Looked through the pictures of your books, and not sure I’ve got a great handle on your reading preferences, but for some reason this one came to mind to recommend to you…Dying, A Memoir…by Cory Taylor
I do like books like that. I've read Mortality by Christopher Hitchens a couple of times. All in my Head is a similar book, by Jessica Morris, i read a couple of years ago, about a woman battling a brain tumour, and I've got A Beginner's Guide to Dying by Simon Boas on my list. I'll consider this, but it does sound awfully similar to what I already know - thank you though!
No, I haven't. A friend of mine has been pestering me for years to read Iris Murdoch, but he never mentioned that book, just a few others. Is this another one to add to my TBR list?
btw, if you remember the Scottish ex-girlfriend from my book, the one I met at Edinburgh - her grandmother was friends with Iris!
I am probably too late to add a book to your list, but I enjoyed this post a lot. I read between 2-4 books a month and I have one 10 days holiday where I read almost a book a day, so I end up reading between 35-50 books per year. But still my TBR shelves are buckling under the weight of all the books- there are probably more than I can read in a year and I am also curious about so many new books. And I love seeing what other people read.
I recently traveled to visit friends who are great readers and while there, ended up reading 3 books from their shelves and only 2 of the 4 I brought with me.
here is my recommendation: And African in Greenland by Tete Michel Kpomassie - I bet no one has recommended that.
Interestingly, you are too late. Way too late in fact - I actually read An African in Greenland about 5 years ago. And believe it or not, I was just writing about that the other day - I didn't post it, I'm putting together what I call A Month of 'Musings' (haha) which is a daily project where I capture all my my incoherent rambling thoughts to be published as an ebook once it's done. And I was ruminating on that book the other day with Greenland being in the news. I might be mistaken, but there might be a sequel or follow-up to it?
But otherwise, any recommendation is never too late - I haven't quite finalised my list but I will be soon and then will send out an update with my final decisions. I have so many great recs that it's hard to narrow them down. So far it's been tough avoiding the temptation to add more to my TBR list (back to the abstainer/moderator thing I guess!).
Thank you for reading, glad you enjoyed it, and further recommendations are always welcome.
Amazing. Be careful, here is a quote from someone I know: „I got disappointed when I realized that in the end God will judge you by your deeds rather than by the books you read”.
In my choice, I was driven by a list of Sources, inspiration, and loss from your book (one more reason to buy it if you haven't done so yet).
Frankly, I will recommend something I haven't read myself, but got it as a recommendation (gift) from my boyfriend. It is Letters to a Young Mathematician by Ian Stewart. Noticeably, the second book he gave me is from Theodore Zeldin, so you may already have it.
Although I have a plethora, I am always happy to get more! Some people have emailed me directly or messaged me on FB and IG as well, plus there have been recommendations in notes...I have a load now and it'll be hard to narrow them down. I have read Zeldin, An Intimate History of...Beauty I think? I will check out that other book though, the title is intriguing. Thank you!
This is great! There's a funny meme that I can't upload here but it's of something looking sad and left out resembling the books on the shelf not yet read when I go out and buy more. So I think I'm going to try and read every single book I have I haven't read yet. We owe it to them!
APART from Milkman and Wolf Hall. I've tried but I just can't do these either.
My recommendation (but won't you end up with even more to read if it's not already on your list?) is The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill. One of the few books that I still think about years after having read it. You might already have read this though!
Glad it's not just me with Milkman and Wolf Hall. By sister loved both (what a strange creature...)
The more recommendations the merrier. I'm trying to be disciplined here, and will only add a whopping total of 9 new books to my list. That means I can knock off around 40 or so books from my existing pile. So I'm more than happy to add yours to the short list, I've never heard of it. I went with one of your recommendations already, the Jude Rogers book, but this one's title intrigues me. I'll check it out!
Ah ok got it! Oh great! I'm actually so excited that you haven't read it yet. It's just as intriguing as the title. I'm honoured to have made the list!
