I read a lot of thriller/mystery books. Almost anything by Frieda McFadden is a great read and are quick weekend reads.
this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2024
135 points (98.6% liked)
Ask Lemmy
27253 readers
2391 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected].
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected] or [email protected]
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
A book that stuck with me for a long time was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It was a fairly quick read too, I'm a slow reader so definitely longer than a day but I think I read it over a short vacation.
When I was young, I read Diane Duane's The Young Wizards series, and I remember I loved it. Also Artemis Fowl, Sherlock Holmes, and The Inheritance series (C. Paolini). As an adult, I've read the LotR series which I highly recommend. Also, The Expanse series, 1984, Chronicles of Narnia.
Short enough to finish in a day...hmm that's tough. Maybe Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis? The Martian. Lots of short stories out there by Isaac Asimov!
Read the short story : the approach to al-mutasim By Jorge L. Borges: https://ia601405.us.archive.org/10/items/HeliganSecretsOfTheLostGardens/BorgesJorgeLuis-TheApproachToAl-mutasim.pdf#:~:text=The%20Approach%20to%20Al-Mu'tasim%20Philip%20Guedalla%20writes%20that
If you like it, and like shorts stories, Borges will also become your favorite author. A good start is :
A Universal History of Infamy: A Universal History of Infamy Giving some more or less accurate retelling of the life of evil people like Billy the kid.
I'm waist deep in The Dresden Files right now (just started Turn Coat, book 11 of like 20 and counting) and it very quickly became one of my favorite series I've ever read. Jim Butcher has woven a web of a story where every little detail is a foreshadow that often won't pay off until two books later, it's incredible.
Prior to this I read The Expanse and that one also comes highly recommended. It's one of the most believable space operas I've ever read. I also hear the TV show is good, no idea, never watched it.
The Expanse TV show is superb. I'm halfway through the books now, and in some ways the TV show is much better, in other ways the books are better.
There's enough subtlety and complexity that I've watched the entire series twice, and I wouldn't be averse to watching it again.
The books will likely please you for one reason alone. The Laconia story line that the show didn’t make it to.
Also anybody that loves The Expanse should check out the Bobiverse.
Catch 22 Tom Jones Good Omens Double Whammy (Carl Hiassen)
Catch 22 is just about the funniest thing I've ever read. I don't think you'll finish it in a day, but it's amazing.
The Heart Shaped Box
NOS4A2
Between Two Fires
The Troop
The Princess Bride
Edit: Just realized you're looking for something to finish in a day, my bad. Have your read any Sherlock Holmes? They're entertaining and you can get through quite a few stories in a day.
I have an ambitious offering i dont think anyone else will suggest.
ambitious but you also want something you can read a day at a time. Books are fairly small.
My favourite BIG STOMPY ROBOTS but in chronological order.
Battletech Novels.
Not a 1 day read but reasonably short (I normally read it in about 2-3 days of non-dedicated reading) is the Scorpio races by Maggie stiefvater. It's a lovely read that focuses pretty heavily on the two man characters which is what draws me in every time. I read this book 14 times one year in high school and I continue to read it once a year
Not sure if I'd say they hit hard, but for readability it's hard to beat Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. Some of the best murder mysteries I've ever read, so much fun.
Short book that hit hard:
- Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
- Never let me go, Kazuro Ishiguro
- The last unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
- 1984, George Orwell
- Prince of Thieves, Chuck Hogan
Never Let Me Go is the most "not for me" book I've ever read. I can see why people love it. And I respect what it's doing. I just don't want to play a long.
Nice, I like it very much when one can separate between personal fit and quality! :-)
For me the whole point of the book is to accept the story, while your own sense/mind tells you to not play along, which made me reflect about how much - dare I say everyone of us - plays along everyday... Besides this, I simply like Ishiguros writing style (non native English speaker here, so wonder what a native would think about it.)
Would love to get a list of books from you that you respect and like (or respect and don't like ;-)).
Others may have mentioned it (happy to see Terry Pratchett getting a lot of love), but would definitely recommend anything by Vonnegut! Love his writing style and his approaches to humor and world building. Slaughterhouse Five is a great one, as is Sirens of Titan.
Also, not certain how well they hold up, but I really enjoyed the Redwall series back in the day! I was much younger at the time, though.
Hyperion Cantos. All 4 books are great, even if the 3rd and 4th are quite different. But it's a masterpiece. It's kind of like the LOTR for sci-fi if you ask me.
Just read Terry Pratchett or Larry Niven. Also Lois McMaster Bujold is a writer that will make you laugh and often start look at the world around you differently.
The Martian by Andy Weir is a book you could finish in a day. I could recommend a ton of books that I can read in a day but not sure how long they take you. How pages do you read a day OP?
I would recommend The Wheel of time, but be aware that its a very long book(series?). It contains 14 Books and totals at about 11k Sites. It absolutely takes quite a lot of time to fully read it, but its absolutely worth it. Its by far the best book ive read so far.
Mandatory heads up: The writing gets better over time.
The first time I tried to read it, the writing style of the first book really turned me off.
Lots of great recommendations here. I'd also add Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. Her Penric novels are quite fun, too.
view more: next ›