How often have you made up your mind to get back to start your reading habit? But circumstances have made you drift from that goal again and again. It was difficult for me too, but I somehow bounced back to my reading habit, and here are few recommendations that helped me get back to my routine.
The world is rapidly changing and our lives are becoming more complex day by day. In this chaos, reading books is a personal investment that is going to help you in the long run. Books go beyond just a source of entertainment, they provide you with a new perspective and help you enhance your intellect.
Although, it is easy said than done. It has become difficult because we are surrounded by distractions, like social media. Let’s say you discovered a book through Instagram, you saved it to your ‘to-read list’ and then you realize there are already hundreds lying in the list. Overwhelmed? You don’t know where to start and then you continue scrolling leaving it on tomorrow. The same process continues in a cycle.
But rest assured, we have curated a list for you that will make you jump-start your reading habit that you have desired for.
Pick your favorite genre, grab your book and ruminate into reading!
1. The Kite Runner
“Children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors.”
Good reads: 4.3/5
Genre: Historical fiction
Author: Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner is a unique and powerful book that has attained its place as a one-of-a-kind classic. A heart-touching and memorable story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. A story entailing the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the leeway of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
2. The Silent Patient
“Her silence was like a mirror – reflecting yourself back at you. And it was often an ugly sight.”
Goodreads: 4.1/5
Genre: Physiological Thriller
Author: Alex Michaelides
Alicia Berenson is living a perfect life anyone could dream of. But one day, she shoots her husband five times in the face and never speaks another word. Her refusal to talk turns this domestic tragedy into a grand mystery which Theo Faber wants to discover. He is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time to work with Alicia. Give this novel a read and discover the truth. The end will have you gasping!
3. Little Fires Everywhere
“Most of the time, everyone deserves more than one chance. We all do things we regret now and then. You just have to carry them with you.”
Goodreads: 4/5
Genre: Domestic Fiction
Author: Celeste Ng
Taking Place in the rich neighborhood of Cleveland, the story revolves around intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. When old family friends of Richardsons try to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the two. Uncover the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood in this novel.
4. Normal People
“Life offers up these moments of joy despite everything.”
Goodreads: 3.8/5
Genre: Literary Fiction
Author: Sally Rooney
Story of two young adults Connell and Marianne, who pretend not to know each other. While we may think it is the same teenage love drama, then you’re in for a surprise. Sally Rooney has brought her talent of psychological insight and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.
5. Looking for Alaska
“We need never be hopeless because we can never be irreparably broken.”
Goodreads: 4/5
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Author: John Green
Miles Halter, a teenage boy obsessed with last words, leaves his normal high school in Florida to attend Culver Creek Preparatory to seek “the great perhaps”. But then he meets Alaska Young who is gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart, but in the second half, nothing is ever the same. John Green cleverly touches on themes of meaning, grief, hope, and youth-adult relationships.
6. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
“These days, loneliness is the new cancer – a shameful, embarrassing thing, brought upon yourself in some obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don’t want to hear the word spoken aloud for fear that they might too be afflicted.”
Goodreads: 4.2/5
Genre: Romance
Author: Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant lived by a set of rules with a timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with her mother. No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine. And then she meets Raymond who helps Eleanor find a way to repair her own profoundly damaged heart. This book is bound to catch you off guard so I recommend keep the tissue box handy.
7.To Kill a Mockingbird
“…before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”
Goodreads: 4.3/5
Genre: Thriller
Author: Harper Lee
It is uncanny that one has not read this classic, but if you haven’t you should NOW! A compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving story that takes readers to the roots of human behavior. Harper Lee explores the emotions like innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. What was meant to be a simple love story now is acclaimed as an important part of American literature.
8. Case Histories
“It wasn’t that he believed in religion, or a God, or an afterlife. He just knew it was impossible to feel this much love and for it to end.”
Goodreads: 3.8/5
Genre: Crime mystery
Author: Kate Atkinson
For starters, Stephen King called this series “The best mystery of the decade”. Jackson Brodie Mysteries in its first novel uncovers three seemingly unconnected family mysteries in Cambridge. Thirty years later, after the first case, when he investigates the case again, he finds startling connections and discoveries emerge. After finishing the novel you can binge-watch the adapted series Case Histories on BBC one.
If you want to read the whole series here is the list: One Good Turn (2006), When Will There Be Good News? (2008), Started Early, Took My Dog (2010) and Big Sky (2019).
9. The Handmaid’s Tale
“They used to have dolls, for little girls that would talk if you pulled a string at the back; I thought I was sounding like that, voice of a monotone, voice of a doll.”
Goodreads: 4.1/5
Genre: Dystopian novel
Author: Margaret Atwood
Another must-read classic and my personal favorite! The Handmaid’s or the average woman’s tale who have no free will or individualism, and are treated as mere baby producing machine. They are forced to live under oppression and the only way out is slow and agonizing death. A frightening and powerful story that is waiting to be perceived.
10. My Family and Other Animals
“I can’t be expected to produce deathless prose in an atmosphere of gloom and eucalyptus.”
Goodreads: 4.2
Genre: Autobiography, Drama
Author: Gerald Durrell
A delightful, lyrical, and altogether magical read. What was intended to embrace the natural history of the island, ended up as an enjoyable account of Durrell’s family’s experiences, from the many eccentric hangers like, the ceaseless procession of puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glow-worms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their home. The famous Corfu trilogy is a hint of nostalgia of childhood that will leave you with mixed feelings.
You can also read a newly published novel, A Man with A White Shadow, which is setting record for most loved book and it has being rated highly on Goodreads. Till now the average rating is 4.8 and it is being cherished by all the readers.
If you have read almost all the books that are recommended then I guess you will have to wait for the sequel. Meanwhile, if you have been stuck with a book for long, it is time to set it aside—there is no point in reading a book you have lost interest in! Give other books a chance, there are thousands of books waiting to be explored. If the first 50 pages don’t grab your attention, find another and start reading.
Don’t rush, start with one chapter at a time!
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