You know you’re supposed to be reading your lit book, but it’s just so boring! Who cares about what some guy in the 1830s wrote in his diary?! And if you read one more sentence in Romeo and Juliet that has more adjectives than articles, well, we wouldn’t blame you for crashing out.

Luckily we here at the Messenger have put together a list of fun reads that will leave you enthralled… and also potentially behind on your school-assigned text.

Short and engaging

These are your classic stories. Only a couple hundred pages, this list is made up of captivating page-turners.

• Scythe (series) by Neal Shusterman
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Tribe by Sebastian Junger

Graphic Novels

Maybe words aren’t your style, and you prefer beautifully drawn frames on every page. Here are some well written and well designed graphic novels.

• Watchmen (series) by Alan Moore
• Nimona by ND Stevenson
• Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Fantasy

If you enjoy far off worlds, outlandish and developed characters, and trilogies, you’ve come to the right place.

• The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
• The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
• Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

Non-fiction

Want to learn facts while reading? People who read books to escape from reality might give you a funny look if you pop open a book on say, shipping logistics, but if that’s your jam, check out our faves below.

• We Say #NeverAgain: Reporting by the Parkland Student Journalists edited by Mellissa Falkowski and Eric Garner
• Hiroshima by John Hersey
• A Ride Across America by Simon Parker
• What We Owe The Future by William MacAskill
• Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

Whodunnits

Do you enjoy the suspense of not knowing who the killer is? Or can you clock the convict character from their first appearance? Either way, enjoy some of these mystery classics.

• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
• Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Many of these titles are available either in the Garfield library or the Seattle Public Library. Both are free! If you don’t have a library card already, get one online now at www.spl.org. The Douglass Truth branch is just four blocks south of Garfield at 23rd and Yesler.