So, my fiance is not good at reading. Never has been and it’s like he absorbs almost nothing of what he reads. He says himself he is pretty much illiterate. If he needs to read, he struggles. He wants to get started on reading, and I’m totally here to help but struggling to find things that would interest him. YA is okay, but I’d love some adult books for him. He’s not stupid or amything and i just feel like its hard to find things for him to read that are simple enough, but not like “kid plot conflict” if you know what i mean? I feel like there’s a lot of books for him out there, but everything I read leans too dense for him.
by alexisnthererightnow
6 Comments
It sounds like ‘graded readers’ could be a good start for him, these are books for people learning English as a second language so the language is simpler but the plot doesn’t necessarily have to be
How about comics or graphic novels? Those have dialogue, but a lot of the plot is conveyed by pictures. That feels like a good compromise – he can practice reading more words, but doesn’t have to struggle with ALL THE WORDS at once.
There’s plenty of comics aimed at adults (and I don’t mean porn). What genre of movie/tv show/games does he like? Check out some comics in the same genre.
One of my friends taught herself to read books as an adult with Harry Potter because each book is a little harder.
Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs is a bunch of short stories where he remembers things like sexually inappropriate coworkers. They’re funny, not hard to read, very definitely not YA, and shocking enough to keep him reading well past the point when he gets tired.
I recommend Devolution by Max Brooks to everyone because it’s awesome. Not too long, not too hard to read, exciting, and there is Bigfoot.
Armada by Earnest Cline is way shorter than Ready Player One, and reads a lot easier. If he’s ever been the guy who fantasized about saving the earth with his video game skills, he’ll love it.
The Martian by Andy Weir
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Perhaps Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut? sci fi, funny and lighthearted in some moments but with a self-proclaimed “anti-war” plot written post-WWII. On a similar note, First Contact by Mandery. an easy sci-fi comedy poking fun at the US government with a sappy romance on the side
What kind of things does he like to do or watch on TV?