I’ve read 2, Fifth Season and the Road. I don’t know what should be on there but is not, I read a lot of Epic Fantasy and it rarely ever makes these lists.
I'll keep my answers to myself since this list humbled me quite a bit...but in the realm of entertainment I took a roadtrip down to London, ON last week to go catch Mastodon on tour with Lamb Of God. My friend and I are huge fans of the former, and it was an unforgettable night for the both of us. I hadn't been to a metal show in a few years, so I made sure to get some low-grade whiplash. Unfortunately the show happened to coincide with the release of Saga, so I had to wait another day to get home to my LCS for my copy. Well worth the wait! Cheers, BKV!
Jealous that you got to see the Mastodon/Lamb of God tour! I wanted to see that tour's stop near me but it was in a town that was about an hour or so away so it didn't workout for me schedule-wise.
Mastodon was one of the first metal shows I attended. I've only seen Lamb of God once and it was when they were one of the supporting bands on Slayer's first go around of their final tour.
I find myself drawn to graphic novels, which is why I enjoy Saga, Spectators, and Bill Willingham's Fables series. While not entirely in the 21st century, Jeff Smith's Bone series was formative for me as well.
For more word-based books, The City of Ember has a special place in my heart.
I’ve only read 13 books on the NYT list which seems about right since genre fiction (what I usually read) was underrepresented. Books I think deserve a place on the list include The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Redeployment by Phil Klay, and Portrait of a Novel by Michael Gorra.
I am a historian, which means that I read the grimmest shit for a living. I have read very little of the NYTimes list (20ish?) because most of it is also grim shit and I am all grimmed out. I read every night before bed, usually 2 or 3 books a week, but it is as escapist as you can get thank you very much. The Vlad Taltos series isn't going to be winning a Pulitzer any time soon, but it is about all that I can handle as I drift off to sleep.
I’ve only read a few of them and seen the movie adaptations of more of them than I’ve read. I read a lot of genre books personally and they are usually very under represented on these lists. As for comics that should be on there My Favorite Thing is Monsters feels like it deserves a spot and Hawkeye by Fraction and Aja is one of the best super hero comics around for my money.
I’ve only read a paltry 5, with 2 more books in my purchased but unread stack. But of those I’ve read, The Road and Kavalier and Clay are both masterpieces, and I agree whole heartily with both being on the list. But I have a hard time thinking what deserves to be on, because I can never do so until after I’ve been reminded of something. I’m sure there’s a bunch once I get reminded in the tower chat.
I have only read the Road and The Goldfinch. The Road is one my favorite all times books and Cormac McCarthy is my favorite novelist. It is rare a book is so painfully beautiful it stays with me for a long time and that one open up something in me I am still love to contemplate.
Over the weekend I finally watched Poor Things which has been on my list of movies to watch for a while. Loved it. I also saw Deadpool and Wolverine again at the movie theater. I was one of the lucky ones at Comic-Con to get into the the screening in H Hall watching it when it first came out, but I think watching it with over 6,000 screaming comic book geeks made me miss some of the deep profound dialogue so I saw it again. It was fun but weirdly awkward when the Cameos walk slowly across the scene and no one is screaming their head off in the theater.
2024 has been a really shitty year. I would jump on any new American Splendor or GNs when they came out. A couple of years ago, I had the good fortune of grabbing American Splendor #1 and #2 from a great little comic shop for $250 or so and in pretty good shape (they had a sale going on). You're right. It's a shame some of that stuff isn't still in print and it would be nice to see a Dark Horse or Kitchen Sink bring it back.
Yeah. NPR's 1A had a show last week dedicated to the list last week and I took a look.
Seven.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Isabel Wilkerson's Warmth of Other Suns made the list, but I would have thought her book Caste would have been before that in prominence as it seemed to be on everyone's reading list for a while. You would see it on display on the book shelves of some of the talking heads of political punditry during the Zoom interview era.
On the NPR show, 1A, author Marlon James thought Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware should have been included, and I thought that was a interesting choice and hard to argue against.
Saying Saga isn't lip service to you, BKV. It's just a extremely popular book that many people love.
I mean, I and a crap load of others are here, right?
I literally just got a PDF of Brought to Light for free 2 days ago. You can get it on the Internet archive. It was a weird confluence of things that reminded me of it and how I could read it, but that’s what I came up with short of spending too much to get it.
I, too, was surprised that Wilkerson’s Caste wasn’t on the list. It’s a monumental work that affected me a lot… it’s grueling, emotional, and important.
I read Caste, along with a couple other works written by Black authors (“The Underground Railroad,” “Between the World and Me”), following the George Floyd/BLM protests because I realized books written by POC were woefully underrepresented in my own library.
I’m glad I took on this personal quest to diversify my literary knowledge, despite how harrowing many of the books were, and not only because my tally on this NYT now looks less sad hahaha
Me too, Dan. During the lockdown, I looked at my bookcases and realized probably 80% of what was in them was white dudes. I'm mean authors, not actual white dudes, as it would be silly to store white dudes in such a way. The one good thing that came out the pandemic was a mission to explore voices of ethnicity and gender identities that are not my own. How can I possibly understand my fellow human beings if I don't hear their experiences, knowledge or stories?
