Some of the better books I've read this year:
Times Square Red, Times Square Blue by Delaney. Half memoir/half essay about the seedier parts of times square in the 60s-70s, I found it pretty interesting. Worth reading if you liked the Midnight Cowboy movie.
Journey to the End of the Night by Celine. A good book to read if you are feeling down imo, idk the best way to describe it but it is very well written and engaging so would recommend giving it a try. It follows around a unsuccessful medical student (later doctor) as he goes from place to place after WWI. Not as depressing as people say, definitely funny at some parts - a bit like Catch-22.
Ocean Sea by Baricco - idk where I got this recommended from but well written book about the people who are staying at a remote italian hotel and how they reconcile with who they were before. Emotional without being over the top.
The Rings of Saturn by Sebald - a book that explores themes of decay through a walk around england - has some interesting asides.
The Leopard - di Lampedusa - decay and decline of a Sicilian noble - good read.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - Tokarczuk - A series of Murders take place in a remote polish village that seem to be result of nature taking revenge (in the eyes of the astrology obsessed main character). Didn't like the ending. I realize it sounds like the James Patterson novel but it reads differently - much more mystical.
The Memory Police - Ogawa - what it sounds like, the "memory police" have the power to make the citizens forget things like snow, birds, etc. Follows a writer as things increasingly disappear from her life.
The English Patient - Ondaatje - good, deals with memory and regret as a canadian nurse stays at an abandoned hospital with a badly burned patient who can't remember anything after the second world war. Also in italy.
The Spy who Came in From the Cold - le Carre - Classic spy novel about a washed-up spy Leamas. A more true to life portrayal of british spies during the cold war - le Carre worked for british intelligence at the time of the novel. The plot can be hard to follow the first time so take it slow and don't be afraid to go back.
The Magic Mountain - Mann - follows Hans Castorp as he visits his cousin in a TB sanatorium, and as he gets trapped there. A lot of good characters and interesting writing on the nature of sickness, life, politics, time etc. in the eve of WWI. Definately a slow book (i prob read 3-4 shorter books between starting and finishing the novel). If either hans or settembrini bother you - don't bother they are present a lot.
A Country Doctor's Notebook - Bulgakov - collection of short stories in the life of country doctor in Russia. Interesting if you like the topic.
A Wild Sheep Chase - Murakami - either you love or hate murakami, good place to start reading him imo if you haven't (the other would probably be Kafka on the Shore). About an translator/advertiser who is contacted by a secret society after making an ad with the picture of certain sheep.
I'm pretty bad at writing about books so if any of these sound remotely interesting would recommend looking into them - they are all worth reading and are better than my description.
Times Square Red, Times Square Blue by Delaney. Half memoir/half essay about the seedier parts of times square in the 60s-70s, I found it pretty interesting. Worth reading if you liked the Midnight Cowboy movie.
Journey to the End of the Night by Celine. A good book to read if you are feeling down imo, idk the best way to describe it but it is very well written and engaging so would recommend giving it a try. It follows around a unsuccessful medical student (later doctor) as he goes from place to place after WWI. Not as depressing as people say, definitely funny at some parts - a bit like Catch-22.
Ocean Sea by Baricco - idk where I got this recommended from but well written book about the people who are staying at a remote italian hotel and how they reconcile with who they were before. Emotional without being over the top.
The Rings of Saturn by Sebald - a book that explores themes of decay through a walk around england - has some interesting asides.
The Leopard - di Lampedusa - decay and decline of a Sicilian noble - good read.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - Tokarczuk - A series of Murders take place in a remote polish village that seem to be result of nature taking revenge (in the eyes of the astrology obsessed main character). Didn't like the ending. I realize it sounds like the James Patterson novel but it reads differently - much more mystical.
The Memory Police - Ogawa - what it sounds like, the "memory police" have the power to make the citizens forget things like snow, birds, etc. Follows a writer as things increasingly disappear from her life.
The English Patient - Ondaatje - good, deals with memory and regret as a canadian nurse stays at an abandoned hospital with a badly burned patient who can't remember anything after the second world war. Also in italy.
The Spy who Came in From the Cold - le Carre - Classic spy novel about a washed-up spy Leamas. A more true to life portrayal of british spies during the cold war - le Carre worked for british intelligence at the time of the novel. The plot can be hard to follow the first time so take it slow and don't be afraid to go back.
The Magic Mountain - Mann - follows Hans Castorp as he visits his cousin in a TB sanatorium, and as he gets trapped there. A lot of good characters and interesting writing on the nature of sickness, life, politics, time etc. in the eve of WWI. Definately a slow book (i prob read 3-4 shorter books between starting and finishing the novel). If either hans or settembrini bother you - don't bother they are present a lot.
A Country Doctor's Notebook - Bulgakov - collection of short stories in the life of country doctor in Russia. Interesting if you like the topic.
A Wild Sheep Chase - Murakami - either you love or hate murakami, good place to start reading him imo if you haven't (the other would probably be Kafka on the Shore). About an translator/advertiser who is contacted by a secret society after making an ad with the picture of certain sheep.
I'm pretty bad at writing about books so if any of these sound remotely interesting would recommend looking into them - they are all worth reading and are better than my description.