Hi everyone! How are you doing? I’ve had a busy week, which is why I didn’t post on Friday. But today I am back with another Top Ten Tuesday, the weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This time, the prompt is “Books I would hand to someone who claims to not like reading”. This was actually a pretty hard one, because what I would do is ask the person what kind of movies they like and give them a recommendation based on that. There’s not one book that works for everyone. With that in mind, here are 10 books I might recommend and why.
Illuminae – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
This book comes with a hefty page count and might scare away someone who claims not to like reading. BUT! This is not a typical novel with descriptions of scenes. Instead, we get chat logs, diagrams, and creative typography. You don’t just fly through this book, you hyper-jump through it!
The Language of Thorns – Leigh Bardugo
This is set in the same universe as the Grisha series, but it’s a collection of fairytales. Not the “and they lived happily ever after” kind, though. These stories are quite dark at times, yet always beautifully written. And the illustrations are just as stunning.
Scythe – Neal Shusterman
Imagine a world where people have conquered death and no one ever dies from old age or illness. Scythes are commanded to end lives to keep population growth under control. This book isn’t as grim as that premise sounds. Instead, it contains tons of easter eggs, and the story makes you think about what it means to be mortal, yet never becomes preachy about it.
The Kiss Quotient – Helen Hoang
An autistic woman hires an escort to teach her about relationships. You can probably guess where this is going. The Kiss Quotient is equal parts sweet and steamy, with great representation. Perfect to prove there’s more than 50 Shades of Grey (did I mention the male protagonist isn’t an A-hole?).
Matilda – Roald Dahl
A classic children’s book. It’s one of the books I clearly remember from my own childhood and I think it might get other kids into reading as well.
City of Bones – Cassandra Clare
Okay, I picked City of Bones, but you can replace this one with any book that’s been adapted into a popular movie or TV show (eg The Hunger Games, Divergent,…). People who loved the adaptation might enjoy the book as well.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
I loved how dark and gritty this book and its sequels were. Scandinavian crime shows are immensely popular here in Europe, so a Swedish thriller might be what your non-reader is looking for.
The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
I love epic fantasy but I’m the first to admit these books can sometimes be a bit… much to read. Long, detailed descriptions, hundreds of characters: it’s not for everyone. But The Hobbit proves that fantasy can be fun and “small” as well.
Silent in the Grave – Deanna Raybourn
This book, a detective set in Victorian-era England, has one of the best opening lines I’ve ever read. “To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband’s dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor.” If that doesn’t get you hooked, you might be a hopeless case.
Just about any comic book
I’m Belgian and one of the things we do best, besides fries and chocolate, is comics. Not the Marvel/DC superhero ones, but stories even young children can read. Tintin, Suske & Wiske (aka “Spike & Suzy” or “Willy and Wanda”),… The illustrations of these comic books might draw people in.
And that’s a sample of books I might hand to someone who claims to not like reading. Do you agree with my picks? What other books would you recommend? Let me know in the comments. Happy reading!
Illuminae would be a fun one to reread for the first time.
Lauren @ Always Me
Matilda is a great one, it was one of my favourite childhood books too!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/11/02/top-ten-tuesday-340/
Matilda is a good recommendation, comic books too. Happy reading!
My TTT: https://readwithstefani.com/ten-old-favorite-books-i-want-to-reread-to-determine-if-theyre-all-time-favorites/
Yeah, those got me into reading, so I figured they might help other people as well!
The only thing I could think of for this topic was graphic novels. Like comics, they’re engaging and easy to get into. My 12-year-old doesn’t like to read, but she does love graphic novels and manga.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Yeah, this wasn’t the easiest topic, to be honest. But comics and graphic novels are a great introduction to reading 🙂
A great list! I love that you added comics, because they are a great way to introduce someone to reading.
Thank you so much!
I have _The Kiss Quotient_ out from the library now…I can’t wait.
My post—https://fiftytwo.blog/2021/11/02/ttt-books-to-recommend-to-non-readers/
Happy TTT!
Lori
Oooh, I hope you enjoy it! Happy TTT!
Great list! If I had stuck to this week’s topic, Illuminae and TKQ would’ve made the list too. I think Illuminae especially would be a great rec cos it’s a good mix between visual and text plus it’s a super fast and immersive read 😍
Those are exactly the reasons why I put it on my list as well! 🙂
This is the second list I’ve seen with Illuminae on it. I keep meaning to take a close look at it. It seems to be the sort of book I love.
I hope you’ll enjoy it then when you give it a try! 🙂
Matilda is an excellent choice. I’ve heard great things about Scythe, too, although I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-would-hand-to-someone-who-claims-to-not-like-reading/
I hope you’ll enjoy Scythe just as much as I did!
Ooh good call on Illuminae. Loved those! And The Hobbit too. 🙂
I love Tintin. And a lot of the Belgian/ French comics scene which I’ve recently discovered through Cinebook and others.
I basically grew up with Belgian comics, so I’m glad you enjoy them as well!