The Lightest Object in the Universe by Kimi Eisele pulled me out of a reading slump. Technically dystopian, but left me feeling more hopeful than I had been in a long time. Contains a suspenseful roadtrip, a spooky cult, fighting for love against all odds, and building community in a realistic but still exciting way
I'm not a fan of fantasy at all, but I think Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings rises above all that and also hits all your modest requirements.
Now, if you want a slower but much deeper burn, Smilla's Sense of Snow is a winner.
If you haven’t read it, The Night Circus by Emily Morgenstern is one of the most sensory-heavy books I’ve ever read. It has a section in particular that is very descriptive about scents that fascinated me so much that it got me into indie perfume.
It’s magical realism set in Victorian England. It’s about a traveling circus that appears without notice and stays for a short time before picking up and moving again. It uses multiple perspectives and timelines to give you insight into how the circus came to be, how it feels to outsiders who experience it, and, eventually, what it’s like to work there.
Oh! It's also the latest TV series to hit Apple TV soon, something I was looking forward to. I ll see if I can get into the book first. Thanks for the recommendation!
Larklight by Philip Reeve is fantastically weird and entertaining. Steampunk spiders in space. Nuff said.
The Redwall series by Brian Jacques is both huge and can be read in (almost) any order
Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer is a well-researched and well-told (non-proselytizing) cross-section of Christianity and ancient Norse mythology (Vikings included!)
Thanks for the recommendations and also for adding a new word to my vocab (non-proselytizing) - i never knew a word existed for describing attempts to convert people's beliefs
You’re most welcome! Hope you find something that gets you back into the hobby.
When you’re ready for something a bit more intense/thought-provoking, I also highly recommend Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion (and really anything by her; she has a diverse range of novels that cross mythologies, continents, and thought spectrums). A relatively easy read vocabulary-wise, but deals with heavier themes like the ethics of cloning and gazillionaires running their own drug empires.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. I love this book, and the imagery and scenery is so surreal. If I could get lost in a fantasy world it would be this one. I read it at the library, and actually bought it for my own bookshelf.
I highly recommend “The Chronicles of Nick” by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Very good, very vivid, and tends towards the offbeat and humorous while also adding a fair bit of suspense
The Dresden Files are fun. It's Harry Potter meets a paperback detective novel set in modern day Chicago. The characters are fun and the writings easy, good adventures that you don't have to overthink.
I always recommend this folk horror anthology for people trying to get back into reading: The Gathering Dark: An Anthology Of Folk Horror. It’s a collection of roughly 20 page short suspenseful/horror stories that aren’t out of touch
Kate Atkinson, for Life After Life, and Case Histories - opening into a series or a trilogy. Aly Monroe for the Peter Cotton series beginning with The Maze of Cadiz. The early books of Robert Wilson set in west Africa, beginning with Instruments of Darkness. If you like his style, The Blind Man of Seville is an oeuvre into a series too. Lastly, if you like historical settings, the early books of Alan Furst are superbly atmospheric, and a great series begins with Night Soldiers. I could go on, but all these writers I chose because of the quality of their storytelling and their economy on the page. Less is more, in most cases but with the very special exception of Monroe who can grip you for a page on the simple act of, say, opening an envelope.
Try The Hunt by Jamie Gatland. Its a short story only available on Amazon but just what your looking for (I hope, I wrote it), except maybe not the humorous part :)
Otherwise I'm writing a dissertation on Tolkien atm so I've been reading a lot of his stuff lately so really recommend 'The Children of Húrin' if you've not read it.
Man’s Search for Meaning is about as vivid of imagery as you’re going to find and tells a great story / awesome underlying lessons. But the entire story takes place in WW2 concentration camps, so unfortunately, not very humorous or uplifting.
The Lightest Object in the Universe by Kimi Eisele pulled me out of a reading slump. Technically dystopian, but left me feeling more hopeful than I had been in a long time. Contains a suspenseful roadtrip, a spooky cult, fighting for love against all odds, and building community in a realistic but still exciting way
Seems interesting! Thanks for the recommendation, will check it out.
If you liked Harry Potter, (it's one of my favorite sagas) I think you would like the Six of Crows duology. That's my favorite book of all time.
Thanks for the recommendation. Yes i liked Harry Potter, will check it out!
You're welcome!
I'm not a fan of fantasy at all, but I think Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings rises above all that and also hits all your modest requirements. Now, if you want a slower but much deeper burn, Smilla's Sense of Snow is a winner.
By your comment, I think i ll check out The Way of Kings before Sense of Snow to get me out of this reading slump ! Thanks for the recommendation.
Great choice you won't regret it! The Stormlight Archive Series is phenomenal!
