One of the best books I've read in the last 6 months is . .

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Oh no! I just discovered this thread. There go my plans for cleaning up my college son’s room before he gets home to discover we’ve all been dumping stuff in there all fall!

I can’t wait to read through this. I’m mostly a non-fiction reader, so here is a quick suggestion, and I’m getting this for us and for my mom: “The Wordy Shipmates” by Sarah Vowell, about the 1630 voyage with Gov Winthrop–the Massachusetts Bay Pilgrims. It’s history balanced with commentary–and she’s got a clear liberal bent, so take note of that–but Vowell really loves these people.

Also, just discovered at the library and another book I plan to get for our house–I’ve been reading it aloud to S at dinner when H is not home, and son has been reading it, too. It’s fantastic and makes cosmology and earth science easy to understand! I did not know the hypothesis about the planet Theia, which collided with Earth 4 billion plus years ago! (means I’m ancient, I think) Awesome book, and goodlooking, too: “What on Earth Happened” by Christopher Lloyd (not the actor but a Cambridge grad).

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just got Out Stealing Horses, can’t wait to read!

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i’d just to share these two links for those of you here in cc looking for the next book to read:

[New</a> York Times Best Seller List](<a href=“http://www.hawes.com/pastlist.htm]New”>New York Times Adult Hardcover Best Seller List)

[Bestseller</a> Lists 1950-1995](<a href=“Top 10 Best-Selling Books for Students 🤓| Studyfy”>Top 10 Best-Selling Books for Students 🤓| Studyfy)

604

Just finished “World Without End” by Ken Follett. If you loved “Pillars of the Earth”, you’ll love WWE. If you haven’t read Pillars, I’d highly recommend it.

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[Michiko</a> Kakutani’s 10 Favorite Books of 2008 - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Michiko Kakutani’s 10 Favorite Books of 2008 - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com”>Michiko Kakutani’s 10 Favorite Books of 2008 - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com)

[Janet</a> Maslin’s 10 Favorite Books - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Janet Maslin’s 10 Favorite Books - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com”>Janet Maslin’s 10 Favorite Books - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com)

<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/100Notable-t.html?ref=arts[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/100Notable-t.html?ref=arts&lt;/a&gt;

<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/KidsNotable-t.html?ref=arts[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/KidsNotable-t.html?ref=arts&lt;/a&gt;

[Best</a> Art, Architecture and Design Books - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Best Art, Architecture and Design Books - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com”>Best Art, Architecture and Design Books - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com)

[Best</a> Gift Books - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Best Gift Books - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com”>Best Gift Books - 2008 Holiday Gift Guide - NYTimes.com)

606

It’s very dense, almost 700 pages of history, sociology, geneaology about Thomas Jefferson’s slave Sally Hemings and her descendants by him. It won the National Book Award last week. It’s not light reading but very informative.

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<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/books/review/10Best-t.html?em[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/books/review/10Best-t.html?em&lt;/a&gt;

(Early New Year’s resolution: Less time on the 'net, more time with books [like these].)

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[Critics</a> and public figures on the books they just couldn’t put down | Books | The Observer](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/nov/30/top-reads-2008]Critics”>Here are the ones they just couldn't put down | Best books of the year | The Guardian)

[Antonia</a> Fraser to Jackie Kay: writers and politicians pick the best books of 2008 | Books | The Guardian](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/nov/29/best-books-year-2008-review1]Antonia”>Season's readings | Best books of the year | The Guardian)

[Hari</a> Kunzru to Philip Pullman: writers and politicians pick the best reads of 2008 | Books | The Guardian](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/nov/29/best-books-year-2008-review3]Hari”>Season's readings | Best books of the year | The Guardian)

[Jonathan</a> Raban to Jeanette Winterson: writers and politicians pick the best reads of 2008 | Books | The Guardian](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/nov/29/best-books-year-2008-review2]Jonathan”>Season's readings | Best books of the year | The Guardian)

(P.S. Actually, they’re not all Brits [token Yanks include Alex Ross, Anne Tyler, * et al.*])

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[Books</a> of the Year 2008 TLS](<a href=“TLS - Times Literary Supplement”>TLS - Times Literary Supplement)

610

Well, I finished When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. It was very funny but some of it was too much information.

