What should I pick up as my first ever read?

For me it was A Short Stay In Hell. I was never an avid reader either, but that book got me right into it. It’s short but it’s very good. I’ve been reading ever since I read that. I’ve been hunting for absurd books ever since then and have read a lot of the most suggested ones, it set me off on a fun path.

Prior to that, Project Hail Mary was a really good read too. It was a book I was recommended and I read it while I was not really reading books at all, and it was years after that that I read A Short Stay In Hell, but I’ll give it a recommend anyway.

All Quiet on the Western Front. Was my first read independent from school. Loved it and very digestible if you get the newest Penguin Classics translation.

Also, Suetonius’ The Twelve Caesar’s is fantastic for a first time read of Roman History. It recounts the first twelve emperors and Julius Caesar. Extremely digestible. No knowledge required. It was written in the second century AD, but with Penguin’s newest translation, reads like a magazine article full of gossip.

Brave New World was also incredibly insightful. It’s similar to 1984, but more profound.

These might be biased because I love history and enjoy more strenuously academic books now but these were two great introductory works that get you invested in the era and require no previous knowledge.

A book that’s been made into a movie can be fun because you’re already somewhat familiar with the plot but it’s fun to see how it’s different. For example, Jurassic Park is a really fun read.

Try Stephen King Misery, or his short story collection Different Seasons. You could also try one of his son’s books, (he writes under the name Joe Hill) Heart Shaped Box might be your speed.

Can’t go wrong with a Stephen King

I’d go with something “readable,” especially on a plane. Maybe Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Authors you might look at are Dan Brown, John Grisham (probably an earlier book), Jane Harper (has a series of 3 and 2 standalone books), and Stephen King

Edit: Maybe Dan Chaon as well

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Hammers Slammers by David Drake

Out of the Ashes by William W Johnstone
Or anything by William W Johnstone

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
Vatta’s War series by Elizabeth Moon

Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls’ Escape from Slavery to Union Hero by Cate Lineberry

Horror- Stephen King is great! Pick whatever looks good to you at a bookstore or library- The Stand is long but awesome, I liked Christine and Pet Sematary alot.

For crime, I also like the suggestion of The Lincoln Lawyer; I also think old John Grisham books, like The Firm are good. Silent Patient by Alex Michelides is another. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown was another good suggestion below! It’s an art thriller.

Whoever suggested Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park had a good suggestion- it’s a page turner! I also really liked his book The Andromeda Strain.

Another long but really awesome page-turning read is Shogun by James Clavell. And if you like to compare to movies or TV, there is a good series.

For getting back into reading, two fast books I’ve enjoyed and were also easy to get into :
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch ( a mystery/sci fi) and An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Fight Club. It’s short, entertaining, and it’s been a movie you’ve likely seen so it has a reference point. Gone Girl if you’d rather a thriller and Project Hail Mary if you like sci-fi and want to laugh a little more while also being deeply invested in an amazingly exciting story that’ll still pluck the heart strings

I feel like a lot of people are suggesting really long books which can be overwhelming to a new reader. I’d suggest something shorter like Jack London’s White Fang or The Call of the Wild. Hugely entertaining but easy reads that won’t have you bogged down with a lot of pages.