As a reader myself, I know the struggles of a beginner. If you don’t find a book that excites you to your core then you won’t be able to finish it and then you will remain with an incomplete dread in your heart which might make you quit reading. A lot of people don’t know, or maybe don’t understand this, but interest and efforts go hand in hand when. A lot of people don’t know, or maybe don’t understand this, but interest and efforts go hand in hand when you start a new book.
If you don’t find a book interesting, you won’t be able to continue reading it and hence you will end up quitting on it. Similarly, if you don’t put in the right amount of effort in reading it, you might lose interest in it eventually, thus making you quit the book. So in order to remain rock-solid in making a reading habit for yourself, you must try picking out a book that is really interesting so that it keeps you going. So in order to help you out, here is a list of books to pique the interest of new readers.
9 Best Books for Beginning Readers
#1. The Great Gatsby
This book is written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Published: 1925
This book is a timeless classic and has been around for almost a century. It is one of the books that I fell in love with instantly as soon as I read it. The book tells a great story which is narrated by a character named Nick Carraway who tells the reader a story about a mysterious rich man who throws great parties every now and then yet a very small amount of people actually know who he is.
Before meeting this gentleman named Jay Gatsby, Nick has heard a lot about him as he is his neighbor but he has never seen him. Nick turns out to be the only man to ever receive an invitation from the Great Gatsby’s party. Jay tries to make an impression on Nick and the very first time that Nick sees Mr. Gatsby makes the moment pretty significant.
Nick notices Jay’s smile and describes it in words that are ineffable, and from that moment on, their meeting frequency is increased. He found out a lot about Jay in a very short time like he was trying to impress Nick. Nick still had his doubts about the man, but soon he got to know his motive behind everything he was doing for Nick. The plot of the book thickens with each page, and I would suggest reading the book to find out what made Mr. Gatsby so great.
#2. The Alchemist
This book is written by Paulo Coelho.
Published: 1988
This is another great book and it has a lot of hidden messages throughout the book for the reader but the final one is just great. It revolves around the story of a shepherd boy, named Santiago from Andalusia who used to have a recurring dream about a treasure that is meant for him. He hasn’t ever given much thought to it but one night, on the way to see a woman in Tarifa, he got tired so he decided to take a short nap.
He kept his sheep inside the church and lay down beneath a sycamore tree near it as he wished to sleep. After falling asleep, he again saw the dream of the same treasure that is calling out for him, and this treasure is situated beneath the Egyptian Pyramids. He wakes up shocked and decides that he needs to get this confirmed by someone so he goes to a witch. She tells him that the story is real and demands 10% of the treasure as payment which Santiago accepts.
His doubts about this were completely cleared after meeting a strange man in the park. So he sells his sheep in order to travel and sets off on a quest of finding the treasure. On the way, he gets interrupted by thugs who snatch everything away from him. This is when he finds the shop of a crystal merchant and he starts working there in exchange for food. Check this book out to read the things Santiago finds during his journey and whether he gets the treasure or not.
#3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
This book is written by J. K. Rowling.
Published: 1997
This book was one of the best ones as it was the first in its series and the way Rowling wrote this pilot book was commendable. One thing can be said in certain that the author had no idea that she’d start a new era of fandom where the fans would call themselves Potterheads and her magical world would be brought to the real world by the fans of her book. After the movie adaptations of the franchise started releasing, the fandom hit a whole new peak.
This particular book of the series marks the start of Harry Potter’s magical journey as a little kid. He was sent to his Aunt Petunia and her husband after Harry’s parents died because they were the only living family they had. The Dursleys were pretty cruel on him, and everything he ever got was his cousin’s hand-me-downs. But everything changed when he started getting letters with a mysterious edge to it that the sender always knew his very specific address.
These letters were from Hogwarts and uncle Vernon didn’t want Harry to read it and go off to that school which is why he kept burning them. Soon, he was driven crazy due to the post that they started receiving on a Sunday so he took his entire family and went to an island house while circling his path a couple of times so that nobody follows him. Harry is destined to be a magician even if the whole world goes against it, check this book out to see the chain of events that take him to Hogwarts.
#4. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
This book is written by Robin Sharma.
Published: 1996
This book portrays a very wonderful story along with a really beautiful message in it. This is one of those books that are remembered for years due to its everlasting storyline and the way it motivates people. The author has gained a lot of respect in the writing community since he came out with this brilliantly written literary masterpiece that was loved by all types of readers.
The book revolves around the story of a big-time lawyer, named Julian, who had worked really hard in his life and earned a lot of money. He had a really big house and a beautiful Ferrari to drive in, but he barely ever had time for himself. This all went so bad that he passed out in the courtroom while putting up an argument in front of a judge. As it turns out, he had a heart attack and had to be admitted into a hospital.
But a curious thing was, nobody ever saw where he went from the hospital until 3 years later he showed up at a colleague’s office. The name of this colleague was John and he was shocked by looking at Julian’s physical appearance as he seemed 10 years younger. Then Julian started telling his story of how he sold his house and his Ferrari and went to the Himalayas in India and learned a lot from monks. Check this book out to see what the monks actually taught him which transformed him to such an extent.
#5. The Twilight Saga: Twilight
This book is written by Stephanie Meyer.
Published: 2005
This book was one of the best books of its type. It is still a major hype amongst teenagers and most other young readers but it is liked by adults as well. After this book got cinematized, the fandom increased to a whole different level. I think it deserved all the love it got and is still earning because of the storyline put forward as there were no other authors that could provide this kind of a story.
