What's the best book you've read this year?

[PrincessMommy]

Lately I seem to be enjoying audio books more than the read ones. I'm not sure why that is. Of course, having a great narrator helps.

 

I'm in the middle of "The Book Thief" audio with Alan Corduner narrating. He's one of my favorite British character actors anyway and is doing a superb job with the book.

[Coffeetime]

Haven't read all the replies (but plan to later because I'm needing some new books to read!) but wanted to add that I am just finishing up A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Beautiful, wonderful book. I have no idea why I've never read it before.

[LostSurprise]

ed The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Have you read that one?

 

 

Yes, I've read both The Sparrow and Children of God.

 

I would say it felt lighter then Sparrow to me. Sparrow was rough. It made me think, but it was rough.

 

In many ways Thread of Grace was more hopeful. It focused more on the living characters, how they interacted and coped with the tragedy around them. And being people, many were hopeful and funny.

 

Not to say that people didn't die, but more time was spent on the final days of the war in Italy, not investigating the death camps. Even after the final chapters, which covered several deaths, I felt hopeful at the end. I was left more with a feeling of the basic good of much of mankind, and how beautiful it is when religions cooperate and respect each other. How different people try to redeem themselves. How individuals can change the fate of hundreds or thousands, simply because they chose to act. How loss effects a person's whole life.

 

Anyway, I read a lot, and I rarely rate a book 5/5 (maybe once every few years), but this one was better then anything I've read in over a year.

[Negin]

Hmm, I think Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, is the best I've read this year. I couldn't stop talking about it while I was reading it and right after I finished.

Me too. Love, love, love this book. Can't wait to soon get her other one.

[Rosie_0801]

Half of a Yellow Sun is on my to-read list too. And :lol: about meeting an estuary this weekend. Did you & the estuary get along? ;):001_smile:

 

Oh, we just moved past one another. Neither of us thought to bite.:p

 

(It was terribly good fun to be exploring a new part of the state. The pink heath, which is our state's floral emblem, was blooming all over the place and I loved it! Plus, I had pleasant company ;))

 

 

Rosie

[M&NMom]

I read Defending Jacob by William Landay and I had a hard time putting it down. Here is a book review of it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/defending-jacob-by-william-landay/2012/01/30/gIQAC7AVsQ_story.html

 

Speaking of books you can't put down, has anyone read Fifty Shades of Gray? :bigear: I haven't, but I've read that a lot of women have. Just curious what others might think of it.

 

Tina

[mlbuchina]

Speaking of books you can't put down, has anyone read Fifty Shades of Gray? :bigear: I haven't, but I've read that a lot of women have. Just curious what others might think of it.

 

Tina

 

I haven't read the published book, but I have read the fanfiction. I was on twitter with the author (as where a ton of fans), as she wrote it, and can remember waiting not so patiently for her to post the next chapter on her blog.

 

It isn't for everyone, but I loved the original story. I want to get the books to see what all she had to change to have them published.

[dangermom]

So far, And There Was Light by Jacques Lusseyran, The School of Freedom (classical ed), and The Book of the City of Ladies (medieval lit). Those are all my blog posts on the books so you can see why I liked them.

 

They are all non-fiction. :001_smile:

[lynn]

State of Wonder

[Farrar]

One of my reading goals is to read through all of the Man Booker Fiction winners in order of win. So far, I've read through to 1981 and Rushdie's Midnight's Children.

 

A. Mazing.

 

Oh, so amazing! I had this goal for awhile. I read so many good books that way - in some cases, books it seemed like no one ever talked about. I also especially liked Possession. Maybe I should go back and try to do them all.

 

Suprisingly enough, I actually Found The Hunger Games a let down, the movie wasn't that brilliant either. *waiting for the tomatoes*

 

Yes, it was interesting, but loving the dystopian/post-apocalyptic world novels, and finding one that hit the mainstream "big time" I was expecting something better.

 

I honestly can't remember books I have read strictly in 2012, because I tend to go on "reading binges" and could easily read 1-3 books a day (or more if they are short)

 

But among some of the more outstanding ones in a genre similar to "Hunger Games" would be:...

 

I clipped your list because it was long, but I read most of those and found their tone to be so different from The Hunger Games. I had to put down Birthmarked because I found it really tedious. I thought the two that most captured the action were Legend by Marie Lu and Divergent by Veronica Roth - though neither was as good. But if you didn't like The Hunger Games that much you might not like those either. ;)

[luvnlattes]

I read one of her books last year, The House at Riverton, I think it was, and I was disappointed. I knew what was going to happen by about 1/4 of the way through. Have you read it? I'm just wondering if The Forgotten Garden is similar.

 

This was the first book that I've read by her. You may have some inklings of what's going to happen but I enjoyed the characters so much it didn't matter. What ultimately played out in the end was not what I expected at all.

 

That's disappointing about the book you mention. I was looking forward to reading another by her since I'd enjoyed this one so much. The House at Riverton was on my list.

[Mom-ninja.]

I really enjoyed The Magic of Reality.

 

 

I want to read but haven't yet. Should I buy it or loan it from library? Is it "book buy" worthy? :001_smile:

[Amira]

I just finished reading China in Ten Words and really enjoyed it. Factory Girls, also about China, was good too.

[TheTwinsMom1]

For me, for books I have never read before, it's The Game of Thrones, the whole series.

[KrissiK]

I am in the middle of "Peter the Great" by Robert Massie and am loving it!

[sweetstitches]

Without question, it was The Help.

[Laura Corin]

The Ivington Diaries by Monty Don. But I'm in the middle of a period of gardening fever.

 

Laura

[FiveOaksAcademy]

Hands down it would be "Kisses from Katie." Top 10 life-changing books for me.

[JadeOrchidSong]

Claire Weekes "Simple, Effective Treatment of Agoraphobia". I bought Hope and Help for Your Nerves and Pass through Panic (cd).i hope more people can be helped by her books.

This is the simply the best book on anxiety and treatment. I wish I had read it 20 years ago when my anxiety problem started. She is the most loving doctor who understands your anxiety problems and helps you to cope with it with the simplest approach. Reading her book makes me feel understood, accepted, and loved.