Yep, The Spider was delivered yesterday and it's there waiting for me to start! I have not read The Icarus Deception, but I shall check it out and [perhaps] add it to my list. My decision of which books to choose is getting tougher and tougher (but it's a fun 'problem' to have).
Ooh, this is a tough one. I do want to read more audiobooks, but I'm afraid I didn't like the book very much. With all the books clamouring for my attention, I'm not sure if I can fit this one in again. I didn't know there was a film - is that worth watching?
Shameless self-plug over, I really do back the books I've listed in that piece, particularly A Thousand Splendid Suns and Man and Boy. If you've ever had a dog, I'd also recommend The Art of Racing in the Rain.
A Thousand Splendid Suns would be my top choice for you to read - different cultures, somewhat historical fiction, and just an incredible story. I adore it.
Thanks Soph! If I remember correctly, when I commented on another writer's post re: audiobooks, it was Emily Henry you mentioned. But I like these other recommendations.
Your self-plug worked - I've just opened it and will give it a read, but that subtitle terrifies me 😂😭🤣 I don't want my TBR list to be any longer!
(actually, I secretly do - after all, any proper reader wants that TBR list to be infinite, right? that's part of the fun of reading - oooh, what's next out there? I will read your post and be as disciplined as possible. I'll be returning to this theme once I've made my final choices :))
Yes it was! Only because I'd listened to the audiobook and preferred that to reading the book itself - I'd definitely recommend these books over Happy Place.
I'm in the exact same boat as you and I'm challenging myself to not buy any new physical books. If I really want to read a book I'll have to find it secondhand or go to the library - I'm hoping it's going to make me a little stricter with my current TBR! But I'm totally with you, an endless TBR would be the dream, if not slightly overwhelming
I commented on that post (it was short and sweet, wonderful!) and I have to say that Man and Boy sounds like the perfect read for me. But I will also keep A Thousand Splendid Suns on my short list and eventually get to that one.
Fiction: just finished In Ascension by Martin MacInnes; managed the unusual double of being nommed for both the Booker and Arthur C Clarke prizes, probably deserved it. Non-fiction: River Kings by Cat Jarman, which made me think about the dark ages quite differently (there's some interesting stuff touching on dark ages Ukraine as well).
Thanks Andy. I’ve actually read River Kings and passed it along to my sister and brother-in-law, I think they’ll enjoy it too. I’ll add In Ascension to my short list though, that sounds intriguing and I remember hearing about it in the last couple of years. I’ve had mixed results with the Booker nominees/winners but I’m always eager to give them a go (I don’t like the sound of Orbital, however)
What a great idea and honour Daniel!! I'm so excited to *very carefully* examine the books that you have here and recommend you something from my own shelf!
I assume that you already read "East-West-Street" by Philippe Sands. So I recommend "February 1933. The Winter of Literature" by Uwe Wittstock, translated by Daniel Bowles.
Great idea to ask for recommendations, it is also good for breaking you out of reading comfort zones (thinking of myself!). I have a few ideas, but looks like your nominations list is getting long already!
Oh no, Jayne, the more the merrier! I'm really hoping to have too many to choose from, I want this to be a tough task to whittle it down and leave a few dear readers despondent that I haven't chosen their recommendations. I'd love to hear what you'd suggest!
Okay! I had a think and given that you know Torrejón and also have lived in various countries (and that I love this book), I'm going to recomment Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner. Here's someone cleverererer's write-up on it:
Adam Gordon is a brilliant, if highly unreliable, young American poet on a prestigious fellowship in Madrid, struggling to establish his sense of self and his relationship to art. Instead of following the dictates of his fellowship, Adam’s “research” becomes a meditation on the possibility of the genuine in the arts and beyond: are his relationships with the people he meets in Spain as fraudulent as he fears his poems are? Is poetry an essential art form, or merely a screen for the reader’s projections? A witness to the 2004 Madrid train bombings and their aftermath, does he participate in historic events or merely watch them pass him by?
In prose that veers between the comic and tragic, the self-contemptuous and the inspired, Leaving the Atocha Station is a portrait of the artist as a young man in an age of Google searches, pharmaceuticals, and spectacle.
