It’s another giveaway in our Eight Crazy Nights of fun here at Smart Bitches.
Today’s prize: a totebag with three novels from the Harper Perennial Olive Editions. They’re cute and little and a fabulous repackaging, in my opinion, of some hefty good books.
The prize bag includes a copy of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon, Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kindera.
Want to heft a bag of books? Just leave a comment with your answer to the following question: what was the best book you read this year that wasn’t a romance? Comments close in 24 hours, so share your recommendations and keep your fingers crossed.
I bought Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe because it had a neat cover. I ended up reading all 800+ pages in less than 24 hours and crying like a baby at the end. It’s now enshrined on my “re-read at least once a year” bookshelf.
John Adams by David McCullough.
And does the Captcha, like, read these posts, because mine is (cross my heart)
second76
As in second President and 1776. //humming Twilight Zone theme//
“The Bachelorette Party” by Karen McCullah Lutz. She’s one of the co-writers of Legally Blonde, and man could you tell – this book was hilarious.
I’ve read a lot of great books, but the one that rated highest for me was: Mayada, Daughter of Iraq by Jean Sasson.
Stone Junction by Jim Dodge. A really amazing book.
Oh, and Dr. Strangelove – The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is very near the top of my tbr pile – looking forward to it even more now 🙂
Nice prize—My non-romance book:
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America’s Soul by Karen Abbott
Very interesting
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet! This is actually a hard choice for me:) I just started reading sci fi and really enjoyed a lot of those as well!
Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival by Anderson Cooper
One of the most interesting memoirs I’ve read.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. 🙂
To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee. I try to re-read this book every couple of years or so. In my mind, it is the greatest book ever written. The story resonates so strongly, even with multiple readings. I find new things to appreciate each time.
For a book I’ve never read before, it would have to be Impossible, by Nancy Werlin. It is romantic, but not a romance (I don’t think). I found it by following an ad link right from this here website! Ms Werlin is a National Book Award Finalist.
I had expected it to be all literary and depressing. It wasn’t. Well, it was “literary” in that it was not an easily identifiable genre. But. There was a hope, a lightness to it from beginning to end. Even though the main character went through a dark and scary time, you sensed that she would prevail because of all the support she had from her family. It set her apart from those who came before her, who had no hope.
And (Spoiler Alert!) nobody died, the bad guy lost, and it had an HEA. What’s not to love?
Probably the best book I’ve read this year was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Funny, sad, thought-provoking…I wish all “childrens’ books” were as good!
The Sound of Language by Amulya Malladi – loved it!
NATION by Terry Pratchett
For some reason it is shelved with the YA but it is a book not only about how nations come about and how they grow, but it is a book about catastrophic loss and the grieving process.
It is an excellent book, and funnier than you might think given the tough topics it is about.
Kris Longknife: Intrepid. Talk about girl power!
Three Cups of Tea… a non-fiction (yes, I read those too *grin*) book about how one man’s (naive idealistic improbable wonderful) desire to build a school for one little village in Pakistan has snowballed, in incredible coincidence-laden ways that wouldn’t work in fiction, to a whole movement to build schools over there, and promote peace (and education). Which is a kind of lame summary but the book is really really fascinating.
(also the temeraire books, because they are so much win.)
*Reading Lolita In Tehran*—all the reasons stories are worth dying for..
I really loved “The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss. It’s epic fantasy and doing something unique and interesting with the genre. I can’t wait for the sequel coming out sometime next year.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.
Deidre
I’d have to say the best book I’ve read this year was Cory Doctorow’s “Little Brother.” One of the best new YA books out there!
The Junie B Jones collection. My 7 year old daughter is now reading chapter books so every night she reads aloud to me from a Junie B Jones book.
Junie is the perfect heroine. She’s funny, profane for a kindergartner, sassy and she has an arch-nemesis (“Jim, that boy I hate” is how she mentions him).
I think any book that makes a child love reading (especially as much as her Mama loves reading) is a great book.
