I'd second all the recommendations here, but I'd also want to know what reading level you'd be interested in, and also why you haven't ever read a book for fun before? It would be helpful to know to be able to point to books that would avoid whatever your sticking points may have been. As far as introductory fun books I'd recommend:
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (Not too long, it's a classic and is one I've read multiple times over the years)
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (While it's a YA novel, it was very formative for me as I read it in like 3-4th grade, is basically something that could have happened in reality but is a fictional account.)
Cradle series by Will Wight (A bit off the path from traditional fantasy, it's more properly in the subgenre of progression fantasy, which is basically what the genre of Dragon Ball Z would be, the unifying premise of these stories is that the MC starts fairly weak and then gets stronger over the course of the series, with generally an unlimited upper cap to how powerful characters can get through various kinds of training/levelling up/finding new gear/items/spells etc)
Do you know why Terry said to skip the first 2? Personally the only one I've read is the colour of magic and I loved it as an introduction to the world and can't wait to read more (I read new books very slowly 9/10 unless my adhd decides to hyperfocus on them like it thankfully did with Dune)
Like any artist, as he improved his craft, he grew embarrassed about his early work, and felt it wasn't up to the quality of the later books. There are also some inconsistencies; most notably, Death is actively trying to claim Rincewind, when in later books He just facilitates the process of crossing over.
Notably, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic both directly parody contemporary fantasy, and if you're familiar with the books he's making fun of, it's pretty obvious. Equal Rites is where he went more into the allegory, satire, and social commentary which people tend to associate with Discworld.
No idea, but tbh I'd always bounce off Color of Magic when I tried to get into it from there. I haven't read the Rincewind novels yet so I can't compare them to others, but for me Guards! Guards! was a much better intro.
I would recommend any of the Neil Gaiman books, very readable and fascinating. For shorter reads go with Good Omens, Coraline, Neverwhere, Stardust and for a longer read American Gods (my fav).
If you like horror Stephen King is incredibly easy to get into.
If you can access it the BBC created a neverwhere radio play with James McAvoy and Natalie Dormer. I think it's available on audible if it's not on the BBC (or you can't access it there).
That's a really broad question. The types of stories you're interested would go a long way. If you like mysteries I can write an essay and a half of some of my favorites of different styles.
If you like other types of stories I can also make suggestions, but a little direction would go a long way.
Actually, bored at work, so let's write the essay. If I misspelled a name, sorry. This is off the top of my head.
Light, shorter, on the wacky side:
Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum is a little crazy, but the world she's in is crazier, and she takes it all in stride. She's a bounty hunter working for her cousin's bail bond agency chasing fugitives, and while there's mild profanity and some messed up situations, the tone is incredibly light and funny. This is one of my favorites that I reread frequently, and I really enjoy Lorelei King's reading of the audiobooks. There's some minor carry over, but you don't need to start at the beginning.
Miss Fortune series by Jana DeLeon. Fortune Redding is a CIA agent hiding in a tiny town of Louisiana because she pissed off an arms dealer by breaking her cover to protect a kid. I looked a long time for other books comparable in tone to Stephanie Plum, and this is my best example. More stupid nonsense and enjoyable characters. Starting at the beginning isn't strictly necessary, but there's more underlying plot arc through the series.
Haunting Danielle series by Bobbi Holmes. You'd probably be surprised by how many lengthy series there are centered around a haunted B&B owner solving murders. This is my favorite though. It's similar in the light, nonsensical tone, but with an OK (if not super deep) mystical element. You won't be lost starting wherever, but you'll miss out on character development if you start partway in.
Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. The Amazon series takes it dark and hardcore, and that stuff all happens in the books, but they don't really feel dark reading them. Much more action oriented, but Reacher sees something wrong, gets hooked in one way or another, and comes in like a nuke ripping the bad guys to shreds. These theoretically have carry over, but you can very easily read them in any order.
