8 Books in 8 Months
It's August. The eighth month of the year. I thought I would share with you my eight favorite books I've read this year. Here they are, in no particular order, unless I say so:
1.) WOOL OMNIBUS BY HUGH HOWEY
First of all, I would like to say that Wool is at the number one spot because it is awesome. Self published by Howey, this Omnibus consists of 5 individual novellas. According to my Kindle, the entire Omnibus is over 500 pages, and according to my terrible sleep schedule, I read the entire thing in two days. If you like science fiction, READ THIS. If you don't like science fiction, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? READ THIS.
2.) CITY OF THIEVES BY DAVID BENIOFF
This book is in the number two spot because it is also awesome, but in a completely different way than Wool. This is the story of two boys, one in his late teens and one in his early twenties, who are stuck in Leningrad during the Siege of Leningrad in World War II. I have no idea how Benioff pulled this book off. The subject matter is terrible, and by that I mean the siege of Leningrad was no picnic, and yet somehow Benioff manages to paint atrocious acts of humanity in a hopeful and really funny light. This is a quick read, despite the heavy subject matter.
3.) BOSSYPANTS BY TINA FEY
Do you like to laugh? ->Yes ->Read this book
Do you like to laugh? ->No -> Read this book. You need it more than the rest of us.
4.)THE PRINCESS BRIDE BY WILLIAM GOLDMAN
You've no doubt see the movie, right? Well, the book is funnier because Goldman wrote the movie and just used the book's dialogue in the movie verbatim. I say the book is better because there is more funny dialogue in the book than in the movie, which makes sense because in order to condense the book into a 98 minute movie, and still have time for awesome swashbuckling and storming the castle scenes, some dialogue had to get cut.
5.) THE FOREVER WAR BY JOE HALDEMAN
This book is not funny, and its a pretty obvious protest to war (the Vietnam war in particular). Haldeman also has, what I can only describe as, a uniquely controversial outlook on homosexuality (no matter what you think of homosexuality you aren't thinking the same thing as Haldeman). With all this said, however, if you like science fiction, and I mean the nitty gritty theoretics of science fiction, you are going to dig this book. My favorite part of this book is most certainly the time dilation. With those four sentences I know people reading this have either skipped to point six or are googling The Forever War now.
6.) SOULLESS BY GAIL CARRIGER
So, I see you've skipped point 5 and have moved on to what Wikipedia calls the steampunk paranormal romance. Good job. If you like smart, and funny female characters, and shirtless men who cannot die, you will like this book. Let me rephrase that. If you like corsets, cogs, and you are a woman, you will like this book.
7.) HIS DARK MATERIALS TRILOGY (the Golden Compass books) BY PHILIP PULLMAN
Yes, these books are YA, but Pullman is a master at existential fantasy. Pullman does a phenomenal job of combining heavy hitting questions (what is a soul? What is original sin?) with vivid descriptions of sweeping landscapes and of course, armored bears and river boats. What more could you ask for? Oh, you want armored bears, river boats, and Texans in hot air balloons? DONE.
8.) FAREWELL TO ARMS BY ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Don't roll your eyes at the modern classics. Hemingway is the master of concise prose. Every word has the same importance as every other word. That cannot be said about most writing (this blog included, as obviously the words cogs and armored bears have far more importance than whatever I am typing right now). If you want to read extremely well written prose, read some Hemingway. It's quick and powerful.
So, there they are, 8 books for 8 months.
1.) WOOL OMNIBUS BY HUGH HOWEY
First of all, I would like to say that Wool is at the number one spot because it is awesome. Self published by Howey, this Omnibus consists of 5 individual novellas. According to my Kindle, the entire Omnibus is over 500 pages, and according to my terrible sleep schedule, I read the entire thing in two days. If you like science fiction, READ THIS. If you don't like science fiction, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? READ THIS.
2.) CITY OF THIEVES BY DAVID BENIOFF
This book is in the number two spot because it is also awesome, but in a completely different way than Wool. This is the story of two boys, one in his late teens and one in his early twenties, who are stuck in Leningrad during the Siege of Leningrad in World War II. I have no idea how Benioff pulled this book off. The subject matter is terrible, and by that I mean the siege of Leningrad was no picnic, and yet somehow Benioff manages to paint atrocious acts of humanity in a hopeful and really funny light. This is a quick read, despite the heavy subject matter.
3.) BOSSYPANTS BY TINA FEY
Do you like to laugh? ->Yes ->Read this book
Do you like to laugh? ->No -> Read this book. You need it more than the rest of us.
4.)THE PRINCESS BRIDE BY WILLIAM GOLDMAN
You've no doubt see the movie, right? Well, the book is funnier because Goldman wrote the movie and just used the book's dialogue in the movie verbatim. I say the book is better because there is more funny dialogue in the book than in the movie, which makes sense because in order to condense the book into a 98 minute movie, and still have time for awesome swashbuckling and storming the castle scenes, some dialogue had to get cut.
5.) THE FOREVER WAR BY JOE HALDEMAN
This book is not funny, and its a pretty obvious protest to war (the Vietnam war in particular). Haldeman also has, what I can only describe as, a uniquely controversial outlook on homosexuality (no matter what you think of homosexuality you aren't thinking the same thing as Haldeman). With all this said, however, if you like science fiction, and I mean the nitty gritty theoretics of science fiction, you are going to dig this book. My favorite part of this book is most certainly the time dilation. With those four sentences I know people reading this have either skipped to point six or are googling The Forever War now.
6.) SOULLESS BY GAIL CARRIGER
So, I see you've skipped point 5 and have moved on to what Wikipedia calls the steampunk paranormal romance. Good job. If you like smart, and funny female characters, and shirtless men who cannot die, you will like this book. Let me rephrase that. If you like corsets, cogs, and you are a woman, you will like this book.
7.) HIS DARK MATERIALS TRILOGY (the Golden Compass books) BY PHILIP PULLMAN
Yes, these books are YA, but Pullman is a master at existential fantasy. Pullman does a phenomenal job of combining heavy hitting questions (what is a soul? What is original sin?) with vivid descriptions of sweeping landscapes and of course, armored bears and river boats. What more could you ask for? Oh, you want armored bears, river boats, and Texans in hot air balloons? DONE.
8.) FAREWELL TO ARMS BY ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Don't roll your eyes at the modern classics. Hemingway is the master of concise prose. Every word has the same importance as every other word. That cannot be said about most writing (this blog included, as obviously the words cogs and armored bears have far more importance than whatever I am typing right now). If you want to read extremely well written prose, read some Hemingway. It's quick and powerful.
So, there they are, 8 books for 8 months.
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