What are some good books to read?

Question

I am 16 and I am having trouble finding books that are my age level. Teen books tend to be to easy and light, but adult books seem to be to complicated for what I am interested in...any good books that are in the middle or that are really good?

I am into any type of book really...not really horror or mystery...but if it's good I'll read it

Answer 1

You might try some classics. Some are more difficult to understand than others. But many are straightforward. Such as To Kill A Mockingbird, Gone With The Wind, and 1984. Jane Austen has great novels, but some people I've heard get bogged down with the dialogue. But I love Pride and Prejudice. You might also like The Awakening by Kate Chopin or Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

Tolkien--Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, Silmarillion--might be something you'd like depending on your interests. The Hobbit is a children's book and it's easy, but the Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion are more on a teen/adult level.

I love Orson Scott Card. He's an adult writer whom many young adults have begun to read over the past decade. He has a variety of books.

Each year the american library association awards ten adult books the alex award. These are adult books librarians recognize of being of great interest to teens.

The 2006 Alex Awards are:


Bates, Judy Fong. Midnight at the Dragon Café. Counterpoint, $14 (1582431892)

Buckhanon, Kalisha. Upstate. St Martins, $19.95 (0312332688)

Gaiman, Neil. Anansi Boys. William Morrow & Company, $26.95 (006051518x)

Gallaway, Gregory. As Simple As Snow. Putnam, $23.95 (0399152318)

Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. Alfred A. Knopf, $24 (1400043395)

Martinez, A. Lee. Gil’s All Fright Diner. Tor, $12.95 (076531711)

Palwick, Susan. The Necessary Beggar. Tor, $ 24.95 (076531097x)

Rawles, Nancy. My Jim. Crown, $19.95 (1400054001)

Scheeres, Julia. Jesus Land: A Memoir. Counterpoint, $23 (152433380)

Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle: A Memoir. Scribner, $25 (0743247531)

The 2005 Alex Awards are:

Almond, Steve. Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $21.95 (1-56512-412-9).
Cox, Lynn. Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer. Knopf, $24.95 (0-375-41507-6).
Halpin, Brendan. Donorboy. Random House, $12.95 (1-4000-6277-2).
Kurson, Robert. Shadow Divers. Random House, $26.95 (0-375-50858-9).
Meyers, Kent. Work of Wolves. Harcourt, $24.00 (0-15-101057-9).
Patchett, Ann. Truth & Beauty: A Friendship. HarperCollins, $23.95 (0-06-057214-0).
Picoult, Jodi. My Sister’s Keeper. Atria, $25.00 (0-7434-5452-9).
Reed, Kit. Thinner Than Thou. Tom Doherty Associates, $24.00 (0-765-30762-6).
Shepard, Jim. Project X. Knopf, $20.00 (1-4000-4071-X).
Sullivan, Robert. Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants. Bloomsbury, $23.95 (1-58234-385-3).

The 2004 Alex Awards are:

· Davis, Amanda. Wonder When You’ll Miss Me. William Morrow/HarperCollins, $24.95 (0-688-16781-0).

· Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Doubleday, $22.95 (0-385-50945-6).

· Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Riverhead, $24.95 (1-57322-245-3).

· Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler’s Wife. MacAdam Cage, $25.00 (1-931561-46-X)

· Packer, Z.Z. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. Riverhead, $24.95 (1-57322-234-8).

· Roach, Mary. Stiff. Norton, $23.95 (0-393-05093-9).

· Salzman, Mark. True Notebooks. Knopf, $24.00 (0-375-41308-1).

· Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon, $17.95 (0-375-42230-7)

· Winspear, Jacqueline. Maisie Dobbs. Soho, $24.00 (1-56947-330-7).

· Yates, Bart. Leave Myself Behind. Kensington, $23.00 (0-7582-1348-9).

Answer 2

Some of these are from female perspectives, some may be a little "girly girl" for your liking but others should be okay. I've left both genre on and you can decide. Meryll of the Stone (Brian Caswell) Picnic at Hanging Rock (Joan Lindsay) Stranger with my face (Lois Duncan) Playing Beattie Bow (Ruth Parks) My Sister Sif (Ruth Parks) Hitch hikers guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) Holes (Louis Sachar) Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit Eragorn trilogy Narnia The Golden Compass Interview with a Vampire (Anne Rice) Requiem for a Princess (Ruth M Arthur) Looking for Alibrandi (Melina Marchetta) Angels Gate (Gary Crew) Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants Pelican's Creek (Maureen Pople) The Diary of Anne Frank To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) The Shiralee (Dárcy Niland) Into the Wild (John Krakauer) Chocolat (Joanne Harris) Harp in the South; Poor Man's Orange; Missus (Trilogy by Ruth Parks) Where the Heart is (Billie Letts) My Place (Sally Morgan) Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) Rebecca (Daphne De Maurier) The 3 Muskateers (Alexandre Dumas) Anything by the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen Whatever you do don’t run The December Boys (Robert Noonan)

