Book recommendations for someone who hasn't properly read a book in years.

[tardcore]

I've recently been trying to get back into reading, the last book I read properly from start to finish was in 2009. I tried reading the Hobbit but I had already seen the movie so I wasn't very motivated to read it all.

The problem I have is the books I try reading all seem to have really boring beginnings, I remember trying to read Harry Potter 1 and I got so bored with the 1st chapter with Dumbledore lighting street lights I gave up on it.

So I want a book that hooks me into the story, characters and setting quickly, I don't mind what the genre is anything except romance or anything trashy like Twilight. I like stuff like crime and thriller novels, something with a fast paced story.

First off, question, what was the title of the last book you read cover to cover? That could help a lot with recommendations.

Ok here goes. Since you mentioned you like crime and thriller novels, Michael Slade is good author for those, I'd recommend trying out his book Ghoul for your first go. Someone already mentioned Terry Pratchett so that's covered, but if a bit of whimsical silliness mixed with serious detective elements might be your thing, I say try out Glen Cook's Garrett the P.I. series. It's essentially an atypical gumshoe detective series only set in a Tolkenesque fantasy world which kind of turns the whole thing on its head, often with hilarious results.

 

[GonzoGamer]

The problem I have is the books I try reading all seem to have really boring beginnings, I remember trying to read Harry Potter 1 and I got so bored with the 1st chapter with Dumbledore lighting street lights I gave up on it.

Yea her style was really pedestrian in the beginning. Watch the first 2 movies then start on the third book. I wish I did that. I watched the first 3 and started with book 4. Was a little lost.

 

[Longstreet]

The John Grisham books.

Any of them, he got like 25 of em by now so take your pick.

Alternatively, Steven King books.

 

[OneCatch]

So I want a book that hooks me into the story, characters and setting quickly

<-- The book that this avatar and name is based off of.

It's certainly lively from the first page, paragraph, and sentence. Opening line:

"It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain, he fell madly in love with him."

Some other quotes to give you an idea of the style, though don't read too many for spoilers sake. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Catch-22

From those it may sound a little lighthearted and distasteful given that it's about WWII, but it's also incredibly poignant. It does jump around a bit in terms of the order of events, but it doesn't really matter because it effectively foreshadows events instead of spoiling or repeating them