Absolutely the best book I read this year was Sex in the Second City by Karen Abbott, about the Everleigh sisters who ran the best brothel in Chicago at the turn of the last century. Great, great stuff.
Oops! The title is actually Sin in the Second City. Still a great book, though.
Great non-fiction book read this year: The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain.
Voices of Silence: Lives of the Trappists Today (Yup, monks. The monastic life fascinates me. Actually, belief systems in general fascinate me. Will be tackling Thomas Merton next—or maybe give the Carthusians a chance.)
A collection of H. P. Lovecraft stories (don’t recall the exact title). Actually, I revisit Lovecraft pretty regularly. Guess I need some Cthulhu-mythos vibe to counteract all that religion. 😉
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America; The Devil in the White City; some Great Lakes and other history.
Just can’t remember them all. Then there are the books I started but haven’t finished yet . . .
I really enjoyed the latest (paperback!) book from Julie E. Czerneda, Reap the Wild Wind. I also read a lot of “teen” books this year, and the series I liked the most is The Old Kingdom by Garth Nix.
Oops, sorry. Just realized I broke the rulz. That’s okay; I’m pretty much inundated with reading material that I have precious little time to read!
I have been wanting to read Sin in the Second City since it came out but can’t justify the purchase right now. If it’d come out when I was still doing my Master’s thesis I’d have bought it and written it off as a school book. I’m glad other people are liking it as that bodes well for when I eventually read it.
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Engaging story about the slave-owning black population in the South right before the Civil War. You would think that the large cast of characters and interwoven plots would get confusing, but Jones handles it beautifully with exquisite writing.
Link to its Amazon information page above – Strongly recommended!
I enjoyed Getting Off: A guide to masturbation by Jamye Waxman, and damn if it didn’t take me a minute to think of a non-romance. I kept wanting to say the titles of romances I enjoyed this year, and then, wait, damn, NON-romance. Argh.
She’s Not There by Jennifer Finney Boylan, formerly James Finney Boylan. Very interesting book about changing genders.
I had to look back at my goodreads.com account and having read 574 books this year, 64 were contemporary romance, 122 paranormal romance, and 256 regency romance. I got most of them from the wonderful library, yet actually read other non-romance stuff too.
Best non-romance of the year: The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I was sucked in and wanted more. Worst non-romance: USGBC LEED for New Construction and Major Renovation – Bo-ring….
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray—A lovely Literary Suspense about a 16 year old girl coming to grips with the supernatural murder of her mother and the developing her own magical ability.
The best non-romance read this year is probably Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. I loved that book to pieces.
Dragon bones, and Dragon blood by Patricia Briggs. Total fantasy.
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, for years,I’ve had costumers telling me to read it and a copy finally came in so I grabbed it and I really did like it.
Eighth Grade Bites (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Book 1) by Heather Brewer. My son who had just finished eighth grade asked me to read this and kept pestering me until I actually did. Ninth Grade Slays is the next in my TBR stack.
I loved Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas. Hilarious, and great insight into a fascinating culture.
My favorite book i read this year that was not a romance was YOU :on a Diet, haven’t finished this but i really like it and it’s the only book i’ve read this year that’s not a romance. I would love to be entered in your contest!!
photoquest(at)bellsouth(dot)net
The best non-romance I’ve read this year was “Never Suck a Dead Man’s Hand” by Dana Kollman, which is a collection of true stories from a real live CSI. I never thought I would laugh so much at the descriptions of crime scene investigations.
Im a dork. This was a great book.
Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem.
Kurin, Richard.
I also read all the Lillith Saintcrow books.. Love them. Dante Valentine series is awesome and the Jill Kismeth series looks promising.
Ive also read some some of the Stephanie Plum books. But Janet Evanovich dont know if those would be considered romance.
I had a lot of fun reading Jeffrey Steingarten’s The Man Who Ate Everything. If you’re an aspiring gourmand or content to remain a devoted foodie, this was a great set of essays. Each was a delicious little bite that I could consume in small nibble or devour whole.
MMmmm…it’s dinnertime here – can you tell that food’s on my mind? 🙂