Answer 3

Dragonjousters series(joust,alta,sanctuary) by Mercedes Lackey.The setting is ancient Egypt.Hunger, anger, and hatred are constants for young Vetch, rendered a brutally mistreated and overworked serf by the Tian conquest of his homeland. But everything improves when a Tian jouster requisitions Vetch to become the first serf ever to be a dragon boy. His training is intense, and his duty clear-cut: to tend his jouster, Ari, and his dragon, Kashet. He discovers that, because Ari himself had hatched Kashet, the dragon is different from others that have been captured live in the wild and must be drugged to be made tractable. Vetch finds he really likes and understands dragons, and soon he becomes the best dragon boy of all. He still harbors anger, however, toward the Tian invasion. Could he, perhaps, hatch a dragon, and then escape to help his people?

Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini.When his best friend, a young clergyman, is killed in a mockery of a duel by an arrogant noble, just to quiet his eloquent expressions of democratic ideals, Andre-Louis Moreau vows revenge. From that point, through meteoric careers as a consummate actor and scenario writer, then as a fencing master, and finally a politician, the brilliant Moreau keeps thwarting the aims of the aristocratic Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr. However, the nobleman causes pain to Moreau as well, and the time must come when the two will meet to settle their enmity once and for all. You are not likely to guess how their confrontation finally turns out. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, this swashbuckling novel is exciting throughout, and it presents one of the most dashing heroes in fiction, a man who can fight equally well with his mind, his mouth, his pen, and his sword, a man who stirs up events wherever he goes.

Landslide by Desmond Bagley.Bob Boyd wakes up in a hospital with no memory,the only surviver of an accident.He was burned badly all over and needed extensive plastic surgery which was payed by a mysterious sponser.He is told that he's a geology student with a bad history.However Bob recovers and gets on with his life.Hired by the powerful Matterson Corporation to survey land before they build a great new dam, he begins to uncover the shaky foundations of the Matterson family and becomes a fly in their ointment.His accident and the Matterson family have more in common than he thought.

Dresden file book series by Jim Butcher.There are 8 books in the series beginning with stormfront.It narrates the story of Harry Dresden,chicago's only professional wizard who works as a detective.He stands between the general population who is ignorant about the supernatural world and the monsters - vampires,werewolves,fallen angels,fey.He is aided by Bob,a talking skull.Karrin Murphy-a police officer and Thomas-a white court vampire.

Answer 4

James Patterson seems like the type of transitional author that you are looking for. He has written for both genres and though most of his books would fall under the "adult" classification, they are not very complicated and still manage to be interesting enough to read in a good two or three days.

Answer 5

If you can find any of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony; they're excellent. The first book is A Spell for Chameleon. Also, any of the Dragonrider books by Anne McCaffrey - really fantastic stories.
Terry Brooks Magic Kingdom series - first book is Magic Kingdom for Sale: Sold! If you like mysteries, check out Diane Mott Davidson books - first one Catering to Nobody.
Happy reading!

Answer 6

I'm 18, and I'm really a fan of Margaret Atwood's work. Betty Smith is good too. It's really just a matter of finding books that fit your maturity level. Atwood's stuff can be a little heavy at times, but it's nothing TOO bad. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) is a great book too. The Chosen by Chaim Potok is amazing as well.

I hope I helped.

Answer 7

when i was sixteen i had the same problem, what do you like? have you read books by Harlen Coben, there not that hard but not easy as well... in the middle, if you like romance stuff then read Charlotte Bronte, if its too hard then Danielle steel ( all my friends at 16 were reading her books). any way if you need more suggestions contact me, I'm a bookaholic and 16 was too long ago for m so I'll be happy to help.

Answer 8

The Great Gatsby. It's an adult book but not too complicated - unless you want to get into all the symbolism. It's a great story!

Answer 9

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

You Don't Know Me by David Klass

The lOvley Bones by Alice Seabold

Answer 10

Try Fiona Walker or many chick lit authors as they are good to read but not too heavy you don't say what type of books you are into...thriller, romance, horror etc.