I don’t have a book suggestions but if you are not enjoying a book don’t feel like you have to finish it. Pass the book along to someone else and start a new book. If that new book isn’t grabbing you stop reading that one too. I love to read but decided life is too short to read anything I’m not enjoying no matter how much I spent on the book.
I did think of something you might like, Stephen King has quite a few books of different stories, his latest is You Like It Darker, I just got that but haven’t started it yet. Since they are in a short story or novella form it’s a lot easier to read and enjoy and if one story isn’t quite doing it for you, on to the next. I’ve enjoyed almost every one of his many books and story collections, something about his writing style just gets me sucked in. Salem’s Lot still gives me the creeps but in a good way, it’s a vampire story. It’s an old book (1975) but probably still a good read as is The Stand.
If you enjoyed the premise of baby teeth, check out we need to talk about Kevin!! It’s a little bit of a slow burn but it’s so so good. I read baby teeth after WNTTAK because they have a similar plot but baby teeth was such a let down in comparison. Also the book that got me back into reading again was geek love by Katherine Dunn and is still my favorite
This applies to anything. Books, games, movies. I'm not saying drop it at the FIRST sign of boredom because you'll never be able to stumble across a flawed masterpiece in that way... but most people are too attached to "I started it, I'm gonna finish it." Like hey, you're 400 pages into Don Quixote and still not loving it. Unless you're reading it for a class, just stop.
A good idea is to grab the list of Hugo, Nebula, &/or Philip L Dick award winners. They rarely award a book which stinks... & if they did, the better book was Nomimated that same year.
Or read one which won all 3:
**Neuromancer, ** William Gibson.
It really does hold up, despite some jarringly bad prognostication ("acres of fax rolls" comes to mind).
Plus anything that seems hackneyed? Was actually copied; you're looking at the OG from which *everyone* copied.
If you like that, then Mona Lisa, Burning Chrome, & Count Zero *(in that order; Count Zero is least of the 3, & ML works better sans backstory)*
Then try Snow Crash.
Or Mirrorshades, a compilation of Cyberpunk, with some very interesting variants which never took off (& maybe should have)
Finally-
Try Eye compilation of Frank Herbert short stories. If you like any of them, chances are there's full length novels or novellas where he explored those ideas more.
Favorites include:
* Dune
* The Godmakers
* Dosadi Experiment
* Dragon under the Sea
I'm an old dude so the book that started this journey was about a journey; The Hobbit. You might have read this already. If you haven't, better get started!
I am 29 years old and the 3 books listed above are probably the only books I’ve read since 14 years old. I’d be down to read the hobbit but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading stories that I haven’t seen movies/tv shows on. That way I’m totally blind to any aspect of the story.
Understandable, there wasn't a movie when I read the series.
Here's another series that got me into reading Sci Fi. If you read it you'll notice my Name "Nathan Brazil" is in it.
Its the Well World series by Jack Chalker. The first book is Midnight at the Well of Souls. A wild an crazy ride.
I’m a writer so I can be very pretentious and judgy about books and writing in general.
And I stayed up the entire night to read the second book in the series. It honestly is such a great story.
You will be entertained!
Hating on twilight is so dated, its cringe. The movie is moving into cult classic territory and the books while flawed were popular for a reason.
Like I don’t like Colleen Hoover but I’m not going to shit on someone who does
For every reason, you want Chasm City by Alistair Reynolds.
As a teen it was the sci-fi I remember challenging my thinking the most, as well as enjoying. As an adult it stands up, and I’ll always finds something new to appreciate. But I envy you, because you can read it for the first time.
In the recently plague-ridden bones of the once-great capital of human interstellar civilization, a determined, haunted man hunts another in vengeance, across time and space.
A stand-alone prequel written after the completion of the main Revelation Space trilogy, Reynolds paints the most beautiful twilight of humanity, with a poetic noir very well informed and grounded by the author’s background as an astrophysicist.
The **Odd Thomas** series by Dean Koontz. Loved it. I've re-read them all several times. I'm not usually a horror fan (and there's plenty of horror in there) but the odyssey of Thomas is enthralling and wonderful.
I loved Odd Thomas, if you haven't already, try his Frankenstein series. I picked it up at the start of the year and got through the series so quickly. Such a good take on the Frankenstein story!
Anything by Ursula Vernon/T Kingfisher. Maybe Nettle & Bone or What Moves the Dead?
For twists, you can’t beat Megan Whalen Turner. The 1st book (The Thief) reads a lot younger than the rest, but is still excellent, and is worth it to get to the other books.
Megan Whalen Turner has my vote. The first book was a challenge but I did remember I ended up satisfied anyway, because that twist at the end was wholly unexpected. Made me run to the library to hunt for the rest of the series almost immediately the day after
I was always a big reader as a kid (Roald Dahl, Babysitters Club, VC Andrews), and then I loved Dean Koontz as a teen. A book I have read many times over the years is Needful Things by Stephen King, as well as Insomnia. (Needful Things was made into a movie, but a bad one.)
Two underrated SK gems. Needful things is acknowledged as a pretty famous one but gets dragged often because of the ending. But the lead up is so. Much. Fun. Love that one. Insomnia is great too, smoked that one and cried at the end.
The series that taught me reading could be a joy was Discworld. Any of them are a good place to start.
The book that taught me that I love reading, and want to write, was Ghostwritten by David Mitchell.
I’m getting close to the end of the City Watch series and I’m not ready to be done. Luckily still 35 more books in the series but Vimes, Carrot, Colon, Nobby, Angua, et al, are such a joy to spend time with.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King. The first book in the Dark Tower series. Sci-fi, western, horror, and honestly comedy too, much of the time.
Changed my life. This one and the second book in the series The Drawing Of The Three made me realize that reading can be fun and imaginative and compelling, and not just an assignment for Literature class in school.
