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I don't read books, and when I do I read junk. Help me get in the groove of reading more
bficky
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Registered User regular
I’d like some help in picking out some books to read. I’m not a big reader at all, and when I do, I read what some would probably consider “lower quality” books.
Some history:
- The first books I read for fun were a bunch of Michael Crichton books back in the 90s when I was in high school (Jurassic Park, Sphere, Congo, The Great Train Robbery, Rising Sun). I enjoyed those quite a bit back then. I started reading Airframe at some point but lost interest.
- I read some of the “classics” for English in school but I don’t remember really enjoying any of them (Catcher in the Rye, Great Gatsby, Heart of Darkness, etc).
- As embarrassing as this is, the only real books I read in college that weren’t related to my engineering degree were the Harry Potter books. I loved them all and have reread them a few times, mainly to get ready for the movies.
- Adding to my “trashy” book list, I got caught up in the da Vinci Code craze 10 or so years ago and read all the Dan Brown books. I really enjoyed da Vinci Code; I liked Angels & Demons, Digital Fortress, and Deception Point, and really didn’t like The Lost Symbol at all. I think there’s a recent one out, but I can’t say I’m interested at all.
- I read a few Jon Krakauer books after hearing about Into Thin Air on a sports radio show. I loved that book, and then I read Into the Wild, which I thought was just ok, and Under The Banner Of Heaven, which I loved. I have a paperback copy of Where Men Win Glory that I got but haven’t felt any real desire to read.
- About a year ago I bought American Gods by Neil Gaiman while on sale to read on my new Nexus 7, and it took me until last night to finally finish it. I didn’t really like it much at all, probably based on a number of factors: no real pre-existing knowledge on most of the Gods mentioned, I (probably incorrectly) wasn’t impressed with the writing (or maybe just how the main character was written), no real interest in the book made me put it down for months at a time, which made me miss many of the names/callbacks/hints/details, etc. I bought the book based solely on the fact that it was cheap and Will Smith over at Tested.com recommended it, and I figured that I needed to branch out and read different types of books. Now that I kinda struck out with that one, I’m gun-shy on blindly trying other books/genres.
That’s it. Sad, huh? I’d like some advice on what books I might like. I’d like to read more, but I don’t know where to begin. I think I may need some sure fire hits to get me in the groove of reading.
-Most of my free time is spent watching TV shows (West Wing, Breaking Bad, the Shield, Game of Thrones are my favorites), playing a ton of video games, and watching Rangers baseball and Saints football.
-As much as I think I should like sci-fi (based on my other interests), I’m not sure If I actually do, at least certain types. When American Gods got very trippy and very abstract with its visions and its dreams about other worlds/dimensions/realities, I lost interest, maybe because I really couldn’t conceptualize it? Maybe I’d do better with more reality based, less high concept sci-fi?
-I love Games of Thrones, but I do not want to read ASOIAF. My wife and I want to treat it as a show first, with the books maybe after it’s all done. Also, from what I’ve heard of the books, with the 50 page descriptions on some feast, I don’t think it’s for me.
-Same with LotR. I saw the movies when they came out and I thought they were fine, but I haven’t read the books and don’t really have an interest to.
Anyway, sorry for the rambling. I will be holed up in a hospital room next week while my wife recovers from surgery, so I could use some good books to read. I’d like it to be the Kindle version, as that would be the most convenient for me. Seriously, the most obvious recommendations are welcome, as I probably haven’t read it.
Some history:
- The first books I read for fun were a bunch of Michael Crichton books back in the 90s when I was in high school (Jurassic Park, Sphere, Congo, The Great Train Robbery, Rising Sun). I enjoyed those quite a bit back then. I started reading Airframe at some point but lost interest.
- I read some of the “classics” for English in school but I don’t remember really enjoying any of them (Catcher in the Rye, Great Gatsby, Heart of Darkness, etc).
