*~Can't Stop Reading~* discussion
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Help! I'm having a reading block!
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By the way, the above books that I posted, the ones I didn't like....I'm not trying to hate on them. I appreciate the good qualities in them but they weren't for me. So please don't get mad at me if you loved them :-P
I'm having a similar problem, too. I hope you get it sorted out.
Melissa, what kind of books do you like?
You might try the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness since you like the Hunger Games. You could also try The Age of Miracles. Although it's more coming-of-age than dystopian, it is still a great read. It's a fairly short book so, if you don't like it, you won't have invested too much time in it.If you want to try LOTR but are worried about hating it, why not read The Hobbit? It's a single book, relatively short, but will give you a chance to decide whether to read more Tolkien. Just don't tell your friends when you start it.
Also, I have experienced a few bouts of reader's block and nothing is more frustrating to the book addict but I notice you're an Austen fan. Often, if I'm experiencing a block, I reread Pride and Prejudice - it almost never fails to respark the need to read.
Anyway, just a couple of suggestions - good luck and happy reading.
Thank you Maxine! Very helpful. I've considered rereading Austen. I've never re-read a book, but if ANYTHING at all is worth re-reading, it's HER!! She's my fave ;-DI've been wanting to read the Hobbit. It's a good idea since the movie is coming out soon. But yeah, it will definitely help if I keep it to myself. All my friends are like THE biggest Tolkien nerds EVER. I have very smart friends, hehe.
I'm going to check out your recommendations right away!
Who's the author for The Age of Miracles? It looks like there are a couple different ones out there.
Sorry, I can't believe I forgot to give you the author's name. It's Karen Thompson Walker. Austen is one of the only authors I reread but she never fails to excite the reader in me. I hope I've helped a little - if you're like me, it's hard to get through the day without a little fix of fiction.
Thanks Maxine for accepting my friend request. I've already put tons of the books in your list in my to-reads list.
I was happy to accept your friend request. I hope you find something from my list to enjoy but definitely try The Hobbit. Tolkien is nothing like Martin - he kills off the occasional character and there's lots of sword fights but he never gets into the kind of dark subjects Martin does. Along with Austen, Tolkien is always on my very short list of authors to reread.
Sure thing. My best friend just gave me her copy of The Hobbit because she got a new one (she's taking a class on The Hobbit). She tried to read Martin also and didn't like him for the same reasons I didn't. I've heard a lot of people say that Martin's writing is way too dark and realistic to be categorized as fantasy. Oh well. But Martin didn't ruin me for fantasy :-D
Penny, I like a little bit of everything- sci-fi/fantasy, memoir, historical fiction, contemporary fiction... My favorite books include Daughters of the North, the Harry Potter books, Long Hot Summoning, and Last Known Victim. I also loved Michael Koryta's Lincoln Perry books, but I'm trying to stay away from mysteries and crime thrillers right now, because they give me nightmares if I read too many. I hated Those Who Save Us, Ellen Foster, and A Million Little Pieces because they didn't have quotation marks. I didn't like Jennifer Government either, because it had a lot of grammatical errors.
I tried reading Twilight and The Hunger Games, but I couldn't get into them.
I'm going to check those out thanks Melissa!
I would like to suggest three books which I enjoyed reading. Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. They are three fairly well known books so you may already have read them. Keep us posted on how you get on.
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As for Tolkien I agree with starting with The Hobbit. Avoid The Silmarillion (unless you're a Tolkien fan you won't like it because it's basically a fictional history/mythological work).
Also have you tried some of the Gothic classics like Dracula or Frankenstein? Most people I know like them.
Hey Penny,I can totally identify with the reading block/identity crisis you're describing.
I too find it very hard to pinpoint what makes me like a book and what doesn't and I feel like my taste in books is all over the place.
So first of all, thanks everyone for all the suggestions so far and thank you Penny for raising the topic, I personally found it very helpful.
Now for my two cents:
I greatly enjoyed the mystery, setting and writing style of Carlos Ruis Zafòn's The Shadow of the Wind. So far I think it's one of the best books I've read this year and what makes it so great to me is that the story is just so character driven with a great setting. Pure escapism!
I'm currently really enjoying Erin Morgenstern's
The Night Circus. I haven't finished, but I find myself drawing out my read because I'm enjoying the world so much...
I've also loved what I've read so far from Murakami. I don't know what it is about him, and reading his books are always kind of a psychedelic surreal experience. But he touches upon great themes without lathering it on too heavy. When I read Murakami, I always end up thinking... You know, beneath all the crazy madness, he actually made a very strong point.
I've recently finished Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, which is anyting but realistic, but it also left a strong impression.
Kevin - Divergent! I've been hearing a lot abut that one. It's on my list for sho. Thanks for the suggestions!Jonathan - I'm reading the Hobbit right now and loving it! I'm surprising myself ;-)
Last year my book club did Dracula. I really liked it. It was a little slow at times (as with most classics), but I'm very glad I read it. It's still my favorite Vampire book. I'll probably read Frankenstein someday. Maybe in October. I love reading Gothic novels in the fall.
