I've never read a book!

[Eighteeteewhy]

In its whole entirety.

Of Mice and Men, is probably the closest I got. That was in school.
Where would you start?

@

[PH lurker]

I'm not trying to be funny, but if you've genuinely not read a book try Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons (or something like that (Just William etc.)). It's a child's book but that means it is easy to follow.
Obviously someone will be along in a moment to tell me this is the worst idea, and anyone's better qualified than me about this.

ETA:

Or consider a Clarkson book or autobiography type thing (Lewis Hamilton, Valentino Rossi, Richard Hammond Life on the edge and so on)

Do you ever read decent magazines like Car, Bike, or Evo etc.?

Edited by PH lurker on Monday 9th July 17:59

[evilmunkey]

Seriously youve never read a whole book... !! you are missing out mate, really you are. first off to start suggesting stuff , what kind of thing interests you, biographies, crime, (true or factual) horror , sci fi, thrillers. we need a little more to go on really. i usually have at least 3 on the go at once. At the moment its the biog of billy connoly by pamela stevenson, a clarkson book i got at the charity shop and a book called the five families, documenting the rise and fall of the new york mafia. oh yeah and re reading howard mark's senior nice (not mr nice, read that about 5 times)

[grumbledoak]

Of Mice and Men nearly put me off for life too. It does get better, I promise.

What are you interested in?

[carlove]

The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

[BoRED S2upid]

Try one of those quick reads that have been done to get people into reading they are very short stories intact I will send you one if you want.

[0000]

Sending one that's not intact probably wouldn't help...

[Fishtigua]

My ex had real problems getting into novels so I got her collections of short stories. Her favourites were by Roald Dahl.

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/south.html

[Use Psychology]

normally i start on the first page.

[longshot]

Jonathon Livingston Seagull.

[Use Psychology]

what kind of films or TV do you like? or music?

[Happy82]

If you download the kindle and kobo apps there are a lot of free books you could try

[TwigtheWonderkid]

A friend of mine asked for advice. He'd read loads of books, but nothing that he considered as classic literature. He asked me to pick something out for him form my bookcase.

I gave him To Kill A Mockingbird and he loved it. Next up was The Count of Monte Cristo and he loved that too.

Next I gave him A Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich which he didn't enjoy. When I asked him why, he gave me the best review I have ever heard ......."there's too much soup in it."

[ali_kat]

Eighteeteewhy said:

In its whole entirety.

Of Mice and Men, is probably the closest I got. That was in school.
Where would you start?

@

God gods man- why ever not?

Seriously, why?

Did your parents/Grandparents not read to you as a child? Were you not given childrens books like Famous 5 etc?

In order to help you read one, we need to understand why you haven't. It cannot simply be that Of Mice & Men put you off for life! (I can understand that tho ) Is it lack of time, lack of interest, you always find something better to do, or you have never found one that interested you?

evilmunkey said:

Seriously youve never read a whole book... !! you are missing out mate, really you are. first off to start suggesting stuff , what kind of thing interests you, biographies, crime, (true or factual) horror , sci fi, thrillers. we need a little more to go on really.

He's not going to know if he's never read one What you watch on TV is not necessarily related to what one might read in a book; unless he likes films that are based on books (rather than graphic comics/novels).

[AJS-]

Set you off on the right path.

[McHaggis]

I'd try a mix of fiction, probably depending on what you like in the cinema.

Harry Potter is long, but good story structure (even if you have seen the films, the books are a bit different)

Sci-fi - try Isaac Asimov short stories to start with.

Murder - Inspector Montalbano is quite good - quite light and they aren't too long, or PD James.

Dahl is a good call from a previous poster.

Douglas Adams - Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy is both we'll written and very silly.

Tolkein - The Hobbit is good fun and timeless.

[Eighteeteewhy]

Hi, thanks for all the replys. Some good suggestions.
I don't know why it is I've never read a book. People say you get gripped and can't put a book down but it's just never happened with me. I think I may try and find a Dahl short stories book that sounds like it may be a nice way to start.
I do have 'Alive' the story of the rugby players that crashed. I started it a while back, maybe I should pick it back up.

[0a]

The books I find I can pick up and read with no effort at all, even when tired, are the Captain W E Johns Biggles series. Brilliant.

I would probably skip the Tolkien for the moment if you have come this far without managing a whole book.

[ali_kat]

Eighteeteewhy said:

I don't know why it is I've never read a book. People say you get gripped and can't put a book down but it's just never happened with me. I think I may try and find a Dahl short stories book that sounds like it may be a nice way to start.
I do have 'Alive' the story of the rugby players that crashed. I started it a while back, maybe I should pick it back up.

Some people get gripped, others just don't get on with reading. Me Ex didn't & couldn't understand my passion either!

You need to start with something that has a plot, and will entice you in quickly, without making it heavy (and for that reason alone, I'd steer clear of The Hobbit for now )

Try Terry Pratchett, he's fluffy, funny, and has some interesting thoughts and ways of looking at the world

[Eric Mc]

Fast paced (but well written) thrillers are quite good.

I like "The Firm" by John Grisham (different to and even better than the film).

I've just finished reading "The Fear Index" by Robert Harris

And the original novel of "Jurassic Park" (Michael Crichton) was much better than the movie.

I could not imagine a life without books, to be honest. I'm always reading something - although usually non-fiction.