Book recommendations for a non-reader

blue note

Hi, I'm guessing this is the type of question you enjoy here!

So I'm going on holidays with my girlfriend on Saturday (sun holiday) and she's not a reader. So I'm not sure how I'm going to get any done, and I'm a couple hundred pages into IT!

So any recommendations for her? TV wise she likes easy going stuff - law and order, Graham Norton, big bang, etc. Stuff you can switch off to. But I think if she'd devote time to a book she'd rather it be someone a bit more worthwhile.

So I'm thinking something that's exciting - a page turner. Not too serious, but not a complete head-numbing experience either. I was thinking something like the Life of Pi would be perfect, but the first section of the book is a bit boring. Once he's on the raft it's brilliant, but up until that point it doesn't really suck you in. I'd be grateful though if people want to spout out a few suggestions. Any opinions on the Shadow of the Wind? It was recommended and sounds good to me.

Harry Angstrom

I'd recommend The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. It's light and frothy summertime reading.

fisgon

Why not Graham Norton's novel he published last year? I haven't read it, but it did get good reviews. If she likes him on TV....

blue note

fisgon wrote:

Why not Graham Norton's novel he published last year? I haven't read it, but it did get good reviews. If she likes him on TV....

I haven't read it but she heard from her friend it wasn't great, so not a good starting point to read it.

Anyway, we're home and back from the holiday and I went with the lovely bones. It's not open yet! Ah well, it'll be there for whenever she wants it. Cheers for the replies all!

Fian

For non-readers books are best rated by the paper quality imo. You want paper that is reasonably thick, but soft. Ideally it should also be quilted but that tends to be very hard to find, especially in a book thick enough to last the whole two weeks.

Once you select the right book I find it best to leave it in the toilet, that is where a book will see the most use for non-readers

:P

Pelvis

I think a non-book reader will take to a non-fiction book more. Less suspension of belief required and knowing what you're reading actually happened helps. True crime especially make great page turners...

A Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule
Helter Skelter - Vincent Bugliosi

Both of these are quintessential page turners imo, though probably more serious than you'd like.

Into Thin Air - John Krakauer

Great book on an Everest disaster

Other than that, stick to something light and fluffly. Harry Potter is a good bet, easy, light, good fun, not just for kids!

blue note

Actually, I should have mentioned. The last book I'm aware of her reading is the silence of the lambs and she loved it. That was a few years ago. I think there's a reader inside her. But she just doesn't have the time / patience for it. In fairness, it's a very time consuming pursuit. And at night when you turn on the tv you're often too tired to read anyway.

echo beach

fisgon wrote: »

Why not Graham Norton's novel he published last year? I haven't read it, but it did get good reviews. If she likes him on TV....

I enjoyed it and would rate it as a good holiday read for those who like a non-gory crime mystery. However it isn't the sort of book you would expect Graham Norton to write and I can see that any of his fans looking forward a humourous book full of witty one-liners might be disappointed.

Dirty Dingus McGee

The Da Vinci Code.

It's the book that got me back into reading after not having read a book for 5 or 6 years.

Easy to read.
Story is interesting.
The chapters are short.
Every chapter ends on a cliffhanger but then moves to a seperate location in the book so that you have to read another 2 or 3 chapters before you get to find out what you initially wanted.

I'd say it's a perfect book for someone who is a non reader.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Joe_ Public

blue note wrote: »

Actually, I should have mentioned. The last book I'm aware of her reading is the silence of the lambs and she loved it. That was a few years ago. I think there's a reader inside her. But she just doesn't have the time / patience for it. In fairness, it's a very time consuming pursuit. And at night when you turn on the tv you're often too tired to read anyway.

I couldn't really agree reading is a tine consuming pursuit. If you read 30 minutes a day, you'd finish an average size book within a week, give or take. It's only time consuming if you choose to devote a lot of time to it! Or to look at it another way, if some people (talking in general) spent half as much time with a book as they do staring at their mobile phone, they'd plough through a hell of a lot of books.

Anyway, on the subject at hand, I've just read Watership Down which must have lain unopened on my shelf for at least 20 years! Cute animals, cute stories, cute lush verdant pastures. Didn't think I'd ever go for such sentimental slush, but couldn't put the damn thing down and it is rather compelling in an allegorical way.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Joe_ Public wrote: »

I couldn't really agree reading is a tine consuming pursuit. If you read 30 minutes a day, you'd finish an average size book within a week, give or take. It's only time consuming if you choose to devote a lot of time to it! Or to look at it another way, if some people (talking in general) spent half as much time with a book as they do staring at their mobile phone, they'd plough through a hell of a lot of books.

Anyway, on the subject at hand, I've just read Watership Down which must have lain unopened on my shelf for at least 20 years! Cute animals, cute stories, cute lush verdant pastures. Didn't think I'd ever go for such sentimental slush, but couldn't put the damn thing down and it is rather compelling in an allegorical way.

Really.