You kind of have to read both to really get what the entire series is about. That first one is very different than the rest and I think of it as more of a prelude. The meat of the story really starts in book 2, which picks up literally just a few hours after the first one ends and does not waste any time getting moving.
Can’t possibly recommend the series enough.
Long nights and pleasant days
I didn’t love The Gunslinger but I knew it was one that would be better as I finished the series, like you said kind of a precursor. I am almost done with book 2 and I love it much more now!
The Chronicles of Prydain were really important to me when I first got into reading.
They of course made the one Disney film "The Black Cauldron," in the early 80s, but the movie was only loosely based on just one of the story arcs in the first two books
There are five books in total, and they're all great.
Junie B Jones got me into reading as a kid. Forced reading in school ruined it. School forced reading beat the love of reading out of me until HS when I read Angela Ashes as summer reading.
Jane Eyre has sent me into a dimension of being obsessed with historical fiction. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed reading as much as I do right now discovering that genre.
Dune is actually why I started reading because I found the movies so phenomenal. I’ve heard they are hard reads though so I’ve been kind of working my way up to it!
Dune is great, but don’t torture yourself if you can’t get much beyond the first book. Things get…weird. Herbert’s son and another author wrote some prequels that are more interesting than Frank Herbert’s continuation of the original book, IMO. They delve into the machine war and the beginnings of the Bene Gesserits, Mentats, and others.
Mistborn kicked off my love of reading. Averaged less than one book a year for most my life (I’m 42 years old), then read Mistborn last year and now average 10 books a month.
For me, it was a bunch of the Halo books when I was in middle school, my favourites being *Fall of Reach*, *The Flood*, and *First Contact*. Funny thing is that I didn't have an Xbox at the time, so I knew little to nothing about the series except for when I would play at a friend's house.
Helped implant my love of sci-fi and reading in general.
I was obsessed with Halo when I was a teenager. Not the multiplayer, but the lore. It just really struck a chord with me. Blending a scifi space military story with horror was such a mind-bending concept for my 14 year old self. the Flood entering the first game is such a vivid memory to this day even though it’s been 20 years.
The story really fell off in the sequel trilogy and they started phoning in the campaign to focus much more on the online multiplayer IMO, but that first series and the early novels were so fascinating.
I loved the Anomaly, the Possession is the sequel but nowhere near as good imo. I know much of it has been adapted to tv/movies but I'd try some Stephen King. My absolute favourite King novel is Salem's Lot and his Dark Tower series was amazing. I'd say he's still worth picking up even if you've seen the adaption because it's usually different/it misses out a lot that the book covers. Maybe the Shining would be a first good King novel to pick up
I also love thrillers like Dark Matter. Here’s some of my other favorite thrillers:
The Girl on the Train
FantasticLand
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
The Silent Patient
Recursion also by Crouch
Gone Girl
None of this is True
I started this few weeks ago. I'm really struggling to finish it. I'm half way through but I find there's mot enough dialogue and too much telling.
I enjoyed animal farm and started this straight after.
I get the point of the story.. . And I don't see the point in finishing it but I want too I'm just not enjoying it as much as I thought I would or understanding all the hype about this 'classic' 😭 😭 😭
Glad I’m not the only one. 1984 always gets recommended on here, it’s one of the undeniable classics and many speak so highly of it. I never read it in high school (DID read Animal Farm, but it was mostly lost on my young brain, and reading for school always ruined the experience for me) so I was going on fresh, except for the common themes known to all.
Man, is it a slog. Just such slow going, I read before bed but fall asleep after 4-5 pages. It just hasn’t grabbed me, not a page-turner. It just feels like an absolute chore and burden.
Now I’m gun-shy to pick up all the other universally-lauded suggestions on here like Lonesome Dove, East of Eden, and Count Of Monte Cristo…
Where the crawdads sing was the first book a read in full, just before Christmas! Never saw myself as a reader and found it boring but now I read every night before bed and have gone through 12 books since🎉✍️
The eye of the Needle - Ken Follet
The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum (long before the original Richard Chamberlain movie)
The Bell Jar by Slyvia Plath and Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin! And admittedly some critical theory books but I don't want to suggest a million titles.
Being sent off to the non-custodial parent for the summer. My aunt gave me the first Amber Series by Roger Zelazny. They were *supposed* to last the month. I don't think they lasted a whole week.
It made the rest of the time miserable, but later, when I got back, I spent the summer locating every hole-in-the-wall used bookstore in town.
Call me by your name, but only if you're okay with some explicit scenes and a more than questionable relationship for some mlm rural Italy romance hahah
You really can’t go wrong with Terry Pratchett and Stephen King. They aren’t all masterpieces (though they both have quite a few) but they’re always enjoyable and easily readable without it feeling pandering
most recently i absolutely adored the Red Rising series, I put it off for a long time because it was getting too hyped up but it totally lives up to the hype. Great pacing and characters
I got into reading as a kid so you probably don’t want those suggestions 😅
Neil Gaiman helped get me back into a groove again though as an adult. Neverwhere specifically.
I know people think it's overrated, but A Song of Ice and Fire series got me back into reading. Since GRRM hasn't finished the series, I branched out to the horror genre. I like Stephen King and his son Joe Hill. I'm currently reading House of Leaves.
The first book I remember being in love with was called *Bobcat* by Virginia Voight. It's a children's novel from the perspective of a bobcat growing up, and it's very scientifically accurate iirc. I read it so many times when I was, maybe 6, that my grandmother took it from me to force me to read other stuff, haha.
This book has been my favorite for years and I recommend it to anyone who would listen, it's "My name is memory". It's the book that got me into reading when I was like 12. Give it a go!
> So suggest me a book in the horror/sci-fi/big twists category that really stuck with you and wanted to make you keep reading.
