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How old are you? I think there are a lot of adult books that are written simply enough that you will have no trouble with following the story, without any difficult words.
Try reading Lord of the Rings, it will be great reading experience. I read it out loud to my 7-year-old, and he had no trouble following the story, and often drew pictures of the characters and scenes from his own imagination. He never stopped me to ask what a word meant, he just went with the flow. If he could do it at age 7, so can you.
If you come to a word you don't know, just read right on. Not knowing the word will probably not get in the way of knowing where the story is going.
Don't try to read things like Dickens and Melville, for light reading, I don't even want to tackle those. Go with more modern novels. There are a lot of recent best-sellers that would be quite easy to read, such as: Water for Elephants
Never Let Me Go
Secret Life of Bees
Plainsong
Cold Mountain
Time Traveler's Wife
Lord of the Rings? Really? I'm an adult and a voracious reader. I tried for years to read the set I was given as a teenager, and the only way I could could get through the books was to throw them across the room and watch the movies. I'm not at all a fan of fantasy and found them a dense slog.
Last edited by fleetiebelle; 08-17-2011 at 12:28 PM..
Lord of the Rings? Really? I'm an adult and a voracious reader. I tried for years to read the set I was given, and the only way I could could get through the books was to throw them across the room and watch the movies.
I have to agree with you. I tore through those books in my early 20's. My best friend and my now husband were on my case about reading them before the movies came out. Nah, those were just dumb kids books. They dragged me to the first movie and I nearly peed myself when those ringwraiths were chasing the foursome through the woods. That night I started the books, and I zipped right through them. I think they'd be good books to try (as I mentioned in an earlier post).
I'm sure you didn't mean for that to sound as rude and insulting as it did.
Remember that scene in the Wizard of Oz?....allow me to paraphrase...
Oh - oh - oh! You ought to be ashamed of yourself - insulting him like that, when he came to you for help!
20yrsinBranson
Sorry....I wasn't trying to be rude. I was just quoting one of my favorite lines from the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" where Andy Dufresne was offering to help that young kid get his GED.
Don't know if it's in your budget, but have you considered a Kindle? You can easily access the dictionary function to get the definition of any word as you read. There are tons of free books you can download and even more for purchase through Amazon. Some libraries loan out Kindles, so you may even be able to try it before you buy it.
Lord of the Rings? Really? I'm an adult and a voracious reader. I tried for years to read the set I was given as a teenager, and the only way I could could get through the books was to throw them across the room and watch the movies. I'm not at all a fan of fantasy and found them a dense slog.
If you aren't a fan of fantasy, that's completely understandable. I have a similar reaction to Stephen King; I find him unreadable. But part of the reason is because I'm just not that interested in his genre.
I was also like the OP; not able to read books well. I just found them boring. For some reason I always found them to be...blah. I've tried reading books in high school, from a book assignment and always seem to fail. I've watched friends of mine sky rocket through grades, while I stayed the same or went down only trying to impress.
Anyways, I've tried reading books through the summer, something my mom suggested me to do. My first book was The Giver by Lois Lowery. It took me forever to read it and longer still to finish.
Now, 10 years after high school, I found a book series that I can't put down. Before even buying the series, I thought it would be the same; picking it up, reading a few chapters, putting it down for months and then picking up again to only read a few more chapters. Instead it took me a week to finish. I smack myself now after reading the book, understanding what it can do for the reader.
I know it's only one book, but I'm more proud of myself after reading it. I feel a little more intelligent. After I read it, I started looking up some of the words in the book.
I think, regardless of what type of book you read, you grow as a person inside. It really depends on what books you like.
Lord of the Rings? Really? I'm an adult and a voracious reader. I tried for years to read the set I was given as a teenager, and the only way I could could get through the books was to throw them across the room and watch the movies. I'm not at all a fan of fantasy and found them a dense slog.
I tend to agree. I did manage to limp through the Hobbit when I was a teenager, but I had no desire to read any further in the Trilogy. The same with Harry Potter. I was given a very expensive hardback copy when it first came out and I got through the first 5 or 10 pages and never picked it up again.
Now, mind you, I am NO fan of fiction. I can count the fiction books I have read on one hand, so that could have been part of the problem. Give me a book about health, wellness, homesteading, fiber arts, alternative medicine, cooking, animals (especially cats), and I will tear through it in a heartbeat and NOT put it down, but give me a novel and it will collect dust or be recycled. Just not interested.
I was also like the OP; not able to read books well. I just found them boring. For some reason I always found them to be...blah. I've tried reading books in high school, from a book assignment and always seem to fail. I've watched friends of mine sky rocket through grades, while I stayed the same or went down only trying to impress.
Anyways, I've tried reading books through the summer, something my mom suggested me to do. My first book was The Giver by Lois Lowery. It took me forever to read it and longer still to finish.
Now, 10 years after high school, I found a book series that I can't put down. Before even buying the series, I thought it would be the same; picking it up, reading a few chapters, putting it down for months and then picking up again to only read a few more chapters. Instead it took me a week to finish. I smack myself now after reading the book, understanding what it can do for the reader.
I know it's only one book, but I'm more proud of myself after reading it. I feel a little more intelligent. After I read it, I started looking up some of the words in the book.
I think, regardless of what type of book you read, you grow as a person inside. It really depends on what books you like.
What a nice post and what a great line. ITA. I hope you keep finding books you like.
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I tore through those books in my early 20's. My best friend and my now husband were on my case about reading them before the movies came out. Nah, those were just dumb kids books. They dragged me to the first movie and I nearly peed myself when those ringwraiths were chasing the foursome through the woods. That night I started the books, and I zipped right through them. I think they'd be good books to try (as I mentioned in an earlier post).
