Here are 47 books that Content Warning fans have personally recommended if you like Content Warning. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of There Is No Antimemetics Division

dragon

From Dragon's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Dragon loves this book

An original and compelling science fiction novel.

By qntm ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked There Is No Antimemetics Division as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

They’re all around us, hiding in plain sight.

One could be in the room with you now, just to your left. You could be seeing it right now—but from this second to the next, you’ll forget that you did. If you managed to jot down a note, the paper would look blank to you afterward.

These entities can feed on your most cherished memories, the things that make you you—and you’ll never even know anything changed.

They can turn you into a living ghost—make it so you’re standing next to your spouse, screaming in their ear, and they won’t know…


If you love Content Warning...

Book cover of Getting Dressed in the Dark

Getting Dressed in the Dark by Gabriella D'Italia,

How do you know the truth after the story you most trust disappears?

Self-betrayal, polyamory, adultery, and an unconventional life in a one-room, rural Maine schoolhouse ends in a crisis mirroring the larger, societal polarization and collapse of meaning. Compass shattered, an artist's wisdom guides a course home, revealing a…

Book cover of Prince and Assassin

MN Bennet Author Of The Misfit Mage and His Dashing Devil

From my list on queer indie fantasy books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I don’t know if I have an expertise in queer indie fantasy (quite the opposite, in fact). I just know as a queer person who loves magical worlds, I want to help elevate as many of them as possible. Over the past few years, I’ve aimed to read almost exclusively queer books with a focus on indie books (well, any indie books really). My hope is for other people to find and uplift indie books. There are so many beautiful hidden gems that just need a little more exposure to find their reader homes.

MN's book list on queer indie fantasy books

MN Bennet Why MN loves this book

This was just such a fun read. It had me giggling. Well, at first, it had me rolling my eyes. This is probably one of my all-time favorites. Within a few chapters, I was swooning for both characters and trying to logic a reason why things would turn out well, even though it’s literally about an assassin whose target is a prince.

There was so much fun worldbuilding in the background of this adorable romance, and I’m a sucker for big magical worlds.

By Tavia Lark ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Prince and Assassin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

He’s supposed to kill Prince Julien. Not fall for him.

Whisper doesn’t remember his real name. All he knows is the elite assassin guild that raised him—and controls him with the threat of blood magic. He doesn’t get to refuse assignments, even when his new job doesn’t make sense:

Infiltrate Prince Julien’s court, protect him until the signal arrives, then kill him.

Julien hides his political talent behind his playboy reputation. He trusts nobody besides his brothers, and he certainly doesn’t trust the sad-eyed, beautiful new stranger at court. But Whisper’s vulnerability and kindness draw Julien in anyway—especially when Whisper…


Book cover of Pet

Erik Christopher Martin Author Of The Case of the French Fry Phantom

From my list on middle-grade featuring an LGBTQIA+ protagonist.

Why am I passionate about this?

The world is an amazing, diverse place that needs stories that represent everyone. I identify as gender fluid and am part of my city’s LGBTQIA+ community. For kids, there aren’t enough stories that feature non-straight cis protagonists where that identity isn’t the focus. LGBTQIA+ kids exist. They are normal. Let a gay kid go into space. Let a teenage lesbian solve a mystery. Let a trans girl defeat a dragon. Let an ace teen be a witch. Everybody deserves their adventure. 

Erik's book list on middle-grade featuring an LGBTQIA+ protagonist

Erik Christopher Martin Why Erik loves this book

The City of Lucille has gotten rid of all its monsters.

That’s what Jam, a teenage trans girl, believed until the demonic-looking Pet emerged from one of her mother’s paintings. But despite their monstrous appearance, Pet isn’t the monster, but came forth to hunt a monster already living among the people of Lucille undetected. 

Pet contains vivid imagery, powerful themes, and a sensitive and brave protagonist. Be bold. Be vigilant. Monsters never entirely go away because we are the monsters.

By Akwaeke Emezi ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Pet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

She stumbled backwards, her eyes wide, as the figure started coming out of the canvas
...
She tried to be brave. Well, she said, her hands only a little shaky, at least tell me what I should call you.
...
Well, little girl, it replied, I suppose you can call me Pet.

There are no more monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. With doting parents and a best friend named Redemption, Jam has grown up with this…


If you love Akwaeke Emezi...

Book cover of Getting Dressed in the Dark

Getting Dressed in the Dark by Gabriella D'Italia,

How do you know the truth after the story you most trust disappears?

Self-betrayal, polyamory, adultery, and an unconventional life in a one-room, rural Maine schoolhouse ends in a crisis mirroring the larger, societal polarization and collapse of meaning. Compass shattered, an artist's wisdom guides a course home, revealing a…

Book cover of Freshwater

Cailean Steed Author Of Home

From my list on gender and identity by trans and nonbinary writers.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up, I wasn't aware of many books or stories featuring characters outside the gender binary. There was George from The Famous Five (whom I loved), and later, there were the films The Silence of the Lambs and Boys Don’t Cry. Not exactly a heartening picture! Nowadays, there is a library’s worth of literature examining the interplay of gender and identity and featuring trans and non-binary characters. This is a list of five of my absolute favorite books by trans and non-binary writers that explore gender and identity–I hope that they speak to you in the way they did to me. 

Cailean's book list on gender and identity by trans and nonbinary writers

Cailean Steed Why Cailean loves this book

What can I say about this book? It’s raw, brutal in places, tender in others, brimming with imagination and invention, and ultimately unforgettable. For myself, as a Western reader, it challenged my ideas of gender, identity, and personhood in its depiction of its central character, Ada, as an ogbanje, an Igbo spirit that is born into a human body as a kind of malevolent trickster. But Ada is an ogbanje who survives (something that rarely occurs), coming through traumatic experiences to forge a new identity that embraces plurality. 

If you want to plunge into a tumultuous mind that spins through grief and tragedy, life and death, hope and rebirth, you should read this book. You should read this book if you want to step into the shoes of someone who may be quite unlike yourself or someone more like you than you might think. You should read this book if…

By Akwaeke Emezi ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Freshwater as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Completely blew me away.' Daisy Johnson, author of Everything Under

'One of the most dazzling debuts I've ever read.' Taiye Selasi, author of Ghana Must Go

'I'm urging everyone to read it.' Sophie Mackintosh, author of The Water Cure

Ada has always been unusual. Her parents prayed her into existence, but something must have gone awry. Their troubled child begins to develop separate selves and is prone to fits of anger and grief.When Ada grows up and heads to college in America, a traumatic event crystallises the selves into something more powerful. As Ada fades into the background of her…


Book cover of Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir

Eliza Whiting

From Eliza's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Eliza loves this book

Beautiful. Giving of self. Cathartic. Emboldening. Expansive

By Akwaeke Emezi ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Dear Senthuran as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

FEATURED ON THE COVER OF TIME MAGAZINE AS A 2021 NEXT GENERATION LEADER

“A once-in-a-generation voice.” – Vulture

“One of our greatest living writers.” – Shondaland

A full-throated and provocative memoir in letters from the New York Times bestselling author, “a dazzling literary talent whose works cut to the quick of the spiritual self” (Esquire)

In three critically acclaimed novels, Akwaeke Emezi has introduced readers to a landscape marked by familial tensions, Igbo belief systems, and a boundless search for what it means to be free. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, the bestselling author of The Death of Vivek…


Book cover of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Joanne McLaughlin Author Of Murder in Act One

From Joanne's 3 favorite reads in 2026.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Joanne's 3 favorite reads in 2026

Joanne McLaughlin Why Joanne loves this book

I had known about Ocean Vuong primarily through his poetry, so when I happened upon this book serendipitously, I was immediately drawn to it. The story is heartwarming and sad and so many other things simultaneously, as life often is. The language is so beautiful, I cried.

By Ocean Vuong ,

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An instant New York Times Bestseller!

Longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction, the Carnegie Medal in Fiction, the 2019 Aspen Words Literacy Prize, and the PEN/Hemingway Debut Novel Award

Shortlisted for the 2019 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

Winner of the 2019 New England Book Award for Fiction!

Named one of the most anticipated books of 2019 by Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Oprah.com, Huffington Post, The A.V. Club, Nylon, The Week, The Rumpus, The Millions, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and more.

"A lyrical work of self-discovery that's shockingly intimate and insistently…


Book cover of Crying in H Mart

Margaret Whitford Author Of The History We Carry

From my list on challenging maternal relationships.

Why am I passionate about this?

Of the five books I recommended, four are memoirs, and one is a novel that reads like a memoir. I read these books because the subject, the maternal relationship, fascinates me, and also because I wanted to learn from these other writers. Each book gave me some ideas about how to approach my own exploration of my relationship with my mother. At the same time, the books reinforced my belief that each of us carries our family history forward, especially our maternal history. To live fully requires understanding and integrating that past. 

Margaret's book list on challenging maternal relationships

Margaret Whitford Why Margaret loves this book

This is a stunning debut by a talented artist.

In the memoir, the narrator grieves for her mother, and in doing so, revives her Korean self and the parts of her culture she'd rejected as an adolescent. A beautiful grief memoir that reveals the ways in which a daughter's ties to the woman who gave birth to and raised her never dissolve. In Zauner's case, one of the strongest ties is the love of Korean food she shared with her mother. She finds her way back to her mother through cooking.

The book made me think about the ways in which my mother and I connected through some third thing that created the bridge between us. 

By Michelle Zauner ,

Why should I read it?

20 authors picked Crying in H Mart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2021

The New York Times bestseller from the Grammy-nominated indie rockstar Japanese Breakfast, an unflinching, deeply moving memoir about growing up mixed-race, Korean food, losing her Korean mother, and forging her own identity in the wake of her loss.

