I read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. It was one of those magical books that fill you with ideas, inspiration, appreciation of the writing skill, awe at the depths of research that sit behind it and engenders a strong desire to write. My reading of it happily coincided with a trip to the Netherlands which helped give it all a new meaning and life.
The best book would have been “In Ascension” by Martin Macinnes (SF novel which was on the 2023 Booker Prize longlist), closely followed by “The Bookbinder of Jericho” by Pip Williams (a follow-up to her debut novel “The Dictionary of Lost Words”. Both were excellent.
I loved True Grit by Charles Portis. I am bummed it took me so long to read it! It was exciting and fun but well-written. I also listened to Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace- excellent on audio, a thoughtful and incredible memoir.
Ahh, I've been especially intrigued by that one lately! Gets an understandably weird rap among readers, but I think you have to view it more like crime or even psychological thriller than as a love story of any kind.
Ah! You just made me realize I had mis-identified the source of that article in a recent post that included this book as a recommendation of prize-worthy non-fiction. Fixing it now. Thank you!
Agreed, I could not put this one down. Reading over Memorial Day weekend was perfect timing. I have a few quibbles with some of the characters but really appreciated what Hannah set out to do and I think she covered the subject matter in a respectful and impactful way. This one will stick with me.
Recursion by Blake Crouch is the top one for me. Page-turning, mind-bending, propulsive science fiction storytelling with characters you want to follow to the last page.
Closely followed by Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid!
This is a hard question, May was a very good reading month for me. I loved Anne Lamott’s new book Somehow, which are her thoughts on love. My favorite fiction was The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. I also read Viet Thanh Nguyen’s memoir, A Man of Two Faces, easily the best memoir I’ve ever read.
I really enjoyed three non-fiction books this month. I've had Lilly Dancyger's memoir/portrait of her artist father "Negative Space" on my kindle for a while now and finally picked it up. I also read The Tenth Muse by Judith Jones and Chop Fry Watch Lean by Michelle T. King.
I think the best was most likely, Hunter by Richard Stark (aka one of the many pen names of Donald E. Westlake). Now I am reading Slayground, also by Stark. Both are fun crime romps, this one set in an amusement park that has been closed for the winter, where the criminal hero Parker is hiding out after a robbery gone awry, being hunted by corrupt cops and mobsters. Almost everyone in the book is a criminal. Fun stuff!
The Mars House by Natasha Pulley. She's so good at world-building — this one has a future-London that's inundated by flooding and terraformed Mars colony. It's speculative fiction but magical realism/fantasy leaning? It's hard to describe, but it's great. Playful, entertaining, super creative, and it's very character-driven.
A Gentleman in Moscow!
It's just so good. Amor Towles is a national treasure.
Love Towles so much. Did anyone read Table for Two? His newest. I did not love it as much.
I’m waiting for Table for Two on Libby. I like the short story format so have high hopes. Maybe I should temper them?
Ooooh, lifetime fave. Are you going to watch the series? I liked it a lot AND it made me want to re-read the book asap.
Yes…I can’t wait to watch the series! I think Count Rostov is now in my top 3 literary characters of all time🥰
Strong agree. What a charmer!
One of my all-time favorites!
I read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott for the first time and it was phenomenal. I also really enjoyed All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.
Bird by Bird is just great. Gets a little more into specific writing advice than I would have expected, but it's eminently re-readable.
I read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. It was one of those magical books that fill you with ideas, inspiration, appreciation of the writing skill, awe at the depths of research that sit behind it and engenders a strong desire to write. My reading of it happily coincided with a trip to the Netherlands which helped give it all a new meaning and life.
Been on my shelf a very long time.. I'll have to pick it up sometime soon!
David Mitchell is a weird genius !!
The best book would have been “In Ascension” by Martin Macinnes (SF novel which was on the 2023 Booker Prize longlist), closely followed by “The Bookbinder of Jericho” by Pip Williams (a follow-up to her debut novel “The Dictionary of Lost Words”. Both were excellent.
