Becoming a Reader
This blog post is to accompany this video about becoming a reader. What is a ‘reader’, you ask? Or at least my definition of one? To me, a reader is someone who enjoys the books they read, feels confident in their reading and how to look for books they enjoy, and reads with regularity (it’s good for us, so science says!)
First up, let’s talk book suggestions. Many of these were suggested by my wonderful book clubbers over in the Patreon community. When I finally go to pack up my bookshelves, I may make a dedicated post of book suggestions for those just getting into reading, but here’s a few to get you started.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
The Martian by Andy Weir
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Neopolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Circe by Madeline Miller
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker
Asking For It by Louise O’Neill
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Anything by Gillian Flynn
Anything by Octavia Butler (Kindred or Parable of the Sower are good places to start)
Next, book creators you might enjoy, again collated by myself and the SBJ community. Apologies if I get some of these genres wrong as I haven’t personally watched everyone, but I have done my best to summarise:
between.bookends - have read and loved so many books Varsha has recommended over the years (and she’s a member of our community, too!) from the more literary to the more speculative.
booksonthebedside - one half of this duo is another beloved member of our community, Hana. A mixture of genres, including literary and speculative.
pagesofcarolyn - a similar mix to me of speculative, historical and literary fiction.
Jack Edwards - literary fiction.
Noelle Gallagher - a mixture of horror, romance and other genre fiction, with some literary mixed in.
Leena Norms - not just books but lots of books, mostly literary fiction.
The Book Leo - more genre fiction, fantasy and romance.
asunnybooknook - huge range of genres; graphic novels, literary, nonfiction and speculative fiction.
rinceyreads - a mixture of literary and genre fiction.
katie james - literary fiction.
Peruse Project - mixture of literary and genre fiction, including fantasy.
Erik Karl Anderson - literary fiction, following prizes.
Literary Iggy - literary fiction.
Roisin’s Reading - historical fiction, literary fiction and classics.
Rebecca Eats Books - literary fiction and memoir.
Benjamin Journal - literary fiction.
CJ Reads - literary fiction.
Jen Campbell - literary fiction and poetry.
BooksandLala - mixture of genre fiction inc. horror and romance, some literary.
Books and Bao - mixture of literary and genre fiction, fiction in translation and queer fiction.
Matthew Sciarappa - mixture of literary and speculative fiction.
Books with Emily Fox - fantasy and science fiction.
Ceren Reads - literary and world fiction.
The Book Castle - mixture of literary and speculative fiction.
Ania’s Bell Jar - mixture of literary and genre fiction.
ChapterStackss - horror and psychological thrillers.
Bookish Topics - classics, world literature and literary.
The Bar and the Bookcase - literary fiction.
Savidge Reads - literary fiction, prizes.
GK Reads - literary fiction.
Tori Morrow - science fiction and fantasy.
emmie reads - classics, literary and genre (romance, fantasy).
Claire Fenby - classic and literary.
allisonpaiges - genre fiction, fantasy.
MercysBookishMusings - literary fiction.
anattynook - nonfiction.
Now for some prizes you could consider following:
The Booker Prize - literary fiction published in English.
The International Booker Prize - literary fiction translated into English.
The Pulitzer Prize - awarded across all different types of writing, I usually always check the fiction category for the year when announced, US-based.
Women’s Prize for Fiction - women only, usually literary or historical fiction, UK-based.
National Book Award - awarded across multiple categories, not just fiction, US-based.
Orwell Prize - awarded across multiple categories, not just fiction, UK-based.
Dylan Thomas Prize - the winner can be practically anything published in English (poetry, prose, fictional drama, short story collections, novels, novellas, stage plays and screenplays), often quite poetic and literary.
Walter Scott Prize - historical fiction.
Hugo Award - science fiction and fantasy.
Nebula Award - science fiction and fantasy, more US-based.
Websites mentioned in the video, and some websites which will find books for you using a selection of different inputs and algorithms (there’s always Chat GPT as well…):
https://www.literature-map.com/ - input authors to find similar ones you might like.
https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/ - I wasn’t 100% convinced on this algorithm when I tried it, but might be worth checking out.
https://www.whichbook.net/ - lots of choice here as to inputs.
Finally, bookish podcasts you might like to try:
Books Unbound - mostly literary fiction.
New Yorker Fiction - one writer is invited to read the work of another.
Close Reads - literary fiction and classics.
Overdue - literary fiction and classics.
Marlon and Jake Read Dead People - features one of my fave authors, Marlon James.
