ITT: best book you've read so far this year

>implying I've read any books this year

>>5598648
This, I don't get how people get motivated to read or do anything anymore.

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>>5598673
Then, I suggest you to jump off a bridge...
Also:

>>5598636
Sandalwood Death by Mo Yan or Kim by Kipling

Feast of the Goat by Llosa gets honorary third

Does it have to be a novel? I read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, but I also read a lot of Hawthorne's short stories.

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>>5598636
Imo his best book.

>>5598701

anything goes, as long as it is a book

>>5598636


Horr horr, a heffable Horralump.

tarr

>>5598717
You rock, my friend.

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This nigger will crawl inside your soul and turn you inside out.

Not even kidding, he knows you better than you know yourself.

And yes I'm aware he's dead.

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>>5598636
FIGHT ME FAGGOT

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I'm kind of disappointed I can't think of anything better. Maybe True Grit?

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To be short, reading this is similar to being baptized.

John Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath
George Orwell - Down and Out in Paris and London
Tom Wolfe - The Painted Word

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Gonna be hard to top this one for me but we'll see.

>>5598860
Forgot to add, this was also the first book I actually finished this year, which I did In May on my road trip out west. Wish it had been twice as long.

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>>5598636
>>5598728
VENN-DETT-A .... VENN-DETT-A

Read this one this year too, mah pals.

Pictured may have been my most enjoyable read this year, but I wouldn't rate it as the best.

Currently reading Petersburg by Andrei Bely and it's really good. If it maintains what its got going it might be my number one for this year.

>>5598832
Such a comically bleak novel. It's hilarious how much pathos Houellebecq crams into that novel.

Too many times she been round that track, but she ain't no houellebecq girl. Ain't no houellebecq girl.

>>5598636
Native Son by Richard Wright. Everything about it was breathtaking.

Perfume by Patrick Suskind. Read it over the summer, now my favorite novel.

Ride the tiger by Evola

>>5598899

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br4eV4s0wZE

>>5598901
I read that it was his favorite on Wikipedia, never saw this video though. In fact I've never really watched interviews of Cobain, seems a lot smarter than I'd gather from his music.

>>5598880
Goddamn I love that book, best choice of book to read for my English class ever.

>>5598831
No way dude. Neuromancer is great. Especially the last 3rd.

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although i read many different kinds of books, i can only really get swept up in sci fi and to a lesser extent fantasy. this came highly recommended by /lit/ and you guys weren't lying.

A biography of Oscar Wilde's wife. Really gave an entirely different view of the man. He was not nice to his family. Also, the people to whom he owed the most money were cigarette sellers. Didn't expect that.

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Truly a masterpiece of postmodern literature

>>5598706

Mah nigga

>>5598689
>implying i can get motivated to do even that

>>5599323
what is this about

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it's hard to narrow it down because i tend to like everything

It has to be Moby Dick for me.

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Pale Fire

Toss up between Hard Rain Falling and Morte d' Urban

Morte d' Urban had better prose and some funny segments.

Hard Rain Falling ripped my heart out.

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>>5598636

>>5598847
>Down and Out in Paris and London

This dropped in quality when he went to London for me. The first part in Paris was a lot more interesting and engaging.

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Still can't get over how perfect this was

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>>5598636
"A masterpiece"

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>>5599482
i read up on camus and a very simple description on him and his "absurd". after reading the book, i still didnt get what the big deal was.

for me, its this. shirt and sweet, and that ending was a shock IMO

>>5599497
*short*

>>5599292
You again? Ya really think 4chan of all places is the one to shill your book?

>>5598636
I bet you enjoy the films of Wes Anderson.

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>>5599292

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Probably Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia, it was really good.

>>5598721
>that cover
*tips*

>>5598860
i read an essay by this geezer about painting on the ceiling with a long brush when lying in bed
was it metaphorical and i missed everything? or was he just a weirdo?

>>5598845
People here hate on it for being "over-romanticized shit" but it sure made me cry at the end

“There is no real direction here, neither lines of power nor cooperation. Decisions are never really made – at best they manage to emerge, from a chaos of peeves, whims, hallucinations and all around assholery. ”

>>5598636
Read 'The Things They Carried' for the first time this year. I can see why it's a classic because damn that was a good read.

>>5599303
You can get motivated to get your fat ass to your pc and browse 4chan but not the bridge ?

Suuuure

Oh so that's not just the doors lyrics

L.A. Woman is a sweet record though.

