I haven’t read a fiction book for a couple of years now. I used to read a fair bit, but as I get older, I’m just finding it harder. I’m mildly dyslexic, and because of a combination of depression and medication, my attention span has become terrible.
To give you some idea, I tried to read the Hobbit not long ago, and struggled with it because of all the descriptive language, and because I couldn’t keep track of all the dwarfs. However, I was ok with the Harry Potter books, maybe because I had already seen the movies and knew the plot and characters already.
I seem to have a much easier time reading non-fiction books – maybe because it doesn’t matter as much if I don’t take in chunks of the text?
So, does anyone have any ideas for books that have (1) an easy-to-follow plot and (2) to-the-point text? Kids’ books are fine, as long as it’s not at “Goodnight Moon” level!
Do you like Vikings? Bernard Cornwell’s The Warrior Chronicles/Saxon Stories are pretty straightforward reads. The books all have plots that move along nicely and carry your attention, and narration is in the first person by a character who isn’t overly reflective and doesn’t get easily distracted by peripheral matters. The series is a fun read that won’t tax your attention too mcuh.
Ken Follett, George R.R. Martin, and Guy Gavriel Kay might also be worth checking out as well.
The Hobbit is dense and can be hard to follow for everyone. Even if you hadn’t seen the movies, you probably would have had a much easier time with Harry Potter because young adult books tend to be written in a more straightforward and easy-to-parse way. For example, the characters will usually have easily distinguishable names. (not like Derpi, Gurpi, and Schlurpi or whatever those dwarfs in the Hobbit were called)
A lot of science fiction is also written like that–so much so that the prose can feel downright clunky at times. But it does make for some easy reading. So, if you like science fiction, I’d recommend:
– Heinlein’s juveniles. These were written for a young adult audience and they’re pretty short and definitely entertaining. If you like them, there’s a whole world of Heinlein to explore, all of which is written in an easy-to-follow way.
– Asimov’s Caves of Steel. A good solid murder mystery set in the future. No convoluted plot. Just a good story.
– Asimov’s Robot stories (I,Robot, The Rest of the Robots, and any number of other collections) They’re short stories, but they hang together to form a larger narrative.
How about graphic novels/comic books, or regular novels that have been made into comic book series? The comic book adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand was very good.
ETA–If you don’t mind kids books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and sequels are hilarious.
It’s a cute book-- a little haunting at times-- and rather fanciful, but the way it’s written there are a lot of little vignettes. So if you read a vignette or two at a time, I think it would still work.
OP reminds me a bit of me. I don’t think I have the Dyslexia, but as I get older I don’t seem to be able to enjoy ‘proper’ books anymore - I just get bored and distracted too easily these days.
That said, here’s a few books and authors that I have found able to be readable:
The Gone series by Michael Grant. They are set in a kid’s version of Stephen King’s Under the Dome - a mysterious dome seals off a town and all the adults disappear, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. And then some of the children start mutating…
Anything by Matthew Reilly. He started off writing fast paced action/adventure for young males, and seems to have really ramped it up lately with his books featuring Scarecrow. Non-stop, over the top action.
Dean Koontz. I haven’t read through his entire back catalogue yet, only everything he’s released in the last 8 years or so. The Odd Thomas books rock along at a decent pace, and his thrillers are enjoyable easy reads. Some examples: The Good Guy, The Face, The Taking, etc.
Oh, and I’m partial to the books of Daniel M. Pinkwater, who writes to audiences of all ages, from pre-school to teenage–and has a large audience of people like me, who have been kids for quite a few decades … !