Book Spin Off- Favorite Current books

[neverfstop]

Can't have one without the other! I was just updating my list for this year...


Fiction- Finally ready ACOTAR and 4th Wing, several Kristen Hannah, but The Women was incredible (nurses in Vietnam)

Non Fiction - several in the anti-productivity/anti-capitalism camp (Never Enough, Life Worth Living, 4000 Weeks, How to do Nothing)

CE&P Related - Nancy Pelosi's book, Tim Kaine's book was cool, reading Kara Swisher's tech book now, Nate Silver's book about stats/betting/AI

[underwaterrhymes]

Fiction:

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
11/22/1963 by Stephen King (many of his books have gotten 4* or 5* from me, which is rare)
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
The Guncle by Stephen Rowley
Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

[abs]

I’ll do of just the last few years…these are all 5 star reads on Goodreads for me.

The Women, Kristin Hannah
Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros
Husbands and Lovers, Beatriz Williams
The God of the Woods, Liz Moore
Part of Your World, Abby Jimenez
Just for the Summer, Abby Jimenez
Darling Girls, Sally Hepworth
The Simple Wild, KA Tucker
The Book of Lost Names, Kristin Harmel
The Guncle, Steven Rowley
Don’t Forget to Write, Sara Confino

If add in books from the last 20-30 years then The Nightengale, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and A Woman is No Man would make it, too. Hunger Games, too.

[fortnightlily]

My favorite book series is The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir. Waiting endlessly for a release date for "Alecto the Ninth" wahhh.

[underwaterrhymes]

Favorite nonfiction books are:

The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs
The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones
One Year Off by David Elliott Cohen
Pretty much everything Ta-Nehesi Coates has ever written
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow You Will Be Killed With Your Family by Philip Gourevitch
Travels by Michael Crichton
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

A lot more, but can’t think of them all. For some reason, I haven’t recorded ratings in Goodreads for so many of them. I need to get on that.

[shauni27]

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is my favorite book of all time
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

[ny96]

I just read The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden. It’s shortlisted for the Booker Prize and it was fantastic.

[Jalapeñomel]

I've only given two 5 stars this year (I'm stingy):
The Bee Sting
God of the Woods

Best book in the last 10 years:
Hearts Invisible Furies

Classic:
In Cold Blood

[shauni27]

Oct 17, 2024 9:14:18 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I've only given two 5 stars this year (I'm stingy):
The Bee Sting
God of the Woods

Best book in the last 10 years:
Hearts Invisible Furies

Classic:
In Cold Blood

I gifted this to all my reading friends and family last year. Such a beautiful, heartbreaking story.

[stuffandthings]

This year I've really enjoyed:
-We Need to talk About Kevin-Lionel Shriver
-Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow-Gabrielle Zevin
-The Empress of Salt and Fortune (more a novella than a novel)-Nghi Vo
-Hamnet-Maggie O'Farrell
-The Fraud-Zadie Smith
-The Familiar-Leigh Bardugo
-Babel-R.F. Kuang
-Remarkably Bright Creatures-Shelby Van Pelt
-Demon Copperhead-Barbara Kingsolver
-The Premonition: A Pandemic Story-Michael Lewis (nonfiction but still really page-turning)
-Solito-Javier Zamora
-The God of the Woods-Liz Moore
-Lady Macbeth-Ava Reid

[aurora]

I really like long series where I can get to "know" the characters really well. Some of my favorites are

Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson*)
The Inspector Gamache books (Louise Penny)

*I love that Jordan cared so much about his characters that he wanted the story finished after he died. It seems like some very highly hyped series - ahem, GRR Martin - will never actually be finished.

[Vespasia]

I tend to lean towards Sci-Fi/fantasy

Everything by T. Kingfisher. Seriously almost all of my recent 5 star books are by her. (wawa I had a dream you and I went to see her at an author event )
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Murderbot series
Little Thieves series by Margret Owen
Project Hail Mary
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

[StrawberryBlondie]

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai remains the best book I've read in a really long time.

Recent faves:

The Beartown trilogy by Fredrik Backmann
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backmann
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
First lie Wins by Ashley Easton
The Alice Network by Karen Quinn
Honor by Thrity Umrigar

I'm currently reading Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty and so far so good (I'm about 1/3 through it).

[mrshandy]

Looking for good non-fiction books, I love a good story telling book about crazy shit.

Some good ones that I've enjoyed...
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Most John McCullough
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts
Radium Girls by Kate Moore
In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides

Edited to Add: I'm currently reading The Indifferent Stars Above which is about the Donner Party. It's really interesting so far. 

I've listened to a billion audiobooks some good, some great, some not so great

[lilac05]

Oct 17, 2024 10:20:01 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Looking for good non-fiction books, I love a good story telling book about crazy shit.

Some good ones that I've enjoyed...
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Most John McCullough
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts
Radium Girls by Kate Moore
In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides

You'd probably really enjoy Sharon McMahon's The Small and the Mighty. She's a fantastic storyteller! The stories are fascinating, and it comes with an extra dose of hope and encouragement.

[Susie]

Oct 17, 2024 8:17:58 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

I saw that on my bookshelf recently and was thinking of rereading it.  I haven't since college and I imagine my perspective might be different now!

I've read the Cider House Rules by John Irving a few times, and I still love it.

More recent (in terms of my reading, more than when it was written) faves:  

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner 
The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion

[bugandbibs]

Books I enjoyed this year:
The Women (Kristin Hannah)
Ministry of Time (Kaliane Bradley)
The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (#2 in a series) Sci-fi, western, fantasy vibes but rooted in character development.
Take My Hand (Dolen Perkins-Valdez) fictionalized account of real events involving forced sterilization of black women/teens by the government in the 1970s. Told from the perspective of a young black nurse working in the south.
Firekeeper's Daugther and Warrior Girl Unearthed (Angeline Boulley)
Truly Devious Series (Maureen Johnson) YA mystery that covers a past event and a current event and how they connect.