It looks like seven for me and a couple that I started but didn’t finish. There was a lot of non-fiction on the list which isn’t normally my thing, although I did just finish CW Goodyear’s biography of President Garfield which was fascinating.
There were authors on there whose books I’ve read just not those more recent ones (Morrison and Roth). I’d have to go through my notes to see if anything is missing that I would have added.
BKV was it the Baskin-Robbins in Coventry where you worked? My grandfather used to take me there.
I got a whopping 1/2 a book on that list… The Road. I was reading it on my breaks while working at B&N, and I don’t know if it was the book or me, but I just never finished it. But I am due for a trip to the library soon so maybe I’ll give it another go.
As others have noted, the list is light on SF and Fantasy. And surely at least one book each by Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, and Cxin Liu should be on the list. I'd also nominate Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals and Amor Towles's A Gentleman in Moscow.
Didn't see any on the list that's I've read but I just finished my 15th audiobook this year most notable being dungeon crawler carl, really great book. Also this weekend went to GenCon for the first time, 4 days of playing board games and RPGs.
It was heavily weighted towards literary fiction, which I read, but it's not my main thing. I would have a Neil Gaiman novel (American Gods, maybe?) and Stephen King (I especially enjoyed 11/22/63).
I also felt like American Gods was an unfortunate omission. A great work by one of our foremost modern fantasy authors that says oh so much about America. It would be on my list.
i wasnt sure of exactly what criteria was used to make this list, but american gods is hands down my favorite book ever, so deserves to be number one on any/all list(s). :)
I’ve read 2, Fifth Season and the Road. I don’t know what should be on there but is not, I read a lot of Epic Fantasy and it rarely ever makes these lists.
I was fully ready to be shamed by this list but I reached double digits and I will absolutely take that.
What did you read?
I'll keep my answers to myself since this list humbled me quite a bit...but in the realm of entertainment I took a roadtrip down to London, ON last week to go catch Mastodon on tour with Lamb Of God. My friend and I are huge fans of the former, and it was an unforgettable night for the both of us. I hadn't been to a metal show in a few years, so I made sure to get some low-grade whiplash. Unfortunately the show happened to coincide with the release of Saga, so I had to wait another day to get home to my LCS for my copy. Well worth the wait! Cheers, BKV!
Jealous that you got to see the Mastodon/Lamb of God tour! I wanted to see that tour's stop near me but it was in a town that was about an hour or so away so it didn't workout for me schedule-wise.
Mastodon was one of the first metal shows I attended. I've only seen Lamb of God once and it was when they were one of the supporting bands on Slayer's first go around of their final tour.
I unfortunately have read only one, Persepolis.
I find myself drawn to graphic novels, which is why I enjoy Saga, Spectators, and Bill Willingham's Fables series. While not entirely in the 21st century, Jeff Smith's Bone series was formative for me as well.
For more word-based books, The City of Ember has a special place in my heart.
I could see any of these works being on the list!
I’ve only read 13 books on the NYT list which seems about right since genre fiction (what I usually read) was underrepresented. Books I think deserve a place on the list include The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Redeployment by Phil Klay, and Portrait of a Novel by Michael Gorra.
In an alternate universe, Sean Howe's MARVEL COMICS: THE UNTOLD STORY inspired a hit Lin-Manuel Miranda Broadway musical.
I am a historian, which means that I read the grimmest shit for a living. I have read very little of the NYTimes list (20ish?) because most of it is also grim shit and I am all grimmed out. I read every night before bed, usually 2 or 3 books a week, but it is as escapist as you can get thank you very much. The Vlad Taltos series isn't going to be winning a Pulitzer any time soon, but it is about all that I can handle as I drift off to sleep.
Aren’t you Librarian/Historian for Morpheus in the dreaming?
That is Lucien with an e! I still haven’t met a Lucian, but I feel like when I do we will have to fight to the death for the right to the name.
lol. Sounds like I’d be betting on you.
I’ve only read a few of them and seen the movie adaptations of more of them than I’ve read. I read a lot of genre books personally and they are usually very under represented on these lists. As for comics that should be on there My Favorite Thing is Monsters feels like it deserves a spot and Hawkeye by Fraction and Aja is one of the best super hero comics around for my money.
I’ve only read a paltry 5, with 2 more books in my purchased but unread stack. But of those I’ve read, The Road and Kavalier and Clay are both masterpieces, and I agree whole heartily with both being on the list. But I have a hard time thinking what deserves to be on, because I can never do so until after I’ve been reminded of something. I’m sure there’s a bunch once I get reminded in the tower chat.
I have only read the Road and The Goldfinch. The Road is one my favorite all times books and Cormac McCarthy is my favorite novelist. It is rare a book is so painfully beautiful it stays with me for a long time and that one open up something in me I am still love to contemplate.
