I am now ninteen and not enjoyed a fiction book since I was sixteen. It seems that almost every book I try to read ends up boring me. I starting reading classics at a young age; for example, I read Pride and Prejudice at the age of ten. I have not been to successfully branch out from the classics that I enjoyed as a child. I have recently tried to read historical fiction books, as I love history, especially medieval and Renaissance European history and the Early Republic period of U.S. history (which is between the American Revolution and Civil War). However, I am yet to find a historical fiction book that interests. I am now open to almost all genres.
Books I Enjoyed in the Past:
- Pride and Prejudice
- Persuasion
- Sense and Sensibility
- Northanger Abbey
- Wuthering Heights (my favorite book)
- Great Expectations
- Little Fires Everywhere (the sole modern book that I have liked)
Conditions for Fiction Book Suggestions
- Genre
Any fiction book that is not science fiction. Family sagas, historical fiction, and literary fiction interest me, but the books do not have to be in these genres.
- Not These Authors
Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Gaskell, Philippa Gregory, Bernard Cornwell, Ken Follet, Cormac McCarthy, and Ernest Hemingway. (I did not enjoy these authors' books)
I also have read every book by Jane Austen.
- At Least one Complex Female Character
The protagonist does not have to female, as long as there is at least one complex female character.
-
Moral Ambiguity and Psychological Complexity
-
At Least Somewhat Eventful Plot (No Slice of Life Books)
-
A Decent Amount of Dialogue
by Ok_Conclusion8121
5 Comments
Emma, Jayne Eyre, or anything by the Bronte’s seems right up your alley.
I would also suggest True Grit, which is a short western with a wonderful teenage girl as the main character.
*Smilla’s Sense of Snow*, by Peter Høeg
Perhaps *Tender is the Night* by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Oh! And definitely read Paul Gallico’s *Mrs. Harris goes to Paris*.
Edit: And while it doesn’t have a female protagonist, you might like Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings‘ *The Yearling*.
I also love a well-written book, like Jane Austen’s. Kazuo Ishiguro is a wonderful current author, maybe start with Never Let Me Go. It’s a bit less obvious than Austen; you need to figure out what’s going on for yourself.
Bit of a branch out, but I recommend Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.