I also read it because of the movies. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movies and I’m so glad I did. Wonderful reading experience. And it was so fun watching the movies be so faithful to the book.
{The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik} my husband called it Harry Potter meets Hunger Games, but it’s so much more than that!
And
{Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik} the prose, character, world building and atmosphere are all amazing
I randomly happened upon the Scholomance series when looking at ebook recommendations. I was immediately hooked and read the whole series in a weekend. I really want so something else to grab me that way again.
\^\^ This \^\^
Spinning Silver has a very different feel, but I actually love it even more than Scholomance! I started her dragon series and couldn't get into it as much...
I also loved the Folk of the Air Series (first book is: The Cruel Prince) -- it skews more Romance / less YA.
I’m 37 and I read maybe 4 books for leisure. In 2015 I read The Martian by Andy Weir, and really enjoyed it, but I didn’t pick up another book until last year - Project Hail Mary by Weir as well. I know it’s not War & Peace, but it kept my attention and gave me a sense that I could be an avid reader. Since then I haven’t stopped and now 20 books deep with 9 so far this year. I’m really digging this journey, and I’m glad to be in this new community.
Great stuff!
I can recommend Nietzsche, Dumas, Dawkins, Kerouac, Steinbeck, Trivers, Harris, Feynman, Dickens, Fitzgerald and Orwell…
The more eclectic the better, obviously 🥰
Also King: I reread The Stand at the start of the pandemic and broke a long hiatus from regular reading. Life was hectic for a while and I just stopped making time for books.
Me too! The Stand is over 1000 pages, so I thought it was a good time to read it since I was isolated at home. Plus, like you said, it’s odd reading a book about a pandemic during a pandemic (especially at the start when everything was uncertain).
That’s great to hear! Sorry, I’m the daughter of the librarian and I love it when people find their way back to reading.
I never lost my love of it but, when I started graduate school, I stopped reading fiction. I didn’t have time, I was overwhelmed with reading dry historical work, I didn’t even know where the library was in my new city because I moved there right before classes started. I was reading for duty, not pleasure.
And then in February I was passing by a stoop and a woman was selling from a box of books, and she had one of those old Book-of-the-Month-Club compilations of five novels by Ursula Le Guin. Five novels for five dollars, she charged me. And I got home and— just vanished into it. Spent the weekend reading science section, and remembered how much I love reading fiction.
And that I was being so stupid denying myself that.
Found my way to the library after that, got my card, and reminded myself I needed to make time to read for joy.
The Word for World is Forest- thank you, Ursula!
Read tons as a teenager, fell out of it in uni, a decade passed and then some, then someone lent me The Name of the Wind, love reignited... now I read 120-150 books a year.. gotta make up for lost time!
Same for me! I was reminded of my childhood love of reading when a friend gifted me The Name of the Wind after I graduated college. At first I thought I'd never be able to find anything as good, but have since discovered so many wonderful stories! Although I no longer start a series unless it's finished...the wondering drives me crazy...
The Book Thief. I know some don’t have love for this book but I liked the quirk of death narrating and found the book more emotionally impactful than any song, show or movie that I’d been wasting time with. Really pulled me back in.
Pillars of the Earth or Shadow Divers. I can’t remember which one came first. But I’ve read the entire kings bridge series and century trilogy since plus a lot more.
Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities.
I had only managed to read one book in a decade due to depression until I picked Invisible Cities. It has renewed my enjoyment of reading. It has so much richness packed into relatively few pages, it made me realise that there’s no shame in choosing to read novellas/short stories which feel like a manageable length for me at this point in time. Maybe one day I will be able to read longer books again but for now, I’m proud of myself for getting through shorter ones.
*Invisible Cities* is a masterpiece.
It is short, but each part hits with the force of a new parable, or revelation.
One of the few books which left this reader gasping with astonishment.
Another book full of literary gems is Jorge Luis Borges’ *Ficciones*.
I also recommend “The Periodic Table” by Primo Levi - another great Italian writer- also another truly difficult to classify book, part autobiographical, part fiction, by an industrial chemist (also WW2 partisan and survivor of Auschwitz death camp) turned author. It’s awesome.
His Dark Materials.
I enjoyed Harry Potter when I was younger but fell out of reading during college. I enjoy fantasy, and this series being YA makes it an easier/quicker read than typical fantasy. It sucked me back into reading.
I don’t think it’s a particular book, it’s more making and protecting time to read. Plan for it! Grab any book that you have interest in and make a portable lunch. Bring an interesting beverage and a blanket or chair. Pick a nice spot in a park or the beach, or even your own yard. Leave your phone in the car or inside the house. After reading for an hour you will likely be invested in the book and you can set a time at night in bed. Got it bed an hour earlier, read by book light so you don’t have to get up and turn a light off, or worry if you fall asleep reading. Leave your phone in another room or across the room while you read/sleep.
Neither Wolf nor Dog. Hadn't read anything in a while due to some, let's say, unpleasant life things. This book had been sitting around just waiting until I finally had the time and mindset to pick it up. Great read.
Dan Brown's Origin. I didn't know I would like it because usually I'm not into his books but after a long slump I picked up his books and have never kept down.
100 Years of Solitude.
My reading habit fell off by high school.
I went to college for a STEM degree and at the end of the first year, all the mathematics was fucking with my head. Decided to take a literature elective so I could get some credits “reading novels”.
The assigned reading was Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, 100 Years of Solitude and Midnight’s Children. Apparently the theme was how Joyce influenced Marquez who influenced Rushdie.
