Recommend a book you read this year

[moopet]

Ok, I know this has been done to death, and I know there are currently plenty of other threads about what books people like, but I'd just like to ask, specifically:

What book have you read this year (since January) that you had never read before, that you came to with no expectations, that you would recommend to someone else?

Even more specifically, don't mention more than one book. Try not to mention books where you already own the majority of the author's work and knew you'd like it, and try to imagine recommending it to someone random - where you couldn't guess their taste or what they might find funny or offensive.

Fiction or non-fiction, don't care. Don't give a reason.

Is that specific enough? No?

I'll start you off with mine: Nevil Shute's On The Beach.

[Loss Leader]

Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma

[meg]

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel

[Tiktaalik]

Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortensen (ex-mountain climber building schools in Pakistan & Afghanistan)

[Pope130]

"The Dangerous Book For Boys" by Conn and Hal Iggulden. Funny, informative and nostalgic.

By the way, Nevil Shute is one of my favorites. "On the Beach" is good, but not one I'd re-read. "A Town Like Alice" on the other hand I treat myself to a re-read every few years.

Robert

[sgf8]

Founded upon the seas: a history of the Cayman Islands and their people" - Michael Craton & New History Committee


I think, "three cups of tea" just moved higher up in the "to read stack" because of the eariler recommendation.

[Marquis de Carabas]

Jonathan Barnes - The Somnambulist

[balrog666]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1591841852/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Read it and weep!

[Magenta]

Redmond O'Hanlon, Trawler: A Journey Through the North Atlantic

[SopranoHarmony]

Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

[mattdick]

Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky

[Loss Leader]

Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky


Cod is good, but Salt will make your hair explode.

Probably the best nonfiction book ever.

[ktesibios]

Tom Standage- A History of the World in Six Glasses

[mattdick]

Cod is good, but Salt will make your hair explode.

Probably the best nonfiction book ever.

I liked Salt, but I read it more than a year ago.

[Francesca R]

Why Is Sex Fun? (Or Why Sex Is Fun--can't recall), by Jared Diamond

[bobdroege7]

The Whale Warriors--Peter Heller

[Aitch]

Never the Bride and its sequel Something Borrowed by Paul Magrs.

Comedy-horror - the central character is an old women with an interesting past :eye-poppi. First came across the first as a BBC radio adaptation and decided to check the books out.

[Aitch]

Never the Bride and its sequel Something Borrowed by Paul Magrs.

Comedy-horror - the central character is an old women with an interesting past :eye-poppi. First came across the first as a BBC radio adaptation and decided to check the books out.

[Wildy]

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah.

[Marquis de Carabas]

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah.
Both of these are excellent, as is Ali's The Caged Virgin, but I read them last year.

[boojum]

I'll recommend Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism by Michelle Goldberg. It's one of the ten books that Sam Harris recommends at the end of Letter to a Christian Nation. Goldberg's book is a saddening and maddening look at American politics and religion.

[fuelair]

"The Dangerous Book For Boys" by Conn and Hal Iggulden. Funny, informative and nostalgic.

By the way, Nevil Shute is one of my favorites. "On the Beach" is good, but not one I'd re-read. "A Town Like Alice" on the other hand I treat myself to a re-read every few years.

Robert
Unfortunately, The Dangerous Book for Boys is not nearly so dangerous as I had hoped - a book from the sixties or so (apparantly a reprint of one from the late 1800's,early 1900s) included linoleum guns (deadly), some homemade fireworks, slings of great power and other such. A girl's equivalent of about that time included instructions (for a group) for capturing and properly tying up a burglar.

[fuelair]

"The Dangerous Book For Boys" by Conn and Hal Iggulden. Funny, informative and nostalgic.

By the way, Nevil Shute is one of my favorites. "On the Beach" is good, but not one I'd re-read. "A Town Like Alice" on the other hand I treat myself to a re-read every few years.

Robert

Actually, this, on the same topic and from the period DBFB imitates, is the real thing: explosives, weapons and generally neat stuff that may actually be dangerous:http://www.amazon.com/American-Boys-Handy-Turn-Century/dp/048643138X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208528146&sr=1-3
:D:D:D

[fuelair]

"The Dangerous Book For Boys" by Conn and Hal Iggulden. Funny, informative and nostalgic.

By the way, Nevil Shute is one of my favorites. "On the Beach" is good, but not one I'd re-read. "A Town Like Alice" on the other hand I treat myself to a re-read every few years.

Robert

Actually, this, on the same topic and from the period DBFB imitates, is the real thing: explosives, weapons and generally neat stuff that may actually be dangerous:http://www.amazon.com/American-Boys-Handy-Turn-Century/dp/048643138X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208528146&sr=1-3
:D:D:D

[Wildy]

Imperial Life In The Emerald City: Inside Baghdad's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

It really makes a foreigner wonder how you Yanks can run a country.

