Husbands never read a book

[MaybeItsBecauseImALodoner]

Husbands 45 years old, hasn't read a book since leaving school. We were just talking about our upcoming child free week away. I plan to read lots on the sun lounger and I want to buy him something to read.
His Movie favourites are Sci Fi (The Matrix) and Horror, he's always watching videos on ghosts and aliens.
Any suggestions?

And?

You appear to think that reading is superior to swimming, but that's your view, not his.

@TarantinoIsAMisogynist

I've not got a gun to his head, he wants to read something on holiday.!
And saying it baffles me is just an expression, I'm also baffled by people who don't like cats.. Nobody actually thinks these things make them superior, it's just a saying!

My DH has never read a book in all the years I have known him, he says he reads enough for work! He cannot understand my obsession with books and my idea of heaven being curled up with a good book. I cannot understand his obsession with gaming - we are all different!

I used to work as a Teacher-librarian and have dual qualifications (not in the UK). I always found that quite often it was a case of finding just the 'right' book that would catch a child's interest, and if you were lucky, it could turn them into keen readers. Obviously this wouldn't always work and some children just weren't interested in reading, no matter how much encouragement they received at home or school. But that's just life, I suppose. My idea of hell would be to attend a cricket match, tennis tournament, or, really, any sporting event.

The secret diary of Adrian mole age 13 3/4#...
Men are from mars,women have no rights dictate how you lounge as long as ure not annoying

I am a reader, mine is a watcher.
Books don't do it for him for 2 reasons. 1-he is undiagnosed dislexic very obviously, 2-it doesn't make a movie in his head.
Some people don't get the same pleasure from books as others even if they don't have reading issues. If my brain didn't make visual stories in my head I also wouldn't enjoy it.
Mine finds nice series, downloads it and watches it by the pool.
Usually people who do not read at all don't because it simply doesn't do it for them.

If he wants to try get him 1 book to try. There is no need for "pile".

Stephen King is not a good shout I'm sorry. If someone isn't a reader you can't just buy them a book from one of the most descriptive and wordy authors and expect them to read it.

I personally love reading but I wouldn't try and convert my husband if he didn't. It's not a big deal, not everyone has to enjoy reading...

Easy read for your DH - The 39 Steps by John Buchan.

How about a graphic novel? Plenty in the sci fi genre.

Echo graphic novels idea. DH has loads of 2000 AD.

I went away for a couple of days in June and took a book with me that I've had kicking around for a couple of years; I got through maybe a third of it and haven't picked it up since I got back. I just don't enjoy reading fiction.

I do go to the cinema at least twice a week which a lot of people seem to rarely do, and I have the radio/music on all day (and likewise would if I was sitting by a pool). There are lots of things which don't interest me that I haven't done for decades - I can't see why that would be in any way 'not great'?

How can you be 'baffled' by your own husband?

And many people don't like cats, that is not 'baffling' either.

I want to get him a pile of books for Christmas to take on holiday. This sounds a bit overbearing. Why not go book shopping together and he can choose for his holiday. It sounds like you're trying to improve him.

My DH loves books by Michael Connolly, Peter James and Leee Child, which are not Sci Fi but are gripping, fast moving crime authors. As he doesn't read, books by James Patterson are good for holidays, as they have short chapters and are fast moving. A problem with audio books is if you are reading on a sun bed and doze off, the book keeps playing, so you have to bugger about finding the part where you fell asleep. Much easier to find your place in a book, and even easier on a Kindle.

My Dh doesn't read much (mild dyslexia) but is currently enjoying The Catalyst Series

I was going to suggest James Patterson or Lee Child. A lot of the books suggested here are not going to hook a non-reader!

Patterson and Child both write plot and character-centric novels which are focused on male action. My dad, who doesn’t read as a rule, will read them both.

I'd agree with saving your money and not getting a pile 😉 but maybe three? With a variety of type. It depends a little on why he doesn’t read I think. For me I’ve had long periods when I can only get into stuff with clear plot lines that drive the novel forward, so crime fiction for example. Otherwise my brain flutters off and I can’t cope. But it had to be the right kind - Miss Smilla’s Sense of Snow is on the outside a crime novel but it’s too jumpy in time and unexplicit in explanations for an easy forward going read. If you need really simple you go Dan Brown I mean (for me that’s too dumb, others find them entertaining page turners).

There’s a SF series based somewhat on the Master and Commander books, so basically the captain strides about shouting technical orders and thinking about logistics. I find it boring as he’ll because I like Ursula Leguin, but I suspect a lot of men people who enjoy battle minutiae love it.

What does he enjoy on the telly?

Lots of very good books suggested already, but most of them I'd consider very good choices for a reader but terrible choices for a non-reader. Something from the YA section is much easier going, there are reasons why Harry Potter and The Hunger Games have been good at getting adults (including middle-aged men) back into the reading habit. Classic thrillers by Frederick Forsyth (The Fourth Protocol, The Day of The Jackal) or Robert Ludlum (Bourne) might also be a good call - pacy, page-turners written for holiday reading.

Roofworld by Christopher Fowler..

My friend's DH isn't much of a reader but he really enjoys an autobiography of people he knows and admires. Usually sporting or music heroes. Maybe worth a look?

I'd go with the Martian or similar as suggested by a couple of people previously.

The other option to consider would be non-fiction written in narrative form. Ben Macintyre wrote operation mincemeat (now a film) and has recently done a new one about the siege of the Iranian embassy in London.

A pile of books to take on holiday as a non reader really just doesn’t make sense logistically. That’s a lot a space and weight taken up by something he might not enjoy. Kindle have just released new editions, a lot of people are upgrading so it’s probably a good time to buy a second hand base model kindle at the moment - if he likes it then great and if not it can probably be sold on for around what you paid for it. And an e-reader takes up significantly less room than even one book.

Why not buy him a Kindle and then he can choose for himself what he wants?

My dbro is not a reader, but he can manage (and more importantly, enjoy) a novel if he’s seen it on screen first. If your DH has enjoyed a film/TV series based on a book, he might find that easier to read.

If he’s seen it, I’d recommend Slow Horses, as it is very faithful to the book.

The Halo books. They were books before a computer game before a tv series.

I have a dh and two out of three dc who are 'non readers' and never read for pleasure.

They don't sit staring at the sky on holiday 😂 They listen to podcasts or music mainly when I'm reading.

Seems odd to buy someone a book when they don't enjoy reading.