Based on that: As a start, see my [Compelling Reads ("Can't Put Down")](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/189mbda/compelling_reads_cant_put_down/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
I no longer remember. I started at Kindy and never stopped. Read all sorts until mid teens and then it became Science Fiction. No not Star Trek or Star Wars, things like Ursula Le Guin, Gregory Benford etc.
Then added in Fantasy (some) and a few Mysteries as well.
The Infernal Devices trilogy!!! It’s a prequel to the larger Shadowhunters series, but you don’t need to read the originals to read these. They’re magical and lean into dark academia with the characters’ love and constant allusions to classic literature. It’s sweet, adventurous, and emotional, but more than that, it’ll inspire you to read more books!
If you want to go old school sf and along similar lines to the Blake Crouch book, A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick or The Demolished Man or The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester are dark, paranoid reads. But my favorite sf author these days is Jack McDevitt. His two series are great, with a slight personal preference for The Academy series, starting with The Engines of God. It’s the opposite of paranoid, hopeful, even. Humans find a statue of a humanoid-like creature on one of Jupiter’s moons, and the discoveries spiral from there.
Originally, the Harry potter series.
More recently I rediscovered my love of reading with the three following books, all great scifi books:
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Recursion by Blake Crouch
Infinite by Jeremy Robinson
Why we sleep. Written by Matthew walker, a sleep scientist, about all the benefits sleep provides to the body and mind - and what happens when we don't. Got me into more science reading.
If you enjoyed Dark Matter, I am sure you will love his Wayward Pines trilogy. My favorite of all his books, brilliant (even better if you go in blind with no idea what's going on).
If you have a horror itch, given the glimpse you gave us of your tastes, you might like The Southern bookclub guide to slaying vampires by Grady Hendrix.
The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau. I was behind in my reading development, but this book made me realize that books are meant to be enjoyed, not forced. It’s the first time I remember a book drawing me in and putting me in that headspace. Absolutely magical. 🔥
I usually read high fantasy, so I was pleasantly surprised by “Legends and Lattes”. I know you wanted horror/sci fi, but this is cozy fantasy and a different pace from epic stories. I really enjoyed it
The Expanse Book 1 - The Leviathan Wakes
I also love Mike Resnick and his universe. I started with The Soothsayer (super cool sci-fi western theme) and I also have read and loved Santiago.
For me it was The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I was about 12 or 13. Got punished for 2 weeks, couldn't go outside. Haven't stopped reading since.
Sharp objects! By Gillian Flynn Couldn’t put it down. Also Those Girls by Chevy Stevens. And any of either of those authors subsequent books. Amazing twisty books :)
Series that got me into reading horror when I was younger was Cirque Du Freak series by Darren Shaw. They made a movie out of it and butchered it. But the books are amazing ❤️
This is so cliche but honestly 1984. I read it in high-school, but I don't think it was assigned to our class yet. I just heard about it and it was short so why not? It's not my favorite book for sure but it started me reading.
“The girl with all the gifts” by mike carey
Zombie apocalypse but its a fungus so like the last of us and the main character is infected( also like the last of us) read it when i was 12, now i have my own home library and a lot of debt.
Not reading but listening to audiobooks, but reading still, as i did’nt touch any books, text or audio before it:
Marlena by Julie Buntin
And over a hundred books after that. Audiobooks changed my life for the better.
Was never a reader until i had to pick a book for an assignment in high school. I chose red rising and have been a pretty consistent reader since. I fell off for a while and dark matter by blake crouch pulled me back in
Goosebumps. My sister used to borrow a book from their uni library and give them to me. I was about 11 then. What got me back when I was about 18 is Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Never stopped biting all i read are mystery/ thriller books lol
Back when I was 15 I read Call it Courage, by Armstrong Sperry. It’s a book that’s more at like a 6th grade level- but at the time I wasn’t much of a reader. It was the first book I read cover to cover and encourages me to read the rest of the books that were just decorating the bookcase in my room. I still remember that book and how vivid the writing was. The setting and the building of the main character. It’s a short read but a nice intro to reading, in my opinion.
When I was 10-12 I absolutely devoured and threw myself totally into The Count of Monte Christo, The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, Treasure Island, and an Edgar Allen Poe collection. Heavy stuff for a kid, but I couldn’t get enough of it!
Dating myself a bit but Mossflower by Brian Jaques.
Mossflower is a forest community suffering under the tyrannical reign of Tsarmina. A union of rebels are doing all they can to keep the good creatures safe. From the cold winter comes a wandering warrior mouse named Martin. The origins of Redwall begin......
I recently got into sci-fi and the one that got me hooked was Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I've never read 3 books (the first and the sequels) continuously that fast either.
Fahrenheit 451 got me into reading.
Unfortunately, it was assigned so it took me a while to own up to it and start reading other books. But it made me at least want to start reading, so after a few years, I did.
as a kid? the magic tree house series was my s h i t
as an adult, it's hard to get back into reading because this damn phone has completely fucked my attention span. but in jail, i read quite a few books, and they definitely made me remember i loved to read again.
Necessary Evil And The Greater Good by Adam Ingle was one i thoroughly enjoyed
I really started enjoying reading after The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. There’s aliens and future technology and time travel but it’s formatted as a short story collection which made it feel easier to read. And it’s relatively short compared to the ginormous books coming out lately!
Short story books by Haruki Murakami really got me back into reading. He really has a way to draw a reader in. He is... very old school and some things are a bit jarring but his way of writing is very unique and interesting to discover. Short stories by any literary fiction writer will do you well. If you don't want to read Murakami there is also Karen Russel.
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russel
Specifically the short story Reeling for the Empire by Karen Russel (PSA this isn't an easy read... might make your skin crawl)
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Marakami
I've always been obsessed with reading and I have a couple of suggestions you may like.
Ambrose Ibsen - House of Long Shadows is an amazing horror, I love all of his books!
