Just started reading again

[Gaf]

Wow, and what a stack of books I have already that I'd like to read

Here's the list of what I currently have(and want to read):
IT - Stephen King
The Gunslinger - Stephen King
The Dead Zone - Stephen King
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
The Moviegoer - Percy Walker
Blindness - Jose Saramago
The picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
A Conversation with God *an uncommon dialogue* - Neal Walsch
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury

My question is, just a recommendation on where to start? I'm hoping the first one of these I read will be a pretty easy, enjoyable read to get me back into the flow of reading (maybe that leaves out Tolstoy and Dostoevsky? ) so I guess I'm just asking which one will do that for me.(Note: I've read Martian Chronicles before, but a long time ago. So it's just a re-read)

Any comments are greatly appreciated

 

[CattiGuen]

I think Lovely Bones will do good for a reading "re-entry".

 

[Jemima Aslana]

I am reading through The Brothers Karamazov, and spite of the size of that book it isn't actually as heavy as one might expect. If you can get into Dostoyevsky's style of writing I promise you won't feel encumbered, his language has a very nice flow. I was rather suprised myself when I sat down with one of those 'heavy' classics I had set my mind to get through and it turned out to be a highly enjoyable read and not at all cumbersome.

If you don't think you'll risk it though, I'd start with Stephen King. He is what I'd call light reading (though not the lightest you'll ever find).

 

[ions]

Start with a King, the Sebold or the Atwood. Even Blindness may be OK. If you can get over the style. Unless you were an accomplished reader before you took your break I don't think jumping into a Tolstoy or Dostoevsky is a great idea. Great books require a certain skill level to read them and reading is a skill that needs to be practiced and honed.

 

[G4G]

Why not a King, Sebold, then Wilde? Then try Dostoevsky.

 

[Jemima Aslana]

Oh yeah, ions is right. If your break has been very long or if you never really read heavy stuff before you should save Dostoyevsky for much later.

I was a bit quick there perchance

 

[WoundedThorns]

i guess it just depends in what type of "mood" your in.. political, horror, difficult but intelectual read, or easy and entertaining.. thats generally how i choose a book to read

i actually might start re-reading Lovely Bones today. either that or continue reading Fight Club

 

[Gaf]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys

I started Lovely Bones last night, and should finish it tonight (when I actually have time to read). It seems like a good choice.

Since most the other recommendations were for King, I think I'll go for one of his next, probably The Gunslinger, as it seems to be pretty short, and almost everyone that's read the series has positive things to say about it.

The size of War and Peace does intimidate me quite a bit, but I enjoy history a lot, so I'm hoping (when I do decide to take that book on) that will help me get through it. The version I got also has notes in the beginning about each of the families, and who's in them, which I heard is a great help. Dostoevsky's books don't seem quite as big and intimidating, and with all of the positive feedback about them, I think that will motivate me enough to finish if I feel bogged down with one. I always seem to hear that it's better to start with Crime and Punishment to get into his style, and then go for either The Brothers Karamazov or The Idiot. I wonder if that's a good plan.

Anyways, at this point I'm rambling.

 

[Stewart]

The Gunslinger, as it seems to be pretty short

Bear in mind that it's the first book in a seven book series, and they do expand to the trademark King doorstop.

 

[Gaf]

Bear in mind that it's the first book in a seven book series, and they do expand to the trademark King doorstop.

I do realize that but I'm hoping the first one concludes enough to where I won't need to read the second one immediately after to understand what's going on in it. My second-hand bookstore also seems to have almost the full series, so I wouldn't mind going on with the series if it's enjoyable.

 

[Jemima Aslana]

I always seem to hear that it's better to start with Crime and Punishment to get into his style, and then go for either The Brothers Karamazov or The Idiot. I wonder if that's a good plan.

Personally I started with The Brothers and, as stated, have yet to finish it, and I'm liking it quite fine, so I really wouldn't know. Crime and Punishment is on my shelf and will be read once I'm done with The Brothers, but clearly I've gotten into Dostoyevky's style just fine without reading one of the others first.

Enjoy your new(or re?)found hobby

 

[Gaf]

Personally I started with The Brothers and, as stated, have yet to finish it, and I'm liking it quite fine, so I really wouldn't know. Crime and Punishment is on my shelf and will be read once I'm done with The Brothers, but clearly I've gotten into Dostoyevky's style just fine without reading one of the others first.

Enjoy your new(or re?)found hobby

Well then, I think I'm going to have a hard time deciding between the two when it comes time for a Dostoevsky read. Great, I'm already indecisive enough as it is when it comes to books

 

[ions]

The size of War and Peace does intimidate me quite a bit, but I enjoy history a lot, so I'm hoping (when I do decide to take that book on) that will help me get through it. The version I got also has notes in the beginning about each of the families, and who's in them, which I heard is a great help.

Don't forget War and Peace is broken into three seperate books with many parts and chapters. Breaking it into smaller pieces makes it a little less intimidating. Also remember, Tolstoy does have shorter works. Anna Karenina, Ressurection and a novella The Death ov Ivan Ilych to name a few. You don't have to start with the daddy of em all.

Dostoevsky's books don't seem quite as big and intimidating, and with all of the positive feedback about them, I think that will motivate me enough to finish if I feel bogged down with one. I always seem to hear that it's better to start with Crime and Punishment to get into his style, and then go for either The Brothers Karamazov or The Idiot. I wonder if that's a good plan.

Anyways, at this point I'm rambling.

While Dostoevsky's works are not as long I find his prose is harder work than Tolstoy's. Tolstoy flows better; more poetic. Not that I find Dostoevsky's prose bad! It's like comparing Gretzky and Lemiuex. I have only read Crime and Punishment of Dostoevsky and am now reading The Brothers Karamazov. From what I have read on this forum and other sources it's a good idea to start your Dostoevsky journey with Crime and Punishment then move into his other works. So yes, that is a good plan. There was a recommended order to his work but I can't remember right now. A search for Dostoevsky on the forums will find it. Of course if you would rather start with a smaller book you could try Notes From the Underground by Dostoevsky.