Books Recommendations

Pat2107

Hi all. I'm 18 years old and up until now, I never had an interest in reading books. I ready the daily papers every day but I want to improve my vocab and grammer and so am interested in reading. Just wondering what books you would recommend for someone like me.

Thanks.

sceptre

Moved to the main Literature forum - the Reading Logs forum is just that.

That's a chunk of a wide question. Any idea on what sort of stuff you'd like to read? It'd help people make recommendations.

lemon_sherbert

Sometimes I think the best thing is to head into a book shop and browse, see if anything catches your attention. Depends on your interests, whether you are looking for fiction, non-fiction? Even if you are picking something to improve your language skills, no point in picking something that will bore you to tears.

kennethk

I’m the same, never really had an interest in reading until now, also 18...Any really funny books? Just finished "Ham on Rye" by Charles Bukowski and I enjoyed it...Any recommendations?? Thanks:)

Nody

To recommend something you'd need to give an idea what you are intrested in; I could come up with a long list of SciFi/Fantasy style of books such as the Orphans war series but if that is not your cup of tea...

Another option would be if you're into the likes of Top Gear then perhaps something as Jeremy Clarkson's books (basically his weekly columns put in a book giving out about everything).

If you're into WW2 etc. you can always start with the Band of Brother books and then pick up the original Asia Pacific books (they are mentioned in episode 10, last minutes who wrote what books about what).

You could also go utterly in at the deep end with the likes of War & Peace, Illiad in verse etc. Honestly; we'd need a bit more information here to help

As for funny combined with classic; honestly this may be heretic to suggest but I have to admitt to laughing a lot reading the "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies" by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a very nicely done merge of zombies into P&P which seems quite natural in the context. It is thick but well worth it; were else would you find noble girls fighting it out with zombies and fretting about the afternoon tea after all

DazMarz

It's amazing how reading literally anything will vastly help improve your vocabulary; I've been addicted to reading books since I was like 6 or 7, and it's amazing how being a bookworm helps you appear intelligent (perhaps without actually being that brainy!:o:p)

Very little info to go on in your OP, but I'm gonna stab out a few titles of some books I've read in my time that I would consider to be a cut above and well worth a look:

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh: Possibly a bit difficult for a first read, as much of the novel is written in the Scottish dialect and can take a bit of getting used to. But once you get into the flow of reading it, you realise what a brilliant, dark and harrowing tale this is. The 1996 film of the same name is based upon this novel. If you've seen the film, you know some of the plot of the book, but there is a lot more in the book, and the book is arguably a lot darker and a lot better. Also by Irvine Welsh and also worth a look: Filth, Crime.

The Damned United by David Peace: another book that has been adapted into a film, this story told in a stream-of-consciousness from the mind of Brian Clough is well worth a look. Documenting the 44-days he was in charge of Leeds United in 1974 and the trials and tribulations he faced (while also skimming back to the glory days Clough had with Derby County), it also gives a unique insight into a man being torn apart by uncertainty, alcohol and the footballing world itself.

Last Light by Alex Scarrow: in this novel, the reader is confronted by what is probably the greatest threat to humanity that has ever existed; what happens if oil was suddenly halted. When global oil production is slowed to a near standstill by simultaneous terrorist incidents, the lives of various inhabitants of England are thrown into turmoil as society collapses and people start to turn on one another to try and survive. Harrowing, chilling and incredibly tense, this is a novel that confronts something that we don't really want to confront. See also: Afterlight; a sequel to Last Light, set 10 years after the global collapse and dealing with some of the protagonists of the first novel as they try to eke out a living from the detritus of society.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton: yet another book adapted into a film, this novel does share an awful lot of similarities with the film, but also has an awful lot more to it. There is a great deal more violence and several new characters in the film, while the characterisations of several protagonists differs greatly. Incredibly entertaining and well worth a look.

Just some I could think of off the top of my head... Good luck!

rubabbel

Kurt Vonnegut would fall nicely into the funny/interesting and easy to read category. He also covers a couple of genres, so if you like sci-fi, you're sorted (slaughterhouse 5), if you want more 'normal' fiction, he does that too (bluebeard, Mother night). He's not to everyone's taste, but definitely one to pick up and see if you like the first couple of pages.

EverybodyLies

Hi. I don't know what you're really looking for, but I'll recommend you some of my favourites. The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins are very good, Timeriders by Alex Scarrow is quite enjoyable and, of course, Harry Potter.

kerash

Pat2107 wrote: »

Hi all. I'm 18 years old and up until now, I never had an interest in reading books. I ready the daily papers every day but I want to improve my vocab and grammer and so am interested in reading. Just wondering what books you would recommend for someone like me.

Thanks.

I think it's important to pick something you'll enjoy, if you're not enjoying it stop and chose something else. Go to the library and pick a few books. Also maybe try some audio books, it can help to grasp the flow of how a book should be read imo.
Lastly, enjoy!!

Try, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Fight Club by Chuck Chuck Palahniuk

Fluorescence

If you're interested in Fantasy I think Trudi Canavan's books are very accessible. The language is light, the plots are interesting and the characters are colourful. I'd start with her Age of the Five trilogy rather than the Black Magician trilogy, because personally I found the first half of The Magician's Guild (Book 1 of Black Magician) to take a while to get moving. She's a wonderful author though, I really enjoy her work

EDIT: If you go to her website you can read the first chapter of each book for free to see if it's the kind of thing you're interested in. If not, then you didn't waste any money buying a book you won't enjoy: http://www.trudicanavan.com/

Hope you find what you're looking for!