I just found this sub and I guess I'm hoping maybe someone can help me out of this well I fell into. I used to be an avid reader but with the advent of puberty, digitalization, Internet, and later, college, it slowly died. I find it difficult to find a book that catches me, though at random one will and then I tear through it like I would when I was younger. The problem is, while I know my genres I'm aware of very few sub themes or writing styles or whatever factors, turn me off in a book. I like fantasy but have a hard time figuring out why some hook me by the second page, others require me to skip a few beginning chapters, and still others compel me to simply close the cover. So, I guess I'll give what information I'm able, along with a short list of books that I clawed from the back of my mind, and hope someone can push me off the right cliff.
I like fantasy, sci Fi, dystopian\apocalyptic, survival and pioneering, and historical drama\realistic fiction. There are probably some I'm missing, and of course exceptions (I loved My Ishmael), and I'm also interested in branching out as of course my adult interests have developed and I find international politics, for example, fascinating. I do not like the mixture of magic and technology, so I guess steam punk is what they call that? That's out for me. I was a huge fan of the show Avatar, couldn't force myself to watch Kora, and while I've enjoyed the movies well enough the Star Wars books were awful to try to read. I also tend to find "the classics" that I've read are very difficult to get into, but very fulfilling once I've finished them. Here a short list of examples:
Into Thin Air
Into the Wild
My Side of the Mountain
Swiss Family Robinson.
Gates of Rome (Iggulden).
JV Jones Books.
Rune Lords.
Icewind Dale Trilogy with Drizzt Do'Urden.
Harry Potter.
LotR.
Narnia.
A Song of Ice and Fire.
Magic: The Gathering: Arena, Whispering Woods.
Robin Hood.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
The Stand.
Anne Rice vampire chronicles up until (and including) Blood and Gold or Pandora but the earlier ones through Memnoch were the best.
Dune.
Enders Game.
Big fan of Walking Dead, 28 Days Later, 2012, Day After Tomorrow for the apocalyptic and dystopian stuff as I didn't have any books in the list to represent that… There's a new one on Netflix, "Leave the World Behind" that feels kind of like apocalypse meets Red Dawn, that's another flavor I could get into.
Well, I hope maybe someone can pull some sense out of this rambling and toss me some good suggestions. I appreciate your time in reading this!
Totally different question but it's the reason I found this sub: does anyone remember the hardcover "Great Illustrated Classics" and soft cover "Illustrated Classic Editions" (Moby Books), I'm pretty sure both from Walden? I'm wondering if they've got the same writing, for example, if Robin Hood is the same between both versions, as I had a mix match as a kid and would like to have these for my kids but maybe just one version…. Also looking for a good EU source for these.
by Major_Boot2778