As the title says, I’m a male over 40 and have never completed a book. In school, I always jumped for Cliff’s Notes and summaries or relied on others. Oddly enough, I’m an engineer now and read quite a bit. From spec sheets to science and tech articles/reddit posts. I’m highly interested in tech and video games have always been a part of my life. The movie genres I stick to are typically Comedy and Action/Adventure.
In the past, reading has always been my sleeping pill. Even when I’m not tired, I can always count on getting very tired within 20 minutes of reading a book. I’m unofficially autistic, mainly because it’s really hard to get tested as an adult. I fit the majority of the stereotypes except for eye contact issues. I do have the ability to lock in and focus for long periods of time, but have never been successful with that happening when trying to read a book.
For the new year, I’m making strides to slow things down. One of the things I have implemented is a one hour block of time before going to sleep to read and relax. I am currently about 20% of the way through The Psychology of Money and doing good so far, even at one chapter at a time. A couple years ago I got about half way through Atomic Habits but never finished. I don’t know that I want to particularly stick with self-improvement books, but it just feels the easiest for me to pick from right now. I just bought a Kindle for my wife and I think I’m more excited about it arriving than she is (probably because it’s a piece of tech). Any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
by Wylthor
25 Comments
You might like Dungeon Crawler Carl if you like video games and comedy/ action.
Project Hail Mary!
Also try audiobooks! They are awesome.
If you are willing to try non fiction that reads like a thriller, you might like **Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou**
I was like that then I found audiobooks and I go through one a week roughly.
What kind of movies or topics do you like ?
Definitely try John Dies At The End by David Wong! The sequels start getting a little more serious and philosophical, but JDATE is a stoner comedy in print. Two losers take a weird drug called “soy sauce” and they gain the ability to travel through space and time. They need to save the universe. There’s a lot of boobs and a briefly talking dog.
One chapter at a time is all it takes. Even if you read just a page a day, or only while in the bathroom, you’d eventually get there.
Some people do better with audio, also. If you have to drive to and from work, for instance, that time could be spent listening to audiobooks. You can “read” a lot of books that way.
1. Dungeon Crawler Carl
2. Project Hail Mary
Those are two tried and true books that a lot of guys who aren’t really into reading tend to enjoy. They’re both super fun, well-written, smart books but they’re also very accessible and engaging. And remember that audio books also count!
Autism has a fairly high comorbidity with dyslexia, so have you tried reading in a font that helps with that? But yea, what the other people are recommending!
I used to be a non-finisher as well. To cut the streak as a non-finishing reader I recommend for example Spotify audiobooks. There are bunch of very short (5-15 minute) audiobooks, also non-fiction. Traditionally lenght books with traditional form are overrated. What got my reading turbo charged was using mixed modalities (audio, e, paper) and reading/listening to very short books. In the end last year (2025) I finished 47 books of which 20-ish were traditionally lenghted paperbacks. My all time high. They feed on each other! So quite a weird suggestion, but since you’re a smart guy I thought you might appreciate it.
All Systems Red, Martha Wells. It’s a fast paced novella, it’s *excellent*, and it lines up very well with what you share of your interests.
Try ready player one! It’s set in a world where VR has kind of taken over everything. A game developer dies and leaves his entire fortune to whoever solves the puzzles he leaves behind in the VR world. Lots of easter eggs from old school games and pop culture. It’s been awhile since I’ve read it but I believe it is fast paced and has lots of action.
Nonfiction books are like this really boring. Try mystery thriller maybe
self improvement books (while interesting) are probably the worst choice for a chronic DNF’er (did not finish’er). think about what type of TV and movie genres you like and look for an engaging fiction book in that genre. you want something difficult to put down, not something you have to force yourself to finish like homework.
that being said, You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson are my favorite self helps i’ve read
Do any comic books or graphic novels interest you? I don’t just mean super heroes, which are still great, but even something like Maus by Art Spiegelman is a masterpiece and very engaging.
I’m dx with autism and adhd, and when I get into a reading slump I’ll turn to comics for a while. They capture my interest in a way that regular print books can’t. Hoopla is a digital reading service connected to my local library, it has a really big comic book selection and might available where you live.
For a novel, I think you might love Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell
Lee Child Jack Reacher books are great. John Grisham. Michael Crichton. Stephen King. etc. Think of books which are the basis for popular movies and tv. They are made into mass media for a reason – most people like them.
