Struggling to get back into reading

I find it difficult to concentrate with a new book at first, I have to write down all the characters and a bit about them as I go, then after the first few chapters I’m fine

Georgette Heyer Regency romances, JD Robb In Death series, slightly sci-fi detection

MissAdventure

I think I'd like to reread What Katy Did, now I'm a grown up.

Yes I loved What Katy Did, I read it over and over when I was young, it was my mum's one of her childhood books. Damn! I wish I still had it.

Also a huge fan of Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine, she really was quite unique same with Agatha Christie both the best in their genre in my humble opinion.

I was just thinking Ruth Rendell. I also agree about Barbara Pym and Alexander McCall Smith - all his series.

P G Wodehouse? Or is that too fluffy?

Have you tried the Richard Osman 'Thursday Murder Club' books. Gentle sort of reading with a bit of a mystery vibe but nothing complicated. Otherwise agree with OP who suggested Maeve Binchy books.

I think getting into a new book is like entering one of those revolving doors or jumping on an escalator..once your in it’s like entering a new world.

MissAdventure

Maeve Binchy books are easy reading, I always find.

Now this just goes to show that we cannot really advise here. I find her quite boring, so I think the tip to read old favourites is much more useful than our telling who we would read.

I absolutely adore Hilary Boyd books!

My husband lost some peripheral vision and short term memory after a stroke he finds short stories good and the abridged versions in readers digest .also theres a series of books called Penguin quick reads which are short books by top authors designed to encourage struggling readers .

A biography of someone you like/admire ? Can be as good as fiction if you pick th right person !

My mum couldnt stand Binchy either.

She found the books full of nothing, with no plot, or storyline.

Choose something short to get back into reading. Try "Absolutely Forever" by Rose Tremain. Good quality writing in a lovely little book (less than 200 pp). I aso find that short stories are are good if struggling with concentration. I like Penelope Lively's "Pack of Cards". Kate Atkinson also good.

If you enjoy Barbara Pym, as do I, then go to
the "Persephone Books " website for details of many excellent writers from an earlier era. e.g. Dorothy Whipple. They'll probably send you a lovely free catalogue if you contact them, too.

I love the Simon Serrailler series by Susan Hill. They are well written detective novels but with quite a lot of information about Simon's family, which evolve over time. Once I start one of her books I can't put it down.

I second Pack of Cards and Kate Atkinson (especially Jackson Brody detective series) but for ultra carefree non stressful but intelligent and humorous distraction reading I still say Bill Bryson.

My library offers selections of short-ish books for people who can struggle to read for all kinds of reasons. It also has 'mood-busting' books, which are longer. Might be worth asking your library if they do something like this.

M C BEATON books are quite a good read, you can pick up and put down, they are quite amusing. Or maybe try a poetry book to get you started, there are some great poetry books some short and amusing, does not have to be complicated poems just fun/nice. It makes a change from a long story.

Hello eggplant - here's a thought not about what you might read but about how you might do it - and it's just my experience so it may not work for you but worth considering. When I moved house a few years ago I knew nobody in the area, went into the local book shop and learned that there was a book club - very informal, 5 or 6 ladies (men were not excluded) who met once a month rotating from one person's front room/kitchen/garden to another (a few nibbles and something to drink). I 'joined' in and found myself reading fiction and the odd biography after years of reading nothing but textbooks. The choice of what to read next is democratic, and at the following meeting we enjoy reflecting on the book. A month works for us as we're all very busy and some read several other books as well as the nominated one, while others only just manage to finish that. The essential ingredient is the light-heartedness among the people there. I feel that I get different perspectives on what we've read as we all offer our thoughts - and there's no book snobbery. So maybe you can find a small group or even just one new person in your local bookshop who would like to read with you and then talk about it a few weeks later over coffee, a glass of wine or whatever. Good luck.

Toast: the Story of a Boy's Hunger, by Nigel Slater, is one of my favourites. It's very entertaining, poignant and beautifully written. It's easy to read in short bursts.

Ellie Griffith's Ruth Galloway series
Everyone I have shared these with has loved them

Nell8

Toast: the Story of a Boy's Hunger, by Nigel Slater, is one of my favourites. It's very entertaining, poignant and beautifully written. It's easy to read in short bursts.

Oh yes, I read Toast, it was a wonderful book, I forgot about it.

I second the ladies detective agency series. I had the same issue but finally got over it and can read now. I do take notes and write down the names and brief bio of the characters and keep them as a bookmark as I forget.

I would recommend the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson. They have very short chapters.

I’m a prolific reader but could read a word when I was going through chemotherapy and surgery.
I tried to read light and fluffy-Dawn French but that didn’t work. I ended up tackling Wolf Hall which was meaty and much more satisfying.
Why don’t you listen to audio books for a while too

When I lost my mojo for reading, I re read Rosamund Pilcher and loved them all over again. I also read the Miss Read books in order. I was then ready to start reading other books again. It was as if I’d rebooted.