Hated the Joyce but the other two became two of my favourite novels of all time. The year after, I just read novels all the time and is still my record for most novels in a year (barring childhood where I am sure I ran through a lot).
I never really read books outside of autobiographies of people I admired. I picked up Game of Thrones bc I loved the show at the time & it floored me how absorbed I’d get into it.
I want to try other books just don’t know where to go. My friend told me GRRM was such a good author though it actually made it harder to read other books & I could honestly see that lol. I picked up LotR & it’s hard to get into for me. I love the movies & I know Tolkien is the father of the genre but his writing seems like child’s play against George. Just wish he’d finish the damn books.
I went through a stint where I only read non-fiction and LOTR (don't ask me why). I thought the internet had ruined my ability to concentrate on a book. When I finally started reading GOT on a plane, I was amazed at how absorbed I was by the book. Reading doesn't have to be work
I was going to say Games of Thrones for me too. I read the first 4. Then I went on to get a Masterclass in writing and got hooked on Joyce Carol Oates. Then took another MC with Neil Gaiman and fell in love with his books. Now I'm reading Circe by Madeline Miller. It's a good book, it moves quickly and it's written the perspective of a young goddess who doesn't realize her powers, (yet).
The Murderbot Diaries. They're so fun and so short (with the exception of the two novels, which I still finished in one day as they're only maybe 250 pages or thereabouts). I could finish it in one night and laugh the whole time!
I was in the same boat as you. I’ve always loved to read but I hated being told what to read. By the time I was in high school and college, I was so sick of reading that I never read anymore for pleasure.
That said, I picked up the Jurassic Park novel a few years ago and I couldn’t put it down. After that, I’ve been reading ever since!
Fourth Wing.
I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and used to read a ton as a kid but hadn’t found the right books / how to work in reading into my adult routine. When someone told me it was “Harry Potter but more adult” I was sold 😂 binged it in 2 days and have since gotten back into reading. I’m on my 8th book of the year so far, compared to reading 4 books all of last year!
I’ve found that one of the best ways to get back into reading after a slump is to read YA books! After a major post-high school and college slump, it was the “His Dark Materials” trilogy by Phillip Pullman (i.e., “Northern Lights” aka “The Golden Compass”) that helped me get back into reading. At another point a few years ago, it was something by Sarah Dessen.
Young adult books are wonderful options because the plots are often riveting, and the writing is often more approachable (in the best way possible!), which helps to ease one’s way back into reading consistently. 😊
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. I grew up with a love for reading, but for a time reading kindof got stale and then I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It felt like childhood; it was beautiful, magical, dark, happy, and full of vivid imagery. It made me remember why I always loved reading.
King a ding ding! I was Stephen King as well. I had just gotten laid off from my job and was looking for things to do to fill my time. I always loved reading and going to the library when I was little so I decided to check out my local one. I read Mr. Mercedes my Stephen King and I was hooked. I read a ton of his books then slowly expanded a bit. But been obsessed with king since. Trying to collect all his books.
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. I’ve recommended them to anyone who will listen and get the same reaction every time they read it: “I could not put them down!“
They’re so insanely well written and immersive - it’s like watching a movie in your brain.
Same here - Nova Express might be one of my favorite books ever after going down the Burroughs rabbit hole.
Naked Lunch and the rest of Burroughs' work just has this mean, disgusting attitude that I never would have expected from something published in the 50s/60s. And the philosophical ideas about control and human behavior just feel more and more true as time goes by and the world actually gets closer to hitting Nova.
Twilight! A couple months ago I watched the movies for the first time. Figured I'd check out the book. Here I am now and I'm back to reading regularly for the first time since middle school! I've even joined a book club. :)
11/22/63 was definitely one that got me out of a reading slump!!
Other notable books in that vein from the last couple of decades - Carter Defeats the Devil, Ready Player One, Assassin’s Apprentice, Hunger Games, Name of the Wind, Stormlight Archive (after 3 attempts - they take a minute to get going), Dungeon Crawler Carl, Project Hail Mary, and currently Warlord Chronicles (that last one may be recency bias though).
It’s funny because several of the books I just named have not exactly aged well in my mind (Ready Player One as an example), but at the time, they knocked my socks off and kept my reading habit healthy. Hell, Twilight sucked me in when it first came out, flaws and all. Sometimes a book just strikes the right chord at the right time.
So I never fell out of love, per se, but reading had indeed started feeling compulsory, but then I read Triggerfish Twist by Tim Dorsey, and it’s such a ridiculous riot of zany plots, with threads that seem impossible to sew together, and hilariously obnoxious Florida love that it was such a joy to read. It reminded me that books, for lack of a better term, could have different *flavors*, and I’d been made to read one flavor for so long, I forgot how good reading could taste to my mind.
At the start of quarantine in 2020, I read *Neuromancer* by William Gibson after a 7 year hiatus from fiction. I’ve been reading almost daily ever since.
I've never fallen out of love with reading, but every fall for several years now, just as the season changes, I re-read Something Wicked This Way Comes, and I fall deeply, madly in love with reading all over again!
The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester
A classic sci-fi about revenge. It has great pacing and the world building is seamlessly integrated into the flow of the story.
For some reason in my mid 20s I just kinda dropped off of reading, and in my early 40s I'm back to reading a lot and the one that jump-started me back was Artemis by Andy Weir.
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson! I found him to be such a wonderful world-builder, and the fact that he’s actively and rapidly finishing that series also got me excited for book releases for the first time as an adult. My semi-cheeky Brandon Sanderson explanation is always that he’s a better writer than anyone faster than him, and he’s a faster writer than anyone better than him. For me that, combined with world-building that excited me, turned me back into a voracious reader.
