Recommend the 20 best books you've read in the last five years

Kuvaus
A casual acquaintance is looking for ideas about books to read, but you don't know much about their tastes. Thinking back over your last five years of reading, which books would you recommend?
1
tekijä: Ann Leckie
5,917 jäsentä
364 arvostelua
4
Global Rank 77
12 Members
Shrike58, Aquila, Euryale, ArieJvdP, dhm, SusiLibrarian, RobinMG, Dilara86, zjakkelien, gypsysmom, lorannen, jpahl,ayaeckel
Selitykset
Shrike58: Another current example of the best state of the art of modern SF that builds on the traditions of the field (imagine what a collaboration between Le Guin & Cherryh would look like) while trying to extend the state of the art. Some people think this is a bad thing, and I'm not sure that Leckie's tricks of language always work, but this is ultimately a very individual story of how one comes by personal dignity.
2
887 jäsentä
27 arvostelua
3.8
Global Rank 302
2 Members
Shrike58, ShelfMonkey
Selitykset
Shrike58: I recommend the collected set of short novels as in the process of reading these books one is often unsure as to whether VanderMeer is either the smartest guy in the room, or whether he loses control of his material early in the game; with caveats, the former is the truer condition. Besides anything else, you read this book because VanderMeer attempts the hardest thing that you can do in a genre novel, accept that the Universe is more inscrutable than the Human mind can comprehend and still deliver a convincing story with that reality in mind. Besides that the dominant ethical theme is a consideration of what is the cost of true expiation for one's mistakes.
3
774 jäsentä
65 arvostelua
4.2
Global Rank 688
Member
Shrike58
Selitykset
Shrike58: In the process of doing a refresh of this list, I figured that I had to mention this book, which is the opening portion of one of the most novel fantasy trilogies I've ever read.
4
12,174 jäsentä
470 arvostelua
½ 4.3
Global Rank 138
5
2,135 jäsentä
75 arvostelua
3.8
Global Rank 789
Member
Shrike58
6
tekijä: Naomi Novik
3,882 jäsentä
199 arvostelua
4.2
Global Rank 862
Member
Shrike58
7
108 jäsentä
8 arvostelua
4.2
Global Rank 966
Member
Shrike58
8
454 jäsentä
13 arvostelua
4.2
Global Rank 1,021
Member
Shrike58
9
99 jäsentä
1 arvostelu
½ 4.7
Global Rank 1,113
Member
Shrike58
10
156 jäsentä
5 arvostelua
4.1
Global Rank 1,242
Member
Shrike58
Selitykset
Shrike58: Is this book a brick? Yes. However, the answer as to why World War I finished as it did is complicated and the author tackles all those issues with both clarity and completeness. If Stephenson doesn't know something about 1918 then you probably don't have to know it either.
11
114 jäsentä
3 arvostelua
½ 4.7
Global Rank 1,343
Member
Shrike58
Selitykset
Shrike58: I still think that "With Our Back to the Wall" is probably the best book about World War I of the last few years. This is the second best in my opinion, particularly if you want to have an understanding of the military failure of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Also, pretty much everything Watson has written is worth reading.
12
tekijä: Jill Lepore
380 jäsentä
15 arvostelua
4
Global Rank 1,400
Member
Shrike58
13
tekijä: N. K. Jemisin
4,145 jäsentä
290 arvostelua
3.9
Global Rank 428
2 Members
Shrike58, lorannen
14
39 jäsentä
1 arvostelu
5
Global Rank 1,551
Member
Shrike58
15
tekijä: Peter Heather
227 jäsentä
5 arvostelua
4.2
Global Rank 1,604
Member
Shrike58
Selitykset
Shrike58: Written by an academician who has rather more sympathy for the barbarian successors to Rome than is typical, this is a lively examination of why a sustainable recreation of the Western Empire was not attainable, leading some very clever people to essentially create Christendom.
16
tekijä: R.F. Kuang
4,438 jäsentä
136 arvostelua
3.9
Global Rank 1,634
Member
Shrike58
17
928 jäsentä
28 arvostelua
4
Global Rank 1,726
Member
Shrike58
Selitykset
Shrike58: I like books that make me think and this is the current best synthesis of what we know of one of the major branches of humanity. Besides the authors doing a good job of communicating their enthusiasm for their studies, there is also a poignant aspect as it charts what will be looked back upon as a golden age of Russo-Western scientific cooperation.
18
5,997 jäsentä
371 arvostelua
3.9
Global Rank 204
4 Members
Shrike58, hildretha, Dehinde, christin.schroeder
Selitykset
Shrike58: The first book in an ongoing series of paranormal police procedural novels set in London. This is almost becoming a British specialty (see "The Laundry" series of Charles Stross) but I suggest this one to the reader due to the author's almost cinematic vision and having a nice balance between the human and the fantastic. This is not to mention that there is real character development as the series advances.
19
37 jäsentä
2 arvostelua
½ 4.3
Global Rank 1,880
Member
Shrike58
Selitykset
Shrike58: Is this an esoteric topic? Sure. But I think it's a great case study of what "positive" Nazi colonialism looked like.
20
131 jäsentä
2 arvostelua
½ 4.3
Global Rank 1,927
Member
Shrike58
Selitykset
Shrike58: Just a really excellent work of history, as the author puts Braddock's ill-fated expedition into context. The key point is to emphasize just how much this was a victory of the First Nations, as had it simply come down to a Anglo-French battle the French would have found their position untenable. It also doesn't hurt that the evidence suggests that David Preston has hiked the whole length of Braddock's trail, adding insight into the general's travails.