Looking to Get Back Into Reading - Opinions Welcome

I used to be a heavy reader. I only owned around 400 paperbacks and maybe 30 hard covers but that was by the time I was 16 so I consider it a badge of honor. I had to sell most of them during different parts of my life mainly for a bit of money here and there. I am down too around 60-70 paper backs and a dozen hard covers now.

I landed a new job where I see myself reading while on break and lunch. If anyone is an avid reader I would love too talk, to try and get my interest back.

I would love too get some ideas on somewhat common titles. Stuff that can be found in used book stores more commonly would be nice. But I am open to a lot of different genres. I was very heavy into medieval/magic fantasy style but also had a large helping of SAS/special forces fiction and non fiction. I got into SciFi later but had a lot of fun with titles like snowclash and the Starship Troopers book was a fun read.

I would love for an open forum or even PM's about what to read and what everyone likes. Please just say what you like even!

I'm not an avid reader myself I'm afraid, but I do enjoy a good book every now and then; as such books are in my Stumble interests and I found this earlier today:
http://www.listchallenges.com/npr-to...-fantasy-books

I've only read 10 of them, and it sounds like you'll have read a lot more, but if you're looking for 'somewhat common titles' and like sci-fi and fantasy it should be a good place to look. :)


Oh, last book I read - The Explorer, by James Smythe.
I'm actually still not entirely sure what I think of it... It was an enjoyable and slightly trippy read but not what I was expecting from a sci-fi. That's all I can say without giving it away really, anyway, it has mixed reviews.

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Originally Posted by Frankenfurter

http://www.listchallenges.com/npr-to...-fantasy-books

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I like that list. I think I will make my own smaller list from it and go hunting for them at the local used book stores. Fill up the shelves a bit. I buy most of my books as I find I spend more in late fees or replacing books my kids damage at the library than buying used books.

i am a big fan of autobiographys. started reading wrestlers one and have read some others too.

2 of the best have been Catch me if you Can - about Frank Abagnalie and David Jasons one.

I got a Nook Touch for £29: http://www.nook.com/gb/tablets/nook-simple-touch

There is a sci-fi short stories book for a few quid that is something like 13000 pages and has kept me going for ages. Just the sample download kept me in reading material for over a month :D

Has also found me some new authors that I have bought further stories from.

2 points, get an ereader they're much easier for that kind if dip in/out reading. Secondly don't read every break in a new job. Unless you're the only person there talk to people, it'll make your job much more satisfying

Most stuff by Carl Hiaasen is very very well written, funny, fast paced quirky offbeat crime stuff. Absolutely not the sort of thing I would normally read (usually historical fiction) but have been my fave author for years.

Or how about the Flashman series?

I use a Kobo Aura HD ebook reader which is a bit pricey but very very good. I'm in my 40s and a bit long sighted and the ability to make the fonts a bit bigger to read without glasses is nice.

Or if you want a large range for free hit the library!

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Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix

I got a Nook Touch for £29: http://www.nook.com/gb/tablets/nook-simple-touch

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Wow! I had no idea e-readers were so cheap now. I might pick one up myself! :o

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Originally Posted by Frankenfurter

Wow! I had no idea e-readers were so cheap now. I might pick one up myself! :o

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I expected to root/hack it so it was intended as a sort of geeky toy, but so far it has remained standard as it is just so damned useful as a reader. I have a Hudle tablet as well now, but the e-ink is much nicer to read.

Just keep going north on the A33, off the M4, and you'll get there eventually ;)

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Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix

I expected to root/hack it so it was intended as a sort of geeky toy, but so far it has remained standard as it is just so damned useful as a reader. I have a Hudle tablet as well now, but the e-ink is much nicer to read.

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Ah nice. I'll definitely have a look into it then. Should probably finish my build first though...

Back to OP - sounds like you're doing the same thing I am. Not sure when I'll be finding the time to get through everything I'm listing though. :P

Kalniel - I have no words. xD

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Originally Posted by Frankenfurter

Ah nice. I'll definitely have a look into it then. Should probably finish my build first though...

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The Nook isn't perfect by any means, like it seems to drop the first letter of a book presumably because it is supposed to be some oversized drop cap.