>>5599365
>that cover
wot the fågg

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as I took reading as primary hobby only this year, I guess my favourite books is this

>>5599497

i keep buying used copies of that book because it is such a great present. only downside is, many people have it already. at least here in western europe.

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Best book in three thread coming through

>>5599773
>three thread
Thank you autocorrect

>>5599365
ayy

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I am so going to regret mentioning Pierce here.

Kel is best Tortall girl, by the way.

>>5599745
>fogg
wyt

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>>5598636

>>5598636
The Old Man and the Sea

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Just finished reading this

>>5599830
>Oh I’m a robot full of fun, water doesn’t scare me none
:3

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>>5599836

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>>5598636

pretty damn good read

>>5598636
Farina fucking rocks,
that story in the woods gave me goosbumps.

>>5599836
do you live in a jc penny's catalog or something?

In all seriousness though, Protector of the Small was really enjoyable, and Lady Knight was the best of the quartet.

I love Keladry so much.

I read Don Quixote this year so nothing is going to be better than that

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The master delivered once again.

>>5599610
Probably a metaphor, which a lot of his are 2deep4me to get. But he's also a weirdo (see: last part of Man Who Was Thursday.)

>>5599920
Yeeeesss both of these stories were amazing

*unzips highfive*

Mutiny on the Bounty or Candide

I haven't been reading a lot lately, I'm trying to start again. I finished Ubu Roi recently, and loved it, so probably that.

>>5599929
AKA The BEST part of The Man Who Was Thursday.

>>5599384
Can Neil gaiman write a climax to save his life? American gods and anansi boys suffered in much the same ways. most of the story meanders in no particular direction, with no guiding force. then before you even realize what's happening it's over.

he needs to create his characters faster so he doenst spend 80% of his novel on developing them

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>>5598877
>Too many times she been round that track, but she ain't no houellebecq girl. Ain't no houellebecq girl.

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Either pic related or Sartre's "Nausea". Both for different reasons: Páramo's for its amazing narrative and Sartre's for helping me during an existential crisis I was having at the moment

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To The Lighthouse is a close second.

>>5599423
I would agree. He uses the Parisian restaurant experience to talk about socialism and fairness and uses London more to talk about social welfare, which is less interesting

>>5600106
Candide is the shit. Don't forget to find a bunch of Voltaire essays and learn about what a legend he was

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My best reads this year are a tie between pic related, Gormenghast, I Am A Cat or The House on the Borderland.

>>5598721

I suggest this Tesla biography as it's a great read, I haven't read the one you've got but I enjoyed Wizard, thoroughly. It covers pretty much everything you'd need to know about his life and goes into full detail about how he got Jewed out by businessmen.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wizard-Times-Nikola-Tesla-Citadel/dp/0806519606/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413655543&sr=1-1&keywords=wizard+life+and+times+of+nikola+tesla

>>5600547
>Candide is the shit.
This is a direct quotation from my personal translation of Candide

>"OH, LOOK AT ME! MY NAME IS LEIBNIZ AND I'M FUCKING RETARDED! EVERYTHING THAT IS TERRIBLE IS SECRETLY THE BEST! THAT'S TOTALLY WHAT I MEANT WHEN I SAID THIS WAS THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS!"

Truly a masterpiece.

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I read it every year, and am yet to find anything that beats it.

>>5600586
>whatever happens to me in the world is worse than whatever you talk about in the cenacles

lolita

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Absolutely fantastic, particularly the chapter entitled "Snow."

>>5598636
Eik nachui, yra ir gerų rašeivų :(

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The Toy Collector. It's very funny and quite wild.

>>5598706
>I haven't read Suttree

>>5598636

Halfway through this now.

Absolutely outstanding so far.

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An actual book and not literature bullshit, simpletons.

>>5600953
>not literature bullshit
>the board's name is "literature"
I think we need philosophy board to contain your cancer.

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>>5598636

>>5600971
>I think we need philosophy board to contain your cancer.

Sorry, i can't understand you since i don't speak in metaphors like your useless lit culture

>>5600477
how is this translation of W&P?? I have it but idk if I should trade it in at my book store to get the PV translation. I loved the PV of crime and punishment

>>5598827
oh man Stigma is one of the most mind blowing books I've ever read. Erving Goffman is amazing. I would recommend this to everyone.

