I’ve never been anything else but a reader.  And because of my interest in books, and especially since I started this blog, I have had people ask me ‘What are the best books to start a reading habit?’

I don’t think you can force someone to become a reader, and I know many people who haven’t lifted a book since the day they left school. Which I think is a shame, as for me reading is one of life's great pleasures. Sometimes in school you are forced to read the ‘wrong’ books; they may be worthy, but are just the wrong book at the wrong time for you.

But since we live in an age where there is more competition for our attention span than ever before, wouldn’t it be good to fight back? Many people are raising young families and can see the amount of time children spend on their devices. Seeing mom or dad reading a book for pleasure can be just the spur that kids need to get them turning a page again.

And not just reading a physical book - audiobooks are just as valid a way of ‘reading’ a book. Some people have issues such as dyslexia, so reading isn’t a great option. Physical books, e-readers, audiobooks - there’s lot of ways to read.

I thought I’d have a go at listing those titles that in my humble opinion could be the best books for beginners to start a reading habit. I’ve divided them into sections as best I can, depending on genre. Ideally, you will pick something that you will have an interest in - that just makes common sense. 

How to develop a Reading Habit Tips

But before we get into titles, lets begin with some tips on how to develop a reading habit (I talked in detail about this in my reading slump post)

Pick a Genre you’re interested in - Crime, horror, history - whatever floats your boat. There are people who say ‘You just have to read this’ but it might not be something that takes your fancy.

Use the format that appeals to you - 

Want to start reading? These are beginner-friendly book recommendations.

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Always wanted to start reading, but drowning in the plethora of recommendations? I hope this list will help, which spans different genres, beginner-friendly books.

List of contents:

1. Thriller/Crime/Suspense

Blackwater lilies

-Michael Bussi:

A crime mystery that will enthrall you till the end. Not so widely famous, but this is a hidden gem. This book took me by surprise and made me stunned with the ending.

• Plot(Goodreads): This is the story of thirteen days that begin with one murder and end with another. Jérôme Morval, a man whose passion for art was matched only by his passion for women, has been found dead in the stream that runs through the gardens at Giverny, where Monet did his famous paintings. In Jérôme’s pocket is a postcard of Monet’s Water Lilies with the words: Eleven years old. Happy Birthday. Entangled in the mystery are three women: a young painting prodigy, the seductive village schoolteacher, and an old widow who watches over the village from a mill by the stream. All three of them share a secret. But what do they know about the discovery of Jérôme Morval’s corpse? And what is the connection to the mysterious Black Water Lilies, a rumored masterpiece by Monet that has never been found?

The Silent Patient

-Mark Manson:

Hands down one of the best thriller books I have ever read. This is one of those books which lived up to its hype. It has every element of being the best psychological thriller. Go for it without any hiccups.

• Plot(Goodreads): Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening, her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face and never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his motivations — a search for the truth that threatens to consume him.

2. Non- fiction:

Sapiens

-Yuval Noah Harari:

An informative book spanning human history through centuries. This can be a dense read but trust me it is so worth your time. Don’t be intimidated by the text because this will be the best and interesting history book you will ever read.

• Plot(Goodreads — paraphrased): In Sapiens, Dr. Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical — and sometimes devastating — breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, paleontology, and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behavior from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the centuries to come?

The subtle art of not giving a f*ck

-Mark Manson:

This is my favorite self-help book. This book has polarized reviews. But to me, this book did make an impact. I am still WIP. But it surely helped me understand that saying no to someone, doesn’t mean you disrespect them, it just means you know your worth and need to learn to prioritize stuff that is important to you.

• Plot(Goodreads — paraphrased): For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. “F**k positivity,” Mark Manson says. “Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it.” In his wildly popular Internet blog, Manson doesn’t sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is — a dose of raw, refreshing, truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all- the feel-good mindset that has infected American society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up. There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter.

3. Fantasy:

Harry Potter series

-J.K. Rowling

Do I need to say anything about this book? JUST READ THE BOOKS..!! No matter you are a grown-up, beginner, or an avid reader, HP books will stay forever as your comfort read. And for those who are still living under the rock, please read the plot below.

• Plot(Goodreads): Harry Potter’s life is miserable. His parents are dead and he’s stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he’s a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry. Though Harry’s first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it’s his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined. Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment in the series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come.

Shiva Trilogy

-Amish Tripathi

Not gonna lie, I was skeptical to pick up this book. The number of times I have passed by bookstores, ignoring the books and the rave reviews, baffles me. But one day, I took the plunge of buying and actually reading the trilogy, and here I am now recommending this series.

• Plot(Goodreads): 1900 BC. In what modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation. The inhabitants of that period called it the land of Meluha a near-perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived. This once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils as its primary river, the revered Saraswati, is slowly drying to extinction. They also face devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis. To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis appear to have allied with the Nagas, an ostracised and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills! The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend: When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge. Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero? And does he want to be that hero at all? Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?

4. Mythology:

The Palace of illusions

-Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

A recreation of the saga, Mahabharata from Draupadi’s POV. This story will take you on a journey of how an unwanted child born from the fire became a reason for an epic war ever seen in mankind. A well-known epic that usually sits on the satire of patriarchy is being interpreted from the view of a woman.