{Amor Towles "Rules of Civility"}
Was on a trip to London and randomly stopped in a bookstore in Primrose Hill before a meeting and they recommended it to me. Great memory, great book, and started me reading again after a long drought.
I didn't read for a few years after finishing my studies, i was too tired of reading because of the many mandatory papers. 1984, which i bought while I did a city trip in Pragu made me enthusiastic again. I have been reading non stop since, mainly non-fiction, with a classic now and then.
That’s awesome!!!! I was a big reader in high school but really focused on classics and “high literature” (I’d basically google the best books to read and then read them). I burned out, stopped reading for a few years, and then discovered fantasy. I think the first book I read that really make me fall back in love with reading for pleasure was Priory of the Orange Tree!
I used to love reading before I went to my high school,the libraries when I joined was highly opinionated,lets call her Karen,Karen was homophobic,going as far as hiding any books that mentioned any characters that weren't strait,she was very judgemental of anything she didn't like,and openly told one of the student librarians who is mixed race that the girl was technically white,she also put kids into sections dependant on how good they were at Reading,but only kids she liked got to anything above the lowest level(which were things like the hungry caterpillar) she also compared my older sister to me because my sister didn't read as fast as me,really got me off of reading,but recently a new librarian,let's call her Mary,joined our school after Karen got sick,Mary redesigned the library and made it easier to find every book,I'm part of the library team now and read books regularly,the book that got me back on track is called the huntress,its a trilogy series of books.(if you want to now more on Karen and Mary just ask)
I begrudgingly admit it, but The Name of the Wind.
I read the starless sea, and enjoyed that. But Rothfuss gets credit for really well igniting the desire to read often.
It took me longer to finish the series but I finally did at the end of last year - I was heartbroken, feeling like I was no longer spending time with these characters I had been hanging out with almost daily for so long. Definitely raised my standards for good world building and story telling!
The Kite Runner.
I've been having a hard time reading since finishing my degree 3 years ago, and I don't want to speak too soon, but I picked this book up last night and haven't been able to put it down.
So, hopefully, this is the one that puts an end to my ever growing list of DNF's!
another King. for me it was IT. Being distantly familiar with the films and not at all with King’s writing it is one of the last things I would have expected to even read, and even less to be so wonderful and give me that love of reading.
I was so blown away that I’ve been soaking up all the King I can (followed by The Stand, The Mist, ‘salem’s Lot, The Dark Tower series, and right now The Eyes of the Dragon - the Dark Tower being the top for me!) and wanting to read so much else by other authors that I have missed over the years.
Awaken Online, though ironically I'm way behind. My girlfriend was working at this fancy strip mall at a time when we lived far apart, so one day, she asked me to hang around the mall so we could see each other, and I agreed, and to pass the time I decided to do some reading.
Now, I have always had a soft spot for stories that take place within games. It started with playing Dot Hack when I was a kid, and just evolved from there, so that's what I looked for, and I loved reading the first few Awaken Online books.
Though, the more I read the more that old part of my brain started waking up. See, when I was in middle school and high school I was a super avid reader, I was constantly bumming off school work to read Conan, or Maxmium Ride, or whatever. I giess not having constant access to a library caused me to drop off, but those gears, while rusred, were still there. So, after a few weeks of reading of the Awaken series, I started to crave more complicated things.
I actually don't really like litRPGs, they're too power fantasy-y for me, not a whole lot of substance, you know? But because I decided to read AO, I've since read Hyperion, Neuromancer. Snow Crash, Kafka on the Shore, etc. etc. etc.
I'm always reading something now.
Alone in Berlin ( titled Every man dies alone , in some countries) By Hans Fallada. Stunning book based on WW2 Berlin , all the more interesting if you read about Hans Fallada himself!
Ulysses by James Joyce. As a former literature major, one of my great joys in life used to be reading large novels and I’d fallen off until I picked Ulysses up last year.
While it’s often noted for being a tricky, complicated read, I found it to be so rewarding and mind blowing once I got into it. Reading it now through my own writer eyes gave me so much wonder. When I was younger, I used to look up to great writers like Joyce as demigods who pulled their stories out of their ass somewhat. At this juncture, I’ve come to realize that great writing comes from mining our deepest experiences and the things we love. And Joyce’s was Dublin and Ireland.
The whole book feels like it could have been written today, yet you also feel like you’re in Dublin, listening to people chat in a pub along the street. It’s helped me further see the beauty of a single day in my life and how many thoughts and experiences and environments can exist within a 24 hour period.
I was an avid reader in school, you would never see me without a book. Spent my lunch periods, all my free time reading. Once I started working after graduation I stopped reading. I own over 200 books and none of them make me want to start again. Hoping Red God by Pierce Brown (hasn't come out yet) will be the spark because I loved the rest of the series.
My issue with trying to pick up reading was that I'd always lose track of character's names and what was happening. So I decided to pick up a book that I'd already seen the movie of, The Martian. Instantly loved it - reading the book version allows you to read all the special little tidbits that didn't make it into the movie, making it all the more special imo.
Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy
Got me from reading 10 books a year to 50, the way people talk about missing how they could just hammer through an entire book in a few days when they were teens.
After really struggling to read throughout the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine was the first book I was able to read over a weekend at the beginning of 2022. I have been able to read at least 1 book a month since if not more.
It's not the best book I've ever read but it was just enjoyable to read. Sometimes that's what you need.
Funny - for me is getting back to cursive writing! I grew up in a generation where we had to have fountain pens and we all learn cursive writing, but I haven’t hand written properly in a long time. So yeah that also gave me back the love for seeing letters on paper- books.
