Favourite book of the year so far. [Archive]

JudyB

13th July 2007, 18:21

Well we're halfway through the year and I wondered whether anyone feels that they have read anything this year that stands out for them.

To start the ball rolling I'm going to say that The Book Thief by Markus Zusak stands out for me - a beautiful and very original read.

(It's closely followed by A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini)

madcow

13th July 2007, 19:39

Mine has to be The Crimson Petal and The White by Michel Faber, I loved every minute of reading it and didn't want it to end.

Closely followed by Marley & Me by John Grogan

angerball

13th July 2007, 19:42

I'd have to go with A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. There are plenty of others that I really enjoyed, but that's a recent one that springs to mind.

Kell

13th July 2007, 20:05

Well, there have only been two 10/10 books for me so far this year, but there have been a few 9/10 books, so here are the best of the bunch so far:

Ronia, The Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgrn - 10/10
The Plucker: An Illustrated Novel by Brom - 10/10
No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong - 9/10
Broken Skin by Stuart MacBride - 9/10
The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly - 9/10
The Prestige by Christopher Priest - 9/10
The Thee Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (audio book) - 9/10
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (audio book) - 9/10

On top of that, I've had 19 books I rated 8/10 and 6 audio books rated 8/10.

It's been a pretty good year for books so far - I hope it continues in a similar vein!

Nici76

13th July 2007, 20:11

Mine is, without a shadow of a doubt Raven Hart - The Vampires Secret :D

Louiseog

13th July 2007, 20:28

Kite Runner

lovesreading06

13th July 2007, 20:37

there been two books that i have loved. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Deep heat by chris manby.

I just can't choose one of them.

nicx27

13th July 2007, 21:56

I think I will have to jump on the bandwagon and say The Book Thief too. A wonderful book.

Echo

13th July 2007, 22:07

My favorite so far this year has been The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. This is the book I just finished and it was awesome! (Sorry for the vulgar American epithet, but it's the only word that's appropriate for this book!:lol:) But then, I haven't read the other ones!

Kylie

14th July 2007, 00:56

I've been having a really good year so far; I've given 10/10 to three books:

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Dracula by Bram Stoker
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Five others have just missed out on top marks :smile2:

Oblomov

14th July 2007, 00:57

I completed The Plot Against America by Philip Roth a few days ago and thought that it was excellent. My vote for the best book read this year so far.

Gyre

14th July 2007, 03:05

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood x

Michelle

14th July 2007, 14:48

Impossible to decide, I think..
Raven Hart - The Vampire's Secret
Carole Matthews - The Chocolate Lovers Club
Kevin Brockmeier - The Brief History of the Dead
Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
Kate Harrison - Brown Owl's Guide to Life
Kim Edwards - The Memory Keeper's Daughter
were all excellent.

wrathofkublakhan

14th July 2007, 17:12

Tough call.
Picking one favorite of the year, I might change my mind once I've had a muffin since I feel I've read some damn fine stories.

I think I'll pick: The Secret Garden.
It was very well written, had solid characters and was full of charm and surprises. One of the few books that can stand the test of time and not feel dated. Really, the time frame adds to the charm. My goodness, it was a good book!

Polka Dot Rock

15th July 2007, 16:10

Well we're halfway through the year and I wondered whether anyone feels that they have read anything this year that stands out for them.

What a great idea for a thread Judy! :D It makes me feel like I can finally find a use for my blog ratings :lol:

Mine has to be The Crimson Petal and The White by Michel Faber, I loved every minute of reading it and didn't want it to end.

Ooh Jules! You beat me to it! ;) The Crimson Petal & The White is definitely my favourite of the year so far. To be honest, I can't imagine reading another book that could beat it this year!

Other personal highlights:
One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson
The Girls - Lori Lansens
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon
Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi
Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Disobedience - Naomi Alderman
The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney

Gyre

15th July 2007, 16:31

Well if its more than one...

The Girls by Lori Lansens

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd x

Angel

15th July 2007, 20:52

If I'm only to choose 1 it would be Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

I've also enjoyed immensely
Philippa Gregory - Earthly Joys
Susannah Gregory - A Conspiracy of Violence
Jeanne Kalogridis - Painting Mona Lisa

SteffieB

15th July 2007, 21:33

Definitely The Book Thief.

Freewheeling Andy

16th July 2007, 11:18

I was thinking 2007 hadn't been that good for reading, and then went back to my blog to see what I'd actually read this year and it's much more impressive than I'd imagined.

These are now probably in order of how much I loved them (all novels unless I say otherwise), but all these books have been truly, utterly wonderful

1 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, if I needed to say
2 - All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque
3 - 1812, Napoleon's fateful march on Moscow by Adam Zamoyski (history)
4 - Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murukami
5 - Disgrace by JM Coetzee
6 - Murder in Samarkand by Craig Murray (politics)

kitty

23rd July 2007, 18:41

So far its got to be I Know his Much Is True by Wally Lamb.

Lilywhite

23rd July 2007, 18:54

madcow

24th July 2007, 23:26

Marley & Me came a very close second to The Crimson Petal.