- As embarrassing as this is, the only real books I read in college that weren’t related to my engineering degree were the Harry Potter books. I loved them all and have reread them a few times, mainly to get ready for the movies.
- Adding to my “trashy” book list, I got caught up in the da Vinci Code craze 10 or so years ago and read all the Dan Brown books. I really enjoyed da Vinci Code; I liked Angels & Demons, Digital Fortress, and Deception Point, and really didn’t like The Lost Symbol at all. I think there’s a recent one out, but I can’t say I’m interested at all.
- I read a few Jon Krakauer books after hearing about Into Thin Air on a sports radio show. I loved that book, and then I read Into the Wild, which I thought was just ok, and Under The Banner Of Heaven, which I loved. I have a paperback copy of Where Men Win Glory that I got but haven’t felt any real desire to read.
- About a year ago I bought American Gods by Neil Gaiman while on sale to read on my new Nexus 7, and it took me until last night to finally finish it. I didn’t really like it much at all, probably based on a number of factors: no real pre-existing knowledge on most of the Gods mentioned, I (probably incorrectly) wasn’t impressed with the writing (or maybe just how the main character was written), no real interest in the book made me put it down for months at a time, which made me miss many of the names/callbacks/hints/details, etc. I bought the book based solely on the fact that it was cheap and Will Smith over at Tested.com recommended it, and I figured that I needed to branch out and read different types of books. Now that I kinda struck out with that one, I’m gun-shy on blindly trying other books/genres.
That’s it. Sad, huh? I’d like some advice on what books I might like. I’d like to read more, but I don’t know where to begin. I think I may need some sure fire hits to get me in the groove of reading.
-Most of my free time is spent watching TV shows (West Wing, Breaking Bad, the Shield, Game of Thrones are my favorites), playing a ton of video games, and watching Rangers baseball and Saints football.
-As much as I think I should like sci-fi (based on my other interests), I’m not sure If I actually do, at least certain types. When American Gods got very trippy and very abstract with its visions and its dreams about other worlds/dimensions/realities, I lost interest, maybe because I really couldn’t conceptualize it? Maybe I’d do better with more reality based, less high concept sci-fi?
-I love Games of Thrones, but I do not want to read ASOIAF. My wife and I want to treat it as a show first, with the books maybe after it’s all done. Also, from what I’ve heard of the books, with the 50 page descriptions on some feast, I don’t think it’s for me.
-Same with LotR. I saw the movies when they came out and I thought they were fine, but I haven’t read the books and don’t really have an interest to.
Anyway, sorry for the rambling. I will be holed up in a hospital room next week while my wife recovers from surgery, so I could use some good books to read. I’d like it to be the Kindle version, as that would be the most convenient for me. Seriously, the most obvious recommendations are welcome, as I probably haven’t read it.
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In that list, several people suggested "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. LeGuin (and its sequels). I think that would be a good one to look into. It's short and a good read, and I think that if most people were creating an "essentials of fantasy" list, they would include it.
You could also look at "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. It's really silly and fun. I've never personally met someone who didn't like it.
"Storm Front" by Jim Butcher is the first book in the Dresden Files series, which I love. Again, they're a lot of fun.
Don't try to slog through "A Song of Ice and Fire." I'm not saying that it isn't a good series, but it's really dense, and I think it'll just discourage you since you're not an avid reader.
Since I read mostly sci-fi and fantasy, I don't really have a ton outside of those genres to recommend, but I'm sure other people can pick up the slack for other genres.
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Terry Pratchett.
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If you'd rather just get into reading in general, and aren't necessarily going for Sci-Fi, The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Klay is a decent romp, and mildly connected to the world of comic books and magic. Devil in the White City is a good mystery/true crime novel. I'd second Hitchhiker's Guide. If you're at all interested in law and/or white collar intrigue, you'd probably like anything by John Grisham. The Firm is the canonical example, but they're pretty uniformly engaging.