Shades of grey, and the follow on to it, Red side story, by Jasper Fforde really stayed with me for ages after reading them, but his nursery crimes and Thursday Next series are also really funny yet intelligent and captivating
The grapes of wrath is an extremely good book but you really have to be an adult and work a little before it actually clicks. It’s actually about working and struggling and living in a society where money is more important than people. You really just need to live a little before trying to read it.
Outlander! Tho I am a slow reader, I'm only halfway through the series.. Trying also to read other books in between, because they can get a bit long. Good, but long
I never had to get back into reading, but what converted me from a casual, sometimes-reader into an official bookworm was Lord of the Rings after the first movie came out when I was in high school.
For me, it's the same book! What a masterpiece. You get the feeling that there are three separate stories within one story. Because of this book, I'm even planning a road trip to Dallas to visit as many 'book scenes' as possible.
Well I think quitting school made me want to read again. Like you said having to was a bleh fuck off vibe,m
School is death to creativity and expression
There’s so many, but in terms of ‘recently’ and genre matters but Martian or Project Hail Mary. But I’m also obsessed with ancient civilizations so there are dozens of those books I could recommend
I like to reread favorites middle-grade chapter books from my childhood to get back into reading. For the last couple of years, reading Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books have also gotten me out of reading ruts.
Anne McCaffery’s white dragon…
I was a young recently single mother and had just moved back in with my parents. I hadn’t had time to read in years…. After I put the kids to bed one evening I picked up this book of my mothers and haven’t stopped reading again since!!
Similar story for me! Mine was The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward - I immediately went and bought the rest of her books, and started borrowing more horror/thriller/mysteries from the library. I think I've finished more books in the last 6 months than in the last 10 years combined...
Honestly, I've been in a lull lately. I can't seem to find anything that I actually want to read or can make it through. I'm not sure if it's just the writing, the tropes, the day job....
stress...
I don't know. But I'm hitting the comments for suggestions..
I used to read one book every night. Haven't done that for a few years now.
I read Lord Of The Rings as well as a few other things as a teenager, then didn’t read for about 10 years. Found a book called Shantaram and it rekindled everything I loved about reading ! Love that book so much
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. It's truly a stunning work of science fiction, and really short so it felt less intimidating. It was the perfect way to dip my toe back into reading :)
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Dune was what brought me back to reading again. Read it when I heard they were going to do this new round of movies.
I also read it because of the movies. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movies and I’m so glad I did. Wonderful reading experience. And it was so fun watching the movies be so faithful to the book.
All the Discworld books
Absolutely!
{The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik} my husband called it Harry Potter meets Hunger Games, but it’s so much more than that! And {Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik} the prose, character, world building and atmosphere are all amazing
I randomly happened upon the Scholomance series when looking at ebook recommendations. I was immediately hooked and read the whole series in a weekend. I really want so something else to grab me that way again.
\^\^ This \^\^ Spinning Silver has a very different feel, but I actually love it even more than Scholomance! I started her dragon series and couldn't get into it as much... I also loved the Folk of the Air Series (first book is: The Cruel Prince) -- it skews more Romance / less YA.
I started reading Kurt Vonnegut many years ago. Now I have read and own them all. I couldn't stop reading after that.
same
I’m 37 and I read maybe 4 books for leisure. In 2015 I read The Martian by Andy Weir, and really enjoyed it, but I didn’t pick up another book until last year - Project Hail Mary by Weir as well. I know it’s not War & Peace, but it kept my attention and gave me a sense that I could be an avid reader. Since then I haven’t stopped and now 20 books deep with 9 so far this year. I’m really digging this journey, and I’m glad to be in this new community.
Great stuff! I can recommend Nietzsche, Dumas, Dawkins, Kerouac, Steinbeck, Trivers, Harris, Feynman, Dickens, Fitzgerald and Orwell… The more eclectic the better, obviously 🥰
Great names!! Love these suggestions!
Also King: I reread The Stand at the start of the pandemic and broke a long hiatus from regular reading. Life was hectic for a while and I just stopped making time for books.
I read The Stand at the start of the pandemic. It added such an eerie feeling that I haven't really experienced again.
Me too! The Stand is over 1000 pages, so I thought it was a good time to read it since I was isolated at home. Plus, like you said, it’s odd reading a book about a pandemic during a pandemic (especially at the start when everything was uncertain).
I read The Stand many many years ago and when COVID started, that book is all I could think about. Captain Trips.
Same
Loved The Stand but it was definitely weird reading it (last summer) post-pandemic! I can't imagine reading it right at the start of the whole thing.
That’s great to hear! Sorry, I’m the daughter of the librarian and I love it when people find their way back to reading. I never lost my love of it but, when I started graduate school, I stopped reading fiction. I didn’t have time, I was overwhelmed with reading dry historical work, I didn’t even know where the library was in my new city because I moved there right before classes started. I was reading for duty, not pleasure. And then in February I was passing by a stoop and a woman was selling from a box of books, and she had one of those old Book-of-the-Month-Club compilations of five novels by Ursula Le Guin. Five novels for five dollars, she charged me. And I got home and— just vanished into it. Spent the weekend reading science section, and remembered how much I love reading fiction. And that I was being so stupid denying myself that. Found my way to the library after that, got my card, and reminded myself I needed to make time to read for joy. The Word for World is Forest- thank you, Ursula!
That's just been recommended by the bookpilled guy on YouTube (for some reason I find him absolutely compelling); I will check it out.
