I learned to read in grade school like pretty much everyone else I know, and I remember really enjoying reading for a very narrow portion of my younger years. When reading books became a compulsary part of school, that enjoyment just vanished, and video games ended up filling that void of “solitary passtime”. I dont even really like video games all that much, eheh.
Now that im older, I dont really have authority figures threatening my future if I dont read the dryest books known to man, so I’m open to the idea of just reading again - it certainly cant be worse than just browsing lemmy posts for hours, right?
The thing is, I have absolutely no grasp on what the current book scene really looks like. I dont really know what authors are considered masters of the craft, or where to even really get a finger in the pulse on which I’d be into. If you could recommend someone who writes books you like, or just a few standouts, it would really help me get my bearings.
If it helps, I’m currently reading “A hundred years of solitude”, “Berserk”, and “Le fluers de mal”, and am generally open to tragedies, horror, and narratives that are either experimental or just weird. If you know of any manuals or informative books that are particularly well written, im also interested in those!
Hit up your library.
Reading isn’t a scene per se, although some use it that way. I’ve long been an advocate of ‘try everything’ and a library will help you with this - you can go in, see books arranged by topic and taste, then pull 'em off the shelves, read the blurb at the back and see if you would like to read more.
There is absolutely no shame in pulling a book because the cover looks interesting. There is no grade for what you read as an adult - not from a person of worth, anyway. Go at that buffet like a mad bugger.
Be sure to check out your local library. Mine has a service where you send them examples of what you tend to like and they will send you a list of recommendations. Some of my favorite books have come from the list they gave me.
That’s awesome of them!
If you’re looking for something weird narrative wise with a hint of tragedy and is also short, I can’t recommend Slaughterhouse Five enough. I won’t go into it too much, but it will almost definitely be at your local library, and won’t take too much time to read.
For horror masters: Peter Straub, Stephen King, Catriona Ward, Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, HP Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Ramsey Campbell.
Non-horror authors I love: Jim Butcher, Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall trilogy), CJ Sansom (Shardlake series), Patrick O’Brian (Aubrey/Maturin series), Ruthanna Emrys, Douglas Adams, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children Of… series), Tim O’Brien, Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea series), Susanna Clarke, Margaret Atwood, Madeline Miller, Iain M Banks (Culture series), Frank Herbert (Dune series), Greg Bear, Donna Tartt.
What media do you watch? Favorite games? Movies? Tv?
Watching media isn’t really my thing, though I can say I enjoyed Everything Everywhere All at Once recently. As far as games go, I’d say Silent Hill, Warframe, Pyre and Disco Elysium would be the best to establish the sort of narratives I’m into the most.
I don’t read a bunch of strict Horror, but I have enjoyed the ones I’ve read by Grady Hendrix.
Otherwise, based on your answer, here are a few books I’ve read that line up for one reason or another. I’ve placed them in a specific order but they are all enjoyable:
Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi John Dies at the End by David Wong Dark Matter by Blake Crouch The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
Something else just occurred to me, you might try the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman or This Quest is Broken series by J.P. Valentine too. They are a newer genre called LitRPG where the conventions of gaming (like things being “quests” or health/mana bars are directly apparent to the characters and it makes for some interesting moments.
If you’re looking for weird you should try catch-22 I really enjoyed this whacky book, also captains Corelli’s mandolin is very goodin the same genre.
I’m currently reading to kill a mockingbird which is very good as well.
For horror, if you haven’t done so already, you can read some Stephen King - The Shining, It, etc. are classics. Carrie is very short and I really like it. The Long Walk is my favourite, with Battle Royale vibes.
I find him pretty easy to read and he’s definitely a master of his craft. I think you’re incredibly lucky that you can discover these masterpieces as an adult without previous influence!
The Golem by Gustav Meyrink, Ficciones by Borges, Conversation in the Cathedral by Llosa, The Castle by Kafka. Those are some of my favourites.
Another rec for libraries - brilliant places for exploring. And also one for LIBRARIANS. When you go in to sign up for a library card, ask the librarians for suggestions. You will probably make someone’s day to let them help you get into reading. Librarians are really cool like that :)
Also look around for a wee display of curated selections. Those will change every month or so and feature recommended books.
E-books are another possibility and there are many sources of free ones - another low cost way of exploring and experimenting. I read free fluff from the book store app built into my tablet when I’m not up to anything serious, go to Project Gutenberg and Standard E-books for out-of-copyright classics when I am, and sometimes find something on the e-book system I have access to with my library card sign-in. (I rarely buy e-books as I prefer to put my book budget to subscriptions from small presses because they need our support and an unexpected book arriving in the post is a delight.)
Some of the high school curriculum will always be dry, but some of it is just forced on us when we’re still too young to really understand what’s going on and it’s much more interesting when we have enough experience and maturity to get it. So if you come across something you have bad memories of but it sounds interesting, try it again.
For a specific rec, I’m going to suggest Death and the Penguin by Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov. 1996, but shouldn’t be hard to find in translation given the recent western interest in Ukraine. This was my review: “Quietly absurdist, yet feels well grounded in the realities of time and place. Pacing, flow and details are excellent; exceptionally well written and translated. Don’t find out more about it, wondering what is going on is part of its appeal, just read it :)”
Thank you everyone for your advice, you’ve all been a great help!