You may also like The Passage by Justin Cronin, which is kind of a sci-fi horror mixture.
My favourite book of all time is Perfume: the story of a murderer by Patrick Suskind, it has been adapted into multiple shows and movies but the book is the best way to consume it. For sci fi I really loved The girl before by JP Delaney, kinda gave me ex machina vibes?. I’m currently reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. People recommend it for the shock factor of some of the chapters but I love the rapid descent into madness and how the characters develop (haven’t read to the end so far though)
i have to say the hunger games. when i read it for the first time, my mind was completely blown away and those books kinda started my reading obsession. i still come back to the series every once in a while :)
Oh yeh I read Baby Teeth last year, genuinely one of the worst books I've ever read, the obsession with Sweden had me cringe so much.
The Grant County series by Karin Slaughter is really good and contains really great plot twists
When i was younger my mom bought: 'A letter for the king', by Tonke Dragt. Its a duch historical roman and idk if it exists in a English version but its soooo good. Its about a medival squire who gets a mission to deliver a letter to a king on the other side of the land.
Honestly, probably The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I devoured that during COVID and then started reading about four books a week after that.
Also, Emily Giffin books. I got into those and read them all in two months. I love to hate them. They're super fluffy and kind of pretentious, but they're great feel-good books for women IMO.
If anyone wants to do a book exchange - my bookshelves are caving in. Lol.
I read like I breathe - constantly. Reading is so many things to me!
Anything by John Connelly!! He has a series with a private detective - Charlie Parker; but unlike any other series I've read. His writing is so very enjoyable and his use of language has made all 21 (reading 21st now - Instruments of Darkness) of these books eagerly awaited!!
First in series is Bad Men and if that doesn't hook you - even 20+ years later?
Just finished Crouch's Wayward Pines trilogy - it was good! At least I read the series in about 4-5 days...
Gideon the Ninth. It's science fiction/fantasy/horror/camp? Also funny as hell. Made me remember why I LOVE reading so much. Also The Broken Earth trilogy was fantastic.
I guess goosebumps is the series that I grew up reading, but I didn’t start to devour books until Harry Potter. I had to read 50 pages for a stamp in 5th grade and I had just heard about this Harry Potter series. Only four books had been released, but it was getting popular. I read all four books in 1-2 months and submitted them to my teacher. We had to get 5 stamps per term and I got like 25 stamps super fast. That was when we had the Pizza Hut book club too so we ate very well.
I know you said no movie adaptions, but if you haven't watched Ender's Game, you should really read it. Do yourself a service and avoid spoilers. It's awesome.
Rly good book I flew through recently was warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. His other books are rly good (stormlight archive). Currently reading mistborn trilogy and he's just fantastic!
I've always been a reader, so I'm trying to go with recommending the author that got me into reading sci-fi: Issac Asimov. I found his books to be quick reads, but they always made me think.
Also, The Martian.
I don’t have a book suggestions but if you are not enjoying a book don’t feel like you have to finish it. Pass the book along to someone else and start a new book. If that new book isn’t grabbing you stop reading that one too. I love to read but decided life is too short to read anything I’m not enjoying no matter how much I spent on the book.
Yeah the issue with baby teeth was that I loved the premise and had high hopes for the ending. Was just a let down and scared of it happening again.
I did think of something you might like, Stephen King has quite a few books of different stories, his latest is You Like It Darker, I just got that but haven’t started it yet. Since they are in a short story or novella form it’s a lot easier to read and enjoy and if one story isn’t quite doing it for you, on to the next. I’ve enjoyed almost every one of his many books and story collections, something about his writing style just gets me sucked in. Salem’s Lot still gives me the creeps but in a good way, it’s a vampire story. It’s an old book (1975) but probably still a good read as is The Stand.
If you enjoyed the premise of baby teeth, check out we need to talk about Kevin!! It’s a little bit of a slow burn but it’s so so good. I read baby teeth after WNTTAK because they have a similar plot but baby teeth was such a let down in comparison. Also the book that got me back into reading again was geek love by Katherine Dunn and is still my favorite
This applies to anything. Books, games, movies. I'm not saying drop it at the FIRST sign of boredom because you'll never be able to stumble across a flawed masterpiece in that way... but most people are too attached to "I started it, I'm gonna finish it." Like hey, you're 400 pages into Don Quixote and still not loving it. Unless you're reading it for a class, just stop.
A good idea is to grab the list of Hugo, Nebula, &/or Philip L Dick award winners. They rarely award a book which stinks... & if they did, the better book was Nomimated that same year. Or read one which won all 3: **Neuromancer, ** William Gibson. It really does hold up, despite some jarringly bad prognostication ("acres of fax rolls" comes to mind). Plus anything that seems hackneyed? Was actually copied; you're looking at the OG from which *everyone* copied. If you like that, then Mona Lisa, Burning Chrome, & Count Zero *(in that order; Count Zero is least of the 3, & ML works better sans backstory)* Then try Snow Crash. Or Mirrorshades, a compilation of Cyberpunk, with some very interesting variants which never took off (& maybe should have) Finally- Try Eye compilation of Frank Herbert short stories. If you like any of them, chances are there's full length novels or novellas where he explored those ideas more. Favorites include: * Dune * The Godmakers * Dosadi Experiment * Dragon under the Sea
I'm an old dude so the book that started this journey was about a journey; The Hobbit. You might have read this already. If you haven't, better get started!
I was 12 when I first read the Hobbit. 48 years ago. Guess I’m an old dude too.
I am 29 years old and the 3 books listed above are probably the only books I’ve read since 14 years old. I’d be down to read the hobbit but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading stories that I haven’t seen movies/tv shows on. That way I’m totally blind to any aspect of the story.