I hope this isn't the elusive fellow that will earn me a unsub!
Yippii! I am humbled and honoured… and hoping you like it. I think you will though, I too believe it is up your alley.
After you have made your choices, can we guess on who the elusive fellow is?! I have a feeling I might know, based on the photos of your bookshelves and the other kinds of things you have read. Is it like a ‘everyone tells me I should like his stuff but I really don’t’? And possibly an additional ‘and I’m insulted that you think I would’?!
There are probably half a dozen writers who might fit that bill, come to think of it. This 'elusive author' is loved by many but also disliked by plenty. There's a funny story connected to him as well.
Years ago, I had a huge decision to make. I fell head over heels for an Irish barmaid in Chicago but I was only in town for a few days and was on my way to my first teaching job in Ukraine a week or two later. I had to return to Belfast to gather my belongings before heading out. I delayed my flight as long as I could and at one point she told me 'Ukraine will be there forever; I won't' (this became the title of the epilogue in my book - oh, how life could've turned out so different!)
As a farewell present, she gave me a book by this author and said it was 'life-changing' and 'profound'. I was sceptical of this author at the time but decided I'd give him a chance. I hated the book. But in so many unexpected ways, it's one of the best and most influential I've ever read.
Two months after arriving in Ukraine she wrote me an email that said 'hi daniel i know this is wierd, but i have a boyfriend and i can't be in touch with you anymore.'
My first reaction was 'I can't believe she misspelled 'weird'!
And then I thought about that wretched book and was relieved in an odd way. It made the email so much easier to process.
I was way more of a book snob back then. These days I'm more open-minded and laid-back. A good friend who's a literary snob even admitted to me not long ago that he enjoyed The Da Vinci Code (though he did say it's poorly written).
Maybe I should write a post about this writer and book!
Oh wow, I loved this story, there is so much here! Books really do have a way of becoming part of our sensory/memory and vice versa. Please deffo write about the book and the author, and also your personal story that weaves itself through them! Already looking forward to reading it ❤️
‘Free country’ by our very own substacker writer (he’s written a lot of books) George Mahood! I’ve listen to it on audio ! As you so love a challenge, George and his mate Ben start off at Lands End in just boxer shirts and the plan is to cycle to John O’Grouts but have to blag everything for free , clothes, food, bikes, accommodation! My god I laughed so much.
2) ‘Lorelei’s Secret’ Carolyn Parkhurst is about a man who teaches his dog to speak in an effort to uncover the reasons behind his wife's suicide, brilliant , I’m reading it again 😁😁
I’m aiming for around 40 books this year. All Fours by Miranda July was good… a few bizarre twists and turns, but also she writes things that I think most people would avoid in the fear of feeling ashamed or weird. I think I’m still processing it. Might be less relatable for you as a man, just sayin. The School of Life has been on my list for a while!
Interesting...I'm intrigued now by you saying it might be less relatable for me - challenge accepted! 😂 I shall add it to the short list.
As for School of Life...it's okay, but I don't think it's one of his best books. Have you read any other Alain de Botton? (he divides people btw, I have friends who hate him). It's just me, but I wouldn't prioritise that one, unless you've heard otherwise.
40 is a good solid number and it might be a more realistic target for me, considering Sept-Dec was a fairly dry period. At that pace this year, I'd only read 15 or so - yikes!
I’ll be brief and also knowing you a bit: only 2 recommendations:
first one should be mandatory for everyone, including my mom, my manager, whoever
The 10 Types of Human by DEXTER DIAS (former lawyer). It looks at the best and worst that human beings are capable of, and asks why. Combining cutting-edge neuroscience, social psychology and human rights research. Easy to read, about 800 pages (sorry for the length). Currently reading it.
2nd one: The face of a stranger. KOBO ABE. By far the most unusual type of beletristic style, exploring the alienation of modern man from urban society. An industrial accident has severely burned the face of an unnamed plastics scientist. His wife is repulsed by his disfigurement and refuses to have sexual contact with him.
KOBO ABE -also known by a specific type of frame eyeglasses, the luxury brand Jaques Marie Mage dedicated a collection in honor of him.
