{"id":741,"date":"2019-01-03T21:40:43","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T20:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/readerwitch.com\/?p=741"},"modified":"2019-01-03T21:40:43","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T20:40:43","slug":"book-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/2019\/01\/03\/book-recommendations\/","title":{"rendered":"If somebody asked me what to read"},"content":{"rendered":"

I decided not<\/strong> to make a post about the best books 2018. The thing is, I liked more books than I can easily recommend. Some of the books I liked might be simply not interesting for others. I will find a way to mention those books some other time. Meanwhile, if somebody asked me now what books I\u2019d recommend, these are the ones I’d talk about. Click the links for more information about the books.<\/p>\n

1. Classic fiction<\/h2>\n

A Moveable Feast<\/em> by Ernest Hemingway<\/a><\/h3>\n

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I\u2019ll never grow tired of recommending this book. It is actually a memoir, but it\u2019s much more than a personal story. It tells you about the way Paris looked and lived in 1920s.\u00a0A Moveable Feast<\/em> has a complicated history. Read my post<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n

Goodbye to Berlin<\/em> by Christopher Isherwood<\/a><\/h3>\n

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The book is a beautiful farewell to Berlin. The stories tell about people Isherwood met in Berlin in 1930s before Nazis came to power.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think anybody ever read\u00a0my review of the book<\/a> because I posted it in the very beginning of my blogging when nobody was reading my blog yet.<\/p>\n

Daphne du Maurier’s short stories<\/h3>\n

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I am starting to suspect that no works by du Maurier can disappoint. I\u2019ve read only her short stories so far, but I can recommend all of them. Here are the posts where I talk about the short stories: Short Stories By Daphne Du Maurier<\/a>\u00a0and Reading Books In December<\/a>. And here\u2019s the post about Birds<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Modern fiction<\/h2>\n

Virgil Wander<\/em> by Leif Enger<\/a><\/h3>\n

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I really liked this book. I would prefer a more solid ending, but even with the ending as it is, it\u2019s still a perfect book with well-developed characters and an interesting plot.<\/p>\n

The Air You Breathe<\/em> by Frances de Pontes Peebles<\/a><\/h3>\n

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It\u2019s a wonderfully written story about two women, and their lives and love to music. The story starts in Brazil in 1930s when both of them are still kids. In my personal rating this book is definitely among the best I read in 2018.<\/p>\n

A Man Called Ove<\/em> by Fredrik Backman<\/a><\/h3>\n

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If you are looking for something really kind and heart-warming, you will definitely like this book.<\/p>\n

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo<\/em> by Taylor Jenkins Reid<\/a><\/h3>\n

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I wouldn\u2019t call this book my personal favourite, but I do realise many other people will like it more. The book does entertain. It\u2019s a gripping fast-paced story about an elderly movie star who decides to reveal all her secrets to a writer.<\/p>\n

Melmoth<\/em> by Sarah Perry<\/a><\/h3>\n

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Melmoth<\/em> is quite the opposite of the book mentioned above. It’s not an easy read aimed to entertain. It’s perfectly written and it has several interesting stories, but the main treasure of the book is its message which is thought-provoking and deep. I am in love with the book, but I know that some people found it disappointing because they expected it to be a gothic ghost story. Even though there’s such an element in the book, it’s merely a tool for delivering an idea. If you are looking for a book that will make you think, Melmoth<\/em> is a good choice.<\/p>\n

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt<\/em> by Andrea Bobotis<\/h3>\n

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This book hasn\u2019t been published yet but it\u2019s the best book I read in 2018. You might like it less than I did, but I think you will still like something about it. It\u2019s perfectly written, and perfectly made, with an intriguing start and a beautiful ending. It\u2019s about a complicated history of one family from the American South. It will be published in July 2019. I definitely recommend pre-ordering it, or marking the date in your calendar so that you can read a sample when it\u2019s out and make your choice. I can read my full review<\/a> of the book.<\/p>\n

3. Thrillers<\/h2>\n

I think 2019 will become the year when I’ll finally accept that thrillers are just not my genre. I love being thrilled, spooked and scared by a book, but unfortunately most of the thrillers I encounter are either horribly written or have silly plots (or both). Still, I was lucky enough to have found these two thrillers that I can recommend.<\/p>\n

You Were Made For This<\/em> by Michelle Sacks<\/a><\/h3>\n

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This is a psychological thriller about relationships that look perfect on the outside, but in reality have some other, often sinister dynamics, and about disasters that such relationships can cause.<\/p>\n