[Doctor Evil]

Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy.

An excellent historical biography, perhaps the best I ever read.

[PatrickSMcNally]

Mary Fulbrook, THE PEOPLE'S STATE: EAST GERMAN SOCIETY FROM HITLER TO HONNECKER

[sgf8]

Yeah! Good topic we already forced two "new bloods" to post. Welcome

Susan

[Finnegan]

Amin Maalouf - Samarkand

[Worm]

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

[Matt the Poet]

Nicola Barker - Darkmans

[BPScooter]

Chester Nimitz

The official biography from the Naval Academy press.

[SopranoHarmony]

Cat's Cradle -- Kurt Vonnegut

[ExMinister]

The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming by Janice Brooks and Jay Vogelsong.

A non-woo theory of dreaming/lucid dreaming that helps to explain OBEs, hypnagogic hallucinations, NDEs and possibly even some of the hallucinatory aspects of mental illness, even channeling. I hope further research will be done on this. I think if more people understood this, there would be a lot fewer paranormal claims.

The Canon by Natalie Angier

Spook by Mary Roach

[Marquis de Carabas]

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

[Damien Evans]

The ANZACS - Peter Pederson.

[orphia nay]

"Bones, Rocks and Stars - The Science of When Things Happened" - Chris Turney.


Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel

I borrowed that after reading this thread a little while ago, and I am currently very engrossed in it.

[Ixion]

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Spook by Mary Roach


Level 4 Virus Hunters of the CDC by Joseph McCormick and Susan Fisher-Hoch

[sgf8]

Just finished, "The Trouble with Tom: The strange afterlife of Thomas Paine" Wonderful book! Has more to do with the men searching for Thomas Paine's bones and why they were interested than in the history of Thomas Paine.

This book has loads of quackery, skepticism and history. Some medium bating, debt/death rituals, knowledge bumps, assassinations and a brain. Wonderful stuff.

Oh yeah I just read "Spook" liked it a lot also, but prefer the Paine book.

Susan

[Serenity's Light]

"The Blank Slate", by Stephen Pinker.

[autumn1971]

Sometimes a Great Notion.

To be fair, I have read it before, but this is one of those rare novels that is a different story every time it is read.


I haven't read On the Beach, but his follow-up novel, In the Wet, is horrendously boring.

[Zenskeptical]

Demian- Hermann Hesse- life changing.

[Corpse Cruncher]

Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes
by Maya Angelou

You have not lived until you have read Maya's book and then cooked her recipes, especially caramel cake.

[The Whether Man]

The Jennifer Morgue, by Charles Stross. I have never read anything like this before. Uber-geek computer high tech magic with a James Bond front end, and a soul sucking sex-vampire mermaid thrown in.

[Lothian]

2008 Wisden Almanack

[smellincoffee]

Garden of Beasts by Jeffery Deaver is a mystery novel set in Berlin, shortly before the 1936 Olympic games. A German-American hitman is hired by the government to travel to Nazi Germany and off the man responsible for Germany's rearmament. I thought it excellent and read it through in only three sittings.

[learner]

Job. Robert Heinlein

[martu]

The Music of the Primes by Marcus Du Sautoy.

I second the Caesar recommendation above, Rubicon by Tom Holland is good in it's own way too.

[Doctor Evil]

The Music of the Primes by Marcus Du Sautoy.

I second the Caesar recommendation above, Rubicon by Tom Holland is good in it's own way too.

Yup, I have read and enjoyed "Rubicon" too. :)

[NotJesus]

Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig

[NotJesus]

Cod is good, but Salt will make your hair explode.


Sounds unpleasant.

[JennyJo]

A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry

[Correa Neto]

The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939, by Antony Beevor

[sgf8]

The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939, by Antony Beevor

No way, I just finished "Philip of Spain" last night. I know it is a different period of Spain's history, but still interesting.

Susan

[fuelair]

Job. Robert Heinlein:D:D:D

And throw in Stranger in a Strange Land (the fixed version!) just because we can!!!

[Bikewer]

"Bonk" by Mary Roach:

http://www.amazon.com/Bonk-Curious-Coupling-Science-Sex/dp/0393064646/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213356793&sr=8-1

Roach is also responsible for "Spook".

This is a very funny yet quite informative overview of scientific research into sex.
Roach has a great understated style, and I found laughs on almost every page.

[Charlie Monoxide]

"Bonk" by Mary Roach:

http://www.amazon.com/Bonk-Curious-Coupling-Science-Sex/dp/0393064646/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213356793&sr=8-1

Roach is also responsible for "Spook".

This is a very funny yet quite informative overview of scientific research into sex.
Roach has a great understated style, and I found laughs on almost every page.I would also recommend Roach's "Stiff". It's about the uses of dead bodies. Very entertaining.

