You don't hate reading. You hate boring books. Somewhere along the way (probably a high school English class) someone handed you something tedious and you reasonably concluded that books weren't for you. That's not a personality trait, that's a bad recommendation.
Every book on this list was chosen for one reason: it makes people who "don't read" suddenly become people who read. Short enough to finish in a weekend, gripping enough that you won't want to stop, and zero homework energy required. If none of these hook you, fine, but give at least one a shot before you write off the whole medium.
by Douglas Adams (1979)
Earth gets demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass and the last human alive hitchhikes across the universe with an alien and a depressed robot. It's 200 pages, absurdly funny, and reads like a comedy special in book form.
by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2019)
A fictional oral history of a 1970s rock band's rise and implosion, told entirely in interview format, no long paragraphs, just people talking. Reads like a documentary transcript. If you can watch a Netflix doc, you can read this.
by Agatha Christie (1939)
Ten strangers are invited to an island. One by one, they start dying. Written in 1939 and still the best-selling mystery novel ever because the hook is bulletproof. You'll finish it in a day and immediately suspect everyone you know.
by Neil Gaiman (2013)
A man returns to his childhood home and remembers the terrifying, magical things that happened when he was seven. Under 200 pages, genuinely creepy, and written so simply that the beauty sneaks up on you. Gaiman's most personal book.
by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
A quiet, observant teenager writes letters to an anonymous friend about his first year of high school: first love, first loss, and the mixtapes in between. Short, honest, and the kind of book that makes you feel less alone.
by Gail Honeyman (2017)
Eleanor has the same routine every week: work, two bottles of vodka, sleep. She thinks she's fine. She is not fine. Funny, heartbreaking, and deeply weird in the best way. The kind of character who gets inside your head and stays.
by Blake Crouch (2016)
A physics professor gets abducted and wakes up in a life he didn't choose. Multiverse thriller that reads at sprint pace. If you've ever enjoyed a movie with a twist, this is that experience in book form. Most people finish it in one sitting.
These are great starting points, but Shelf Sage can do better when it knows what you love.
Chat with Shelf SageDaisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It's written as an interview transcript, so there are no long paragraphs. If you can read text messages, you can read this book.
Start short and start selfish. Pick something under 300 pages in a genre you already enjoy as TV or film. Don't start with "classics" unless you actually want to. There's no required reading list for adults.
No. Your brain processes the same story whether your eyes or ears deliver it. If audiobooks get you through books you wouldn't otherwise read, that's reading. Anyone who says otherwise is gatekeeping.
Usually it's one of three things: you haven't found the right genre, you're picking books that are too long or slow, or you're reading out of obligation instead of curiosity. Try a short thriller or a funny book and see if the problem was really "reading" or just "that book."