Mid-30s single, childless woman with ADHD here, used to be a big reader when I was younger but nowadays I struggle with not turning to video games, TV, or Reddit when I get down time. Looking for some titles that will kickstart my reading interest again.
Some of my favorites of the past few years:
– 11/22/63 by Stephen King
– Eleanor Olyphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (I heavily related to this)
– Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
– Sharp Objects & Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
– All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
Right now I have The Secret History, The House on the Cerulean Sea, Circe, and The Midnight Library as my next possibilities. Best one to start with and any other suggestions? Thanks!
by PEN-15-CLUB
7 Comments
Murderbot Diaries,
Brit Marie was here,
The Language of Flowers
You might like Anxious People if you liked Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo was the book that got me out of a reading slump. It has short chapters, is easy to read, and is a great part scripted like an interview, which makes it read like gossip. After I Do from the same writer, Taylor Jenkins Reid, is also a book I really liked.
I also really enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. Haven’t read it myself, but a lot of people that loved Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine enjoyed Lessons in Chemistry as well.
I haven’t yet read Dark Matter, but Recursion was excellent.
Another Sci Fi rec is The Expanse series.
The Pines series by Blake Crouch
I would honestly join a couple of book groups on Facebook, or take a look at BookTok. A lot of them are mainstream popular books that are easy to get into and you can pick back up if you take a break. Reading is a hobby as much as it is a habit. Once you find the type of book that you really like, you can delve more into that specific genre.
For example I’ve always been a reader but after having my daughter I really struggle to get into reading because a lot of what I read I wasn’t able to retain. I would get interrupted a lot, or just not have the time to read chapter after chapter. I started out getting some Colleen Hoover books and noticed that they were really easy to get into and the plot was simple enough for me to be able to pick up and put back down whenever without forgetting details. I would never read her books now as I’ve reestablished the habit of reading, but I appreciate that they helped me get back to it.
This is not to say that there’s anything wrong with her books if anyone that reads this enjoys them, they’re just not what I’m truly into myself.
If you’ve read other Gillian Flynn books, I assume you’ve read *Gone Girl*? If not, it’s good.
If you liked *Eleanor Oliphant*, you might enjoy *A Man Called Ove* or *The Bookish Life of Nina Hill*.
Would also recommend *Ender’s Game*. I haven’t read this myself but a lot of people have good things to say about *Project Hail Mary*.
Also, for me personally, the most random book got me out of a book slump and I finished it in days. It’s called *Deceptions* by Rebecca Frayn and I got it for a few buck on Amazon. If you read it I’d recommend going into it as blindly as possible.