Haven't heard of those — thanks!
If I may be permitted to blow my own trumpet, my reviews of both of these can be found here: https://biblioscope.org/issues_61_to_70/issue_66.html
I loved True Grit by Charles Portis. I am bummed it took me so long to read it! It was exciting and fun but well-written. I also listened to Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace- excellent on audio, a thoughtful and incredible memoir.
True Grit is great — been a long time since I've read it, but the language (and the snake scene!) has really stuck with me.
In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger about his near-death experience, about life, and everything in between.
We Shouldn’t Be Friends by Will Schwalbe about friendship over decades.
I've heard good things about both of those! Thanks for the recs, Jeremy.
There are some gems in both of them but the full reads are great!
Mine was Lolita. First time reading it this May
Ahh, I've been especially intrigued by that one lately! Gets an understandably weird rap among readers, but I think you have to view it more like crime or even psychological thriller than as a love story of any kind.
truth!! it’s a diary of a madman!
May wasn’t a great reading month for me. By far the best book I read was Trespasses by Louise Kennedy.
Haven't heard of that one but it looks intriguing. Thanks!
The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen
I read the Atlantic article about it, which was great.
Ah! You just made me realize I had mis-identified the source of that article in a recent post that included this book as a recommendation of prize-worthy non-fiction. Fixing it now. Thank you!
Glad to see this here as I have it on my June list.
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women (by Lisa See) was a remarkable book of historical fiction with so much attention to detail. I loved it!
Haven't heard of it — thanks for the rec, Jessica!
The Women by Kristin Hannah. A hidden part of the Vietnam War. Very moving.
Nice, my wife's library hold just came up. I'll probably read it after her. :)
Agreed, I could not put this one down. Reading over Memorial Day weekend was perfect timing. I have a few quibbles with some of the characters but really appreciated what Hannah set out to do and I think she covered the subject matter in a respectful and impactful way. This one will stick with me.
Recursion by Blake Crouch is the top one for me. Page-turning, mind-bending, propulsive science fiction storytelling with characters you want to follow to the last page.
Closely followed by Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid!
Loved Recursion. Such an inventive story. And I haven't read Carrie Soto but it's waiting for me on my shelf!
I just borrowed Recursion after reading the first chapter, Chris, thank you, for the recommendation.
You are welcome! It's a true page turner!
This is a hard question, May was a very good reading month for me. I loved Anne Lamott’s new book Somehow, which are her thoughts on love. My favorite fiction was The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. I also read Viet Thanh Nguyen’s memoir, A Man of Two Faces, easily the best memoir I’ve ever read.
Wow, some high praise! I'll have to check out Man of Two Faces. :)
The Berry Pickers is amazing and so memorable!
I really enjoyed three non-fiction books this month. I've had Lilly Dancyger's memoir/portrait of her artist father "Negative Space" on my kindle for a while now and finally picked it up. I also read The Tenth Muse by Judith Jones and Chop Fry Watch Lean by Michelle T. King.
I haven't heard of any of those! Thanks for the recs. :)
I think the best was most likely, Hunter by Richard Stark (aka one of the many pen names of Donald E. Westlake). Now I am reading Slayground, also by Stark. Both are fun crime romps, this one set in an amusement park that has been closed for the winter, where the criminal hero Parker is hiding out after a robbery gone awry, being hunted by corrupt cops and mobsters. Almost everyone in the book is a criminal. Fun stuff!
Oh nice, I haven't read any Westlake but have heard great things. I'll have to give him a shot sometime soon.
I really liked “Somebody Owes Me Money” which I read last year. I will definitely be going back for more of his books.
The Mars House by Natasha Pulley. She's so good at world-building — this one has a future-London that's inundated by flooding and terraformed Mars colony. It's speculative fiction but magical realism/fantasy leaning? It's hard to describe, but it's great. Playful, entertaining, super creative, and it's very character-driven.
Ooo that sounds fun and inventive!