See the collection here ( maybe you get the sunglasses if not the book)
Excellent, Claudia, thank you for these! They both sound really intriguing and I'm going to limit myself to 1 recommendation per reader, so I'd have to choose one of these. I was almost going to add a note to my criteria in the post saying I'd prefer not to read too long books -800 words...yikes! That's long, but I will check it out for sure. If it is an easy read, then maybe those 800 pages will fly by.
As both a regular practitioner of Tsundoku and someone who loves a year end list, I am all in on this. The Libby app, connected to my local library system, is my downfall because I take out too many books at a time, and then the borrowing time runs out. Oops.
The best book I read in 2024 (well, listened to because I do nonfiction much better in audiobook format) was Jamaican poet Safiyah Sinclair's memoir, How to Say Babylon. As a recommendation, I'll simply paste the link to my Goodreads review below, something I never take the time to write. I just felt like I had to for this book.
Splendid Tim, thanks! I think I'm going to make this a definite pick, it really fits in well with my theme from 2019 and your review makes a compelling case. And as a bonus, the author herself reads it, and as I also want to get more into audiobooks, I think your choice is the first to make the final cut - that leaves 8 more to choose from. I might not have ever discovered this one.
Looked through the pictures of your books, and not sure I’ve got a great handle on your reading preferences, but for some reason this one came to mind to recommend to you…Dying, A Memoir…by Cory Taylor
I do like books like that. I've read Mortality by Christopher Hitchens a couple of times. All in my Head is a similar book, by Jessica Morris, i read a couple of years ago, about a woman battling a brain tumour, and I've got A Beginner's Guide to Dying by Simon Boas on my list. I'll consider this, but it does sound awfully similar to what I already know - thank you though!
Daniel, have you read Bruno's Dream by Iris Murdoch?
No, I haven't. A friend of mine has been pestering me for years to read Iris Murdoch, but he never mentioned that book, just a few others. Is this another one to add to my TBR list?
btw, if you remember the Scottish ex-girlfriend from my book, the one I met at Edinburgh - her grandmother was friends with Iris!
Man, I need to catch up with you 🤣. Thanks for the recs!
I am probably too late to add a book to your list, but I enjoyed this post a lot. I read between 2-4 books a month and I have one 10 days holiday where I read almost a book a day, so I end up reading between 35-50 books per year. But still my TBR shelves are buckling under the weight of all the books- there are probably more than I can read in a year and I am also curious about so many new books. And I love seeing what other people read.
I recently traveled to visit friends who are great readers and while there, ended up reading 3 books from their shelves and only 2 of the 4 I brought with me.
here is my recommendation: And African in Greenland by Tete Michel Kpomassie - I bet no one has recommended that.
Interestingly, you are too late. Way too late in fact - I actually read An African in Greenland about 5 years ago. And believe it or not, I was just writing about that the other day - I didn't post it, I'm putting together what I call A Month of 'Musings' (haha) which is a daily project where I capture all my my incoherent rambling thoughts to be published as an ebook once it's done. And I was ruminating on that book the other day with Greenland being in the news. I might be mistaken, but there might be a sequel or follow-up to it?
But otherwise, any recommendation is never too late - I haven't quite finalised my list but I will be soon and then will send out an update with my final decisions. I have so many great recs that it's hard to narrow them down. So far it's been tough avoiding the temptation to add more to my TBR list (back to the abstainer/moderator thing I guess!).
Thank you for reading, glad you enjoyed it, and further recommendations are always welcome.
How cool that you’ve read it! Isn’t it fantastic? Am no aware of a sequel, need to look that up.
Amazing. Be careful, here is a quote from someone I know: „I got disappointed when I realized that in the end God will judge you by your deeds rather than by the books you read”.
Great. I'm going about this all wrong then!
Wow! It seems you have a plethora of suggestions!
In my choice, I was driven by a list of Sources, inspiration, and loss from your book (one more reason to buy it if you haven't done so yet).
Frankly, I will recommend something I haven't read myself, but got it as a recommendation (gift) from my boyfriend. It is Letters to a Young Mathematician by Ian Stewart. Noticeably, the second book he gave me is from Theodore Zeldin, so you may already have it.
Although I have a plethora, I am always happy to get more! Some people have emailed me directly or messaged me on FB and IG as well, plus there have been recommendations in notes...I have a load now and it'll be hard to narrow them down. I have read Zeldin, An Intimate History of...Beauty I think? I will check out that other book though, the title is intriguing. Thank you!
This is great! There's a funny meme that I can't upload here but it's of something looking sad and left out resembling the books on the shelf not yet read when I go out and buy more. So I think I'm going to try and read every single book I have I haven't read yet. We owe it to them!
APART from Milkman and Wolf Hall. I've tried but I just can't do these either.
My recommendation (but won't you end up with even more to read if it's not already on your list?) is The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill. One of the few books that I still think about years after having read it. You might already have read this though!
Glad it's not just me with Milkman and Wolf Hall. By sister loved both (what a strange creature...)
The more recommendations the merrier. I'm trying to be disciplined here, and will only add a whopping total of 9 new books to my list. That means I can knock off around 40 or so books from my existing pile. So I'm more than happy to add yours to the short list, I've never heard of it. I went with one of your recommendations already, the Jude Rogers book, but this one's title intrigues me. I'll check it out!
Ah ok got it! Oh great! I'm actually so excited that you haven't read it yet. It's just as intriguing as the title. I'm honoured to have made the list!
Firstly, wow, I am honoured that you're starting 2025 with me. Secondly, have you read The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin?
Yep, The Spider was delivered yesterday and it's there waiting for me to start! I have not read The Icarus Deception, but I shall check it out and [perhaps] add it to my list. My decision of which books to choose is getting tougher and tougher (but it's a fun 'problem' to have).
The Road, McCartney McCormick, is excellent on audio, to really appreciate the writing, even if you've already read it, or only seen the film.
Ooh, this is a tough one. I do want to read more audiobooks, but I'm afraid I didn't like the book very much. With all the books clamouring for my attention, I'm not sure if I can fit this one in again. I didn't know there was a film - is that worth watching?
Ooh, an interesting challenge! One of my first-ever Substack posts was "books everyone should read at least once in their life" which you can find here: https://thequiet20s.substack.com/p/books-everyone-should-read-at-least
Shameless self-plug over, I really do back the books I've listed in that piece, particularly A Thousand Splendid Suns and Man and Boy. If you've ever had a dog, I'd also recommend The Art of Racing in the Rain.
A Thousand Splendid Suns would be my top choice for you to read - different cultures, somewhat historical fiction, and just an incredible story. I adore it.
Thanks Soph! If I remember correctly, when I commented on another writer's post re: audiobooks, it was Emily Henry you mentioned. But I like these other recommendations.
Your self-plug worked - I've just opened it and will give it a read, but that subtitle terrifies me 😂😭🤣 I don't want my TBR list to be any longer!
(actually, I secretly do - after all, any proper reader wants that TBR list to be infinite, right? that's part of the fun of reading - oooh, what's next out there? I will read your post and be as disciplined as possible. I'll be returning to this theme once I've made my final choices :))
Yes it was! Only because I'd listened to the audiobook and preferred that to reading the book itself - I'd definitely recommend these books over Happy Place.
I'm in the exact same boat as you and I'm challenging myself to not buy any new physical books. If I really want to read a book I'll have to find it secondhand or go to the library - I'm hoping it's going to make me a little stricter with my current TBR! But I'm totally with you, an endless TBR would be the dream, if not slightly overwhelming
I commented on that post (it was short and sweet, wonderful!) and I have to say that Man and Boy sounds like the perfect read for me. But I will also keep A Thousand Splendid Suns on my short list and eventually get to that one.
It does sound perfect for you! Hopefully you’ll get round to A Thousand Splendid Suns at some point too 😊
Fiction: just finished In Ascension by Martin MacInnes; managed the unusual double of being nommed for both the Booker and Arthur C Clarke prizes, probably deserved it. Non-fiction: River Kings by Cat Jarman, which made me think about the dark ages quite differently (there's some interesting stuff touching on dark ages Ukraine as well).
