Best book of 2024?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cloud Cuckoo Land was a surprise and a delight. I had started it a couple times but put it down. Finally after about page 50 I realized it was going to be a great read. It was.
Berlin Game by Len Deighton was an old but goodie for me.

CCL is an amazing book and one of the best I’ve read in the last 3-4 years. I read it the year it came out (2021? 2022?) and it was definitely the best book I read that year by far.

Hmm maybe I should go back to it. I got a few chapters in via a sample and thought it was okay but ultimately decided not to request the full book.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to abuse the rules, but I can't choose one.

Here are my top 5:

The Little Liar by Mitch Albom (historical fiction)
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin (memoir)
Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad (memoir)
Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders (historical fiction)
Everyone Who is Gone is Here (nonfiction)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:James, Percival Everett.
So well written, slyly funny, enjoyed revisiting this classic narrated from the point of view of a slave.

Let me fix that for you: *an enslaved person*

Am I the only one who finds “let me fix that for you” terribly annoying?

nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:James, Percival Everett.
So well written, slyly funny, enjoyed revisiting this classic narrated from the point of view of a slave.

Let me fix that for you: *an enslaved person*

Am I the only one who finds “let me fix that for you” terribly annoying?

Not as annoying as perpetuating racism and harming people with ignorance though, is it?

Please educate me (seriously): why is "slave" so offensive v. "enslaved person?" Same as "unhoused" v. "homeless." I sincerely don't understand why those phrases are "de-humanizing" any more than the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:James, Percival Everett.
So well written, slyly funny, enjoyed revisiting this classic narrated from the point of view of a slave.

Let me fix that for you: *an enslaved person*

Am I the only one who finds “let me fix that for you” terribly annoying?

Not as annoying as perpetuating racism and harming people with ignorance though, is it?

You get more bees with honey.
People aren’t going to listen and learn when you write that. Much nicer ways to say it that will have a bigger impact than your self righteousness.

No need to be "nicer" in response to racism. In fact that approach has been part of the problem.

Are you white? How do you explain the whole ADOS acronym? Should it not be ADOEOP? Is the term “slavery” racist? Should it be “enslaving of people”?

Best book - as a woman veteran of OEF - The Women. I cried - a lot. Agree it was not the best written book, and I wish Frankie was more well-rounded as a character in some ways, but it resonated nonetheless.

Slave = victim of slavery. Maybe that should be the acceptable current term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Women. I’d go to the library to get books on hold and there were always a dozen copies waiting to be picked up. All. Summer.

That was one of my only DNF books in 2024. We’ll see if I return to it in 2025.

It was not Kristin Hannah's best. The plot was predictable and writing was lacking.

I thought this one was OK, but she kept pouring on the trauma, well beyond what would have made for a compelling book. One less tragedy and 50 fewer pages would have been good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry to abuse the rules, but I can't choose one.

Here are my top 5:

The Little Liar by Mitch Albom (historical fiction)
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin (memoir)
Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad (memoir)
Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders (historical fiction)
Everyone Who is Gone is Here (nonfiction)

I like your taste!

[Anonymous]

Currently reading “Night Watch” and loving it. Historical and well written, I have to stop, reread and ponder a bit. Have had difficulty finding something worth completing lately!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Currently reading “Night Watch” and loving it. Historical and well written, I have to stop, reread and ponder a bit. Have had difficulty finding something worth completing lately!

Who is the author?

[Anonymous]

Jayne Anne Phillips
It was 2024 Pulitzer Prize for fiction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:James, Percival Everett.
So well written, slyly funny, enjoyed revisiting this classic narrated from the point of view of a slave.

Let me fix that for you: *an enslaved person*

Am I the only one who finds “let me fix that for you” terribly annoying?

Not as annoying as perpetuating racism and harming people with ignorance though, is it?

You get more bees with honey.
People aren’t going to listen and learn when you write that. Much nicer ways to say it that will have a bigger impact than your self righteousness.

Couldn’t agree more. Saying slave is not perpetuating anything. Maybe in the mind of a progressive extremist it is.

+1. There is no difference between using the noun "slave" or the descriptive ohrase "enslaved person". none

Op and I don't really want to see this thread derailed further, but there is a difference. Slave is dehumanizing, while enslaved person focuses more on their humanity. The current appropriate term is enslaved person. We change terms all the time- why is this so bothersome to some?

Nobody appointed you the arbiter of which term is “currently appropriate.” Your claim is silly.

Be open to learning: https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2023/12/14/1219329636/slave-or-enslaved

It is a giant leap from letting someone know that it is more sensitive to say “enslaved person” instead of defining a person as a slave to then saying that using the word slave is racism. Have you ever thought that watering down what constitutes racism makes it mean a lot less in instances of actual racism?

I don't think anyone said it was racist (or I didn't, anyway). I was responding to folks who could see any difference or don't want to take the time to be more human-centered.

NP. Nobody likes their language policed. I get the whole human-centered language push but when you police other people’s language, you should use a more “human-centered” correction instead of coming off flippant. Because there always seems to be new human centered words and it takes some people longer to adopt these terms because of exposure. Human centered language is elitist so let people catch up on language trends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:James, Percival Everett.
So well written, slyly funny, enjoyed revisiting this classic narrated from the point of view of a slave.

Sooooooo good! Especially the he audio version on Libby.

[Anonymous]

Agree with some others here about Lion Women of Tehran, Wedding People and The Women. All were wonderful. I personally loved The Frozen River and would make that the top of my list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wedding People by Alison Espach. So good!

This is my favorite also!

I just finished it and really liked it. I hadn't heard about it but picked it randomly based on a Kindle recommendation. It was exactly what i wanted. Well-written, a good story and not terribly serious. I am so done with books on heavy topics.