Hey everyone,
I know I’m risking more criticism than guidance here, but I’ll give it a shot. This isn’t exactly a self-help thread, but I’ve been told that picking up a book could really improve my quality of life, so, here I am.
The past six years have been a long journey for me, recovering from what was essentially a death sentence. Throw in a little COvid along the way, and it’s been rough. To say it’s a medical miracle I’m still here would be an understatement.
During this time, though, my cognitive abilities and memory have taken a hit. When you’re relearning how to live—between physical therapy, occupational therapy, and rehab—the mental aspect often gets overlooked. COvid x3 certainly didn’t help.
Now, I need my brain back. Someone suggested reading to help re-engage my mind, but here’s the thing, I honestly can’t remember the last time I read a book. It was probably one of those “choose your own adventure endings” types.
At this point, I’m not even sure what I’m interested in anymore. I just know I need something to engage my brain and reduce stress.
Here’s what I’m looking for:
• I have ADD, so something too complex will lose me fast.
• I don’t want anything sad, political, health-related, or religious.
• I love dry humor and enjoy sci-fi.
• I’m not opposed to self-help, but I feel like that could be hit or miss.
• I’m open to romance (the saucier, the better).
• Drama, suspense, mystery, horror, fantasy, war—all good options too.
Basically, I need something that will hold my attention and isn’t too hard to follow. Any recommendations?
I see two recommendation threads, not sure which is correct place to post this so sending to both.
Thank you in advance.
by Kissthebotttle
10 Comments
For humor, try Christopher Moore. {{ Coyote Blue}}, the vampire series ( {{ Bloodsucking Fiends }}, {{ You Suck }}, and {{ Bite Me }}.
For horror, {{ Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk }} is a good one, and it’s written like short stories, so that might mesh well with the ADD.
A good horror book is {{ Carrie by Stephen King }}
The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells
Try Diskworld novels by Terry Pratchett. It’s a bunch of novels in the same universe that you can treat as stand alone books, but there are cycles (witches books, the watch books, wizards books and so on). They are funny, tend to be on shorter side, kind and positive. I guess you could call them political at times, but it’s not, like _political_. The author just likes to reflect some of the real world through humor and parody in his fantasy. It’s thoughtful, but not heavy or intrusive.
There are many opinions on order of reading, some like chronological by print, some like going into cycles. I would say – skip the first two books for starters, however you decide to read. They are not bad, but the writing hasn’t found its feet yet.
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series is funny, engaging, and action-packed. I’ve only read the first one so far but it was a perfect palate-cleanser to read between two heavier books so it might be a great way to ease yourself into reading.
Your medical situation sounds somewhat like my daughter’s. I’ve been reading several collections of short stories to her that you might enjoy and find easier to follow than a full length novel. One is the collected short stories of Damon Runyon from “The Damon Runyon Omnibus”. The other is PG Wodehouse’s “Bertie and Jeeves” stories. Lots of dry humor in both.
Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire
Thank you so much everyone , for all the responses. I’m going to start digging in from the top!
Being There by Jerzy Kosinski. Short but profound.
Do you have opinion on cozy mysteries? British Library Crime Classic series is republishing good “forgotten treasures”. Every author has their own style but I find the series a good way to find interesting authors. Personally I don’t usually spend too much time trying to figure out who is guilty. I just enjoy the ride.