Lydia Schoch

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

My first response to this post was to say, “absolutely nothing at all!” I wholeheartedly believe in respecting people’s boundaries if they say they’re not interested in doing or trying something.

For the sake of argument, let’s pretend that this person has not enjoyed reading in the past but is open to hearing a few suggestions of new ways to approach this hobby from someone who knows a lot about it.

My first five ideas will include various types of reading and literacy material that can be easily tailored to someone’s interests. There are so many options out there other than traditional novels. I’ll then mention five specific titles that might work for adults who are reluctant readers. (I’m guessing that most lists this week will focus on books for kids or teens who dislike reading. We’ll see if I’m right about that).

Generalized Bookish Ideas for Non-Readers

1. Audiobooks 

Audiobooks are great for so many different scenarios, from people who struggle to read to folks who don’t have a great deal of time to sit down and read every day while doing nothing else.

2. Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and/or Comic Strips

I’ve known several people who dislike traditional books for any number of reasons but who really connected with specific storylines or characters in these genres because they had so many visual cues about what was going on.

3. Books that Inspired Films or TV Shows 

Non-bookish people might be surprised to know how many shows started out as novels, novellas, or short stories! Honestly, I’m still occasionally surprised by how often this happens.

4. Oral Storytelling 

Some people come from cultures that traditionally passed stories down verbally from one generation to the next instead of writing them down. Others might simply respond better to hearing or sharing a story out loud instead of quietly reading it. I believe in encouraging everyone to engage with stories in whatever ways work best for them.

5. Plays and Musicals 

I struggled to enjoy most of Shakespeare’s plays when I read them in high school and college literature courses, but seeing them play out on the stage (or by streaming a recording of a previous performance) was a much more rewarding and memorable experience. More recently, I utterly adored seeing Hamilton when it showed up on one of the streaming services I use! There are so many different types of plays and musicals out there to appeal to all sorts of personalities and interests.

Five Specific Books for Non-Readers

6. Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton 

People are fascinating. You never know what secrets a stranger passing you buy on the street might be carrying with them.

7. Atlas Obscura – an Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Treasures by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras, and Ella Morton.

This is a delightful anthology of true stories about history, science, geography, architecture, nature, and so much more. It’s easy to dip in and out of it or to skip ahead to sections that interest you.

8. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen 

It’s interesting to compare what was taught in elementary and secondary history courses versus what books written for adult readers have to say on the same topics. I think I would have enjoyed history class more growing up if things hadn’t been so over-simplified and sometimes downright misconstrued to us.

9. Animal Farm by George Orwell 

Political satires aren’t for everyone, but they really hit the spot for some readers.

10. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Adams had such an amazing sense of humour and comedic timing!

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I love this week’s topic. Let’s see how many answers I can come up with for it.

None of these sites have compensated me for mentioning them in any way. I simply included ones I’ve used or think sound cool.

1.  DailyLit 

Imagine being emailed a short passage from a book every day. Each instalment can be read in about 15 minutes, and you’ll eventually receive the entire book that way.

2. Project Gutenberg 

This was the first site to ever offer free ebooks! They have a huge selection of titles to choose from.

3. Your Local Library

Assuming you live in a country that has a free public library system, you might be surprised at what they have to offer!

Aside from the usual ebooks and audiobooks, mine offers online courses and events in all sorts of bookish topics. It also has digital subscriptions to hundreds of newspapers, literary journals, magazines, and more on just about any topic you can imagine and a few I never would have thought would have such big followings!

4. Indie Bookstore Finder 

I don’t know about you all, but I’m all about supporting local businesses as much as possible. This is a fantastic resource for finding that special book you’ve been wanting to buy while helping your local bookstore stay in business.

5. AddALL 

This site helps visitors compare prices for the books they want to buy among multiple possible sellers. I wish I’d had access to this when I was in college and was scrounging around to afford textbooks! It works for regular types of books, too.

6. Book-a-Minute 

Imagine reading a concise but accurate summary of that book you’re thinking about reading but not sure if you want to dive into. I think there’s definitely something to be said for giving people a few spoilers if they need them to decide whether a particular book is the right one for them.

7. The Great Canadian Sox Shop

This quirky little shop is located right here in Toronto, Ontario. It caters to those of us who love finding that perfect pair of socks to express ourselves, whether it’s a conservative pair of business socks for an office job or something funky and bookish for less formal events.

8. LAMBDA Literary 

A fantastic resource for LGBT+ writers and readers.

9. Little Free Library

Want to find a local Little Free Library in your community? Or maybe you want to find out how to build your own? This site has all of the details you need…and then some.

10. Leio 

A reading log app to help you keep track of what you’re reading and what you might dive into next.

***Bonus*** 11. Literature Map

If you type in the name of your favourite author into this site, it will recommend other authors that are also highly read by fans of the author you first mentioned.

I’ve been playing around with this site a lot and already have a list of new authors to try!