I am looking for a new book to read aloud with my SO. He did not grow up as a reader and it’s been tricky figuring out which books we will both enjoy. We both grew up playing DND and other similar games, so fantasy feels like it should be the default, but we’re not having a ton of luck there so far.
Some that we’ve both loved (and what we liked): Ready Player One (especially the puzzles), Project Hail Mary and The Martian (especially the science), the Temeraire series (especially Temeraire and Izkierka’s personalities).
Some that have fallen flat for one or the other of us (and why): Off to Be the Wizard and We Are Legion We Are Bob (I got bored), the Dresden Files (too much “bro slaying magical villains” and not enough “magical creatures do magical things”—his words, not mine), the Discworld books we’ve tried (too much political commentary not enough “magical creatures do magical things”—again, his words. Maybe a theme emerging?).
If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them!
Edited to change the wording.
by mikgub
16 Comments
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
It’s so nice that do you read with your partner
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
East of Eden
All Systems Red (Martha Wells) is a series of shorter books that may be up your alley.
**What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions** by Randall Munroe. It’s not a story, but rather consists of a series of questions related to pop-sci and pop-culture that are each answered in one or two paragraphs. The answers are hilarious in a deadpan delivery.
An example question is: “What would happen if you hit a baseball pitched at 90% of the speed of light?”
I have very similar tastes to you from what you said above and here are some of my recommendations.
I think the Spells, Swords and Stealth series by Drew Hayes would be really great for both of you, especially because you played DND. It is a really cool take on in game characters. The first book is called NPC’s and there are currently 5 in the series.
If you like those, Drew Hayes has written a lot of books, and I have liked all of them. I loved his Villain Code series about a secret society of magical villains who all live by a code to keep the Capes off their backs. Great characters, good action and I love how the people develop over the course of the series. There are 2 full books and a book of 3 shorter stories out now, with the 4 book coming out this year.
Dungeon Crawler Carl would also be perfect for you. It combines the game feel of Ready Player One with insane humour. Basically all buildings collapse and only people outside survive. Doorways open to an 18 level dungeon that is being broadcast as a game show to the delight of all the other worlds. The goal is to survive. The main characters are AWESOME and the book does a great job of both being funny, but also really hitting you in the feels at times. If you are ok with listening to an audiobook together, this series has the most amazing narrator and I would highly recommend listening to it today just for him.
For stories with science, Jurassic Park is amazing and one of my favourite books ever. It is different from the movie and while I really liked the movie I love the book. TWO T-REXES – enough said.
The Hobbit! Great read-aloud
Harry potter, those were amazing to be read to.
Sounds like he wants a book that reads like a video game. Why not YA?
– Maze Runners
– Divergent
– Fourth Wing
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames reads like a DnD campaign! It’s comedic and fast paced. Lots of fun names and descriptions of characters.
*Daemon* by Daniel Suarez and the sequel *Freedom*
Bedlam by Christopher Brookmyre
The Rainwild Chronicles starting with the Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
Try Armada by Ernest Cline, same writer as Ready Player One. It’s a little more “game-y” and it doesn’t have the same types of puzzles.
I’d also suggest tyring Artemis by Andy Weir, same writer as Project Hail Mary and The Martian.
Have you tried the Ender’s Game books? Scifi adventure, pretty fast paced.
You might also enjoy The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones. It’s a little lighter than Discworld, and it’s got a lot of fantasy creatures doing fantasy things.
neil gaiman anything. his style is pretty chill to read