I love seeing reading lists like this! I just finished the audio version of The Covenant of Water after pulling that name from another similar list. Totally different type of book than any on your list I think, but a beautiful portrait of South India through the 20th century. I love stories that follow multiple generations, giving some history for place - the book The Living is another example, and the looong movie The Best of Youth (La meglio gioventù) being another. Your mention of SciFi and post apocalyptic stories reminded me of two I've read that also choose something other than the Mad Max route - A Canticle for Leibowitz, and The Dazzle of Day - the later taking place in space, but on an agrarian space station searching for a habitable planet.
Josh, those sci-fi books sound right up my alley! Thanks! I'm always curious about that genre, in different permutations. I've heard about how good the Covenant of Water is and of course... The Living! A classic! I was trying to figure out if there's a kind of book I like, and I just can't decipher it! I seem to be all over the place. I think I like writing that has a compelling voice, am innate sense of humor, and isn't too yummy or saccharine, but damn that could be almost anything!
That question of what I like when I'm reading is so all over the place and also depends on what I'm in the mood for at any particular moment. I don't think there's really any reason to put hard fast lines around it. I think a lot of books I end up reading I don't necessarily love, but the ones I remember are ones that were thought provoking and introduced me to new ideas or ways of thinking. I used to read more non-fiction but fiction is such a great way to learn history and explore truths and I'm appreciating that more and more.
I love seeing reading lists like this! I just finished the audio version of The Covenant of Water after pulling that name from another similar list. Totally different type of book than any on your list I think, but a beautiful portrait of South India through the 20th century. I love stories that follow multiple generations, giving some history for place - the book The Living is another example, and the looong movie The Best of Youth (La meglio gioventù) being another. Your mention of SciFi and post apocalyptic stories reminded me of two I've read that also choose something other than the Mad Max route - A Canticle for Leibowitz, and The Dazzle of Day - the later taking place in space, but on an agrarian space station searching for a habitable planet.
Josh, those sci-fi books sound right up my alley! Thanks! I'm always curious about that genre, in different permutations. I've heard about how good the Covenant of Water is and of course... The Living! A classic! I was trying to figure out if there's a kind of book I like, and I just can't decipher it! I seem to be all over the place. I think I like writing that has a compelling voice, am innate sense of humor, and isn't too yummy or saccharine, but damn that could be almost anything!
That question of what I like when I'm reading is so all over the place and also depends on what I'm in the mood for at any particular moment. I don't think there's really any reason to put hard fast lines around it. I think a lot of books I end up reading I don't necessarily love, but the ones I remember are ones that were thought provoking and introduced me to new ideas or ways of thinking. I used to read more non-fiction but fiction is such a great way to learn history and explore truths and I'm appreciating that more and more.
Thanks for such a great reading list!
My pleasure! Please let me know if you end of reading any of them and how they treat you! xo