I believe underneath it is an Android 2.2 tablet, and I suspect the hardware is old enough that it will never see another firmware update. However the battery lasts me weeks on a charge and it was really cheap so I can't get too annoyed :D

I am not too old, turning 29 at the end of this year but my eyes are not perfect either. That being said, holding onto a book and using a bookmark I have had for 14 years is part of what makes it enjoyable to me. It is so much more personal and I can get into it easier. Besides books tend to last a lot longer :).

If I start working our of providence or start traveling where space is a factor then I may look into a basic liquid crystal e-reader as I love the crazy long battery life. I have also caught myself doing a fair bit of reading on my old first gen I-pad. Mainly news and Reddit. It was a demo model so one of the first ones ever touched by the general public and boy has it taken a lot of abuse, so much more durable than its successors.

But ya I love some of the ideas from this thread. Lets try and get more authors and titles in the mix!

Have you gone through everything in the recommend a book thread yet?

http://forums.hexus.net/movies-tv-mu...mend-book.html

be careful not to turn this thread into a repeat of that one or it might be closed :p

This thread too if you are into scifi/fantasy :

http://forums.hexus.net/movies-tv-mu...endations.html

If you're into your historical fiction then I would highly recommend Bernard Cornwell (ofcourse you will hopefully have already read some of his stuff)

I also really enjoyed a couple of trilogies by Robin Hobb (The LiveShip Traders, maybe The Farseer Trilogy as well). Not really historical fiction since they involve supernatural stuff, but they are based in an 'older time' so you may enjoy them.

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Originally Posted by kalniel

Have you gone through everything in the recommend a book thread yet?

http://forums.hexus.net/movies-tv-mu...mend-book.html

be careful not to turn this thread into a repeat of that one or it might be closed :p

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I would hate to see a thread closed as it is similar to another thread. I just wanted to start a back and forth and get some ideas. I am not trying to impose on any other thread or cause strife. It is not even a recommendation thread so much as a what does everyone read and whats good thread anyway.

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Originally Posted by g8ina

This thread too if you are into scifi/fantasy :

http://forums.hexus.net/movies-tv-mu...endations.html

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Thanks for the link. I am open to a lot more than just one genre though so I am trying to get people to open up with everything and pick some brains. I also want it to benefit everyone else who posts or reads.

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Originally Posted by GeorgeStorm

If you're into your historical fiction then I would highly recommend Bernard Cornwell (ofcourse you will hopefully have already read some of his stuff)

I also really enjoyed a couple of trilogies by Robin Hobb (The LiveShip Traders, maybe The Farseer Trilogy as well). Not really historical fiction since they involve supernatural stuff, but they are based in an 'older time' so you may enjoy them.

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No I have not read his books as far as I can tell from skimming the titles. He does have a large list of titles though. I bookmarked his website as he seems right up my ally. I do like some other movies about sharpe's army/brigade ect... He seemed like a very intense character and it would be neat too see what a good writer could do with him.

I know you're really after book discussion rather than websites that recommend you things, but I was just using this one for TV shows and remembered this thread. I've not really tried its books section but it's great for TV and Film, so it's probably worth a look. :)

http://www.tastekid.com/like/The+Hit...e+Hobbit/books

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Originally Posted by Frankenfurter

I know you're really after book discussion rather than websites that recommend you things, but I was just using this one for TV shows and remembered this thread. I've not really tried its books section but it's great for TV and Film, so it's probably worth a look. :)

http://www.tastekid.com/like/The+Hit...e+Hobbit/books

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It seems like an interesting site if nothing else. I may play around with it. Thanks!

No worries, good luck in your hunt!

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Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix

I got a Nook Touch for £29: http://www.nook.com/gb/tablets/nook-simple-touch

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Do you mind me asking where you got the Nook at that price? The cheapest I can find it is £49 :(

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Originally Posted by deejayburnout

i am a big fan of autobiographys. started reading wrestlers one and have read some others too.

2 of the best have been Catch me if you Can - about Frank Abagnalie and David Jasons one.

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Me too (a fan that is), don't read anywhere near as much as I used to but the slowly working round to pile had or mostly still has the following on it; most of Simon Gray's, Clive James', Simon Armitage's memoir-ish All Points North, Mark Oliver Everett's Things the Grandchildren Should Know, and Philip Normans' Babycham Night, that sort of thing.. currently cheating by audio-book-ing The Boy Detective by Roger Rosenblatt & liking it a lot. :) Morrissey will probably go on the pile at some point.

