- The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes
- The Redemption of Althalus by Leigh Eddings & David Eddings
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
- Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale with Stan Redding
- On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
- On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
- Midnight Riot (The original UK title of this is River's of London) by Ben Aaronovitch
This category is a bit tougher to recommend because the qualification depends on your age, but these are all over 100 years old and I've enjoyed all of them.
- Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
- Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
- King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
- A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Here is a simple list of the squares:
Older Than You Are
Water, Water Everywhere
What’s Yours is Mine
Family Drama
It Takes Two
New Release
Plays With Words
Independent Author
Bookception
Disability Representation
Eazy, Breazy, Read-zie
Stranger in a Strange Land
One Less
There is Another...
LGBTQIA+ Lead
Now a Major Motion Picture
It’s About Time
Award Winner
Mashup
Local to You
Debut Work
It’s a Holiday
Institutional
Minority Author
Among the Stars
Alt.
Same Author, New Work
She Blinded Me With Science
Pseudonymous Work
Translated
A Change in Perspective
Questions, Complaints, Whines, General Commentary, Shitposting
ALT - A Change in Perspective
Written in third-person perspective. HARD MODE: Second-person perspective.
ALT - Translated
Not originally in your native tongue. HARD MODE: Has been translated into at least ten other languages. This Wikipedia page is a good place to start for widely translated works.
ALT - Pseudonymous Work
Published under a pen name. HARD MODE: The author generally never writes under their own name.
ALT - She Blinded Me With Science
The author has a background and degree in a hard science. HARD MODE: More than one post graduate degree.
ALT - Same Author, New Work
An author you’ve read before, but a series (or standalone) you haven’t. HARD MODE: Give an author you didn’t like a second chance.
Among the Stars:
Features space, astronomy, or stardom. HARD MODE: The title references the theme, too.
Minority Author:
Minority or LGBTQIA+ author. A minority can be any member of a generally underrepresented population where you live. HARD MODE: Minority and LGBTQIA+.