About 5 years ago a coworker lent me Devil in the White City, since we were both engineers and were somewhat knowledgeable to the engineering aspect of the book. I read maybe 80 pages or so over a few weeks, and when she said, "Hey, you're done with the book, right? Can I get it back to lend to someone else?", I lied and said I was done because I didn't want to hold up the other person.
Yeah, John Grisham seems like it would cover the Crichton/Dan Brown-esque suspsense/thriller genre, which I think l'd like. Is The Firm the best one to go with?
Otherwise, Matt Stover's Acts of Caine are fun reads. It's got an interesting mix of dystopian future earth and medieval fantasy that I enjoyed. The first two books are pretty hefty door stoppers (the second especially). Stover does tend toward graphic violence though, fair warning.
Another vote for Terry Pratchett. Dude seems to be a patron saint of any "Tell me what to read" threads, but it's for good reason.
If you like Terry Pratchett, and are willing to give Gaiman a second chance, look into their collaborative book, Good Omens.
The other nice thing about reading them is (provided they are old enough) you can often get them for free online, so if you get a couple of chapters in and realize you (still) hate it, you can easily just move on. (And heck, a bunch of the "classics" are popcorn reads anyway -- Sherlock Holmes, Three Musketeers, etc.)
Although this may count as "junk" reading, if you're into shows like The Shield you might want to look at some of the better, more complex crime fiction/non-fiction out there. If you haven't already read it, James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential is a hell of a read and will give you an idea if he's your kind of writer.
Speaking of obvious recommendations, Cormac McCarthy's The Road is excellent, although it's minimalist enough that it might be hard to follow at times.
If you want slightly less sprawling epic fantasy than ASOIAF or LOTR, check out Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven.
Another awesome thing about Kindle books is that you can download free sample chapters of just about anything, so you can check them out before plunking down cash.
For alternate history, The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (of Blade Runner fame). Also (in my opinion) A Clockwork Orange should be included with 1984/Brave New World when looking at distopian futures. (I didn't like the film, but liked the book).
Catch 22 by Josef Heller I think is an all around good read: dark, funny, sad historical, interesting etc... Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte for amazingly well written... The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas if you have a lot of time on your hands.
Also, early Science Fiction can be easy to read, sometimes a little pulpy, but short and easy to get through. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. I am Legend by Richard Matheson. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham.
Non-fiction is fine, especially since all the Jon Krakauer books are nonfiction and I liked or loved all of the ones I've read.
I'll check out LA Confidential, as I remember hearing that the book was a good read.
There's are some good finds in the novels classed as "teen", though it takes a bit of time. They tend to be a little lighter than, say, Orwell, but at least it gets you reading. Books I have really enjoyed from that set include:
Cassandra Clare: the Mortal Instruments series
Cassandra Clare: Infernal Devices series
Poison by Chris Wooding
Garth Nix: Abhorsen trilogy
Maria Snyder: Poison trilogy
Kristen Cashore: Fire / Graceling / Bitterblue
Holly Black: Cursehunters (I think is what it's called, contains Black Heart, Red Glove, and White Cat)
If you can stomach the subject matter (it's about a child molester), Lolita is an amazing book. The character work is great, and, if you're into dark humor, the book is really funny.
Although sometimes I still won't finish a book (then go to the meeting anyway, because that's fun). Devil in the White City was definitely one of them, since once somebody starts with the serious architecture talk it just makes me want more naptime... for whatever reason.
this book right here.
Also, everyone suggests Hitch Hikers Guide to the galaxy, but I'll caution you on those. If you like a happy ending read the first four in the trilogy. If you don't, read the fifth.
regardless, read Adams' Dirk Gently novels. They are both fantastic.
Its a short story, but its sooooo good.
But, if you like it, you should check out more of Harlan Ellison's work.
I don't know why you'd pretend to be something you're not. I don't understand where a lot of the recommendations on this thread are coming from other based on your past interests. It sounds like you enjoy popcorn books -- who doesn't?
