That seems more Wednesday's style.

Yeah, the moment that cheerful song started, I knew something awful was about to happen to someone.

Crime thrillers generally aren't my thing, so no rec's there, sorry.

I'd recommend The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (or Scorpio Races, if you'd prefer a standalone to a 4 book series), Paper Valentines by Brenna Yovanoff, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, or The Darkest Part of the Forest, by Holly Black. All are YA fantasy, except Paper Valentines which (like most of Yovanoff's books)…

What genres do you like, or do you have favorite books to use as a jumping off point?

If you're on a steampunk kick, maybe check out Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, or Lev Grossman's All Men of Genius (a steampunky retelling of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night).

I was just on vacation in Scotland, and the place I was staying in Edinburgh was above a coffee shop with a sign proclaiming itself "the birthplace of Harry Potter", since Rowling wrote the first book there. There were people taking pictures of themselves in front of it 24/7, plus lots of HP fans wandering around the…

Was it because of the dread? Because when I was reading The Sparrow I really appreciated it as a literary work, but it was tough to read, seeing how optimistic and likeable the main characters are, but knowing that it must all go horribly wrong, given what's going on in the present-day timeline.

How was Strange the Dreamer? Gods and Monsters was the only series of Taylor's I'd ever read, and I haven't gotten around to Strange yet.

Song of the Lioness really holds up well, in my opinion. Also, it's one of the only YA series out there that shows realistic romantic relationships - the main character falls in love with someone, has a healthy, sexual relationship with them, and then they realize they're not going to work long term and break up. …

The Tiffany Aching books are really solid - if you like Discworld then you should definitely check them out.

Which Discworld did you read? Unlike most series, it's really not a good idea to start with the first few - AVC did a good gateway to geekery a while back which lists the best starting points:

The Lie Tree is one of the ones that I've heard a lot of buzz about but haven't checked out yet. Did you enjoy it?

It's very frustrating, in particular because these self proclaimed lovers of free speech clearly don't understand it. Their freedom of speech hasn't been impinged upon - after all, here they are, free to say any hateful thing they want. But, there are consequences to actions, and freedom of speech never meant…

I get what you're saying, and I understand the argument, but I reject the notion that there's a real separation between those groups. Regardless of how the "alt-light" got there, they are promoting racism and misogyny, and thus endorsing them. If they feel so oppressed by someone asking them to not hurt others that…

I don't really think there's any separation between the two groups you describe. Someone who posts racist, hateful garbage "ironically" still thinks, on some level, that that stuff is funny, which means that they agree with it to some extent, or at least don't understand what's wrong about it. They are promoting…

I finished that Magician trilogy this month too. I don't know that I would have read them all if they weren't free under Amazon Prime (as long as you're willing to just read one book a month), because I had issues with the main character's recklessness (and the fact that she doesn't improve on that front from book to…

Have you read much Diana Wynne Jones? If not, Hexwood is another really weird, really great book of hers. I love her Dalemark and Chrestomanci series too, but they're slightly more straightforward, so it all depends on what you're looking for.

Personally, I liked the fact that Zodiac was a bit more streamlined than some of his later books. Not everyone likes it, since that does make it a bit less Stevenson-y, but I enjoyed it, so I'd suggest that be under consideration? But, I got a little frustrated with his later, less edited works, so I might not be…

I read the much-anticipated new Queen's Thief book by Megan Whalen Turner, Thick As Thieves, and while I liked it, I didn't love it, so that was a little disappointing. I'm used to her books just entirely blowing me away, and this one just didn't connect with me emotionally as well as her books usually do. I'm not…