5 Books To Break You Out of a Reading Rut

The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
If it’s a tale of action and adventure you need, look no further. Set in pseudo-Renaissance Venice, the novel unspools the Dickensian tale of Locke Lamora, an orphan street urchin and thief who rises through the ranks of the underworld to become head of a gang of conmen, robbing the city’s rich…and most certainly not giving it to the poor. Locke’s high-wire capers are interrupted when he and his gang stumble into a much larger game of politics and revenge, being played for much higher stakes. This book is as appealing for its deeply flawed, profane protagonist and memorable gang of sidekicks as it is for its fast-paced plot and the hilarity of the hijinks they try (and often fail) to pull off. Lynch’s novel is bursting with life, and its magnetic pull is difficult for even the deepest rut to resist.

The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life, by Tom Reiss
If only “true life” stories can pull you out of your rut, this endlessly fascinating biography-cum-research mystery will do it. Tom Reiss was in Baku, a journalist reporting on an oil story, when he unexpectedly ran across the story of the mysterious Lev Nussimbaum, who lived in Baku just before the Russian Revolution. The son of a Jewish businessman, Lev wasn’t content to let that identity define him—and so, he created many more of them for himself, across decades. Reiss tracks Lev as he transforms himself into everything from a Bohemian student in Germany to a journalist to a Muslim prince. The cracked mirror of his life fascinates— he’s the author of both what is considered Azerbaijan’s national novel (Ali and Nino) and admiring letters to Fascist sympathizers. He never accepts one name or location for long, defying Nazis and Italian Fascists alike in doing so. Lev was born into a historical era that was interested in categorizing humanity in every way it knew how, but his is the story of a man who chose to defy categorization. Puzzling over Lev’s mysterious life will make you forget what a reading rut feels like.

Silk, by Alessandro Baricco
This tale of the 19th-century silk industry follows a man from his native French village to Japan and back again. But to tell you that is to tell you nothing at all—and it barely matters what the book is about, honestly. You’ll be unable to stop reading it simply for the exquisitely delicate atmosphere of longing, regrets, illusions, and deep, abiding love. This book speaks only in whispers, ellipses, and silence, in what is understood and what can never be said. Read it in one sitting on a Sunday afternoon, and let its gorgeous spell lead you out of your rut before you realize you’ve moved at all.

Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn
I loved Gone Girl, just like everyone else. But then I discovered Sharp Objects. Centered on a journalist who revisits her hometown to write about a string of murders of young girls, this book is approximately ten million times creepier, and even more psychologically twisted. It’s about dreams dashed and twisted societal roles inhabited by powerful women whose inner rage manifests in horrifying ways. I’ve rarely read a book so quickly—even as it made my skin crawl, I couldn’t stop turning the pages. This book might accidentally become glued to your hands, but there’s certainly no danger of you putting it down to go back to your rut.

Fast Women, by Jennifer Cruisie
This is an absolute bon-bon of a book, a fun noir tribute—the hero and heroine are a detective and his new secretary—that goes far beyond its basic setup. Both protagonists have complicated romantic pasts, and both were clearly damaged by them. This is a truly adult romance: we get to watch these people slowly, believably (and with many mistakes along the way) come back to life for each other. Even better, we get to watch them do it while they laugh, and cry, and have real friendships and relationships that need tending to. It’s well paced, with characters that make sense and dialogue that sounds genuine. Sit back, relax, and pull out the chocolates, because Cruisie’s taken the wheel and is steering you right out of that rut.

An Unnecessary Woman, by Rabih Alameddine
This is the story of Aaliya, an elderly woman from Beirut. She has lead a quiet life, though one that took an accidental wrong turn and never quite recovered. She has quietly, steadily, forged a path of her own, in the midst of a city that has turned into a nightmarish war zone, where women keep AK-47s underneath their beds and sell what they must to preserve themselves when soldiers walk into their homes. But Aaliya has a secret: she is a bibliophile. She has spent her life buried among the words and thoughts of others, translating the classics of Western literature into Arabic. This is a story about what books can do, and what meaning we might find in loving them for a lifetime. What are we granted? What do we miss? Is our faith misplaced? Or is it possible that it’s the only faith worth having? More than bringing an end to your reading rut, this book reminds us of the power of words: what they can lead us to do, and the ways, big and small, they can save us from ourselves.
What are your favorite books to break you out of a reading rut?