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Books readers love but don't recommend (or warn people away from even while recommending): A thread. Hi, I'm AK, and I write a series people love (privately, in my inboxes) which has won multiple awards and accolades. Here's why people generally don't recommend it. 🧵

First off, it's important to understand why people love a book. By and large it's because they enjoyed reading it (duh, you say). But why people enjoy a book differs per person and per book. Every recommendation is DEEPLY PERSONAL. A reader is telling you something about themself when they rec.

Frequently they will be asked what they love about that book, and they will enthusiastically tell you, at length, for ten years. Because what resonated with them in that book was something they are comfortable sharing with others.

Sometimes the book you read resonates with you for deeply private reasons. Recommending it to your friends might mean that you end up telling them something you aren't ready or willing to share.

That's extremely hard to recommend if you are a survivor and you aren't open about it. Recommending such a series would inevitably lead to someone asking why you love it so much, and that isn't an answer you can give. And that's okay.

One of my protagonists is also autistic, and goes undiagnosed for over ten books. There are plentiful 1-star reviews on Goodreads slating him as unlikeable, unnatural, stilted, and loathsome. Imagine really identifying with him and recommending it to your friends, only to get that response.

RSD is strong with autism. You are DEFINITELY going to feel like your friends hate *you* when they hate this lil fictional guy you strongly connected with. Especially if, like Quentin, you don't yet know that you're autistic. Maybe it's safer not to recommend that book. Just in case.