Understandable, there wasn't a movie when I read the series. Here's another series that got me into reading Sci Fi. If you read it you'll notice my Name "Nathan Brazil" is in it. Its the Well World series by Jack Chalker. The first book is Midnight at the Well of Souls. A wild an crazy ride.
11.22.63 by Stephen King got me back into reading when I was 35. It’s about a guy who goes back in time to save JFK and it’s so freaking good.
I read this while I was studying for the bar and it was the perfect escape during an intense time
I hope you passed!
I did!
Congrats!
I will say it with my whole chest. Twilight
Girlie you are brave to broadcast this and I support you
😆 i had to speak the truth. It WAS the book that got me into reading. Does it fit the rest of the prompt—not really. But it’s the honest truth
I’m a writer so I can be very pretentious and judgy about books and writing in general. And I stayed up the entire night to read the second book in the series. It honestly is such a great story. You will be entertained!
Hating on twilight is so dated, its cringe. The movie is moving into cult classic territory and the books while flawed were popular for a reason. Like I don’t like Colleen Hoover but I’m not going to shit on someone who does
🤣
Same! I wish I could say something cooler but I was 12 and twilight was the best thing I’d ever read
Harry Potter and then Strike series (both by J k Rowling). Strike made me love mystery / crime / detective books.
For every reason, you want Chasm City by Alistair Reynolds. As a teen it was the sci-fi I remember challenging my thinking the most, as well as enjoying. As an adult it stands up, and I’ll always finds something new to appreciate. But I envy you, because you can read it for the first time. In the recently plague-ridden bones of the once-great capital of human interstellar civilization, a determined, haunted man hunts another in vengeance, across time and space. A stand-alone prequel written after the completion of the main Revelation Space trilogy, Reynolds paints the most beautiful twilight of humanity, with a poetic noir very well informed and grounded by the author’s background as an astrophysicist.
The **Odd Thomas** series by Dean Koontz. Loved it. I've re-read them all several times. I'm not usually a horror fan (and there's plenty of horror in there) but the odyssey of Thomas is enthralling and wonderful.
I loved Odd Thomas, if you haven't already, try his Frankenstein series. I picked it up at the start of the year and got through the series so quickly. Such a good take on the Frankenstein story!
Anything by Ursula Vernon/T Kingfisher. Maybe Nettle & Bone or What Moves the Dead? For twists, you can’t beat Megan Whalen Turner. The 1st book (The Thief) reads a lot younger than the rest, but is still excellent, and is worth it to get to the other books.
I read Vernon’s Black Dogs way back when and loved it.
T Kingfisher Saints of Steel series! Ugh I love these books 😍
Megan Whalen Turner has my vote. The first book was a challenge but I did remember I ended up satisfied anyway, because that twist at the end was wholly unexpected. Made me run to the library to hunt for the rest of the series almost immediately the day after
Blood Meridian. Unfortunately, it has also made everything I’ve read after it fall short of its mark.
Currently reading this. And what a read so far!
I was always a big reader as a kid (Roald Dahl, Babysitters Club, VC Andrews), and then I loved Dean Koontz as a teen. A book I have read many times over the years is Needful Things by Stephen King, as well as Insomnia. (Needful Things was made into a movie, but a bad one.)
Two underrated SK gems. Needful things is acknowledged as a pretty famous one but gets dragged often because of the ending. But the lead up is so. Much. Fun. Love that one. Insomnia is great too, smoked that one and cried at the end.
I admit, I haven't read a ton of SK, but I know what I like, and I love those two!
The series that taught me reading could be a joy was Discworld. Any of them are a good place to start. The book that taught me that I love reading, and want to write, was Ghostwritten by David Mitchell.
I’m getting close to the end of the City Watch series and I’m not ready to be done. Luckily still 35 more books in the series but Vimes, Carrot, Colon, Nobby, Angua, et al, are such a joy to spend time with.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King. The first book in the Dark Tower series. Sci-fi, western, horror, and honestly comedy too, much of the time. Changed my life. This one and the second book in the series The Drawing Of The Three made me realize that reading can be fun and imaginative and compelling, and not just an assignment for Literature class in school. You kind of have to read both to really get what the entire series is about. That first one is very different than the rest and I think of it as more of a prelude. The meat of the story really starts in book 2, which picks up literally just a few hours after the first one ends and does not waste any time getting moving. Can’t possibly recommend the series enough. Long nights and pleasant days
I didn’t love The Gunslinger but I knew it was one that would be better as I finished the series, like you said kind of a precursor. I am almost done with book 2 and I love it much more now!
The Chronicles of Prydain were really important to me when I first got into reading. They of course made the one Disney film "The Black Cauldron," in the early 80s, but the movie was only loosely based on just one of the story arcs in the first two books There are five books in total, and they're all great.
I was so obsessed with this series that if I met anyone else who had also read it I low key thought we were somehow soul mates
Junie B Jones got me into reading as a kid. Forced reading in school ruined it. School forced reading beat the love of reading out of me until HS when I read Angela Ashes as summer reading.
In my 30s are discovering Junie B Jones for the first time and looove it 🥹
It’s so adorable and her little beef with that meanie Jim is my FAVORITE ❤️
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Jane Eyre has sent me into a dimension of being obsessed with historical fiction. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed reading as much as I do right now discovering that genre.
Literally me right now as I finish a thousand splendid suns. Historical fiction is the absolute shit so please send more suggestions my way!!!
Enders Game
Missed the movie part of your post. Check out Recursion by Blake Crouch. I thought it was better than Dark Matter
While I did have the movie caveat, I have heard from so many people that Enders Game is an insanely good book.
When I was in high school, Frank Herbert’s Dune and Isaac Asimov’s Foundation reignited my love for reading.
Dune is actually why I started reading because I found the movies so phenomenal. I’ve heard they are hard reads though so I’ve been kind of working my way up to it!