Karen Rose's Romantic Suspense. The world is full of monsters, and Karen Rose will introduce you to them all. These aren't fantasy monsters, but the human kind. They do fucked up shit and you see a lot of it. WARNING: I think it's all off screen, but this includes children as victims of sexual crime. However, to me she's the gold standard for fiction authors. Her characters are broken, and there's a dichotomy between how they see themselves when they're the character leading a scene and when they're a side character that's really well done. She gets you inside the heads of both the main pair of characters as they heal and fall for each other and the villains, and does an exceptional job at being aware of who knows what and when in their interior monologues. I love the way the books are paced, and the mysteries are complex and layered. I don't really read romance so can't comment on that part, but I really like how the developing partnership builds out the characters. In sharing their deepest darkest secrets with their co-lead in a given book, the characters get really fleshed out. This is hands down my favorite series and I go through it start to finish on audiobook 3-4 times a year since discovering it. You don't need to read the entire series from the start, but they're broken down into sub-series by city, and those sub-series have strong arcs through them. So far example, you would want to start the 3 part Sacramento series with Say You're Sorry and go in order. This is probably not "first read" material, but I can't give a list of my favorite fiction and not pitch what I think is the best I've read. There's really nothing else like it. If Game of Thrones isn't too much, this is probably OK.
Victorian Era
Lady Sherlock by Sherry Thomas. This is a wildly popular setting because of Sherlock Holmes, and I don't think most manage it very well, but when you do nail the setting, it really creates a deep feeling world. Holmes adaptations themselves are also relatively popular, but this is the most interesting one to me. Charlotte Holmes is thrown out of her house for refusing to fit in to the era's norms, and invents the Sherlock character we all know and love to survive and use her brain. Of all the adaptations, this is the one that feels like the same character deep down to me. It also highlights the issues with the era instead of romanticizing them like most, without being overbearing. You don't have to read in order, but book one sets up the premise.
Glass and Steele by CJ Archer. This one is an awesome mesh of different settings and genres blended really well together. It's Wild West outlaws coming to Victorian era England for a fantasy epic styled renaissance era of magic, where magicians who have hidden themselves for fear of prosecution from the craft guilds come into the light. The mysteries don't ignore the magic elements, but don't use them as a crutch and stay broadly true to the era, and the take on magic is unique and interesting. You really want to read this from book 1.
I'll stop there for now. Having to split the comment seems like a good indication it was too long.
Do you like time travel stories at all? I recently read 11/22/63 by Stephen King and absolutely loved it. Outside of that, I highly recommend The Stand, although it is a big undertaking. Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles books were great to me, although I stopped after Memnoch The Devil and didn't keep up after that. Oh! And the Jurassic Park novel is great too, and is very interesting even if you've watched the movie. Lastly, I really enjoyed the Thomas Harris Hannibal Lecter series (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal).
For Stephen King and a first time leisure reader, I'd personally suggest the Skeleton Crew anthology of short stories. IMO short stories are actually King's forte and that anthology has severally really good ones. The Mist is a classic (though the movie did the ending better and King himself admits it). The Jaunt is a super short one that I always really liked. There's also one I can't remember the title of about an oil slick on a lake that always stuck with me.
On the topic of short stories, Assimov also has great ones. Try Nightfall as a starting point.
I'd go with Slaughterhouse Five or Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut is funny, witty, and satirical. But despite being funny and easy to read, his novels also often deal with weighty topics like free will and the search for meaning and purpose.
George Orwell 1984. This would be the book if I have to choose only one book to read in my entire life. Also, not bad as the first one. Can't say it's recreational, though.
I fell out of reading for pleasure for years, and got back into it through comics. I've just woken up so I can't think of any ideal specific recommendations right now
There are a ton of fantastic suggestions, but I'd like to add a non-fiction one, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (honestly, anything by him is excellent, though I found Issac's Storm kinda meh).
I know you love fiction, but its an excellent read, and almost feels like fiction.
anything by Brandon Sanderson, especially his Cosmere stuff. Light reads despite density, story gets complex under the hood once you realize what's going on in the greater Cosmere universe glimpsed through the various book series.
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