What is your favorite novel of the year thus far?
What is your favorite novel of the year thus far?
Curious to see what the Lemmings are reading this year.
I'll say my favorite this year was "The People of the Deer" by Farley Mowat, a novelization of the authors time spent in the Canadian North.
An incredible read with some wonderful prose.
Unexpectedly, it’s Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. I’ve always loved the movie and the book adds to it. A real joy to read.
One is my all time favorite books. The second one is also much better than the movie.
Oh yes, it's been years since I read the book. I really enjoyed all the industrial espionage and corporate scumbaggery added in.
My favorite book I read this year was "The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin and the rest of her Broken Earth Trilogy was fantastic as well. It's such a uniquely dangerous and i I'mnteresting world full of mystery and horror. It really grounded with fantastic characters and a compelling plot. Plus it deals with issues like systemic oppression and climate change in a way that just doesn't just feel like it is copying real world but slapping fantasy/sci Fi paint over it.
I really loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers.
It hit me right at a time when I needed it, and made me feel that change might actually be ok.
“Little Eyes” by Samanta Schweblin, a story about how a new technology connects people around the world, and the varied happy and horrific consequences. Samanta Schweblin is my new favorite author. Her best work (imo) is Fever Dream, a hallucinatory novel that feels like a fever dream, about the negative impact of some environmental issues in Argentina.
Sounds right up my alley, thank you!
"The Phoenix Project" by Gene Kim. It's been a revelation. The second book, "The Unicorn Project", is not as good, but still definitely worth a read.
Oh The Phoenix Project sounds really interesting, fictional devops and IT what an interesting idea!
It's only fictional as a full story. All the little events, substories, incodents - they're all real.
Published this year: Looking Glass Sound (Catriona Ward)
Read this year: Wolf Hall trilogy (Hilary Mantel)
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery did grab my attention with its themes of class conflict and gender. Its most unique feature is prioritising philosophical and intellectual discussions through the protagonists' journals; the plot comes in second.
Thank you, I'll be checking this out!
River of Gods by Ian McDonald. I've read a lot of books this year but River really stood out. The world building, prose and characters were all top notch.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern!
I'll remember that book like a treasured gourmet meal forever.
Even if I later forget the details, the silken blessing of her prose and how close I grew to her characters while living in their world will linger.
Lonesome Dove was beautiful and brutal; a window through time.
I really enjoyed **The Kaiju Preservation Society ** by John Scalzi. Very fun read and how a group of scientists would interact on an everyday basis is very on point.
I read The Locked Tomb series this year and I got really into it. I'm currently listening to the audio books now. I'm also reading the first book in the Wayfarers series at the recommendation of my husband and so far it's really fun too.
@WanderingCrow best novel I’ve read that was written this year, or best novel I’ve read this year?
Best novel you've read this year, no need to cap it by publishing date!
@WanderingCrow Then I think I’d say The Eighth Life (For Brilka). By Haratischwili. A Georgian family saga, spanning the 20th century
Red rising, it's been so long since I read a book like ender's game but I do always enjoy the story of youth in a violent world coming to terms with the society they live in, but this one had so much more than I was expecting.
I was worried it was going to be some pale imitation of ender's game but instead it was an entirely new story that ended up providing a more brutal look into the viscera of a sick society.
Honorable mention: Logan's run which I finally read a couple days ago. Brief but wildly exciting.
You know I have this book sitting on my shelf for a few months but haven't gotten around to it yet. I heard good things about it, but I just kinda forgot about it
You'll dig it. I had to read the first three books in a row after the first one captured me.
Red Rising had some excellent world building and I really enjoyed the early books. The further along it went, the less I enjoyed, but that may be me. I found myself lost a few times and Brown keeps on chugging.
The further along you went just in that book, or in the series?
That is interesting, I was pretty captivated the whole time and read it in a few days basically when I had any free time, but two of those times were walking around drunk during back to back snow storms listening to the audiobook, so if a particular scene was slow I may have missed that hahaha.