Couldn't be doing with a Nook.. functionally or otherwise.. I like my tangible books, like the OP, posing with an e-reader is a bit more torturous.. ;)

I'm a bit erratic or eclectic in my reading. I'm currently reading "Blood Meridian" (Cormac McCarthy) which is historical fiction, "Luminous" (Greg Egan) science fiction, and "Collapse:How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" (Jared Diamond) historical/ecological. I'm intending to get back into the "Mars" series (Kim Stanley Robinson); I got about 400 pages into Red Mars but for some reason I just stopped.

I have yet to find time to go to any local book stores so I grabbed one of the books in my "probably not going to read stack". Books given to me which never sparked my curiosity. The winner was a Tom Clancy novel Locked On.

By the time I get through that I will definitely have a narrow shopping list with all the feedback from this thread. Thank you everyone!

My advice would be to read something short. If you're getting back into it.. I made the mistake of starting 'Under The Dome' and just couldn't stomach another large book after a long break.

Maybe even a book of short stories? On a horror tip, you couldn't get much better than Skeleton Crew by Stephen King or Clive Barker's Books Of Blood.

Best books:
Lord of the rings is great, and fast paced once they get out of the shire.
Game of thrones
The wasp factory by Ian Banks
the Red dwarf books or anything by Douglas Adams

The Divergent trilogy is a great read. I'm currently reading the third book, Allegiant. It's great, seeing as the story is half told from the perspective of Tobias, and Tris, which is so cool, and… you guys have no idea what I'm talking about. Anyway, some other good books to read are Halo Evolutions, Fall of Reach, Ghost of Onyx, Cole Protocol, Mass Effect Revelation, Mech Warrior, War Hammer 40,000 Dawn Of War II. These are all Sci fi/Cyberpunk by the way. I'm not too sure on what you're into, but yeah these are all great books. http://www.pic4ever.com/images/reading.gif

For some lunch reading id have to advise terry pratchett, ive loved his books for over 10 years now and can easily sit down for 30 mins and read, or even 6 hours (which ive done to many times lol) ive never stopped enjoying his books.

I cannot read fiction because it bores me. But I do like to read factual information now and then. Most of my books have been on Neuro-Linguistic Programming. I can recommend a book called "Teach yourself NLP". It is all about mental techniques that are part of NLP. Things like pulling apart what people are saying to detect where things are unclear, things to do with seeing things differently, things about purposefully being vague and ambiguous when you are trying to be persuasive. There is a lot of amazing information in that book about what the brain ac actually do when you know how. So that would be my recommendation, if you are into such learning type of materials. It is not everyone's cup of chai.

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Originally Posted by Stylin

I used to be a heavy reader. I only owned around 400 paperbacks and maybe 30 hard covers but that was by the time I was 16 so I consider it a badge of honor. I had to sell most of them during different parts of my life mainly for a bit of money here and there. I am down too around 60-70 paper backs and a dozen hard covers now.

I landed a new job where I see myself reading while on break and lunch. If anyone is an avid reader I would love too talk, to try and get my interest back.

I would love too get some ideas on somewhat common titles. Stuff that can be found in used book stores more commonly would be nice. But I am open to a lot of different genres. I was very heavy into medieval/magic fantasy style but also had a large helping of SAS/special forces fiction and non fiction. I got into SciFi later but had a lot of fun with titles like

I would love for an open forum or even PM's about what to read and what everyone likes. Please just say what you like even!

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I would advise Barbara Kingsolver's The poisonwood bible. then there is Ayn Rand's Atlas shrugged and Gregory Maguire's Wicked witch of the west. Three really different books, but inspiring nonetheless :)

My suggestion for something totally different and utterly compelling?

The Cheese and I

by Matt Feroze

best book for a long long time

or

Vulcan 607 by Rowland White

get goosebumps thinking about that one

both are utterly worth every second of you life.. and that's rare in books

If you haven't already I'd check out Trudi Canavan's books. The Black Magician Trilogy are some of my favourite books and I wasn't really into magic/fantasy before I read them.

I'm getting back into reading myself. Thought I'd start with obvious classics I haven't read yet, currently on 1984