Nicky - I tried to read The Shadow of the Wind and for some reason I had a really hard time with it. It has such high ratings too, I don't know what my problem is. I think I might try it again later and see if I feel differently the second time around ;-)
The Night Circus has been recommended to me a lot lately so I'll probably be reading that one really soon. My neighbor just bought a brand new copy that she said I could borrow :-D
I had never thought about Murakami, but his stuff looks pretty fascinating! I'll at them to my to-read list.
YAY!
Penny- Jane Austen & Charles Dickens are my favorite authors so Im wondering if you've ever read any of his? Bleak House has two very sweet, touching love stories in it. Its prolly my favorite of his novels. Also try E.M. Forester's "A room with a view" There's an entire thread about it somewhere...
We have a lot of novel choices in common! Loved the Hunger Games (along w/ everyone else haha) but One Day, Jane Austen and the PRINCESS BRIDE. Love!
Awesome Allie. I do love Charles Dickens. To my utter shame though, I've never read Bleak House OR Great Expectations. I guess it's time I get on that.
Penny-I would suggest three random favorites of mine.
The Book Thief
The Scorpio Races
The Historian
I have to admit, these are all different from your original "likes" list. Oddly enough I tend to have the same tastes as you but these were three books outside of my usual grab bag that I really enjoyed.
Thanks Kristie! I haven't read any of those :-)
Penny wrote: "Awesome Allie. I do love Charles Dickens. To my utter shame though, I've never read Bleak House OR Great Expectations. I guess it's time I get on that."U really should! lol. Read Bleak House first & then watch the BBC version of it. Gillian Anderson IS her character. All of the actors are superb.
Kristie wrote: "Penny-I would suggest three random favorites of mine.
The Book Thief
The Scorpio Races
The Historian
I have to admit, these are all different from your original "likes" list. Oddly enough I ten..."
Also second The Book Thief but cant say the same for The Historian however, many people I know loved it.
Hi PennyI can't see your virtual library (what you read/to-read) but from your post I see that you like romance. According to me Cecelia Ahern is a good author for romance. Especially P.S. I Love You. I haven't read it yet but it's on my wishlist. I think the story is unique and very interesting.
What I've read is Will You Be There?. A little sad but exciting book. I often asked to myself "What I would do in the same situation?"
And what about Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog ? It's on my wishlist too. I saw the film and I loved it! But I'm afraid that it could be predictable story for you.
Thanks everyone for the rec's. I'm going to make send you all friend requests so you can see my book lists. :-D
have you tried the search program called what to read next? google that and put in a title you liked and it gives you more books that are similar! Sometimes I use that when I don't know what to read but with my current TBR as 1200 I am not adding new titles til I finish the ones I have ( a goal I made to myself I don't know why exactly) let me know what you choose!
Wow. That is pretty cool! It gives you a pretty diverse list, not just more genre stuff. Love it!
you are welcome, I love sharing book wormy and bibliophile resources as I am one!
Dani. Thanks for sharing that website with Penny and everyone. I checked it out and I think it will be very helpful to me.
*~Can't Stop Reading~*
Books mentioned in this topic
Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog (other topics)P.S. I Love You (other topics)
Will You Be There? (other topics)
The Historian (other topics)
The Book Thief (other topics)
More...
I need a little help, and hopefully I won't come off like a whiner.
It seems like every book I read lately bores me half to death. Unfortunately, I don't tend to like books that fit strictly into a genre, so I end up feeling lost when picking books to read. It's like hit or miss. Even when people recommend stuff, I usually find something wrong with it.
Lately, I can't seem to finish a book. I want that awesome heavenly feeling I get when I'm stuck in a book and I want to stay up all night reading, but it hasn't happened for like the last 10 books or more I've read. The last book I read that I loved was "The Princess Bride." And I REALLY loved it!
So, I'm hoping you all can give me some suggestions based on my weirdo tastes that make no sense whatsoever, and hopefully I'll find my groove again. I'll give you a list of a few books I've loved, and ones I didn't, and the reasons why. Maybe some of you can relate to me and have overcome this problem. I think it could rightly be defined as a reading identity crises :-(
LOVED:
The Hunger Games - it was fun, and I loved the romance.
All Jane Austen books - because they are so witty, and I love the romance.
The Princess Bride - hilarious, and you guessed it....ROMANCE!
One Day - witty, sarcastic, complicated characters I that were very imperfect but loveable....romance.
Juliet - fun, action, mystery, love....it has it all.
Alas Babylon - I love a good end of the world book, especially the realistic kind.
11-22-63 - It was cool, and different.
BOOKS I DIDN'T LIKE FOR RANDOM REASONS, BUT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO LOVE THEM, SO I FEEL LIKE A LOSER!
Enders Game - boring boring boring. Video games...blah blah blah.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Lack of plot. No action whatsoever. Nothing ever happens. Didn't finish.
Almost all books in the romance genre - YES I love romance in books, but I hate predictability. They are all the same. I liked the first one I read, but haven't loved one since, because it is the same story with the same Highlanders names Alec over and over and over and over and......
Fantasy - Just haven't found one I love. I tend to be a realist. I want to read LotR, but I'm so afraid I won't like it, and all my fantasy nerd friends (and I have LOTS of them) will crucify me :-(
Game of Thrones - Dragons are not my thing, and neither is child rape and everyone always dying.
That's a start for now. I'll think of more and post later. I'd really love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!!!!