Alright here it is. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing with this since I have barely read anything since middle school (maybe a book or two a year). My contributions will primarily be manga. If I need to add a genre or period let me know. This series will eventually be canonized into the sidebar as a definitive recommendation list of all things C/Lit.
Future threads:
Periods: Pre-1800, 1800s, 1900-50, 1951-99, 2000-20, 2021
Genres: Children's, Comedy, Coming of age, Folklore, Historical, LGBT, BIPOC Related, Philosophy, Pop Culture, Religious, Thriller, Western, Young Adult, Action, Adventure, Survival, Crime, Mystery, Fantasy, Romance, Horror, Graphic Novel, Biography, Travel, Historical, Propaganda, Philosophy, Political Theory, Poetry, Plays, Manga, Speculative Fiction, Sports, and Miscellaneous
Just coming across this. Do I need to start from Phlebas?
No, the books can technically be read in any order, because they are more or less independent. IMO, Phlebas is one of the weakest books in all the series and unlike the other books in the series (except inversions), it is written as a sort of anti space opera. Still a good book though.
Although, the Idiran war, which is ongoing during the events in Phlebas, is very important moment in the Culture's history and essential to understand what drives the Culture. But you could just read the appendix which gives a general overview of the war and the reasons for the war.
The second book (A player of Games) is also a very good starting point, and one of my favourites.
Cool, thanks for the info. Cheers!