I just need some recs, please and thank you.

I'm not a very picky reader but here are some oddly specific genres that I enjoy:
Sad stories that are bittersweet and make you feel depressed and fulfilled at the same time. (bonus pts for a poetic writing style)
poem bookssss
old literature (bonus pts if origin is unknown)
natural science books focused on zoology, ex. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
botany focused books like how to keep a garden and identifying plants
any Shakespeare play
a n y a s t h e t i c b o o k

Thank you

Bittersweet: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Bittersweet: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry hits exactly that note in a profound way.

Old literature: I've been pleasantly surprised by North and South and Old Goriot.

Zoology Other Minds

Edit: I second A Fine Balance for bittersweet, currently 2/3 through it

>1 JND-m: "Sad stories that are bittersweet and make you feel depressed and fulfilled at the same time."

The Brothers Karamazov

>1 JND-m: How old do you think of when you say "old literature"?

Ooooh. Another bittersweet one that I LOVE, and is also old if you consider Victorian literature old, The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope.

Hi & welcome! You have The Great Gatsby in your library. A book from that time period that sounds like what you're describing is The Glory of the Conquered by Susan Glaspell. She was a great novelist, playwright, and radical activist. If you read it, let us know what you think of it :)

>2 pnppl: oooooh these seem very interesting, thank you for the recommendations :D

>7 tealadytoo: I enjoy literally any old-age book as long as it's not modern because they just hit different. If you want a specific time period, I wouldn't be able to name one, so please feel free to recommend anything. :D

>3 tealadytoo: hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet looks like something I would read over and over again, Thank you for the recommendations :D

>5 SandraArdnas: Thank you, Other minds is exactly something I would want to read. :D

>6 cpg: this is literally what I want to read , Thank you for the recommendation. :D

>1 JND-m: I feel like Book Thief might hit some of your points! Also The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories series.

>14 RosetheReader: they seem interesting, thank you for the recommendations :D

Undine by Friedrich de La Motte Fouqué - from 1811 and nothing if not sad and poetic. It's a pretty short read.

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano is fantastic!! I really liked Wish You Were Here by Renee Carlino too. Both bittersweet.

If you're open to YA lit, a couple of my favorite books in poem from are Saving Red by Sonya Sones and Alone by Megan E Freeman.