Books you've read in 2020

It's a great book, really enjoyed it - pretty easy read so you can finish it and quickly delve into the TV series (which is also good in spite of Reese W).

I'd recommend you read Everything I Never Told You (her previous novel) which is just as good, if not even better, than Little Fires Everywhere.
 
I'm onto The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.

I read Interpreter of Maladies at uni and have had this on my shelf for years, but haven't read it before now. Loving it so far.
 
I'm still in a book drought phase. I need something pretty impactful to get me out of it but I'm not sure what. And yes I have tonnes of unread books on my shelves..
 
If we're into non-fiction at all, I just finished "Prisoners of Geography" by Tim Marshall, which talks about the explanatory power of Geography over international geo-politics, both historically and what we can expect in the future. I enjoyed it, though I am not sure I am in complete agreement with him over everything he claims.

I am now disappearing up my own arse by reading Pride and Prejudice though, since I never have before.
 
I can't deal with Jane Austen - never have and never will. I can't count the number of times I've started Emma, Persusasion, Northanger Abbey and, of course, Pride & Prejudice only to toss them aside. I just can't get into it.
 
ZenGiraffe said:
If we're into non-fiction at all, I just finished "Prisoners of Geography" by Tim Marshall, which talks about the explanatory power of Geography over international geo-politics, both historically and what we can expect in the future. I enjoyed it, though I am not sure I am in complete agreement with him over everything he claims.
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Prisoners of Geography is a really fun read, oversimplified geopolitics but mostly accurate and interesting.

One of my favourite youtube channels have a series of different countries’ geopolitical agenda, if you want to go deeper than the bigger countries/regions.
 
I dived into Arabs today, and I’m late to the gym because I haven’t been able to put it down. It’s non-fiction, epic history extravaganza.

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So that’ll be my recommendation for you.
 
Still can't get out of my reading funk.

I tried starting Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians and I'm stuck.

Maybe I need to shift genre completely. Or perhaps go for the trash approach. I don't know.
 
just finished The Blade Itself. have you read it, @Phoenix? I'm in shock... there's an interesting template but the writing is poor and banal, almost offensive. George RR Martin has really spoilt us. can you recommend some fantasy of similar quality?
 
Mats said:
just finished The Blade Itself. have you read it, @Phoenix? I'm in shock... there's an interesting template but the writing is poor and banal, almost offensive. George RR Martin has really spoilt us. can you recommend some fantasy of similar quality?
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I haven’t read it yet, he feels very masc and that’s just not my thing.

I guess if you want flowery language you can try Name of the Wind (although I’m not a fan). Robin Hobb’s Assassin Apprentice is also well written but the pacing is pretty slow (I enjoyed it but sometimes you’d just wish something would happen).

I’m sure I’ve recommended Stormlight and Mistborn before, Sanderson’s strength is plot and big character moments but the writing is fairly straight forward.

N. K Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy is very highly regarded and it’s very progressive in a sea of whiteness. Also heard good stuff about Gideon the Ninth which has lesbians :o

I’m reading The Raven Tower at the moment which is a stand-alone and is quite interesting.
 
Phoenix said:
I haven’t read it yet, he feels very masc and that’s just not my thing.

I guess if you want flowery language you can try Name of the Wind (although I’m not a fan). Robin Hobb’s Assassin Apprentice is also well written but the pacing is pretty slow (I enjoyed it but sometimes you’d just wish something would happen).

I’m sure I’ve recommended Stormlight and Mistborn before, Sanderson’s strength is plot and big character moments but the writing is fairly straight forward.

N. K Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy is very highly regarded and it’s very progressive in a sea of whiteness. Also heard good stuff about Gideon the Ninth which has lesbians :o

I’m reading The Raven Tower at the moment which is a stand-alone and is quite interesting.
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thank you, dearest! I will look into these, especially the hot lesbian novella :horny:

I could live with the masculinity of the book if it wasn't for the fact that it reads like a Days of Our Lives script. SAD!
 
ZenGiraffe said:
I am now disappearing up my own arse by reading Pride and Prejudice though, since I never have before.
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So I got a quarter of the way through it before I just couldn't any more. The writing style is just too wordy and meandering for me.

