As the title states, I’ve been in the worst reading slump I’ve ever been in for the past 3 months and need some good book suggestions to get me out of it.
The last two books I read that got me into the slump were dark academia so I’m trying to stay away from that genre. I typically read fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction but I’m open to any other genres. Here’s a list of some of my favorite books/series to give you an idea of what I like:
Project Hail Mary
Piranesi
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Dark Matter
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Lord of the Rings
The Green Bone Saga
The Stormlight Archive
Hunger Games
Thank you in advance!
by Ok-Revenue5979
48 Comments
I read similar books to you, and I really liked The Devoured Worlds trilogy by Megan O’Keefe. Another good and short slump buster may by the Murderbot series by Martha Wells.
I recommend ‘The Stars My Destination’ by Alfred Bester.
You’re probably going to get flooded with this suggestion. It’s one of the fastest growing series to date. It’s been voted the most gifted book of 2025. And has its own cult following. The title sounds silly and stupid. But ignore that and pickup the 1st book, anyway. It will bust your reading slump in the 1st couple chapters. Things happen fast, by page 3 the action is already revving up and it doesn’t really ever stop. It just slows a little at times. Just go in your local bookstore and read the 1st chapter while you’re standing there. That’s all it’ll take. Your slump will be ended. And you’ll have a new favorite series. It’s 7 books now. With another coming in May, and 2 more planned for the future. Which comes out at about a 1book a year pace. The name of the 1st book is…………
Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Some recc’s:
– The Blacktongue Thief
– Hyperion
– Ender’s Game & Speaker for the Dead
– Dune
– Children of Time
– Gotrek and Felix
– A Knight of Seven Kingdoms
– Dungeon Crawler Carl
Red Rising. Based on your taste this is 100% up your alley and its very action heavy and fast paced imo, so great for avoiding a reading slump. I constantly wanted to know what happened next and apparently the series only gets better (I am waiting on book 2 to arrive currently :))
I’m not in love w Shakespeare but I rlly enjoyed this, a who dunnit mystery type thing super interesting and a cool plot twist- if we were villains, another one I read this triology as a kid and still love it (the movie sucks don’t even look at it) it’s the Chaos walking trilogy by Patrick ness (hunger games dystopian type but so awesome)
I just finished The Devils by Joe Abercrombie and it was fantastic.
Maybe try the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini if you haven’t read it yet
Give Shogun (James Clavell) 100 pages and you won’t be able to put it down.
Following for suggestions…
I was in a reading slump recently, reading the outsiders helped. It’s not sci-fi or historical fiction but it’s short and kind of leaves you with something to think about.
My favourite read from 30+ books this year was Five Decembers by James Kestrel. A detective story set in Honolulu in November 1941. Great read, I could hear an old timey detective narrating the whole thing in my head while I was reading. Highly recommend
The Phoenix Pencil Company by Alison King.
Station Eleven!
Try Written in Red by Anne Bishop. If you like it, she has multiple other books in the series. If you don’t, well, it’s an enjoyable read. It falls under urban fantasy.
I am legend… very different and so much better than the film.( usual)
The MaddAdam Trilogy- start with Oryx and Crake
*The Haunting of Haji Hotak* *and Other Stories*
*The Books of Swords* by Fred Saberhagen
*The Thief of Always* by Clive Barker
*Sabriel* by Garth Nix
*Perdido Street Station* by China Mieville
I enjoyed reading Foundation by Issac Asimov. I’m planning on reading in order (now that I know there is!) and begin again with I Robot. They’re all relatively short novellas as well. Others that could be good for you:
North Woods. The protagonist is a plot of land in New England and begins with Puritans through Modern times and the stories of the lives of people who lived on it.
Under the Whispering Door by T. J. Klune. It’s a LGBTQ YA Fantasy novel and sometimes a YA book is just a nice break. I think Klune is an enjoyable read.
I’m just starting 11/22/63 by Stephen King and it’s very good so far
Also, I’d suggest Misery or Needful Things by King as well.
Dungeon Crawler Carl. Trust me.
Educated, Tara Westover. Phenomenal. It’s non-fic, but don’t be put off.
From the files of D.O.D.O. By Neal Stephenson.
I had not read fiction novels in a long time. This fall I started reading Tom Clancy. I needed something that was not too deep, but still interesting and thrilling. His books are perfect for that. Military technology thrillers with international espionage. Started with Red Storm Rising (second novel but independent story), and read publishing order from that. Would totally recommend!
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. A collection of sci-fi writing that takes you on journeys to new ways of thinking about the world. Some of the stories are longer than others, but all will give you access to a new point of view you may have never considered.
His follow up collection Exhalation is just as good.
What were the books that got you into the slump
If you’ve read Stormlight, I would recommend the first phase of Mistborn.
