2006 is nearly over, so...

[-Carlos-]

...which novel(s) do you consider best this year?

 

[unKeMPt]

I haven't read any books from this year so far... I do have The Road and The Looming Tower sitting on my shelf for winter break.

Then I have Black Swan Green; Everyman; Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman; and The Amalgamation Polka sitting on my Christmas list. And I'm rather interested in Special Topics in Calamity Physics. All in all, it looks like it's been an excellent year, and I can't wait to catch up.

 

[Flor]

The Road is my favorite so far

 

[chop_chop]

I have only read a couple of books from 2006 - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer and The Priestess of the White by Trudi Canavan. I am waiting for the library to get The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield in for me so I might read that before the year finishes. My favourite of the two I have read would be The Priestess of the White, but they were both enjoyable in different ways.

 

[lenny nero]

The Road ~ Cormac McCarthy

 

[abecedarian]

...which novel(s) do you consider best this year?

Do you mean books that were released in 2006 or our favorite books we've read this year?

 

[-Carlos-]

books that were released in 2006

 

[ions]

The only book I read this year, so far, that was released this year was JPod. It was terrible. Maybe I'll get The Custodian of Paradise read before January, it's likely to be my pick.

 

[direstraits]

Hmmm... jpod = bad? me = contemplating buying jpod. but if ions => jpod <> good book, then ds <> buy jpod.

ds

 

[ions]

My JPod review:

JPod by Douglas Coupland: Take Microserfs and make the characters bizarre. Make them do things that are out of character. Then put them in really bizarre situations. Then you have JPod. This isn't good bizarre, this is bizarre that goes nowhere.

Coupland took the idea of an IT ensemble cast like he had in serfs. One problem is none of these characters have any of the depth the serfs ones did. The situations are outlandish and silly. Coupland has also lost touch with IT people. In Microserfs you felt as though he had spent years working alongside developers. The characters in JPod are only developers because he says so, they are never shown to be. The characters had the dialogue of gossipy teen girls with superior language skills. Far too much about Jeff Probst. Who cares?

JPod is Doug on pop-culture while stretching Vancouver stereotypes tremendously thin. The book doesn't completely fail because Doug is still amusing and fills the book with gimmicks. Some work, some don't. Overall a definite disappointment.

 

[Fantasy Moon]

The Thirteenth Tale was the best novel on my reading list of releases for this year. I'm going to go and purchase a copy later this week.

 

[Appolonia]

I'll have to third Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

 

[Nakmeister]

I'd have to go for 'The Historian' by Elizabeth Kostova. A really cracking good read. Mystery, horror, fantasy, history and more, combined together in one spellbinding novel.

 

[ions]

The Historian would be a 2005 release. Paperback would be 2006.

I thought of this thread earlier today and it depressed me. I've only read one book that was published this year.

 

[abecedarian]

The Historian would be a 2005 release. Paperback would be 2006.

I thought of this thread earlier today and it depressed me. I've only read one book that was published this year.

Don't feel alone...I didn't make any effort to keep track of the publication date!

 

[beer good]

Since I read most everything either in Swedish or paperback, I'd say the only excellent 2006 novels I've read are Philip Roth's "Everyman" (not his best, though) and Sara Stridsberg's "Drömfakulteten" (which doesn't really help 99% of the people here, I guess).

 

[ions]

Since I read most everything either in Swedish or paperback, I'd say the only excellent 2006 novels I've read are Philip Roth's "Everyman" (not his best, though) and Sara Stridsberg's "Drömfakulteten" (which doesn't really help 99% of the people here, I guess).

I thought you would wait until you finiished your Pynchon before commenting here.

 

[HermioneWeasley]

let's see, what's from 2006 and what isn't....hm...well, the books i liked from this year(not that i've read a lot. i tend to read too many historical books) are:

series of unfortunate events 13
devil's tango

wow. i need to read more books published sometime after 200 years ago.

 

[beer good]

I thought you would wait until you finiished your Pynchon before commenting here.

That's provided I finish it before New Year's... and let's be realistic here.

 

[abecedarian]

That's provided I finish it before New Year's... and let's be realistic here.

Aw, c'mon..work, sleep, and food are over rated anyway..you can finish it!