I have been, a little obsessively, collecting a small library, and now I think it's time to start reading! I want a book that is fairly easy to follow and read, with characters that are well fleshed out and enjoyable (not necessarily all likable) and a really engrossing story that will keep me wanting more. Here is my list that I want to choose from, so please help me pick (and tell me what you loved about it) the very best one to start with. Also, I am a 40 something year old woman and I'd like some drama and romance involved.
East of Eden
11/22/63
The Stand
Pillars of the Earth
Lonesome Dove
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
The Brothers Karamazov
The Goldfinch
We Were Villans
Six of Crows
Gone With the Wind
Remains of the Day
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Poisonwood Bible
Demon Copperhead
The Blade Itself
Red Rising
Mistborn
Pride & Prejudice
Harry Potter
Little Women
by Life_Preparation5238
5 Comments
I’m going to say East of Eden. Not because I’ve read it. But because I also have this in my TBR pile and want to live vicariously through you.
Lonesome Dove is the only one I’ve read. It’s a classic.
Based on what I know about the books on your list, and I certainly don’t know all of them, I think *Pride and Prejudice* is the best fit for your requests. Austen is surprisingly readable for books published as long ago as hers.
I’ll say Gone with the Wind bc I remember it being hard to put down. It is also all romance and drama. That said, I was in high school when I read it so ymmv
oh man you’ve got a lot of good ones on here! its hard to choose. based on your criteria though i think you should start with 11/22/63. it’s incredibly “readable”, i couldn’t put it down. there’s also a lot of drama and some romance.
The Poisonwood Bible would be my second choice. this one i also found to be incredibly engrossing from the very beginning. there are a few characters who suck as people but they’re very well written.
third choice would be Lonesome Dove. this one’s a little tougher to get into because it starts slow, but it kind of needs to because there are a lot of characters and it gets you invested in all of them. once you’re about 100 pages in you won’t be able to put it down