Realm of the Elderlings! It’s very character driven and the pacing is very slow at times but Robin Hobb has such a way with her writing that keeps you wanting to read it. It will make you cry many times.
A lot of people are recommending series which I would personally stay away from until you break your slump. I would start with shorter, stand alone books first. My suggestions are I Who Have Never Known Men or A Short Stay in Hell. Both on the short side, both fit themes/vibes of other books you’ve liked. I also think Station Eleven could be a fit.
“But Not Too Bold” by Hache Pueyo
“The River has Roots” by Amal El-Mohtar
“What Moves the Dead” by T. Kingfisher
And possibly…
“The Serviceberry” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan
**Malice** by
Keigo Higashino. What an ending! From the book blurb:
Acclaimed bestselling novelist Kunihiko Hidaka is found brutally murdered in his home on the night before he’s planning to leave Japan and relocate to Vancouver. His body is found in his office, a locked room, within his locked house, by his wife and his best friend, both of whom have rock solid alibis. Or so it seems.
At the crime scene, Police Detective Kyochiro Kaga recognizes Hidaka’s best friend, Osamu Nonoguchi. Years ago when they were both teachers, they were colleagues at the same public school. Kaga went on to join the police force while Nonoguchi eventually left to become a full-time writer, though with not nearly the success of his friend Hidaka.
As Kaga investigates, he eventually uncovers evidence that indicates that the two writers’ relationship was very different that they claimed, that they were anything but best friends. But the question before Kaga isn’t necessarily who, or how, but why. In a brilliantly realized tale of cat and mouse, the detective and the killer battle over the truth of the past and how events that led to the murder really unfolded. And if Kaga isn’t able to uncover and prove why the murder was committed, then the truth may never come out.
Malice is one of the bestselling—the most acclaimed—novel in Keigo Higashino’s series featuring police detective Kyochiro Kaga, one of the most popular creations of the bestselling novelist in Asia.
Any time I get in a slump after tackling something and petering out and not finishing it; I always go back to Stephen King. Those books are like a bowl of candy. They always get me recharged to tackle whatever harder reading project I want to do.
I too have been in a slump. I was dragging myself through The Colour of Magic ( I’ll have to finally admit that I don’t enjoy TP half as much as everyone says I should). Anyway, when this normally happens I will pickup something from the supermarket shelves, easy, blockbuster read. My slump has been cured this time by Arthur by Giles Kristian. I’d read the previous Arthurian books by him and enjoyed them and this one is no different.
The Beach by Alex Garland it has such a rapid pace it is very easy to get into
I Who Have Never Known Men is as good as its title. Terse and thought-provoking.
I recommend it frequently, but in this case because you mentioned Piranesi and I found it to hit a similar vein in me.
Remarkable bright creatures was great.
I love books I can chew on, that make me thank and really dig into what the author’s intention might be for this or that.
But when I’m in a slump, I want fun. Gimme adventure or humor… even better, gimme both.
That said, Tress of the Emerald Sea is much a lovely book that just scratches all the itches. It’s fun, it’s sweet, it’s got adventure, has a strong female lead that you genuinely love, great characters we keep meeting along the way.
I actually audio-ed this one. I was at a stoplight when it finished and I just found myself clapping. Not on purpose, not consciously, but because the final sentences just so perfectly invoked an instinctual clap.
Brandon Sanderson wrote it for his wife never intending to publish. But then he changed his mind and released it as part of a kickstarter along with (I think) 5 other books in what he calls the Secret Collection.
Ive never read other Sanderson books, but I knows he’s more sci fi and fantasy. And while this collection seems to have those elements in its soul, I wouldn’t necessarily classify them as such.
The books aren’t necessarily sequels but I just finished the second book and it has the same sweet whimsy…. And a great buildup to an exciting and satisfying climax
I think this collection would be great for slumps because they are easy to engage with. And if you’re not out of the slump when you’re finished, read the next one. If not, wait till later. There’s no series pressure on this.
If you choose to read Tress, I’d love to know what you think.
Okay. I have to get back to work. Happy reading.
Give Revival by Stephen King a try
What really helped me a couple years ago was the cruel prince trilogy by Holly Black. It’s YA but still very enjoyable as an adult 🙂
It’s already been suggested by do try the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Modern scifi is a super crowded field and I find that vast majority of it is very poorly written, even many very popular series. I find DCC to be a very rare exception. and the audiobook is awesome.
Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
Aztec, Raptor, or The Journeyer by Gary Jennings
you might like… the goldfinch?
Unsheltered, Kingsolver
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Zevin
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Chabon
There are rivers in the sky by Elif Shafak was excellent
I just started King Sorrow by Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son). I think it has everything you are looking for. Its sort of a horror fantasy. Without saying too much its about a group of friend’s who summon King Sorrow to take revenge against some people who are blackmailing the one character, and then things get out of hand
Becky Chambers might help you. The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet.