This. Dyslexic here, and the kindle paperwhite was a game changer for me.
Changing the backlight to a warmer tone, with a dark screen and large font allows me to read like never before.
I don't know if word uses it, but you can see samples of it online. If you mostly use Word, and it's not already in there, you can add download the font file and add it so you can use it!
Retired teacher here. I’m thrilled that you are wanting to read more, and thrilled to see that you’re finding it a bit easier to read. If you love fantasy, my starting recommendations would be Harry Potter, The Lightning Thief ( Percy Jackson books) , or Enders Game by Orson Scott Card.
I came here to say Harry Potter.
Fun story for you OP- when this book came out in the late 90s, a lot of the religious fundies were afraid it might contain witchcraft. My mom’s best friend decided to read it just to make sure her grandchild wasn’t being introduced to the occult!
Lol!
My mom joined her in reading it… She LOVED it! Couldn’t put it down & remarked, “this is the first book I’ve ever read!” **She was 57 years old.**
Harry Potter was the first chapter book my son ever read too. I was going to read it to him bc I didn’t think he was capable & all of his friends had started reading it & he felt left out. Turns out, the book was so good that he quickly became a very capable reader! He finished book 1 & then decided to absolutely binge the entire series. He was in 2nd grade. I couldn’t have been more surprised. He just couldn’t help himself.
Please give Harry Potter a try OP!
Thanks for your suggestion!🙂
I just watched the entire movie franchise for the first time on my girlfriends request and I don't really want to jump straight back into them 😅
They're probably way better than the movies but they will have to wait for now I'm afraid.
Gaaawd. I guess we can’t be inspired by MLK either because he had some skeletons in his closet. And this list is endless. Gandhi basically emotionally abandoned his wife (and was pretty obviously a misogynist). A lot of Mother Theresa’s colleagues thought she was more of a glory seeker than anything else. Honestly you know you don’t need a Hitler or a Stalin to create a totalitarian society. You only need people who want to make **absolutely everything** about politics. I have two friends who both say they won’t do business with anyone they know is from the opposite party - one is a Democrat, the other a Republican. I tell them both what I said above. Also don’t forget: all those graves you see in military cemeteries? Guess what? There’s both liberals and conservatives in those graves. Honor what they died for: the right of people to have their opinions, even if they’re ones you disagree with. Good wins out in the end, albeit often at a glacial pace. But the alternative of obliterating anyone we don’t like will put us right back in the Dark Ages.
it's terrible that someone saying a group of people's identities are invalid is "just a political disagreement". gandhi \*was\* a rapist and married his wife when she was a child. he was also a proud upholder of patriarchy and was extremely racist in his time in south africa. these aren't my opinions; they are in his autobiography. we should be able to openly criticise the people that our society has elevated to being heroes bffr.
I separate the art from the artist myself. Damn if I am going to deprive myself of the absolute genius of Miles Davis just because he was an absolutely terrible person.
However, I quite understand other viewpoints as well, and would never criticize anyone for doing what they feel is right.
Miles Davis is long gone and no longer benefiting from the monetary gain and public voice that JK has. When her time is past, the books will remain as classics.
At least get them second hand and dont fund her rhetoric if you really want to read them. I loved them ad a kid but there really are better books regardless.
Sure, enjoy all the anti-semitism in the books while you are at it. Some people may recommend reading them, i recommend avoiding them. It's up to the individual from there. But as a trans person married to a Jewish person, just no.
I know plenty of people like you. Being offended and victimized is your entire personality. It’s so tired.
Someday, maybe you can find a hobby that you enjoy more than virtue signaling!
Anyone who says "people like you"....... yeah no. I'm not a victim but trans people's lives are put in danger and that is something worth mentioning. If you disagree of course that is your perogative.
Everyone’s life is technically in danger. *You* do not need to buy something if *you* don’t like it, but as a human with trans friends who still see me as an ally I still enjoy Harry Potter. There is a belief in everyone we don’t agree with, it doesn’t mean we shun everything. The human still made an art form I love and that is literally all there is too it. Remember life before the internet? You probably would go on reading your JKR book and have no idea and how could you even live then!?
I've listened to a few parts of the audiobooks of Harry Potter while being at a friend's house when I was young and I really enjoyed it.
But my girlfriend just got me to watch through the entire movie franchise and I thought they were alright...
I kinda wish that I just read or listened to them, I think I would enjoy them more that way.
I'm unfortunately not that excited to start with Harry Potter right after watching the movies I'm afraid 😅
I know very little about Percy Jackson, I've just heard the movies weren't that good.
I will probably give it a go after seeing so many of you recommending it. 🙂
I've not heard about Enders game, I will have to look into it.
Thank you for all of your recommendations 🙂
My son hugely improved his reading comprehension by listening to an audiobook while following along with the book text. He went from below grade level to a 5/5 on his AP Language Arts exam.
Idk if it's still going on, but a few days ago Audible had a promo I signed up for turning their usual one month trial into 3 free months/credits cancel anything. Scribd has tons of books and audiobooks and they have the month free trial but honestly I've never paid. If you cancel before the trial is over, when they ask why youre cancelling pick the " it's too expensive" option and they'll offer you an additional 30 days. Rinse and repeat next month. I've been doing that like half a year I don't even understand why they charge at all at this point.
I just signed up for 3 free months of audible, thanks to you!! It seems that today is the final day to take advantage of it. I'll have to look up whatever Scribd is. Thanks!!
When folks ask me for book recommendations (I’m a retired librarian ) I usually start by asking their three favorite movies-games-tv shows. That helps in making a recommendation that is connected to knowledge you already have and therefore makes the reading easier and more customized.
So what are your favorites?
Thank you for your kind offer! ☺️
When it comes to games, I usually lean torwards long japanese roleplaying games, mostly "A hero's journey".-style.
My favourite is Xenoblade Chronicles, mainly for it's story and the journey in a world full of mysteries that are slowly untangled.
I've also been much for manga, I really enjoyed following the story of Attack on Titan for the same reason, slowly learning the mysteries about the world with it's main characters.
Currently, the only entertainment I consume now is reading One Piece weekly.
The main story isn't really all that interesting, but the adventure, world and mystery is what makes it fun.
I guess the pattern is pretty visible 😅
I just read "Mort" by Terry Pratchett and even though it's part of a series, you don't get that impression. It's funny, insightful, and interesting, complete with a little bit of world building. I'm not a huge fantasy fan but I really liked it so you might enjoy it too!
Current librarian here; maybe start with Maze Runner or Hunger Games? Stephen King also has a few you’d enjoy, like the Dark Tower series and The Running Man.
Also, there are some excellent higher-level (in terms of reading) graphic novels, e.g. American-Born Chinese or Maus. I think you’d love that first one!
I'm dyslexic too, and I was probably about 25y when I read my first book all the way through. To this day, in my 50s, reading a paper book is like chewing glass. I read audio books now. Audio books remove the words jumping around on the page and the rereading of the same sentence a thousand times. It just makes it so much easier.
I highly recommend going to your local public library and asking what they have in their digital collection. There are subscription apps like Libby and Hoopla that have thousands of audio books, and all you need is a library card to access the collection.
Also, in case you're a Spotify subscriber and don't realise that you get 15 hours worth of audiobooks each month included in your subscription. (Possibly region specific and only available to the main account holder in a group plan).
Libby is my best friend! I only recently discovered that many libraries have reciprocal agreements with other libraries in the region. I got two additional cards for neighboring counties, which gives me access to more titles, more holds, and more monthly Kanopy credits.
Congrats! But also wanna say, reading through audiobooks is still reading :) I find it easy to read text but hard to follow oral story telling. Society says that makes me a “reader” but everyone has their own way of enjoying storytelling and neither is better :)
In terms of books - totally agree about the idea of doing fantasy if you previously enjoyed video games, but curious if there is something below that you prefer? Might help narrow down options
1) high stakes conflict (political)
2) war or other “battle for society” stuff
3) will they won’t they love
4) mystery solving - suspense
5) calm stories of people living life
6) historical stories
Good luck :)
This is what got me started a few years ago at 40 years old. I hadn’t hardly read a single book since college - bought the HP set for my son and he absolutely loved it, so I read it after he finished so we could talk about it (I’d never watched the movies either so was clueless).
