Hey everyone I could really use some guidance. I'm a 35 year old guy (USA) that hasn't read a book for pleasure since I was maybe 12. Everything I've read since then has just been a short story, textbook, or technical documentation for work. I'm basically wanting to re-evaluate to see if I can like reading for fun.
I had a look at some top book lists but it's pretty overwhelming since I'm brand new and there's so much out there. I was hoping someone might be able to recommend a more curated list.
Some of the things I think I might enjoy the most would be…
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interesting takes on society/deeper meaning associated with systems in place (eg. School, Healthcare, Tech, Govt.)
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fantasy (guess I'm thinking Harry Potter for adults or something since I did enjoy those when I was younger)
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self improvement, finding passion and living with purpose (also going to be a dad soon so anything that imparts some wisdom I can apply to parenting)
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eldritch horror (love the idea of Lovecraft style monsters and wondering what else there might be in this space)
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other "must reads" (ultimately I'd love to hear about any life-changing (11/10) books since I'm very open to trying a few things out.
Thanks for taking the time fellow Redditors! <(<)
by shinin_Gold
10 Comments
Congratulations and welcome back to reading! I haven’t read a lot in the genres you mention, so I’ll stick with “must reads”. I’m a big fan of historical fiction and will draw from that.
* [Ken Follet](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3447.Ken_Follett) is known for his historical novels / sagas. His writing is pretty straightforward and to the point.
* [Abraham Verghese](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/93353.Abraham_Verghese) writes sagas using beautiful prose, relying on his medical training, knowledge, and experience to craft his stories.
* There is a lot of historical fiction based on the Holocaust and WW2. If I had to choose one to recommend, it would be [All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143977-all-the-light-we-cannot-see?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=nWO6bZrk0U&rank=1)
Again, welcome back!
Try this it is free https://www.amazon.in/Meera-Karmana-Vol-Nitin-Antoon-ebook/dp/B0CTKXCGNH/
Animal Farm by Orwell is great. It’s funny, short, and is essentially social commentary.
*All Systems Red* by Martha Wells. An AI bot construct is antisocial and depressed and just wants to watch its soap operas until the human’s it’s protecting are endangered. It’s kinda spendy to buy but check your library or it’s on Kindle Unlimited.
*Someone to Build a Nest* In by John Wiswell. A different take on Eldrich Horror.
*Sabriel* by Garth Nix. It’s YA but I enjoyed the hell out of it as an adult.
*The Curse of Chalion* by Lois McMaster Bujold. She’s one of the best writers living today.
I would go to your nearest library and look at the shelf of the recent arrivals. There is normally a good mix of fiction and nonfiction. Also, you want to try many different kinds of books until you find what you like best. A library gives you the best exploration for the lowest price.
>fantasy (guess I’m thinking Harry Potter for adults or something since I did enjoy those when I was younger)
If you’d enjoy your fantasy with a dose of humor, I highly recommend the *Discworld* series by Terry Pratchett. Or *Good Omens*, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
{{ Recursion by Blake Crouch }}
Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series: Harry Potter for adults. Think: what if Harry Potter became a detective?
Some fun reads that come to mind:
– Brandon Sanderson The Way of Kings
– Robin Hobb Ship of Magic
– Stephen King has some good reads that are not horror – The Stand, The Dome, 11/22/63
– Andy Weir Project Hail Mary or the Martian
– Anything by John Krakauer
– Dennis Lehane Shutter Island
– Dan Simmons Hyperion
– David Mitchell The bone clocks or Cloud Atlas
– Eversion Alistair Reynolds
Short stories:
– Ted Chiang Arrival or Exhalations
– Adrian Tchaikovsky Elder Race
– John Scalzi Slow Time Between Stars
– Best of Gene Wolfe
– The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke
Fantastic land – mike bockoven
The curious incident of the dog in the night time
Just started reading myself and these are two books ive read front to back and would read again!