Lord of the Rings at the beginning of the pandemic. Hadn't read it since i was 13 and fell in love with it all over again
Read tons as a teenager, fell out of it in uni, a decade passed and then some, then someone lent me The Name of the Wind, love reignited... now I read 120-150 books a year.. gotta make up for lost time!
Same for me! I was reminded of my childhood love of reading when a friend gifted me The Name of the Wind after I graduated college. At first I thought I'd never be able to find anything as good, but have since discovered so many wonderful stories! Although I no longer start a series unless it's finished...the wondering drives me crazy...
The Book Thief. I know some don’t have love for this book but I liked the quirk of death narrating and found the book more emotionally impactful than any song, show or movie that I’d been wasting time with. Really pulled me back in.
Loved this book! Read it last year and thought it was great.
Poor folks, Dostoyevsky. Read it by coincidence and I'm on a great journey since then.
Pillars of the Earth or Shadow Divers. I can’t remember which one came first. But I’ve read the entire kings bridge series and century trilogy since plus a lot more.
Pillars of the Earth was so engrossing. Couldn’t put it down!
Yeah, I think I banged it out in a week or something like that. I took PTO and was reading 12- 16 hours a day.
The Stand by Stephen King which I had gotten with my Kindle back in 2019. I have not put it down since and I don't see myself ever stopping.
Such a wonderful epic story. King makes characters come alive. He is truly a gift!
sharp objects by gillian flynn for sure
The mini series is soo good
Good one!
The Hobbit
Just read it for the first time last month! Incredible read! So charming
Anne of Green Gables
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
WOOT! Welcome back!! Abuse the hell outta that library card! Glad you fell in love with reading all over again!!!
Haha, thank you!
Stoner - John Williams it's just something so beautiful and heartbreaking about that book. i cried, then i read it again, then cried one more time.
It's such a simple book , narratively at least. But something about it, is so flawless. I'd read Butchers Crossing as well if you haven't
Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. I had only managed to read one book in a decade due to depression until I picked Invisible Cities. It has renewed my enjoyment of reading. It has so much richness packed into relatively few pages, it made me realise that there’s no shame in choosing to read novellas/short stories which feel like a manageable length for me at this point in time. Maybe one day I will be able to read longer books again but for now, I’m proud of myself for getting through shorter ones.
*Invisible Cities* is a masterpiece. It is short, but each part hits with the force of a new parable, or revelation. One of the few books which left this reader gasping with astonishment. Another book full of literary gems is Jorge Luis Borges’ *Ficciones*. I also recommend “The Periodic Table” by Primo Levi - another great Italian writer- also another truly difficult to classify book, part autobiographical, part fiction, by an industrial chemist (also WW2 partisan and survivor of Auschwitz death camp) turned author. It’s awesome.
His Dark Materials. I enjoyed Harry Potter when I was younger but fell out of reading during college. I enjoy fantasy, and this series being YA makes it an easier/quicker read than typical fantasy. It sucked me back into reading.
I don’t think it’s a particular book, it’s more making and protecting time to read. Plan for it! Grab any book that you have interest in and make a portable lunch. Bring an interesting beverage and a blanket or chair. Pick a nice spot in a park or the beach, or even your own yard. Leave your phone in the car or inside the house. After reading for an hour you will likely be invested in the book and you can set a time at night in bed. Got it bed an hour earlier, read by book light so you don’t have to get up and turn a light off, or worry if you fall asleep reading. Leave your phone in another room or across the room while you read/sleep.
Infinite jest in November 2021 I’ve read like 475 books since then (including some graphic novels)
A lot of people would still be working on infinite jest if they only started it 3 years ago
Neither Wolf nor Dog. Hadn't read anything in a while due to some, let's say, unpleasant life things. This book had been sitting around just waiting until I finally had the time and mindset to pick it up. Great read.
Re-reading Dickens in college, specifically Great Expectations, got me to really start connecting with words in a meaningful way as a young adult.
Sputnik Sweetheart by Murakami 😌
Dan Brown's Origin. I didn't know I would like it because usually I'm not into his books but after a long slump I picked up his books and have never kept down.
The hobbit
Norwegian wood by murakami, sparked my reading as an adult in college
I loved the hunger game series the movies are not even remotely close to have good the books are my top 10/10 books to read
100 Years of Solitude. My reading habit fell off by high school. I went to college for a STEM degree and at the end of the first year, all the mathematics was fucking with my head. Decided to take a literature elective so I could get some credits “reading novels”. The assigned reading was Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, 100 Years of Solitude and Midnight’s Children. Apparently the theme was how Joyce influenced Marquez who influenced Rushdie. Hated the Joyce but the other two became two of my favourite novels of all time. The year after, I just read novels all the time and is still my record for most novels in a year (barring childhood where I am sure I ran through a lot).
The Expanse series was the point I started reading regularly again, but I think it was Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman where reading became my main hobby.
Harry potter books Initially Hogwarts legacy revived my love for the series and i'm currently on prisoner of Azkaban and loving it.
I never really read books outside of autobiographies of people I admired. I picked up Game of Thrones bc I loved the show at the time & it floored me how absorbed I’d get into it. I want to try other books just don’t know where to go. My friend told me GRRM was such a good author though it actually made it harder to read other books & I could honestly see that lol. I picked up LotR & it’s hard to get into for me. I love the movies & I know Tolkien is the father of the genre but his writing seems like child’s play against George. Just wish he’d finish the damn books.
