Best Book You've read this Year [2015]

[peter]

Some serious nominations on my list;

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harare, The Luminaries by Elanor Catton, A Beautiful Question by Franc Wilkzec - but I think the best has to be How to Make a Human Being by Christopher Potter.

This book starts with the creation of the universe, and goes right up, section by section, to the presence of full blown humans and their society, cultures etc. At each stage he uses quotes from the worlds best physicists, biologists, theologians and philosophers to set out his own thoughts on the difficult choices to be made in accepting the materialist/rationalist view of our existance, the ideological/spiritual position, or of charting that hardest of courses - making the two sit together in a rational and still consistant manner. Great stuff 10/10.

[Orlion]

Hmm, let's see... according to Goodreads, I gave Five Stars to the following:

Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck
Some various volumes of A Dance To the Music of Time- Anthony Powell
The Myth of Sisyphus & The Rebel- Albert Camus
Free Fall & A Moving Target- William Golding
Giovanni's Room- James Baldwin.

All good stuff, and I would probably add The Law of Peoples by John Rawls because it gave me a framework through which to view The Spanish Civil War, which I started studying up on towards the end of this year.

[Menolly]

Although it came out a few years ago, I am currently reading The Land of Painted Caves, the last in the Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel, for the first time. I have always enjoyed this series, and this one is no different.

[Avatar]

I was a bit disappointed by the last one to be honest. (Although, the couple before weren't that much better...much as I loved the earlier ones, they did get a bit formulaic.)

--A

[peter]

I read the first one when it originally came out. I enjoyed it - but just not enough to go back for more. I re-read Dracula for the nth time and as always just loved it. I've now got my Christmas book tokens in tow so its off to the shops for a splurge!

[lucimay]

actually it's authors for me:

ALL of Emily St John Mandel's books
(but particularly Last Night in Montreal)

David Mitchell's number9dream and The Bone Clocks

and The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey
(which is actually 2 authors, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck)

i particularly am entralled by the expanse novels, reminds me
so much of The Gap!!

[peter]

If you had a single book (from this year) to take to Havana (where the only books available in English are on either agricultural practice or Che Guevara, I kid you not) Lucimay, what would it be?

[Avatar]

A really fat one.

--A

[Orlion]

If you had a single book (from this year) to take to Havana (where the only books available in English are on either agricultural practice or Che Guevara, I kid you not) Lucimay, what would it be?

I can read Spanish, so this situation is not a problem for me

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

I've read naught but Theology/Philosophy this year, so I got nothin' with regard to Literature.

[peter]

Anything really stand out Wos (that might be accessible to a novice reader on the subject/s ).

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Anything really stand out Wos (that might be accessible to a novice reader on the subject/s ).

John Paul II's Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body. This is the new translation. Not only is it so superior that it renders the old edition of Theology of the Body (subtitled "Human Love in the Divine Plan") highly obsolete, but it has the advantage of a 100+ page introduction that hits all the notes with regards to the philosophical background needed to approach the material.

[peter]

Thanks Wos: Sounds a fascinating read and one I hope I can access fairly easily. A workmate of mine is a prominent member of the local RC Church, and should be able to secure a copy if she doesn't have one herself.
Did you ever read Diarmaid McCulloch's A History of Christianity? What a great read that was!

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Thanks Wos: Sounds a fascinating read and one I hope I can access fairly easily. A workmate of mine is a prominent member of the local RC Church, and should be able to secure a copy if she doesn't have one herself.
Did you ever read Diarmaid McCulloch's A History of Christianity? What a great read that was!

Borrowing a copy sounds like a good idea.

In the meantime, here's a PDF of a work of Catholic Philosophy that you may be able to sink your teeth into: The Sense of the Supernatural by Jean Borella. It's an excellent book, tightly focused in scope and quite approachable, and only 150 pages. It's out-of-print and almost $2000 on the secondary market.

And no, I've not read that book you mention, but thanks for the heads-up.

[peter]

Excellent Wos! I'll give it a go and let you know how I get on.

[ussusimiel]

I don't read much lit fic, but I recently read The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson and really enjoyed it (it won the Booker in 2010).

u.

[peter]

Made a start on Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant last night, and two hours of reading have drawn me into a tale of dark-ages England where Ogre's haunt the fog-becovered fens, scaley fiends stalk frightened communities of farmers and amnesia inducing mists roll over rain-soaked moorlands waiting to catch the unwary. In a strange way it has a sort of 'Mithil Stonedown' feel and I am already well at home in it. Well pleased!

Edit; this post should of course have been in 'what are you reading........'. My mistake - dunce!

[Rigel]

Is it too late for me to get in on this?

One of the best surprises I had was A Head Full of Ghosts, about a teenage girl with mental troubles and her family's attempt to perform an exorcism on her.

[Avatar]

Never too late.

--A

[balon!]

Is it too late for me to get in on this?

One of the best surprises I had was A Head Full of Ghosts, about a teenage girl with mental troubles and her family's attempt to perform an exorcism on her.

Creepy! Gotta check that one out.

I really enjoyed this novel(la?) called Sand by Hugh Howey. I loved the suits that allowed the characters to swim through sand... very fast paced, super enjoyable read.