Best Books of the Year
A new year begins, and I realize I've read a LOT more than I thought.
Here are the books I loved, or found very very worthwhile. Bear in mind that not all of them are fully suitable for very charedi people, you may need to skip stuff or even put the book down. Your reading, your checking.
University reading:
The Bintel Brief: Sixty Years of Letters from the Lower East Side to the Jewish Daily Forward by Isaac Metzker. Book in two parts. Fascinating, very instructive, sometimes very hard to stomach. Don't read if you can't take real horror stories, or skip the concerned letters.
Disturbing Books community suggestions:
High Life by Matthew Stokoe. Wow. Wow. I will not forget that one soon. Very disturbing, very gross, very fascinating. Be sure you can handle it. Modern America.
The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan. Every time you think it can't go worse, it does. Very very depressing, you'll fight tears several times. The fact that it happens in the 1980's makes it even more unbearable. China.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. A good vampire story, at last! Even better than the movie, also more disturbing. The other short stories range from nice to whatever.
The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder. If you can stomach it, this book is a masterpiece. As a mother it may be very difficult to read through some passages. Japan today and in the 30's.
The Woods are Dark by Richard Laymon. First, ok, this book has obvious flaws. But it is SO SCARY!
Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami. Be sure you can handle the craziness going on. If you can, this will blow your mind. Modern Japan.
The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman. This can be hard to read for a mom, but this is, imo, worth it. Victorian England atmosphere.
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. It is incredible this book has been written by man. No wait, it is incredible this book has been written. I've been in love from first to last page, but the ending drove me crazy! The sequel, The Apple (short stories), is worth reading, but very disappointing compared to the masterpiece of the book. I wanted to read another 800 pages, not short stories! Set in Victorian England.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks. Fascinating scientific and human read.
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland. Great book with obvious flaws especially the ending. Well worth reading if you like the Middle Ages.
Wideacre by Philippa Gregory. If you can handle the gross, disturbing incest, it is a very interesting historical and psychological book about the English countryside.
Weaveworld by Clive Barker. Dark fantasy. Masterpiece. Don't be put off by the length (unless, like me, it is actually a plus for you!).
Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines by DL Snell. You like vampires? You like zombies? You can take the gore and the angst? This is a book not to miss!
Girls by Nic Kelman. A book you will love to hate and that will fascinate you. Inside the mind of a perv. I definitely remember skipping some stuff.
Here are the books I loved, or found very very worthwhile. Bear in mind that not all of them are fully suitable for very charedi people, you may need to skip stuff or even put the book down. Your reading, your checking.
University reading:
The Bintel Brief: Sixty Years of Letters from the Lower East Side to the Jewish Daily Forward by Isaac Metzker. Book in two parts. Fascinating, very instructive, sometimes very hard to stomach. Don't read if you can't take real horror stories, or skip the concerned letters.
Disturbing Books community suggestions:
High Life by Matthew Stokoe. Wow. Wow. I will not forget that one soon. Very disturbing, very gross, very fascinating. Be sure you can handle it. Modern America.
The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan. Every time you think it can't go worse, it does. Very very depressing, you'll fight tears several times. The fact that it happens in the 1980's makes it even more unbearable. China.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. A good vampire story, at last! Even better than the movie, also more disturbing. The other short stories range from nice to whatever.
The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder. If you can stomach it, this book is a masterpiece. As a mother it may be very difficult to read through some passages. Japan today and in the 30's.
The Woods are Dark by Richard Laymon. First, ok, this book has obvious flaws. But it is SO SCARY!
Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami. Be sure you can handle the craziness going on. If you can, this will blow your mind. Modern Japan.
The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman. This can be hard to read for a mom, but this is, imo, worth it. Victorian England atmosphere.
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. It is incredible this book has been written by man. No wait, it is incredible this book has been written. I've been in love from first to last page, but the ending drove me crazy! The sequel, The Apple (short stories), is worth reading, but very disappointing compared to the masterpiece of the book. I wanted to read another 800 pages, not short stories! Set in Victorian England.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks. Fascinating scientific and human read.
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland. Great book with obvious flaws especially the ending. Well worth reading if you like the Middle Ages.
Wideacre by Philippa Gregory. If you can handle the gross, disturbing incest, it is a very interesting historical and psychological book about the English countryside.
Weaveworld by Clive Barker. Dark fantasy. Masterpiece. Don't be put off by the length (unless, like me, it is actually a plus for you!).
Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines by DL Snell. You like vampires? You like zombies? You can take the gore and the angst? This is a book not to miss!
Girls by Nic Kelman. A book you will love to hate and that will fascinate you. Inside the mind of a perv. I definitely remember skipping some stuff.