611

[Like</a> Men Betrayed: Books: The New Yorker](<a href=“http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2008/12/15/081215crbo_books_wood]Like”>Like Men Betrayed | The New Yorker)

612

I’ve found I’d rather listen to Sedaris than read him, and also that he’s better in small doses. I’ve read about half of When you are Engulfed in Flames. I’ll finish it eventually, but I don’t feel in any hurry about it.

613

[Maureen</a> Corrigan’s Best Books Of 2008 : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98334820]Maureen”>Maureen Corrigan's Best Books Of 2008 : NPR)

[Best</a> Books For A Transformative New Year : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97887644]Best”>Best Books For A Transformative New Year : NPR)

[Top</a> Five Crime And Mystery Novels Of 2008 : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97030784]Top”>Top Five Crime And Mystery Novels Of 2008 : NPR)

[Booksellers</a>’ Picks For Your Holiday Lists : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98051204]Booksellers”>Booksellers' Picks For Your Holiday Lists : NPR)

[Alan</a> Cheuse’s Top Fiction Picks For 2008 : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97276209]Alan”>Alan Cheuse's Top Fiction Picks For 2008 : NPR)

[Best</a> Collections Of Literary Letters 2008 : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97966212]Best”>Best Collections Of Literary Letters 2008 : NPR)

[Best</a> Superhero Graphic Novels Of 2008 : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98081187]Best”>Best Superhero Graphic Novels Of 2008 : NPR)

[Give</a> A Book (And Yourself) This Holiday Season : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97132996]Give”>Give A Book (And Yourself) This Holiday Season : NPR)

Still more:

[Best</a> Books of 2008 : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96539642]Best”>Best Books of 2008 : NPR)

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[Salon</a> Book Awards 2008 | Salon Books](<a href=“http://www.salon.com/books/awards/2008/12/08/2008/index.html]Salon”>http://www.salon.com/books/awards/2008/12/08/2008/index.html)

615

Utopia by Thomas More

616

While Eva Ibbotson’s books are not literature, they are wonderful escapes, fairy tales. About herself she says that she writes for “intelligent women with the flu”. Ibbotson’s “Countess Below Stairs” is a charming book, a good read. If you are a literary snob, it might not suit, but if you like plot, description, and a happy ending, it is lovely.

617

Blood Meridien by Cormac McCarthy-An historical novel set in the period of Manifest Destiny. Very violent, bloody but typical of McCarthy, beautifully written.

Currently reading The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell. The story of the Puritans from written from a very different perspective.

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^^^ just started Assasination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, librarian recommended based on my other reading habits :slight_smile:

And, late to the Sedaris party- but, just read Me Talk Pretty One Day, and laughed outloud often, especially the chapter about explaining Easter in a multicultural French class. LOL.

619

That story is also in Sedaris’s new holiday collection. The New York Times book reviewer seemed to think that story was particularly lame, but I’m with you - that one made me laugh out. I’d heard it first on NPR, but it was just as funny reading it. Maybe because I took so many overseas language classes? It really hit home.

620

Lots of interesting books here that I can see, though I’ve only had time to sample the thread. Just want to recommend one I didn’t see that’s absolutely fantastic and that I just finished. I am still reeling from the beauty and majesty of

The Kingdom Of The Waves: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 2, by M.T. Anderson

The first volume of this was a dark horse winner of a National Book Award in 2006f or Young People’s Literature. Take my word for it, it most definitely NOT your typical kid’s book. (Vol. I was subtitled The Pox Party) Both volumes are highly erudite, exciting, intelligent meditations on the roots of America, slavery, revolution, the meaning of knowledge, the uses of art, and much more, and this conclusion carries it through as magnificently as I’d hoped.

The basic story: a black boy and his mother in Colonial Boston are treated like royalty by their white benefactors, becoming highly educated and aesthetically sophisticated. Then they find out their benfactors’ ignoble motivation. Then comes plague, then the American Revolution. Octavian, as the title implies, is forced to choose sides. Along the way, much adventure, insight, thoughtfulness, and yes, fun.

Anderson writes the story in eighteenth century style English, studded with classical allusions and, believe it or not, it still manages to be a page-turner. Both volumes. Dark in vision at many points but totally in command of its own world, perfectly laid out, well-researched (at least from what I can tell) and unlike anything I have ever read before.

Anderson wrote a number of more traditional kids books and I went back and read one of the best known, Feed, while waiting for Vol. II of Octavian nothing to appear. That was good, but it does nothing to prepare you for the two Octavian Nothing books. They are absolutely fantastic. On a scale of one to ten, I give it an eleven!!