'As good as everyone says it is and, yes, it will have you in tears. An essential read for anybody who has lost a loved one, as well as those who haven't' - Marie-Claire

In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer,…


Book cover of Just Kids

Rob Tonkin Author Of Asshole

From my list on raw memoirs of music and imperfection.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve curated a list of music memoirs that resonate deeply with me, particularly because they strip away the polished veneer of fame and expose the raw, imperfect humanity of their subjects. My book, Asshole, explores similar territory, delving into the complexities and contradictions that make us who we are.

These memoirs, much like my book, aren't about celebrating flawless heroes. Instead, they offer unflinching accounts of individuals—whether artists, managers, or those behind the scenes—navigating the extraordinary and often turbulent landscape of the music industry. These stories delve into the imperfections, challenges, and moments of accountability— sometimes even outright acts that might be considered, well, asshole-ish—that shape these fascinating lives, leaving a lasting impression.

Rob's book list on raw memoirs of music and imperfection

Rob Tonkin Why Rob loves this book

Patti Smith’s book beautifully chronicles her intense and formative friendship with the groundbreaking artist Robert Mapplethorpe as they navigated the vibrant and often gritty art scene of late 1960s and 1970s New York City.

Theirs wasn’t a fairytale romance, but a complex, evolving bond between two flawed yet undeniably brilliant creatives. Reading about their struggles, their artistic pursuits within the legendary Chelsea Hotel, and the wider New York City scene evoked a strong sense of nostalgia for me, a time and place I've always found artistically inspiring.

The exploration of their creative partnership, the push and pull between them as individuals finding their artistic voices, is something I’ve often yearned for but haven’t quite experienced in such a profound way.

By Patti Smith ,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked Just Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

“Reading rocker Smith’s account of her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, it’s hard not to believe in fate. How else to explain the chance encounter that threw them together, allowing both to blossom? Quirky and spellbinding.” -- People

It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation.

Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence…


Book cover of The Order of Time

James Stanier Author Of Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager: How to Be the Leader Your Development Team Needs

From James' 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

James' 3 favorite reads in 2023

James Stanier Why James loves this book

Time is fundamentally very strange. Not just from our relationship with it through memory and predictions of the future but also as a studied notion in physics, from the theory of relativity to quantum mechanics and beyond.

Although the material could easily fill a tome that could be a huge turn-off to the layperson, Carlo Rovelli manages to weave art, philosophy, and poetry into an exploration of time over a short 182 pages that makes it a compelling and beautiful read. What is time? How do we experience it? What is a world without it? What is its relationship to physics, mathematics, and ourselves?

It’s a fascinatingly deep and poetic exploration that will make you want to start over again once you’ve finished it. In fact, I think I’m going to read it again soon.

By Carlo Rovelli ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Order of Time as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

One of TIME's Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade

'Captivating, fascinating, profoundly beautiful. . . Rovelli is a wonderfully humane, gentle and witty guide for he is as much philosopher and poet as he is a scientist' John Banville

'We are time. We are this space, this clearing opened by the traces of memory inside the connections between our neurons. We are memory. We are nostalgia. We are longing for a future that will not come'

Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us. Philosophers, artists and poets have long explored…


Book cover of My Tender Matador

Trebor Healey Author Of A Horse Named Sorrow

From my list on erotic themes that are imaginative and insightful.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been writing stories and poems with erotic themes since I first entered the spoken word scene in 1980s San Francisco. As a young queer boy, raised in the highly eroticized Catholic Church, I was actually comfortable talking about and writing about sex and eros as I’d been stigmatized by it, and it got me fascinated with what the big deal was and why writers were afraid to approach it or why they did so in a corny/predictable/idealized and/or often dishonest and clumsy way. Soon I was teaching erotic writing and have been integrating it into my writing in honest, fresh, and enlivening ways—and helping others do so—ever since.

Trebor's book list on erotic themes that are imaginative and insightful

Trebor Healey Why Trebor loves this book

Lemebel was a courageous and flamboyant activist during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Having lived in Chile myself, I think this book captures the erotic Chilean soul in all its humor, grief, and idealism at an important historical moment. The hopelessly romantic and delightfully ironic seamstress/protagonist Queen of the Corner lives on a rooftop in one of Santiago’s poorest barrios and hosts discussion groups by local leftist students who keep leaving behind really heavy boxes, ostensibly full of books, as they prepare a vague plan that will have enormous implications. The group’s ringleader Carlos is a charmer ala Che Guevara, and the Queen is soon head over heels in love as a friendship and a tender unrequited love affair begins. A story of remarkable humanism that mixes the erotic with revolution.

By Pedro Lemebel , Katherine Silver (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked My Tender Matador as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Centered around the 1986 attempt on the life of Augusto Pinochet, an event that changed Chile forever, My Tender Matador is one of the most explosive, controversial, and popular novels to have been published in that country in decades. It is spring 1986 in the city of Santiago, and Augusto Pinochet is losing his grip on power. In one of the city's many poor neighborhoods works the Queen of the Corner, a hopeless and lonely romantic who embroiders linens for the wealthy and listens to boleros to drown out the gunshots and rioting in the streets. Along comes Carlos, a…


Book cover of There Is No Antimemetics Division
Book cover of Prince and Assassin
Book cover of Pet

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