As the title says: What is a book that you read this year that you’ve been wanting to read for a long time or that has been on your TBR shelf for whatever reason? How was it in the end?
I just had to post this question right now, because there’s a trending post about the beauty of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. For me, it was this exact book. I’m not proud of it but it’s been the better half of a decade since my friend gifted it to me. I’m actually surprised how well it delivered. The storytelling was so vivid and actually made me feel like I was part of it (one of the rêveurs!) I loved everything from the grand magic shows and the way the magicians were holding the circus together to the small hidden tricks. The many layers that neatly came together in the end.
I’m so glad I read it, but wow was I missing out for many years! I should stop postponing books for that long… I say and nervously glance at my shelf 💀
So, what book would that be for you?
Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. It’s a huge, long book, but I finally delved into it - and it turns out to be one of my fave books of all time.
I started reading a lot more this year. I put a bunch of Warhammer 40K books in my library and they’re great for action schlock.
Name of the Wind. I’ve owned it since it was first released but held off until it was finished. I finally decided to read it this year, and… I’m not entirely sure what the hype was about? The build up to reaching the university was interesting, but maybe this book hit different at the time of its release.
I feel no urge to read the second book, so I’m ok with stopping where the first book ended.
Favourite books I read this year:
- A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers 2)
- Kings of the Wyld
- Legends & Lattes
- Ex-Heroes series (1-5)
- Before the Coffee gets Cold (1 & 2)
- Attack Surface (Little Brother 3)
- Leviathan Falls (Expanse 9)
A book called Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
I finally read this one this year too! I breezed through it and had such an enjoyable time, definitely one of my few top reads for the year. That said, I got sidetracked and need to finish the series.
Odd Thomas. I found it an enjoyable read.
Currently in the middle of the Foundation series (just finished Foundation’s Edge) after receiving all 7 Foundation novels for my birthday 2 years ago. Started this year and am aiming to finish them all by 2024
Finished Illiad recently and now halfway through Odyssey. Also read 3-4 Carl Sagan books this year.
Gravity’s Rainbow seemed really daunting before I started it this year.
11/22/63
Two massive door stops: Pillars of the Earth and Infinite Jest. IJ was definitely the more challenging read. I didn’t expect Pillars to be such a soap drama. I actually found it to be quite a fun page turner; while IJ was more challenging, it left me with a lot more to think about. Still – screw long winded footnotes!
The Lotus Sutra. I started it two or three years ago, but gave up on it pretty quickly because without commentary and explanations, it just made no sense to me. This year I read An Introduction To Buddhism by Peter Harvey, which was a massive project, but also very rewarding, and then I went back and read the Lotus Sutra. With a bit of background and context it was much more approachable. It’s hard to make any statement about whether it’s a great read - it’s certainly not something you read for entertainment, but for general knowledge. Buddhist temples, scripture, depictions, symbols, art etc. are all over the place where I live, so I wanted to understand a bit more of what I see everyday.
The Stand. Almost bought it years ago and finally read it recently
Three Body Problem has been on my “to read” list for a few years now.
Bit of a let down.
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini.
I read Eragon and Eldest back in middle/high school, really enjoying them, but for some reason Brisingr didn’t really work for me and I DNF’d it. I reread Eragon once since then, but got distracted with other series.
Now with the release of Murtagh on the horizon (it’s out now, but when I started the reread it wasn’t released yet) I have been able to reread Eragon and Eldest, and finished Brisingr. Brisingr was honestly my favorite so far, I’m not sure why it didn’t work for me as a kid but I loved it now. I’m sure part of it is, I’ve discovered Sanderson since then, which has really expanded my patience with long and sometimes slow novels that have a good payoff in the end. As a kid I thought Brisingr felt slow, but now that I’ve experienced more epic fantasy I honestly felt it was pretty fast paced and exciting for the most part. It’s funny how subjective opinions can change so wildly over a few years.
I’m about halfway through Inheritance, the last book in the series, and I know I’ll finally finish it because I am so excited for Murtagh, and I also really don’t want to have anything spoiled for me and I don’t know if Murtagh has any spoilers for the main series.
The Wheel of Time. I’m halfway through it now. As I suspected before picking it up, it’s most notable feature is its length.
Duma Key (2008) by Stephen King.
When I graduated high school in Spring 2007, I had read about 80% of every book King had published. Then I kind of stopped reading him for about 10 years, but in the year after I graduated high school, I remember seeing the cover art for Duma Key in the bookstore, and being really transfixed by it. I thought the artwork was so beautiful and I had kind of always wanted to read it. Alas, I never bought it or picked it up for all these years. Since ~2018, I’ve been getting back into Stephen King, and early this year my husband’s father offered to give me some of his Stephen King books that he didn’t want anymore; among them was Duma Key—the hardcover with the original, beautiful artwork dust jacket that I had desired all those years ago. I was extremely grateful for this book, and I finally got to experience this fantastic story in April of this year (2023). I am happy to say, for me, that even though I basically went into this story blind (the artwork attracted me, but I didn’t ever really know anything about the story), Duma Key met and exceeded any expectation I could have had for it. I am so glad I’ve been getting back into Stephen King, and I feel kind of embarrassed that I ever felt like his work was “beneath me” for so long, when on the contrary, his writing has brought me so much pleasure these passed five years, just as it did for me back when I was in high school. Sure, I still love reading serious, literary, classic works, but it’s also okay to simultaneously love and read books that are popular or deemed by some to be less serious. It’s all about what you enjoy and what makes you happy, and this year, Duma Key made me happy.