Favorite book you've read this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are my favorites so far this year (not counting books that will be published in 2026):
The Art of a Lie
Atmosphere
Where the Axe is Buried
What Kind of Paradise
Hungerstone
A Drop of Corruption
First Lie Wins
Annie Bot
All Fours
Clever Little Thing (this one got no press but is so good)
Dead Money
The Inheritance
The Fourth Consort
Her Many Faces


The Great Work
The Twist

Great list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why because they are horribly cliched predictable books; Tragedy porn by an author unworthy of her popularity.

Well aren't you just a lovely little ray of sunshine.
You must be a real joy to be around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why because they are horribly cliched predictable books; Tragedy porn by an author unworthy of her popularity.

Well aren't you just a lovely little ray of sunshine.
You must be a real joy to be around.

Heaven forbid someone have an opinion.

[Anonymous]

I also thought the great alone read like a young adult novel. Not good, but readable for the plot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why because they are horribly cliched predictable books; Tragedy porn by an author unworthy of her popularity.

Well aren't you just a lovely little ray of sunshine.
You must be a real joy to be around.

Heaven forbid someone have an opinion.

It's got nothing to do with having an opinion. it was the snarky holier than thou attitude that was unrolled over a series of posts.
A normal person would have said "I didn't like these but glad you did" instead of starting with just a pissy "why?" in reaction to someone posting a couple of books they liked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why because they are horribly cliched predictable books; Tragedy porn by an author unworthy of her popularity.

Well aren't you just a lovely little ray of sunshine.
You must be a real joy to be around.

Heaven forbid someone have an opinion.

The book forum is about your own opinions on books you've read, not a critique of other people's choices. We aren't here for snark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:North Woods by Daniel Mason

Ditto. Just fantastic.

I posted above about reading it twice. My bookclub hated it. one of the reasons why was that they none of the characters were likeable. I cannot imagine judging a book based on this.

I also don't understand the pov that readers can't get into a book if the characters aren't warm & fuzzy and "just like me!". North Woods was my favorite book of last year and I thinking about a re-read.

This year I most liked History of Sound by Ben Shattuck. Was made into a lovely small film also.

I don’t need a character to be just like me. But I do need a character to have some compelling quality to spend so much time with them. In actual life, I don’t spend time with people I don’t like either.

Not all books are character driven. The North Woods is not, unless you count the house and the land it sits on.

[Anonymous]

The Lion Women of Tehran.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is Happiness by Niall Williams. I don’t even have words to describe how wonderful this book is. He is now my favorite writer.

Can't believe I've never heard of this book. Thanks for the recommendation -- sounds right up my alley!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Women and The Great Alone. both by Kristen Hannah

Why?

What do you mean by why? Why did I like them? or was this a snarky why like you thought they were terrible?

If you want to know why I liked them or why they were worth reading then here goes...
The Women tells the stories of Army nurses in Viet Nam. I've had women who were actually there tell me that it's the most realistic account they've read. This book captures the sights, sounds and even smells of war. It held my attention.
The Great Alone is about Alaska in the 1970s and the people who tried to escape there and be homesteaders. It also very accurately depicts the life of a woman and child caught in an abusive relationship. Again, it held my attention.

I just started The Women and really enjoying it so far! I’ve heard The Nightingale is really good too— May check out The Great Alone based on the recommendation here.

I’m also reading Tales of a Wayside Inn by Longfellow after a recent visit to Concord MA. I read poetry very slowly to savor it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Lion Women of Tehran.

I read it last year, great book!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Lion Women of Tehran.

+1. I loved this book and still think about it regularly, months after I finished it.

[Anonymous]

The Road to Tender Hearts

[Anonymous]

For those who’ve read The Lion Women of Tehran, would this be a good choice for a book club whose members always read the book and really enjoy a lively discussion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For fans of The Wedding People -- note: spoilers ahea

I'm the PP who picked this as my runner-up book of the year. I really liked Phoebe, plus I'm a sucker for the New England coastal wedding trope. But I'm still not sure I buy into the idea that she was just drifting through life aimlessly, living a life "contained", and that this led her to seriously consider suicide. Yes, of course, she hit a horrible trifecta of infertility, the pandemic, and Matt's infidelity, but there just seemed to be a disconnect between who she was before all that happened and who she was when we first encounter her checking into the Cornwall. Espach wants us to see Phoebe as someone who becomes aware of her needs and her power to take action to try to meet those needs. But does she? I mean, she decides to stay in RI and responds to the ad about being a winter keeper. But at a pivotal moment she doesn't reach out to Gary until it's almost too late. What am I missing?

I read the wedding people earlier this year. The main character's "contained" life reminded me of how I felt for a few months after we were all allowed to resume socializing after two years of quarantine for the pandemic. For me, felt kind of weird to talk to other people, and I felt like I had lost some skills when it came to socializing with other people. Until that point I had never thought that talking to strangers (or friends, or family) was something you had to learn how to do.
So yeah, I could relate to that feeling of having been contained for a couple years.

Sorry — I’m just seeing this response now. I see what you’re saying and that does help me understand the character a little better. I really did enjoy the book and I find myself thinking of Phoebe sometimes and seeing her in others — and occasionally myself.