The Booklist 2005 Project

225 thoughts to “The Booklist 2005 Project”

1. You should seriously consider addind a Bill Fitzhugh on to the list. I think Organ Grinders or Pest Control would be right up your alley

2. I just read Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubenstein, about a bank robber in post-Communist Hungary. It is a very fun, fast non-fiction read.

3. I wonder about “Hardboiled Wonderland And The End Of The World.” How well did this translate to english? Anyone know?

4. George Martin wrote a wonderful series, but it’s not to everyone’s taste. It is epic fantasy, and when I say ‘epic’, I’m not joking around. If you tend to get attached to characters, this is not the book for you.

5. Oryx And Crake is excellent. Both disturbing and wonderful.

   You are missing Altered Carbon from your list, which is one of the most enjoyable n=books I’ve read in years.

6. You might want to add a couple of the short stories by Harlan Ellison. The ones that I would recommend are: “The Sky is Burning”, “The Wimper of Whipped Dogs”, “Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans”, and “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream”. Most of them are pretty short, but pack a visceral punch. I highly recommend them.
   Good luck with your reading list!

7. I was about to recommend House of Leaves, but was pleased to see that it was already on the list.

   I would remove Wicked, as it’s really more of a novelty than a novel. If it were physically possible, I would gladly trade the time that I spent reading it for 6 extra hours of random library book reading.

8. I thought Wicked was fantastic. It might help, I guess, if you have childhood memories of the original books to be played with. Or something.

9. i will second anything by evelyn waugh, i love his writing.

   i would question the mark haddon choice… it was ok, but i didn’t find it terribly impressive. i would lump it with the stretch of mediocrity.

10. I am not too sure what the rules for these recommendations are – is there a year limit, style of fiction, name of author?

    but for the lack of knowing better, I recommend these:

    Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson. Not for its geek value (it starts off all about computers and what-not which I don’t mind, but some might) but for the interesting look into Summerian myths and thoughts on speech and language development.

    Da Vinci’s Code by Dan Brown. Everyone says this book is great, I personally found the story boring. I did, however, get mesmerised by the factual information used in this book. A whole plethora of Art History and interesting new tid-bits of information about famous paintings.

    Dr Kay Scarpetta Series by Patricia Cornwell. There are about 10 books at the moment. They rock my world. Unfortunately other books by this author suck.

    An Asian at My Table by Raybon Kan. Raybon is a New Zealand comedian and is very funny.

11. The Berrybender series by Larry McMurtry, beginning with “Sin Killer”. About an aristocratic English family touring the American West, it is surely one of the *oddest* oaters you’ll ever come across. Again, if you tend to get attached to characters, this may not be your best chcoice.

12. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt = must read.
    And I second The Age of Innocence.

13. I definately second _Snow Crash_, great book!

    I will “first” _The Sparrow_ and _Children of God_ two books that make up the best “first contact” sci-fi story I have ever read.

    _The Hyperion Cantos_ are another excellent sci-fi series, this one of four books. Space Opera writ large, a great mix of wonder, terror, and love.

    If you are looking for Non-Fiction I recomend _A Distant Mirror_ and/or _The Guns of August_ by Barbara Tuckman. These are excellent history books about the 14th century and the start of WWI (respectively).

    –Chris

14. Yea, the Da Vinci Code is not that great in my opinion either. My personal theory is that it appealed to so many people because it made them feel clever, but all he really did was hit you over the head with the foreshadowing.

    If you haven’t read Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri and you only want to read one, I recommend it rather than The Namesake. I liked The Namesake, but Interpreter of Maladies blew me away.

    I’m less that thrilled with Cory Doctorow’s writing, but he’s de riguer I suppose.

15. “Freedom and Necessity” was okay, but didn’t earn a permanent place in my library, unlike all of Steven Brust’s “Vlad Taltos” books. I will second the first three of the “Black Company” books, but I can’t testify to any of the other ones.

    Oddly enough, I haven’t been reading much fiction lately. If you decide to dig into some non-fiction, I’ve recently read and would recommend “Pipe Dreams” and “The Smartest Guys in the Room”, both of which concern the rise and fall of Enron. “Reefer Madness” by Eric Schlosser has given me rebuttal material to all the ‘muricans who rant incessantly about immigrants. “Party of One: A Loner’s Manifesto” will make you feel less weird if you are a true loner.

16. I wholeheartedly recommend The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. I’m just finishing up the third book now, and I have enjoyed the books immensely so far.

17. Seconding The Song of Ice and Fire series. Beautiful, beautiful.

18. Cloud Atlas is on the short list, and that’s all that really matters.

19. May I recommend Little Children by Tom Perrotta…interesting characters and plot from the author of the book that the movie “Election” was based on. It’ll make you think about how you will act around your neighbors as “Squirrely” grows up!

20. “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” is an excellent choice. I would happily second George R R Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series as well. I love how he creates complex characters. I love how he is not afraid to put them through the mill, and to let them develop and change. It’s epic stuff, and never dull.

21. I can not recommend Civilwarland In Bad Decline highly enough: that guy is crazy. Crazy cool. Mimi Smartypants thinks so, too. An extra bonus about this book: it’s short stories! So it’s great for bus reading and other in-between times.

22. P.S.! Pattern Recognition is great for about the first 4 chapters: cool ideas about brands and marketing and logos and stuff. Then it all goes to hell and feels like a really long episode of Alias. So probably don’t put it up there on the main list, unless you find half-a-copy.

23. Curious incident is well worth reading. Really shows how exceptionally frustrating it must sometimes be to live with someone with Aspergers.
    Mcarthys bar is a great gentle read and wander thru Ireland. You must read the biog of Nick Drake, by PAtrick Humphries, if only to introduce yourself to his beautiful music.

24. Oryx and Crake isn’t bad, but The Blind Assassin is a considerably better example of Atwood’s work. (It might take you until 2008 all by itself, though.)

25. The George Saunders was pretty good, at least good enough to cause me to seek out his other collection of short stories.

    Benioff was an “eh”. Enjoyable enough to read but seems to be something that will date itself very easily.

    Loved Paul Auster’s Oracle Night. But I love almost everything he writes (favorites: The New York Trilogy, In the Country of Last Things, The Book of Illusions)

    I’ve had both The Corrections and Orynx and Crak on the shelf for months now, but can’t bring myself to read either.
    Instead I’ve opted for the newest T.C. Boyle (The Inner Circle) to be followed by the last part of the Neal Stephenson Baroque Cycle Series.

26. http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html was enough to keep me from reading “the DaVinci Code.”

    I heartily recommend “Wicked.”

    I’d be curious to see what you say about “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.” I listened to an unabridged reading and thought the first half was brilliant and the second half just — odd.

27. Some of this may be old hat, but I’ve been taken with two authors recently: Nicholson Baker and Michael Chabon.

    Nicholson Baker: I enjoyed “The Mezzanine” which is quite short and pretty much all footnotes.* My favorite of his, though, is “The Fermata,” about what one might really do if blessed with the ability to stop time.

    Michael Chabon: “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” won the Pulitzer, so there’s that, but I’m mostly impressed with Chabon’s versatility. “Kavalier and Clay” is pre-WWII NYC, “Summerland” is sci-fi, and “The Final Solution” is a must-read for anyone who loves Sherlock Holmes-like detective fiction.

    * But it’s fiction, so the footnotes are really digressions and so the whole thing ends up kinda like a web page where you can hop around and follow what you’re interested in. Really. You’ve gotta read it to believe it.

28. There’s a YA book I’d recommend if you want to get away from adults-only fiction. It’s the Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. I also read her newer book, Inkheart, which was good but not as engaging. I will also recommend anything by Dumas (the father) if you haven’t already plowed through those. Count of Monte Cristo & 3 Musketeers especially.

29. Hi-longtimelistenerfirsttimecaller-
    I’ll second Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.
    Best book I read last year. However I did find the length overwhelming at times. It’s not a quick paced story.

30. I’ll second “The Sparrow”, but not “Children of God”, which did a big disservice to the first one.

    A warning about Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: the beginning is really slow. I think it’s the best book I read all year (Cloud Atlas is up there, too), but it took a while to get into.

    I’ll also suggest _The Time Traveller’s Wife_.

31. Wicked is an excellent read. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell is definetely a committment (I have a copy waiting to be read), as it is quite long. I just finished The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant and if you have any knowledge of 15th century Italy, you’ll appreicate the historical accuracy. It’s a very quick read, although very predictable at times.

32. Re: The Da Vinci Code

    I didn’t read it for the story or for his writing; I read it because I wanted to know his theories regarding the big MM. I enjoyed it quite a bit because of that, though I certainly admit the rest of it ain’t great.

33. Most amazing little-known American novel of the last 25 years: Little, Big by John Crowley. Impossible to over-recommend.

    If only one Murakami, make it Wind-up Bird Chronicle.