Force of Nature<\/em> by Jane Harper<\/a><\/h3>\n

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This is a crime thriller about a group of women who venture out into Australian wilderness as a team building exercise. And then, of course, something goes wrong\u2026<\/p>\n

4. A strange book<\/h2>\n

The Third Policeman<\/em> by Flann O\u2019Brien<\/a><\/h3>\n

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If you are looking for something surreal and crazy, this might be the right book. I was initially very confused by the book. But as time goes by, I’m starting to understand how deep and genius it actually is. In fact, chances are I will be re-reading it to discover more of its philosophy and craziness.<\/p>\n

4. A book with good humour<\/h2>\n

The Rosie Project<\/em> by Graeme Simsion<\/a><\/h3>\n

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I love the humour of this book. It’s funny but not dumb. Besides, the story is also kind and quite interesting. The Rosie Project<\/em> is about one very special scientist on a quest to find a wife for himself.<\/p>\n

5. A young adult novel<\/h2>\n

Bone Gap<\/em> by Laura Ruby<\/a><\/h3>\n

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I hardly ever read young adult novels but I really liked this one because of its deeper message. It\u2019s a story about young people living in a strange town where people, animals and things keep mysteriously appearing and disappearing. It\u2019s a story about friendship and love, but most importantly it\u2019s about people who are learning to see the true nature of others and themselves.<\/p>\n

6. Controversial<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s actually nothing controversial about these novels. They are perfectly written and I find them very interesting but they focus on some taboo or traumatic topics and so I think some people might find them disturbing.<\/p>\n

Patrick Melrose novels<\/h3>\n

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There are 5 novels about Patrick Melrose. Patrick is a very troubled man. The novels are perfectly written (at least the first four, I haven’t started the fifth one yet), but they are hard to read because of the topics they focus on such as child abuse or drug addiction. Here are my reviews of the first two novels: Never Mind<\/em> (Patrick Melrose novel #1) by Edward St. Aubyn<\/a> and Bad News<\/em>, Patrick Melrose novel #2 by Edward St Aubyn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Everything Under<\/em> by Daisy Johnson<\/a><\/h3>\n

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The story is based on a myth. It\u2019s a magical realism story about a river, a mother and a daughter. It\u2019s so beautifully written, it brings a whole new world to life.<\/p>\n

7. Memoirs<\/h2>\n

Miss Ex-Yugoslavia<\/em> by Sofija Stefanovic<\/a><\/h3>\n

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Guess what? That’s the\u00a0book<\/strong> that finally got me into blogging! I loved the book so much that I just couldn’t keep quiet anymore. I wrote to the author to express my gratitude but I still felt like I had more to express. So I wrote a post about it, and this post became the first one<\/a> on my blog.<\/p>\n

When Sofija Stefanovic was a kid, her family immigrated from Belgrade to Australia. In her memoir she speaks about her experience of changing countries, cultures and languages. It’s exciting to see the world she then discovered from the perspective of a young child who was never before exposed to such education, entertainment or customs. You become aware of many things that are taken for granted nowadays, and you also become aware of the fact that there are often several truths all of which are equally real.<\/p>\n

I understand that I liked the book so much because I\u2019m from a similar background but I’m sure that this book will be interesting for many other people too.<\/p>\n

Born a Crime<\/em> by Trevor Noah<\/a><\/h3>\n

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Even though Born a Crime<\/em> describes so many horrible things that happened to the families in South Africa during the times of apartheid and later, I still think about this book as kind and often funny. It takes a great comedian to write a heart-warming book about something that is often heart-wrenching.<\/p>\n

8. Non-fiction<\/h2>\n

What if?<\/em> by Randall Munroe<\/a><\/h3>\n

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This book is very funny. It’s scientific but it’s written in a language that everybody can understand. It answers many strange and silly questions in a clever and interesting way.<\/p>\n

Bad Science<\/em> by Ben Goldacre<\/a><\/h3>\n

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It’s another book I often suggest to read, especially when some homeopathy or “detoxing” treatments arise in a conversation. It focuses on some popular wrong beliefs about medicine, pills and beauty products. It provides and explains researches for each statement. It also explains the mechanisms behind popularising these products. Although the book is based on science, it’s written in a fun and entertaining way, so it’s really interesting to read. Reading this book can save your money and health.<\/p>\n

This will be it for now. Hopefully I’ll make another post like this in a few months. Meanwhile I’m very interested in what you would recommend, especially when it comes to Strange and Humour categories. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If somebody asked me what books I\u2019d recommend, here are a few. Continue reading If somebody asked me what to read<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[49,125,139,142,201,283,287,357,389,423,463,486,550,670],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readerwitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}