It was an absolute treat to read. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I ended up enjoying it. There were definitely moments where I could not put the book down.
Has to be A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, and The Odyssey in Emily Wilson’s translation …. So many, so hard to choose (that’s why they usually choose by genre 😀)
I'm not a power reader like many here -- too many books, too little time -- but I read 31 this year (will probably finish three more, none notable, before the end of the year).
My favorite:
A Month in the Country
The others:
84, Charing Cross Road
American Rust
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Barabbas
Child of God
Giants in the Earth
Legends of the Fall
Living in Wonder
North American Lake Monsters
O Caledonia
Persuasion
Prayer for Beginners
Slaughterhouse-Five
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
State by State
The Black Dreams: Strange Stories from Northern Ireland
The Cannibal Owl
The Death of Christian Culture
The Holy Bible, King James Version (finished cover to cover after starting in 2023)
The Long Good-Bye
The Pearl
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Psychology of Money
Theo of Golden
Till We Have Faces
Trust
Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon: Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops and the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Been high on my list for too long.
It was an absolute treat to read. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I ended up enjoying it. There were definitely moments where I could not put the book down.
That's a great one!
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
High on my list!
I read 40 five star books this year. The following are my top ten.
1. This Is Happiness by Niall Williams
2. Shantaram by David Gregory Roberts
3. All The Glimmering Stars by Mark Sullivan
4. A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
5. A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles
6. There Are Rivers In The Sky by Elif Shafak
7. Count The Ways by Joyce Maynard
8. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
9. When The Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridz’n
10. Hark The Lover by Lily King
They were all loved equally. So there’s no rhyme or reason to the order.
This is Happiness! Such a good book.
❤️ a gentleman in moscow and heart the lover ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I forgot This Is Happiness ! I love that book so much I bought a hard back version after listening on audio!
It was best experience on audio. I loved the story.
That book was best experienced on audio. I loved the book.
I've only read Towles from this list. Thanks for sharing!
Rebecca
Stoner
A Separate Peace
The Last Samurai
The Color Purple
Possession
Parable of the Sower
Classics! Color Purple was on my list last year; it's stuck with me like very few books I've read.
I was very nervous about reading it for some reason but was blown away! So good.
Heaven and Earth Bookstore!
I’ll assume you mean Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. :) So good! Glad you liked it.
😂😂😂 exactly what I meant. Doing too many things at once!
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. Berry is just a wonderful writer and his ideas are an antidote to these chaotic modern times.
A lovely story all around.
In no particular order:
The Peacock and the Sparrow by I S Berry
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Pariah by Dan Fesperman
The Odyssey by Homer; Emily Wilson trans.
Currently about 3/4 through The Antidote by Karen Russell and so good that it might be my best read this past year.
Thanks for the recs, Ralph! I haven't read any of those (except for a graphic version of The Odyssey).
Ohhh Flowers for Algernon. I may be due for a reread of that one...
Antidote by Karen Russell.
Currently reading this and very much enjoying it. One of my favorite books this year.
I've heard a lot of great things!
Best books:
Lonesome Dove - McMurtry
The Last of the Curlews - Fred Bodsworth
A Month in the Country - Carr
La Ricreazione è Finita - Dario Ferrari
Ordures! Journal d'un Vidangeur - Simon Paré-Poupart
Our Man in Havana - Greene
La Bête Humaine - Zola
Very best book:
The Brothers Karamazov: This was a reread and it knocked me over just as much as it did 30 years ago.
Lonesome Dove is definitely in my personal canon.
Three new-to-me books stand out in what has been a rather slow reading year:
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Love love love Verghese. I've not read the other two.
Loved your #1 and #2; still processing the Woolf years later.
Best new book: The Antidote, Karen Russell
Nice, glad to hear you enjoyed it. I definitely want to check it out.
The book I really enjoyed this year was Grant by Ron Chernow. Perhaps it was the “door stopper” appeal, but it was thoroughly enjoyed.
Such a good book. My second favorite of his after Hamilton.
The Iliad, translated by Fagles
All Quiet on the Western Front
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
Frankenstein
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
Frankenstein is all time favorite of mine. Great picks.
Has to be A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, and The Odyssey in Emily Wilson’s translation …. So many, so hard to choose (that’s why they usually choose by genre 😀)
I've not read Mantel yet, but I definitely need to.
Suttree by Cormac McCarthy. What a great book!
Yes, Sir! What a great book!! (I grew up near Knoxville and I felt it.)
Haven't read that one! Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I'm not a power reader like many here -- too many books, too little time -- but I read 31 this year (will probably finish three more, none notable, before the end of the year).
My favorite:
A Month in the Country
The others:
84, Charing Cross Road
American Rust
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Barabbas
Child of God
Giants in the Earth
Legends of the Fall
Living in Wonder
North American Lake Monsters
O Caledonia
Persuasion
Prayer for Beginners
Slaughterhouse-Five
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
State by State
The Black Dreams: Strange Stories from Northern Ireland
The Cannibal Owl
The Death of Christian Culture
The Holy Bible, King James Version (finished cover to cover after starting in 2023)
The Long Good-Bye
The Pearl
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Psychology of Money
Theo of Golden
Till We Have Faces
Trust
Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon: Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops and the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream
When The Sacred Ginmill Closes
William Blake vs. the World
You Are Not Your Own
Will finish by the end of the year:
'Salem's Lot
Issac's Storm
The Fisherman
Seems like you had a great reading year! Thanks for sharing.
Love your list - so interesting and diverse. Isaac’s Storm is so good- one of my favorites and a favorite Larsen.