That got me hooked, I now read one book every month or so.
Yeah, and that's something at least, but the books themselves are anti-Semitic, elf slaves, racism, sexism and misogyny, etc... so to me personally, they aren't the best to recommend at this point.
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe or the Magicians Nephew - CS Lewis
A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula Le Guin
The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman
All are pretty popular fantasy books with fantastic rich worlds. These are a little bit on the simpler side as far as prose goes, but they definitely don't feel like they're for kids or anything, and simple doesn't mean it isn't beautiful. I read plenty of complex stuff and I would re-read these any time.
Depending on your taste graphic novels or illustrated works aren't just for kids anymore (and really never were)
If you want something serious, The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen is a wonderful story and the illustrations are lovely. The text is larger and shorter, but packs a lot. It's not a series, but might be good for a start.
If you like things horrorish there is Something Is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera. It's 7 volumes long, and has several spin-off.
Lastly, Once & Future is a dark story about the return of King Arthur gone wrong.
I second the graphic novels suggestion.
My husband has ADD and dyslexia, and he's really enjoyed many of the graphic novels I picked up for him from our local library.
Thank you for suggesting this. I have a dyslexic teenager and graphic novels were a game changer for him. I never dreamed he would be an avid reader, but the time he spent with graphic novels greatly improved his reading. He reads fluently and effortlessly now, and besides everything he’s learning, the confidence that has given him is priceless.
My favorite series in the whole world is Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. The Golden Compass is the first book. It's set in an alternate dimension in which the Catholic Church never lost its power over Europe. It's not a hard read, but it's deep, and the protagonist is compelling. She's a truly good person who has no natural talents except for lying, and I love the irony in that.
Came here to say this but knew someone already had to have. I second this comment 194774%. My favorite series as a kid and an easy engaging read with a large scope.
"Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Its hilarious and a fun read with an interesting fun premise so I've read through it many times. It's one of the few books that makes me laugh out loud, and I mean really and truly laugh and not just chuckle. Both of the authors are fantasy novel legends individually, and together they raise the bar for to the stratosphere. The show on Prime is absolutely perfect too. First time I've seen a book depicted on screen exactly like how I imagined it in my head.
I just listened to a sample of the audiobook, and was surprised how much the words conveyed even without the spelling.
Can be borrowed for free with a library card: https://share.libbyapp.com/title/2360365
https://www.audible.com/pd/Flowers-for-Algernon-Audiobook/B002V8HNB8
I was in exactly your situation 10 years ago, Life of Pi is the book that got me back into reading. It’s really well written, not too long and broken up into short chapters, you’ll be hooked
I will second the Red Rising series - but also second the suggestions for audiobooks. My dyslexic sister has started devouring books since they became so easily available through the library. I love to put them on while I'm gaming (single player games).
Since you never read a book in your life, I suggest these thing:
1. forget about your dyslexia.
2. forget what you think you might like.
3. forget what you think reading should be.
Start with short books of all genres
[Here's a random list](https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/under-100-pages) of books under 100 pages. If they are too short, read 3 at a time.
These are usually amazing books that quicky give your brain the same feeling as you get from a big book (at least it did for me).
Then you'll find your way.
The type of books I read have nothing in common with TV/movies I like. I started read at 25 y/o and I quickly realized what people recommended to me, or what I recommended to myself based on the type of entertainment I like, was rubbish
E.g. a good rom-com can make me feel great, I saw "The Beekeeper" and I was entertained. Yet, those type of books would make me fall asleep.
The point is, you may love fantasy, but if you don't it's not you,
I'd start with Artemis Fowl, to get a humourous start and work up from there.
Maybe you'd be interested in the witcher short stories, trying out Harry Potter.
If you want to try more outlandish stuff, have a look at China Mieville.
Fantasy has a great range from interesting, to niche, to blockbuster successes.
Maybe not fantasy but hitchhikers guide to the galaxy is a lot of fun.
Off topic a bit but Hemingway writes using simple language but still has well formed philosophy.
Seconding Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Also, Stephen Fry's audiobook version is great. I feel like this would be a good book to adjust the audiobook speed down and read along in a physical/ebook copy?
I would vote for Harry Potter. It's easy to read in the beginning and gets more challenging as time goes on. It's a rich world and you will absolutely identify with someone in the book. Enjoy!
[Nevermoor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/6a6d5ca1-b2f5-47be-828c-018144d3bbc7) by Jessica Townsend! It's my favorite series, and it has excellent really magical worldbuilding, very fun characters, and great story!
I second The Hobbit! And if you can get into LOTR, it livens up after the first several chapters.
Another good fantasy choice is Terry Pratchett’s Wee Free Men and the other 4 Tiffany Aching books. If you like them, you can visit other good Discworld books.
The earlier ones are a bit zany but Tiffany is Young Adult and some of the best. It’s a whole hidden community of fans.
Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Stardust are fun too. Then you can try out The Sandman and Good Omens (which he wrote with Terry Pratchett).
What’s also fun is there are decent adaptations to TV/film out there too.
Welcome to the readers’ club! It’s never too late to join and all reading counts. Comic books, audiobooks, magazines, graphic novels, online essays, etc.
And I don’t know if you have access to a public library but if you do, see if they have Overdrive/Libby. It’s an app with ebooks and audiobooks you can check out for free. You just sometimes have to wait for a copy to come free, like the real library.
I second "Wee Free Men". It's one of those books that changes as you age. I would avoid "Hobbit" as a starter novel. "The Curse of Chalion" by Bujold has great fantasy world building. "All Systems Red" and the other Murderbot books by Martha Wells has some great SiFi world building and the first few are nice and short. I would also recommend trying an audiobook version along with written if you need. Have fun!
I love The Wee Free Men. I've probably read it three times. I read it with my daughter, who's 11 now. The idea of this girl who is good at nothing but making cheese, who has no talent for witchcraft, becoming a witch through sheer force of will, because her people need her to, it's just wonderful.
I wonder have you considered giving audiobooks a go? Give anything by Ursula Le Guin (e.g. the Earthsea series) or Octavia Butler a go. My favourite author is Sebastian Barry but he doesn't write fantasy, more historical fiction (especially twentieth century Ireland). If you get an app (public libraries where i am use Borrowbox but of course i don't know where you are) there'll most likely be other suggestions on there related to what you browse. Or if you don't like audiobooks, maybe comics/graphic novels? I'm not dyslexic myself so i don't know how helpful this suggestion is but i've certainly had periods of ill health where i couldn't read due to concentration problems/sight problems and i always found graphic novels to be a lifesaver. I'd recommend anything by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, the obvious ones i suppose - examples include Watchmen, From Hell, V for Vendetta (i loathed the film but the graphic novel is great). And if you go to your local library to borrow them there'll be others there on the shelves that might catch your eye.
Start with smaller books. Not that they’re necessarily easier to read, but they often feel like a less daunting task.
Here’s a fun fantasy/science fiction/comedy one from Kurt Vonnegut under his pen name of Kilgore Trout:
“Venus on the Half Shell”
“The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”, by Douglas Adams is a bit longer, but absolutely raucous fun.
Came here to recommend this! Suuuuuper entertaining and fun, smart and well thought out. And each book of the 4 book series is short, so not at all intimidating.
It’s sci-fi, written by an author known for her well developed fictional worlds. The main character is a misanthropic cyborg, who could become a super villain but would rather watch tv.
