Interesting books to get a 16-year-old into reading

[Jess, Founder]

Do you have any recommendations for well-written or interesting books that a 16-year-old would be interested in? I'm thinking primarily nonfiction, and perhaps slanted towards the sciences -- popular science, history of science, technology etc. Within fiction, maybe fun action-adventure books. Of course anything else interesting and relevant to a teenager is welcome; really the only criterion here is interestingness, since we're trying to get someone to start the habit of reading for pleasure.

[Kam Yung]

You could try the following science oriented 'graphic novels' by Jim Ottaviani. I've read them and found them fascinating:

- Feynman [ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... ]
- Primates [ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... ]

One that available on-line and probably getting attention due to the movie is "The Imitation Game" [ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... ], which you can read on-line from [ www.tor.com/stories/2014/06/the-imita... ]

[Will]

Jess wrote: "Do you have any recommendations for well-written or interesting books that a 16-year-old would be interested in? I'm thinking primarily nonfiction, and perhaps slanted towards the sciences -- popul..."

I personally feel that instead of telling the 16-year-old that he/she should read a particular book because it is "well-written" or "interesting", it may be valuable to ask him/her what he/she finds interesting in the first place. For example, when I was a teenager, I was deeply interested in cartography—not exactly the most popular topic to delve into, but I was really into it. If my parents had bought me, say, Ken Jennings' Maphead, a book on cartography, I'd have been the happiest teen in the canteen. But there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution here, because I'm pretty sure that most teenagers of my age at that time would have scoffed at a book about maps. I mean, we were already studying it in Geography classes, so why read MORE maps? I think it is important to find out what he/she already likes, making it much easier to recommend non-fiction titles. They are very topical, after all, and tend not to involve broad themes like those found in fiction. Knowing that is the first step to recommending a good non-fiction book.

Now, in terms of fiction, the doors are fairly open. The Young Adult section of a bookstore is the most obvious place to start, of course. However, with Young Adult books being a big business these days, you may be hard pressed to find a "well-written" book in that genre, simply because every Tom, Dick and Harry with Microsoft Word is working on a Young Adult novel and getting it published.

Alternative, you can look towards the classics, or a time when Young Adult was never a genre to begin with. In this category of books, you will find books that have been tested by time—and survived! Watership Down by Richard Adams, for example, may SOUND like a book for children based on the synopsis—what with the talking rabbits and all—but it has dark, dark themes about survival and friendship, complete with compelling adventure, of course. Even today, I still have a copy of the book right next to my computer.

Look also into the science fiction and fantasy genre, which got me into the world of reading in the first place. Proven classics by Tolkien, for example, are always good starting points. Never mind the prejudice that genre fiction are frivolous, or that they hold little water in the greater world of literature. In fact, the genre has been gaining acceptance and respectability in the last few decades. If nothing else, it gets people reading, and that is always a great start.

Here is a non-fiction book written for the express purpose of getting people interested in science: Cosmos by Carl Sagan. Sagan is all about using simple, direct language to tell the story of the cosmos, and the story is truly inspiring. He is able to tell complicated scientific ideas with beautiful, illustrious prose that is accessible to everybody.

[Daniel]

Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran is a deeply profound yet enjoyable book on neuroscience and philosophy. As for adventure novels, I would recommend The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

[Lim]

Personally for me, reading books has always been enjoyable. However, the book Thirteen Reasons Why really changed my perception towards reading. The book was a game-changer for me and it made me interested in books not just for the pleasure of reading, but to find out the hidden meaning behind the book.
Furthermore, the books deals with issues relating to teens, making it very appropriate for a 16 year old.
I highly recommend that book to anyone who wants to get into reading.

For adventure/love, you can look into the Delirium series as well. The Night Circus was interesting for me too.

[Jennifer]

I'm a big Classics nerd so tapping into them for some suggestions. I've really enjoyed Jules Verne's novels like Around the World in 80 Days and Journey to the Centre of the Earth for the fun adventures and almost laugh-out-loud silliness.

Coming of age stories may also resonate well with a 16-year-old reader. My personal picks are Cather in the Rye, Lord of the Flies and the The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

Since your 16-year-old reader seems to enjoy science, sci-fi would be a good genre to try. Not an SF expert but I just recently read The Martian, which was a pretty enjoyable read. Do note of some profanities though. :P

[Joyce]

The Curseworkers series by Holly Black. Actually, anything by Holly Black, Maggie Stiefvater, Cath Crowley, Melinda Marchetta, Deb Caletti, and Sarah Dessen. Sarah Dessen and Deb Caletti books were my best companions during secondary school - the teenage characters are highly relatable and you don't feel like the writer is writing down to you.

[zombiereadz]

I think the best to go about this is to buy a bunch of tasteful books from each genre and leave it around the house. Teenagers have loads of distraction, so getting them to read can be tough. When they're bored or cut off from other entertainment, they will probably pick up what's available at home to read.

At least, this was what got me into reading. Being bored enough to read whatever I have at home.

[Radiah]

I feel the current wave of dystopian YA novel series have gotten many teens into the habit of reading if this teen liked the Hunger Games, the Maze Runner and the Divergent movies.

[Max]

Hmmm... for nonfiction books wise i would recommend they could start with self-help books or motivational books. Cause that's how i started the habit of reading books from around that age.

[Dhana Latchmi]

Try fantasy genre.. Girls then Some good PNR series will be good (Twilight saga comes to mind) as it'll spark their interests into reading. you can introduce them into other genre once you jump start with that.


For boys, either horror or good epic fantasy stories which is to the point, adventures, lots of cool magic system and non draggy will be good start. Try: Codex Alera Series by Jim Butcher, Night Angel trilogy and Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson