Favorite 5-star book recommendations!

[Shilo]

I haven't seen a recent thread sharing extraordinary books. Let's get one going again.

[Faith]

I don't give many 5 stars, but Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult was impressive. My review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ashley Marie]

Some of my favorite 5-star audiobooks of this year:

The Shadow of the Wind
Sarah's Key
You're Never Weird on the Internet
Atonement
The Help
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
Prisoner of Night and Fog
the Jasper Dent trilogy

[Margaret]

I tend to be rather generous with 4 and 5 star ratings. My newest are the 2 new novellas by Lois McMaster Bujold, Penric?s Demon and Penric and the Shaman. The latter is out on e-book but not on audio until Dec. 5th.

[Jody]

Just finished "Black River" by S.M. Hulse on audio, narrated by the excellent George Newbern. Best book I've 'read' in a long time!

[Heidi]

The only 5 star book in general I have had this year was Six of Crows - I am very stingy with my 5 star ratings though

[Jessica]

Me too! I have had a few 4 star reads this years, mostly three star, and one 2 star but no 5 star reads this year so far.

[Robin P]

I don't give many 5 star ratings, but sometimes I will give them in series that I really like. That doesn't mean everyone will necessarily feel the same. For instance I gave League of Dragons 5 stars as it seemed an excellent wrap-up to th e series. If you look at any series, you will often see that the later books in a trilogy, for instance, are rated higher than the first one (unless people are very disappointed by a sequel). I think that's because anyone who wasn't crazy about the series stopped after the first or second book and those who are left are really fans.

It regularly happens that I give a book a 4star rating on GR but if the narration was great, I'll give the same book 5 stars on Audible.

A book that I gave 5 stars to this year is A Place of Greater Safety. I read it in print and I think it would be very difficult to follow on audio. There are lots of characters and very little explanation, so I had to page back and forth quite a bit. But I still found it fascinating. The best way I've described it is - If the musical Hamilton had been about the French revolution, this would be the book it was based on. The main characters are young, ambitious and full of desires- for power, women and sometimes each other. Most of the historical events happen offstage, or rather onstage while this book goes backstage. The reviews on the audio are mixed. And you have to be willing to go through a LOT of detail.

[Joy]

A couple of my 5 stars are The Help (all time favorite audiobook) and Pride and Prejudice narrated by Lindsay Duncan.

[Chrissie]

We, the Drowned
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe
Bastard Out of Carolina
But You Did Not Come Back
An American Childhood
Corrag
Silent Spring
Sunset Song

are my five star books this year. Maybe this looks like a lot, but it isn't really b/c so far I have listened to 116 books.

[Kristie]

I had a bunch of 5 star reads earlier this year...I had a run of major classics I caught up on, but now I haven't had a 5 star read since June.
Gone with the Wind
The Grapes of Wrath
The Fault in Our Stars
The Stand
Hearts in Atlantis
Doc
The Spectator Bird

[Stacy]

I have 5 books this year that I rated 5 stars and they are...
1. Wilde Lake
2. Britt-Marie Was Here
3. The Sound of Glass
4. Pretty Girls
2. The Elephant Whisperer

[Janice]

I just finished a 5 star read - The Trespasser.

[☘ Erin K ☘]

My most recent 5 star audiobook was Code Name Verity. Excellent story and excellent narration.

[Aaron]

I have had a very good year so far with 12-5stars, 49-4stars, 26-3 stars, 5-2stars, 1-1star.

Of those my 5 star listens would be

A Choice of Treasons - Stand Alone Space Opera
Chosen - 4th book in UF series
Poor Man's Fight - 1st book in Space Opera with a bit more of a millennial twist???, but it's actually good trust me.
The Bands of Mourning - 6th(or 3rd) book in Epic Fantasy
NPCs - 1st book in parody Fantasy series
The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent - Parody SF Adventure. (Libertarian/Conservative politically humor throughout)
Drysine Legacy - 2nd book in Space Opera Series
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) - 1st book in Science Fiction Series
Nice Dragons Finish Last and it's first sequelOne Good Dragon Deserves Another - 1st and 2nd book of an Urban Fantasy

Which yes means 11 of my 12 5-stars were listened too instead of read.

[Alina]

My 5 star audiobooks:

A Torch Against the Night
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
One Plus One
The Martian
The Invention of Wings
The Girl You Left Behind
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
All the Bright Places
The Forgotten Garden
The Secret Keeper
A Man Called Ove
To Kill a Mockingbird
Eleanor & Park
Wonder
The Hiding Place
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Anne of Green Gables
The Book Thief

[Casseroll]

How to Train Your Dragon series How to Train Your Dragon----David Tennant narrates and is stupendous! Highly entertaining and funny.

[Giselle]

The Handmaid's Tale. Claire Danes does a phenomenal job of narrating.

[Shilo]

I started this thread and forgot to post. One of my favorite books of the past year was A Little Life, A Novel by Hanya Yanagihara. Brilliantly written and short-listed for the Man-Booker award, I could not put it down. Very contemporary fiction and not light-hearted -- a literary gem. I loved it! That and The Count of Monte Cristo are probably my two favorite books of recent memory.

[Chrissie]

I adored Yanagihara's book too! It is not for those who want a light read though. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

[Kieron]

I have.two 5 star recommendations

Ready Player One

Dark Matter

[Sophia]

I have to add a recommendation for Preston & Child's audiobook Cemetary Dance. I have just recently discovered P&C and love their books so much I've become addicted. This is the first audiobook of theirs I have listened to and while it's pure P&C, the narrator, Rene Auberjonois is just absolutely #1 of all time for me. I would listen to anything he has narrated, P&C or not, as he is superb, delightful, and utterly fabulous. This is an Agent Pendergast book complete with voodoo zombies in the midst of Manhattan. But Mr..Auberjonois has even elevated the story to the point I may just do the rest of their myriad of books by audio only.

[Shilo]

Just finished a gem -- Trevor Noah's memoir, read by him, "Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood." Fabulous, sometimes funny, always entertaining and fascinating, about his early life growing up in South Africa. Don't miss this one!

[Tracey]

Wow, I didn't have as many five-starrers as I thought this year so far. Two were old favorites I decided to try on audio and loved:
The Perilous Gard
So You Want to Be a Wizard

One was a "reread" of something that had a very cheap "special price" because I already had the Kindle version:
Still Life With Murder

Then there were new instalments in very favorite series
The Hanging Tree
My Name Is Markham

And the last one was received from the author here in this group, and I'm way behind withe posting a review, my apologies:
Fenian's Trace

All very highly recommended.

[Cindy]

The Hate U Give

[Pooch]

My 5-star books are
When Lions Roar: The Churchills and the Kennedys
Seven Days of Us
4:50 From Paddington
The Story Sisters
The Sound of Glass
Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Book Store
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The Mysterious Affair At Styles
My Italian Bulldozer
Victoria: The Queen: The Intimate Biography of the Woman
Who Ruled An Empire
Only Time Will Tell
The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life

[Boni]

My Five Star books

Nicholas Taleb's Black Swan,
Malcolm Gladwells Blink, Tipping Point, Outliers
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's FLOW,
Johnson Steven's Where Good Ideas Come from,
Acemoğlu, Daron's Why Nations Fail,
Simon Sinek's Start with Why, Leaders Eat Last
Seth Godin's Linchpin,
Geoff Colvin's Talent is Overrated,
Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century,
Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged,
Gray John's Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus,

I did not understand why people gave a list of all NOVELS when they were asked about five star books - NOVELS according to me are for entertainment - I have always equated a book with knowledge and practical use! I am not sure about ya'all

[Chrissie]

Boni wrote: "My Five Star books

Nicholas Taleb's Black Swan,
Malcolm Gladwells Blink, Tipping Point, Outliers
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's FLOW,
Johnson Steven's Where Good Ideas Come from,
Acemoğlu, Daron's Why ..."

My five stars for this year were a mix of fiction and non-fiction. See message 10

[Amy]

My definition of a 5-Star Read keeps changing. I feel a little guilty that I'm not following some "1,000 Must Reads", or broadening my mind in some way. I went through a Classics phase, but today I read whatever I feel like reading. My ratings reflect how satisfied I am by the end as well as a recommendation for the group of readers interested in that genre. I award too many 5's. Goodreads doesn't have a 4.5 (there really should be a 7, or 9 Star option). I read for pleasure, or just to have "a good listen" most of the time.

I just finished my 2018 Reading Challenge. Looking back through the first 52 books of this year, I gave out so many 5 stars that I am actually a little embarrassed. I should have been more critical.

[Roxanne]

Amy wrote: "My definition of a 5-Star Read keeps changing. I feel a little guilty that I'm not following some "1,000 Must Reads", or broadening my mind in some way. I went through a Classics phase, but today I..."

I hear you Amy. Really good books that keep me engaged - that is what I give 5 stars for. Yes - there is literature - and yes - I have read a lot of it too. Classics et al. But as you have said, my definition of 5 stars keeps changing.

It's a fine line for me because I don't find the James Patterson-like stuff - or the Woman in a Window type stuff to be rewarding. Cozy mysteries don't do it for me. So - I feel like I"m in this weird niche of people who want it all - plot AND character AND sense of place AND good writing AND good narrating etc. etc.
Hard to find.

[Savvy]

Cindy wrote: "The Hate U Give"

Excellent...and timely!

[Robin P]

Some books are excellent at what they are - romance, mystery, thriller, etc. So you may feel it is a 5 star book in that category. I give very few 5's but a lot of 4's, and they can be anything from classic literature to humor.

[Chrissie]

Robin, I ditto your statement. I am the same.

[Chrissie]

I have read/listened to 58 books so far this year. Three I have given five stars:

The Blue Guitar by John Banville
The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf
Then and Now by W. Somerset Maugham

The first two I gave the narration also five stars. The last one I gave the narration only three but still the book is fabulous. I am very restrictive with my stars.

[Fran]

Boni wrote: "My Five Star books

Nicholas Taleb's Black Swan,
Malcolm Gladwells Blink, Tipping Point, Outliers
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's FLOW,
Johnson Steven's Where Good Ideas Come from,
Acemoğlu, Daron's Why ..."

Great list. Perhaps the thread should have been titled 5* listens.

[Janet]

I give lots of 4*'s but my 5 *'s I reserve for books that I think will join the literary canon and be read for years to come. I haven't always done this so I have a lot of 5*'s in my books that I no longer consider 5 * reads.

[Tattooed_mummy]

My current top 3

Down Station
Those Rosy Hours at Mazandaran
The Martian

Though I also love Life of Pi
and Les Liaisons Dangereuses: Read by the Cast of the Stage Play