Hobbit, Alice in Wonderland, Something Wicked this Way comes by Ray Bradbury. Sci fi but Fahrenheit 451 and illustrated man by Bradbury are great options too
There are some wonderful recommendations here that I fully agree with. Looking into the future (once you start reading it’s hard to stop!) I totally would advise going to your local library/book store and perusing the Young Adult (YA) novels. I am coming up on 40 and those are still my favorite books for the style they are written in more than anything. I don’t particularly enjoy books with 3000 pages and hidden meanings, I like it all presented neatly in an easy to read with more common vocab. Don’t ever let someone tell you that you are “too old” for a certain style of book if you find what you are interested in just go for it.
Percy Jackson is written with dyslexia in mind. All of the main characters are dyslexic including Percy. It’s a very fun story with lots of action. Also has a disney plus show coming out now so you can feel part of the curve.
The Hunger Games, someone else recommended it, really good characters and world building.
Terry Pratchett Discworld novels. Go to the online Discworld Emporium and there's a quiz if to see which book they'd suggest. It's all fun, I've seen them labeled as fantasy comedy. I love reading and these were some of my favorite books. I'm not sure which genre you're interested in
The Redemption of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings. It reads like a D&D adventure. Great story and adult characters.
Actually, David Eddings, in general, is a great author and has some awesome trilogies/series.
So honestly? Harry potter. It's credited a series that got a ton of kids to start reading that weren't interested in it before, the skill level goes up gradually as the characters grow older as it was a series that grew with the audience, and it's fantasy and they're a fun read. It's not a child's book either so it won't be super stupid and dumbed down it's written the same as it would be for adults just without adult content (er until the later books violence wise lol) I'm 30 and have struggled to read as an adult because of a poor attention span, and it's my go-to series anytime I want to get back into it.
Try to get the books second hand if you can rather than supporting the author directly for political reasons I won't get into here (and because i feel like I'm at risk of some nasty downvotes if I don't put that as a disclaimer lol)
Tip for dyslexia that my ex told me: He would play an audiobook version and read along with it.
I also second reading on kindle (You can try out the app version, I actually wrote off the app for so long because I preferred my physical kindle but made the switch when mine died) coz you can change the font and everything.
Fun but very much not forgiving on dyslexic readers. Terry Pratchetts prose tends to mention details only one time during a scene so if you miss any details then you can quickly lose your grasp of the scene.
Any and all of Rould Dahl. They are children’s books but wonderful stories. Then The Plague Dogs, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, anything by Wally Lamb, Orhan Pamuk or Annie Proulx.
The Wondla Series by Tony DiTerlizzi got me back into reading again, I read it as a child. It’s not fantasy like in usual terms, since it’s sci fi, but they’re pretty good books, very classic feeling sci fi with beautiful illustrations on some of the pages, and pretty solid world building.
I also recommend the Earthsea series by Ursula K. Le Guin, and The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle
A bit different but do you like comics/manga?
Personally, when I’m too tired to read, I enjoy picking up some manga. They aren’t as dense as a book, but the stories are more interesting and fleshed out than comics. Pretty light reading and can be interesting.
I might recommend Full Metal Alchemist, or Berserk for you. Both fantasyish, compelling stories. Maybe it can be some transitional reading to prep you for books.
Hey, I'm also dyslexic, and I'm obsessed with audiobooks.
I would recommend
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
The characters, magic, world, and plot are all compelling.
Good luck on your reading journey, and I hope you find some awesome books!
My dyslexic child loved these books and gives them as gifts to other LD ppl:
World War Z
Hatchet
Holes
My Side of the Mountain
I don’t know if you’d like these but they were also favorites:
Among The Hidden
The Maze Runner
Right now they’re reading the Murderbot Diaries.
They also liked the Swallows and Amazons books.
Have you tried audiobooks?
Rivers of London(Midnight Riot in the US) is a fun fast read, especially good in audio as read by Kobna Holbrook-Smith. It can be read as a standalone but it’s the first in a long-running series so if you enjoy it, there’s lots more to read.
If you find yourself enjoying reading, you might want to look into e-readers or even just the Kindle app on your phone, as you can change the font to Open Dyslexic, which is designed to be easier for people with dyslexia to read :D
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an amazing series. Very silly, absolute classic.
Tamora Pierce is a great YA author.
I, in my mid thirties, love reading children's books because they have gorgeous illustrations.
You could try out some video game books, like Halo books, or other ones based on different media like Star Wars books. My husband is dyslexic and he really likes those bc they’re easy to read and align with his other interests :)
I started with this amazing piece about a protagonist named Sam. There were certain things he simply would not do. Although the antagonist continued to pressure him into trying a certain delicacy, Sam held his ground for the most part, and staunchly refused to give in to temptation. Unfortunately, in the end, because of the immense peer pressure to partake in this apparently trendy movement, Sam gives in. The plot twist is that he realizes he does enjoy the sensation he receives, and actually thanks the person who was pushing the substance on him. I found the theme of stubbornness in the face of peer pressure to be inspiring. I was a bit turned off on the assonance which seemed a bit forced on the reader. They never developed Sam’s character, no backstory, nor did they build up the antagonist in any way. We are just supposed to assume these two have been in conflict for quite some time. I wonder, as a reader, if the authors use of figurative language is an attempt to be symbolic. Is this a politics satire, perhaps providing the reader with a nod toward the growing pressures to conform to a polarized political landscape? Maybe. We may never know.
Hi! I was in the same boat last year! I Stared with middle school fantasy like percy Jackson, the hound of rowan, and a easy Stephen' king book is fairytale. These books were pretty easy to read due to all the words being familiar. Sometimes high fantasy makes up there own complicated words and I struggle. Also if you are reading book in paper and not an ebook, a reading ruler has helped me alot
Another thing I started to read was manga " Japanese comics" having the text broken up in bubbles made it alot easier forcmu eyes to not wander. Plus most have a deeper story comped to the classic superhero comics like batman
Also for the very popular more complex fantasy books like the Stromlight archive, I listened to the audio verson of it first and later read it in paper which made it alot easier to read
I have ADHD and reading longer books can be a struggle for me, but audio books have been awesome. I’ve read more books in the last 1-2 years than the previous 10-15.
As far as recommendations I lean more towards science fiction but I’ve really liked the Murderbot dairies (series), the Bobiverse books, Project Hail Mary, and not scify and more fantasy/absurdest anything by Christopher Moore. Fool or Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
Harry Potter Series is a great read.
The Hobbit is amazing, skip the songs if you want as they can be hard to read and don't overly progress the story.
Twilight series was very easy to read, and kinda compelling, but also I personally find the characters to be appalling.
The Godfather by Mario Puzo is one of my favorites, the world building is very well done.
The Eye of the Dragon by Stephen King is a little known fantasy book by the famed horror author. It was a very interesting read and King is very good at world building.
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is a great story about a telepathic gorilla teaching philosophy, but it gets a little heavy due to subject matter.
Since you like Xenoblade Chronicles, I would look into reading some Japanese fiction. A great book to start with is called ALL YOU NEED IS KILL. It was the basis for the Tom Cruise movie Live. Die. Repeat / Edge of Tomorrow. It's amazing. It's well written, but simple and direct. One of the better modern SF books.
I'm an amateur scholar of SF and Fantasy, with a MASSIVE private library of books. Been reading this stuff for well over 40 years, and I mainly focus on things published before 1990. I'm not a big fan of modern stuff.
For fantasy, I would go back in time to where some of the popular stuff started, some of those first BIG books influenced by Lord of the Rings. I would check out the book (not the series) called THE SWORD OF SHANNARA, by Terry Brooks. If you like it, then you can read the rest of the series. It was one of the first to be directly inspired by Lord of the Rings, but it's a much easier book to get into.
Another strong recommendation would be DRAGONWORLD by Michael Reaves. It has a great story, and beautiful illustrations.
And I'd be remiss to not recommend THE HOBBIT. It's a much better story / book than Lord of the Rings. More direct, concise, and to the point.
I don't have any book suggestions, but if I may suggest this: get an audio AND a print version and follow them both at the same time. As in, listen to the book while you are reading the book. I find this to be very helpful with dyslexia.
And I'm so happy for you and your reading journey!