Charlie (I gotta read Bonk) Monoxide

[SusanB-M1]

'Marie Stopes A Biography' by Ruth Hall.
Her life had so many other aspects to it than the birth control one.
Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy.

An excellent historical biography, perhaps the best I ever read.

I second the Caesar recommendation above, Rubicon by Tom Holland is good in it's own way too.
Thirded - very much agree.

[asmodean]

Kazuo Ishiguro: Never let me go
Jack Ketchum, Ed Lee, Richard Laymon: Triage

[Dave Rogers]

Stalin - Court of the Red Tsar, by Simon Sebag-Montefiore. Horrifying and fascinating.

Dave

[Miss_Kitt]

"the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" by Mark Haddon

Perhaps the most interesting POV character I've ever encountered. Read it!

[Miss_Kitt]

Oh, and those who find Cod and Salt mesmerizing should definitely read "The Founding Fish" by John McPhee.

Pretty much anything by John McPhee is good, but I've only read about 20 of his books...

[orphia nay]

"the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" by Mark Haddon

Perhaps the most interesting POV character I've ever encountered. Read it!

I read that a couple of years ago, or I would definitely have mentioned this earlier.

Read it, peeps!

[Francesca R]

"Why Is Sex Fun" by Jared Diamond. Although it was the second I read from that author, the first was this year too.

I enjoyed it so much I just bought it for someone.

[borealys]

The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away From the War in Iraq by Joshua Key and Lawrence Hill. It was a relatively quick read, mostly because I couldn't put it down.

To be fair, I was already a fan of Hill's fiction (otherwise I might just be recommending his most recent novel, The Book of Negroes -- published in the US as Somebody Knows My Name -- an absolutely breathtaking book).

[bickerer]

"The Golden Spruce" by John Vaillant, beautifully written and strangley mesmerizing account of one man's obsession amid the logging industry of the Queen Charlotte Islands.
"The Family That Couldn't Sleep" by D.T. Max, prions, cannabalism, and insomnia, what else could you possibly want in a bedtime read??? Both non-fic and both highly recommended.

[senorpogo]

I'll start you off with mine: Nevil Shute's On The Beach.

I read this a few months ago. A very good recommendation.

edit to add:
Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D. Scottish Public Health Officer by Alasdair Gray

[Pendelton]

A book I would prompt you to read would be "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James W. Loewen. An eye-opener due to what your american history text-book OMITED !

In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,
In fourteen hundred and ninety-three, Columbus stole all he could see.

[sgf8]

A book I would prompt you to read would be "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James W. Loewen. An eye-opener due to what your american history text-book OMITED !

In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,
In fourteen hundred and ninety-three, Columbus stole all he could see.

Read this, I would recommend it also.

Susan

[bellonax]

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

I friggin loved this book - and I didn't expect to as "Dracula" has to be the most boring story I've ever read in my life (and it can't just be because it couldn't live up to the hype cos Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein etc. were all still good).

Anyway, so read it!

[LibraryLady]

Technically, I didn't read it, I listened to it, but Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman was excellent and not so scholarly that I got completely lost.

[moopet]

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

I friggin loved this book - and I didn't expect to as "Dracula" has to be the most boring story I've ever read in my life (and it can't just be because it couldn't live up to the hype cos Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein etc. were all still good).

Anyway, so read it!

I thought Dracula was great. The first third could almost have been from a book written today, I couldn't believe it was so old. One of the first books I read growing up that let me break into genre most usefully known as, "not 1980s SF"

[bellonax]

I thought Dracula was great. The first third could almost have been from a book written today, I couldn't believe it was so old. One of the first books I read growing up that let me break into genre most usefully known as, "not 1980s SF"


Well, each to their own as usual.

But I found it very boring. It was so long-winded, everything took too long to accomplish (why they did keep on going and watching Lucy wandering around, instead of just killing her straight away?). I found all the characters 2 dimensional with the exception of Mina - who, as a woman, didn't get that much to do (although her ability to type stuff up meant she was "nearly as good as a man!").

And as for Dracula himself...I could barely believe it when it turned out he really was a "low-powered" vampire during the day. He obviously inspired something from the time he was written, but by today's standards, he's a very rubbish villain.

No wonder there has yet to be a single film of Dracula that's been faithful to the book.

[JohnG]

"DOUBT a history" by Jennifer Michael Hecht

[logical muse]

The Recently Deflowered Girl - The Right Thing to Say On Every Dubious Occasion (http://www.amazon.com/Recently-Deflowered-Right-Dubious-Occasion/dp/B000EW8GYQ/), by Hyacinthe Phypps and Edward Gorey.

Full of the most stunning insights and essential advice.

