This sub has a lot of highbrow recommendations.
I also enjoy those types of books and have read many of the frequently recommended and similar types, such as Love in the Time of Cholera, The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Road, Of Mice and Men, 1984, Mudbound, To Kill a Mockingbird, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Hot Zone, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Things That They Carried and a ton of nonfiction and memoirs, mostly WWI and WWII related.
But for a change of place, what are your favorite simple, fun, easy books? The stuff that isn't necessarily likely to be nominated for a National Book Award or Pulitzer but is still good?
The things that you'd read at the beach or on a road trip.
You know, gateway books that might make a non-reader reconsider their lack of interest?
Books that are engaging, perhaps even somewhat serious, but not particularly challenging to read with accessible writing.
Ideally stuff written in the last 25 years!
Examples to me would be Beartown, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, the Sookie Stackhouse series, A Man Called Ove, early Stephanie Plum novels, The Outsiders, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Hunger Games, The Girl on the Train, James Heriott All Creature series, and my all-time favorite, World War Z.
by flybyknight665
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The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
Ilona Andrews Innkeeper Chronicles –A magic Inn, space werewolves and vampires, a lot of really unique aliens, mystery, romance, action, a fun and humorous series
Jana DeLeon Miss Fortune series
Anne R. Allen’s Camilla Randell mysteries. They are perfect post work, rest-your-brain, short novels. I’ve enjoyed every one of them!
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater
Mixed Signals by BK Borison
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
With Love From Cold World by Alicia Thompson
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
Well Met by Jen DeLuca
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
I feel like a lot of contemporary fiction is reasonably digestible from a prose standpoint; it’s classics and some techno-babble filled sci fi where I’ve seen people struggle. That being said, I’m going to recommend a sci fi book in Project Hail Mary – a witty and easy read and a fun story. I’ll also throw in A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet as a wonderful warm read and Never Let Me Go for something less light but undeniably page turning.
“The Travelling Cat Chronicles” by Hiro Arikawa
Crazy Rich Asians and the 2 sequels China Rich Girlfiend and Rich people problems are all fun, escapist reads.
The author Kevin Kwan has a new book out as well which I haven’t read but sounds promising
Hemingway-his prose is simple yet endlessly readable.