21st Century Literature discussion

Doesn't have to be the pinnacle of literary merit. Simply looking for the book you've enjoyed reading the most in 2019--pleaae share!

Marc wrote: "Doesn't have to be the pinnacle of literary merit. Simply looking for the book you've enjoyed reading the most in 2019--pleaae share!"

Spring is even better than Autumn and Winter...

Other books I have really enjoyed are El Hacho, The Faculty of Dreams, Lost Children Archive and Freshwater

The most interesting and distinctive new book I've read this year is Muscle by Alan Trotter.

At this point, Ali Smith's Spring

I wasn't going to mention others but ah well: Bottled Goods, Lost Children Archive , Black Leopard, Red Wolf , Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead, Stubborn Archivist, Lanny and The Bastard of Istanbul

I also read the Lost Children Archive. I found it slow to get into, a tad awkward as there was lots of attention to structure, but once I got past the middle it really took off. Very powerful -- I was bowled over.

I also read Rachel Cusk's Kudos and loved it.

As a fan of Ali Smith, I look forward to reading Spring.

I've got four favorites so far:
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje;
An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma;
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield;
Outline by Rachel Cusk.
They are so very different from each other and don't have anything in common other than I thought they were great books.
I read Freshwater but it was a little too weird for me. I much preferred The Mere Wife although it wasn't one of my favorite reads.

My 5 star reads in 2019 so far:

Insurrecto
Milkman
Praise Song for the Butterflies
Her Mother's Mother's Mother and Her Daughters
Black Leopard, Red Wolf
The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish
The Black God's Drums

As Hugh says, Spring is better than both Autumn and Winter (all three of which I read or re-read this year) and is probably my favourite of the year so far.

But, there are others that are very close: Resistance, Animalia, El Hacho, Memories of the Future.

Neil wrote: "As Hugh says, Spring is better than both Autumn and Winter (all three of which I read or re-read this year) and is probably my favourite of the year so far.

But, there are others t..."

I haven't read anything by this author. Does one have to read Autumn and Winter before plunging into Spring or is each one a stand-alone?

I guess you could read them standalone, but they are three parts of a quartet with links between the different books, so it would be much better to read all 3 in the right order.

Optic Nerve by María Gainza.

As of today's date, April 15th:

Fiction/Novel: 'The Goldfinch' by Donna Tartt

Memoir/Non-fiction: 'Becoming' by Michelle Obama

Short story: It's a tie between 'Epstein' by Philip Roth, and 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Neil wrote: "I guess you could read them standalone, but they are three parts of a quartet with links between the different books, so it would be much better to read all 3 in the right order."

Thanks.

I have 9 5* reads to date - 5 translations, 3 from Mookse Madness, and 1 from the Women's Prize longlist. For pure enjoyment - putting aside all other things that make a book memorable to me - I have to go with The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan - it was just so weird and crazy. It is not my overall number 1 out of the nine, but definitely the one for pure enjoyment.

So the other eight, in no particular order, are:

The Faculty of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg;
The Years by Annie Ernaux;
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro;
The Aviator by Eugene Vodolazkin;
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli;
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy;
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald; and
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

I have only finished 11 books so far this year, but just today I finished Eric Dupont's Songs For The Cold Of Heart, which is my pick for the best read of the year so far. (If you want to find it on Goodreads, you have to go through the original French title, La fiancée américaine). It's an epic story both in length (at 250,000 words +) and in scale (covering the entire 20th century). Dupont is a new author to me, but I will definitely return to him in the future.

I've read 33 novels so far this year and one moved me so deeply it shines above the others. That one is Praise Song for the Butterflies. Trailing behind, but very memorable is The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish.

Nadine wrote: "My 5 star reads in 2019 so far:

Insurrecto
Milkman
Praise Song for the Butterflies
Her Mother's Mother's Mother and Her Daughters
[..."

Nadine, you list two of my favorites. I'm going to have to read the others you list as five-star reads.

Erin wrote: "Nadine, you list two of my favorites. I'm going to have to read the others you list as five-star reads. ."

Great!

I've only had one 5* read this year - Love in the Time of Cholera but I must also give a special mention to War and Peace which, though I didn't enjoy every moment of it, was a big achievement for me and a book I will always remember.

So far, I believe The Gallows Pole has been the standout for me this year. Close runner-ups include: Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey, My Struggle: Book 6, and Fen.

Sounds like 2019 is shaping up to be a good reading year for everyone!

So far, my favorites are LaRose and The Goldfinch.

The Water Cure and The Power are my two favorite fiction books of the year. The Lost Girls of Paris and Dread Nation are my favorite audiobooks so far. Becoming and American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts are my favorite nonfiction books as of April.