[lionking]

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

I friggin loved this book - and I didn't expect to as "Dracula" has to be the most boring story I've ever read in my life (and it can't just be because it couldn't live up to the hype cos Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein etc. were all still good).

Anyway, so read it!
I got through about a hundred pages, but based on this recommendation, I will pick it up again.

The books I have read without great expectations and enjoyed were "The Code Book" by Simon Singh and "Tomaz Humar" by Bernadette McDonald. The latter is a biography of an extreme mountaineer which I expected absolutely nothing from, but found it fascinating.

The book which I had high expectations of, and which well and truly met them was "On Chisel Beach" by Iain McEwan.

[SDC]

"Travels with Herodotus" by Kapuscinski. (I read it in the original Polish but it's appeared in English as well.) Memoirs by one of the greatest international travel writers of the later 20th c.

[Arthur Denton]

Origin of the Species, by Darwin. Despite being a very old book, it is really nice to read. There are some technical areas where things may become obscure for an economist as I am, but the thing is easy to understand - and very well written, IMO.

[Chimera]

Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

Quirkology, Richard Wiseman

All three were very engrossing.

[madurobob]

The Book of Vice (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Vice-Very-Naughty-Things/dp/0060843829)
-- Peter Sagal

A fun beach read.

Also, a second for Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus (http://www.amazon.com/Misquoting-Jesus-Story-Behind-Changed/dp/0060859512/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218572768&sr=1-1) (I met him in a cafe and he signed mine ). When it first came out I got it as a present. I misread the title as "Mosquito Jesus" and thought it was some cool vampire zombie book. Well, it wasn't.. but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

[SoBitter]

The Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is one of my favorite books.

For the person who recommended Ishiguro, I would also recommend A Pale View of Hills.

My personal recommendation is To Live by Yu Hua. There was a movie made of the book, but they are nothing alike. Both are excellent.

[Faolan]

"Candide", Voltaire.

[Mobyseven]

Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson

Ringworld, by Larry Niven

The End of Faith, by Sam Harris

[Dion]

Ok, I know this has been done to death, and I know there are currently plenty of other threads about what books people like, but I'd just like to ask, specifically:

What book have you read this year (since January) that you had never read before, that you came to with no expectations, that you would recommend to someone else?



Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart Ehrman

I found this book intriguing - if you are interested in the scientific approach to historic document analysis and textual criticism you will enjoy this. It is aimed at non-experts and clearly lays out his reasoning.

A warning - for the devout and faithful Christians among you it will either open your eyes or upset you.

[JoeEllison]

Ummmm... more than one is OK, I hope?

The Electric Church and The Digital Plague by Jeff Somers

Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman.

[Hooloovoo]

"the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" by Mark Haddon

Perhaps the most interesting POV character I've ever encountered. Read it!
I picked this one up at a library sale a few months back, and it's slowly working its way up through my book stack. I think I'll bump it to the top after reading your post, though. I bought it because I liked the title.

I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through Neverwhere, and it's lots of fun so far.

[lionking]

I read a lot of books (two or three a week) and do not usually wish to expose my taste in literature to others. BUT "Bombs, Book and Compass" by Simon Winchester is a cracker of a book. It is about one man's (Joseph Needham) work giving full credit to the wonders of China's science and technology. Anyone interested in the history of science must read this.

[Formerly]

Jurgen, a Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell (Calling it a send up on pilgrim's progress and a satire on almost everything under the sun doesn't do it justice.)

Uglies by Scott Westerfield (teen sci-fi lit, but well written and insightful)

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (My husband and I both ended up reading this, we'll have to read more in this series. Thought provoking as 'good' sci-fi should be)

[bellonax]

I suppose this is cheating but I recommend the entirety of the Guards series by Terry Pratchett. They are, in order:

Guards! Guards!
Men At Arms
Feet of Clay
Jingo
The Fifth Elephant
Nightwatch
Thud!

I have never read a character as real and as brilliant as Sam Vimes. It is fascinating to watch him progress from the drunkard in Guards! Guards! all the way to

becoming a duke and everything beyond.

Thud! is of course, the latest in Vimes' story, but as far as I'm concerned, it is Nightwatch where he truly reaches the height of his potential.

I'll go now.

[noch1Narr]

lionking and anyone else interested: 'Bombs Book & Compass' By Simon Winchester also exists as an audiobook 'The Man Who Loved China' (read by the author).

[noch1Narr]

The Gold of Exodus-- by Howard Blum

WARNING: once you start reading this true story/adventure you won't want to stop until you've read the entire book!

[Skeptic Guy]

The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins.

Excellent.

[elevatedsteve]

Heroics for Beginners by John Moore.

[Roboramma]

Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffery D. Sachs

[osmosis]

Sense and Goodness Without God - Richard Carrier

[Arthur Denton]

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood. (just finished reading it).