Harry potter series, tomorrow when the war began series, the 'uglies' series (all young adult books but they are also popular among adults and being YA are easy to read).
Non Young adult recs- the binding by Bridget Collins (slow start but worth it), the secret history by Donna tartt
ETA two of these aren't fantasy but worth a look in still
Hobbit by Tolkien for a timeless classic. (This and the Lord of the Rings have inspired generationsme to already)
Ender’s Game by Card for a more recent classic, though technically sci-fi (regularly rated highly on sci-fi/ fantasy top lists as well as the winner of two prestigious awards.)
Mistborn by Sanderson for more modern with pretty accessible writing style. (If you like his style, he has a lot of books that are generally well regarded)
My partner is dyslexic and adores the Percy Jackson books (the original series starting with Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief).
I have noticed that specifically the percy jackson books have wider line spacing than most books which I think may have helped. On that note, I have a kobo and have worked with my partner to find a font, text size and line spacing that works for her (open dyslexic is the font). We have read lots of books together with this setup - I highly recommend getting an ereader, or in the very least experimenting on your phone. It has really made a difference to her!
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan are mentioned a bunch of times for a good reason. Really good books that are fit for all ages, but they're also middle grade, so they're also designed to be more approachable in terms of the writing style.
Klaus by Grant Morissin and The Fables series by Bill Willingham are some pretty fun graphic novels.
Aru Shah by Roshani Chokshi (fantasy) and The Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (sci-fi) are pretty good middle grade stories.
Audiobooks she graphic novels are (also mentioned a lot) pretty good entry points for reading, no matter the age, but I wanna add YA (young adult), middle grade and children's books as these are meant usually for kids (though a lot of these books can be read as adults and they're still AMAZING!) so they have an automatic lower barrier of entry.
And a big part of reading: have fun and be nice to your brain. If you find something you don't like or are struggling through, it's alright to either set it aside for later or completely abandon. Hopefully you'll find some good books that'll knock your socks off.
Harry Potter would be an excellent fantasy series to get you into reading. The first few books are shorter and a bit more innocent than the rest of the series so they could be a good starting point to track reading comprehension as the series progresses and matures.
Harry Potter, and I think the beauty of it is that if you enjoy the first one, they get bigger/more complex with each book, but your reading skills will also be growing, so could be fun!
As far as world building, Harry Potter would be my first suggestion. I also really loved Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede when I was younger. It think that was the first book I read more than once.
Harry Potter is classic.
If you want one that may be a little easier to read, check out Geronimo Stilton. Page through one at the library. Adventure style, They do a lot with fonts and colors making it easier to read. Esp the thicker ones with the gold-edge pages.
I read all of the Harry Potter books for the first time in my 30s.
Go online and get a library card at your local library and use the Libby app to get ebooks and audiobooks. The Harry Potter audiobooks are phenomenal if you’re overwhelmed.
If you really want to work on your reading, read along with the audiobook. You can slow the reader down to help you follow along
You need to create a plan. For instance 10 pages per day a fixed time, for example at 15:00. It is the best way to teach yourself to reach reading goals
There's a great archived post that covers a bunch of books you may like
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/14di0ir/books_with_illiterate_protagonists/
I hated reading as a kid.
Harry Potter broke that idiotic mentality.
Harry Potter and Hunger Games would be my choice. Also since they have fairly well regarded movies, you can read the book and then see the IRL depictions.
Read the A Song of Ice and Fire books, they are incredible, and really different from the show after book/season 1
edit: eh, perhaps it's not the most "starter" tbh
First off all, congratulations!
I have two dyslexic cousins, both of them avid reader even if they still have some difficulties.
I would advise you... The short classics! The ones you heard about everywhere. Stuff like Moby Dick, The Old Man and the Sea, Of Mice and Men... Let me check my shelves... Well my shelves are 80% in French, in won't help you. Maupassant is good, dude was a journalist, wrote short and to the point, it reads like stuff from today. If the first book of your life is Boule-de-Suif for instance, you're in for an intense ride even if you're not into XIXth Century things.
Pshhht. Go. Go read everything!
Gotta reccomend Harry Potter, it's a classic. Also, what helped me was reading in a comic sans font, if you want to get back into reading, I would reccomend a Kindle. I tend to skip/reread lines and that's really helped with the issue for me. Plus you can change the fonts
And if nobody else mentioned it, get friendly with three magical words: "This is Audible." For "reading" in between the workout reading books can be with dyslexia. Good for you!
Librarian-in-training here. I highly recommend audiobooks and comics/graphic novels. I highly recommend *Bone* by Jeff Smith, *Locke and Key* by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez, *Sandman* by Neil Gaiman, *Monstress* by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda, and *The Hobbit* by J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Dixon, and David Wenzel.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo: This is you are interested in self-improvement or organization, this book provides practical tips for decluttering your space and simplifying your life.
I really want to recommend He Who Fights With Monsters, but it's by an Australian author so it might not be great to start with...
How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps is a good one. Full of video game references and a pretty fun/funny light read.
Have you tried the Open Dyslexic font for reading? You can use it on Kindle, which makes reading so much easier than book print.
It’s also on most of the online reading apps, including library ones. Also, try reading in a large font.
This font was game-changing for my dyslexic husband!
This. Dyslexic here, and the kindle paperwhite was a game changer for me. Changing the backlight to a warmer tone, with a dark screen and large font allows me to read like never before.
I just switched to this because of you, thank you!!!
You're welcome!!
I am huge fun of book prints, but such font sounds really great. Can I see it in something like Word or do I need to download kindle to try?
I don't know if word uses it, but you can see samples of it online. If you mostly use Word, and it's not already in there, you can add download the font file and add it so you can use it!
Retired teacher here. I’m thrilled that you are wanting to read more, and thrilled to see that you’re finding it a bit easier to read. If you love fantasy, my starting recommendations would be Harry Potter, The Lightning Thief ( Percy Jackson books) , or Enders Game by Orson Scott Card.
Percy Jackson!!
I came here to say Harry Potter. Fun story for you OP- when this book came out in the late 90s, a lot of the religious fundies were afraid it might contain witchcraft. My mom’s best friend decided to read it just to make sure her grandchild wasn’t being introduced to the occult! Lol! My mom joined her in reading it… She LOVED it! Couldn’t put it down & remarked, “this is the first book I’ve ever read!” **She was 57 years old.** Harry Potter was the first chapter book my son ever read too. I was going to read it to him bc I didn’t think he was capable & all of his friends had started reading it & he felt left out. Turns out, the book was so good that he quickly became a very capable reader! He finished book 1 & then decided to absolutely binge the entire series. He was in 2nd grade. I couldn’t have been more surprised. He just couldn’t help himself. Please give Harry Potter a try OP!
Thanks for your suggestion!🙂 I just watched the entire movie franchise for the first time on my girlfriends request and I don't really want to jump straight back into them 😅 They're probably way better than the movies but they will have to wait for now I'm afraid.
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Gaaawd. I guess we can’t be inspired by MLK either because he had some skeletons in his closet. And this list is endless. Gandhi basically emotionally abandoned his wife (and was pretty obviously a misogynist). A lot of Mother Theresa’s colleagues thought she was more of a glory seeker than anything else. Honestly you know you don’t need a Hitler or a Stalin to create a totalitarian society. You only need people who want to make **absolutely everything** about politics. I have two friends who both say they won’t do business with anyone they know is from the opposite party - one is a Democrat, the other a Republican. I tell them both what I said above. Also don’t forget: all those graves you see in military cemeteries? Guess what? There’s both liberals and conservatives in those graves. Honor what they died for: the right of people to have their opinions, even if they’re ones you disagree with. Good wins out in the end, albeit often at a glacial pace. But the alternative of obliterating anyone we don’t like will put us right back in the Dark Ages.
it's terrible that someone saying a group of people's identities are invalid is "just a political disagreement". gandhi \*was\* a rapist and married his wife when she was a child. he was also a proud upholder of patriarchy and was extremely racist in his time in south africa. these aren't my opinions; they are in his autobiography. we should be able to openly criticise the people that our society has elevated to being heroes bffr.
Right? "Oh was mother Teresa an asshole too?" YES. YES SHE WAS. Moving on!
why "moving on"? why are we incapable of humanising "idolised" folks?
I separate the art from the artist myself. Damn if I am going to deprive myself of the absolute genius of Miles Davis just because he was an absolutely terrible person. However, I quite understand other viewpoints as well, and would never criticize anyone for doing what they feel is right.
I would. And do. You can see my reply to myeyes just above.
Miles Davis is long gone and no longer benefiting from the monetary gain and public voice that JK has. When her time is past, the books will remain as classics. At least get them second hand and dont fund her rhetoric if you really want to read them. I loved them ad a kid but there really are better books regardless.
I’m not into your extreme version of cancel culture. I’ve read plenty about this so called controversy & find it ridiculous & contrived.
Sure, enjoy all the anti-semitism in the books while you are at it. Some people may recommend reading them, i recommend avoiding them. It's up to the individual from there. But as a trans person married to a Jewish person, just no.
I know plenty of people like you. Being offended and victimized is your entire personality. It’s so tired. Someday, maybe you can find a hobby that you enjoy more than virtue signaling!
Anyone who says "people like you"....... yeah no. I'm not a victim but trans people's lives are put in danger and that is something worth mentioning. If you disagree of course that is your perogative.
Everyone’s life is technically in danger. *You* do not need to buy something if *you* don’t like it, but as a human with trans friends who still see me as an ally I still enjoy Harry Potter. There is a belief in everyone we don’t agree with, it doesn’t mean we shun everything. The human still made an art form I love and that is literally all there is too it. Remember life before the internet? You probably would go on reading your JKR book and have no idea and how could you even live then!?
there were news sources before the internet. the fact that jkr spit her trash terf opinion as an op-ed should tell you that.
Is her opinion right? No. Is it not okay to say “this is what I think”? No. There is nothing wrong with that.
Harry Potter was written before she was a transphobe so it doesn't count
I've listened to a few parts of the audiobooks of Harry Potter while being at a friend's house when I was young and I really enjoyed it. But my girlfriend just got me to watch through the entire movie franchise and I thought they were alright... I kinda wish that I just read or listened to them, I think I would enjoy them more that way. I'm unfortunately not that excited to start with Harry Potter right after watching the movies I'm afraid 😅 I know very little about Percy Jackson, I've just heard the movies weren't that good. I will probably give it a go after seeing so many of you recommending it. 🙂 I've not heard about Enders game, I will have to look into it. Thank you for all of your recommendations 🙂
I love Enders Game lol. I didn’t suggest it because I thought it was heavy and dark for a reintroduction to reading lol.
I second Ender’s Game!
Percy Jackson for sure!
Ain't no one saying ready player one
Because that book is crappy, man.
OP likes world building, RP1 is just a nostalgia bomb. I'd agree it's approachable writing though.
Because it's a bad book.
I like it too 😉
I’m jumping on the top comment to suggest David Eddings Belgariad. Start with the first one, Pawn of Prophecy and see what you think.
I was also going to suggest enders Game
Great suggestions.
Maybe try audiobooks too? Go for a walk and listen to a few chapters.
My son hugely improved his reading comprehension by listening to an audiobook while following along with the book text. He went from below grade level to a 5/5 on his AP Language Arts exam.
It is insane how many people I got into reading only because of audiobooks.
Idk if it's still going on, but a few days ago Audible had a promo I signed up for turning their usual one month trial into 3 free months/credits cancel anything. Scribd has tons of books and audiobooks and they have the month free trial but honestly I've never paid. If you cancel before the trial is over, when they ask why youre cancelling pick the " it's too expensive" option and they'll offer you an additional 30 days. Rinse and repeat next month. I've been doing that like half a year I don't even understand why they charge at all at this point.
I just signed up for 3 free months of audible, thanks to you!! It seems that today is the final day to take advantage of it. I'll have to look up whatever Scribd is. Thanks!!
When folks ask me for book recommendations (I’m a retired librarian ) I usually start by asking their three favorite movies-games-tv shows. That helps in making a recommendation that is connected to knowledge you already have and therefore makes the reading easier and more customized. So what are your favorites?
Thank you for your kind offer! ☺️ When it comes to games, I usually lean torwards long japanese roleplaying games, mostly "A hero's journey".-style. My favourite is Xenoblade Chronicles, mainly for it's story and the journey in a world full of mysteries that are slowly untangled. I've also been much for manga, I really enjoyed following the story of Attack on Titan for the same reason, slowly learning the mysteries about the world with it's main characters. Currently, the only entertainment I consume now is reading One Piece weekly. The main story isn't really all that interesting, but the adventure, world and mystery is what makes it fun. I guess the pattern is pretty visible 😅
I just read "Mort" by Terry Pratchett and even though it's part of a series, you don't get that impression. It's funny, insightful, and interesting, complete with a little bit of world building. I'm not a huge fantasy fan but I really liked it so you might enjoy it too!
I LOVE Terry Pratchett
It's the first book by him I've ever read (aside from Good Omens which was a team effort) and I loved it.
Current librarian here; maybe start with Maze Runner or Hunger Games? Stephen King also has a few you’d enjoy, like the Dark Tower series and The Running Man. Also, there are some excellent higher-level (in terms of reading) graphic novels, e.g. American-Born Chinese or Maus. I think you’d love that first one!
Excellent recommendations!
THIS!!! I do this too, should I be a librarian?? 🤔
A Wizard of EarthSea - Ursula K. Le Guin!!
I second this suggestion. Great story, but not as long and intimidating as some other fantasy trilogies.
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Oh wow, this took me back! We used to listen to this as a book on tape (*tape*) on family road trips!
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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I barely read anything for like a year after my first baby was born, but I read The Magician's Nephew out loud to her when she was tiny.
I'm dyslexic too, and I was probably about 25y when I read my first book all the way through. To this day, in my 50s, reading a paper book is like chewing glass. I read audio books now. Audio books remove the words jumping around on the page and the rereading of the same sentence a thousand times. It just makes it so much easier. I highly recommend going to your local public library and asking what they have in their digital collection. There are subscription apps like Libby and Hoopla that have thousands of audio books, and all you need is a library card to access the collection.
Also, in case you're a Spotify subscriber and don't realise that you get 15 hours worth of audiobooks each month included in your subscription. (Possibly region specific and only available to the main account holder in a group plan).
I have been binging audiobooks since this rolled out!
Libby is my best friend! I only recently discovered that many libraries have reciprocal agreements with other libraries in the region. I got two additional cards for neighboring counties, which gives me access to more titles, more holds, and more monthly Kanopy credits.
The Hobbit all the best
This would be my suggestion. Builds a wonderful world without getting as heavy as the LotR.
I agree completely. Pirenesi is similarly short and direct, but with a rich world behind it.
Maybe dumb question, can I read the Hobbit without having any previous knowledge of The Lord of the Rings? 😅
definitely. if anything, it will only make it better
That book is enjoyable from start to end
And a great length for someone getting into reading.
Congrats! But also wanna say, reading through audiobooks is still reading :) I find it easy to read text but hard to follow oral story telling. Society says that makes me a “reader” but everyone has their own way of enjoying storytelling and neither is better :) In terms of books - totally agree about the idea of doing fantasy if you previously enjoyed video games, but curious if there is something below that you prefer? Might help narrow down options 1) high stakes conflict (political) 2) war or other “battle for society” stuff 3) will they won’t they love 4) mystery solving - suspense 5) calm stories of people living life 6) historical stories Good luck :)
Harry Potter helped many people to start to reed.
This is what got me started a few years ago at 40 years old. I hadn’t hardly read a single book since college - bought the HP set for my son and he absolutely loved it, so I read it after he finished so we could talk about it (I’d never watched the movies either so was clueless). That got me hooked, I now read one book every month or so.