Ruth

25th July 2007, 08:02

There have only been 2 books I gave full marks to so far and they are Kevin Brockmeier ~ The Brief History Of The Dead (5/5) and John Grogan ~ Marley and Me (5/5)

Many have almost hit the mark but these were definately the best reads of the year os far.

I have both of these on my tbr. Being the owner of a crazy Labrador myself, I reckon Marley and Me might strike a chord!

My favourite book of the year so far, is probably Girl With A Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier. I've read quite a few good books this year, but I think that's my favourite at the moment.

madcow

25th July 2007, 19:00

I have both of these on my tbr. Being the owner of a crazy Labrador myself, I reckon Marley and Me might strike a chord!

[____] Here's a box of tissues Ruth for when you get round to reading Marley & Me ;) If your a dog lover you'll need them!

samgrosser

26th July 2007, 15:12

Regeneration by Pat Barker - warm, intelligent, utterly engrossing.

And I know that somewhere on the forum there's a thread about it, but I can't seem to find it. Help me, anyone?

Michelle

26th July 2007, 15:14

There's a review here: http://bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3539

happyanddandy

26th July 2007, 17:06

It's taken me a while to think about this - Kate Atkinson - 'One Good Turn' stands out for me because it is a well written book which kept me engrossed. I haven't read a lot else since xmas that I can say matches up to KA.

samgrosser

27th July 2007, 10:24

There's a review here: http://bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3539

Thank you :D

Ruth

29th July 2007, 10:18

The Attack, by Yasmina Khadra is the book I am reading at the moment, and it is shaping up to be one of my books of the year so far.

Merflerher

31st July 2007, 20:06

Boy in the Striped Pajamas - it gave me nightmares, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for days.

Janet

1st August 2007, 15:43

Boy in the Striped Pajamas - it gave me nightmares, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for days.
Aww that book was fab. I read it because someone on here (can't remember who - PP, Gyre...? ) recommended it.

One of my real-life bookworms has nominated it as her choice, so I'm going to read it again as we're discussing it in September. I think it'll make for some interesting debate/discussion.

I'm not sure about my favourite of the year so far. Either The Secret Life of Bees or The House at Riverton, I think.

rosegarden

1st August 2007, 20:48

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd....I adored this book and have recommended it to anyone who'll listen :mrgreen:

Carole
:jump:

Ratna

3rd August 2007, 05:54

I read The Secret Life of Bees last year and loved it too. This year would probably be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

:readingtwo:
Ratna

Kell

3rd August 2007, 12:07

I hope everyone is taking note of their favourites for the Annual Book Club Forum book Awards! There's plenty time yet before it al kicks off (we run it in January, so you can take all the books you've read in 2007 into account, right through to the end of December), and I think we'll have HEAPS to choose from this year!

FishAndChips

3rd August 2007, 13:42

Does it have to be books published in 2007? Or read in 2007?

I've hardly read any contemporary books this year so far.

Janet

3rd August 2007, 15:37

Does it have to be books published in 2007? Or read in 2007?

I've hardly read any contemporary books this year so far.
I'm pretty certain it was 'read this year'.

ETA: From last year:

At the very beginning of 2006, we voted on the very best & worst of books from the previous year. There were a lot of different categories, so we've cut it down a little this year, but there are still plenty to choose from, so here's how it works:

1. The categories will each have nominations threads set up and you can nominate books throughout December (this it to allow people to nominate the books they read throughout this month too).

2. The voting will take place through the first 2 weeks in January.

3. Nominations for the best book overall will be taken from the winners of the "Best of" categories & will be voted on through the third week of January, after which time the over-all winner will be announced.

4. All nominations should be of books you have read during 2006.
However this is subject to change for 2007 but I would think that it would still be books read. :)

FishAndChips

3rd August 2007, 15:55

Excellent! Thanks Janet :)

Kell

3rd August 2007, 15:59

Yup - it was for books read, although there was a category for newly published books too.

Anyway, back to this year's favourites so far - I'm currently very much enjoying Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - not quite as much as Pride and Prejudice or Northanger Abbey, but still, very much!

Hazeltree

4th August 2007, 08:55

I find it really hard to pick a 'best book'. I like so many books for different reasons! I might have to wait till later in the year to pick. Only just started reading new books again - I've had a long spell of re-reading ;)

Mbwun_Lily

8th August 2007, 17:58

My favourite book so far this year is "The Sleeper in the Sands" by Tom Holland. It's very intriguingly written, with a very Sheherazadian telling of events in ancient times taking up a vast portion of it.

I also really liked a couple of Techno-Thriller style books I read that are quite lengthy. The first is "The Swarm" by Frank Schatzing, and "Decipher" by Stel Pavlou.

Last year, the stand-apart winner of "Favourite Book" had to go to "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield.

poppy

19th August 2007, 09:17

Two books have stood out for me this year, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey and Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson. I loved the styles these books were written in and both were very moving.

proserpina

21st August 2007, 13:10

I think my favorite book of the year so far has been The Hours by Michael Cunningham, it is so cleverly crafted and I found it an utter joy to read.

I also loved Saturday by Ian McEwan.