Recommend 2-3 books for someone that wants to get into reading

[tangey]

I want to give reading a good go.

In my teenager years (LONG TIME AGO), I would have read the likes of hardy boys. Had to do some novels for O' levels of course. My first grown-up book was JAWS. I did read Lord of the rings in my 20s.

I'm approaching 60 now. I have read maybe a dozen books since. I read several of the James herbert books (the fog, the rats come to mind). I read several in the odd-thomas series which were not bad.
The last books I read were probably 5-6 years ago, a friend gave me some of the Jack Reacher books. They were good enough, but ultimately a bit formulaic and not real page turners.

I have found that I went towards PC games and then latterly bingewatching and streaming services in general to fill my time, I guess I like the quicker hit that they give you.

But given that this reading thing seems pretty popular (!), I think that it's likely I just have not hit a decent stream of books to engage me.

So for all you well read folks, if you have 2-3 titles that are just damn sure fire engaging for just about anyone, I would love to hear your recommendations.
In terms of style, I guess the lead there would be movies that I like, so I'm into crime drama, mystery, PI stuff (Oh I tried one of the striker books by rowling but just thought it was ok), and sci-fi.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, if there is a thread like this already, apologies.

 

[tangey]

I really appreciate the recommendations guys.

The dresden files and the witcher are grabbing me, and I like that they are a series of books so that if I get into the first one, there's some mileage.

I'll update when I've read my first book in a while

 

[tangey]

As the OP, just thought I'd update that I picked book 2 of the dresden files (full moon), and I'm around 25% thru it and enjoying it.

This is one seriously good thread though, I think I've got enough recommendations in here already to last a lifetime, but I'm sure I'm far from the only one that will appreciate it's existence

Many thanks for everyone's thoughts and recommendations.

 

[tangey]

Im the OP (yes I'm back !). So I've read 2 dresden files books and I'm enjoying that series. Thinking of giving the series a break and trying something else. A friend of mine recommended the green mile. Which brings me to a question. Does having seen the film based on a particular book (especially when the film was excellent like the green mile) spoil reading the book. The film's appeal lies mostly in the slow expose of the talents and real back story of the big guy. Knowing all that going in, is the experience of reading the book spoiled to a lesser or greater extent ?

I saw "to kill a mockingbird" also recommended on this thread, and so the question relates to that suggestion to, as well as generically.

 

[tangey]

I'm the OP and its a little over a year since I asked for help in getting back into reading, and I'm happy to say that I've been reading ever since. I've now a fixed 30-40min working day slot during lunch that I read.

Thus far I've read

1) 2-4 books from the dresden files (skipped the 1st one on recommendation on this thread)
2) The Green Mile
3) The first 3 books by brandon Sanderson in the mistborn series
4) Where the crawdads sing by Delia Owens.
5) Ian Rankin, Knots and Crosses
6) First 4 J.B Turner books in the Jon Resnick series
7) The chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
8) And I'm just starting the 2nd in a series of 7 books, edge of collapse by Kyla Stone

Quite a mix I think, some are all about detailed realms or painting subtle pictures of a point in time, and/or deep character development and slow paced. Others are just great easier read action books.

In total that's 15 I've read to date, and those 3 Sanderson books are all quite lengthy.

Have to say, that for most of these, there are times when I'm sitting doing other stuff that I wander off thinking about where my current book might lead next, or mulling over the latest reveal, it's a nice interest to have. Some realms and storylines can really get into your head

I've downloaded several more, and once I get thru them, I'm determined to come back to this thread and start picking off some of the recommendations.

Cheers again to everyone for giving me the start i needed.

 

[tangey]

No, no, no. No way is Lord of The Rings a good book for someone just starting to read.

I read a lot and I’ve still never managed to complete the lotr books. They’re long, far too wordy and written in a style that’s almost preaching.

In my first post, I noted that Lotr was one of my last reads, in my 20s. I have the illustrated hardback editions.

I enjoyed the books so much that I didn't want it to end, so I stopped way before the end, and then read it again from the start and did the same thing. Think I did that 4 times in total. I never did read to the end. I only found out that Frodo ultimately fell under the rings power when I saw the return of the king film. So Frodo heading off on the boat with the Elves was also quite the surprise ending for me.

Off-topic I know, but for me Peter Jackson did a mighty impressive job with the films, in terms of the characters and the sets and the settings, he really did put to film astounding well what I'd had in my minds eye all those years ago. Look at Ian Mckellan as Gandalf, you could very well be fooled into thinking that Tolkien wrote it for him, such was the casting, the acting and the costume.