Nothing is hitting, every book I start feels meh, and my TBR is judging me silently from the shelf.
I need a book that will ruin me in the best way — romance, thriller, fantasy, I don’t care — just something unputdownable.
Drop your favorites. Save a reader today.
by PrettyOnTheEdge
11 Comments
Hail Mary
I know this is not what you are looking for, but when I get that way, it usually means my brain isn’t looking for outside input and it’s time to start meditation practice again.
Fail-Safe (Burdick)
The Day of The Jackal
Exactly that-unputdownable- for me.
Dungeon Crawler Carl – blew through all 7 books in about 2 weeks. The fastest I’ve read anything since high school. Get the audiobook if you can, it’s fantastic!
Lessons in chemistry – was hooked from the get-go and finished it in 2 days. Again, very fast by my standards.
A Natural History of Dragons – also amazing as an audiobook. The writing quality is top-notch. Fascinating story, especially if you like history and science. And of course Dragons!
*Prophet Song* by Paul Lynch got me out of my slump, but I read it around the time of Trump’s inauguration, so it ended up being an ominous read. Nevertheless, I couldn’t put it down. Previously slump breakers for me include:
*The Bone People* by Keri Hulme
* Stoner* by John Williams
*The Good Doctor* by Damon Galgut
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Five brothers Penelope Douglas
Birthday girl Penelope Douglas
The nanny Lana Ferguson
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Lock artist by Steve Hamilton
I had this — a slump of four or five years, more or less aligned with becoming a parent. For me the answer was to read something fun rather than serious, lauded literature.
The book that really got me reading again was The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie: a funny, compelling and incredibly readable fantasy story, with a dark, twisty plot and brilliant characters.
I highly recommend it. Though it’s worth saying that it’s the first in a series and is something of a setup novel.
Alternate recommendation: Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson. A hugely fun man-on-a-mission thriller. I absolutely hoovered that up.
Whatever you choose, my tip is to not force it if you’re not enjoying it. Good luck!
Demon Copperhead is the last book I couldn’t put down. But when I get into reading slumps I read short books as doesn’t feel as daunting. Piranesi by Suzannah Clarke is a great one, it’s like reading a dream such an unusual experience. And This is How to Lose the Time War is great too, written by two authors to each other. Both slightly weird but so imaginative and different and so well written.
The name of the Wind by Patrick rothfuss is book one.
Wise man’s fear is book 2. I was unable to put this one down. Best fantasy series ever written in my opinion