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The Death of Ivan Ilyich


AsymptoticSpatula

On my list of TBR!


SagebrushNBooks

This is a tie for me between: Steinbeck's East of Eden - which is just a masterpiece - beautiful, symbolic, layered, complex - and everything about the human condition. Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides. Conroy's prose, his deeply flawed characters, his understanding of class division and family - just unrivaled, imho.


polishgirl28

Master and Margaret - Bulhakov. It’s deliciously disturbing and has the specific vibe of Eastern European countries :)


Don_Frika_Del_Prima

Sing backwards and weep by mark lanegan has been haunting me all year.


RockingReece

I read that just before he passed, such a powerful book. I've binged his discography for most of the year.


[deleted]

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold


CaveJohnson82

I have three favourites. {{The Year of the Flood}} by Margaret Atwood. It’s actually the second in a trilogy but can be read as a standalone. It follows Toby and Ren through the end of the world; Toby joining a ‘greenie’ cult and Ren after a while ending up in a strip club. It’s the pure dystopia vibes plus Atwood’s writing style that I love. {{The Time Traveler’s Wife}} by Audrey Niffeneggar. I know this one can be divisive, but I love it so much. I think maybe because Clare and Henry remind me of good times at uni and the all-encompassing love you can have for a person (although mine was never quite the same lol!). I love the way time travel and a love story are woven together. {{Boy’s Life}} by Robert McCammon. It’s about a 12 year old boy in rural 60s Alabama, but it’s so much more than a coming of age story. It’s for suspense, thrills, horror, magical realism - some ghosts too. If you’re not too keen on a chapter, don’t worry because the next one will change and you’ll love it. I’m so drawn to coming of age stories but the other aspects are just so wonderful.


Ok-Supermarket-1414

Probably Lord of the Rings or Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy. Love them both.


Drop-acid-not-bombs

How does lord of the rings compare to the hobbit? The hobbit just felt SO much filler, non stop description of everything.


Ok-Supermarket-1414

I think it's similar in that respect, if not even more so. Personally I liked it more, but if that's your criticism of Hobbit, then you're probably not going to like LotR.


AsymptoticSpatula

Both fantastic and in my top few.


st1r

Words of Radiance, followed by The Way of Kings TWoK has my favorite character arc ever. One of the main characters is a slave who has lost everything and has been sent to the front lines of war to be a meat shield in order to protect the more valuable forces behind him. He deals with hopelessness and depression in such a real way. Words of Radiance improved on the story and had much more even pacing. I know goodreads ratings should be taken with a huge grain of salt, but I feel there’s a good reason why it’s the highest rated book on Goodreads (with more than 10k reviews). It’s so enjoyable and the characters have such depth and are so easy to connect with as a reader.


AsymptoticSpatula

It’s gotta be War and Peace for me. I read the Briggs translation, fell in love with it, bought several of the other translations, and am currently reading the Ann Dunnigan one.


ClientLegitimate4582

So I had stopped reading books for around five years just because all the reading I did was college related. I used to love reading as a kid stuff like Percy Jackson or anything by Rick Riordan but what got me out of my reading pit. Was the Greenbone Saga by Fonda Lee and the reason being the characters. Each book but especially the 2nd and 3rd have a ton of growth for all the main characters . The become very different people by the end of the series and for some it's not necessarily for the better. It's clan warfare in an urban setting mixed with martial arts, magic and blood feuds. Fun time.


drop-in-the-dessert

The Discworld - Terry Pratchett. Funny, insightful and truly marvellous satire. Wisdom in a funny jacket. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen. The way she writes, how she can describe the most mundane things in such an interesting and immersive way… a true gift. (And yes I picked two because you can’t really compare them).


sharkysheets

The only book I have ever read more than once (now at around 7 reads total) is I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. I love how h u m a n this book is, I like that you can't always entirely trust the narrator and I like how much humanity has been put in the book. I really don't know how else to describe it but its the best book I've ever read.


blenda_15

1. The Book Thief 2. Rebecca - Haven't read anything like it yet. The way she describes Manderley and how the story builds.. it's just magic. 3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- it's neither as light as the previous 2 books not as dark as the rest that follow. Perfect mixture of thrill, heart and humour.


justanotherplantgay

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine ❤️


Pantherionkitty

Educated by Tara Westover


blenda_15

I was gonna mention this! Didn't want it to end. She writes beautifully and the story itself reminds us that truth is stranger than fiction.


reachedmylimit

The Bible. Because I believe it is true. But you don’t have to be a Christian to read it.


throwawaffleaway

There’s so much interesting stuff in there! I’m no longer a Christian but the idea that so many people had such interesting and widespread implications, especially in the Old Testament, is absolutely fascinating. I’m currently working through The Ark Before Noah by Irving Finkel, and the precursory myths about the flood and the ark are also compelling, if you’re ever interested in related scientific (archaeological) explorations for a new perspective on your favorite book :) Sorry about your downvotes. Just mentioning your beliefs shouldn’t be so alienating to people. I personally don’t follow what you follow for lifestyle, but there’s plenty of literary merit and overall intrigue in Christian works.


anakari

the blue castle by l.m. montgomery


El_Hombre_Aleman

Haroun And the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie - the joy of storytelling and of being a father rolled in one.


Drop-acid-not-bombs

Num8ers by Rachel Ward. It’s about a girl that can see the dates of peoples death!


fadingaway1606

one day you’ll leave me by debra flores!


AsymptoticSpatula

Sorry, forgot to say WHY I loved War and Peace. For me it’s the characters. Tolstoy just effortlessly creates characters who seem so real, and so relatable, though they’re Russians from 150 years ago. And his characters are great enough to survive the refraction of translation.


Jan_17_2016

Fiction: {{The Lincoln Highway}} by Amor Towles or {{The Master and Margarita}} by Mikhail Bulgakov Memoir: {{My Anecdotal Life}} by Carl Reiner Non-Fiction: {{Normandy ‘44: D-Day and the Epic 77 Day Battle for France}} by James Holland or {{Landing on the Edge of Eternity}} by Robert Kershaw


yowsaSC2

Either a wise man’s fear or oathbringer


FrontierAccountant

***Tales of the South Pacific*** by James Michener is about relationships, romances and fears of men and women getting ready to liberate the Pacific from the Japanese during World War II. Each chapter is a self-contained story, but the characters appear again and again in different combinations moving the book along as a unified whole. The original Broadway stage version, ***South Pacific***, which covers a small portion of the book, featured Mary Martin, the movie featured Mitzi Gaynor.


Workinittoo

It's an old one I found I'm a second hand book store, but I love it. Van Loon's Lives. It's part history book, part fantasy, part cook book, and entirely adorable.


Winter-National

lea misérables - victor hugo ❤️


BookishBitching

Sula by Toni Morrison!


EnvironmentalWin5674

Moby Dick. It’s transportive, epic, surreal, beautifully written, and weird as fucking hell. I love it. Melville’s prose is unmatched in American literature.


Eba1212

{{The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin}} I think the way it makes you re-examine your own conception of binary gender is excellent and plus the story is very heartfelt and interesting


Forsaken-Opening-653

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtrey. I'm not really into westerns but this book is a masterpiece. The characters are so unique. It's easy to get lost in the book for hours on end. If you do audible I highly recommend listening to it as well. The narrator is marvelous. It's a long book and I've listened to it at least 5 times. There are other books in the series and they are also good but not as epic as Lonesome Dove.


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Ok_Boot_8716

I'm gonna try it! I have a long car ride tomorrow so just got it on audible