Here’s some lore, skip this part if you understandably couldn’t care less.
When I was a child, I read an abnormal amount, including books outside of my age group. I had a very high reading level. It’s what my ADHD brain could squeeze the most dopamine out of. Once I obtained a tablet, it was all over. The internet absorbed all of my interest and I never touched a book again. That was about a decade ago.
Around five years ago, I picked up a book for the first time in a long time and actually stuck to it. It was actually a series, The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Certainly not anything that jogs the noggin and invokes deep thought, but I felt joy in reading for the first time in years. I of course had tried to pick up a book here and there and never got into it until that series.
I’m 21 now, working through my years long depression and ADHD, and I want to get back into reading. Truth be told, I think the most accessible version of this is going to end up being audiobooks while I work for the moment. I’m not THAT far in treating my ADHD. Baby steps, I guess.
So what am I looking for exactly? Theoretically, I want to read The Books that “everyone should read”, as vague as that is. Classics that actually hold up to time and remain relevant. Books to say, “Oh yes, that book, I’ve read that. *pushes up glasses academically*”.
Realistically? My heart remains with the world of fantasy, as someone who aspires to write my own series. The Lunar Chronicles made me so very happy. And when I was a child, The Chronicles of Ixia, aka the Study Series, by Maria V. Snyder was my absolute favorite.
I hope I can find balance between these two kinds of books, and some recommendations to find joy in books again.
by 4Mephistopheles