finding a good book to read

[MsPurple]

Hi everyone. I'm Steph or MsPurple. I am a 25 yo who has dyslexia. When I was younger I struggled with reading. I am a pretty good reader now however I consider myself someone with a poorer vocabulary. What taught me to read was the Harry Potter books. I listened to the audio books and would read alone with them (Stephen Fry's voice is amazing FYI). When the 5th book came out the audio book was 9 months away, so I read it on my own. It took me a week of pretty much reading all day. This was a huge stepping stone for me at the time and I started to have more confidence in my ability to read.

Now as a 25 yo old I don't know how to find a book to read. I don't even know where to start. I have read a few YouTuber books (such as the Shane Dawson books, FYI a really good read) but other than that I haven't really been reading. How to you find a good book to read? My mum can go to any book shop and seem to find something, I just get intimidated. I do have a tablet so I do use the kindle app so it doesn't have to be a physical book. I just want something good to read as I think it would be better to read before bed than watch TV.

1. What book suggestions do you have for me or anyone wanting to take up reading? (my suggestion is a Shane Dawson book)

2. What is your favourite book? (mine is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

Thanks guys for your help 🙂

[littledove]

Hi Steph

I love reading too. I read a lot with my children which is great because I get to read books that I also enjoy such as Harry Potter. I reckon you would enjoy the Artemis Fowl series of books. I think they are written for children/young adults but in my opinion they are at about the same level as Harry Potter in terms of difficulty. I enjoy reading them even though I'm a "grown up". The person who put me onto the books was a grown up who enjoyed reading fantasy. They are adventure stories with lots of magic and creature characters. They are best sellers so you would definitely be able to get them on kindle but I always manage to pick them up in charity shops such as vinnies and salvos. Just look in the children's/teenagers section.

Sounds like fantasy is something you are into. If you want something that's light, very easy to read and funny try the Terry Pratchett disc world books. There's millions of those and your local library would have copies as they are very well known world wide.

Happy reading

Simone

[MsPurple]

Hi littledove. Thanks for your suggestion. I just googled it 2 seconds ago and it sounded like it might be my thing. I am going to download a sample from the kindle shop. What is your favourite book by the way?

[littledove]

Hi Ms Purple. Sorry for the delay in replying. I haven't bee online in a bit. That's a pretty hard question to answer! Do you mean favourite book ever? I don't think I have one. Sorry that's a bit of a rubbish answer!! I must admit I'm a bit of a fence sitter when it comes to books . I don't have a favourite genre, my taste is pretty broad. I like classics like Jane Austen but also the children/young adult fantasy. Also good biographies. I just finished one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read which is Russell Brand's autobiography - it's called "My booky wook". I was literally laughing out loud when I was reading it. If you like his comedy I would very much recommend that book. If you aren't into his comedy you should definitely not read the book as it is pretty full on. Stephen Fry has also written his autobiography which he has broken down into a few books. He's also had a very interesting life so those books are very good reads too. Both of those blokes are hilarious but have also struggled with their issues such as depression etc. The books are not depressing though.

Ms Purple are you into any other genres or do you stick mostly to the fantasy, Harry Potter type stuff?

I've been doing a fair bit of reading lately as I've been doing some modules on another website that helps people living with the black dog etc. I think the module is something like how to increase pleasurable activities in your life as a way of managing your depression. I picked reading.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi,

Oh great thread - I got excited when I saw this one because I'm a huge booklover!

1. What book suggestions do you have for me or anyone wanting to take up reading? (my suggestion is a Shane Dawson book)

I think the worst thing to do when you're not a reader is to read something because someone says 'it's good'. Find things you're interested in. Find things you love. Find things that you're passionate about. I'm a big biography reader so picking up a thriller/horror is just not my jam, no matter how good it is.

What made you pick up Shane Dawson's book? Is it because you like him on YouTube? Or the easy read - short essays? If you like his book you could try the other - I saw he wrote two: one called 'I hate MySelfie' and one called 'It gets worse'.

A lot of youtubers have written books - not sure which ones you watch but there's a list here that might jump out at you - http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/74522.Youtubers_and_Books#22886110

Are there any other celebs/famous people you like? What sort of TV shows/movies do you like? I like Lena Dunham, Sarah Silverman, Nick Offerman, Caitlin Moran and Amy Poehler so I read their bio's. Maybe that could be something looking into?

2. What is your favourite book? (mine is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

I don't have one. Asking me to choose my favourite book is like asking me to choose my favourite song. Damn near impossible. I do read a lot though - a lot of the ones I read are biographies/memoirs, books about health and psychology, business/HR, humour and creative ones. I do read some fiction but I find it harder to get into.

Hope this helps! Oh and if you like audio books you could check out Audible - they often have 30 day free trials (and then you just cancel before they charge) and if you read on Kindle you could check out Amazon's free list. It's updated every-day and often they are short reads so it can be a great way to figure out the sort of stuff that interests you - https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/2496751051/ref=zg_bs_fvp_p_f_2496751051?ie=UTF8&tf=1

[Nickname_65BD5CCF-CA54-46]

I suggest you look at the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher, it's urban fantasy, easy reading and light hearted for the most part.

There's a website called goodreads too, that will list books similar to books you like.

[MsPurple]

Thanks Grok, romantic and little dove thanks for all your suggestions. I'm gonna look it all up now. Little dove I am into harry potter style books (is that fantasy?) as well as autiobiographies of people. I don't really know what I'm into. I have started reading a short book (as I stated last time) but still haven't read it all. I'm hopeless. I did just start a new job and getting settled in. Once I have organised all my stuff im sure ill read more on my day off. I'll try do it in the sun

[GuestYD]

I'm Not Scared - Niccol Ammaniti

it is a great read. Well written, powerful and vivid.

[Nickname_65BD5CCF-CA54-46]

I'm a big fan of audio books too. You might find them easier to get into.

I'm often listening to a book when doing the dishes, walking or trying to sleep.

Audible is a website that will give you the first audiobook free (and then is one book a month for $15 but you can cancel). Stephen Fry's reading of Harry Potter is meant to be brilliant.

Harry potter is often called fantasy, or urban fantasy, and /or YA (youth adventures) fantasy

if you belong to a library, then you should also be able to get the 'overdrive' app which lets you 'borrow' ebooks and audiobooks on your phone or tablet.

[Nickname_65BD5CCF-CA54-46]

And I'm a bit of an idiot. I didn't reread your post. You already know Steven fry and audio books. Sorry 🙂

[Guest_322]

Steph,

Yeeeeees...reading in the sun sounds great. Even better if it's at the beach in my opinion 😊

Dottie x