need book/novel/novella recommendations!

[xSuperMario64x]

I would love to try to get into reading, but there honestly aren't many books that actually interest me (and I've kinda grown to associate reading with negative feelings bc almost every book I've ever read I've been forced to read and analyze) and for years I've had a difficult time trying to figure out what I might be interested in.

some ideas of what I like:
- one book I've read that I actually liked is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. it's like a sci-fi novel and I may like to read more science fiction stuff (someone once recommended Ready Player One to me but I haven't read it yet).
- I also like some historical fiction/nonfiction books, like The Good Earth, Of Mice and Men, Born on the Fourth of July, and The Grapes of Wrath. I own East of Eden but I haven't tried to read it since I was in high school. I was a history minor in college and I particularly like learning about the Cold War and that era of time (40s-early 90s).
- idk about this one as much, but I've read a few Stephen King books like Pet Sematary, The Green Mile, and Christine. I tend to not favor his books because they're quite explicit and those moments make reading his books less entertaining and more annoying. but I do like some of the horror stuff, so if there are any other horror novels/novellas that aren't explicit then I may be interested.
- I've read some stuff by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and while I understand that they likely didn't have to actually "survive in the wilderness" I do quite like the feeling of living-in-the-moment and mindfulness that their stories give.
- I'm not at all interested in romance stories. I tried reading Twilight in 6th grade and only got halfway through before I had to put it down. no offense to anyone who does like it!
- I've never read any other popular book series like Harry Potter, so if you recommend that then I may want to check it out.


I think I need to find a book where I feel like I can relax for once and actually take my time reading (I have ADHD and while that allows some to read 500+ pages in a day, I can usually only read about 20-30 pages per session).

thanks for taking the time to read this, I know it's a lot but I really appreciate recommendations!

 

[.: Meri :.]

For a horror novella, how about Coraline by Neil Gaiman? c: I read it years ago after getting it from the library, so my memory is a tad fuzzy, but it's very well-acclaimed and I remember thinking it was really good. It had that really nice creepy/atmospheric horror vibe to it, nothing cheap or shock-value-y that I recall. It's also children's literature, so there's no explicit content.

 

[amemome]

I haven't read these in maybe 5-8 or more years so feel free to take these recs with a grain of salt. They're also books that are older and of course, that also comes with their own set of social commentary and issues in the broader history of the fiction genre... Anyways...

Have you read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? I'd group it with the Of Mice and Men-type Steinbeck books. Realistic + slightly historic fiction about people who are in a psychiatric hospital. My teacher in high school offered a really interesting reading of the final scene which made this book so much more interesting. It's definitely kinda graphic, so I'd only suggest if if you're willing to go on a rough ride.

For mystery genre, I might suggest the The Westing Game. This one was a for-fun read I did over a high school summer. It was pretty approachable -- very easy-to-read. I don't recall it being explicit and I'm pretty sure it's geared towards children.

A Stephen King book I found to be ok was The Running Man. I'm not big on horror, and this book was closer to "thriller/action" in my opinion. It gets kinda graphic as well.

For feel-good stuff, I recommend the Phantom Tollbooth. A couple of math and literature topics and puns mixed into a journey of learning!

 

[ChocoPie22]

Yes Ready Player One is such a good book, it's about this contest that happens in a vr world, and the main character is fighting struggles in real life and in the contest. The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria is also a really good one, it's about this girl that repeats the same day over and over again, she wants to "break" the main male character and supernatural devices get involved, as well as a supernatural being.

 

[-Blue-]

Maybe Floatplane Notebooks? You said you like historical settings and it follows the southern family during the 40s-to the Vietnam War. It's been a while since I read it (for school) but I do remember it well enough all these years later.

 

[Mikaiah]

man, i love ray bradbury

the martian chronicles is great. quite short too, like less than 250 pages.
for science fiction, I really liked The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells, mostly short novellas, if you like one you'll prob. like em all), and A Memory Called Empire (Arkady Martine, space opera type thing, haven't read the sequel yet myself). They cover slightly different scifi than Ray Bradbury though.

in fantasy (ik you didn't list this lol), but I've liked The Green Bone Saga (Fonda Lee, it's urban fantasy, there are a few explicitly r18+ scenes, it's not the main focus but they do exist), Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson, I recommend starting here rather than Stormlight. Both are fantastic, Mistborn is just way more readable), and Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo, this one is YA so if teenage characters put you off, might not be for you).

Historical Fiction is unfortunately not really my genre so I don't have a lot to offer there

 

[Neb]

I don’t know if you’ll like these, but here are a few sci-fi recommendations.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler is a dystopian novel about a girl starting her own town. There were lots of moments where I wasn’t sure what would happen next.

Another recommendation is Children of Time (I forgot the author). It’s about the human race migrating to another planet while an alien threat evolves. The book is around 1000 pages, but it’s filled with interesting details on how the alien’s technology and culture develops. I don’t recommend the sequel though. It’s basically more of the same.