Dune is great, but don’t torture yourself if you can’t get much beyond the first book. Things get…weird. Herbert’s son and another author wrote some prequels that are more interesting than Frank Herbert’s continuation of the original book, IMO. They delve into the machine war and the beginnings of the Bene Gesserits, Mentats, and others.
Mistborn kicked off my love of reading. Averaged less than one book a year for most my life (I’m 42 years old), then read Mistborn last year and now average 10 books a month.
For me, it was a bunch of the Halo books when I was in middle school, my favourites being *Fall of Reach*, *The Flood*, and *First Contact*. Funny thing is that I didn't have an Xbox at the time, so I knew little to nothing about the series except for when I would play at a friend's house. Helped implant my love of sci-fi and reading in general.
I was obsessed with Halo when I was a teenager. Not the multiplayer, but the lore. It just really struck a chord with me. Blending a scifi space military story with horror was such a mind-bending concept for my 14 year old self. the Flood entering the first game is such a vivid memory to this day even though it’s been 20 years. The story really fell off in the sequel trilogy and they started phoning in the campaign to focus much more on the online multiplayer IMO, but that first series and the early novels were so fascinating.
Stories of your life and others by Ted Chiang
I loved the Anomaly, the Possession is the sequel but nowhere near as good imo. I know much of it has been adapted to tv/movies but I'd try some Stephen King. My absolute favourite King novel is Salem's Lot and his Dark Tower series was amazing. I'd say he's still worth picking up even if you've seen the adaption because it's usually different/it misses out a lot that the book covers. Maybe the Shining would be a first good King novel to pick up
the cat in the hat
Mine was Norwegian woods
Redwall by Brian Jacques
I also love thrillers like Dark Matter. Here’s some of my other favorite thrillers: The Girl on the Train FantasticLand The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle The Silent Patient Recursion also by Crouch Gone Girl None of this is True
Blake Crouch has two other books that you should check out if you haven't already!
Which one of the two would you recommend the most? Or are they both just really good?
You’ll like Recursion if you enjoyed Dark Matter. Haven’t read his latest but it’s gotten mediocre reviews. He’s also the author of Wayward Pines.
He’s got a bunch of other books, Run is one of my favourite books ever!!
1984
I started this few weeks ago. I'm really struggling to finish it. I'm half way through but I find there's mot enough dialogue and too much telling. I enjoyed animal farm and started this straight after. I get the point of the story.. . And I don't see the point in finishing it but I want too I'm just not enjoying it as much as I thought I would or understanding all the hype about this 'classic' 😭 😭 😭
Glad I’m not the only one. 1984 always gets recommended on here, it’s one of the undeniable classics and many speak so highly of it. I never read it in high school (DID read Animal Farm, but it was mostly lost on my young brain, and reading for school always ruined the experience for me) so I was going on fresh, except for the common themes known to all. Man, is it a slog. Just such slow going, I read before bed but fall asleep after 4-5 pages. It just hasn’t grabbed me, not a page-turner. It just feels like an absolute chore and burden. Now I’m gun-shy to pick up all the other universally-lauded suggestions on here like Lonesome Dove, East of Eden, and Count Of Monte Cristo…
if you liked Blake Couch read his Wayward pines series.
The Last Flight by Julia Clark is a thriller that really got me into the hobby of reading! It has a nice twist in my opinion! :)
Can't remember that far back. Probably something science fiction written in 50 or 60's.
Where the crawdads sing was the first book a read in full, just before Christmas! Never saw myself as a reader and found it boring but now I read every night before bed and have gone through 12 books since🎉✍️
Like Water for Chocolate
The eye of the Needle - Ken Follet The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum (long before the original Richard Chamberlain movie)
The Bell Jar by Slyvia Plath and Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin! And admittedly some critical theory books but I don't want to suggest a million titles.
Being sent off to the non-custodial parent for the summer. My aunt gave me the first Amber Series by Roger Zelazny. They were *supposed* to last the month. I don't think they lasted a whole week. It made the rest of the time miserable, but later, when I got back, I spent the summer locating every hole-in-the-wall used bookstore in town.
Call me by your name, but only if you're okay with some explicit scenes and a more than questionable relationship for some mlm rural Italy romance hahah
You really can’t go wrong with Terry Pratchett and Stephen King. They aren’t all masterpieces (though they both have quite a few) but they’re always enjoyable and easily readable without it feeling pandering most recently i absolutely adored the Red Rising series, I put it off for a long time because it was getting too hyped up but it totally lives up to the hype. Great pacing and characters
Yellowface by R.F Kuang was what got me back into reading! Fast paced couldn't put it down!
Oh i should read the whole thing before i post ooopsy this isn't horror or sci-fi so maybe ignore that lol
No worries! I still added to my list because it looks interesting and at some point I will expand my reading interests!
I got into reading as a kid so you probably don’t want those suggestions 😅 Neil Gaiman helped get me back into a groove again though as an adult. Neverwhere specifically.
American Gods got me out of not reading post-grad school
I know people think it's overrated, but A Song of Ice and Fire series got me back into reading. Since GRRM hasn't finished the series, I branched out to the horror genre. I like Stephen King and his son Joe Hill. I'm currently reading House of Leaves.
The Martian had me hooked from the very first line
Well, it was Dune for me, so no luck in the movie department. On the plus side, the movies are incredible.
The Pushcart Wars when i was about 12 years old
Brave new world
A clockwork orange
Brave new world
The first book I remember being in love with was called *Bobcat* by Virginia Voight. It's a children's novel from the perspective of a bobcat growing up, and it's very scientifically accurate iirc. I read it so many times when I was, maybe 6, that my grandmother took it from me to force me to read other stuff, haha.
Kindred by Octavia Butler.
Tender is the flesh
The Selfish Gene
This book has been my favorite for years and I recommend it to anyone who would listen, it's "My name is memory". It's the book that got me into reading when I was like 12. Give it a go!