[bugandbibs]

Oct 17, 2024 10:20:01 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Looking for good non-fiction books, I love a good story telling book about crazy shit.

Some good ones that I've enjoyed...
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Most John McCullough
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts
Radium Girls by Kate Moore
In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot) I thought I knew her story, but I learned a lot about the situation as a whole.

We Were Once a Family (Roxanna Asgarian) TW-child death/murder; True story written from a investigative journalist pov. The subplot of foster care and interstate adoption was really interesting as someone who was a foster parent who adopted and how a lack of safeguards in some states really are harmful.

[followyourarrow]

A few favorites of the year:
The God of the Woods
Nickel Boys
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell - mostly, the ending ehh
The Department of Rate Books and Special Collections

Non-fiction:
Braving the Wilderness

[glw]

Favorite fiction I've read this year:
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See
The September House by Carissa Orlando
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

'' Non-fiction:
Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott
The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward
The Wager by David Grann

[CurlyQ284]

Oct 17, 2024 10:01:55 GMT -5 aurora said:

I really like long series where I can get to "know" the characters really well. Some of my favorites are

Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson*)
The Inspector Gamache books (Louise Penny)

*I love that Jordan cared so much about his characters that he wanted the story finished after he died. It seems like some very highly hyped series - ahem, GRR Martin - will never actually be finished.

I want to start Wheel of Time by the end of the year. A friend of mine said she heard the ending was disappointing because it was finished by another author but I'm thinking...it's Brandon Sanderson though, how can it be bad 🤣.

I want to read Fourth Wing, and the second book before I start WOT since I know it's massive but I can't wait!

[lust2hart]

My favorite book this year has been James, by Percival Everett.

[7costanza]

Oct 17, 2024 8:17:58 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is my favorite book of all time
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Rocky from Project Hail Mary is my all time favorite book character! I’m semi excited and semi dreading seeing how he’s portrayed in the movie.

[shauni27]

Oct 17, 2024 14:20:30 GMT -5 7costanza said:

Oct 17, 2024 8:17:58 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is my favorite book of all time
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Rocky from Project Hail Mary is my all time favorite book character! I’m semi excited and semi dreading seeing how he’s portrayed in the movie.

same! Just made me think about ((waves arms wildly around)) everything in such a different way than I ever did before. I feel the same way about the film adaptation. I would LOVE to see it as a movie, like it was in my mind, but am scared to see how different it is than the book. It was just the most perfect book.

[mrshandy]

Oct 17, 2024 12:44:11 GMT -5 bugandbibs said:

Oct 17, 2024 10:20:01 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Looking for good non-fiction books, I love a good story telling book about crazy shit.

Some good ones that I've enjoyed...
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Most John McCullough
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts
Radium Girls by Kate Moore
In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot) I thought I knew her story, but I learned a lot about the situation as a whole.

We Were Once a Family (Roxanna Asgarian) TW-child death/murder; True story written from a investigative journalist pov. The subplot of foster care and interstate adoption was really interesting as someone who was a foster parent who adopted and how a lack of safeguards in some states really are harmful.

I've read that one before. Will check out the other one. I've also read or listened to many former Trump person's memoir

[basilosaurus]

Oct 17, 2024 10:01:55 GMT -5 aurora said:

I really like long series where I can get to "know" the characters really well. Some of my favorites are

A friend of mine, a school librarian, asked me what kinds of books I like, and I said character driven. She was impressed I was up with the more modern lingo instead of describing by genre. Except, I wasn't. It's just how I've always thought about it. I want books where they're my friends, and I'll reread if I need to visit them. Like, Anne of Green Gables, I'll read the whole series every few years.

Anyway, bookmarking this thread to put more books on my library list

[aurora]

Oct 17, 2024 14:06:10 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Oct 17, 2024 10:01:55 GMT -5 aurora said:

I really like long series where I can get to "know" the characters really well. Some of my favorites are

Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson*)
The Inspector Gamache books (Louise Penny)

*I love that Jordan cared so much about his characters that he wanted the story finished after he died. It seems like some very highly hyped series - ahem, GRR Martin - will never actually be finished.

I want to start Wheel of Time by the end of the year. A friend of mine said she heard the ending was disappointing because it was finished by another author but I'm thinking...it's Brandon Sanderson though, how can it be bad 🤣.

I want to read Fourth Wing, and the second book before I start WOT since I know it's massive but I can't wait!

You'll probably have forgotten this comment by the time you get to the end, anyway. 🤣

Seriously, though, I think WOT's books 12-14 are Sanderson's best! I'm only meh on his other writing. Yes, you can tell it's written by a different person than books 1-11, but I don't think it's jarring. He still captures the characters well, and the overall story follows as Jordan had mapped it out (at least per articles I read at the time).

[basilosaurus]

Just finished Lisa See's most recent. I love nearly everything she's written.

Demon Copperhead was another highlight this year.

[atarianna]

My 5* this year have been:

Rock Bottom Girl
Someone else’s bucket list
God of the woods
Yours Truly

Genres are kind of all over the place based on my mood but all hit me in different ways and I loved them.

[estrellita]

5 stars over the last couple years:
The last 2 (so far) From Blood and Ash books by Jennifer L Armentrout
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
The Women by Kristin Hannah
First 2 Crescent City books by Sarah J Maas
A couple from the Throne of Glass series (Queen of Shadows and Empire of Storms) by Sarah J Maas
While I'm at it, loved the 2nd A Court of Thorns and Roses book
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir