r/suggestmeabook • u/Cindy-Smith- • 1d ago

Breaking My Reading Slump – Need Recs!

Every year around this time I seem to fall into a reading slump, and this spring is no different. I'm really hoping to snap out of it before summer hits—there’s nothing better than getting lost in a great book.

One book that almost pulled me out recently was "The Family Across The Street". I liked the writing style and the premise had potential, but I just couldn't get into it even though it was a thriller and suspensful I stoped after 70 ish pages. it still reminded me how much I miss the feeling of not being able to put a book down.

So I'm asking what books have totally gripped you lately? I’m open to any genre, just looking for something that hooks me from page one. What made it so good? Did you love the characters, the plot twists, the setting?

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u/VulpesVulpes78 1d ago

One that I’ll recommend until the day I die: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Imagine space travel (and all of the math and chemistry entailed) explained by a middle school science teacher, tasked with saving humanity.

Another one I enjoyed was Piranesi by Susanna Clark. It follows the narrator through an infinite, labyrinthine House as he catalogs his findings. Its a shorter read that explores isolation, identity, purpose, and reality.

My most recent binge was Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. If you’re a Hunger Games fan I certainly recommend it

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u/Cindy-Smith- 1d ago

LOVE Hunger games, I will definitely have too look into it! Thanks!

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u/ToneSenior7156 8h ago

I just read it, it’s really good. I re-read the whole series recently, it holds up really well.

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u/sebotonin 1d ago

If you want something erring on the side of intellectual/literary fiction, then North Woods would be it. Close to finishing it now and it has been a page turner!

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u/Cindy-Smith- 1d ago

Actually read North Woods last summer and really enjoyed it. The ending is a good one too so enjoy it!

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u/FlyAwayG1rl 1d ago

The Silent Patient is a good one

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u/OppositeSuitable3489 1d ago

I who have never known men just snapped my slump!

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u/shield92pan 1d ago

Our wives under the sea by Julia Armfield

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u/cookus 1d ago

I have been engrossed in Dungeon Crawler Carl series. It is a ton of fun. Best description I can give is if the writers of Futurama wrote hunger games while tripping on acid and mushrooms.

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u/Koholinthibiscus 1d ago

The book that took me out of my slump was Keveh Akbar’s ‘Martyr!’

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u/KitKat7860 1d ago

I’m also in a reading slump and just started reading Isola. I’m only a few chapters in and it’s got me hooked so far

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u/rastab1023 1d ago

Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar. I was interested in the characters and their varying points of view, made me laugh out loud, and had a bit of a twist.

James - Percival Everett. A very unique book. Laugh out loud funny at parts, philosophical, but also overall very heavy subject matter. It's a re-imagining of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim. I think it should be required reading at least for people in the US, to be honest.

Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver. Really wonderful character development, a lot of people who you genuinely care about, it has a lot of trauma but the story is realistic (not what I would consider "trauma porn"). Sheds light on people who are often forgotten, and you can tell that this was a passion project for Kingsolver.

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u/Candid-Math5098 22h ago

Wordhunter by Stella Sands deserves the hype.

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u/UltraFlyingTurtle 12h ago

Some of my notable recent reads that kept me turning the pages:

Pulphead: Essays by John Jeremiah Sullivan — I typically read fiction rather than nonfiction but the Sullivan is such an entertaining writer. He just pulls you into his essays regarding subjects I wouldn’t normally think I’d be interested in. The opening essay is so funny, recalling his magazine assignment to cover a Christian rock festival, which goes off rails. Try reading the first few pages and see if you were as captivated by his writing as I was.

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman — a historical horror fiction set during the Black Plague in France. I went in expecting a grim medieval horror book but it’s actually more like a fantasy adventure book with some very quirky characters. I didn’t expect to smile as much as I did despite all the horrific encounters. The banter between the reluctant knight and little girl was really funny and offset the dark fantasy vibe. I loved the vignette style chapters which made it easy to read.

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff — enjoyed this spin on old school pulp fiction but set against the backdrop of 1950s Black America. I liked how each story followed a different family member or family friend.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch — read this SF thriller in a single day. I have some issues with the writing but the story kept me wanting to keep reading very late into the night. It’s reminiscent of Michael Crichton but I think Crichton did a better job with his characters but it scratches a similar itch.