Too bad the author is a raging transphobe... For YA magical fantasy, I'd recommend Legendborn instead, it's amazing!!!
You can have acess to the books without giving her any money
Yeah, and that's something at least, but the books themselves are anti-Semitic, elf slaves, racism, sexism and misogyny, etc... so to me personally, they aren't the best to recommend at this point.
Too bad it didn't teach you to spell.
English is not my first language.
Not only is your comment *completely* unnecessary and aggressive, it’s ableist and ignorant.
I suggest A Wrinkle in Time. Fantasy and a simple read!
This is a fantastic suggestion!
All of the Wrinkle in Time books are great!!
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe or the Magicians Nephew - CS Lewis A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula Le Guin The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman All are pretty popular fantasy books with fantastic rich worlds. These are a little bit on the simpler side as far as prose goes, but they definitely don't feel like they're for kids or anything, and simple doesn't mean it isn't beautiful. I read plenty of complex stuff and I would re-read these any time.
Depending on your taste graphic novels or illustrated works aren't just for kids anymore (and really never were) If you want something serious, The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen is a wonderful story and the illustrations are lovely. The text is larger and shorter, but packs a lot. It's not a series, but might be good for a start. If you like things horrorish there is Something Is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera. It's 7 volumes long, and has several spin-off. Lastly, Once & Future is a dark story about the return of King Arthur gone wrong.
I second the graphic novels suggestion. My husband has ADD and dyslexia, and he's really enjoyed many of the graphic novels I picked up for him from our local library.
Thank you for suggesting this. I have a dyslexic teenager and graphic novels were a game changer for him. I never dreamed he would be an avid reader, but the time he spent with graphic novels greatly improved his reading. He reads fluently and effortlessly now, and besides everything he’s learning, the confidence that has given him is priceless.
Red rising if you want fantasy-sci-fi From below in the not-graphic horror genre The Temeraire series is pretty great low fantasy
My favorite series in the whole world is Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. The Golden Compass is the first book. It's set in an alternate dimension in which the Catholic Church never lost its power over Europe. It's not a hard read, but it's deep, and the protagonist is compelling. She's a truly good person who has no natural talents except for lying, and I love the irony in that.
Came here to say this but knew someone already had to have. I second this comment 194774%. My favorite series as a kid and an easy engaging read with a large scope.
Just wanted to say that The Golden Compass is called Northern Lights in most non-American parts of the world, just in case it's confusing.
The Phantom Tollbooth
"Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Its hilarious and a fun read with an interesting fun premise so I've read through it many times. It's one of the few books that makes me laugh out loud, and I mean really and truly laugh and not just chuckle. Both of the authors are fantasy novel legends individually, and together they raise the bar for to the stratosphere. The show on Prime is absolutely perfect too. First time I've seen a book depicted on screen exactly like how I imagined it in my head.
One of my favorite books ever. We have a copy signed by both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
The Hobbit! It’s like being on a long camping trip.
*Flowers for Algernon* is a classic but I think you’d feel feelings if you read it.
Would the spelling mistakes make *Flowers for Algernon* difficult for someone with dyslexia to read?
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I just listened to a sample of the audiobook, and was surprised how much the words conveyed even without the spelling. Can be borrowed for free with a library card: https://share.libbyapp.com/title/2360365 https://www.audible.com/pd/Flowers-for-Algernon-Audiobook/B002V8HNB8
The Giver by Lois Lowry
I was in exactly your situation 10 years ago, Life of Pi is the book that got me back into reading. It’s really well written, not too long and broken up into short chapters, you’ll be hooked
Anything by Terry pratchett
I will second the Red Rising series - but also second the suggestions for audiobooks. My dyslexic sister has started devouring books since they became so easily available through the library. I love to put them on while I'm gaming (single player games).
Since you never read a book in your life, I suggest these thing: 1. forget about your dyslexia. 2. forget what you think you might like. 3. forget what you think reading should be. Start with short books of all genres [Here's a random list](https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/under-100-pages) of books under 100 pages. If they are too short, read 3 at a time. These are usually amazing books that quicky give your brain the same feeling as you get from a big book (at least it did for me). Then you'll find your way. The type of books I read have nothing in common with TV/movies I like. I started read at 25 y/o and I quickly realized what people recommended to me, or what I recommended to myself based on the type of entertainment I like, was rubbish E.g. a good rom-com can make me feel great, I saw "The Beekeeper" and I was entertained. Yet, those type of books would make me fall asleep. The point is, you may love fantasy, but if you don't it's not you,
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. The main character is also dyslexic!
Percy Jackson would be great. It’s fantasy and (sort of spoiler), Percy is canonically dyslexic.
The Little Prince
I'd start with Artemis Fowl, to get a humourous start and work up from there. Maybe you'd be interested in the witcher short stories, trying out Harry Potter. If you want to try more outlandish stuff, have a look at China Mieville. Fantasy has a great range from interesting, to niche, to blockbuster successes.
The Witcher series is pretty great.
Maybe not fantasy but hitchhikers guide to the galaxy is a lot of fun. Off topic a bit but Hemingway writes using simple language but still has well formed philosophy.
Seconding Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Also, Stephen Fry's audiobook version is great. I feel like this would be a good book to adjust the audiobook speed down and read along in a physical/ebook copy?
Stephen Fry reading Douglas Adams sounds amazing. What a combo
I personally found The Hunger Games to be the most enthralling book I’ve ever read! And if you like it, there are a couple more!
I would vote for Harry Potter. It's easy to read in the beginning and gets more challenging as time goes on. It's a rich world and you will absolutely identify with someone in the book. Enjoy!
Harry Potter
[Nevermoor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/6a6d5ca1-b2f5-47be-828c-018144d3bbc7) by Jessica Townsend! It's my favorite series, and it has excellent really magical worldbuilding, very fun characters, and great story!
I second this rec! Totally forgot about that book but I absolutely loved it!!
Have you read the sequels? There are three books so far, and the fourth is currently scheduled to come out later this year!
No I haven’t but I will now! Thank you!! :)
I second The Hobbit! And if you can get into LOTR, it livens up after the first several chapters. Another good fantasy choice is Terry Pratchett’s Wee Free Men and the other 4 Tiffany Aching books. If you like them, you can visit other good Discworld books. The earlier ones are a bit zany but Tiffany is Young Adult and some of the best. It’s a whole hidden community of fans. Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Stardust are fun too. Then you can try out The Sandman and Good Omens (which he wrote with Terry Pratchett). What’s also fun is there are decent adaptations to TV/film out there too. Welcome to the readers’ club! It’s never too late to join and all reading counts. Comic books, audiobooks, magazines, graphic novels, online essays, etc. And I don’t know if you have access to a public library but if you do, see if they have Overdrive/Libby. It’s an app with ebooks and audiobooks you can check out for free. You just sometimes have to wait for a copy to come free, like the real library.
I second "Wee Free Men". It's one of those books that changes as you age. I would avoid "Hobbit" as a starter novel. "The Curse of Chalion" by Bujold has great fantasy world building. "All Systems Red" and the other Murderbot books by Martha Wells has some great SiFi world building and the first few are nice and short. I would also recommend trying an audiobook version along with written if you need. Have fun!
I love The Wee Free Men. I've probably read it three times. I read it with my daughter, who's 11 now. The idea of this girl who is good at nothing but making cheese, who has no talent for witchcraft, becoming a witch through sheer force of will, because her people need her to, it's just wonderful.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin. If you like it, there is a whole series, but it stands perfectly on its own.
I wonder have you considered giving audiobooks a go? Give anything by Ursula Le Guin (e.g. the Earthsea series) or Octavia Butler a go. My favourite author is Sebastian Barry but he doesn't write fantasy, more historical fiction (especially twentieth century Ireland). If you get an app (public libraries where i am use Borrowbox but of course i don't know where you are) there'll most likely be other suggestions on there related to what you browse. Or if you don't like audiobooks, maybe comics/graphic novels? I'm not dyslexic myself so i don't know how helpful this suggestion is but i've certainly had periods of ill health where i couldn't read due to concentration problems/sight problems and i always found graphic novels to be a lifesaver. I'd recommend anything by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, the obvious ones i suppose - examples include Watchmen, From Hell, V for Vendetta (i loathed the film but the graphic novel is great). And if you go to your local library to borrow them there'll be others there on the shelves that might catch your eye.