I'd consider 300-400 pages to be an average sized book and I doubt 3.5 hours would get you through a book of that length.Unless of course you read at a ridiculously fast pace that you can't actually absorb the book properly.

-

Joe_ Public

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

Really.


I'd consider 300-400 pages to be an average sized book and I doubt 3.5 hours would get you through a book of that length.Unless of course you read at a ridiculously fast pace that you can't actually absorb the book properly.

-

Well, I think talking about average book size is a bit specious really. You could, if you like, choose to read no book longer than 200-250 pages for the rest of your life and still never run out of great books to read.

Plus, a 300 page Dostoevsky novel, for example, is an entirely different beast to one of the same length by, say, David Baldacci. Which one am I going to recommend to the non-reader? Well, probably neither as it happens, but you get my drift. Maybe it'd be slightly longer than a week, maybe 40 instead of 30 minutes (I did say "give or take" after all), but there are a hell of a lot of books you could get through on a weekly basis on those terms.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Well, I think talking about average book size is a bit specious really. You could, if you like, choose to read no book longer than 200-250 pages for the rest of your life and still never run out of great books to read.

Plus, a 300 page Dostoevsky novel, for example, is an entirely different beast to one of the same length by, say, David Baldacci. Which one am I going to recommend to the non-reader? Well, probably neither as it happens, but you get my drift. Maybe it'd be slightly longer than a week, maybe 40 instead of 30 minutes (I did say "give or take" after all), but there are a hell of a lot of books you could get through on a weekly basis on those terms.

Thats a very very quick reading speed you mentioned in your post above, so quick that I couldn't enjoy a book and suck it all in if I read at that speed.The great thing about reading for pleasure is you can read at as slow a pace as you want and absorb everything and get a proper vision of each scene in the book in your head.

It takes me about 30 minutes to read about 10 pages of a crime/thriller type book so a 200 page crime novel would take me about 10 hours.

Posy

A 200 page crime novel would take me about 2 hours to read- 3 if it's complicated and I need more time to absorb it.
Everybody reads at different speeds. To be honest, if it took me 10 whole hours to read a mere 200 page book I'd be a non reader, because that's a lot of commitment for a very short book!

That's just me though; like you said, reading is about enjoying the book- no matter what the pace.

Does she drive/commute/walk or jog a lot, OP? Audio books can be good for times like that, when TV just isn't an option!

Mr.Nice Guy

If a person doesn't do much physical exercise but wants to start, it's generally not a good idea to have them begin by attempting a marathon. You would presumably suggest starting off lightly to begin with. Maybe thirty minutes walking each day, and then increase that over time. Perhaps then transition into more strenuous activity.

It's the same with mental exercises like reading imo. This is where I feel short stories are your friend. There are some brilliant ones out there which are not time consuming or a serious strain. Once you get into the habit of reading then you can transition into longer stories, like 300-400 page novels, and progress from there. Take it slowly is what I'd say to a non-reader. Develop a fondness for reading first of all.

blue note

Posy wrote: »

A 200 page crime novel would take me about 2 hours to read- 3 if it's complicated and I need more time to absorb it.
Everybody reads at different speeds. To be honest, if it took me 10 whole hours to read a mere 200 page book I'd be a non reader, because that's a lot of commitment for a very short book!

That's just me though; like you said, reading is about enjoying the book- no matter what the pace.

Does she drive/commute/walk or jog a lot, OP? Audio books can be good for times like that, when TV just isn't an option!

She does commute but is fairly happy with the radio on the way in. I was actually talking about audio books to her the other day and saying that a chap I used to work with used to like them. He said they were easier to get into the story with because if it was an Indian narrator in the book you might have an Indian accent reading it. That and it was dead handy for commuting.

And on the time taken to read a book - I'm a big book is a fairly big commitment for me. I think I mentioned above that I started IT. I'll read about 20 or 30 pages in half an hour. It's 1,400 pages long. So I'll probably spend 25-35 hours reading this book. But that's fine, I'm perfectly happy to do that. I'd love to be a fast reader but I'm just not.

Also when reading, my mind can wander. Same for the gf. There have been days where I'd read a couple of pages but wasn't able to concentrate properly on them and I'd have no clue what I'd just read. I'd have to go back and read it again and virtually all of it wouldn't even sound familiar to me.

Posy

Ah, sure that's natural. I was more commenting on it taking 10 hours to read 200 pages. Sure a 1,400 page book is a massive commitment! I read 'Under The Dome' last year, and it took me a good 2-3 weeks! And, like you say, sometimes switching off the brain and switching on Netflix is the only thing you need.

Irish_rat

Have started reading myself, had Lord of the Flies but ended up losing the book so bought another. I'm in a habit now around 10 every evening to read for about 30 mins. Gone halfway through 200 pages and it's enjoyable.

Making a decision to try and stay away from the screen before bedtime. Work with pc's all day so it's good to switch off.

joombo

"The Autobiography of Malcolm X." One of the most captivating and engrossing books Ive ever read. Mind was blown. Its still as topical today as when it was written. It reinspired my faith in the human spirit.