# Recommend a book for someone who has recently lost interest in books. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268 "2008-11-11T23:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/1 "2008-11-11T23:50:32Z")
I have lost interest in reading such that the only reason I will pick up a book is to read its pages, not for pleasure, but to tire me out and put me to sleep. The last book I completed was ‘Nation’ by Terry Pratchett. It is a good book, but I found it difficult to pick up each night and read. There have been times when I’ve been desperate to pick up a book again, and have lost sleep because I could not put it down. But lately, reading seems like a chore. So recommend a book that I will actually derive real pleasure from reading. If it helps: I like science fiction, fantasy, comedy. I dislike romance (strange considering I am desperate for real romance. Maybe you can convert me), crime thrillers. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/2 "2008-11-12T00:01:21Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > If it helps: I like science fiction, fantasy, comedy. I dislike romance (strange considering I am desperate for real romance. Maybe you can convert me), crime thrillers. Maybe you’re just sick of fiction. It happened to me a couple years ago. I felt like I had reached a point where I had read all the fiction I ever wanted to read, and I read almost exclusively non-fiction now. Of course I still read comics and graphic novels, and the occasional fiction book, but for the most part I think I’d just rather learn from books and be entertained by the internet, tv, and movies. The most recent book I finished was a page-turner from your country called [The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher](http://www.amazon.com/Suspicions-Mr-Whicher-Victorian-Detective/dp/0802715354). Before that, [Travels with Charley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels_with_Charley), about my country in 1960. Before that, a badass adventure called [Kon Tiki](http://www.amazon.com/Kon-Tiki-Across-Pacific-Thor-Heyerdahl/dp/0671726528/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226447814&sr=8-1) (turns out its thesis is probably wrong, but that doesn’t stop the characters from kicking a bunch of sharks’ asses and taming the Pacific ocean on a couple logs lashed together) Before that I read [The Dragons of Eden](http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Eden-Speculations-Evolution-Intelligence/dp/0345346297/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226447919&sr=8-1) about the evolution of the human brain. Apart from a few mentions of state of the art computer technology, you would never know it was written 30 years ago. A quick, fun read, and very edifying. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/3 "2008-11-12T00:08:26Z")
Yeah, I got fed up with most fiction when the blurb on every other book said something like _‘Jenny is a popular author struggling with writer’s block living in a small New England town filled with secrets’_, and I’d look at the author’s bio and lo and behold, she was a popular author living in a small New England town filled with secrets. That being said, the best author I’ve recently discovered is Isabel Allende. I really like her short fiction. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/4 "2008-11-12T01:08:20Z")
I got real pleasure from [Cloud Atlas](http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Atlas-Novel-David-Mitchell/dp/0375507256/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226451714&sr=1-1) by David Mitchell. The summary at Amazon makes it sound like a “difficult” book, and it is, but it’s one of those books that you can enjoy even if you don’t “get it” 100%. It’s definitely a page-turner and won’t put you to sleep. Another recent SF pleasure was _Hunter’s Run_ by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. It’s a fast-paced adventure story with a touch of philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/5 "2008-11-12T01:16:59Z")
I like the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko. It is modern fantasy set in Russia (mostly Moscow). The author is Russian (the books are translated) which often gives his books and characters an interesting take. Each time I’ve picked one up they’ve eaten all my time until I finished. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/6 "2008-11-12T01:24:42Z")
Iain Banks - The Bridge - when you’re done with that he also writes sci fi as Iain M Banks > **[Fiction | Hachette UK](https://www.iain-banks.net/category/fiction/)** Will Self - The Book of Dave - a London taxi driver buries his diary and 500 years later it is recovered resulting in the cult of Dave. My Idea of Fun - I found a real page turner > **[Will Self Blog Archives - Will Self](http://will-self.com/category/wills-blog/)** > > Will Self blog ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/7 "2008-11-12T01:33:50Z")
I say try some non-fiction. I don’t know what you’d like in that area, but I’m currently enjoying [_Physics for future presidents_](http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Future-Presidents-Science-Headlines/dp/0393066274/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226453561&sr=1-1) (by my husband’s favorite physics professor!) and \*[The Irregulars\*](http://www.amazon.com/Irregulars-Roald-British-Wartime-Washington/dp/0743294580/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226453524&sr=1-1)–have you ever read Roald Dahl’s memoir _Going solo_? One of my very favorite books ever. If so, you know that he was an RAF pilot in WWII, but was soon invalided out and went home. He ends the book there. What he doesn’t tell you is that after that, he was sent to Washington DC as a sort of attache and became A SPY and hung out with Ian Fleming and Noel Coward and Harry Truman and :eek::eek: Seems like there’s a new and astounding (to me, anyway) revelation every other page. But it’s not exactly a page-turner because it’s so detailed and exact. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/8 "2008-11-12T03:57:48Z")
Maybe try some manga? They’re a little faster to get through and you’ll encounter a lot of new genres that aren’t really in existence in the Western world. Maybe try **Those Who Hunt Elves**. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/9 "2008-11-12T04:01:31Z")
**Steal This Book** ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/10 "2008-11-12T04:02:57Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > The most recent book I finished was a page-turner from your country called [The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher](http://www.amazon.com/Suspicions-Mr-Whicher-Victorian-Detective/dp/0802715354). That’s a true page-turner. I’d agree, OP, you might need to shake things up. Go non-fiction, or classic (perhaps Mark Twain), or try some early mysteries that focus on the puzzle aspects like John Dickson Carr or Doyle. They seem to stimulate different parts of my brain. Or try reading some YA books like Alex Rider or anything you might not normally pick up. Authors I can’t put down: Dick Francis, Lois McMaster Bujold, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, Jane Austen, Robin McKinley. Hope this helps. I have too many books I want to read, which can still lead to a sort of blank inability to choose. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/11 "2008-11-12T04:47:22Z")
I’m a reader. I always have few on the burner, but I get tired of the stuff I love too. This book by Stephen Fry: [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb\_ss\_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Making+History+Stephen+Fry&x=0&y=0](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Making+History+Stephen+Fry&x=0&y=0) I’d liked his other books (_The Liar_ and _The Hippopatomus_ . So I thought I’d like this one. I picked it up at ten pm, thinking I’d read a chapter or two and in the literal sense, I couldn’t put it down. I read until about four am and finished it. It’s a mixture of fiction and history in fun time travelling (sometimes less fun) ways. ---
**Author:** ![Suse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Suse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suse)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/12 "2008-11-12T05:57:21Z")
Have you had your eyes checked lately? I have the same problem with reading; I find lots of books that look interesting but can’t make myself sit down and read them, and I have been in the habit of reading constantly since I was very young. The problem started about the time I began to need bifocals, and now that I’m in trifocals it’s even worse. I’m almost ready to consider Lasik because I want to be a reader again! (If you want to be converted to reading romance, try Diana Gabaldon’s _Outlander_ series. Although I have heard that she doesn’t care for that categorization.) ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-for-someone-who-has-recently-lost-interest-in-books/472268/13 "2008-11-12T09:06:36Z")
George R.R. Martin’s **A Game of Thrones** is sheer awesomeness. Since you like fantasy, please do yourself a favor and pick it up. Then the next three. Then mutter silent curses at the walls while you wait for the fifth one to come out 😉