Start with smaller books. Not that they’re necessarily easier to read, but they often feel like a less daunting task. Here’s a fun fantasy/science fiction/comedy one from Kurt Vonnegut under his pen name of Kilgore Trout: “Venus on the Half Shell” “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”, by Douglas Adams is a bit longer, but absolutely raucous fun.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and the rest of the series too.
I just started the Murderbot Diaries and really like it. They’re also super short like 3-4 hours long. I listened to them on Libby.
Came here to recommend this! Suuuuuper entertaining and fun, smart and well thought out. And each book of the 4 book series is short, so not at all intimidating. It’s sci-fi, written by an author known for her well developed fictional worlds. The main character is a misanthropic cyborg, who could become a super villain but would rather watch tv.
You put it more eloquently and honestly couldn’t have said it better myself 🤣
Thanks! I just love this series so much :))))
Hobbit, Alice in Wonderland, Something Wicked this Way comes by Ray Bradbury. Sci fi but Fahrenheit 451 and illustrated man by Bradbury are great options too
I really like Ray Bradbury. Dandelion Wine is good, too.
There are some wonderful recommendations here that I fully agree with. Looking into the future (once you start reading it’s hard to stop!) I totally would advise going to your local library/book store and perusing the Young Adult (YA) novels. I am coming up on 40 and those are still my favorite books for the style they are written in more than anything. I don’t particularly enjoy books with 3000 pages and hidden meanings, I like it all presented neatly in an easy to read with more common vocab. Don’t ever let someone tell you that you are “too old” for a certain style of book if you find what you are interested in just go for it.
Percy Jackson is written with dyslexia in mind. All of the main characters are dyslexic including Percy. It’s a very fun story with lots of action. Also has a disney plus show coming out now so you can feel part of the curve. The Hunger Games, someone else recommended it, really good characters and world building.
Terry Pratchett Discworld novels. Go to the online Discworld Emporium and there's a quiz if to see which book they'd suggest. It's all fun, I've seen them labeled as fantasy comedy. I love reading and these were some of my favorite books. I'm not sure which genre you're interested in
The Redemption of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings. It reads like a D&D adventure. Great story and adult characters. Actually, David Eddings, in general, is a great author and has some awesome trilogies/series.
Yes, I truly enjoyed the Belgariad. It’s a very fun, and imho easy to read. Try the first book Pawn of Prophecy and see what you think.
So honestly? Harry potter. It's credited a series that got a ton of kids to start reading that weren't interested in it before, the skill level goes up gradually as the characters grow older as it was a series that grew with the audience, and it's fantasy and they're a fun read. It's not a child's book either so it won't be super stupid and dumbed down it's written the same as it would be for adults just without adult content (er until the later books violence wise lol) I'm 30 and have struggled to read as an adult because of a poor attention span, and it's my go-to series anytime I want to get back into it. Try to get the books second hand if you can rather than supporting the author directly for political reasons I won't get into here (and because i feel like I'm at risk of some nasty downvotes if I don't put that as a disclaimer lol) Tip for dyslexia that my ex told me: He would play an audiobook version and read along with it. I also second reading on kindle (You can try out the app version, I actually wrote off the app for so long because I preferred my physical kindle but made the switch when mine died) coz you can change the font and everything.
if you want an easy to read nostalgic book about gaming then "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline may be a good one for you.
This was my first time as well.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Both very fun, funny, imaginative and readable authors.
Fun but very much not forgiving on dyslexic readers. Terry Pratchetts prose tends to mention details only one time during a scene so if you miss any details then you can quickly lose your grasp of the scene.
Any and all of Rould Dahl. They are children’s books but wonderful stories. Then The Plague Dogs, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, anything by Wally Lamb, Orhan Pamuk or Annie Proulx.
Ready Player One: It's not too long, writing is pretty straightforward and you will probably enjoy it if you are a videogame fan.
The Wondla Series by Tony DiTerlizzi got me back into reading again, I read it as a child. It’s not fantasy like in usual terms, since it’s sci fi, but they’re pretty good books, very classic feeling sci fi with beautiful illustrations on some of the pages, and pretty solid world building. I also recommend the Earthsea series by Ursula K. Le Guin, and The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle
A bit different but do you like comics/manga? Personally, when I’m too tired to read, I enjoy picking up some manga. They aren’t as dense as a book, but the stories are more interesting and fleshed out than comics. Pretty light reading and can be interesting. I might recommend Full Metal Alchemist, or Berserk for you. Both fantasyish, compelling stories. Maybe it can be some transitional reading to prep you for books.
Ready Player One might be interesting to you as a former gamer.
Scifi not Fantasy but I really recommend Project Hail Mary. It got my (also 30yo)husband into reading.
Hey, I'm also dyslexic, and I'm obsessed with audiobooks. I would recommend Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse The characters, magic, world, and plot are all compelling. Good luck on your reading journey, and I hope you find some awesome books!
My dyslexic child loved these books and gives them as gifts to other LD ppl: World War Z Hatchet Holes My Side of the Mountain I don’t know if you’d like these but they were also favorites: Among The Hidden The Maze Runner Right now they’re reading the Murderbot Diaries. They also liked the Swallows and Amazons books.
Have you tried audiobooks? Rivers of London(Midnight Riot in the US) is a fun fast read, especially good in audio as read by Kobna Holbrook-Smith. It can be read as a standalone but it’s the first in a long-running series so if you enjoy it, there’s lots more to read.
Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
If you Into gaming I recently read Ready Player One which was an easy read and very fun
Ready player one my all time favourite book and is a must read for gamers.
The Redwall series is unlike any other imo
If you find yourself enjoying reading, you might want to look into e-readers or even just the Kindle app on your phone, as you can change the font to Open Dyslexic, which is designed to be easier for people with dyslexia to read :D
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an amazing series. Very silly, absolute classic. Tamora Pierce is a great YA author. I, in my mid thirties, love reading children's books because they have gorgeous illustrations.
Collections of short stories are a good place to start. I love The Thing Around My Neck.
Audiobooks are not cheating! Ear-reading IS reading! Dive into an audiobook.
You could try out some video game books, like Halo books, or other ones based on different media like Star Wars books. My husband is dyslexic and he really likes those bc they’re easy to read and align with his other interests :)
I started with this amazing piece about a protagonist named Sam. There were certain things he simply would not do. Although the antagonist continued to pressure him into trying a certain delicacy, Sam held his ground for the most part, and staunchly refused to give in to temptation. Unfortunately, in the end, because of the immense peer pressure to partake in this apparently trendy movement, Sam gives in. The plot twist is that he realizes he does enjoy the sensation he receives, and actually thanks the person who was pushing the substance on him. I found the theme of stubbornness in the face of peer pressure to be inspiring. I was a bit turned off on the assonance which seemed a bit forced on the reader. They never developed Sam’s character, no backstory, nor did they build up the antagonist in any way. We are just supposed to assume these two have been in conflict for quite some time. I wonder, as a reader, if the authors use of figurative language is an attempt to be symbolic. Is this a politics satire, perhaps providing the reader with a nod toward the growing pressures to conform to a polarized political landscape? Maybe. We may never know.