    I think Diamond Age is better than Snow Crash, but maybe that’s just me.

    Anything you can find by Steve Erickson.

34. The Lovely Bones is a great first novel by Alice Sebold. Slighly unbelievable toward the end, IMHO, but worth the read.

    I’d also highly recommend The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. A fascinating premise about time travel. I was hooked from the first paragraph.

    Love the site, by the way. Long time reader, first time poster.

35. My recommendation was first published in 1999, but I just got to it. It is Plainsong by Kent Haruf.
    I’ve only recommended it to one friend so far, because I do wonder if it is just a perfect book for me and my taste.

36. I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell — I moped after finishing it. Life seemed pale without my nightly chapter or two.

    If you haven’t encountered China Mieville’s particular brand of steampunk, go read Perdido Street Station. The buildup is slow, but once you hit the tipping point you realize how important all the details are.

37. I hereby second Robin McKinley’s Sunshine. It’s different, but an awesome read. But then, I love all her stuff.

38. Michel Houellebecq’s “The Elementary Particles” will undoubtedly blow your mind. I had to read it a second time before I could recommend it to anyone. It has some rough edges and tons of graphic sex (I mean tons), but it rewards close reading (did I mention that it has tons of graphic sex?). This review of his latest book ( http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?030707crbo_books ) made me get a copy.

39. I found “Wind up Bird Chronicle” to be completely incomprehensible, knowing as little as I do about Japanese culture. It didn’t teach me anything about it, either.
    If you’ve never read Wharton, go with “Ethan Fromme” before Age of Innocence, to get a sense of her style/cynicism first. “Time Traveller’s Wife” is interesting, beautiful, and devestating…but also fluffy, which is an impressive feat.

40. If you’ve read any other Gibson, Patter Recognition isn’t worth it — it rehashes/resuses a lot of themes, character types, and plot devices as other Gibson. If you haven’t read Gibson before (doubtful) read Neuromancer and Count Zero instead.

41. I’ll fourth or fifth (what are we up to here?) the Martin series. It’s so well done that he’s made it hard to get interested in other books, so much so that I’ve read his series 3 times thus far.

    I will suggest The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. It’s a very smart blend of historical fiction, time traveling, and a very strange cast of characters.

42. You really must add “Otto has a birthday party” by Todd Parr and “Raindrop, plop!” by Wendy Cheyette Lewison. They’re must-reads in my household.

43. I second “McCarthy’s Bar.” It’s a really funny tale of his journey between pubs in Ireland. Good read.

44. Not just Max’s First Word, but any and all the Max and Ruby books by Rosemary Wells. Also her Voyage to the Bunny Planet box set.

45. I would highly recommend Brideshead Revisited. I re-read it recently about 10 years after the first read and understood it in a completely different way.

    The Corrections is brilliant. I’d also suggest The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon and Atonement by Ian McEwan.

46. Read:
    One River by Wade Davis
    Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West, by Cormac McCarthy
    Yonder Stands Your Orphan, by Barry Hannah.

47. I know your gamer friends are telling you that “Game of Thrones” is, like, the Best Book Ever… But it’s not. Trust me.

    Though, now I am much better equipped to describe strands of auburn hair caressing sun-dappled cheeks, purple doublets and velvet cloaks concealing vigilant blades of the finest steel.

    Do yourself a favor and read something good, like Sam Lipsyte’s “Home Land”.

48. I’d also second Robin McKinley’s Sunshine, and second The Sparrow and Children of God as well (both of them).

    Snow crash was not my favorite of Neal Stephenson’s. Actually, one that he wrote under the name of Steven Bury makes interesting reading – Interface – and I liked his early ecoterrorist novel, Zodiac, quite a bit.

    My plug for a good comedy would be To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, found in the SF section. This was brought to mind by the similarity to the title of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which it probably has nothing at all to do with, but it’s a great read nevertheless.

    Great topic – I’ll have to take the list with me on my next trip to the bookstore.

49. I vote yes to Pattern Recognition, no to Lovely Bones and Instance of the Fingerpost. Pears can write but he can’t plot, Sebold is just too naive. Gibson is at his best when he abandons the future, imho. Out-of-left-field: Harpur-and-Iles crime novels by Bill James.

50. I read Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” series and enjoyed it wholeheartedly. BUT. It’s not finished yet. It’s very much right in the middle of things. And as a Robert Jordan veteran, I can’t help but raise a little red flag for that.

    So if you can keep yourself otherwise occupied, book-wise, for the next few years, then I’d advise waiting. Just in case.

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