I really enjoyed James Rollins' books (I read a handful of the "SIGMA Force Series" (took me 10 minutes to track that down, couldn't remember any of the book names) and think you would as well based on enjoying Brown's work.
My #1 recommendation would be Ender's Game though. You can't go wrong, it's certainly not "trashy" and you can still read it before the movie comes out.
To that I''l add
Of Rice and Men Richard Galli
Anything by Lee Child, you can start with The Killing Floor
Anything by Robert Crais, LA Requiem is a good starting point.
This.
The top ten of that reader's list is frightening.
Yup. Can't go wrong with Pratchett.
And hell, if you like pulp, go for it. Crichton ain't so bad. Grisham, Brown, all that stuff is better than not reading at all. Dig in and enjoy, and stuff the haters. Not everybody wants to read Joyce or Tolstoy.
:shock:
Sorry, "trashy" may not be the right word. Regarding the Dan Brown books, I enjoyed the solving-the-mystery, conspiracy theory, and thriller aspects of them, but after the third or fourth book, I could see the twists and red herrings coming a mile away, and I figured that there are similar books that are written better than those. Popcorn/pulp books is a better way to describe what I've liked in the past more than trashy.
Looking through that list, I do see more books I've read than I would have guessed, though some were read 15-20 years ago and for school (so I read them "differently"). I don't think I've read any Vonnegut, so I may have to look into that.
Sounds like Terry Pratchet is a clear favorite, and I'll pick up Hitchhiker's. That'll cover me for sci-fi for a while, though a lot of the other sci-fi series mentioned in here do look interesting. Thrillers/mystery, I'll check out the popular Grisham books and James Rollins.
I'll have to do more research on nonfiction to figure out what I think I'll like. I really liked the Krakauer books because they described some true stories/beliefs/events that are as "I can't believe this is true" as possible (what it takes to climb to the top of Everest, the history of the Mormon religion). That made them interesting to me.
American Gods is a good example, actually, as there's a lot of weird, otherwordly stuff that seems to "just happen." In that book, you just have to accept that what Gaiman describes is what's happening to the characters. They ride a weird carousel and they end up going somewhere. OK!
Still, that doesn't mean you must accept abstract books, and there's nothing wrong with liking books that are more straight fiction without any abstract elements. That's most books!
It's hard to give you a suggestion, though, if you're not sure what you may be into. I can say that if you like modern-style realistic novels you can usually do no wrong by reviewing the NYTimes bestsellers lists, as they tend to be more modern and popular books. If you're looking to read a bunch of different books on Kindle, I can recommend some free old books, like "Of Human Bondage" and "The Count of Monte Cristo." I loved "Of Human Bondage" and it's not abstract at all. It's a little Victorian, though, but not much.
If you're looking for books that are a little less pulpy, or that have some kind of renown, I'd recommend books by Kazuo Ishiguro, who has a very plain way of telling stories. I'm reading Artist of the Floating World currently, and enjoying it. I also really liked his Never Let Me Go and most people I know who have read his books generally like all of them. Similarly, Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" is stylistically interesting but easy to get into. Both "Artist of the Floating World" and "As I Lay Dying" are short, too.
If you want something that's modern and a little madcap, read George Saunders's "Civilwarland in Bad Decline" or "Pastoralia" (or both). But what kinds of things do you like to see in stories? You mention a mystery or something to figure out, but do you like honest mystery books? Do you need to see action (as in, moving the story forward in some way) on every page, with no exposition or world building? As I mention, the books you mention don't have anything wrong with them, but it sounds like you have the typical problem of people who enjoy reading but stick with the easier-to-find authors in that you don't really know how to find new books. It can be hard. Perhaps find some friends on Goodreads.com and see what they've read, and use that as a jumping off point.
Since you're looking for kindle books, don't hesitate to get the free sample, which is usually 10-20 pages, and see if you like the style and general feel of the book before you dive in. No shame in stopping a book you can't get into right away if you're trying to simply read more in general.
