i (18) havent read many books in ny life, and ive instead spent way too much time on social media and reddit, so id like to get into reading instead of scrolling on a phone for stupid amounts of time. im looking to keep my mind sharper and healthier, especially since ive started university recently, and ive wanted to start reading for a while now. it also gives me another reason to get off social media lol. im open to any suggestions from any genre, except something thats really old.
any suggestions are appreciated, thank you and have a good day!
EDIT: was asked to add something id be interested in, crime (true or fiction), fantasy, and action would be great since i like those kinds of movies too
EDIT 2: rephrasing since some of what i said didnt make much sense
by Far-Ad-4920
16 Comments
Please add an edit with something you are interested in. Are you looking for romance, action, maybe magic, something to relax while reading and do a brain dump.
My random Recommendation: Legends and Lattes. Very chill happy feel good.
What kind of movies do you like? That could be a good jumping off point as far as what genres you may enjoy reading.
Ok here are some books I think are engaging and easy to read.
1. Enders Game – Orson Scott Card
2. The Giver – Lois Lowry
3. Dark Matter – Blake Crouch
4. Misery – Stephen King
Give us some hints! I love Neuromancer by William Gibson, it’s a great futuristic drama.
**Almond by Won Pyung Sohn.**
**Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata**
Both amazing short works of fiction, written by
women, and translated from Korean and Japanese respectively.
**The 7 Husbands by Evelyn Hugo**
Not the best fiction , but certainly engaging. I love Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing style, it just pulls you in.
If you are okay with YA
**The Good Girls Guide to Murder Series** is an amazing, easy to follow, and engaging series consisting of 3 main books and a novela
———
I know you said fiction but i have to suggest this amazing Memoir
**Crying in H-Mart** is a beautifully written piece about the author’s experiences growing up Korean-American and her relationship with her mother. (bring tissues 😭)
The Grishaverse Books (YA Fantasy)
Consisting of a Trilogy, and Two duologys (Shadow and Bone Trilogy, Six of Crows Duology and King of Scars Duology) and 2 Other books that expand the world.
There is currently a Netflix Adaptation (Not completely faithful to the books) that is great
They might be a bit big dunno what your maximum page limit is sooo yea
Anything by R.F Kuang (Fiction) (Fantasy)
My favorite from hers is Babel (560 Pg) but it’s not the easiest to read, but amazing. She also has a Trilogy, The Poppy War trilogy, and Yellowface.
I think Yellow face might be easier to get into for considering your experience, as it is her shortest book (about 300 pages)
Anyone questioning my recommendations, i just tried to recommend engaging, good, and short books and other stuff
Hope this helps
25th Hour by David Benioff
I tried to come up with a few options that are very different from each other but are easy to read, not too long, and seem to fit your movie interests:
The Lockwood & Co books,
I’m Thinking of Ending Things,
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe,
Here Lies Daniel Tate,
The Plot
Chee and Leaphorn series; Truly Devious series; One of Us is Lying series; Saturday Night Ghost Club; Tuesday Moody Talks to Ghosts
It’s older but not classic literature old which is what I think you mean by “really old”…and it’s not true crime, but it is an excellent read and one you can follow up with a movie if you haven’t seen it.
Silence of the Lambs
And if you prefer to start with the first book
The Red Dragon
Both by Thomas Harris.
Checkout the true crime book that the excellent Netflix show is based on.
Mindhunter
By John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
The TV series is based on their real work as FBI agents that basically created modern serial killer hunting techniques and is written by the actual agents.
Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg
I was in the same boat earlier this year and I started with the hobbit. It’s really easy to read so I’d say it’s a good starting point
You may enjoy the Skulduggery Pleasant series.
It’s an eldritch/noir fantasy series about a girl in Dublin Ireland who meets a reanimated skeleton who pulls her into a secret world of magic, murder, and ancient gods. It’s really good, plenty of action, (lots of hurling fireballs and different characters with magic specializations) cool characters, and it’s an easy read to get into. It’s got like, 20 books too, so if you enjoy it you’ll have lots of content!
If you’re interested in audio books the first 3 books are sold together on Audible for a really decent price.
If not, happy hunting! There’s so much good stuff out there.
I’m in the exact situation you’re in and have only just picked up reading after years of social media etc. From firsthand experience the absolute best option I can recommend is Lockwood and Co. It’s fantasy/action and despite being simple and fun to read was the stepping stone to get me into reading
Mistborn reads like a movie, especially in the action sequences. Red Rising is like a mix of Star Wars and Gladiator. There’s a book that’s an odd mix of crime and fantasy that might hit several of your interests called I am Not a Serial Killer.
For crimes try John Connollys Charlie Parker series for fantasy/horror try Hugh Howe ya silo trilogy or Justin Cronin a passage trilogy