10 Books for People Who Say They Don't Like Reading

When someone says they don't like reading, they usually mean one of three things: they haven't found the right book yet, they associate reading with school assignments, or they tried a book that was wrong for them and assumed all books were like that. The solution is the same in all three cases: find a book so compelling that putting it down feels like a sacrifice.

These ten books are short, fast-paced, and gripping. They're the books that have converted the most self-described non-readers I know. No one here is going to suggest you start with Proust.

1. The Martian by Andy Weir

An astronaut is stranded on Mars and has to science his way to survival. That's the whole premise, and it's all you need. Weir writes with the voice of your funniest, smartest friend explaining how he'd survive on another planet. The chapters are short, the stakes are constant, and the humour keeps the tension from becoming unbearable. If you liked the movie, the book is better. If you didn't see the movie, even better: go in fresh.

2. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Weir's follow-up is arguably even better than The Martian. A man wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he's there. The mystery of his situation unfolds in parallel with an increasingly high-stakes mission to save Earth. What makes this book special isn't just the science (though the science is excellent) but the unexpected emotional core that develops as the story progresses. It's a book about problem-solving, friendship, and hope, and it's wildly entertaining.

3. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

A failed bank robber accidentally takes a group of apartment viewers hostage. What follows is a chaotic, funny, deeply human story about eight strangers who are each dealing with their own private mess. Backman writes with a warmth that sneaks up on you: you're laughing on one page and tearing up on the next. The chapters are short, the characters are vivid, and the structure, told partly through police interrogations, keeps you guessing.

4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Earth is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur Dent escapes in his bathrobe. What follows is the funniest science fiction novel ever written: absurd, brilliant, and surprisingly philosophical. Adams has a way of making you laugh at a sentence and then realise it contained a genuine insight about the universe. The book is short, the humour is bone-dry, and it's the kind of novel that makes you want to read more books just to find something this good again.

5. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman's short novel reads like a half-remembered dream. A man returns to his childhood home and remembers a strange, terrifying adventure he had as a boy, involving the old woman and her daughter who lived at the end of the lane. It's only 180 pages, and every one of them is drenched in atmosphere. Gaiman writes about childhood with a specificity that makes the fantastical elements feel real, and the emotional resonance lingers long after the plot fades.

6. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Told entirely in oral-history format, like a documentary transcript, this novel follows a fictional 1970s rock band from formation to breakup. The format makes it incredibly easy to read: short quotes, multiple voices, constant momentum. You'll forget these aren't real people. The music industry details are convincing, the relationships are messy and compelling, and the format means you can read it in any chunk size and still feel satisfied.

7. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Four retirees in a peaceful English village solve cold cases for fun. Then a real murder happens. Osman's debut is charming, witty, and genuinely clever as a mystery. The characters are the draw: each has a fully realised personality, sharp dialogue, and a past that's more interesting than it first appears. It's comfort reading that doesn't sacrifice intelligence, and it's the kind of book that makes you immediately want the sequel.

8. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Noemí arrives at a crumbling mansion in 1950s Mexico to check on her newlywed cousin, who's sent a desperate letter. The house is wrong. The family is wrong. Everything is wrong. Moreno-Garcia builds horror through atmosphere rather than jump scares, and the setting is gorgeously rendered: the decay of the house, the fog on the mountains, the creeping sense that the walls themselves are watching. It's Gothic horror at its best, and it's impossible to stop once the house gets its hooks in you.

9. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Jason Dessen is kidnapped and wakes up in a reality that's almost, but not quite, his own. What follows is a breakneck thriller that uses multiverse physics to ask a deceptively simple question: are you living the life you were meant to live? The chapters are short. The twists are relentless. The emotional stakes are surprisingly high for a science fiction thriller. Most people finish this in a single day, and many report doing so accidentally.

10. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist in the 1960s who ends up, against her will, hosting a cooking show that she treats like a chemistry lecture. Garmus writes with a deadpan wit that makes every page entertaining, and Elizabeth's refusal to compromise on her intelligence in a world that demands she diminish herself is both funny and quietly furious. The book is a joy to read, and it's particularly good for people who think literary fiction is stuffy.

The secret about "not liking reading"

Here's what I've learned from recommending books to self-described non-readers: nobody doesn't like reading. People don't like being bored, and they don't like feeling stupid, and a lot of books do both of those things to new readers. The trick is starting with books that are generous: books that welcome you in, keep you entertained, and prove that reading can be one of the best ways to spend an evening.

Once someone finishes one book they love, they want another. And then another. That's how readers are made: not through obligation, but through the discovery that the right book is better than anything else you could be doing with those hours.