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submitted 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) by PenguinVII@lemmy.zip to c/books@lemmy.world

Let's discuss unique books. What is the first one that comes to your mind? The uniqueness can be about the book's plot, structure, ideas, themes, topics etc.

For me such a book is Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It's been a while since I've read it but I remember how mindblowing it was for me. Every time I thought it couldn't surprise me more, it actually did. There's a bit of everything there: peculiar characters, a substance called ice-nine that can freeze water on contact (as humans are around 60% water, it can instantly kill them), a fictional religion called Bokononism based on the idea that human life has no absolute truth or meaning, a tiny island nation with its own bizarre world. All of these come together to show us a satire of the absurdity of humanity.

As for a unique book structure, I have to say it's Cain's Jawbone by Edward Mathers. It's a kind of puzzle book where pages are not in order and you need to arrange them in order to guess whodunnit. I haven't finished this one yet but it's a cool challenge.

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[-] BallShapedMan@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

Non fiction: Managing Neurodiverse Workplaces by Joe Biel and Elly Blue

My runner ups are:

  • Native American DNA by Kim TallBear
  • Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System by M. Chris Fabricant
  • Permission to Speak by Samara Bay

Fiction: The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez

My runners up are:

  • Ours by Phillip B. Williams
  • Magic Has No Borders by (everyone on earth!?) Samira Ahmed, Sona Charaipotra, Sabaa Tahir, Sayantani DasGupta, Tanaz Bathena, Sangu Mandanna, Olivia Chadha, Nafiza Azad, Tracey Baptiste, Naz Kutub, Nikita Gill, Swati Teerdhala, Shreya Ila Anasuya, Tahir Abrar, and Preeti Chhibber
  • The Cretaceous Past by Cixin Liu
this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2026
26 points (96.4% liked)

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