Suggestions on good books to read?

I'm in high school right now. Believe me when I say I DO NOOOOOOOT LIKE READING. I never have really liked reading.

Main reason being, none of the books I read were very interesting. They always bore me with their paragraph long descriptions of the setting, characters, etc. without getting to all the action!

Since i have nothing to do in my spare time nowadays but play video games, any of you guys have suggestions on good books I should read? I'm particularly interested in those that are moving. Life changing after you read them. Those that have so much meaning and will make you look at the world differently. Maybe even make you shed a tear after you're done.

Any suggestoins?

GrannySmith111 said:

I'm in high school right now. Believe me when I say I DO NOOOOOOOT LIKE READING. I never have really liked reading.

Main reason being, none of the books I read were very interesting. They always bore me with their paragraph long descriptions of the setting, characters, etc. without getting to all the action!

Since i have nothing to do in my spare time nowadays but play video games, any of you guys have suggestions on good books I should read? I'm particularly interested in those that are moving. Life changing after you read them. Those that have so much meaning and will make you look at the world differently. Maybe even make you shed a tear after you're done.

Any suggestoins?

Click to expand...

If you hate description and character development and just want action you will struggle to find anything very life changing, you gotta put the hard yards in.

Try Gates of Fire it's historical, about the battle of Thermopylae but has some great battles and is quite exhilarating.

If you want to give something a bit more testing a go, try 'to kill a mocking bird'. You're bound to be given it to study anyway!

Or 1984, A Clockwork Orange, Catcher in the Rye, Ham on Rye. Start with something short and stick at it, theres something wonderful about being immersed halfway into 500 pages of a brilliant world, it's pure escapism. Descriptive writing just helps paint that picture in your minds eye, so you even forget you're reading, you'll come to appreciate it I'm sure.

If I was to recommend one, Ham on Rye, the young central character in it is a real anti-hero. It's not too long and you will have read something that would make you laugh, cry and perhaps move you too.

Hey.
I will give you few suggestion for easy to read, fast moving, action filled books.
Author - title

Umberto Eco - Name of the Rose
James Joyce - Ulysses
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky - Crime and Punishment
Herman Melville - Moby-Dick
Stephen King - It
Milan Kundera - The Joke

and try:

Immanuel Kant - Critique of Pure Reason

as well, easy to read, enjoyable. I think you may like it.

And that's just those I can remember right now.

And you are welcome! If you need any more suggestions, don´t be afraid to ask Just read this books and I will give you more great suggestions
Enjoy them, wish you fun reading them!



(BTW if you already figured out I´m messing with you...I´m sorry, but you just stumbled upon a grumpy librarian... We are mortal enemies of those who dont like to read)

Ha, good list of tough books. I did consider suggesting Proust 'in search of lost time' , that's already beaten me once.

Lippy_Kid said:

Ha, good list of tough books. I did consider suggesting Proust 'in search of lost time' , that's already beaten me once.

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I´m still in a fierce fight with some of them...Lets see who gets out alive, me or the book. Ah, the books that are tough to conquer.


-------------------------------------------

But anyway, not trying to be funny right now, have you considered reading comix? That often suits people who dont like to read so much.
You can try:
Alan Moore - Watchmen
Garth Ennis - Hitman
Gerry Conway - Punisher

And many many more. If by any chance you like manga, there is also a lot to dig in.

And now for the conventional books. Easy(ish), and action filled(kinda). But rather enjoyable books, that are not that tough to read.

Stephen King - Shining (P.S: King has more kinda easy-to-read books, if you are into scary books)
Jules Verne - Around the World in Eighty Days
Louis Sachar - Holes (I liked it as a kid)

If you like mafia stuff, Mario Puzo is not THAT hard to read.

There is also a outside chance you may enjoy Terry Pratchett. Not that much action, but a great comedy input. If you like comedy, Douglas Adams is someone to try to read.

....


Meh. thinking about it, I´m a lousy librarian. Need to read more. Was unable to think of many more easy-to-read books.

But you should go to the library and ask in there. I´m sure you´ll get some great advice about what to read

I'd also recommend Stephen King's "Carrie" since it takes place in high school. "The Hunger Games" is also a very good book and is suspenseful. (Both aren't life-changing though and I think a female reader would like them more.)

Sent you a PM for shameless self promotion to some of my books.

