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College took out the love of reading in me. For my 2022 reading challenge I had a goal of five books. I only read two. I was so upset over this during winter break. Reading was my first hobby and I don’t want to watch it die. I finally downloaded the Libby app on my phone and started audiobooks. So far I’ve finished three books this year and am on my fourth.

The first two recommendations are ya, but I think you may still enjoy them:

An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir

Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

I read Verity and was physically wincing from embarrassment. But, like a car crash, I couldn't look away from it.

I have had that problem but it isn't that I want to put the book down, I want to wiz through to see what happens.

When that happens I will often start the book over once I've finished it. I often pick up little items that I missed while just trying to get to the end.

"Lack of competency with firearm operation" is a HUGE plus. I wouldn't want to bother with an author who had devoted a significant amount of their time to technologies of killing.

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I’ve only read one Colleen Hoover book (Layla) and I felt the same. It was very gripping despite not being anything special in terms of stylistic writing or unique plot/characters. Morally, the book was questionable, which I thought was interesting at the time, although now I find it a bit repulsive given what I’ve heard about some of her other books.

Mostly, I have to admit that she knows how to write an engaging story, and I personally think that’s how she’s so popular.

The back of our copy of The Jane Austen Book Club talks about what a joyful, light comedy it is, which is definitely not how it felt reading it! Interesting character study, maybe, but it really didn't have the fluffy humor they advertised.

I think with Kindle, I can't retain the name of what I'm reading and the synopsis so I've to Screenshot what it's about.. One of the main reasons why I switched back to physical books!

As a mature woman (74) I find audiobooks the same as reading. I like fiction stories. Often there are a number of characters. Keeping them straight is a bit harder in Audio than print form because it is a bit harder to go back and double check.

I have read that following action and characters in books is good brain exercise.

Since I am often knitting while I listen to a book it adds a bit of a challenge, but I want to keep my brain working well

I haven't read this, but I did read Nettle & Bone by the same author and really liked it, so I've just added this to my library holds. Thanks.

The first and only book I completely read from her was Slammed and I was like 12. The experience was exactly what you described when I re-read it later in life, but I absolutely adored this book (layken has been my online name ever since). I have tried to read other stuff from her. It’s all like you described (But I just can’t read it anymore, Slammed is too special for me)

That was my Halloween read this year. I agree with you on the imagery, particularly the scene with the >!rabbit dissection!<. It was a fun expansion on Poe's short story. I did get a little annoyed at the author's habit of using modern sounding turns of phrase in the dialog, but mostly I enjoyed it.

The author has a couple of other horror books out that you might want to try if you haven't yet: The Twisted Ones and The Hollow Places. You would probably like Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic too, if you haven't read that.

What makes a book classic? Just time? Not trying to argue just curious.

I feel Vonnegut is as important, highly regarded, and influential as many other classics.

I also feel like Lonesome Dove could be considered a classic, but it is less than 40 years old.

Personally, I don’t like her books. In most part because of the writing, to me the basics of make it poorly written—it’s like Hoover wasn’t trying very hard. The actual plots would be fine if she wasn’t throwing trauma at the audience left and right.

However, I understand why people like them: they’re easy and you don’t have to think about what they’re reading. Which is fine, I do this myself. But my pleasure reading are things that are, in my opinion, just better.

It struck me as a markedly inferior version of what China Mieville would write given the same basic premise, though I haven't gotten far into his book Kraken yet.

I was the same with It Ends With Us. I didn't like it but couldn't put it down. I hate Lyle and really wanted to give the main character a good shake

I haven’t read at all in two weeks because I have 30 pages left in “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.” I’ve never read any Tom Robbins before but I’ve heard he is notorious for Downer endings. I feel like I’m at a fake out point in the story, it looked like the character was going to make a really bad decision, but she course corrects at the last moment. With this much story left, I get the feeling the last bit is her slowly sliding into the same scenario she narrowly avoided.

Huh, I’m shocked so many people do this. I could never not finish a book I love.

I adore them! I still read some things in print but by and large I'm nearly all audiobooks these days. I'm fortunate that where I live I have access to 3 different library systems with an extensive audiobook collection and while I do have Audible I save that strictly for things I can't get thru the library.

I don't have the time to just sit down and read but I can listen while I cook, run errands, do menial non-thinking tasks at work.

Same. I can only retain nonfiction on audio

Devil House by John Darnielle, especially that cover

I was very disappointed by "Anxious People", I went into it expecting a bottle episode type story about people held hostage and dealing with the stress of their potential untimely death.

It was just a bunch of unlikable characters working through their trauma and relationships with really no suspense.

Breakfast of Champions actually turns 50 this year, so it's about to be a 50-50 split.