This book is also the first book in its series and as the pilot, it shouldn’t be underestimated. It has always been praised by its fans as the best book around as it shows the unexpected love story of a human being with a vampire. The book starts off by introducing Isabella, who is our female lead and she is moving to Forks, where her father is the chief of police, to further her studies.
The description of Bella’s first day in school where she met Edward was something that I found really amusing. It didn’t seem too obvious about Edward’s background at least until I read it for the second time which is pretty great. As the things proceeded and Bella started finding out more of this awkward stranger, everything changed and she didn’t notice how she fell for him. Read this book to see what leads Bella and Edward to fall deeply in love with each other and the troubles they have to face for it.
#6. The Diary of a young Girl
This book is written by Anne Frank.
Published: 1952
This book wasn’t initially published in English, and that is something to note because this is the actual biography of Anne Frank while she could write in her diary. This book is set in Amsterdam during the time of Adolf Hitler, and it is noted as one of the most precious works of literature being read by a lot of people worldwide. The book was considered a dull affair and the publisher wasn’t very happy with publishing it but eventually, it was released to the public, and it’s great that it did.
The Diary of a young girl is not just a book, it’s a masterpiece that would make you feel everything that Anne feels during the time she has written in her diary. The story begins when she was handed out this diary on her 13th birthday. She came from a pretty well-hung family at the time and they had a jam manufacturing factory.
Suddenly, one day Anne’s sister, Margaret picks up a call and the entire Frank family has to flee to save their lives. The Franks had a few trustable workers who were loyal enough to help the family out for a few days as they lived in an Annex. But soon they had to move to the house of the Van Daan family where she didn’t like a lot of things along with Peter, who was their son. Check this book out to see the journey of Anne as she somewhat grew up and through the tragedies that befell on the Frank family.
#7. David Copperfield
This book is written by Charles Dickens.
Published: 1850
This book on fiction is one of Dickens’ best works and it is said that it is close to his heart as he has mentioned some of his personal experiences into this masterpiece. This book is the story of David Copperfield who is the narrator of this book as well as the protagonist. Charles Dickens’ works are considered to have characters with a tragic backstory and this one is exactly the same.
It starts with the day David was to be born, 6 months after the death of his father. Suddenly, his mother sees an awkward figure on the window with the nose pressed down against it and soon she fainted. The name of David’s mother was Clara and as it turns out, the shady figure by the window was one of David’s father’s aunt who wanted to see if Clara has a girl but she was unhappy when David turned out to be a boy, after which she never gave a visit to Clara.
Most of David’s earlier memories were of his mother and the housekeeper named Peggotty. Once Peggotty took David out on a trip to see her brother who was a fisherman. This happened shortly after his mother started spending a lot of her time with a man who went by the surname, Mr. Murdstone. When David returned from the trip, he found out that Clara had married this man and then began the series of unfortunate events in David’s life. Read this book to find out if David ever finds happiness again.
#8. The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
This book is written by C. S. Lewis.
Published: 1950
This book is a part of my personal favorites and so is its entire series. I read it when I was a kid and I just couldn’t ever let go. This is also the very first book of its series and was adapted into a movie franchise when it gained a vast following. The book is about a magical land named Narnia where the lead characters of this book rule under the table of Aslan, the lion.
This book has been around for more than 50 years and it is still spreading as much of love as it was when it got released. There is no doubt that the author has really accomplished a lot since he wrote this book and I think he deserves every percent of it. The book tells the story of Lucy Pevensie and her 3 siblings who become Kings and Queens of Narnia after Lucy discovers a wardrobe in the Professor’s house that serves as a secret passage to Narnia.
Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter are four siblings who had to be sent off from their houses due to war and they weren’t too happy about it. They go to a Professor’s house who seems to be a pretty warm and friendly man. After they all visit Narnia, everything seems beautiful but then Edmund disappears and he might need to be saved. Try reading this book to find out whether they can save Narnia and Edmund while defeating a force that has destroyed Narnia.
#9. The Invisible Man
This book is written by H. G. Wells.
Published: 1897
It has been around for more than a century and it is appreciated a lot since then. The title itself points out to the fact that this is a science fiction novel and it even has a movie adapted over it. The experience provided by this awesome novel is what I had wished for a long time. It has never been disappointing to any reader at all. This timeless classic has always been loved by the readers.
The book starts when a man named Griffin arrives at Mrs. Hall’s inn and asks for a room. The most awkward thing about this encounter was that this Griffin was all covered in clothes including his face which had bandages all over it. The only thing that Griffin asked for was his stuff from the station as soon as it arrives because he said he was a scientist and he needed his equipment urgently.
He barely used to go out of his room and when he did, it mostly happened during the night, this made Mrs. Hall suspicious along with a lot of other villagers. One day, Mrs. Hall asked Griffin to pay up the rent of the room or vacate it by the next morning while Griffin said that he didn’t have any money. He had no other alternative left rather than stealing so that night, he stole from the house of Mr. Bunting. Check out the rest of the book to find out the lengths to which Griffin is willing to go.
I hope that I was able to provide you with a list of best books for beginning readers to help you choose from as all of these are absolute classics and they will keep the reader latched until completed. I’ve read each of these books personally and I can guarantee you that there is no book on the list that would disappoint you. If the content was helpful, please leave a like on our post or drop a comment below.