Ready Player One is great (ignore stupid movie)
“Ant Farm” by Simon Rich is hilarious and has very short, two to five page stories.
If you don’t enjoy this book, I can’t help you with reading ideas.
Harry Potter is a classic story – not just for kids! with fast action, lots of British jokes in the written books that didn’t make it into the movies. It captured everyone’s attention for a reason!
If you are into the spy genre, etc, my husband loves reading Tom Clancy books.
First and foremost, think of it like working out. You have to build up the stamina for reading. You will literally wake up parts of your brain and the effect is cumulative. It takes time before it gets easier. I started reading again last year and am about your age.
But I think you might enjoy the Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch. Some people said they felt the first one had a slow start but I did not feel that way at all. It kept me wanting more. I devoured those books and I’m slow as hell when it comes to reading. If you’re struggling with it, start out by reading fun stuff. These were definitely fun reads for me.
And for comedy, good ole David Sedaris or pretty much any memoir by a comedian will be good.
A sort of off-the-wall less common type of adventure book I read recently was Basket Case by Carl Hiaassen. I think it might be categorized as comedy too. There’s a part where he beats an intruder with his frozen dead pet lizard from his freezer so yeah, guess that’s right though I wasn’t dying laughing at any point. It’s just absurd.
Also any Chuck Palahniuk. Maybe the older stuff.
The thought of someone only reading self-help books breaks my heart. It’s a bit like only watching Instagram Reels and never consuming any other video content. Most of those books are BS and all of them designed to make you feel bad about yourself and feel like you’re not good enough *unless you do XYZ like the influencer/author*. But you’re fine as you are!
And even if you’re like the suckiest human imaginable who is in dire need of improvement (which I sincerely doubt!) there’s just WAY better content out there that is more enjoyable and will still help you “improve” by having you explore the world from another person’s perspective. I’m sure there are plenty of fictional movies and TV shows that you’ve watched throughout your life that you feel have changed you for the better because they’ve exposed you to a part of society that you otherwise wouldn’t have experienced. The same is true of books!
Reading doesn’t have to be homework. Find a book that you enjoy. Read the first few chapters and if you aren’t excited to pick a book back up again then don’t. Eventually you’ll find a book that you can’t *not* finish.
As others have mentioned below, I can definitely recommend Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. Full of loads of humour and science and engineering stuff you may find of interest.
I’d also say, read for only 20 minutes a night and then stop. Even if you are getting into it and want to read more. It’s the excitement of wanting to get back to the book that will drive you on. Twenty minutes a night and you will have finished the book in 5 or 6 weeks. What’s the rush – sit back and enjoy it, you will get more out of it, if you don’t force it!
Maybe try short stories? Sometimes I get too distracted with work and life stresses and cannot concentrate. Short stories help me a lot. There are anthologies. I recently bought a cyber punk anthology series and a book of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories.
I would recommend going for the fiction instead of self-help genre. I feel like learning more about different lives teach more, completely my opinion.
I also recommend hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy series if you like a bit of British absurdist humor. And I have been recommending broken earth series by jemisin, if you like fantasy.
I would try fiction instead of sticking to non-fiction. If you’re trying to read with a mindset of “I have to learn something or it’s not worth it”, that might be where you’re going wrong. Read for pleasure, like watching a movie.
It’s up to you which novel(s) you pick, but try something which sounds exciting to you, not a classic or literary prize winner which you feel like you *should* read.
Having said that, I’d recommend the following as good page turners which might appeal to your engineering side:
The Martian
The Pillars of the Earth (although this one’s very long).
Or these comedies:
The Rosie Project (funniest book I’ve ever read)
The Universe vs Alex Woods (not quite as laugh-a-minute as the Rosie Project, but a bit more to it).
Or the following for action:
The First 15 Lives of Harry August
The Girl with All the Gifts
(Those 2 are both sci-fi; don’t know if that’s a plus or a minus for you).
Like others have said Dungeon Crawler Carl is an excellent pick
Since you said you like video games I’d also recommend looking into any game series you like that have tie in books! My partner hadn’t read anything for 10+ years but is a massive Halo fan so picked up the novels last year and is now reading at a faster pace than me (and I’ve read regularly my whole life lol)