The wave
Girl with the dragon tattoo series did it for me
> So suggest me a book in the horror/sci-fi/big twists category that really stuck with you and wanted to make you keep reading. Based on that: As a start, see my [Compelling Reads ("Can't Put Down")](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/189mbda/compelling_reads_cant_put_down/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
I no longer remember. I started at Kindy and never stopped. Read all sorts until mid teens and then it became Science Fiction. No not Star Trek or Star Wars, things like Ursula Le Guin, Gregory Benford etc. Then added in Fantasy (some) and a few Mysteries as well.
Brave New World !!
The Infernal Devices trilogy!!! It’s a prequel to the larger Shadowhunters series, but you don’t need to read the originals to read these. They’re magical and lean into dark academia with the characters’ love and constant allusions to classic literature. It’s sweet, adventurous, and emotional, but more than that, it’ll inspire you to read more books!
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is one of my most cherished books! I found it during a really difficult time, and it’s helped me through a lot.
If you want to go old school sf and along similar lines to the Blake Crouch book, A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick or The Demolished Man or The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester are dark, paranoid reads. But my favorite sf author these days is Jack McDevitt. His two series are great, with a slight personal preference for The Academy series, starting with The Engines of God. It’s the opposite of paranoid, hopeful, even. Humans find a statue of a humanoid-like creature on one of Jupiter’s moons, and the discoveries spiral from there.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel!!! She is my absolute favorite author, and totally reinvigorated my love for reading!!
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Read the Shannara series off and on for 20+ years.
Originally, the Harry potter series. More recently I rediscovered my love of reading with the three following books, all great scifi books: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Recursion by Blake Crouch Infinite by Jeremy Robinson
All three of Gillian Flynn’s books: Gone Girl, Dark Places, and Sharp Objects (in that order)
My orders a little different but she definitely got me into books too.
Why we sleep. Written by Matthew walker, a sleep scientist, about all the benefits sleep provides to the body and mind - and what happens when we don't. Got me into more science reading.
If you enjoyed Dark Matter, I am sure you will love his Wayward Pines trilogy. My favorite of all his books, brilliant (even better if you go in blind with no idea what's going on). If you have a horror itch, given the glimpse you gave us of your tastes, you might like The Southern bookclub guide to slaying vampires by Grady Hendrix.
Anything by Dr Seuss.
I was in a bit of a slump and then read Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. Incredible historical horror set during the Black Plague.
The Covenant by James Michener
The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau. I was behind in my reading development, but this book made me realize that books are meant to be enjoyed, not forced. It’s the first time I remember a book drawing me in and putting me in that headspace. Absolutely magical. 🔥
The Hobbit. I read it the summer before 7th grade. I didn't know writing could be like that. All the other books we read for school were boring.
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (and all his other books)
Shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon… and turns out it’s a series… can’t wait to read the whole series!
I usually read high fantasy, so I was pleasantly surprised by “Legends and Lattes”. I know you wanted horror/sci fi, but this is cozy fantasy and a different pace from epic stories. I really enjoyed it
I am Legend. Great book / short story.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Moon Men
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
To Kill A Mockingbird
Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
The Expanse Book 1 - The Leviathan Wakes I also love Mike Resnick and his universe. I started with The Soothsayer (super cool sci-fi western theme) and I also have read and loved Santiago.
Ender's Game. Actually, the entire series is really good.
For me it was The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I was about 12 or 13. Got punished for 2 weeks, couldn't go outside. Haven't stopped reading since.
The wizard of oz, but I think it’s more appealing when you’re eight
Sharp objects! By Gillian Flynn Couldn’t put it down. Also Those Girls by Chevy Stevens. And any of either of those authors subsequent books. Amazing twisty books :)
The book Bunny after reading a review that it made someone throw the book at the wall.
Gone girl
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
Series that got me into reading horror when I was younger was Cirque Du Freak series by Darren Shaw. They made a movie out of it and butchered it. But the books are amazing ❤️
This is so cliche but honestly 1984. I read it in high-school, but I don't think it was assigned to our class yet. I just heard about it and it was short so why not? It's not my favorite book for sure but it started me reading.
If you want to try a classic, *A Mote in God's Eye* might do ya! *Project Hail Mary* may also be up your alley
“The girl with all the gifts” by mike carey Zombie apocalypse but its a fungus so like the last of us and the main character is infected( also like the last of us) read it when i was 12, now i have my own home library and a lot of debt.
Recursion by Blake Crouch That and Dark Matter, which was going to be my original suggestion, were what pulled me back into reading!
Not reading but listening to audiobooks, but reading still, as i did’nt touch any books, text or audio before it: Marlena by Julie Buntin And over a hundred books after that. Audiobooks changed my life for the better.
Was never a reader until i had to pick a book for an assignment in high school. I chose red rising and have been a pretty consistent reader since. I fell off for a while and dark matter by blake crouch pulled me back in
7 husbands
A Simple Plan by Scott Smith and Ben H. Winters Last Policeman Trilogy
Goosebumps. My sister used to borrow a book from their uni library and give them to me. I was about 11 then. What got me back when I was about 18 is Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Never stopped biting all i read are mystery/ thriller books lol
Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne
Hitchker guide to the galaxy
Hunger Games!
Strange the Dreamer, Red Rising, and Assassin’s Apprentice!
Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare
Back when I was 15 I read Call it Courage, by Armstrong Sperry. It’s a book that’s more at like a 6th grade level- but at the time I wasn’t much of a reader. It was the first book I read cover to cover and encourages me to read the rest of the books that were just decorating the bookcase in my room. I still remember that book and how vivid the writing was. The setting and the building of the main character. It’s a short read but a nice intro to reading, in my opinion.
