I’ve always been an avid reader, but college has obviously made it pretty difficult to read consistently. I notice, however, that I will often have pockets of time (especially) on the weekends where I can and desire to read a good book, or I’d rather read than scroll. I’ve had a hard time finding books that I am able to jump back into pretty fast and are interesting enough.
My favorite genres: fantasy, science fiction, history/alternate history, and comics/superheroes. I’ve loved the book What If? which threads together history (especially Medieval, but I’m open to anything) and alternate history. I’m also just a sucker for a good fantasy book that can break me away from the world.
I’ve thought about getting a collection of short stories, and just accepting that I can read more on breaks. Any help would be great.
by Poseidus11
3 Comments
I always like the Thursday Next series for a break from the real world. Alternative history, time travel, fantasy, literature-nerdy. I’m not sure if it’s easy to pick up just because I’ve read the series so many times or because most people would find it easy to pick up.
That author has a great stand alone book, too: Shades of Grey (not to be confused with the *other* Grey book lol)
Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher is pretty short and simple but really fun. The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells has a ton of books but most are around 150 pages. And definitely look at Becky Chambers, she’s got a duology called the Monk And Robot duology which are novellas and a series of 4 standalones called the Wayfarer novels.
As a fellow college student, I find short story collections or novels that are 300 or less pages work best for me. For my reading speed personally, I can finish a 300 page book in two sittings (but everyone is different!), and that makes it less stressful when I have to set it down for days at a time. I do also *love* short stories, so reading those in between novels is a nice treat for me. I’m also an English major, so a lot of my other reading can be pretty heavy, and it’s nice to unwind with some O. Henry or Bradbury.