Reading Recommendations

If You Like Fantasy

07/01/25 Fantasy, If You Like

1. Read an award winner.

If you like fantasy here are several awards that are good sources for finding outstanding novels, short stories, or anthologies.

The Nebula Awards are presented each year for the best science fiction or fantasy published in the United States during the previous year. Browse Nebula Award winners in our collection.
The Hugo Awards are presented each year by the World Science Fiction Society. Browse Hugo Award winners in our collection.
The World Fantasy Awards are presented annually by the World Fantasy Convention to writers of fiction. Browse World Fantasy Award winners in our collection.
The Ignyte Awards are presented by FIYAH Literary Magazine and are intended to celebrate excellent Speculative Fiction written by people of color.

2. Borrow e-books, downloadable audiobooks & movies.

Here are some short cut links to easily borrow materials online with your IndyPL library card. If you have never borrowed from Libby before, Libby directions and a Libby video tutorial are available, as well as Overdrive Support. If you have never borrowed from Kanopy before, you can get Kanopy directions.

3. Get reading recommendations from Library staff.

Click on a featured booklist to get reading recommendations or see all our staff fantasy book lists.

Staff Picks 2024- Best of Sci-Fi/Fantasy

2024 is the year of subverted tropes and plot lines. Fantasy villains wake up with amnesia to grapple with their crimes (Dreadful), magical girls must grapple with purchasing decisions (A Magical Girl Retires), a scholarship student destroys the academy (The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain), and adults must return to their fantasy worlds (The Lost Story).

Of course, if you’re looking for something entirely original, there’s plenty of that too! A cannibalistic demon makes an Indian food documentary (Rare Flavours), a woman is trapped in the body of a wooly mammoth (Tusks of Extinction), and futuristic reality show sees couples raising virtual babies for the chance to have a real child (The Family Experiment).

Looking for speculative horror? Check out our suspense list!

Title - The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain

4. Make a Selection from these authors.

5. Use your Library card to login to Novelist Plus.

On Novelist Plus you’ll find reading recommendations, read-alikes, series lists, reviews, and lists of award-winning books. There are several fantasy categories to choose from including:

6. Subscribe to the Fantasy newsletter from NextReads.

Receive fantasy reading recommendation in your inbox monthly. Book suggestions are linked to our catalog for easy requesting. It’s FREE! See a ample issue or Subscribe to NextReads!

7. Find a book discussion near you!

You are invited to join in one of our many in-person or online book discussions that take place several times each month. In our book discussion groups we read and talk about both fiction and non-fiction books. We express our opinions (both likes and dislikes!) with other avid readers in the city.

Event: Adult Book Discussion at West Indianapolis
Date & Time: Monday, December 08, 5:00pm
Location: West Indianapolis Branch
Description: This is a call-out meeting for our 2026 Adult Book Discussion Club at West Indianapolis. We will be voting and deciding on the titles we will be reading for the 2026 year.
No Registration Required.

Event: Virtual Author Talk: The Legacy of Julia Child’s Kitchen
Date & Time: Tuesday, December 09, 2:00pm
Rescheduled Date & Time: Tuesday, August 04, 2:00pm
Location: Online
Description: Join us for a conversation that’s sure to warm your heart and make your stomach rumble as we delve into the legacy of cooking icon Julia Child with Smithsonian curator and public historian Paula J. Johnson, author of Julia Child’s Kitchen: The Design, Tools, Stories, and Legacy of an Iconic Space.
Register Here

Event: Adult Book Discussion at Fort Ben
Date & Time: Tuesday, December 09, 6:00pm
Location: Fort Ben Branch
Description: We will be discussing your book choice. Bring a copy of what you are reading, share your thoughts with the group and get new book-read ideas.
No Registration Required.

Need help?

Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Tags Fantasy, If You Like