>>5599642
My favourite book

>read the passage where Duncan finds his mum's letter
>curl into ball and cry for all eternity

>>5601189
>Stigma pertains to the shame that a person may feel when he or she fails to meet other people's standards, and to the fear of being discredited – which causes the individual not to reveal his or her shortcomings. Thus, a person with a criminal record may simply withhold that information from fear of being judged by whomever that person happens to encounter.
this is some mindblowing stuff right there. i hope he gets paid the big bucks for discovering this shit

>>5599878
>>5600541
>>5600653
mah niggas

>>5599269
>postmodern literature

>bait

>>5600354
Maebe it doesn't count, but in The Sandman, the ending was pretty poignant

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Nothing has beaten this so far. It's one of the two horror stories (the other is The Turn of the Screw) where the author nails gothic horror absolutely perfectly

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The greatest war novel of all time

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>>5601318
Nigga, that ain't even the greatest WWI novel of all time.

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>>5600653
shit i remember that chapter.
i wish i didn't have a lifetimes worth of unread books oppressing me constantly, i really want to read this again.

>Notes from Underground

simply brilliant

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>>5601480
I totally agree
>pic semi-related

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>>5598636
Out of my way weak fucking shits

>>5598649
Yeah me too.
Tied with Dostoievski Notes from underground

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

Animal farm

>>5601527

squats cure cancer bro. how much do you squat, 400? 450? swoll as fuck mane. i used to squat 365, can only do 280 right now

>>5601527
dat ass

>>5601790
>tfw i squat like a plate and a half
Its a terrible feel

>>5601808

keep at it man. you'll get there

>>5600653
My favorite of last year. Hate that cover though and the title sounds dumb in English.

>>5601808

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs_Ej32IYgo

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>>5598636
Pic related.
Distant second goes to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

>>5600591
This has been on my list for waaaay too long. Friend was supposed to lend it to me after his girlfriend read it. Of course she never did. About time I just go ahead and buy it.

>>5601840
oo i'm excited to read this

>>5601890
Enjoy. It's great.

>>5600541
Me too; was based.

>>5601527
>not starting strength
Pleb

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I really like this

>>5599750
hilarious book,
lovely

>>5600591
Definitely, Filth was also fantastic

>>5598636
BABY BABY BABY,WON'T YOU GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!

>>5600667
lol

>>5599303
>implying your a better Uitvreter than based Japi

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For me it would be the The Maurizius Case, which is an outstanding book with a superb psychological density, simple language and fluid narrative. I got so invested in this novel that by the end of it Anna Jahn had me growling in a fit of anger, given that the shallow whore perfectly depicted women and displayed the most repulsive ingratitude I've ever experienced in literature or any other medium. It was written by a Jew so it contains many SJW tendencies, but I can't quite say it would please feminists, in fact the very opposite is more than likely to happen.

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>>5601527
>every day

Does he mean literally every day? fuckin squattards and their meme exercise I swear. even SS's 3x a week is too fucking much

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This has to be the most beautiful work I've ever read.

I still can't believe a French translation shows such a mastery of the English language.

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>>5602231
>even SS's 3x a week is too fucking much
Only if you've got osteoporosis or some shit.

>>5601790
yeah, i know breh. Had prostate cancer, but I just high bar squatted the shit out of it.

>>5602231
The bulgarians used to squat 2-3 times a day bro. Git gud

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Fucking amazing and it feels so whimsical

>>5600953
>analytic philosophy
Basically a failed scientist.

>>5599303
You seem pretty motivated in building knowledge of how to build interest. Work on that.

>>5599836
Did you read Lunar Park as the natural conclusion to all his other novels preceding it? Or as a stand-alone novel?

>>5599929
>>5599610
Y'all motherfuckers are ddense.

>>5602555
Nice trips.

Anyway, you calling me dense made me get that book off my shelf and reread that essay about lying in bed and drawing on the ceiling so thank you for that.
Now that it's fresh in my mind it kind of astounds me how much Chesterton can get out into just a few pages. A meditation on art, creativity, society, morals etc all in a brief, beautifully written essay.

>>5600804
I thought the film was based on the Odyssey.

>>5602719
>Not reading Luis Felipe Fabre

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I didnt know melville would be so good.
shit's mad cash

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>>5599750
Reading the triolgy right now. Shit's trippy

only book I've read this decade is the stranger. read it last week. it was great

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This has been haunting me all year.

>>5603215
Recently finished Moby Dick. I wasn't ready to leave it.

