Five Book Recommendations to Get Back Into Reading

One of the most common questions I get is “what should I read if I am getting back into reading?” and while I do have a blog planned about my journey back into reading and the steps I took to get where I am now, I figured in the meantime I can give you some solid short and/or fast paced books to get you started.

All of these books are ones I have personally enjoyed, and read really quickly. It may take you a bit longer, especially if you are just stepping back into the habit. I tried to diversify the genres, so there would be something for almost everyone here.

Without further ado, here are five books I think you should read if you want to get back into reading as an adult.

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Baby Teeth by Meg Grehan

Genre(s): Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Young Adult

My rating: 4.75 stars

Description via The Storygraph: "The blood Feeds the hunger That threatens everything It starts when Claudia offers her a yellow rose. Immy has been in love before - many times, across many lifetimes. But never as deeply, as intensely as this. Claudia has never been in love before either. But then, this is her first time with a vampire. The forbidden thirst for blood runs deep in Immy. And within her mind clamour the voices, of all the others she has been, their desires, and their wrongs."

Why I Recommend This: This book is written in verse, so it is a lot quicker of a read than most other types of books, making it an ideal first step back into reading.

The way that this book portrays longing, self esteem and self worth issues, love and desire is so immensely beautiful. This is a sapphic young adult vampire love story, and I recommend it to any and everyone.

TH1RT3EN by Steve Cavanaugh

Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction

My rating: 5 stars

Description via The Storygraph: "The serial killer isn't on trial.

He's on the jury...

They were Hollywood's hottest power couple. They had the world at their feet. Now one of them is dead and Hollywood star Robert Solomon is charged with the brutal murder of his beautiful wife.

This is the celebrity murder trial of the century and the defence want one man on their team: con artist turned lawyer Eddie Flynn.

All the evidence points to Robert's guilt, but as the trial begins a series of sinister incidents in the court room start to raise doubts in Eddie's mind.

What if there's more than one actor in the courtroom?

What if the killer isn't on trial? What if the killer is on the jury?"

Why I Recommend This: This isn’t a particularly short book, but it is so captivating you will find yourself glued to the pages.

I picked this up randomly at a thrift store, having never heard of it before, and ended up finishing it in one day. It is pretty gory (it is about a serial killer, so that is to be expected) but it is one of my favorite thrillers of all time. I have a strong stomach for these books since I read a lot of them, so if you don’t, this may not be the book for you.

Want to Know a Secret? by Frieda McFadden

Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller

My rating: 5 stars

Description via The Storygraph: "Everyone has secrets.

YouTube baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she’d rather you didn’t know.

Like where did her son go when he snuck out of the house? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows?

And what’s buried in her backyard?

Everyone has secrets. Some are worse than others.

April’s secrets are enough to destroy her."

Why I Recommend This: Thrillers overall are a great way to get back into reading due to their fact paced nature, and I think McFadden is one of the best thriller writers out there. This is by far my favorite of hers, but all of her books fit the bill here.

On top of it being fast paced, it also has domestic and wealthy people drama, and short chapters that will have you saying “okay I will read one more chapter” until you literally finish the book in one sitting.

Dead Flip by Sara Farizan

Genre(s): Historical, Horror, Young Adult

My rating: 4.5 stars

Description via The Storygraph:

"Growing up, Cori, Maz, and Sam were inseparable best friends, sharing their love for Halloween, arcade games, and one another. Now it’s 1992, Sam has been missing for five years, and Cori and Maz aren’t speaking anymore. How could they be, when Cori is sure Sam is dead and Maz thinks he may have been kidnapped by a supernatural pinball machine?

These days, all Maz wants to do is party, buy CDs at Sam Goody, and run away from his past. Meanwhile, Cori is a homecoming queen, hiding her abiding love of horror movies and her queer self under the bubblegum veneer of a high school queen bee. But when Sam returns—still twelve years old while his best friends are now seventeen—Maz and Cori are thrown back together to solve the mystery of what really happened to Sam the night he went missing. Beneath the surface of that mystery lurk secrets the friends never told one another, then and now. And Sam’s is the darkest of all . . .

Award-winning author of If You Could Be Mine and Here to Stay Sara Farizan delivers edge-of-your-seat terror as well as her trademark referential humor, witty narration, and insightful characters."

Why I Recommend This: Now this is not one of my favorite horror books, but if you are into eerie not gorey horror, and have a love of arcade games or video games, this would be right up your alley.

I did enjoy this book a lot, despite it not being as scary as I would prefer. But it is queer, takes place in the 80s and is under 300 pages, so it is a great read if you are dipping your toes back into reading.

How to Cure a Ghost by Fariha Róisín

Genre(s): Poetry

My rating: 4.5 stars

Description via The Storygraph: "A poetry compilation recounting a woman’s journey from self-loathing to self-acceptance, confusion to clarity, and bitterness to forgiveness

Following in the footsteps of such category killers as Milk and Honey and Whiskey Words & a Shovel I, Fariha Róisín’s poetry book is a collection of her thoughts as a young, queer, Muslim femme navigating the difficulties of her intersectionality. Simultaneously, this compilation unpacks the contentious relationship that exists between Róisín and her mother, her platonic and romantic heartbreaks, and the cognitive dissonance felt as a result of being so divided among her broad spectrum of identities."

Why I Recommend This: This is a poetry collection, and although I would say it is more accessible than most poetry, I would still say it is a bit more advanced than an Atticus or a Rupi Kaur book. While I recognize the necessity of those accessible, easy to read and relate to poetry books, I like poetry that is a little more intense and flowery. This is a super good middle ground.

It is queer and deals with a lot of trauma, so I would check content warnings on this if you are sensitive to those things, but I think this is an amazing poetry selection to kickstart reading!

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Do you have any good book recs for getting back into reading? Let me know in the comments!