Hecatoncheires
un jour je serai de retour près de toi
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Like the last rattles of an awkward fart let loose in a crowded elevator, 2023 comes to a shuddering and unpleasant end. Which it means it's time for another thread about all the books you read this year.
You did read books this year, didn't you Iwaku? If you don't read enough books the Literacy Goblin will come and steal your eyeballs.
In the spirit of the season (not really I just like books, fuck you), I come to you with the following questions that I demand you answer immediately.
BEST BOOK WHAT I READ THIS YEAR
In the midst of my continuing (failed) attempts to write a book featuring both faeries and Victorians, my path finally crossed with Susanna Clarke's 2004 debut novel.
Shortly after I finished it, I also came to the conclusion that it might be one of the best books I've ever read.
To steal some shit I wrote about it in a previous thread (yes I am that lazy, thank you for asking), it hits all the right notes in terms of "things I am into" right now, from the Napoleonic Wars, to why 19th Century British people kinda suck, to Faeries (and why you should never be rude to them). Clarke wields footnotes like a fucking weapon to build out this alternate take on Britain in the 1800s - it all feels rich and alive, as authentic as real world folklore.
Apparently her second novel, Piranesi, is also pretty damned good, so I'm going to endeavour to get that checked out in the new year.
WEIRDEST BOOK WHAT I READ THIS YEAR
For many years now, my English graduate fiance has been attempting to drag me away from my delicious genre fiction shenanigans and read some stuff that a Professor of Literature wouldn't immediately turn their nose up at - in particular, she's been recommending Italo Calvino's 1979 novel 'If On A Winter's Night A Traveller'. For just as many years, I've been beating off her suggestions with whatever fat fuckin fantasy novel I happened to be consuming at that particular time.
But sometimes you gotta get a bit of culture in you, and so I decided to take the literary plunge.
I'm happy to report that If On A Winter's Night is a book that's (almost) as clever as it thinks it is. Postmodernist and unorthodox but lacking the smarmy "look how clever I am you guys" feel that so many 'literary' novels have, it's a story that oozes a love of fiction even as it holds up a light to the dynamic between author, reader and the expectations both have for the other.
The framing story is also told entirely in second person, there's about four or five seperate stories started within it's pages that never gets finished, and these are just two of the rather strange elements within this book. Y'know, LITERARY FICTION.
NUMBER OF BOOKS WHAT I READ THIS YEAR
I made the horrible mistake of starting a Goodreads account this year, so I can actually keep track of the stuff I've read over the years. Goodreads has, in turn, informed me that I've read the following:
So not a bad year, all round, but going forwards I want to get some more novellas and short stories in there. They're a great way to experience lots of different styles and ideas.
Anyways, over to you Iwaku. Speak to me of books.
1 The special prize is that I don't set the Literacy Goblin on you.
You did read books this year, didn't you Iwaku? If you don't read enough books the Literacy Goblin will come and steal your eyeballs.
In the spirit of the season (not really I just like books, fuck you), I come to you with the following questions that I demand you answer immediately.
TELL ME ABOUT THE BEST BOOK YOU READ THIS YEAR, AND THE WEIRDEST BOOK YOU READ THIS YEAR.
SPECIAL PRIZE1 AVAILABLE IF YOU TELL ME HOW MANY BOOKS YOU READ THIS YEAR AS WELL.
SPECIAL PRIZE1 AVAILABLE IF YOU TELL ME HOW MANY BOOKS YOU READ THIS YEAR AS WELL.
BEST BOOK WHAT I READ THIS YEAR
In the midst of my continuing (failed) attempts to write a book featuring both faeries and Victorians, my path finally crossed with Susanna Clarke's 2004 debut novel.
Shortly after I finished it, I also came to the conclusion that it might be one of the best books I've ever read.
To steal some shit I wrote about it in a previous thread (yes I am that lazy, thank you for asking), it hits all the right notes in terms of "things I am into" right now, from the Napoleonic Wars, to why 19th Century British people kinda suck, to Faeries (and why you should never be rude to them). Clarke wields footnotes like a fucking weapon to build out this alternate take on Britain in the 1800s - it all feels rich and alive, as authentic as real world folklore.
Apparently her second novel, Piranesi, is also pretty damned good, so I'm going to endeavour to get that checked out in the new year.
WEIRDEST BOOK WHAT I READ THIS YEAR
For many years now, my English graduate fiance has been attempting to drag me away from my delicious genre fiction shenanigans and read some stuff that a Professor of Literature wouldn't immediately turn their nose up at - in particular, she's been recommending Italo Calvino's 1979 novel 'If On A Winter's Night A Traveller'. For just as many years, I've been beating off her suggestions with whatever fat fuckin fantasy novel I happened to be consuming at that particular time.
But sometimes you gotta get a bit of culture in you, and so I decided to take the literary plunge.
I'm happy to report that If On A Winter's Night is a book that's (almost) as clever as it thinks it is. Postmodernist and unorthodox but lacking the smarmy "look how clever I am you guys" feel that so many 'literary' novels have, it's a story that oozes a love of fiction even as it holds up a light to the dynamic between author, reader and the expectations both have for the other.
The framing story is also told entirely in second person, there's about four or five seperate stories started within it's pages that never gets finished, and these are just two of the rather strange elements within this book. Y'know, LITERARY FICTION.
NUMBER OF BOOKS WHAT I READ THIS YEAR
I made the horrible mistake of starting a Goodreads account this year, so I can actually keep track of the stuff I've read over the years. Goodreads has, in turn, informed me that I've read the following:
- 15 novels
- 3 short stories
- 2 novellas
- 2 history books
So not a bad year, all round, but going forwards I want to get some more novellas and short stories in there. They're a great way to experience lots of different styles and ideas.
Anyways, over to you Iwaku. Speak to me of books.
1 The special prize is that I don't set the Literacy Goblin on you.
