Suggest a book for me (38M), a movie/TV lover, to get back into reading and maybe writing too

Here is some more context for each book I listed in the post:

Most of the Redwall series when I was in elementary school. I loved them then, so they hold a special place in my heart, but I wouldn’t like them now.

Several of the Shannara series in elementary and junior high school. I mostly really liked them at the time, but they started to feel repetitive.

The first 3 books of the Wheel of Time while I was in junior high. Then partway into the 4th book I felt so bored of fantasy that I gave it up for a while (with one exception mentioned below).

The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings in junior high and maybe high school. I loved the lighthearted narration in the Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings felt so epic compared to any fantasy I read before then. Later when I saw the Lord of the Rings movies, I felt like they actually did justice by the books and it was amazing. Still my favorite movie production of all time, and I’ve rewatched it many times throughout my life.

How to Eat Fried Worms. This was a fun read as a kid.

A couple of the books in the My Teacher is an Alien series, which were also pretty fun as a kid.

My Side of the Mountain was a good survival book for me as a kid, but I probably wouldn’t enjoy it now.

The Giver was interesting in Junior High, but not super exciting.

Some Beverly Cleary books were fun as a kid, but I don’t think I’d like them now.

In high school, I discovered my favorite book ever, The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s still my favorite book, and I’ve gone back to it two more times. I loved the great detail of control he had over his plans and how he was mostly portrayed in the eyes of his acquaintances after his transformation, which added to his mysterious air. But even his genius plans backfired in the end, and he had some big lessons to learn. Also a great treatment of the theme of hope. Great philosophical monologues and dialogues throughout as well.

Several Goosebumps books as a kid. A bit fun for a while, but very juvenile and repetitive, even back then.

Treasure Island (maybe in high school or junior high). I think I remember it being fun and well written, but I don’t remember much.

Hamlet was very interesting to read and watch. I also enjoyed the humorous take on it Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I wouldn’t mind rereading (but I’d prefer watching) Hamlet again. Very deep wit and exploration of the human psyche.

Romeo and Juliet made me want to barf. No thank you.

Tess of the D’Ubervilles in high school. Interesting symbolism and did a decent job of describing a tragic tale and a critique of that society. But it was an assignment and I wouldn’t want to read it again.

Great Expectations in high school. First half was boring, 2nd half was pretty exciting after the plot twist. But it didn’t make me feel like exploring all of Dickens’ works.

A Christmas Carol. Not sure how old I was when I read it, but I still wanted to read it despite not being interested in other Dickens books. Probably after growing up watching Scrooge every year. It’s a timeless classic, it was short and therefore easy to consume, and it was kind of fun to go to the original book of a widely popular story on screen.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was also kind of interesting in my twenties for the same reason, but it was mainly interesting to read out loud to my daughter instead of by myself.

Books 6 and 7 of Harry Potter in college. Didn’t like them. I don’t get the appeal for JK Rowling. I admit that analyses of her writing point out many clever things she did with theme, symbolism, and character development, but the writing style felt juvenile and bland to me, and the plot and the whole world felt messy and stupid.

One Hundred Years of Solitude in college, in Spanish. Interesting from an academic standpoint, but I didn’t get any serious enjoyment out of it.

Pedro Paramo in college, in Spanish. Same as the above. But side note, it’s a story somewhat similar to Citizen Kane but significantly better.

I started Les Miserables several times and quit after like 60 pages because it was too slow moving.

More recently, I tried Mistborn out loud with my wife, and it wasn’t picking up fast enough for me, so I just stopped after a few chapters. Maybe my younger self would stick with Brandon Sanderson books and get a lot of enjoyment from them. I don’t know.

Flatland, in college. This book was refreshingly very different from other stuff I had read. I really enjoyed it from beginning to end. I also liked it had some pictures and diagrams, and honestly, I don’t think pictures in books should be limited to children.

1st 4 books of Narnia, in my twenties. The world building and allegories were interesting, and the plots were okay. I don’t feel like finishing the series.

Pride and Prejudice, in high school. I found Austin’s writing style very witty and engaging, but I didn’t care one bit about the plot and subject matter.

Dune, very recently. This took me years to finish because I kept putting it off, and I had to restart the book after making it one third in so that I could understand everything. It’s a really dense book, which I appreciate. I was also clued into the omniscient writing style before I started it, and it was interesting to see how masterfully he used it and still maintained certain kinds of suspense. A big reason I took so long reading it wasn’t so much about the book itself. I just kept being more interested in work, TV, movies, and video games. The world building and political maneuvering were pretty impressive. As much as I liked the story and dialogue, I felt like the ending was very lackluster and was a missed opportunity to do something greater. There also wasn’t a ton of character development. I don’t think I’ll read the sequels.