I’ve been in a horrible reading slump for years. I was fine with audiobooks and podcasts but just couldn’t concentrate on reading.
Finally I’ve found that Agatha Christie novels hold my attention - they are fast paced, not overly complicated, and got me interacting with the story as I played detective while taking notes on the clues in the story.
Now that my reading muscle memory is coming back, I’m able to branch out to more complex books.
What type of books break your reading slump?
The Cradle series by Will Wight. Basically Shonen anime books. Nothing overly complicated but still amazing.
Such a good series, definitely some of the best developed characters of any series in recent memory for me.
It looks interesting! How “dense” is it…like are there lots of names to remember or world building to understand? I struggle a bit with that if the plot isn’t moving quickly enough.
I’d say there’s a fair amount of names. Not at the beginning but if you get to the later books, yeah there is. I wouldn’t say the world building is too out of hand. If you can keep up with an anime like DBZ I’d say you’d be fine.
Something like a Jack Reacher book. Easy and quick to get me back in the habit.
Ted Chiang’s latest collection of short stories was so thoroughly intriguing that I was unable to put it down. its called Exhalation
Any good thriller will do, but there can be a lot of chaff to sift through. I recently read All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby, A Good House for Children by Kate Collins, Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morg (my personal favorite), and The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier. All of them held my attention and had enough twists to keep me awake far longer than I should have been.
Some good old fashioned hard sci-fi usually does the trick for me. Especially when there’s a healthy dose of optimism involved (which is a bit rare these days). Project Hail Mary was perfect in that regard.
Have you ever read Revelation Space? I wanted to like it but didn’t quite make it halfway, the characters felt really flat and I thought maybe hard sci fi isn’t for me. I do love Andy Weir, though
I recommend ‘The Chronicles of St. Mary’s’ by Jodi Taylor.
It’s light, fun (hilarious sometimes) and my favourite when I feel down. Mostly I read it, but the audiobooks are fine too.
Red Rising + the series by Pierce Brown! Light Bringer (the latest book in the series) just came out, so you’ll have plenty to read. It’s punchy, violent, and a hell of a lot of fun.
Project Hail Marry. Read it in 2 days and it rekindled my love for books.
Oh yes! I’ve listened to the audiobook and was captivated. It’s now my benchmark for how good narration should be for an audiobook.
Check out The Blacktongue Thief if you enjoy fantasy. It’s narrated by the author and he is very talented. I enjoyed the book itself very much but I think the audio performance is half the fun, since he knows exactly how every line is intended to be conveyed.
Good Omens by Sir Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman is a classic, once I finished it I got into American Gods by Gaiman and then into Pratchett’s Discworld series
The experience reading Good Omens when I was younger is one I want to capture again. I had so much fun and the pages flew by. I like the current series on Prime also.
I had trouble with American Gods for some reason…like my mind kept wandering and I wasn’t that into it.
I did like the Guards! Guards! Discworld book…you just reminded me they exist!
If you enjoyed Guards! Guards! Why not follow up with the rest of “The Watch” books?
See this for some possible reading orderings:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Discworld_Reading_Order_Guide_3.0_(cropped).jpg
I felt the same way about American Gods, and related that to thinking I wouldn’t like Good Omens. I’ll have to give it a try
IMO books that are a series of stories can be good for this. Check out World War Z by Max Brooks.
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Specific books I can remember: Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. Daisy Jones and the Six. Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow.
Generally, graphic novels and spicy novels help as a brain cleanser. Chick lit. Or a plotline that resonates and absolutely lovable characters.
Try short stories. I am having some fun with Harlan Ellison for the same reasons as you. Trying to break that slump. I also liked the Mike Hammer books by Mickey Spillane.
I don’t know if I’d call it a slump. I liked reading, but just don’t read much.
But I recently picked up James S. A. Corey’s first book in “The Expanse” universe, Leviathan Wakes, and I’m having troubling putting it down!
