What are the 3 best books you have read this year?
- Thread starter DotCommunist
- Start date
Is Walk On The Wild Side the one with Railroad Shorty in it? I liked The Neon Wilderness by Algren as well.
Vail - Trevor Hoyle
Glister - John Burnside
Holloway Falls - Neil Cross
coccinelle
Active Member
I jad a week of silence in the Summer (no TV, radio or computer) and I read the first 6 books in the "Ladies No 1 Detective Agency" series of books.
I'm hard and I'm cynical normally but I found them totally enthralling, very warm and very wise.
I'm hard and I'm cynical normally but I found them totally enthralling, very warm and very wise.
SpookyFrank
Don't swallow the cap
The Gift - Vladimir Nabokov
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
Zen in the Art of Writing - Ray Bradbury
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
Zen in the Art of Writing - Ray Bradbury
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
Initially I found this to be deeply objectionable purpely prose shite. However, after reading some Rushdie and starting to 'get' magic realism I had a re-read and found it to be quite good. The line 'new ideas appeared like strange insects in the evening' still fills me with irrational rage though.
cyberfairy
http://unicycle-emptiness.co.uk/
The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson-in turns funny, fascinating and tragic account of a boy looking after elephants in 19th century England.
Stones Fall by Ian Pears-epic historical thriller spanning a century or so-murder, espionage and double-crossing and so beautifully written.
Sunday at the Cross Bones by John Walsh-based on true story of parson who consorted with prostitutes in the thirties and got killed by lion on pier. Vivid, funny and one of those books that just stays with you.
Stones Fall by Ian Pears-epic historical thriller spanning a century or so-murder, espionage and double-crossing and so beautifully written.
Sunday at the Cross Bones by John Walsh-based on true story of parson who consorted with prostitutes in the thirties and got killed by lion on pier. Vivid, funny and one of those books that just stays with you.
rubbershoes
not the only raver in the village
The Road - Cormac McCarthy - far and away the most moving and powerful book I've read this year. Just about everyone i know is getting a copy for Xmas
Agent Zigzag -Ben Macintyre - not at all cerebral but a rollicking good read. And it's all true . Well it's true up to a point, Lord Copper
Homicide : Life on the street- David Simon - Completely blows away all other police books . It gives a real understanding of what is involved in police work. I'm not quite sure why I want to know what homicide detectives do but now I do. This is real. An excellent holiday book
Agent Zigzag -Ben Macintyre - not at all cerebral but a rollicking good read. And it's all true . Well it's true up to a point, Lord Copper
Homicide : Life on the street- David Simon - Completely blows away all other police books . It gives a real understanding of what is involved in police work. I'm not quite sure why I want to know what homicide detectives do but now I do. This is real. An excellent holiday book
Gavin Bl
terrible awful baaad
my reading has been a bit scrappy this year, but...
"The Woodlanders" Thomas Hardy
"Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" Solzehenitzen (reread after a good 20 years)
"Madame Bovary" Gustave Flaubert (really incredible)
I have "origin of Species" and "Remembrance of things lost" on the shelf....I'll get there I swear.
"The Woodlanders" Thomas Hardy
"Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" Solzehenitzen (reread after a good 20 years)
"Madame Bovary" Gustave Flaubert (really incredible)
I have "origin of Species" and "Remembrance of things lost" on the shelf....I'll get there I swear.
Edward Carpenter: A Life of Liberty and Love by Sheila Rowbotham - Fantastic biography about a hugely important figure but eccentric and arguably marginalised figure in the development of the Left in Britain.
Dai Country by Alun Richards - Rereleased classic collection of short stories about life in the Rhondda Valleys between the 1940s and 1970s - uncliched, authentic and hilarious.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - So, so clever but also so gripping and readable. Throws up all sorts of interesting metaphysical and philosophical questions as well without ever becoming dull.
Dai Country by Alun Richards - Rereleased classic collection of short stories about life in the Rhondda Valleys between the 1940s and 1970s - uncliched, authentic and hilarious.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - So, so clever but also so gripping and readable. Throws up all sorts of interesting metaphysical and philosophical questions as well without ever becoming dull.
Paulie Tandoori
shut it you egg!
yes, a very good read indeed. i might just dig this out and read it again sometime soon.
Cloo
Banana for scale
Definitely Hilary Mantel's 'Wolf Hall' - fantastic stuff as ever from my favourite contemporary author
John Updike's 'Terrorist' was really great reading, though the ending was a little contrived, I felt.
Lucette Lagnado's 'Man in the White Sharkskin Suit' was a really well written and moving true account of a Jewish family's exile from Egypt - I'm not sure it's been much discussed outside the Jewish press in the UK. It was in many ways a love-note to the author's father, which made it especially touching, and it had particular interest to me, as her family's story is very similar to that of my mum's best friend, only with the family ending up in NY instead of London.
John Updike's 'Terrorist' was really great reading, though the ending was a little contrived, I felt.
Lucette Lagnado's 'Man in the White Sharkskin Suit' was a really well written and moving true account of a Jewish family's exile from Egypt - I'm not sure it's been much discussed outside the Jewish press in the UK. It was in many ways a love-note to the author's father, which made it especially touching, and it had particular interest to me, as her family's story is very similar to that of my mum's best friend, only with the family ending up in NY instead of London.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom
Telling Tales: A History of Literary Hoaxes by Melissa Katsoulis
Cricket: A History of its Growth & Development throughout the World
by Rowland Bowen (introduction by CLR James)
Telling Tales: A History of Literary Hoaxes by Melissa Katsoulis
Cricket: A History of its Growth & Development throughout the World
by Rowland Bowen (introduction by CLR James)
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
Well, if we are talking non fiction as well I have to give a shout to Steve Pinkers 'The Language Instinct'
Realy made me think about language and cognition in a depth I'd never done before. Struggled at times, he can be a little dry.
Realy made me think about language and cognition in a depth I'd never done before. Struggled at times, he can be a little dry.
PursuedByBears
Go stick your head in a pig
Best 3 of the year for me were:
China Mieville Perdido Street Station
John Ajvide Lindqvist Let The Right One In
Alastair Reynolds Chasm City
China Mieville Perdido Street Station
John Ajvide Lindqvist Let The Right One In
Alastair Reynolds Chasm City
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
I've come to fiction quite late really. The vast majority of my books are non-fiction and reference. I really rate C. J. Sansom who I only came across recently and have only read two of his books so far; Dissolution and Winter in Madrid. Both very well written and researched historical novels (Tudor whodunnit and Spanish Civil War thriller).
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
Two of my favourite books right there
I recommend you read The Scar by Meiville next. It's in some ways a better book
damnhippie
shark sandwich
hmm, this sounds good! i'll have a look for it.
mine:
Watchmen by Alan Moore. does that count? it was badass so, yes, it counts.
This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes. light and fluffy but a good, easy read.
the cheapo Guns 'n' Roses biog Watch You Bleed.
...weird. those are the only 3 i can remember. i've been reading constantly but don't seem to have finished anything, really.
dunno about the best, but three books I've read and enjoyed this year are-
and
(a re-read. His first book; a collection of short stories,
written with brutal efficiency. That's him on the cover by the way)
and
(a re-read. His first book; a collection of short stories,
written with brutal efficiency. That's him on the cover by the way)
SpookyFrank
Don't swallow the cap
Last year's three would probably be the first three David Mitchell novels.
Obnoxiousness
>-->))).>
Sons and Lovers - DH Lawrence
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
The Great Pie Robbery - Richard Scarry
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
The Great Pie Robbery - Richard Scarry
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
just been given that, looks great.
Similar threads