Thanks Andy. I’ve actually read River Kings and passed it along to my sister and brother-in-law, I think they’ll enjoy it too. I’ll add In Ascension to my short list though, that sounds intriguing and I remember hearing about it in the last couple of years. I’ve had mixed results with the Booker nominees/winners but I’m always eager to give them a go (I don’t like the sound of Orbital, however)
What a great idea and honour Daniel!! I'm so excited to *very carefully* examine the books that you have here and recommend you something from my own shelf!
I assume that you already read "East-West-Street" by Philippe Sands. So I recommend "February 1933. The Winter of Literature" by Uwe Wittstock, translated by Daniel Bowles.
I have read 'East-West-Street' but I'm not familiar with that other one. Thank you, I shall strongly consider it :)
Great idea to ask for recommendations, it is also good for breaking you out of reading comfort zones (thinking of myself!). I have a few ideas, but looks like your nominations list is getting long already!
Oh no, Jayne, the more the merrier! I'm really hoping to have too many to choose from, I want this to be a tough task to whittle it down and leave a few dear readers despondent that I haven't chosen their recommendations. I'd love to hear what you'd suggest!
Okay! I had a think and given that you know Torrejón and also have lived in various countries (and that I love this book), I'm going to recomment Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner. Here's someone cleverererer's write-up on it:
Adam Gordon is a brilliant, if highly unreliable, young American poet on a prestigious fellowship in Madrid, struggling to establish his sense of self and his relationship to art. Instead of following the dictates of his fellowship, Adam’s “research” becomes a meditation on the possibility of the genuine in the arts and beyond: are his relationships with the people he meets in Spain as fraudulent as he fears his poems are? Is poetry an essential art form, or merely a screen for the reader’s projections? A witness to the 2004 Madrid train bombings and their aftermath, does he participate in historic events or merely watch them pass him by?
In prose that veers between the comic and tragic, the self-contemptuous and the inspired, Leaving the Atocha Station is a portrait of the artist as a young man in an age of Google searches, pharmaceuticals, and spectacle.
I hope this isn't the elusive fellow that will earn me a unsub!
Not only will that definitely not earn you an unsub, but this book has made it onto the final list - congrats! 😂
Yours is the second to make it. That leaves 7 other spots up for grabs.
I forget where I heard about this book, but I was intrigued by the premise then and even more so now. Sounds right up my alley - thank you!
(so far, no one has mentioned that elusive fellow - hint: he's a very big name that so many people seem to love)
Yippii! I am humbled and honoured… and hoping you like it. I think you will though, I too believe it is up your alley.
After you have made your choices, can we guess on who the elusive fellow is?! I have a feeling I might know, based on the photos of your bookshelves and the other kinds of things you have read. Is it like a ‘everyone tells me I should like his stuff but I really don’t’? And possibly an additional ‘and I’m insulted that you think I would’?!
There are probably half a dozen writers who might fit that bill, come to think of it. This 'elusive author' is loved by many but also disliked by plenty. There's a funny story connected to him as well.
Years ago, I had a huge decision to make. I fell head over heels for an Irish barmaid in Chicago but I was only in town for a few days and was on my way to my first teaching job in Ukraine a week or two later. I had to return to Belfast to gather my belongings before heading out. I delayed my flight as long as I could and at one point she told me 'Ukraine will be there forever; I won't' (this became the title of the epilogue in my book - oh, how life could've turned out so different!)
As a farewell present, she gave me a book by this author and said it was 'life-changing' and 'profound'. I was sceptical of this author at the time but decided I'd give him a chance. I hated the book. But in so many unexpected ways, it's one of the best and most influential I've ever read.
Two months after arriving in Ukraine she wrote me an email that said 'hi daniel i know this is wierd, but i have a boyfriend and i can't be in touch with you anymore.'
My first reaction was 'I can't believe she misspelled 'weird'!
And then I thought about that wretched book and was relieved in an odd way. It made the email so much easier to process.
