like a crime thriller

Crime thriller would be the type she would hate the most. She used to read drama-ish fiction when I was really young.

instead of really long, occasionally boring classics that make you think. She probably just wants to unwind, not contemplate the state of the human condition.

1)These were only a couple examples. 2)Classics have more than one readings, they have a surface and alterior meaning. A person could read Lord of the Flies with zero context (post-war, existentialism etc.) and still it would be a story, albeit a sad one. I've given those examples because of their simple language and generally easy surface story. Like 1984 is a guy living in a very oppressive regime, trying to keep being a good guy. You don't have to know about socialist totalitarian regimes of the 40s or technology's uncontrollable advance, or Oppenheimer's "I am become Death" speech. Story is laid out simply.