Medlemtwainzera

A trope that gives me joy would be retellings/reimaginings of folktales and lore. That covers a pretty wide range so if I had to be specific I would say I prefer stories that are Slavic/Russian/Central Asian in origin, but I try not to get stuck in the same things.
A book I read recently that changed my life was 'The Color Purple' a classic I avoided after I saw the movie. Some people might see it as overrated/feel they don't have to read it, but I've never felt such a bone deep connection to a book before. A masterpiece.
A book I read recently that I thoroughly enjoyed (with some caveats) was 'The Sawkill Girls' a YA thriller about teenage girls, a deeply haunted island, and staying true to yourself.

I think the best thing a book can do is touch you personally, unfortunately I don't think there's anyway to find out if that's going to happen ahead of time. I find I just have to read as much as possible and statistically I have to fall in love with at least a few books.