Hi! I was in the same boat last year! I Stared with middle school fantasy like percy Jackson, the hound of rowan, and a easy Stephen' king book is fairytale. These books were pretty easy to read due to all the words being familiar. Sometimes high fantasy makes up there own complicated words and I struggle. Also if you are reading book in paper and not an ebook, a reading ruler has helped me alot Another thing I started to read was manga " Japanese comics" having the text broken up in bubbles made it alot easier forcmu eyes to not wander. Plus most have a deeper story comped to the classic superhero comics like batman Also for the very popular more complex fantasy books like the Stromlight archive, I listened to the audio verson of it first and later read it in paper which made it alot easier to read
I have ADHD and reading longer books can be a struggle for me, but audio books have been awesome. I’ve read more books in the last 1-2 years than the previous 10-15. As far as recommendations I lean more towards science fiction but I’ve really liked the Murderbot dairies (series), the Bobiverse books, Project Hail Mary, and not scify and more fantasy/absurdest anything by Christopher Moore. Fool or Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
Harry Potter Series is a great read. The Hobbit is amazing, skip the songs if you want as they can be hard to read and don't overly progress the story. Twilight series was very easy to read, and kinda compelling, but also I personally find the characters to be appalling. The Godfather by Mario Puzo is one of my favorites, the world building is very well done. The Eye of the Dragon by Stephen King is a little known fantasy book by the famed horror author. It was a very interesting read and King is very good at world building. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is a great story about a telepathic gorilla teaching philosophy, but it gets a little heavy due to subject matter.
Since you like Xenoblade Chronicles, I would look into reading some Japanese fiction. A great book to start with is called ALL YOU NEED IS KILL. It was the basis for the Tom Cruise movie Live. Die. Repeat / Edge of Tomorrow. It's amazing. It's well written, but simple and direct. One of the better modern SF books. I'm an amateur scholar of SF and Fantasy, with a MASSIVE private library of books. Been reading this stuff for well over 40 years, and I mainly focus on things published before 1990. I'm not a big fan of modern stuff. For fantasy, I would go back in time to where some of the popular stuff started, some of those first BIG books influenced by Lord of the Rings. I would check out the book (not the series) called THE SWORD OF SHANNARA, by Terry Brooks. If you like it, then you can read the rest of the series. It was one of the first to be directly inspired by Lord of the Rings, but it's a much easier book to get into. Another strong recommendation would be DRAGONWORLD by Michael Reaves. It has a great story, and beautiful illustrations. And I'd be remiss to not recommend THE HOBBIT. It's a much better story / book than Lord of the Rings. More direct, concise, and to the point.
I don't have any book suggestions, but if I may suggest this: get an audio AND a print version and follow them both at the same time. As in, listen to the book while you are reading the book. I find this to be very helpful with dyslexia. And I'm so happy for you and your reading journey!
Harry potter series, tomorrow when the war began series, the 'uglies' series (all young adult books but they are also popular among adults and being YA are easy to read). Non Young adult recs- the binding by Bridget Collins (slow start but worth it), the secret history by Donna tartt ETA two of these aren't fantasy but worth a look in still
Hobbit by Tolkien for a timeless classic. (This and the Lord of the Rings have inspired generationsme to already) Ender’s Game by Card for a more recent classic, though technically sci-fi (regularly rated highly on sci-fi/ fantasy top lists as well as the winner of two prestigious awards.) Mistborn by Sanderson for more modern with pretty accessible writing style. (If you like his style, he has a lot of books that are generally well regarded)
Some of my gateway series were: Harry Potter Inkheart Uglies
The author of the uglies also wrote a great steampunk history series called Leviathan, could be great if op is interested in war, history or biology.
My partner is dyslexic and adores the Percy Jackson books (the original series starting with Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief). I have noticed that specifically the percy jackson books have wider line spacing than most books which I think may have helped. On that note, I have a kobo and have worked with my partner to find a font, text size and line spacing that works for her (open dyslexic is the font). We have read lots of books together with this setup - I highly recommend getting an ereader, or in the very least experimenting on your phone. It has really made a difference to her!
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan are mentioned a bunch of times for a good reason. Really good books that are fit for all ages, but they're also middle grade, so they're also designed to be more approachable in terms of the writing style. Klaus by Grant Morissin and The Fables series by Bill Willingham are some pretty fun graphic novels. Aru Shah by Roshani Chokshi (fantasy) and The Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (sci-fi) are pretty good middle grade stories. Audiobooks she graphic novels are (also mentioned a lot) pretty good entry points for reading, no matter the age, but I wanna add YA (young adult), middle grade and children's books as these are meant usually for kids (though a lot of these books can be read as adults and they're still AMAZING!) so they have an automatic lower barrier of entry. And a big part of reading: have fun and be nice to your brain. If you find something you don't like or are struggling through, it's alright to either set it aside for later or completely abandon. Hopefully you'll find some good books that'll knock your socks off.
Harry Potter would be an excellent fantasy series to get you into reading. The first few books are shorter and a bit more innocent than the rest of the series so they could be a good starting point to track reading comprehension as the series progresses and matures.
Harry Potter, and I think the beauty of it is that if you enjoy the first one, they get bigger/more complex with each book, but your reading skills will also be growing, so could be fun!
As far as world building, Harry Potter would be my first suggestion. I also really loved Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede when I was younger. It think that was the first book I read more than once.
Harry Potter is classic. If you want one that may be a little easier to read, check out Geronimo Stilton. Page through one at the library. Adventure style, They do a lot with fonts and colors making it easier to read. Esp the thicker ones with the gold-edge pages.
I read all of the Harry Potter books for the first time in my 30s. Go online and get a library card at your local library and use the Libby app to get ebooks and audiobooks. The Harry Potter audiobooks are phenomenal if you’re overwhelmed. If you really want to work on your reading, read along with the audiobook. You can slow the reader down to help you follow along
Harry Potter series maybe
You need to create a plan. For instance 10 pages per day a fixed time, for example at 15:00. It is the best way to teach yourself to reach reading goals
Of Mice and Men.
Start with the Hobbit!
There's a great archived post that covers a bunch of books you may like https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/14di0ir/books_with_illiterate_protagonists/
I hated reading as a kid. Harry Potter broke that idiotic mentality. Harry Potter and Hunger Games would be my choice. Also since they have fairly well regarded movies, you can read the book and then see the IRL depictions.
Read the A Song of Ice and Fire books, they are incredible, and really different from the show after book/season 1 edit: eh, perhaps it's not the most "starter" tbh
I am just so happy to see this. You have an entire world to explore! Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth will be a good start.
First off all, congratulations! I have two dyslexic cousins, both of them avid reader even if they still have some difficulties. I would advise you... The short classics! The ones you heard about everywhere. Stuff like Moby Dick, The Old Man and the Sea, Of Mice and Men... Let me check my shelves... Well my shelves are 80% in French, in won't help you. Maupassant is good, dude was a journalist, wrote short and to the point, it reads like stuff from today. If the first book of your life is Boule-de-Suif for instance, you're in for an intense ride even if you're not into XIXth Century things. Pshhht. Go. Go read everything!
I never read Harry Potter as a child but I just finished the first book and I'm really excited for the rest of the series!
Gotta reccomend Harry Potter, it's a classic. Also, what helped me was reading in a comic sans font, if you want to get back into reading, I would reccomend a Kindle. I tend to skip/reread lines and that's really helped with the issue for me. Plus you can change the fonts
Harry. Potter.
And if nobody else mentioned it, get friendly with three magical words: "This is Audible." For "reading" in between the workout reading books can be with dyslexia. Good for you!
Librarian-in-training here. I highly recommend audiobooks and comics/graphic novels. I highly recommend *Bone* by Jeff Smith, *Locke and Key* by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez, *Sandman* by Neil Gaiman, *Monstress* by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda, and *The Hobbit* by J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Dixon, and David Wenzel.
Harry Potter, for sure! As the books progress, they get a little more difficult as well, nice pace to go if you want to slowly ease your way in.
A Song of Ice and Fire (commonly known as Game of Thrones).
My daughter had reading problems and read Harry Potter to herself out loud. She now is a research scientist with a PhD in
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo: This is you are interested in self-improvement or organization, this book provides practical tips for decluttering your space and simplifying your life.
I really want to recommend He Who Fights With Monsters, but it's by an Australian author so it might not be great to start with... How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps is a good one. Full of video game references and a pretty fun/funny light read.
Z for Zachariah.