>>5600800
i love you

>>5599482
go to bed nathan

>>5601953
is it like his other stuff?

>>5603198
Are you him? Or one of the ten people who read it?

>>5603339
Reading that now, source for cover picture?

>>5599028
Same here. I've read all of Wolfe's other large series, but nothing quite compares to this one

>>5598689
Great book, but that's such a terrible cover

I've only read fantasy/sci-fi over the past year, probably 40ish books total

I'd say Emperor of Thorns for fantasy and Dune for sci-fi

Some great books I've read this year:

The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America from George Packer - really great non-fiction mapping the "fall" of the US into the financial crisis over the last 30, 20 years

Mein Leben from Marcel Reich-Ranicki - German public intellectual, holocaust survivor. If you're into German authors post-WW2

If On A Winter's Night A Traveler from Italo Calvino - fun postmodern book of books based on the idea that beginning a book is more fun than finishing one

Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside The Center from Ray Monk - Ray Monk writes amazing biographies, how is that possible

Inside Scientology from Janet Reitman - Depressing history of scientology

The Painted Bird from Jerzy Kosinski - WW2 violence porn. Not based on actual history, but from someone who went through similar things.

The World of Yesterday from Stefan Zweig - Autobiography from one of my favourite German writers

>>5598636
Read My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard in Danish.
Wonderful novel.
The analysis of the poem, and the Hitler biography made me put the sixth part down for a week, but I still finished the entire thing in five weeks.
I hope plenty of /lit/ will read the English translation when the entire thing comes out.

>>5605107

Loved "The Unwinding"
I won't lie, I cried at the end. Very powerful and very sad. And I'm an American, which made it hit home even harder

>>5600591
book is a solid, one of the best I've ever read 10/10

Filth was pretty good too

But I read Infinitr jest this year so that wins :)

>>5598636
>this is about an anarchist at cornell
>i am an anarchist at cornell
>must read asap

transcendexistence.org

The Master and Margarita

>>5598649
Virginia Woolf didn't like that book too much

>>5607194
Shit troll.

>>5602013
is that what Farina is referencing?

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>inb4, no one know

>>5607279
>this is about a guy who chilled with pynchon
>i don't chill with pynchon
>must read anyway

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>>5598831
best answer

Just got into Norse Sagas this year and my answer is pic related
from what I hear, it's not even the best one

>>5607392
Im from Brazil and this is great.
Most people say Graciliano Ramos or Machado de Assis are the GOAT brazilian writers, i prefer Nelson Rodrigues but jesus, Vidas Secas is just plain awesome.
Have you read anything made in Brazil besides this?

>>5601527
jeff pls go

>>5601842
>title sounds dumb in English
I know that. A few people asked what I was reading when they saw me holding the book, and they all thought I was reading some fantasy-YA shit.

>>5607581
sorry anon, but i'm brazilian too.
this is my favorite Brazilian book.

>>5598636

death on credit

>>5607717
it is up there for me
I'm looking forward to reading Grande Sertões, some friends said to me its great but it has such a fucking shitty extra difficult portuguese i'll just start infinite jest instead

>>5607717
>>5607758

3rd br anon here. I skipped most of my recommended readings during high school since I was a rebelious teenager or something like that and was getting into literature with some other stuff instead (don't judge me - Borges, Garcia Márquez, Wilde, Saramago). What is the best brazilian literature? Vidas Secas has long picked my interest, and I haven't even read Dom Casmurro. And yet I go to med school in a public university, but summaries go a long way for literature tests.

>>5607799
I've also been spending most of my succint reading time getting over /lit/ core and shit like that, feel like it's good reading some portuguese for a change.

>>5598673
I do it every night before bed. 1-2 hours a night.

>>5607582
>jeff
>squatting every day like an oly lifter
pick one

Under the Volcano

>>5607799
Nelson Rodrigues is great, his cronics about football are just plain beautiful and his other books too, my favorite writer, try reading "O casamento"
I'd skip Don Casmurro and start with Bras Cubas, my favorite book by Machadão
I dont read much of brazilian lit but u must like those

Catcher of the Rye

>>5608622
>brazilian
>football
good job perpetuating the stereotype
disgraceful
shameful

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Just finished Lolita, was thinking about rereading Catcher next (hooray for child abuse) but feel not interested

Currently debating starting 100 years of Solitude or trolling /lit/ till I find something of interest

>>5599836
I'm thinking about getting Glamorama because I really love American Psycho and want to see what else he has to offer.