If you are reading this, you won’t suffer from this problem, you may not even understand it, but there seem to be people in this world who don’t actually like reading. I assure you, they exist.
As for everything, there is a solution. Just as a dress seems daunting if you cannot sew two pieces together or a marathon is impossible if you have never run, a novel of a few hundred pages can be a lot to take in. Enter: the Quick Reads!
It does exactly what it says in the tin: they are (very) quick to read. Usually under a hundred pages, these books are easy to read and a lot less intimidating.
And, as a side-note, they are also very cheap! Spending £7-10 on a paperback can be discouraging, and the popular celebrity books (usually more likely to be read by non-readers) are in hardback and a lot more expensive. Good news, Quick Reads cost around a pound a piece! Brilliant news!
I gave one of them a try, after I came across it in a book shop; a mystery called “Wrong Time. Wrong Place”. It was unusual for me to have such a quick plot, but it came at a time when I was particularly busy and it felt good to be able to finish a book overnight. A girl is running half-naked in the Scottish Highlands. Four friends, away for a weekend, come across her and as they decide whether to help this girl who does not speak a word of English and looks badly beaten, their weekend takes a bad turn: Someone seems to want to ensure they never make it back from their trip.
I won’t spoil the end, but let me tell you a shorter plot means an unusual end. The story twist resembles a short story.
There are a number of books available, from well-known authors, to Doctor Who, to non-fiction. And it is definitely worth a try. It is also a great way to give an author a shot you are not too sure about!