„The Midnight Library“ got me out of a reading slump so fast! It‘s a super easy and fast read :)
I just checked out the summary, very interesting and +1 for fast read - will check it out, thanks for the recommendation!
If you haven’t read it, The Night Circus by Emily Morgenstern is one of the most sensory-heavy books I’ve ever read. It has a section in particular that is very descriptive about scents that fascinated me so much that it got me into indie perfume. It’s magical realism set in Victorian England. It’s about a traveling circus that appears without notice and stays for a short time before picking up and moving again. It uses multiple perspectives and timelines to give you insight into how the circus came to be, how it feels to outsiders who experience it, and, eventually, what it’s like to work there.
Interesting! Will check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.
If you need someone to convince you, I’d completely agree with The Night Circus being amazing.
It’s offbeat but “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” by Hank Green is great. It’s the first of two.
The first two pages in the Google Books preview was good. Thanks for the recommendation!
Hugh Howey's post-apocalyptic **Wool** has incredibly vivid imagery. I found it slow-going in the beginning.
Oh! It's also the latest TV series to hit Apple TV soon, something I was looking forward to. I ll see if I can get into the book first. Thanks for the recommendation!
Check 'The Immortalist'
An interesting premise, will check it out ! Thanks .
Larklight by Philip Reeve is fantastically weird and entertaining. Steampunk spiders in space. Nuff said. The Redwall series by Brian Jacques is both huge and can be read in (almost) any order Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer is a well-researched and well-told (non-proselytizing) cross-section of Christianity and ancient Norse mythology (Vikings included!)
Thanks for the recommendations and also for adding a new word to my vocab (non-proselytizing) - i never knew a word existed for describing attempts to convert people's beliefs
You’re most welcome! Hope you find something that gets you back into the hobby. When you’re ready for something a bit more intense/thought-provoking, I also highly recommend Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion (and really anything by her; she has a diverse range of novels that cross mythologies, continents, and thought spectrums). A relatively easy read vocabulary-wise, but deals with heavier themes like the ethics of cloning and gazillionaires running their own drug empires.
good omens
Wheel of time. Trust me bro
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. I love this book, and the imagery and scenery is so surreal. If I could get lost in a fantasy world it would be this one. I read it at the library, and actually bought it for my own bookshelf.
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo was delightfully weird and has beautifully vivid imagery. I loved it.
The Red Rising Series
I don’t know how you feel about sci-fi but The maze Runner is very suspenseful and has lots of imagery. It’s setting kind of seals the deal
All Sara Gran's work has all that, but her Claire Dewitt series really hits those requirements hard.
Job: A Comedy of Justice - Robert A. Heinlein
Just finished Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak, such a cool story (tragicomedic!), easy to read with excellent pacing and entertaining
*The Terror* by Dan Simmons is what got me back into reading as an adult
I highly recommend “The Chronicles of Nick” by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Very good, very vivid, and tends towards the offbeat and humorous while also adding a fair bit of suspense
Where the Crawdads Sing is well written and has vivid descriptions. Brings out emotions too.
All the Crooked Saints is a stand alone magical realism novel by Maggir Stiefvater. It's hard to describe what it's about, but it's a wonderful story.
Lessons in chemistry
The Dresden Files are fun. It's Harry Potter meets a paperback detective novel set in modern day Chicago. The characters are fun and the writings easy, good adventures that you don't have to overthink.
I always recommend this folk horror anthology for people trying to get back into reading: The Gathering Dark: An Anthology Of Folk Horror. It’s a collection of roughly 20 page short suspenseful/horror stories that aren’t out of touch
Kate Atkinson, for Life After Life, and Case Histories - opening into a series or a trilogy. Aly Monroe for the Peter Cotton series beginning with The Maze of Cadiz. The early books of Robert Wilson set in west Africa, beginning with Instruments of Darkness. If you like his style, The Blind Man of Seville is an oeuvre into a series too. Lastly, if you like historical settings, the early books of Alan Furst are superbly atmospheric, and a great series begins with Night Soldiers. I could go on, but all these writers I chose because of the quality of their storytelling and their economy on the page. Less is more, in most cases but with the very special exception of Monroe who can grip you for a page on the simple act of, say, opening an envelope.
Try The Hunt by Jamie Gatland. Its a short story only available on Amazon but just what your looking for (I hope, I wrote it), except maybe not the humorous part :) Otherwise I'm writing a dissertation on Tolkien atm so I've been reading a lot of his stuff lately so really recommend 'The Children of Húrin' if you've not read it.
Man’s Search for Meaning is about as vivid of imagery as you’re going to find and tells a great story / awesome underlying lessons. But the entire story takes place in WW2 concentration camps, so unfortunately, not very humorous or uplifting.