I liked all of Dune, except for the first half of Messiah. The core of Asimov's stuff is really good. It is all interesting, and there is merit to the short stories originally published in magazines, but the real stories with continuous threads are the best. The later the story was written in his life, the better they got in terms of immersion. However, there are many little nods to other works interwoven. They are not built upon each other in such a way as to be unreadable, or appear like ads or something. There are just plot elements that will be lost upon you as a more basal mystery versus something that is much more deeply layered in meaning.

In terms of free, Carroll's original Alice in Wonderland is amazing to visit as an adult. Machen's The Great God Pan is another fun little work that is very readable. Both are on Gutenberg, and YT in audio form.

All of them. You should always know which book it is before opening it.

I’m at the end of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. It’s great and should really be consumed via audiobook because the narrator goes above and beyond with the character voices.

I also recently read Going Zero by Anthony McCarten, I highly recommend it. Gives you new perspectives on privacy.

Seconding DCC from Soundbooth Theater.

I find it hilarious that it's not always clear where the book ends and the Soundbooth Theater ad starts. I was laughing out loud at the characters recording clips about human culture while also doing ad reads for Soundbooth Theater.

what type(s) of books? (and what type of reader? Beginner, advanced, experimented in whatever type of book they want to read)

The Master and His Emissary and The Matter with Things, both by Iain McGilchrist. Those books had a profound impact on my psyche. I know it's a bit of a cliché to say this, but those books were life changing for me. I mean that sincerely.

Ima throw in the Odd Thomas series, which starts with a book of the same name, by Dean Koontz.

Delightfully odd in the Koontz tradition, but manages to do so in a very engaging way. It's his best series, imo, and each individual book in it can stand as him at his best. It also has the most painful, amazingly fulfilling, and sweet ending to a series I can think of. The only one I would say is a more impacting final book to a series wasn't exactly an ending, just the last book (the final discworld book).

For anyone wondering that might want a taste..

https://youtube.com/shorts/4krrWCQzjV8

The books I read recently are:

• Dune
• Ender's Shadow
• Elantris
• Project Hail Mary

Currently finishing the first Mistborn.

I enjoyed all of the above enough that I would recommend them.

I recommend not just reading the titles, but the entire book!

But seriously, I've been getting back into Bill Bryson's books lately. I'm currently on 'At Home - A Short History of Private Life '. Entertaining and educational. I highly recommend them.

I also can't recommend Dan Hardcastle's (aka Nerdcubed) debut novel 'The Paradox Paradox' highly enough. I couldn't stop reading and ended up going to work on zero sleep. It's available on his Patreon for a few dollars and is totally worth it.

If you like Douglas Adams, I also strongly recommend 'Last Chance To See'. It's more of a travelogue, but still in his inimitable style.

https://bookwyrm.social/book/1805003/s/the-culture-of-contentment

It's difficult read because of its insitefullness