Hey book nerds!
I’m 20 (M) and would love your suggestions for the first book I should start reading. I’ve always been excited about books and literature, but I was never able to gather the courage to start. Recently, I’ve been seeing a lot of quotes from Dostoevsky's works, and they’ve made me want to dive in. However, those thick and lengthy books kind of intimidate me. But now, I’m ready to begin my reading journey, and I’d love some suggestions from you all. Would a Dostoevsky book be a good starting point? I would really appreciate your guidance.
by Ice_Ant_7828
8 Comments
In short, no. If this truly is the first book you’re going to read, then dostoevsky is quite a heavy book literature wise to start with. His themes are quite depressing, wordy, and dare, I say, boring and out of touch with a modern reader. It’s true that parallels can be drawn from them regarding the ills of society and man, and this is why it’s a popular book among psychologists, philosophers, and intellectuals. But man, for me, his books were a chore to read. I’d start with a fantasy fiction book, easy to read and aimed at a younger audience. You’ll breeze through it quickly , enjoy the escapism, and hopefully keep the spark of wanting to read alive.
I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest first read. You could start out his short stories to get a feel for his writing. Some of his books deal with a lot of moral dilemmas, which can be seen as difficult or challenging. The worst that could happen is that you don’t want to finish a book and end up putting it down, which is not the end of the world. Crime and Punishment is a classic and often read by high school students but it is still philosophy heavy. But you’ll also be able to find lots of summaries online, which could help you if you find anything difficult to understand.
Also, if you do pick up a book by Dostoevsky and it ends up disappointing you, don’t let it shy you away from reading. There is an endless amount of books by other authors that may spark your interest if you just look for them.
Mmm I don’t think so. I’ve only read Crime and Punishment and it is a heavy read. Not in terms of length. It’s only 480 pages long. The content is heavy. The philosophy is heavy. And the philosophy isn’t the kind that you think you can just skip if you don’t understand. Because the characters’ next moves are decided by the philosophy behind their thoughts. So it’s a lot to take in. If you’re completely new to reading, you should start with small, easier books which will help you get into the habit of reading. You can try light reads like Days at the Morisaki bookshop. I started my journey with abridged versions of classic children’s literature like Heidi and Tom Sawyer. Also I’ll suggest reading smaller books of different genre so that you can discover which genre you enjoy the most at this particular time of your life. I wouldn’t suggest starting with classics. But if you really want to read Dostoyevsky, you can try White Nights. It’s a small book lengthwise and maybe you can find out if it’s your cup of tea. Happy reading!!
I think it’s great that you want to read Dostoevsky. And I’d definitely book mark that as a goal. But maybe first warm yourself up with a few shorter, or more accessible, but still worthwhile reads.
* What do you want to get out of reading? Why do you want to become a reader?
* Are there particular genres you know you want to read?
* What kinds of movies, games and TV shows do you like?
Read to kill a mockingbird or the picture of dorian gray
no
If you really want to read dsteyevsky read short stories or white nights. Any of the big books for your first is way too hard in my opinion
If you really are opening a book for the first time in your 20’s you might want to start with something lighter, a short novel or an anthology would be best.