• Plot(Goodreads): A reimagining of the world-famous Indian epic, the Mahabharat — told from the point of view of an amazing woman. Relevant to today’s war-torn world, The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that is half history, half myth, and wholly magical. Narrated by Panchali, the wife of the legendary Pandavas brothers in the Mahabharat, the novel gives us a new interpretation of this ancient tale. The novel traces princess Panchaali’s life, beginning with her birth in fire and following her spirited balancing act as a woman with five husbands who have been cheated out of their father’s kingdom. Panchali is swept into their quest to reclaim their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war involving all the important kings of India. Meanwhile, we never lose sight of her strategic duels with her mother-in-law, her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands’ most dangerous enemy. Panchali is a fiery female redefining for us a world of warriors, gods, and the ever-manipulating hands of fate.

Jaya

-Devdutt Devakaruni

Illustrated Retelling of Mahabharata. Highly appreciate the effort of rewriting a long epic with such simplicity and making it an easy read for everyone. As it is being said that it is a retelling and neither a translation nor the traditional version, so there might be a few absences of some events. But overall I feel that this book has the major events described that took place in the rise and fall of the Kaurava clan and eventually the great war and the life of the Pandavas after the war. For those who haven’t read the traditional story, this book will act as an introductory.

• Plot(Goodreads — Paraphrased): In this enthralling retelling of India’s greatest epic, the Mahabharata is originally known as Jaya, Devdutt Pattanaik seamlessly weaves into a single narrative plot from the Sanskrit classic as well as its many folks and regional variants, including the Pandavani of Chhattisgarh, Gondhal of Maharashtra, Terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu and Yakshagana of Karnataka. Richly illustrated with over 250 line drawings by the author, the 108 chapters abound with little-known details such as the names of the hundred Kauravas, the worship of Draupadi as a goddess in Tamil Nadu, the stories of Astika, Madhavi, Jaimini, Aravan, and Barbareek, the Mahabharata version of the Shakuntalam and the Ramayana, and the dating of the war based on astronomical data. With clarity and simplicity, the tales in this elegant volume reveal the eternal relevance of the Mahabharata, the complex and disturbing meditation on the human condition that has shaped Indian thought for over 3000 years.

5. Fiction:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

-Gail Honeyman

EOICF offers a perspective that is familiar but distinct. How a simple act of kindness from others can bring a paradigm shift to someone’s life. Honeyman has put forth a sensitive topic that is not mentioned in public more often as it is not considered to be serious but it is. Loneliness. People often confuse it with solitude but, being alone and being lonely are two different things.

• Plot(Goodreads): No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine. Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. Ultimately, Raymond’s big heart will help Eleanor find a way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. If she does, she’ll learn that she, too, is capable of finding friendship — and even love — after all. Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .

A man called Ove.

-Fredrik Backman

After completing the book it took me a while to let the entire story sink into my heart and mind. The myriad of emotions this book offered me has engulfed my heart with all sorts of emotions. A heart-warming romantic book that will make you cry and smile at the same time. The love Ove has for his wife described in the book is so heart-wrenching that it will make anyone crave such love.

• Plot(Goodreads): A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door. Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time? Behind the cranky exterior, there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a residents’ association to their very foundations.

6. Classics

To kill a mockingbird.

-Harper Lee

The book is filled with timeless life lessons, justice, judgment, family, compassion. It blatantly states some harsh truths about society and life and every person reading it will definitely take something out of it. Talking about the character, Atticus Finch is the type of person who will make you feel right when things go wrong. A person who never follows the masses, but follows what is right; guides the misguided ones or at least tries to. While I recommend this book to everyone, I would like to recommend it mainly to the older teenagers and further, mainly because it will resonate better with them and will understand the depth of the speech and linguistics of the topic mentioned.

• Plot(Goodreads): The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it. “To Kill A Mockingbird” became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic. Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, “To Kill A Mockingbird” takes readers to the roots of human behavior — to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

Heidi

-Johanna Spyri

A childhood story I still didn’t forget. A story that will be my comfort anytime I want solace. The beautifully written story of Heidi set in the Swiss mountains with her grandfather is a story to cry on, smile. I cannot recommend enough how I love this story, the innocence will just melt your heart.

• Plot(Goodreads): Orphaned Heidi lives with her gruff but caring grandfather on the side of a Swiss mountain, where she befriends young Peter the goat-herd. She leads an idyllic life until she is forced to leave the mountain she has always known to go and live with a sickly girl in the city. Will Heidi ever see her grandfather again? A classic tale of a young girl’s coming-of-age, of friendship, and familial love.

Special mentions:

Any books by the following authors will never disappoint you.

1. Sudha Murthy — She is an engineer, social worker, and author. Her simplicity in her stories is the main essence. And simplicity is what every beginner wants.
2. Ruskin Bond — I have saved the best for the last. I cannot press enough how much Bond’s stories have made me fall in love with reading, writing but mostly hills. Even if you are not able to read the above-mentioned books, please do give Ruskin Bond stories a try. You will do yourself a big favor, trust me!

Final Thoughts:

All the books are read and loved by me. So the recommendations are coming from a legit verdict. Dive into the books and let me know in the comments if you have read or plan to read any.