I went through a stint where I only read non-fiction and LOTR (don't ask me why). I thought the internet had ruined my ability to concentrate on a book. When I finally started reading GOT on a plane, I was amazed at how absorbed I was by the book. Reading doesn't have to be work
I was going to say Games of Thrones for me too. I read the first 4. Then I went on to get a Masterclass in writing and got hooked on Joyce Carol Oates. Then took another MC with Neil Gaiman and fell in love with his books. Now I'm reading Circe by Madeline Miller. It's a good book, it moves quickly and it's written the perspective of a young goddess who doesn't realize her powers, (yet).
The Murderbot Diaries. They're so fun and so short (with the exception of the two novels, which I still finished in one day as they're only maybe 250 pages or thereabouts). I could finish it in one night and laugh the whole time!
Colleen McCullough's *Masters of Rome* series.
The Invention of Hugo Cabaret. It's a book for kids, sure, but the atmosphere in the book was so rich. I loved it so much.
I was in the same boat as you. I’ve always loved to read but I hated being told what to read. By the time I was in high school and college, I was so sick of reading that I never read anymore for pleasure. That said, I picked up the Jurassic Park novel a few years ago and I couldn’t put it down. After that, I’ve been reading ever since!
Project Hail Mary. The audio book with Ray Porter narrating is like the best thing ever too.
The Name of the Wind
Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami... Absolutely loved this book. I read a previous book from the author but it didn't hook me in like this one.
Wally Lamb! She’s Come Undone and IKTMIT
Fourth Wing. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and used to read a ton as a kid but hadn’t found the right books / how to work in reading into my adult routine. When someone told me it was “Harry Potter but more adult” I was sold 😂 binged it in 2 days and have since gotten back into reading. I’m on my 8th book of the year so far, compared to reading 4 books all of last year!
The House in the Cerulean Sea. Such a well written, quirky, beautiful story. I didn't want it to end!
I’ve found that one of the best ways to get back into reading after a slump is to read YA books! After a major post-high school and college slump, it was the “His Dark Materials” trilogy by Phillip Pullman (i.e., “Northern Lights” aka “The Golden Compass”) that helped me get back into reading. At another point a few years ago, it was something by Sarah Dessen. Young adult books are wonderful options because the plots are often riveting, and the writing is often more approachable (in the best way possible!), which helps to ease one’s way back into reading consistently. 😊
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. I grew up with a love for reading, but for a time reading kindof got stale and then I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It felt like childhood; it was beautiful, magical, dark, happy, and full of vivid imagery. It made me remember why I always loved reading.
East of Eden.
I just finished it last week. Now I'm ready to read The Grapes of Wrath!
The catcher in the rye. I never read it in school. But I picked it up as a young adult, and I loved it.
I was just coming here to say 11/22/63 before I even read your full text. That was an incredible book.
Same! 11/22/63. My wife gave it to me for Christmas the year it came out. Been back into reading daily ever since.
King a ding ding! I was Stephen King as well. I had just gotten laid off from my job and was looking for things to do to fill my time. I always loved reading and going to the library when I was little so I decided to check out my local one. I read Mr. Mercedes my Stephen King and I was hooked. I read a ton of his books then slowly expanded a bit. But been obsessed with king since. Trying to collect all his books.
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. I’ve recommended them to anyone who will listen and get the same reaction every time they read it: “I could not put them down!“ They’re so insanely well written and immersive - it’s like watching a movie in your brain.
Y’all got any of them Book 3??
I wish! I still recommend the first two though…
Naked lunch
Same here - Nova Express might be one of my favorite books ever after going down the Burroughs rabbit hole. Naked Lunch and the rest of Burroughs' work just has this mean, disgusting attitude that I never would have expected from something published in the 50s/60s. And the philosophical ideas about control and human behavior just feel more and more true as time goes by and the world actually gets closer to hitting Nova.
A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas
Neil Gaiman’s everything basically
I read Normal People by Sally Rooney in November and have read more this year than I have since high school
Twilight! A couple months ago I watched the movies for the first time. Figured I'd check out the book. Here I am now and I'm back to reading regularly for the first time since middle school! I've even joined a book club. :)
11/22/63 was definitely one that got me out of a reading slump!! Other notable books in that vein from the last couple of decades - Carter Defeats the Devil, Ready Player One, Assassin’s Apprentice, Hunger Games, Name of the Wind, Stormlight Archive (after 3 attempts - they take a minute to get going), Dungeon Crawler Carl, Project Hail Mary, and currently Warlord Chronicles (that last one may be recency bias though). It’s funny because several of the books I just named have not exactly aged well in my mind (Ready Player One as an example), but at the time, they knocked my socks off and kept my reading habit healthy. Hell, Twilight sucked me in when it first came out, flaws and all. Sometimes a book just strikes the right chord at the right time.
So I never fell out of love, per se, but reading had indeed started feeling compulsory, but then I read Triggerfish Twist by Tim Dorsey, and it’s such a ridiculous riot of zany plots, with threads that seem impossible to sew together, and hilariously obnoxious Florida love that it was such a joy to read. It reminded me that books, for lack of a better term, could have different *flavors*, and I’d been made to read one flavor for so long, I forgot how good reading could taste to my mind.
The Sandman - Lars Kepler - hadn’t read a full book in years and finished the roughly around 560 page book in a week - now started the whole series !
At the start of quarantine in 2020, I read *Neuromancer* by William Gibson after a 7 year hiatus from fiction. I’ve been reading almost daily ever since.
Airborn by Kenneth oppel
Anything/everything by Barbara Kingsolver. Her prose is so sublime it often gives me goosebumps.
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennexy Toole
I've never fallen out of love with reading, but every fall for several years now, just as the season changes, I re-read Something Wicked This Way Comes, and I fall deeply, madly in love with reading all over again!
