What are some books that I can start reading?

I would suggest you to start reading short stories.
It is easier than a whole book.
Start with colleted short stories from a certain country or a certain subject like love, crime or fantasy.
Choose an author you like and from there get some more by him/her.
To suggest one book is too difficult for me.
Also nice are often beautifully illustrated children´s books with text or books for young people.
Here I can mention one book Anne of Green Gables, just as an example
One of my favorite collection of short stories is Somerset Maugham`s

“Le Petit Nicolas” by René Goscinny,“L’Étranger” by Albert Camus, “Calligrammes” by Apollinaire,“Le Père Goriot” by Honoré de Balzac,“Le Père Goriot” by Honoré de Balzac,“Contes de la Bécasse” by Guy de Maupassant.these are good to start reading.

Try Persuasion by Jane Austen--it's her last novel, and it's not as long as the others she wrote. It's also less satiric. I think you would enjoy it. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers is not gloomy, but it is sad. It is a story full of hope, nonetheless. Why don't you try those for a start.

Ah, you might want to start with Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad. Twain is very accessible and his work is in the public domain. It's in most if not all public libraries or they can order it for you quickly. If you enjoy it, read his other stuff, too! Huckleberry Finn is one of the great American novels.

If you're looking for a female writer, try Jane Austen. She wasn't a travel writer, but her works are, justifiably, classics. They are romances, often about manners and position as that was the world she knew. She died in 1817, so everything is very clean of course. Again, it's all in the public domain, and any library worth its salt will have Austen or a quick means of getting it into your hands.

And when you go to the public library (you should! Libraries are one of the backbones of our society), talk to the librarian and explain what you're looking for, and what you like to read.It is their job to know, so they can give you more contemporary recommendations.

In order to help with your cellphone addiction, you might want to make a rule with yourself that you either don't bring your phone inside or, at the very least, you don't turn it on, when you're at the library. Just, use that space to either interact with the people around you or to read. I think if you set aside spaces like this for yourself that are cellphone-free zones, I think you will start to find that the world does not end when you're not available 24/7.

Enjoy!

Ha, we both thought of Austen!

Austen is often dismissed as a satirist, as though that were some kind of criticism, slighting her talent. She is one of the giants of English literature, and her prose compares favorably with Thackeray, Dickens and Hardy, whom she preceded. (Hardy wrote some real turkeys, lame gothic romance novels. and they never get mentioned--one can sees why.)

I'm going in the opposite direction everyone here is sending you. The alleged classics are daunting for a reason.

To jump start a healthy reading habit, start small. Try some graphic memoirs.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi;
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel;
Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman;
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast;
Blankets by Craig Thompson;
French Milk by Lucy Knisley.

I did like that one, Jespah.

For a person not used to read or not so interested in reading the classics are not the books to start with.
Not that I ever heard of the books you recommend, but I looked them up and some seems more for none readers in our modern time.

In fact, in the OP, Pennie said:



So i don't understand why people are whining about the recommendations. Do you folks even bother to read the OP? Jane Austen is considered classic literature, and her writing is accessible to any English speaker. Just because a book is a classic doesn't mean that it's either hard to read or to understand.

Yep, the OP asked for literature pieces that were not too gloomy. Austen and Twain fit the bill is spades, I'd say.

I do think it's a good idea to mix things up. The graphic novels mentioned are probably some of the best ones ever written.

Thank you, saab

I've heard of Anne of Green Gables. It's so well-known but sadly, I've never actually read it! So, I looked it up on Amazon. It looks like there's a series?

Anyhow, thank you very much for the suggestion.

Thank you for taking the time out to respond, Medaoland.

While in school, I studied some French literature (but never really read!) and noticed that most novels ended in like a tragedy. I did find Guy de Maupassant very easy to read, though. His style of writing made it easier.

Either way, thank you for the suggestions.

Ohh Jane Austen! I sort of recall studying her book 'Pride and Prejudice'? I forget whether I watched the movie or tried reading the book ...lol

I've never read 'Persuasion'. That might be good
The other one by Carson McCullers sounds good as well. Thank you for the suggestions, Setanta.

Thank you, jespah!

Yes!! Strangely, I was thinking of Tom Sawyer when I was writing this post! You mentioned Twain and thought, "voilà!" As a kid, I remember watching Twain's pieces in cartoon form. Never read Huckleberry Finn, though. It's like, gosh, where have I been all these years?

And yes, definitely heard of Jane Austen. Thank you so much for taking the time out to share all this - really appreciate it.

I guess it's worth heading out to the library. I'be been sort of sad lately thinking that there aren't that many bookstores around anymore ever since smartphones came out. Everything is so available on Kindle, e-books, etc. I'd rather check out books at a store and actually take it in my hand and read.

Thank you, tsarstepan.

Thank you for taking the time out to list them, but I looked them up online and I'm not so sure those are the things I'm looking for.

This is sort of off but I'm wondering if any of you have read "Flowers for Algernon"...? I'm just wondering because I saw it as a suggestion on Amazon. Is it a good book to read, too?

Also, do you guys still read books often? If so, when do you find the time to read? Before bed or at a cafe? What types of books do you like? Mystery? Classics? Sorry I'm just so curious after having read all the responses.

I was looking at my books wanted to find something to read and saw this.
The boy in the striped pyjamas by John Boyne
I can really recommend it. It is a book for over 10 year old and just as touching for a grown up.
It is about the friendship between two boys - one a Jewish boy in a KZ and the other one the son of a Nazi Officer.

To your question about reading.
Yes I do read a lot and always have.
The time - instead of TV, before falling asleep and when travelling.
I like many types of books and often one books leads to another.
Once I read Isaac Bashevis Singer and got interested in more Jewish authors and then I got a book about Jiddish in Berliner Jargon.
I read Karen Blixen´s book Out of Africa, saw the film got Bror Blixen´s Memoir and a book about him. A book about Karen Blixen by Judith Thurman and another one by her secretary Clara Selborn. Fitting into all this a book by Beryl Markham - a pilot in Afrika.
Sometimes I just end up reading some tearjerking books or some mystery.
I prefer Scandinavian and British and American authors.
I have difficulties with modern German authors.

It's a lovely book. Has an iconic sympathetic protagonist. Very original take on science fiction. Can't recommend it enough. It's an easy read. Pretty short to if I remember correctly.

Me? I lean heavily towards science fiction (hard science as opposed to opera like Star Wars), mystery (from Walter Moseley to Alan Bradley), graphic memoirs, some general fiction, some history non-fiction when the rare inspiration hits.