Over the weekend I finally watched Poor Things which has been on my list of movies to watch for a while. Loved it. I also saw Deadpool and Wolverine again at the movie theater. I was one of the lucky ones at Comic-Con to get into the the screening in H Hall watching it when it first came out, but I think watching it with over 6,000 screaming comic book geeks made me miss some of the deep profound dialogue so I saw it again. It was fun but weirdly awkward when the Cameos walk slowly across the scene and no one is screaming their head off in the theater.
Damn. That is sad to hear about Joyce Brabner.
2024 has been a really shitty year. I would jump on any new American Splendor or GNs when they came out. A couple of years ago, I had the good fortune of grabbing American Splendor #1 and #2 from a great little comic shop for $250 or so and in pretty good shape (they had a sale going on). You're right. It's a shame some of that stuff isn't still in print and it would be nice to see a Dark Horse or Kitchen Sink bring it back.
Yeah. NPR's 1A had a show last week dedicated to the list last week and I took a look.
Seven.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Isabel Wilkerson's Warmth of Other Suns made the list, but I would have thought her book Caste would have been before that in prominence as it seemed to be on everyone's reading list for a while. You would see it on display on the book shelves of some of the talking heads of political punditry during the Zoom interview era.
On the NPR show, 1A, author Marlon James thought Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware should have been included, and I thought that was a interesting choice and hard to argue against.
Saying Saga isn't lip service to you, BKV. It's just a extremely popular book that many people love.
I mean, I and a crap load of others are here, right?
Jesus. I edit like 9-10 times after posting. Anyone else? *sigh*
It's Brought to Light, right, BKV? And shit, that book is rare and a bit pricey, but I will keep eyes out.
I literally just got a PDF of Brought to Light for free 2 days ago. You can get it on the Internet archive. It was a weird confluence of things that reminded me of it and how I could read it, but that’s what I came up with short of spending too much to get it.
Thanks, Cory. Going to look.
D'oh! Unacceptable error! I blame the CIA for somehow altering what I originally wrote.
(Edited to the correct title, thanks, pal.)
I just didn't want people to be directed to the Frankenstein inspired porn I was.
Which I am still watching.
I was lucky that a used copy in a decent state fell to my hands years ago and I kept it as a treasure. It's a masterpiece.
I, too, was surprised that Wilkerson’s Caste wasn’t on the list. It’s a monumental work that affected me a lot… it’s grueling, emotional, and important.
I read Caste, along with a couple other works written by Black authors (“The Underground Railroad,” “Between the World and Me”), following the George Floyd/BLM protests because I realized books written by POC were woefully underrepresented in my own library.
I’m glad I took on this personal quest to diversify my literary knowledge, despite how harrowing many of the books were, and not only because my tally on this NYT now looks less sad hahaha
Me too, Dan. During the lockdown, I looked at my bookcases and realized probably 80% of what was in them was white dudes. I'm mean authors, not actual white dudes, as it would be silly to store white dudes in such a way. The one good thing that came out the pandemic was a mission to explore voices of ethnicity and gender identities that are not my own. How can I possibly understand my fellow human beings if I don't hear their experiences, knowledge or stories?
It looks like seven for me and a couple that I started but didn’t finish. There was a lot of non-fiction on the list which isn’t normally my thing, although I did just finish CW Goodyear’s biography of President Garfield which was fascinating.
There were authors on there whose books I’ve read just not those more recent ones (Morrison and Roth). I’d have to go through my notes to see if anything is missing that I would have added.
BKV was it the Baskin-Robbins in Coventry where you worked? My grandfather used to take me there.
Eight. I did read The Corrections. It was Freedom I didn’t get through.
It would have been nice to see Murakami (1Q84) or King (11/22/63) on there.
No, Coventry was for hanging out at Chuck's! I worked at the Baskins over in Westlake… which is now a CBD store!
I got a whopping 1/2 a book on that list… The Road. I was reading it on my breaks while working at B&N, and I don’t know if it was the book or me, but I just never finished it. But I am due for a trip to the library soon so maybe I’ll give it another go.
As others have noted, the list is light on SF and Fantasy. And surely at least one book each by Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, and Cxin Liu should be on the list. I'd also nominate Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals and Amor Towles's A Gentleman in Moscow.
Sorry, but I have to mention this. I once composed a list of both fictional and non-fiction members of a super-team to face a planetary/cosmic threat.
Doris Kearns Goodwin was on that list.
Didn't see any on the list that's I've read but I just finished my 15th audiobook this year most notable being dungeon crawler carl, really great book. Also this weekend went to GenCon for the first time, 4 days of playing board games and RPGs.
It was heavily weighted towards literary fiction, which I read, but it's not my main thing. I would have a Neil Gaiman novel (American Gods, maybe?) and Stephen King (I especially enjoyed 11/22/63).
I also felt like American Gods was an unfortunate omission. A great work by one of our foremost modern fantasy authors that says oh so much about America. It would be on my list.
i wasnt sure of exactly what criteria was used to make this list, but american gods is hands down my favorite book ever, so deserves to be number one on any/all list(s). :)
American Gods was the first Gaiman work I ever consumed. I loved it and found a great writer whose work I could go through.
I ended up picking up Sandman and Saga from my library during lockdown and those two works got me into reading comics.