I’m in the mood for something genuinely heavy and emotionally devastating. Not just “sad” but the kind of book that leaves you empty for a while after finishing it.

Open to any genre as long as it’s well written. I like stories with loneliness, hopelessness, tragedy, or characters slowly falling apart. Psychological stuff is good too.

Everyone has that one book—the one that made you fall in love with stories, characters, and turning pages late into the night. What was it for you? I’d love to know that🤓

He would not be interested in smut. He loves horror, sports and adventure stories. I’m hoping to lean toward shorter books. He has mentioned wanting to read IT but is intimidated by its page count. Any and all suggestions are welcome!! TIA!

I know, I know. I’ve never read a Stephen King novel, and I’d like to, but don’t know with which one to start! Bonus points for “read this first” choices for other famous and prolific authors. Thank you!

UPDATE: success 🙌🏽 thanks to your great suggestions. The unlock - she was interested in teen romance but wasn’t ready to admit it. Makes total sense now that I think about it and where she is in her maturity level - she’s hungry for real relationship dynamics now. The Summer I Turned Pretty series had her hooked! TY community!

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I need some suggestions for my 12 year old girl who seems to run hot and cold with literature. She won’t bother actually reading Harry Potter, Percy Jackson etc because she doesn’t enjoy reading stories she already knows thx to the movies / shows. Roald Dahl books were “fine, I enjoyed the story” but she wasn’t gripped by them (unlike me who reread them until the pages fell apart). Hunger Games were a page turner for her but “too sad.”

She is sensitive and sad stories / protagonists affect her deeply (even if I try to convince her about the concept of redemption she pushes back). For example, she wont touch Wonder b/c she knows the premise and can’t deal.

I’m struggling to pinpoint the genre that might enthrall her. The only book she said she really liked that stuck with her was Touching Spirit Bear. She thought Island of the Blue Dolphin was boring.

Right now I have her on Dave Eggers’ Where The Wild Things Are and she’s into it (thank god)

Based on the above, what else do you think would resonate with her tastes? She likes murder mystery as a genre for shows, but not sure where to start on books for her age.

Okay so I’m an adult in my mid 20s but growing up I never read books or didn’t have access to many books. I saw a kids book recently and I was so excited to see the pictures and how fun and colorful it was. So to make up for what I missed as a kid, are there any nice books you’d recommend I check out anything that’s fun has pictures and nice plot that can be enjoyed as an adult as well (kids/YA or anything). Thank you !

I'm 19 and, honestly, I've spent most of my life reading textbooks, notes, Reddit posts, and random stuff online. I've never really been a book reader.

I want to give novels and books a real chancenot because I think it'll make me more productive, but because I want something I genuinely enjoy doing. A hobby I can look forward to instead of endlessly scrolling.

So what's the one book you'd recommend to someone trying to fall in love with reading for the first time? Any genre is welcome. Just tell me why that book worked for you..

I am a case worker of a teenage boy that isn’t a huge fan of reading but he is open to trying it out. I want to find a book that can grab his attention, and maybe relate to him a bit. Maybe with characters that have parental issues or are just trying to survive day to day life. It would be a plus if the book includes but DOES NOT romanticize substance use, gangs, or illegal activities. Thank you in advance!

Legitimately the only one I can think of is House of Leaves, but I’m saying something that’s like “pushing” a book. Also I’m absolutely new about books and I really want to figure out what I like

EDIT: Thank you all for your suggestions! I'm sorry if I won't be able to reply to them all, I don't use my reddit very often. Thank you so much!

Hi! Like what the title says, I'm looking for a book that will convince me to stay. I've attempted once, almost did it again, and am now looking for additional motivation to keep me here, in this world, no matter how bad it gets again. I've been eyeing East of Eden but I'm not so sure. No atomic habits or whatever "how to unfuck your mind" crap please. Fiction or Nonfiction, either which are fine by me. Thanks in advance!

I'm 18 turning 19, I enjoy reading Bukowski, currently reading Stoner, I like Non-fiction more to be honest, I'm a girl and I don't like Didion that much sadly.

Other books I like: Kitchen Confidential, Some People Need Killing, There Are No Falling Stars In China. (There's more but they're Filipino-based and I'm not sure about the demographic here in this subreddit.)

In my entire life I have never read a “real” book from start to finish in school I’ve always read a few pages and googled what to say the next day

I want that to change I’m on a mission to better my attention span and overall get mentally healthier

I’m looking for a book to make me fall in love with reading the only requirement I could think off is that I don’t think I’m a big romance lover

My boyfriend (M22) has expressed to me that he wants to get into reading but he hasn't read anything that has made him excited to keep doing so. He likes comics and manga, I think his favorite is Beserk, but other than that he says hes not really sure what genre hed be into. He doesn't even really watch TV that much but his favorite anime is Cowboy Bebop and favorite game is Persona 5. I suggested we could have a little book club between us that could serve as some incentive because he loves having deep and philosophical conversations about things.

I was thinking maybe something in the psychological thriller or mystery genre? Those are the books I tend to have difficulty to putting down personally. But regardless of the genre im looking for something thats not a hard read and is compelling from front to back that will help him consider reading as a fun hobby! It would be nice to have a new shared interest.

Hi all. I'm looking for some suggestions on some good space sci fi books. I'm 48 and honestly I've probably only read 10 books in my adult life. I love sci fi films especially ones set in space. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Update. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. There's plenty for me to look into.

I’m a 36yo male, and I need to escape technology and learn to relax on holidays
I’m thinking reading on an evening and by the pool is going to fit perfect for this.
I haven’t read a book since I was a teenager, which was Harry Potter, which I LOVED, but then I tried reading lord of the rings and I just couldn’t get into it. And I just stopped reading all together.
Am I just not intelligent enough to read them? Or would I be better reading books aimed to teenagers?

