Which book would you recommend to someone who has never read

[Freespirit]

Hey guys, 2nd post here,

If you came across a person who has never read before and want to instill a love of reading, which book would you suggest to that person?

[BJLynn]

I think it depends on the age and interest of the person. My husband (Army Drill Sgt) doesn't read, but my Dad gave him some Harold Coyle books and he's read a couple and even enjoyed the stories, but he isn't interested enough to buy a book or go to the library. His sister doesn't read much either, but I gave her a bag of Harlequins and she was hooked. Their mother is dyslexic and she never read, but in the past few years with all of the kids and grandkids grown, she has time on her hands to sit with a ruler and read a book and enjoys the Mitch Albom books and she shocked me by reading The Hunger Games trilogy.

[Fereshteh]

Rangoon by Christine Monson. History, war, romance, passion... all in one. It hooks you up!

[i-nsomnia]

Hey guys, 2nd post here,

If you came across a person who has never read before and want to instill a love of reading, which book would you suggest to that person?

It really depends on the age group, but for a younger kid to somebody in their teenage years: Harry Potter, because it's so colorfully written and the series grows with the reading level.

For somebody older than that I would recommend 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami, or Insomnia, by Stephen King. The latter two books both deal with adult characters (Insomnia's characters are notably older, I think the main character is in his 60s-70s) and are clearly written and easy to follow. They aren't especially shocking (Insomnia is surprisingly tame for a Stephen King novel, when you compare it to IT, Dreamworld, and Salem's Lot; 1Q84, despite having several sex scenes and being fairly open about human sexuality and violence, isn't a novel about sex and violence) but feature elements of the fantastic and how they interact with real people, not cardboard-cutout heroes.

The only real obstacle I could see with using these books as introductions is that they're rather long, so they might seem intimidating.

[Best101]

For the very young I would recommend The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. A superb book to draw children in and also a great one for adults to share with their children or class.

For older children it would have to be Roald Dahl I personally love the witches. Love the way a mouse can save the day. Dahl has a knack a knack of appealing to the gross side of children whilst still ensuring the good guys win and bad guys get what they deserve.

Teens would have to read Joseph Delaney's The Spooks Apprentice. From the second I turned to the first page I could not put it down. Excitement, magic, mystery, danger, not to mention unlikely friendships and not judging a book by its cover occasions. In my mind it leaves Harry Potter standing book wise, but that's just my humble opinion. Please pick it up and judge for yourselves.

Adults should not move through life without having read Wilkie Collins The Woman in White. A true masterpiece. Each section written from the perspective of one of the characters, slowly unweaving the mystery within the pages of this classic. I had never read a book written this way before. Very clever and each section holding vital information required to solve the mystery of the woman in white.

[augustblack216]

The book After River is a very good read. I have recommended it to a few people and those that have taken the time to find it and read it loved it. It is by a Canadian author and a little hard to find where I live, basically I had to buy it offline. I read about it in the newspaper and searched online until I found it. It is one of my all time favorites.

[zarinss]

It would definitely depend on the person, but I would recommend the Harry Potter series to people of all ages. As another poster said, young readers can grow with the series, but older readers can also enjoy the stories.

[izthapa]

Hm, probably depends on their age. If for younger people (in fact, all ages can read this book), definitely Harry potter. I also enjoyed The book Thief.

[Djs21]

I teach college first year students, and I have found that many of them do not particularly enjoy reading. However, I have taught Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle and students actually really enjoy reading her memoir. I also suggest The Hunger Games trilogy to "non-readers" because many different people seem to enjoy reading that series.

[whitneybell]

Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut is a pretty easy read that will stick with most people for some time and might drive them to research and want to know more about its subject.

[grammy57]

One of the first books I read was The Sword in the Stone. As most have mentioned, it depends on the age and interests. My grandson is reading C. S. Lewis right now.

[d_mossbu]

I think it definitely depends on what you are interested in, subject-wise. The one book that I recommend to people above all, as it remains on of my favorite books from reading in school, is To Kill a Mockingbird.

[CnL4eva]

I am a huge fan of Khaled Hosseini book, "And the Mountains Echoed". From the moment I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. The format that this book is written is from different points of view from different protagonists and yet its amazing how their life is intertwined. Theres alot of opportunity to learn from a different culture. So if you like adventure, thriller, a little tear jerker, definitely pick up this book.

[ToniLynnLupton]

The Hunger Games trilogy and the Twilight Saga series

[V_bansal2912]

I usually ask for their favorite movie or favorite genre. That usually gives me an idea about the kind of book the person would like.