I was way more of a book snob back then. These days I'm more open-minded and laid-back. A good friend who's a literary snob even admitted to me not long ago that he enjoyed The Da Vinci Code (though he did say it's poorly written).
Maybe I should write a post about this writer and book!
Oh wow, I loved this story, there is so much here! Books really do have a way of becoming part of our sensory/memory and vice versa. Please deffo write about the book and the author, and also your personal story that weaves itself through them! Already looking forward to reading it ❤️
‘Free country’ by our very own substacker writer (he’s written a lot of books) George Mahood! I’ve listen to it on audio ! As you so love a challenge, George and his mate Ben start off at Lands End in just boxer shirts and the plan is to cycle to John O’Grouts but have to blag everything for free , clothes, food, bikes, accommodation! My god I laughed so much.
2) ‘Lorelei’s Secret’ Carolyn Parkhurst is about a man who teaches his dog to speak in an effort to uncover the reasons behind his wife's suicide, brilliant , I’m reading it again 😁😁
Fantastic, those both sound great! I'm going to limit myself to one choice per reader, and for now, I will add these to the short list. Thank you :)
I’m aiming for around 40 books this year. All Fours by Miranda July was good… a few bizarre twists and turns, but also she writes things that I think most people would avoid in the fear of feeling ashamed or weird. I think I’m still processing it. Might be less relatable for you as a man, just sayin. The School of Life has been on my list for a while!
Interesting...I'm intrigued now by you saying it might be less relatable for me - challenge accepted! 😂 I shall add it to the short list.
As for School of Life...it's okay, but I don't think it's one of his best books. Have you read any other Alain de Botton? (he divides people btw, I have friends who hate him). It's just me, but I wouldn't prioritise that one, unless you've heard otherwise.
40 is a good solid number and it might be a more realistic target for me, considering Sept-Dec was a fairly dry period. At that pace this year, I'd only read 15 or so - yikes!
I’ll be brief and also knowing you a bit: only 2 recommendations:
first one should be mandatory for everyone, including my mom, my manager, whoever
The 10 Types of Human by DEXTER DIAS (former lawyer). It looks at the best and worst that human beings are capable of, and asks why. Combining cutting-edge neuroscience, social psychology and human rights research. Easy to read, about 800 pages (sorry for the length). Currently reading it.
2nd one: The face of a stranger. KOBO ABE. By far the most unusual type of beletristic style, exploring the alienation of modern man from urban society. An industrial accident has severely burned the face of an unnamed plastics scientist. His wife is repulsed by his disfigurement and refuses to have sexual contact with him.
KOBO ABE -also known by a specific type of frame eyeglasses, the luxury brand Jaques Marie Mage dedicated a collection in honor of him.
See the collection here ( maybe you get the sunglasses if not the book)
https://www.jacquesmariemage.com/special-projects/kyosho-collection
Hugs!
Excellent, Claudia, thank you for these! They both sound really intriguing and I'm going to limit myself to 1 recommendation per reader, so I'd have to choose one of these. I was almost going to add a note to my criteria in the post saying I'd prefer not to read too long books -800 words...yikes! That's long, but I will check it out for sure. If it is an easy read, then maybe those 800 pages will fly by.
As both a regular practitioner of Tsundoku and someone who loves a year end list, I am all in on this. The Libby app, connected to my local library system, is my downfall because I take out too many books at a time, and then the borrowing time runs out. Oops.
The best book I read in 2024 (well, listened to because I do nonfiction much better in audiobook format) was Jamaican poet Safiyah Sinclair's memoir, How to Say Babylon. As a recommendation, I'll simply paste the link to my Goodreads review below, something I never take the time to write. I just felt like I had to for this book.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5931763188?book_show_action=false
Splendid Tim, thanks! I think I'm going to make this a definite pick, it really fits in well with my theme from 2019 and your review makes a compelling case. And as a bonus, the author herself reads it, and as I also want to get more into audiobooks, I think your choice is the first to make the final cut - that leaves 8 more to choose from. I might not have ever discovered this one.