Hi everyone,
I want to preface this by making clear I’m not a very driven, motivated reader. Being picky and having the tendency to drop a book for weeks without any clear indication as to why seem to be a reoccurring issue with me.
I’ve been trying to read more books since about two years ago.
Started off with easy to read young adult sci fi/fantasy such as the Red Rising book and its sequels, dune, his dark materials.
After all that sci fi I yearned for something a bit more realistic, something with more meaning and stories that challenge and stimulate my empathy.
I started to look at the classics, went into a Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years Of Solitude and Love In the Time Of Cholera. Tried to get into John Steinbeck’s books too but stumbled East of Eden. Of Mice and Men was an enjoyable short story.
Only read one memoir, When Breath Becomes Air. Beautifully sad.
I just now finished Never Let Me Go and Klara And The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.
I’ve ordered The Remains Of The Day, meaning to end this little reading spree of Ishiguro’s books, finishing with his supposed masterpiece.
However, when this book is finished I have no clue what to be looking at. I finished the books I had in my want to read list and I sort of feel at loss as to what genre I should jump back into. Do I try and give the Steinbeck books another go? Or do I jump back into less straining, easier to read books such as fantasy and sci fi? How does everyone figure out what to read?
Generally I like books that are about human connections, tragedy, love and hope. But I want it to be in a context of beautifully written text and with a story where after the read I can say with confidence that it made me a more empathetic and understanding person. I don’t want cheap, fast dopamine emotional stories.
Any suggestions on how to approach this search, or suggestions based on my past read books would be greatly appreciated!
by Beardlessface
6 Comments
I figure out what to read by figuring out what I want to KNOW, if that make sense. Like, what do I want to be able to understand. It helps me push through books that are dragging on a bit, or challenging me. So, for instance, I don’t really like Frank Herbert’s writing, but read some of the “Dune” books because I wanted to be ale to see how it influenced sci-fi.
For a recommendation, I think “Stone Butch Blues” by Leslie Feinberg might work for you? It’s a lesbian classic, that’s particularly focused on empathy, understanding, and the hope for human connection in the face of isolation and rejection. It’s got an ‘educational’ angle, in that you learn about a specific subset of working class lesbian culture, that’s historically been kept private.
EDIT- Like, I’m currently cruising through a series that I actually kinda dislike, because it’s my dad’s favorite and I can focus by thinking “I need to read this, and read it well, so that I can talk to my dad about it.” The goal means I WANT to read it, even if I’m not enjoying reading it. Can’t seem to apply that logic to jogging though.
Check out A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Updike.
If you like that his other books read similarly. They’re non-complex, easy reads, but about realistic people with common issues and emotional conflicts.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4473.A_Prayer_for_Owen_Meany?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=yw2wu8PbBC&rank=1
For some really thoughtful, highly readable literature, I’d strongly recommend Fool’s Crow by James Welch or To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.
Classics can be great, but something can be a non-classic and still be incredibly meaningful. Something a bit different, but very much about human connections, tragedy, love, and hope is Siren Queen by Nghi Vo. Also, I think you might also like The Curse of Chalion by Lois Bujold McMaster.
You might also want to try some other more human-centric speculative fiction authors than the ones you’ve mentioned. Anne Leckie, NK Jemisin, Arkady Martine, Martha Wells.
Beloved, by Toni Morrison. Not an easy read, but so so good.
Cider House Rules or A Prayer for Owen Meany.
A Man Called Ove
small things like these by claire keegan!!