27 Highly Readable Books to Jumpstart Your Reading Habit

Want to read more books? Maybe you’re trying to start a reading habit and are looking for great books to read for beginners. This list of easy reading, unputdownable books will help you make reading a habit and a hobby.

Starting to read again can feel daunting if you haven’t read a book in a while. It’s hard to know what books are worth reading, how to find the time, and whether you’ll be able to stick with it.

Many people fear that if they don’t find the best books to start a reading habit right away, they’ll get bored and quit.

Maybe you’ve already tried and quit.

Maybe you were hoping for a book to get back into reading and you picked up a well-known classic or a book you knew was popular–but it just didn’t work for you.

And so you quit.

I get it. It can be discouraging to find that a wildly popular book doesn’t work for you–because if it worked for so many others, shouldn’t you love it, too?

If this sounds like you, check out my tips to read more books and love it. A reading challenge is also a good way to get motivated to read more; check out some of my favorite 2021 reading challenges.

One of the most important steps in starting to read again is to find the right books.

That doesn’t mean finding a list of books that some authority says “everyone must read” or forcing yourself to slog through only the “most important books to read.”

Those lists don’t always include the most readable books, or the best books for beginners. Many of these books are great, to be sure, but they just aren’t the best place to start. Because let’s face it: reading can be a little like running.

You’ve been doing it your whole life, but it still takes practice to get in a groove of doing it regularly. So thinking of yourself as a beginner is okay, and will help lead you to the best books for you to start a reading habit.

Starting with an open, beginner mindset will help you find the books that will get you into reading–because you read for you and no one else.

To get you started, I’ve put together a list of compulsively readable books to help you fall in love with reading and start making reading a habit in your life.

27 Highly Readable Books to Jumpstart Your Reading Habit

Below you’ll find highly readable books from the following genres or types of books: contemporary fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, light or humorous fiction, mysteries and thrillers, dystopias, alternate realities, classics, and nonfiction and memoirs.

No matter what interests you, there should be at least one book here to get you started and help you fall in love with reading.

01. THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN

by Garth Stein.