Like a FAVORITE FAVORITE. Not 4.5, 5, a 6 star read or maybe higher.
I’m so curious to see other peoples responses! For me, it was Twisted Hate by Ana Huang. Taught me humans can do terrible things and reminds me im mortal. Read those 500 pages within 2 weeks (fastest I’ve completed a book) like my life depended on it… and helped me find my twin brother from a fictional world aka Josh Chen👀
The romance was also❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥!
What was your 6 star read?? (can also be multiple books)
by stopshadowbaneme
45 Comments
East of Eden.
It’s just something else.
Things fall apart
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Loved the evolution of the Jumping Spider point of view. It was fascinating watching their society become more advanced yet retain instincts and characteristics of their species.
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
The Kite Runner. Best book I will definitely never re-read.
[removed]
*The Count of Monte Cristo.*
Close second: *My Family and Other Animals*
Lonesome Dove
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
The Book of the New Sun – Gene Wolfe
Currently I’m reading Chesapeake by James A. Michener and it is 6*, every character is interesting and much of it is set in my state.
cloud cuckoo land by Anthony Doerr. my book club read it a year ago and we still talk about it and compare everything to it. it was the goat
John Fowles – The Collector
Psychological Thriller from the early sixties. Was a pretty big hit since then and has a disturbing list of “Real crimes inspired by…” on the wiki page of that book.
Its not a fun read. BUT …
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Its the story of a young man who falls in love with a young woman from afar, stalks her, kidnaps her, and then when he has her at his mercy – starts showering her with gifts, fancy food and anything else that money can buy. Why? Because he convinced himself that this is the way she could fall in love with him, when back in London she wouldn’t even dare talking to a low-life like him.
That of course, does not work. Can not work. But he is entirely unable to see that. And forever puzzled of how strange she behaves. Becoming angry at random points? Even aggressive. Stops eating for days. Some days she lets him be there in the cellar with her all day, even talks to him. Then all of a sudden sends him away for no reason. Real mystery. But … women? AmIright?
And then after a hundred pages or so, Chapter 2 starts. And the story begins again. But this time, from the perspective of the hidden Journal she writes while in captivity. And we learn what he is unable to see: That she is deeply insecure, doesn’t come from the perfect family he had thought, is afraid of failing art-school and can’t stop thinking about that day she showed her paintings to an older artist and his complete dismissal made her cry like a foolish child.
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The book is grotesque, paradox, disturbing and … beautiful.
I hate it. I read it about once per year.
Shantaram (I don’t read much though)
So far every Discworld book I’ve read (34) have been so fucking amazing. The amount of talent, humor, love, and wild creativity in those books is overwhelming.
A recent author I’ve found that I also really, really love is India Holton and her Dangerous Damsels series. Such a fun, saucy romp with witty characters and a lot of heartwarming moments.
Pride and prejudice
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
*The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay* by Michael Chabon.
Rendezvous With Rama is just incredible and inspired how I write my stories ever since I read it
Imajica by Clive Barker. I don’t read very much but this book is what got me back into reading. It’s so wild and out there but goes into some deep interpersonal themes that have helped me grasp a better understanding of relationships between people, gender, and my own personality.
There’s also a sec scene with fish people.
Blood Meridian
Breakfast of Champions. Shaped my college self in ways I’ll probably never totally process, and a book I still come back to every few years.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold or A Tale of Two Cities.
“Hyperion”, by Dan Simmons.
Blew my mind. It’s been years and I haven’t recovered yet.
The Stand – have reread several times
The World According to Garp
Flowers for Algernon.
I give it a 10 out of 5.
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the struggle between chaos and oppression has never been so beautiful, and at times hilarious
The Hobbit. It absolutely takes the reader into a different world. The pacing and tone require the reader to focus on the book. Once there, the story becomes all encompassing.
Good omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
The Consent by Vanessa Sprignora
It’s a memoir written about her being in a relationship with a 50-year-old writer when she was 14 in 1980s Paris. Every adult around her approved of this relationship. It’s beautifully written and explores how society views “brilliant men” even when the man in question is mediocre.
What makes the book so incredible for me is that it is very meta and her form of revenge. Her abuser was Gabriel Matzneff who wrote memoirs (about pedophilia, BTW) and never really achieved any kind of recognition. So Sprignora wrote her own memoir and it not only became a bestseller, but triggered a huge scandel in France ultimately leading to a change in the age of consent.
Probably a basic answer but Circe by Madeline Miller
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. I read it in my early 20s when he was still relatively unknown. It left a huge impression on me. I bought multi copies over the years simply so I could have different editions but also so I can give them out to friends. I think I’ve given the book out five or six times.
I love seeing him gain in recognition over the years, I would love to meet him one day at a book signing to let him know how much these collections of stories mean to me.
The Cider House Rules.
Flowers for Algernon. It’s like being punched directly in the emotions and having your worldview spill out all over the floor.
Shogun by James Clavell. Peak historical fiction. Gorgeous setting descriptions. Nuanced characters. A deep dive into samurai culture, viewed from both the inside and the outside, with a special guest appearance by ninja. The way Blackthorn’s own inner monologue changes as he becomes more immersed in the culture. The twist at the end. The fact that in a 700+ page book, you don’t really know how it will turn out til the next to last page
The MadAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood
Night by Elie Wiesel.
If I could put that book on every shelf, I would. It haunts me. I want it to possess others.
The Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes. I know, some of the short stories are so so, but the whole thing shines.
BlackHawk Down, by Mark Bowden, was the first book I ever read, then almost immediately turned over and read again. The pace, the maps, pics of the irl people. It’s an amazing read.
My stepmother bought me a ridiculously rad leather bound book containing the entirety of The Hitchhiker’s Guide, before I had heard of Douglas Adams at all, and I remember thinking, “I’ve got to at least say I *tried to read it*, so as not to seem bummed about receiving a “stupid book” for my birthday or whatever the occasion was. The prologue was enough lol, I’d literally never read anything before, *ever*, that made me literally laugh out loud while reading. I definitely credit that one (and stepmother, thx Val!!!!) with rekindling a love for reading, and understanding of how fun reading could be.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Partially because it was my Dad’s favorite book and he passed it on to me. Partially because it’s hilarious.
Misery – Could not stop reading this book.
_One hundred years of solitude_
What a rush that was
William Gibson “Neuromancer”
I don’t read books more than once generally, I have very few that I do read again. This is the one have read the most.