Recommendations for someone who hasn't read much

[Byge]

Embarrassing to admit this as everyone seems fairly well read on mn! But due to dyslexia, other learning issues and the stress of reading out loud in school etc just put me off. Hadn't read a full book for years but just recently finished my first book in a long time: the spy and the traitor.
I loved it!
I've read Harry Potter as a child but apart from that, not much!

What next? What do people recommend. I'd love to read another spy type one but also I'd love to read some classics or other people's must reads regardless of genre, even kids books!

I'd just like to make up for lost time!

Hi!

I’ve got really into reading since the 1st lockdown so here are some good books that are quick reads and really enjoyable:

Hunger games books (I watched the films and enjoyed the books just as much)

A man called Ove by Fredrik Backman- a delightful book that’s a very easy read

Half the world away by Mike Gayle

No one home by Tim Weaver

If you are dyslexic then it might be worth looking at Barrington Stokes - a publisher that prints dyslexia friendly books. They are mainly children’s books, but publish some classics.

If you like Harry Potter and spy type books your first port of call should be the Strike books by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling). They are wonderful.

I’m sure you’ll get loads of other recommendations - there are so many great books
X

Oooh, so many options!!

I adore John Le Caré, especially the Smiley novels:
www.goodreads.com/series/180842-george-smiley

Also Agatha Christie and Dick Francis are always entertaining.

I’ll keep thinking and add some more...

I read a lot of teen fiction, it's easy to read and no harrowing story lines. Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, Uglies, Eden, Twilight, all good. His Dark Materials is good too.

I've just read Percy Jackson which I bought for 8yo dd and really enjoyed it! Anything by Dianne Wynne Jones is a safe bet as well.

I also love Jilly Cooper but they haven't aged brilliantly.

I agree with pp - His Dark Materials is brilliant.

Thank you all! I've registered to good reads and added them all in my want to read section! Just been reading the reviews for his Dark materials that several PP recommended.

Side point but please don’t be embarrassed by this, some people are into reading a lot and some are not. I don’t read books often at all, I have read books and enjoyed them but it’s not part of my life and that’s fine 😊

My dyslexic spouse likes books where you get a 'payoff' every paragraph. Hits include Bill Bryson - Notes from a Small Island/Big Country, Terry Pratchett, His Dark Materials, Neil Gaiman.

The James Bond novels might be fun, or thrillers like Jack Reacher.

I read a lot of teen fiction, it's easy to read and no harrowing story lines. Hunger Games

Hunger Games is a bunch of teenagers trying to kill each other. Harry Potter is about a war where some beloved characters die. I find children's books are far worse for blithely killing off people left right and centre than adult novels (where you can easily avoid such things if you want)!

I'd say don't be afraid to stop reading a book if you aren't enjoying it. There are entire genres of books out there that I have no desire to read. And depending what else is going on in your life you might want to avoid certain books or wallow in comfort books. Might be worth thinking about what kind of things you like to watch on TV and trying reading books in that genre, whether it is fantasy, murder mysteries or medieval history.

If you liked the Spy and the Traitor, OP I would highly recommend Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson. Fast paced and a sprinkling of spy. Joseph Kanon also writes some great spy books. And of course John le Carre, as pp have said.

Kolymsky Heights www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0571326110/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_M62EQN0PPMCDPW767K49?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I agree with Agatha Christie and also Arthur Conan Doyle.

If you would like to read classic and aimed at younger audiences I would personally recommend The Secret Garden and The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Also do you think you would enjoy fairytales? The originals. GRIMMs brothers, Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Perrault etc. Much darker than Disney remakes but some superb. Others not so much 😂 but of course everything is to personal taste.

I hope you find a lot of books you love and happy reading

Thank you again everyone, I have so much on my good reads list! I like the look of the secret garden. I've bought myself a kindle to make it easier to read as I don't have a bookshop near me.

Thank you elisandra for the good reads link, I signed up and I've been looking at people's reviews and all the different lists and making my own want to read list!

I love your question. Personally, I do NOT recommend teen/YA books. You should let your project launch you into adult books.

I'd suggest you try shorter ones. That way it won't seem too daunting.

Three that comes to mind, all "classics" in their own way, are:

Animal Farm
We Have Always Lived In the Castle
Of Mice and Men.

Good luck with your project. Hope it's fun for you.

Anything by George Saunders, Graham Greene or Hilary Mantel

The Rosie Project
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Marion Keyes is a popular author. I like Last Chance Saloon best of hers.

The Dry by Jane Harper

The light between oceans

The momentum of lift by Melinda Gates for some non fiction

What about a memoir or biography? I recently enjoy War Doctor by David Nott. The Courage to Care by Christie Watson was also good, as was Educated by Tara Westover but War Doctor was my favourite of the three.

Don't feel that you must launch into
Literary fiction first. In your shoes I'd want to read stuff that you find 'unputdownable' to get you back into the swing of it.
Try John Le Carre for spy books: you'll have heard of some of them, for example Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but there's about 8 books about the same character, George Smiley, and they are all a gripping read.
I second the pp who suggested Agatha Christie. It's straightforward language, albeit a little of its time, with good plotting.
Crime/mystery rather than espionage but straightforward and short are the novels of Dick Francis. Great to read on the train for example, or to read on one sitting if you ever have a day to indulge yourself but don't want anything too taxing.

Some really great recommendations on here!

I would also add Liane Moriarty.

Another classic I would thoroughly recommend is The Importance Of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde, although it is a play.

Yes Liane Moriarty is v
good.
Anne Tyler is very readable and entertaining - The Redhead by the side of the Road was good.
These books are about people rather than heavy on history or suspense or whodunnits. Although they might include that.

You might find this thread inspiring, @Byge (if you’re not already on there!)
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4270767-The-best-book-you-ve-ever-read?msgid=108244495#108244495

Are you interested in animals @OP? The James Herriot and Gerald Durrell books are well written and funny as well as interesting.

Try some women authors OP

Ann Patchett
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Sadie Smith
Isabella Allende
Toni Morison

they all write brilliantly!

Im loving all the love for Le Carre. My very favourite author. If you like a good cold war thriller, Len Deighton is brill. More readable and less convoluted than Le Carre‘s stuff.

I will say as a fellow dyslexic, audiobooks are fab too. I mix and match between audiobooks and eBooks. Not sure if you are reading eBooks or actual books, but whichever you are currently using it is worthwhile giving the other format a try, just in vase it is easier. Ebooks were a revelation to me, I can adjust the font and the size and brightness of the text. It’s amazing.