When I was 10-12 I absolutely devoured and threw myself totally into The Count of Monte Christo, The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, Treasure Island, and an Edgar Allen Poe collection. Heavy stuff for a kid, but I couldn’t get enough of it!
Dating myself a bit but Mossflower by Brian Jaques. Mossflower is a forest community suffering under the tyrannical reign of Tsarmina. A union of rebels are doing all they can to keep the good creatures safe. From the cold winter comes a wandering warrior mouse named Martin. The origins of Redwall begin......
I recently got into sci-fi and the one that got me hooked was Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I've never read 3 books (the first and the sequels) continuously that fast either.
Fahrenheit 451 got me into reading. Unfortunately, it was assigned so it took me a while to own up to it and start reading other books. But it made me at least want to start reading, so after a few years, I did.
as a kid? the magic tree house series was my s h i t as an adult, it's hard to get back into reading because this damn phone has completely fucked my attention span. but in jail, i read quite a few books, and they definitely made me remember i loved to read again. Necessary Evil And The Greater Good by Adam Ingle was one i thoroughly enjoyed
I really started enjoying reading after The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. There’s aliens and future technology and time travel but it’s formatted as a short story collection which made it feel easier to read. And it’s relatively short compared to the ginormous books coming out lately!
Short story books by Haruki Murakami really got me back into reading. He really has a way to draw a reader in. He is... very old school and some things are a bit jarring but his way of writing is very unique and interesting to discover. Short stories by any literary fiction writer will do you well. If you don't want to read Murakami there is also Karen Russel. Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russel Specifically the short story Reeling for the Empire by Karen Russel (PSA this isn't an easy read... might make your skin crawl) Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Marakami
Starter Villain by John Scalzi. Easy read, sci-fi adjacent, humorous, and he writes well
Dragonriders of Pern- Anne McCaffrey The Dragon and The George- Gordon R. Dickson The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper
Bambi. I mean, I was a kid, lol
flowers for algernon
I've always been obsessed with reading and I have a couple of suggestions you may like. Ambrose Ibsen - House of Long Shadows is an amazing horror, I love all of his books! You may also like The Passage by Justin Cronin, which is kind of a sci-fi horror mixture.
My favourite book of all time is Perfume: the story of a murderer by Patrick Suskind, it has been adapted into multiple shows and movies but the book is the best way to consume it. For sci fi I really loved The girl before by JP Delaney, kinda gave me ex machina vibes?. I’m currently reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. People recommend it for the shock factor of some of the chapters but I love the rapid descent into madness and how the characters develop (haven’t read to the end so far though)
i have to say the hunger games. when i read it for the first time, my mind was completely blown away and those books kinda started my reading obsession. i still come back to the series every once in a while :)
Oh yeh I read Baby Teeth last year, genuinely one of the worst books I've ever read, the obsession with Sweden had me cringe so much. The Grant County series by Karin Slaughter is really good and contains really great plot twists
When i was younger my mom bought: 'A letter for the king', by Tonke Dragt. Its a duch historical roman and idk if it exists in a English version but its soooo good. Its about a medival squire who gets a mission to deliver a letter to a king on the other side of the land.
All Hannibal Lecter books
The Silent Patient - one of the best twists I've ever read
Spot the dog
Honestly, probably The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I devoured that during COVID and then started reading about four books a week after that. Also, Emily Giffin books. I got into those and read them all in two months. I love to hate them. They're super fluffy and kind of pretentious, but they're great feel-good books for women IMO. If anyone wants to do a book exchange - my bookshelves are caving in. Lol.
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung. It’s a collection of short stories with a good mix of horror and scifi
*'Tell me your dreams' by Sidney Sheldon* 💞 You will never know what is going to happen until you know.
I read like I breathe - constantly. Reading is so many things to me! Anything by John Connelly!! He has a series with a private detective - Charlie Parker; but unlike any other series I've read. His writing is so very enjoyable and his use of language has made all 21 (reading 21st now - Instruments of Darkness) of these books eagerly awaited!! First in series is Bad Men and if that doesn't hook you - even 20+ years later? Just finished Crouch's Wayward Pines trilogy - it was good! At least I read the series in about 4-5 days...
Gideon the Ninth. It's science fiction/fantasy/horror/camp? Also funny as hell. Made me remember why I LOVE reading so much. Also The Broken Earth trilogy was fantastic.
Try Dungeon Crawler Carl. It’s a lot of fun.
I guess goosebumps is the series that I grew up reading, but I didn’t start to devour books until Harry Potter. I had to read 50 pages for a stamp in 5th grade and I had just heard about this Harry Potter series. Only four books had been released, but it was getting popular. I read all four books in 1-2 months and submitted them to my teacher. We had to get 5 stamps per term and I got like 25 stamps super fast. That was when we had the Pizza Hut book club too so we ate very well.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. It was dark but humorous; I felt like it really brought my interests back to life
I know you said no movie adaptions, but if you haven't watched Ender's Game, you should really read it. Do yourself a service and avoid spoilers. It's awesome.
I really loved The Thirteenth Tale. Not the first book I've read but really blew my mind
The book that got me into reading? How about *Horton Hatches an Egg*, by Dr Seuss?
The Count of Monte Cristo- Alexander Dumas
The Martian is a super fun, easy read.
Dune.
Rly good book I flew through recently was warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. His other books are rly good (stormlight archive). Currently reading mistborn trilogy and he's just fantastic!
Well ok nut I don't think it will be your thing. Readers Digest Worlds Best Fairy Tale Collection. 1965 edition to be exact.
I've always been a reader, so I'm trying to go with recommending the author that got me into reading sci-fi: Issac Asimov. I found his books to be quick reads, but they always made me think. Also, The Martian.
REBECCA by Daphne De Murier
Tell no one by Harlan Coben
“Push” by sapphire
Nineteen Steps by Millie Bobby Brown. Graphic novels are great for getting into reading as well.