i know many people have had this experience, but just for background, i used to read all the time as a kid, and i have read less and less over the years since i got my first iphone at age 14. especially after graduating high school, i haven't been able to find a book that holds my attention as well as the stuff i used to read. i’m sure this is partly because of my tech usage impacting my attention span, as it has for many of us, but i think it’s also due to me not really seeking out books as much or going to the library very often, and things like that. i'm trying to change my habits for the sake of my mental health so i have been using a lot more physical media like tapes and cds, i deleted facebook, and downgraded to a flip phone as my daily driver, partly for nostalgia, but also so i won’t be able to distract myself when i’m out in the world. along with this, i also want to get back into reading.
some of my favorite books as a kid were: the harry potter books, the book of time series, the book of lost things, carnival of lost souls, extremely loud and incredibly close, wonder, a wrinkle in time, mysterious benedict society, miss peregrines home for peculiar children, eleanor and park, me earl and the dying girl, and the book thief. i know many of these are common youth fiction novels but take note of any obscure titles. not sure if any of these have anything in common beyond the youth fiction label that they all fall under but one thing i recall enjoying about a lot of them was the way the imagery stuck in my mind like scenes from a film, and the way some of them have very emotional or bittersweet messages. i'm a sucker for rom com movies as well. one of my favs is about time, if there was a book of that movie i'd read it!
some books i read for school over the years that i remember really enjoying were among the hidden, seed folks, fahrenheit 451, water for elephants, brave new world, sophie's world, and catcher in the rye. as an adult i read and enjoyed what alice forgot and when neitzsche wept.
not sure if that list is helpful or if it is too varied but feel free to ask any questions that help determine what to recommend me
by therealjunemusic