The book that will get me reading again is...

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Help! I have forgotten how to read a novel. As a child and teenager I was an avid reader, often staying awake into the night as I was so absorbed in a book.
I loved reading. I could read anything start to finish even if it wasn't a great book.

In the last seven years I haven't read a book. I have tried numerous times but I don't have the staying power. I might manage the first few chapters and then it drifts. Books I've started and failed in the last two years:

Rivers of London
Where the Crawdads sing
Us

I hate that I don't read any more and I want to get back into it.

So here's the challenge. If there's one book that will grip me from the outset and inspire me to read it is...

… entirely dependent on your own tastes. What novels/non-fiction/whatever have you liked in the past?

shantaram by gregory david roberts is a great read!

What about some of the short read 99p books around? They're around 100 pages and I'm finding it easier to read them than longer books at the moment.

This was me a few years ago. For me it wasn't about finding a specific book that got me reading again or engaged me sufficiently that suddenly I was back to not being able to get enough of it. I actually don't think anything would have done that. Really it was about re-forming the habit; I started by setting a personal target of 15 minutes reading a day and so on until it just felt normal and enjoyable and I found I was wanting to carry on organically which came in time.

It probably sounds a bit daft but I am so glad to have reading back in my life again and find it a comfort. It came so naturally as a younger person and was such a fulfilling pastime. As an adult I think we are naturally much more critical of concepts and are more self-aware so it is harder to completely lose yourself in literature in that same way; suspending disbelief is that much more of a challenge.

I will say that it took me a while to get back into an idea of what it is I like to read now, vs what I used to like reading and learn to pick books there is a reasonable chance I'll like. Of course it is always a bit of a gamble and a minefield but that's half the fun. We don't have to finish it if we don't like it.

What kinds of books did you used to enjoy OP? What drew you to those three?

When I was burnt out after my Literature degree I couldn't read for about 6 months. It was Terry Pratchett who got me reading again. I read The Colour of Magic. I've recently revisited him and have been loving the witches books - my particular favourite so far has been Witches Abroad.

Shuggie Bain - absolutely brilliant. It won the booker prize in 2020. Xox

I'm in a book club and it's the only way I'd read a whole book these days. I used to go through 2-3 a week before Covid but not sure if it's the lack of commuting, age or the availability of good Netflix shows that means I rarely have the attention span for ready.

The book I found easiest to read (out of my more recent BC books) was American Dirt. It's a page turner and interesting while at the same time not too gritty or challenging. Definitely worth a go in my opinion.

I suffer from reading fatigue on an embarrassingly regular basis, and what works for me:

audiobooks - genius, honestly. Stories but no effort. Listen as you do something else.

reading for a set time e.g. 15 minutes per day - I MUST read for this long daily then can stop but often carry on.

Putting my phone & other distractions away - paper books not ebooks etc.

Make it a ritual - cup of tea, cosy up etc.

For recommendations, I’m a big crime fiction or light women’s lit fan to get out of a slump - Marian Keyes, Lisa Jewell.
The Appeal by Janice Hallett broke my last slump.

If you’re like me you might need a time lock for your electronic devices.

Second American Dirt. More gripping than Crawdads for me.

Go to your local library and sign up for Libby. free books! That's what for me reading again.

Oh but if you want to fork out, I loved Circe.

This was me a few years ago. For me it wasn't about finding a specific book that got me reading again or engaged me sufficiently that suddenly I was back to not being able to get enough of it. I actually don't think anything would have done that. Really it was about re-forming the habit; I started by setting a personal target of 15 minutes reading a day and so on until it just felt normal and enjoyable and I found I was wanting to carry on organically which came in time.

Very much agree with this. It is a habit at its heart.

I'm a huge reader and will read a couple of books a week, most are totally forgettable. The one book series I have read several times is the Clan of the Cave Bear series. (apart from the last one).

If you’re like me you might need a time lock for your electronic devices.

This definitely rings true. Is there a particular app to manage this that you use? @Trivester
My bad habits with screens are definitely an issue.

… entirely dependent on your own tastes. What novels/non-fiction/whatever have you liked in the past?

In the past I seemed to enjoy pretty much everything and funnily enough I'm struggling to think of books I've read even though there must be hundreds.

Adventure/fantasy books like Harry Potter /Chronicles of Narnia /Philip Pullman (Shadow in the North series/Northern lights) are books I loved as a child and re-read as an adult and still enjoyed.

I used to enjoy reading Charles Dickens, Jane Austen. Pretty sure there's no chance of me getting through a Dickens novel nowadays!

I used to like Nick Hornby books but I wonder if these would seem very dated now.

Last book I remember finding gripping as an adult was Sister by Rosamund Lupton. Not a book I would have chosen but I was in a book club at the time and couldn't put this book down.

Feel as though I could do with reading something easy and funny.

I definitely don't want to read anything too challenging in terms of the state of the world today. I've stopped watching the news as I find it very difficult (not something I'm proud to admit).

I would say, don't choose something just because it seems 'worthy' or is the latest, greatest thing. If you enjoy, for example, detective dramas or romantic dramas on TV, go for something like that. Especially for getting back into the habit of reading. I go from murder mysteries, to non fiction popular science, to thought provoking philosophical novels, to silly comedies. Whatever mood you're in, pick something to reflect that.

@INeedNewShoes I’ve never found an app that works because I don’t have the discipline not to over ride it.

I’ve ordered an actual padlock.

Shopaholic series, light hearted joy

Lucy Dillon's books, especially if you're a dog lover.

The Paper Palace. It gripped me more than Where the Crawdads Sing

I'm an Audiobooks lover. Little effort and can be done anywhere.

During and after my degree I didn't read for 4 years it was chick lit that has always got me back to reading after a lull. I'm not even a fan of it but the easyness of it is great.

The Midnight Library
Wuthering Heights
Anything by Mitch Alborn - very uplifting
The Shack

Is it worth re-reading something you’ve already read and enjoyed? Just to get back into the habit. I completely lost my concentration skills during lock down but found short novels on the library app helped.

Otherwise I read all the cormoran strike novels this year and absolutely loved them. I also have to find out what happens next in liane moriarty novels (I personally would skip the nine perfect strangers one, not her best). Failing that something easy to read like Marian Keyes or Norah Roberts.

Get down to the library and borrow a stack of things you might like. Try the first chapter from each and see if any grab you. When in this kind of mood, I often have to try a lot before I find one that sticks, and then I'm away!

When choosing books, look at the YA section as well as adult. There is loads of good YA books, and often I find them the perfect way out of a reading slump.

I also love a good travel book for a bit of escapism.

Easy read - the trilogy "Why Mummy/drinks/swears/doesn't give a $%^&&" by Gill Sims. She's also just released a new book, can't remember the exact title but something like The Saturday Savignon Sisterhood.

They had me laughing & crying and I couldn't put them down.

Georgette Heyer. Light, but well written and fun stories.