Hi 👋 new here and trying to get back into reading. The trouble is, I’m really not sure what I like so it’s hard to guide my suggestion requests. I used to read a lot but I’ve traded it in for TV over the years out of ease while I went to school and now I’d like to revisit this hobby.
I suppose I tend to enjoy simpler reads because I have an incredibly intellectually stimulating job in academia and like to just turn my brain off a bit after work. I’ve been teased for the simplicity of the books I’ve liked in the past but I can’t help it. I tend to enjoy romantic storylines but not necessarily ones where that’s the sole focus. I did enjoy Nicholas Sparks when I was younger but found myself getting more bored of them in age.
Some books I did like (please don’t shame me lol) are the Shopaholic book series by Sophie Kinsella. Again, I did start to get bored of these with age but I enjoyed the humor, simplicity, and search of love, alongside some nice friendship storylines. I also enjoy some fantasy but, again, the sinpler kind. An example here would be the Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) series. Another example is A Discovery of Witches, though that one went a bit slow for me so I haven’t tried continuing the series, though maybe I should. I was at the midnight release for most of the Harry Potter franchise which in the past was my favorite series by far.
I also enjoy a good mystery that keeps me on the edge of my seat, so long as, once again, it stays pretty simple. The Couple Next Door is a good example of what I mean there. Since I have ADHD and tend to want immediate gratification (oops), pageturners seem to be the ones that keep me going rather than switching to TV.
I also really like more modern reads versus recommendations of books written 20+ years ago, just out of personal preference. I don’t usually go for nonfiction, though I remember the first book I ever read straight through as a teen was A Child Called It. However, I need something more upbeat these days.
Thanks for anyone who took the time to read this post. Really looking forward to any suggestions I may hear!
Edited to add a book I forgot
by Almost–There–Lazy
2 Comments
Taylor Jenkins Reid has a bunch of really good novels that have relatively simple plots that are pretty much exclusively focused on character development and growing. I also think her writing style makes for a fast read–I especially liked *Daisy Jones and the Six*, which has a script-like, interview format which makes the read even faster. *Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows* and *The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters*, both by Balli Kaur Jaswal, are also interpersonal-focused and are pretty easy but fun to read. *Ace of Spades* by Faridah Abike-Iyimide is a YA thriller/mystery but I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult. It is the only book that I have finished in a single day.
At the risk of being down voted I’m going to reccomend A Court Of Thornes and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. People are either obsessed with her novels or absolutely hate them. After reading your post, I think you’d love them. It is a fantasy series that has romance. I will say it has heavy romance but I don’t believe it to be the main focal point of the story. It’s incredibly easy to get into and doesn’t have a complicated magic system. It’s pretty straight forward and a simple read. But my GOD is it a page turner! I was similar to you in the sense that I was coming back into reading after a long time just watching TV and this was the first series that I picked up and it 100% launched me back into the hobby. I absolutely devoured these books. So good.