I’m starting to read after a very long time - it has been decades, since I’ve “read” anything properly. Can I get a good recommendation?
Young Adult Fiction might be a good starting point for you. Just to flex the reading muscles. I’d second Enders Game and it’s sequels for the scifi, and for being sort of YA. Once you get the habit going I bet you’ll be ready to just keep going.
The Sun Also Rises, by Hemingway.
If you want sci-fi, maybe The End of Eternity by Asimov.
I always recommend anything by Raymond Chandler too.
I always recommend The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of A Window And Disappeared
Though you might like to start with an easy thriller to get you hooked. Maybe the Jack Reacher series?
The most immediately gripping book I’ve read recently is The Breach by Patrick Lee
Do you have any idea what you might be interested in? Genres, topics, non-fiction/fiction, etc.
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I second The Expanse series as the other poster said, I started reading with these books when I had time to read during travel. I love the story and characters and the bookies have a really nice cadence to them with regular chapters breaking up the story, helping you feel the progress.
Another series I recommend is the Silo trilogy, Wool, Shift, & Dust. They’ve also just started a TV series on the first book
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No, Dune is not easy to read and would be a terrible re-introduction to reading. I love that book and have read all of the original series, but the first page is enough that people put it down. It might be OK if you have seen one of the movies.
I don’t know if this is exactly what you’re looking for, but Neal Stephenson springs to mind. He grapples with some big ideas regarding technology and philosophy. Snow Crash is a good start. I wouldn’t say it’s an ‘easy’ read but I think it might have a similar vibe to the stuff you like
Just an FYI, research papers are never easy to follow. They are a nightmare to follow and sufficiently comprehend even if you are on the field
You might want to try The Expanse series of books. They’re very straight forward but still are engaging with interesting ideas and they’ve certainly got volume. The language is simple, in a practical and modern kind of way, without feeling dumbed down. It doesn’t use any of the structures that can make a book challenging to follow.
An ‘easy’ book I read recently was Legends & Lattes - low stakes and cosy.
But if you want something with more of a substantial plot, Children of Time has a really fascinating and easy to follow sci-fi story if that’s your thing. Or how about a Terry Pratchett novel? Guards! Guards! is a great place to start with those and they’re always great fun.
I also found the Red Rising books very gripping.
Back when I was a kid I devoured book, usually had 2 going at any given time. Unfortunately my high school for some reason pushed reading really hard, damn near every class had us reading something, even one or two of the advanced math classes assigned books, so I was often juggling 2 or 3 books on top of what I wanted to read myself, one of our homeroom periods a week was mandatory SSR (sustained silent reading) where we were required to be reading something, and it really kind of killed my love of reading and iv been trying to get it back ever since.
I’ve had a lot of starts and stops, and I’ve never quite gotten my groove back entirely, but when I’ve been successful at getting back into reading for a while, it’s usually started with something familiar. Rereading an old favorite, continuing a series I started, or reading something that I’d seen a movie adaptation of. Trying to jump back in headfirst is rough, and sometimes you have to kind of remind yourself why you used to enjoy reading.
Also, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll probably never read like I used to, I’m at a different place in my life, I have other things going on that need my attention, and reading is supposed to be fun, not a chore that I do because I need to check it off of my to-do list.
My wife reads a lot, she has goals to read X books by the end of the year or whatever, and Ishe enjoys it, but personally that’s not for me, that sounds too much like the kind of homework that turned me off of reading years ago.
The expanse is a fantastic series. Also, I’m legally obligated to shill for 40k whenever someone mentions SciFi so, there’s like a million really good 40k series. Ciaphas Cain and Gaunts Ghosts are my recs for sure. Non SciFi, Harry Potter or any of the Rick Riordan books are fun YA novels.
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Did you try Chat GPT for more insights?
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Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor is a fun and easy read
Highly recommend a long way to a small angry planet by Becky Chambers. Sci-fi book, lovely atmosphere, very cosy. Highly recommend the whole series.
Any short story collection.
Best mysteries/science fiction/whatever of the year.
I’d like to recommend Old Man’s War, which is the first book in a sci-fi series. I read the first 3 books in the series basically back to back within 2 months and really enjoyed them. I’m in a similar spot as you and I’m getting back into reading after not reading much for the past few years and these got me back into the habit.
Not sci-fi, but anything in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett is also a good (and usually easy) read.
Just finished the audiobook of Starter Villain by Scalzi
Brilliant story, absolutely ruined by Wil Wheaton’s narration. Same as he did to Ready Player One
It’s almost like he’s trying to sound like the lovechild of a California Valley Girl and a neckbeard Redditor
I’ve read all of them, but the Watch books are my favorite (as you can see).
I’d say they’re my favorite as well! They’re definitely the ones I tend to go to first when I get the urge to re-read any of the Discworld books.
Good choice in username by the way!
If you don’t mind it being YA stuff, I have found “the Hunger Games” series very well written and an easy read, without being trivial. The same for “Harry Potter” (surprisingly). Yeah, the latter may seem for children, at the beginning, but it becomes rather obscure after a while.
Alternative: “The Martian” or “Project Hail Mary”. Very enjoyable books with a touch of humor and good science in them.
I’ve been into Progression Fantasy lately. Everyone I know who read Naomi Navik’s Scholomance series loved it. I also really enjoyed Cradle, Menocht Loop, and … hm, others, but nothing is popping into my head.
Martha Wells’ Murderbot series is funny, fast, and breezy. The first one, All Systems Red, is basically novella length, and a good yarn.