If you liked Dan Brown, then you might like "The Rule of Four".
Read Grisham's first few books, The Firm, Pelican Brief, A Time to Kill. I enjoyed those quite a bit, and have read a fair bit of Crichton who I also enjoyed. In both cases, I found the later books less fun to read probably because the stuff seemed to become a bit formulaic, your mileage may vary. In a similar vein to RR Martin's stuff is Malazan Book of the Fallen by Stephen Erickson - I've not read it, but it comes highly recommended.
As for more documentary nonfiction like Krakauer, see if you can check out Salt by Mark Kurlansky. Seriously, it's a book about Salt, you know, put it on your food and how important it is. He has a few great books like that, Cod (yep, about the fish and how it changed the world) and A Basque History of the World.
As for trashy, "King of the Wood" by John Maddox Roberts - he does a lot of other stuff, but this one was a gem that a friend got me to read in high school. I have a dog eared copy that I read probably every year or so. In short, Vikings come to North America and conquer it, and never leave, later running into the Aztecs and the Mongols. Seriously, it's just all kinds of awesome.
Stephen Kings short story collections are great. I'd say Everything's Eventual might be the best.
Greg Rucka has a series that starts with Finder and Keeper.
I had an immediate thought as soon as I read your OP, and this post confirms it. Find yourself some Agatha Christie, man! I prefer the Miss Marple and Poirot books to the stand-alones because they get to be more focused on plot rather than character development, and Christie could plot herself some stories. Combine this with the fact that she is incredibly easy reading--the earlier stuff is harder because of the cultural differences, but honestly, I think those just add to the charm--and you should look it up. Go to any used bookstore and ask for the mystery section, and pick out the ones that specify on the cover "a Marple mystery" or "starting Hercule Poirot" and you'll be fine.
This is reading for pleasure, not education or business. If it's not fun then why are you dragging yourself through it? Forcing yourself to finish something you aren't enjoying is a very quick way to go off reading entirely.
Terry Pratchett's discworld series is great, but i suggest you start with the night watch books. They really are great stuff.
Robert Jordans Wheel of time series is finished (as is he
Brandon Sanderson has some really good books out.
I know you said you don't feel like reading Lord of the Rings, and believe me that's fair, they are great books but painful at times. However, if you like fantasy, The Hobbit is a very good read, much less of the insane backstory that clogs LOTR and a very fun adventure book.
On the Steven King front, I know he gets criticized for just pumping books out like a machine - but honestly I usually find them pretty enjoyable. The ones I tend to lean towards are the ones that focus more on people than monsters - Misery, Delores Clayborne, The Green Mile, The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon, and any of his short story compilations are safe bets.
It's probably a generic recommendation that people might call trashy, but I also really enjoyed reading Life of Pi. I'll admit the title got my attention based on my math background (it's not about math though) - but I really liked it. My wife bought The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time recently and I read that and found it to be facinating - written from the perspective of an autistic boy.
I read a lot of comic books in Trade paperback.
It is super readable and hilarious, but also manages to have a lot of depth to it.
If you want to try and get into classic English literature, try Shakespeare and see how it goes (if you're like a lot of people, it won't go well; that shit is just plain hard to read). There's no shame in it: those works set the foundation for modern storytelling, but storytelling has moved on.
I think the first book I'd recommend to anyone who wants to 'get into the groove' of reading good fiction is World War Z by Max Brooks. It's so plainly a labor of love and predates the recent media zombie craze; even if you think you're all zombie'd out, just see if your library has a copy. There's nothing out there quite like it.
Our first game is now available for free on Google Play: Frontier: Isle of the Seven Gods
Old Man's War is a good read? Sweet, that was one of the books included in the first Humble eBook Bundle I got about a year ago. I never got around to reading those, as I wanted to keep to one book at a time (which I now realize is not a good strategy).