In fantasy (romantasy especially) malnutrition seems to be used as a crutch for the FMC to be as tiny and short as physically possible.

Feyre (ACOTAR) is malnourished but magically can hold a bow and hunt for hours. She shows no real signs of being malnourished (except for being minuscule) and has no lasting affects considering she’s supposedly been malnourished her whole life.

The use of malnutrition in Romantasy is highly offensive as 45 million children globally suffer from malnutrition and wasting (worldvison) and even more can’t afford a healthy diet.

And that’s just lack of resources, many conditions include malnutrition (autoimmune, mental disorders, genetic conditions.)

If they do write malnourishment why can’t they write it properly, show the full effect? Why has this become so normalised in publishing when there are real children and adults suffering? Why is it only used as an excuse to look like a 2000s supermodel?

Adding to that, malnourishment can be in full effect …

I

I went through around 20 different posts on this subreddit asking for fantasies that aged well and ones that didn’t, or a similar question, and compiled 2 top 20 lists with the total number of upvotes received for each comment featuring them. Here are the lists:

Top 20 books that aged well:

|Rank|Novel|Upvotes| |:-|:-|:-| |1|Middle-earth by J.R.R. Tolkien|461| |2|Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin|380| |3|The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander|176| |4|Discworld by Terry Pratchett|106| |5|The Black Company by Glen Cook|91| |6|Memory Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams|83| |7|The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist|63| |8|Dragonlance by Margaret Weis|54| |9|The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan|50| |10|The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin|44| |11|The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock|42| |11|Riddle-Master by Patricia A. McKillip|42| |11|The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe|42| |14|Abhorsen by Garth Nix|38| |15|The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb|36| |16|Conan the …

I mean their 4 rulers ride off on a hunt 1 day and then all disappear without a trace. They must have thought the worst was about to happen. I mean think about it these 4 completed the prophecy, defeated the ‘White Queen’ and brought back the Spring to Narnia. And now they’re just gone.

I went through around 20 different posts on this subreddit asking for the best audiobooks or a similar question, and compiled a top 30 with the total number of upvotes received for each comment featuring them. Here is the list:

|Rank|Series|Upvotes|Rank Difference|Author| |:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| |1|First Law World|996|1|Joe Abercrombie| |2|Dungeon Crawler Carl|666|15|Matt Dinniman| |3|The Dresden Files|275|25|Jim Butcher| |4|Middle-Earth Universe*|208|-3|J.R.R. Tolkien| |5|Project Hail Mary|196|38|Andy Weir| |6|The Locked Tomb|157|13|Tamsyn Muir| |7|Wheel of Time**|118|0|Robert Jordan| |8|Cradle|117|12|Will Wight| |9|The Old Kingdom / Abhorsen|101|55|Garth Nix| |10|Gentleman Bastard|91|3|Scott Lynch| |11|The Murderbot Diaries|63|10|Martha Wells| |11|Rivers of London|63|172|Ben Aaronovitch| |13|World War Z|47|281|Max Brooks| |14|Harry Potter|44|-2|J.K. Rowling| |15|Riyria Revelations|42|34|Michael J. Sullivan| |16|The Memoirs of Lady Trent|34|82|Marie Brennan| |16|Osten Ard Saga|34|10|Tad …

I’m not sure if this has been a problem for a while and I’m just now noticing it or what but the quality of line editing seems to have gone down in recent years. I’m currently reading Shadows Upon Time, only ¹⁄₆ of the way through, and have already come across 4-5 grammatical errors. This has also been a problem with Sanderson, my favorite author of all time. I’m sure some people here know of the ccream typo. But it just feels like I can pick out way more typos and grammar mistakes than I could ten years ago.

It sounds conspiratorial, but I’ve noticed in a few books I’ve read, particularly ones from more prolific authors, that they contain inexplicably superfluous details that only seem to function as advertising for a product. A recent-ish example is in the James Patterson/Michael Crichton novel “Eruption”, where a CEO character notably drives “A Rivian R1T, an electric pickup truck that handles like a sports car.” Charitably, it could be dismissed as a character choice, but the amount of attention the vehicle was specifically given, when it could otherwise have been plainly described, felt like ad copy rather than narrative- and was completely un-immersive and world breaking. Is this just a more common thing now, or has it been for a while and I’m just noticing? Either way I wouldn’t be surprised.

