readers towards a better path I'd be doing some small amount of good. So much of the new YA shit I've sorted in receiving seems to be centered around identity politics and other bullshit instead of just fun stories

[Anonymous No.11827690]

> I've mostly only read old classics for the past few years (stuff like Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Hemingway, etc)
What the fuck is going on in this thread