Example of my story writing can be found on this site: http://www.alonelylife.com/showthread.php?tid=26644

Thank you

I'd suggest The fault in our Stars

Lippy_Kid said:

GrannySmith111 said:

I'm in high school right now. Believe me when I say I DO NOOOOOOOT LIKE READING. I never have really liked reading.

Main reason being, none of the books I read were very interesting. They always bore me with their paragraph long descriptions of the setting, characters, etc. without getting to all the action!

Since i have nothing to do in my spare time nowadays but play video games, any of you guys have suggestions on good books I should read? I'm particularly interested in those that are moving. Life changing after you read them. Those that have so much meaning and will make you look at the world differently. Maybe even make you shed a tear after you're done.

Any suggestoins?

Click to expand...

If you hate description and character development and just want action you will struggle to find anything very life changing, you gotta put the hard yards in.

Try Gates of Fire it's historical, about the battle of Thermopylae but has some great battles and is quite exhilarating.

If you want to give something a bit more testing a go, try 'to kill a mocking bird'. You're bound to be given it to study anyway!

Or 1984, A Clockwork Orange, Catcher in the Rye, Ham on Rye. Start with something short and stick at it, theres something wonderful about being immersed halfway into 500 pages of a brilliant world, it's pure escapism. Descriptive writing just helps paint that picture in your minds eye, so you even forget you're reading, you'll come to appreciate it I'm sure.

If I was to recommend one, Ham on Rye, the young central character in it is a real anti-hero. It's not too long and you will have read something that would make you laugh, cry and perhaps move you too.

Click to expand...

I guess I got a lot of reading to do then.

I guess I just don't like analyzing books, like they make you do in English class. Being a person who doesn't like to read, forcing me to analyze quotes, character development and all that crap just bores me more.

Mr.YellowCat said:

Hey.
I will give you few suggestion for easy to read, fast moving, action filled books.
Author - title

Umberto Eco - Name of the Rose
James Joyce - Ulysses
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky - Crime and Punishment
Herman Melville - Moby-Dick
Stephen King - It
Milan Kundera - The Joke

and try:

Immanuel Kant - Critique of Pure Reason

as well, easy to read, enjoyable. I think you may like it.

And that's just those I can remember right now.

And you are welcome! If you need any more suggestions, don´t be afraid to ask Just read this books and I will give you more great suggestions
Enjoy them, wish you fun reading them!



(BTW if you already figured out I´m messing with you...I´m sorry, but you just stumbled upon a grumpy librarian... We are mortal enemies of those who dont like to read)

Click to expand...

*giggles* That's classic! I was gonna recommend something breezy like "The Passage" by Justin Cronin, but you beat me to it.

Lippy_Kid said:

Ha, good list of tough books. I did consider suggesting Proust 'in search of lost time' , that's already beaten me once.

Click to expand...

It beat me up 4 times before managing to read after the first 50 pages, hehe. I did eventually read the whole thing (all 7 books) last year, it took me 6 months but it was worth it, 2nd best book I've ever read (after One Hundred Years of Solitude).

OP, if you want motivational books I'd suggest The Way of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman and Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer. If you are looking for fiction, I'd suggest The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy, Call of The Wild by Jack London and Animal Farm by George Orwell. They're actually novellas, not novels, but this is why I'm suggesting them, they will prepare you for bigger books.

I like Paulo Coelho's books, they're very good. Also Khaleid Hosseini's books are very moving too.

Might I also suggest The Outsiders and Rumble Fish, both by S.E Hinton. I don't know if I would say they are 'life changing' but you may like them. Both books aren't very long either.

GrannySmith111 said:

I'm in high school right now. Believe me when I say I DO NOOOOOOOT LIKE READING. I never have really liked reading.
Any suggestoins?

Click to expand...

I don't know about you, but I think that a lot of the suggestions you have received on this thread are EXACTLY what you don't like. Proust? Catcher? Good grief.

Here is my suggestion: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, a 2003 novel by Mark Haddon. It is completely age-appropriate for high school, and will make you think about how the world appears to others.

Please let me know if you do read it......

My 2 all time favorite books are Moby Dick by Herman Melville & Time Machine by H. G. Wells... I also liked "Moon Dance" by J. R. Rain... Moon Dance is about a vampire for hire...