What in heavens name can I read next :(((

[runner]

I have been an avid book reader all my life from a child enjoying the adventures of Enid Blyton and Richard Crompton up to adulthood and my love for mostly detective and horror....but now at the ripe old age of 54 I seemed to have gone into some kind of reversal mode....I am not enjoying my reading mostly because I cannot seem to find or read anything that stimulates my mind makes me feel happy and more importantly makes me think and understand more about the life we all lead!! I

 

Recently I read The Coroner by M R Hall....average..not exciting

 

I Kill by Giorgio Faletii...very average not exciting

 

Blaze by Stephen King...rubbish

 

Meltdown by Ben Elton....expecting big things...but I was very disappointed

 

The only books I have really enjoyed this last year are Shatter by Michael Robotham, A quiet Belief in Angels and Ghostheart by R J Ellory together with Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada (which was excellent and thought provoking)

 

I would love to read some classics that will change my life!! I would love to read some modern books that might make me think....I want to read....I am unhappy when I don't read.....do you ever feel like this?...all those books out there and yet I can't find any for me [] Can someone rescue me from this great book void I am sinking into, I love to read and I want to rediscover the great joy of reading all over again.....

[chaliepud]

How about trying The Book Thief by Markus Zusak or The Road by Cormac McCarthy - both of these were very easy to read, almost light, but defintely made me think a lot... I am currently reading the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which is looking very promising...

[Kylie]

That's such a sad post Runner. I really hope you rediscover your love of books soon.

 

I agree that The Book Thief and The Road would be good. Other contemporary books that will make you think include Life of Pi by Yann Martel and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. You could try something by Haruki Murakami. I've only read North of the Border, West of the Sun, which I really enjoyed, but others might have better recommendations.

 

For classics, you could try Frankenstein, Dracula, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway or anything by Jane Austen (she has many amazing insights into human nature).

 

Some other books I've loved, all brilliant and unique:

 

1984 by George Orwell

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton

 

Or you could try something nice, light and funny to get you going again. PG Wodehouse is a delightful writer (you can't go wrong with any of his works) and Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat is a wonderfully humorous read. These are the types of books I read mostly just for enjoyment, and it sounds like you could do with some of that.

 

Best of luck. Let us know how you go with your reading.

Edited August 30, 2010 by Kylie

[NightOwl]

I can empathise with you 100% here - we could be twins! After reading all my life, I seem to be going through a spell where I start a book but lose interest almost immediately: nothing I read seems to inspire me. Until, that is, I picked up a copy of 'Flying Under Bridges' by Sandi Toksvig.

It concerns a housewife who's lost her sense of self, a murder (which we know happens because we read about the consequences on page one, but don't find out how/why until later) and is written in Toksvig's droll, witty and very funny style. I'm enjoying it and... wait for it...have nearly finished it! Yay!

Worth a go - it's horrible to feel that books have lost their appeal.

[kezlehan]

I agree with The Book Thief. It was very easy reading, light, but definitely made you think. It didn't fulfil all my needs to be honest, but it was a very good read.

[BookJumper]

I would love to read some classics that will change my life!! I would love to read some modern books that might make me think....I want to read....I am unhappy when I don't read.....do you ever feel like this?...all those books out there and yet I can't find any for me. Can someone rescue me from this great book void I am sinking into, I love to read and I want to rediscover the great joy of reading all over again.....

I know precisely how you feel, so let's see if I can help.

 

Classics to change your life

• I second Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. Actually quite a sad book but so beautifully written, so full of important things to say about the things that matter in life that it gives one a sense of purpose in spite of all the sadness
• [let me sleep on it. I know I know others...]

Modern books to make you think

• I third The Book Thief by Markus Suzak. Beneath the wit, charm and easy readability lies a very positive message pitched against a very serious background - funny how a book narrated by Death can make one feel so full of life
• Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach. After I'd bought this intrigued by the title, it lay unread for about four years, until something inspired me to pick it up just at the moment when my existence seemed to make the least sense. I exaggerate not when I say it saved me. Stunning stuff
• The Horrific Sufferings of Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot, His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred by Carl-Johan Vallgren. The best book to enter my life since Frankenstein, which has been close to my heart for the past ten years. The title says all you need to know, really
• Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (& sequels, Book II of The Wicked Years, Son of a Witch, is even better in my opinion) by Gregory Maguire. Everything you wanted to know about the baddest baddie ever... or was she?
• The Thursday Next Series by Jasper Fforde, starting with the Eyre Affair. Detective story meets literary parody meets dystopian science fiction. Good mysteries, amazing characters and - wait for it - more recommendations for classics to change your life than you could actually read in several lifetimes.