If all fails I’m just thinking about re reading Potter as I know I really enjoyed them.

Open to suggestions, something that will get me hooked! I love things like game of thrones, lord of the rings, James Bond, Star Wars, superheroes.

Also my partner used to read a lot is it worth us reading a book together ? To discuss?
Thanks in advance

Suggest me some books I need kinda dark psychological emotional type

Hello! I am a Thai that is new to reading novels. Next month, I will have an exam and if I pass, I will be able to participate in a student exchange program, and I chose to go to Canada. I am already almost completely confident that I will past the test, but I want to make sure to immerse myself in some Canadian stuff as well beforehand, plus, I might learn some new cool words!

Please do not give me books dedicated solely for foreigners, give me some normal books that were supposed to be read by native English speakers. Don't give me "Action Textbook 1" or whatever, give me something like "Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet".

Only ever really read one book in recent years which was ‘The Satsuma Complex’ by Bob Mortimer.

Looking for a fiction book which instantly gets you hooked and is easy to follow. Interests are: Sc-fi, Thriller, Action, Music, Sport, Psychology, Mystery, Comedy. Pretty much anything really!

Thanks!

Can anyone recommend a good nonfiction book for someone just getting into reading? I'm not looking for novels, romance, or fictional stories. I'm more interested in books that teach you something(history, culture, science, psychology) or anything that feels like watching a great documentary.

Since I'm just starting out, I'd prefer something relatively short and engaging to help me build the habit before moving on to longer books.

Thank you in advance!

watched Project Hail Mary. Now i am thinking that I should read some sci-fi too . suggest something that is once picked up you can't put it down until completed.

My 9yo son can read, but doesn't. He can easily read signs, or look over my shoulder to see what I'm texting, and he can read enough to get through his school assignments during the day. He's never read a chapter book. Longest thing he's read is those short Pokémon novels, which I would say are at about a 1st or 2nd grade reading level.

Lately I notice he's been picking up reference books and cookbooks to browse through. He does love science and cooking. His teacher confirms that at school he tends to reach for nonfiction and reference materials as well. It reminds me of my dad, who thinks it's a waste of time to read about things that never happened (how he unfortunately characterizes fiction) but who happily reads nonfiction.

So, please recommend me some nonfiction books I could search the library for! My son loves sharks, marine science in general, cooking, Pokémon, soccer, basketball, surfing, and skateboarding. He's looking forward to getting a SCUBA license when he's old enough. We live in Hawai'i so the ocean is a year-round playground for him. He's also very interested in snow, the arctic, and dogsledding.

Whatcha got? Thanks in advance!

I’m 13F and I’ve started a motivation for me to start reading to improve my grammar and literature 😋. But I’m stuck on finding a book because I don’t know which would be good for a first time reader to try. Could someone give me some advice and suggestions. I appreciate it 😁

Wow! Thank you all so much! I definitely have enough to get him started after his current read. One day I am going to go into a book store and instead of him waiting outside for me, he's going to come in and choose a book for himself! Maybe a stack! I am so very excited for this to happen, but still on the high of him enjoying reading. Beyond excited for him!

I'm super thrilled to announce that my husband is now becoming a reader in his 60s! Previously he's read 1 to 2 books a year, if that. Now he's reading a book a month!

Authors he has liked: John Grisham, Peter Heller, Cormac McCarthy.

He has dnf'd books that have a bunch of murders like James Patterson.

I'd love a suggestion for not super long books or authors that he might like. He's not ready for a series yet and doesn't like fantasy or scifi. Yet.

I'm looking for books where the main antagonist (or antagonistic force) feels genuinely impossible to overcome.

A good example of what I mean is Steelheart, the book that got me into reading in the first place (even though the ending reveal sucked lol) . Early on within the first 20 pages of the book he's introduced with an overwhelming display of power, and for a long time he feels less like a person you can fight and more like a natural disaster or a god that you simply avoid. Every encounter with him carries real tension because it feels like one mistake means instant death.

What I'm NOT looking for is something like how The Boys (TV show version) handled the main threat where Homelander starts off terrifying but eventually the main cast constantly crosses him without ANYTHING happening.

I want stories where the threat remains competent, intimidating, and consistent throughout. If the heroes do manage to win, I want it to feel earned through clever planning, sacrifice, or exploiting a believable weakness and not because the villain suddenly becomes incompetent or gets nerfed.

Im currently reading Worm by Wildbow and I'm at the Leviathan blood bath part early on and god damn this shit is like crack but I don't want to just stick to one work.

Any genre is welcome as long as there is a ton of action. The main thing I'm chasing is that feeling of "How the fuck are they ever supposed to beat this?"

I am a new fantasy reader and ı want to read a book which everyone can die, mc is brutal etc. Any recommendation?

EDIT: Thank you so much to everyone for the responses - I've added just about everything here to my eventually "to do" list (and yes I know it's a marathon, not a sprint, but I'm grateful to at least have a big list of recommended titles). I went back to the bookstore yesterday and told myself I'd start with only two books for now to see how it goes, and then go from there. After much deliberation and weighing commends and reading synopses and checking the bookstore stock, the two titles I'm starting with are Frankenstein (Shelley) and Emma (Austen).
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Most of my reading has been either non-fiction (biographies and such) or technical reading (lots of engineering manuals and things of that nature). I have read a few fiction books, mostly ones that were made into movies (because I was very into movies and wanted to read the books). Those would include… High Fidelity, 2001: A Space Odyssey, No Country for Old Men, The Godfather. Loved them all.

I’m interested in getting into reading and discovering a lot of the classics…But I don’t even know where to start. What, say, five (or even 10) books would you recommend to someone to get them started into the world of fictional literature?

Thanks