Looking to reignite my passion for reading

I read my first full-length book when I was 6 years old. It was actually a series of books based around the adventures of a group of young boys who had the uncanny ability to find adventure lurking behind every tree, written in my mother-tongue.

The first time I went to our local library I was hooked. From the smell of the books, the silence which feeled deafening, prospectors occupied with their own treasure hunt between rows of shelves and the excitement of finding that book that beckons to you nestled in between hundreds of others, patiently waiting for it's turn to share a world of wonder with anyone willing to take it home for a spell. Some books wait decades for the opportunity to share itself with someone, anyone.


Throughout my formative years I could always find a friend on those shelves, but it was when I finished school that I really took it to the next level.

For a couple of years reading four books a week was a regular thing.

My parents would often find me sitting in the exact same position coming back after work as when they had left in the morning.

I came to a place where I ventured outside of my preferred genres just to experience that love of discovery.

Then one day the passion waned.

I started reading with an awareness of writing styles and plot lines and character development and it just felt like I had been down this road before, and I could see where the author was going with it because the formula became familiar.

Instead of enjoying the book, I would read it critically. It became a rare thing to be surprised by a novel idea or style of writing. So much so that most books which deserved my appreciation simply weren't enjoyable and I have forgotten most books as if I never even read them.

Many years have passed and many books have been abandoned halfway through, not able to hold my interest.

This is not how I want it to end. Every once in a while I give it another go.


I'm interested in hearing from others here on ATS. Perhaps if I can narrow the search there might be another treasure hunt on the horizon. Perhaps an adventure behind every tree.

I'm looking for a good book written mostly from a 2nd person narrative. I need subtle symbolism. I need to be teased by open-ended rhetoric. I need parallel narratives unfolding like a flower in bloom.
I need a poetic, philosophical writing style that knows how to apply duplicity and cryptic language. I need to be captured more by what is left unsaid than what is suggestively written. I need layers underneath layers and double entendres. I want reflexible words to have unexpected meanings and to be convinced of a viewpoint only to have it effortlessly flipped upside down. I want messy, complex characters that can delight or disappoint at the flick of a page.


And I'm hoping for a lamplighter on ATS to point me in the right direction.

a reply to: 19Bones79

Sounds like you spent your childhood reading genre fiction.

If your mother tongue isn't English I'm afraid I can't help you there, but if you want book recommendations in English, tell us what you have enjoyed reading and someone may offer you a few recommendations.

a reply to: Astyanax

Yes I'm looking for books written in English.

I mostly prefer horror, fantasy, sci-fi but it doesn't really matter which genre, any good fiction will do.

It's not so much about the books I have previously enjoyed. There's too many of them and I can't say that I'm looking to revisit any similar approach or writing style.

I'm looking for an author who espouses combinations of the qualities I mentioned in the OP.

If anyone comes to mind after reading that list of demands, even if not encapsulating all those qualities but some I would really appreciate it.

It's the style of writing that I'm after, regardless of what the book is about.


Thanks for showing interest.

The Saga of the Seven Suns by Kevin Anderson perhaps?

Kind regards,

Bally

a reply to: bally001



Thanks Bally, I'll definitely check into that.

A perennial favorite of mine is Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It.

Maclean's prose reads like poetry. He often mentions rhythm and it's not wonder; somehow he imbues his prose with a constant underlying rhythm. I have to read the book aloud to taste the words.

a reply to: 19Bones79

I will suggest authors not books.

Douglas Adams
Terry Pratchett
William Goldman
Alan Dean Foster

"I started reading with an awareness of writing styles and plot lines and character development and it just felt like I had been down this road before, and I could see where the author was going with it because the formula became familiar."

The best writers come from really good readers.
Perhaps you should write.

I would suggest lots and lots of Bradbury and Philip K. Dick.

a reply to: 19Bones79

"The Pearl" -John Steinbeck-

It is a parable about a Mexican Indian pearl diver named Kino who finds a valuable pearl and is transformed by the evil it attracts. Kino sees the pearl as his opportunity for a better life. When the townsfolk of La Paz learn of Kino's find, he is immediately set upon by a greedy priest, a doctor, and businessmen

Epic story.
I bet it's something your looking for.

It's pointless to suggest you what to read, because a book is like an ice cream. Some people like vanilla, others prefer chocolate. Try to eliminate all the use of screens, computers, phones... specially delete all your social media (or stop looking at it), or reduce it as much as you can. That will ease up your transition back to books.

a reply to: incoserv

I have read that one many moons ago.

For some reason I want to add Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides to that.

a reply to: randomtangentsrme

I knew Adam's and Pratchett was going to come up somewhere.


Alan Dean Foster that man is a national treasure.

a reply to: quercusrex

Writing would be the ultimate way to make a living!

I'm under no illusions of grandeur though.

I enjoyed Philip K Dick very much but even though I could guess Bradbury was Ray Bradbury(the name just came to me) I haven't read a single book of his. Will have to check him out.

a reply to: AOx6179

Thanks!

You might consider challenging yourself with much older texts, which kind of fascinated me when I did that years ago. For me it was the (more or less) centuries-old tales, told by minstrels in the streets of ancient Europe. The tales of El Cid, Dante's works, the Song of Roland... that kind of thing.

Or maybe try more esoteric stories, the archetypal stories that first marked the hero's journey, and such tales as are often mentioned by historians like Campbell, and others.

You could always try epics of the east, like the Mahabharata, or the Bhagavad Gita ... which can be difficult because of their intensely 'regional' affectations.

I often find amusement in less old, but still older works... adventure bios, travel logs, people who thought that travelling to an "exotic place" was all the rage...

You might even get a kick out of visiting old periodicals ... read a weeks worth of news papers from before color photography... or even any photography at all.

Just a few ideas I can spitball towards your efforts to rekindle interest in the "the art of writing" and the often overlooked "art of reading."

I recommend books by James P Blaylock, especially 'Lord Kelvin's Machine', 'Homonculous' and 'The Digging Leviathan'

Also Manly Wade Wellman's 'Silver John' books and stories. there's a collection called 'Who Fears the Devil'.

Clive Cussler books are fun, maybe too mainstream for you?

While I still tend to be disappointed, when i figure out which direction the book is going, early into it, I still enjoy it if the story itself is good.

I just finished Dean Koontz's Nameless series. Taste of conspiracy theory and Sci Fi. I really liked it. 12 short stories.

The single most quintessential novel for any ATS member is Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.

It is one of my personal favorites. If you have never read it, it is a must read.

State of Fear by Michael Crichton is also a great read.

a reply to: Maxmars

Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful reply.

Some excellent suggestions, the travel logs caught my eye.

But now that I have you here let me say that I find the way you write in general quite interesting and unique.

More often than not I ask myself did she mean this or the opposite of that?

Not because of the content but the way you frame things.

Am I the only one to notice that?


Anyway, I like that but I suspect I may have gotten it wrong a few times.

a reply to: ElGoobero

Thank you I'll check those out.

Know Cussler very well.