People Are Sharing The “Absolute Best” Books That Got Them To Love Reading Again, And I’m Adding Allll Of Them To My TBR List

Books·Posted 7 minutes ago

People Are Sharing The Books That Made Them Fall In Love With Reading Again, And I’m Sprinting To The Library As We Speak”I cannot praise it enough. I cried three times while reading the last book.”

Reading slumps happen to even the most avid of readers, and, honestly, all it takes is one amazing, incredible, and life-changing book to get you back into the reading game. Recently, I asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share the books that made them fall back in love with reading again, and I’m ready to get in the car and go to the library as we speak. Here are some book recs you might want to keep in mind, whether you’re in a slump or not:

“I just finished a newer book called Masters of Death by Olivie Blake. It’s about Death, his accidental godson, Fox, and a vampire real estate agent, Viola. I loved how Death can be brought to his knees by love! It’s extremely funny as well.”

“The Lost Fleet saga by Jack Campbell. There are six books in the first part of the story, and it’s about a legendary military hero who is revived from hibernation in time to lead the Alliance fleet out of a hostile space sector and back to their home star system. It’s a well-written space opera with realistic battles, especially where relativistic time is concerned. There’s maneuvering, weapon targeting, communication time lag between ships, and more. I’m currently on my third read-through of the series.”

“The Freid McFadden books will hook you back into reading again. They are fast and twisty with relatable and often funny characters.”

“The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. It’s an absolutely astounding fantasy series. It’s brilliantly written with a spectacular plot and character development. I cannot praise it enough. I cried three times while reading the last book.”

“I just finished The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, and while I’ve loved the movie since I was little, the book means so much more as an adult, considering the current political climate. It’s also particularly meta, which is especially fun for academics. I needed the message of hope and love right now, and that book is going to stick with me as a fable for modern times. I’m glad I waited to read it until now!”

“The Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel is amazing. They’re huge books, but they’ll suck you in. It’s based in a time where humans and Neanderthals lived together.”

“The Devil’s Cure by Kenneth Oppel. I found it in a thrift shop for $1. I remembered loving his Silverwing series as a child — I couldn’t put it down! You get three character POVs who are all at odds with each other, but each one has a valid story. The suspense is awesome, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get back into reading.”

“The absolute BEST book I ever read was Songmaster by Orson Scott Card. The lead character who tries to create music goes through so many trials and tribulations that you find yourself crying for him. It’s great therapy. Also, The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold involves the character going through time and meeting his past self. It’s lighthearted and fun. I reread it immediately after finishing it.”

“I always reach for Stephen King (especially The Dark Tower series). Dark Tower is the closest to a Western I’ll read, but combined with sci-fi, fantasy, and more. It not only was King’s opus, but it magically transcended all genres.”

10.

“Julie Mayhew’s The Big Lie is a great one. In modern England (2010s), under Nazi rule, Jess is a girl who follows the rules, unlike her best friend. When Jess starts to realize things aren’t what they seem and that she might like girls, things get…complicated. There’s amazing, mind-blowing stuff with a unique perspective — one that is badly needed now.”

11.

“I recently listened to The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides after seeing it mentioned in a BuzzFeed list, and wow. It’s an amazing book. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but when you get to the twist? Holy hell. It’s so good that I immediately called my mom when I was finished to tell her to read it.”

12.

“This book has been on a few lists before, but the dystopian classic Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is an astonishing read about class, race, genetic engineering/eugenics, love, betrayal, hate, power, and more. I still think about the powerful ending now and again.”

13.

“I recommend A Gentleman in Moscow. All of Amor Towles’s works are excellent, but this one is so uplifting, and the writing is elegant. It’s about a Russian aristocrat during the Revolution who gets sentenced by the Bolsheviks to live out his life inside a hotel. The protagonist is my favorite character of all time, and this book is definitely in my top five, if not my number one.”

14.

“The Book Thief by Markus Zusak! I cannot sing this book’s praises enough. It’s the only book that has made me bawl like a little baby. It’s set during the Holocaust and is about a young girl and her adoptive family, who help hide a Jewish man. Also, it’s narrated by Death, which is super interesting. Be warned, though: it has a really sad ending.”

15.

“Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan is the book that I fell in love with after a reading slump. The characters, world-building, and sizzling relationships dragged me back into the world of books, and I haven’t fallen out since!”

16.

“OK, hear me out: Harry Potter. Listen, I dislike the author as much as the next person for obvious reasons, but I’ve owned all the books since I was a child, so I decided to pick it up again because, though I was familiar with the series and the movies, I hadn’t read the books since I was a kid. Reading them again as an adult felt like a whole different experience, and it made me fall in love not only with reading again but with the entire world and characters. I could not recommend reading your favorite childhood series more as an adult if you’re in a slump.”

17.

Lastly: “I was in a slump for a good two years before I read Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. I couldn’t put the book down from page one, and I blazed through book two as well. It was the perfect villain-romance that made me feel the reading vibe again!”

OK, fine, I’ll add these two to my already-long TBR list. If you recently fell back in love with reading again, what book did it for you and got you out of a reading slump? Let’s talk books in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your recs using this form!

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.