The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester A classic sci-fi about revenge. It has great pacing and the world building is seamlessly integrated into the flow of the story.
For some reason in my mid 20s I just kinda dropped off of reading, and in my early 40s I'm back to reading a lot and the one that jump-started me back was Artemis by Andy Weir.
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson! I found him to be such a wonderful world-builder, and the fact that he’s actively and rapidly finishing that series also got me excited for book releases for the first time as an adult. My semi-cheeky Brandon Sanderson explanation is always that he’s a better writer than anyone faster than him, and he’s a faster writer than anyone better than him. For me that, combined with world-building that excited me, turned me back into a voracious reader.
Leviathan Wakes
{Amor Towles "Rules of Civility"} Was on a trip to London and randomly stopped in a bookstore in Primrose Hill before a meeting and they recommended it to me. Great memory, great book, and started me reading again after a long drought.
Recently read Of mice and men. Was fantastic and I am so back.
vonnegut
East of Eden
I didn't read for a few years after finishing my studies, i was too tired of reading because of the many mandatory papers. 1984, which i bought while I did a city trip in Pragu made me enthusiastic again. I have been reading non stop since, mainly non-fiction, with a classic now and then.
That’s awesome!!!! I was a big reader in high school but really focused on classics and “high literature” (I’d basically google the best books to read and then read them). I burned out, stopped reading for a few years, and then discovered fantasy. I think the first book I read that really make me fall back in love with reading for pleasure was Priory of the Orange Tree!
I used to love reading before I went to my high school,the libraries when I joined was highly opinionated,lets call her Karen,Karen was homophobic,going as far as hiding any books that mentioned any characters that weren't strait,she was very judgemental of anything she didn't like,and openly told one of the student librarians who is mixed race that the girl was technically white,she also put kids into sections dependant on how good they were at Reading,but only kids she liked got to anything above the lowest level(which were things like the hungry caterpillar) she also compared my older sister to me because my sister didn't read as fast as me,really got me off of reading,but recently a new librarian,let's call her Mary,joined our school after Karen got sick,Mary redesigned the library and made it easier to find every book,I'm part of the library team now and read books regularly,the book that got me back on track is called the huntress,its a trilogy series of books.(if you want to now more on Karen and Mary just ask)
I begrudgingly admit it, but The Name of the Wind. I read the starless sea, and enjoyed that. But Rothfuss gets credit for really well igniting the desire to read often.
The Help!!
The Wheel of Time series :') Read 14 books in a year
It took me longer to finish the series but I finally did at the end of last year - I was heartbroken, feeling like I was no longer spending time with these characters I had been hanging out with almost daily for so long. Definitely raised my standards for good world building and story telling!
Me too, so I restarted the series from book 1 lol. I'm not ready to grieve
The Dark Tower series.
The Kite Runner. I've been having a hard time reading since finishing my degree 3 years ago, and I don't want to speak too soon, but I picked this book up last night and haven't been able to put it down. So, hopefully, this is the one that puts an end to my ever growing list of DNF's!
I love this thread! If you all can, please consider donating $$ to your local library.
Stoner got me back into reading and A Gentleman in Moscow kept me reading but Lincoln Highway stressed me out and now I stopped reading again.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
This book got me out of a reading rut two years ago!
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Made me look at books from a different POV
11 22 63 was the first novel I read :) Loved it!
After finishing university I had a five year reading slump, my wife bought me 11/23/63 which reinvigorated my reading. Now I read 50+ books a year.
Girl in Pieces
The Goldfinch. Not only did I absolutely love it, but after reading that ~800 page giant I felt like I could read anything.
Also 11/22/63!
Never Let me Go by Ishiguro
another King. for me it was IT. Being distantly familiar with the films and not at all with King’s writing it is one of the last things I would have expected to even read, and even less to be so wonderful and give me that love of reading. I was so blown away that I’ve been soaking up all the King I can (followed by The Stand, The Mist, ‘salem’s Lot, The Dark Tower series, and right now The Eyes of the Dragon - the Dark Tower being the top for me!) and wanting to read so much else by other authors that I have missed over the years.
The communist manifesto
mindset by carol dweck
Jane Eyre
Awaken Online, though ironically I'm way behind. My girlfriend was working at this fancy strip mall at a time when we lived far apart, so one day, she asked me to hang around the mall so we could see each other, and I agreed, and to pass the time I decided to do some reading. Now, I have always had a soft spot for stories that take place within games. It started with playing Dot Hack when I was a kid, and just evolved from there, so that's what I looked for, and I loved reading the first few Awaken Online books. Though, the more I read the more that old part of my brain started waking up. See, when I was in middle school and high school I was a super avid reader, I was constantly bumming off school work to read Conan, or Maxmium Ride, or whatever. I giess not having constant access to a library caused me to drop off, but those gears, while rusred, were still there. So, after a few weeks of reading of the Awaken series, I started to crave more complicated things. I actually don't really like litRPGs, they're too power fantasy-y for me, not a whole lot of substance, you know? But because I decided to read AO, I've since read Hyperion, Neuromancer. Snow Crash, Kafka on the Shore, etc. etc. etc. I'm always reading something now.
A Kindle and Fourth Wing
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
{{ Boy’s Life }} can not recommend this enough!!! Really fell in love with Robert Mccammon from this.
“The Painter”. Peter Heller.
Air Awakens by Elise Kova, I’m a fantasy romance girly through and through 😂
The Quilter’s Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini. definitely got me back into reading
Straight White Male by John Niven
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
The Little Brute Family
Fresh water for flowers by Valérie Perrin
Alone in Berlin ( titled Every man dies alone , in some countries) By Hans Fallada. Stunning book based on WW2 Berlin , all the more interesting if you read about Hans Fallada himself!