Welcome readers,

We’re coming up on the end of the year and that means various “Best Books of 2025” lists are being released and prizes are being awarded! We’ll be using this thread to collect these “Best of” lists and awards into one place and will be updating it as more lists and awards are released. Without further ado, here’s your list of lists:

#Best Books of 2025

Organization|Type of List|Link -|-|- Amazon|Best Books of 2025|Link Audible|Best Audiobooks of 2025|Link Financial Times|Best Books of 2025|Link Powell’s Books|Favorite Books of 2025|Link Time|The 100 Must-Read Books of 2025|Link Publishers Weekly|Best Books of 2025|Link Google Play|Best Books of 2025|Link Indigo|Best Books of 2025|Link Men’s Health|52 Best Horror Books of 2025|Link

#Literary Awards of 2025

Award|Winner|Link -|-|- Nobel Prize|László Krasznahorkai|Link Pulitzer Prize|Multiple|Fiction - James, by Percival Everett – Drama - Purpose, by Branden …

Feeling a bit nostalgic for all the beautiful books I’ve read in my lifetime. What are the five books that have stuck with you and make you glad to be a human?

*edited to further explain my meaning for the list per subreddit rules: by glad to be human, I don’t mean life affirming, but rather books that reflect and shape and make tangible the experience of being alive, books that make you feel that all of the suffering you have experienced and witnessed as a human being existing in this world are worth it, just for getting to experience the perfection of a great novel.

Here are mine: *(edited to include a description/basis for recommending of each per rules)

The God of Small Things — Arundhati Roy

Roy’s prose is exceptional from the opening moments. She renders the vivid landscapes and the machinations of her large and complicated family with lush and provocative details, and I have returned to read snippets and passages hundreds of times. The structure of the novel is also unique, …

A little over two years ago, I casually set out on the goal to read every Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel. This month, with Michael Bishop’s No Enemy But Time I’ve finally finished the Nebulas side of that goal. Quite a few I had read previously, but most were new to me, and I’ve been keeping track of them and grading them as I went along. Many I wrote mini-reviews for as well, but I’m not going to include all of that here.

I will list them by letter grades though.

A few notes:

These are the grades I gave them at the most recent time of reading, or in the case of those few where I hadn’t graded them at that time, my best recollection of how I felt about them. Very many of these probably would grade differently if I read them now, either because time has passed and I am now a different reader, or because something has happened to cause a change in opinion of the work specifically. Knowing what we know of Neil Gaiman now would, I am sure, have skewed …

Till now, I have read 3 books by Ursula K. Le Guin - The Dispossessed, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Lathe of Heaven. The first two, even though were good, didn’t grab my attention as much as The Lathe of Heaven did. The way she mixes sci-fi and fantasy elements and at the same time fuses the real and dream world together in this novel is extraordinary. And its not just that the story was good but her writing style screamed high quality literature to me (something that seems to be missing in most novels nowadays). Any other similar books from her or other authors that evoke the same kinda feeling?

In Banks’ Culture, there seems to be constant surveillance, mostly by AIs and Minds, who use this intel to provide for citizens, or at times manipulate citizens for what they believe to be the Greater Good.

Culture surveillance is so mind-boggling, that the Minds can apparently order ships to read your biochemistry from light-years away.

How do you feel about this? Would you accept such intrusiveness for all your desires being met?

Incidentally, I’m re-reading the novels, and am at “Player of Games”. This novel is so much better than I remember it being. Every scene is pregnant with political subtext, and imbued with meaning below the surface. It feels like a tight masterpiece so far.

Thought about the magazine I read diligently every month in my pre teen and teen years.

My favorite book in any genre is “Book of the New Sun” by Gene Wolfe and after my latest re-read (just finished yesterday!) I’m really interested in exploring more books with an unreliable narrator. I’ve encountered them in fantasy (“Name of the Wind,” “The Fifth Season”) but am on more of a sci-fi reading kick lately. Some of the Minds in Banks’ Culture books might fit the bill but I’ve read through them in the past and after a big BotNS reread I’d love something new.

I love The Forever War. I’ve loved it ever since the first time I read it. That, Starship Troopers, and Old Man’s War are perhaps my top 3 favorites of the genre, though there are many others. But every time I’ve tried to read another book by Haldeman, all I’ve ever felt is disappointment. Nothing I’ve read of his has even come close; in fact, some I couldn’t even finish. I regret this to no end, because TFW was such an amazing tale, steeped in his life experiences from Vietnam. But nothing else of his has ever measured up, imho, to my undying regret. I’d love to hear from others on this subject.