Jane Austen, Never Knowingly Underwritten.

I did have a realisation that I don't think I have ever read a Science Fiction novel. Does anyone have any recommendations ?
 
I've started the new John Boyne book, A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom.

He's a master storyteller so I'm hooked as usual, though not to the extent of the last two yet. The concept is pretty unique - he's continuing a plot across countries and generations, so that every chapter moves to a new place fifty years or so after the first, beginning in AD 1. The character names and contexts change, but the story itself is mostly consistent. Or you're supposed to assume it is, I guess.
 
Did anyone read the latest David Mitchell?
 
Win_the_game said:
On the back of this, I decided to investigate further and purchased a copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Very much looking forward to reading it now!
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How is this going?
I started reading on Sunday and I have barely been able to put it down. I don’t know why @Suedey made me think it’s going to be a hard one to read; it’s pure joy, such a bittersweet story of epic proportions... so far at least, I’ve read about half of it.
 
I haven’t finished a book in almost the whole of lockdown. This is a DISASTER people.

I’m going to finish “My Dark Vanessa” by the weekend and then hunt for something that will get my fire burning again.
 
I’m on my 32:nd book. Reading has been my saviour and escape from reality during this awful year.


(I’m however including the Basic Art series as books)
 
RaspberrySwirl said:
How is this going?
I started reading on Sunday and I have barely been able to put it down. I don’t know why @Suedey made me think it’s going to be a hard one to read; it’s pure joy, such a bittersweet story of epic proportions... so far at least, I’ve read about half of it.
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I’ve not started it yet but it’s in my reading pile.

I hit a wall with reading over the last couple weeks as I was reading a lot of heavy going non-fiction which was exhausting.
 
I wanna read Hannah Arendt for some non-fiction

I'm reading a very gripping Danish novel at the moment but yeah
 
jivafox said:
I haven’t finished a book in almost the whole of lockdown. This is a DISASTER people.

I’m going to finish “My Dark Vanessa” by the weekend and then hunt for something that will get my fire burning again.
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Same. It started off well but it went downhill very quickly. Music (mainly vinyl!) & The Real Housewives franchise has been my solace and I'm a bit disappointed in myself. :(
 
I got this yesterday

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Also this will probably be the one after

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Mats said:
I wanna read Hannah Arendt for some non-fiction
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I started reading 'The Origins of Totalitarianism' before I hit the wall. I'm going to start over once I've tackled 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'.

I went on a book buying spree during lockdown. It's beginning to stress me out when I think about how big my reading pile is. :(
 
Just finishing At the Jerusalem by Paul Bailey. It's heartbreaking, and it doesn't feel like a word is ever wasted. I think most people on here would love it.
 
Phoenix said:
I haven’t read it yet, he feels very masc and that’s just not my thing.

I guess if you want flowery language you can try Name of the Wind (although I’m not a fan). Robin Hobb’s Assassin Apprentice is also well written but the pacing is pretty slow (I enjoyed it but sometimes you’d just wish something would happen).

I’m sure I’ve recommended Stormlight and Mistborn before, Sanderson’s strength is plot and big character moments but the writing is fairly straight forward.

N. K Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy is very highly regarded and it’s very progressive in a sea of whiteness. Also heard good stuff about Gideon the Ninth which has lesbians :o

I’m reading The Raven Tower at the moment which is a stand-alone and is quite interesting.
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I've bought Stormlight #1 now! seems to have the scope I am looking for. did you read Eddings when you were younger? absolutely loved the width/depth of his series
 
I finished On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous recently, and it wasn't for me. Beautifully written, but it was too slow-paced for me.

Now I'm reading My Dark Vanessa and can't put it down. This book is a tour de force. I have never read anything like it, it's utterly gripping.
 
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I finished My Dark Vanessa last week and it left me cold. It was a great idea and in the hands of a better writer it would have really been something, but it didn’t quite get there for me.
 
jivafox said:
I finished My Dark Vanessa last week and it left me cold. It was a great idea and in the hands of a better writer it would have really been something, but it didn’t quite get there for me.
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Really? I'm almost done now, I just hope the ending doesnt disappoint.
 
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