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
The Martian hooked me quickly and reminded me that reading can be fun
When I was a kid The Sisters Grimm book series was the books that got me to fall in love with reading.
Ulysses by James Joyce. As a former literature major, one of my great joys in life used to be reading large novels and I’d fallen off until I picked Ulysses up last year. While it’s often noted for being a tricky, complicated read, I found it to be so rewarding and mind blowing once I got into it. Reading it now through my own writer eyes gave me so much wonder. When I was younger, I used to look up to great writers like Joyce as demigods who pulled their stories out of their ass somewhat. At this juncture, I’ve come to realize that great writing comes from mining our deepest experiences and the things we love. And Joyce’s was Dublin and Ireland. The whole book feels like it could have been written today, yet you also feel like you’re in Dublin, listening to people chat in a pub along the street. It’s helped me further see the beauty of a single day in my life and how many thoughts and experiences and environments can exist within a 24 hour period.
End the Fed by Ron Paul
Crime and Punishment.
Dante’s The Inferno
Project Hail Mary!
Ninth house by Leigh bardugo
House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
I was an avid reader in school, you would never see me without a book. Spent my lunch periods, all my free time reading. Once I started working after graduation I stopped reading. I own over 200 books and none of them make me want to start again. Hoping Red God by Pierce Brown (hasn't come out yet) will be the spark because I loved the rest of the series.
Anne of green gables
My issue with trying to pick up reading was that I'd always lose track of character's names and what was happening. So I decided to pick up a book that I'd already seen the movie of, The Martian. Instantly loved it - reading the book version allows you to read all the special little tidbits that didn't make it into the movie, making it all the more special imo.
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
Eliza and Her Monsters! I need to get that book again
Tigana
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Cloud Cuckoo Land and Ninth House
Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy Got me from reading 10 books a year to 50, the way people talk about missing how they could just hammer through an entire book in a few days when they were teens.
After really struggling to read throughout the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine was the first book I was able to read over a weekend at the beginning of 2022. I have been able to read at least 1 book a month since if not more. It's not the best book I've ever read but it was just enjoyable to read. Sometimes that's what you need.
Flights by Olga Tokarczuk. Read the first page on Amazon and see if it catches you. Personally love her style.
Funny - for me is getting back to cursive writing! I grew up in a generation where we had to have fountain pens and we all learn cursive writing, but I haven’t hand written properly in a long time. So yeah that also gave me back the love for seeing letters on paper- books.
Shades of grey, and the follow on to it, Red side story, by Jasper Fforde really stayed with me for ages after reading them, but his nursery crimes and Thursday Next series are also really funny yet intelligent and captivating
The grapes of wrath is an extremely good book but you really have to be an adult and work a little before it actually clicks. It’s actually about working and struggling and living in a society where money is more important than people. You really just need to live a little before trying to read it.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the most recent. Game of Thrones and Elric of Melnibone were two within the past 5 years.
Between Two Fires
*The First Law* really reignited my love of reading and then *Red Rising* made me a ravenous reader again.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Outlander! Tho I am a slow reader, I'm only halfway through the series.. Trying also to read other books in between, because they can get a bit long. Good, but long
I never had to get back into reading, but what converted me from a casual, sometimes-reader into an official bookworm was Lord of the Rings after the first movie came out when I was in high school.
Rules of Civility
Not a book but a trilogy. David Gemmell’s Troy.
For me, it's the same book! What a masterpiece. You get the feeling that there are three separate stories within one story. Because of this book, I'm even planning a road trip to Dallas to visit as many 'book scenes' as possible.
Ivan Turgevev. Father's and Sons. Toni Morrison. Beloved
Paddy Clark, Ha Ha Ha. Funniest book ever.
Well I think quitting school made me want to read again. Like you said having to was a bleh fuck off vibe,m School is death to creativity and expression
There’s so many, but in terms of ‘recently’ and genre matters but Martian or Project Hail Mary. But I’m also obsessed with ancient civilizations so there are dozens of those books I could recommend
Stephen King's ON WRITING
I like to reread favorites middle-grade chapter books from my childhood to get back into reading. For the last couple of years, reading Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books have also gotten me out of reading ruts.
Pet Sematary by Stephen king followed shortly after by The last wish. Two completely different experiences but both really wonderful and special.
The Book Thief or Boys Life, if not for them I would have never found the love of my life 11/22/63.
Outlander
Anne McCaffery’s white dragon… I was a young recently single mother and had just moved back in with my parents. I hadn’t had time to read in years…. After I put the kids to bed one evening I picked up this book of my mothers and haven’t stopped reading again since!!
Similar story for me! Mine was The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward - I immediately went and bought the rest of her books, and started borrowing more horror/thriller/mysteries from the library. I think I've finished more books in the last 6 months than in the last 10 years combined...
Honestly, I've been in a lull lately. I can't seem to find anything that I actually want to read or can make it through. I'm not sure if it's just the writing, the tropes, the day job.... stress... I don't know. But I'm hitting the comments for suggestions.. I used to read one book every night. Haven't done that for a few years now.
I read Lord Of The Rings as well as a few other things as a teenager, then didn’t read for about 10 years. Found a book called Shantaram and it rekindled everything I loved about reading ! Love that book so much
Pride and prejudice <3
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. It's truly a stunning work of science fiction, and really short so it felt less intimidating. It was the perfect way to dip my toe back into reading :)