This isn’t a real post

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This isn’t a real post.  It’s just a place to say that I hope you had a wonderful holiday and that if you’re feeling a bit down that is totally normal because this time of year is filled with weirdness and stress and ups and downs, so if you don’t feel sort of depressed at least once this month you’re probably a cyborg.  To distract you from all that holiday angst, I’m sharing a picture I took from the classified section of my hometown paper.  It’s usually filled with all sorts of weirdness, and this week was no exception:

That's *awfully* specific, Kara.

PS.  My parents just reminded me that their donkey (Jasper) could be a real crotchety old asshole when he wanted to be, so technically it’s probably a good idea to not settle for just any old jackass.  This reasoning is true of spouses, bosses, and guard donkeys.

I’m sorry I ever judged you, Kara.

PPS.  On an utterly unrelated note, for xmas I got gift certificates for books (because people know me and I have a problem).  Help me choose.  What’s one of your favorite books that you think everyone should read?  I’m making a list.

864 thoughts on “This isn’t a real post”

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  2. I received the same thing! I really enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I hope you and your family have had a great day.

  3. I fully admit I don’t know much about guard donkeys, but aren’t they supposed to look angry and scary? Not nice and young? Wouldn’t that send off the wrong signals?

  7. I got a kindle this year and I’m going to buy your book first. I assume you’ve read your own book?

  12. James Baldwin – Giovanni’s Room
    ….or
    Graham Greene – The End of the Affair
    …..or
    Kazuo Ishiguro – The Remains of the Day
    ……or……..

    🙂

  13. The Good Mother Myth. It just came out. It is so wonderful. Full-disclosure, one of my friends (@donotfaint) wrote one of the essays, so I am a bit biased, but I think every mom who has ever struggled with worthiness or mental illness would benefit from having it. Happy Holidays!

  14. ‘The Fault in our Stars’ by John Green. Everyone should read this book; it is life-altering. I’m buying my sister a copy for Christmas because she, like everyone, needs to read this.

  17. My favourite book is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. His sense of humour is just perfect!

  24. The Wonderful O and The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber and The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle.

  26. I loved The Reason Why I Jump by Naoki Higashida. It was the most beautiful book I read this year, but is also sad as well.

  28. Reamde by Neil Stephenson, an awesome contemporary page turner & you will never think about video games the same afterwards. At the top of my list of living authors, up there with Neil Gaiman

  29. Truth is… the only book I’ve ever recommended to anyone who would listen AND have bought multiple copies of (for myself and for gifts) is your book.

    However, I am a big Erma Bombeck fan…so if you can get any of her books, you might like them.

    Hope you are enjoying the Holidays, Jenny! Love to you and your family.

  30. I can’t not keep adding to the book suggestions.

    Read everything you can by Harlan Coben. He’s a riot. His Myron Bolitar series is wonderful…but his stand alone books are great as well.

  31. All of the Ben Aaronovitch PC Grant Series (Rivers of London, Moon over Soho, Broken Homes & Whispers Underground). It’s about being a policeman in London who sees and talks to a ghost, becomes a trainee wizard and gets recruited by The Folly. It’s FANTASTIC! Oh and you should also try all of the Matthew Swift / Blue Electric Angels series by Kate Griffin. Happy Christmas!

  32. Happy Holidays! I enjoy This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper or The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff.

  35. Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

    Love love love this book and it speaks to any one who alternates between fits of genius and fits of despair!

  38. “The Chosen” by Chaim Potok is riveting and I never expected it to be. I also love “Yesterday’s Doll” by Cora Taylor and “The Last Dragonslayer” by Jasper Fforde. Have a wonderful holiday, with or without a guard donkey! 🙂

  39. I don’t think everyone should read these -they are weird and wonderful and lots of people just wouldn’t appreciate them but I think you would — Aimee Bender’s “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” and Lauren Groff’s “The Monsters of Templeton”

  42. Favorite book ever “Job: A Comedy of Justice” by Robert Heinlein.

    Also, I am down today because I am having a flare of my Crohn’s disease and my Interstitial Cystitis at the same time, and it is making me want to jump off a bridge (which I just typoed as bitch… I would do that too), because the pain/annoyance is unbearable and I have been dealing with it for an hour and a half now, and my meds aren’t stopping it and I just want to die.
    I once proposed that if a hell exists, it is having a UTI and a sore throat at the same time. I think it is kind of cruel that I have a chronic disease that mimics a UTI, but reading that book up there made me understand it all.

  43. The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman, Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

  45. At least they didn’t mix up the ads and print “need a nice, young female ass for mother.” Then again, to each their own.

  46. The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt because it mentions Akkadian. I mean, it has to be good then, no?

  47. Have you read any Anne Rivers Siddons? Her Peachtree Road is one of my all-time favorites, and I think you’d enjoy it as well.

    And this is a children’s book, but I’ve had several people put out requests for children’s book recs. and I am a life-long fan of Tolstoy’s The Lion and The Puppy. It’s actually a compilation of many short stories he wrote for his school for the poor/serf children in his village. The stories are a bit dark (in a matter-of-fact realistic way, not in a zombie way, sorry!) compared to the Goodnight, Moon type of books, but I still gift it to every friend as a first-kid gift.

  48. Beyond the Bear by Dan Bigley. The most amazing tale of a guy’s journey to emotional and physical recovery after he was mauled and blinded by a bear in Alaska.

  49. Terry Pratchett. I recommend lots of Terry Pratchett. I particularly love the books with Granny Weatherwax and the Tiffany Aching ones (Lords and Ladies, Carpe Jugelum, Masquerade, The Wee Free Men, etc.). The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin is really good. It’s a really dense read but it immediately became one of my favorites. Of course, then there’s classics like Pride and Prejudice and The Count of Monte Cristo and stuff. I’m particularly fond of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. If you’re looking for some really good paranoid science fiction, Philip K. Dick is great. The Man in the High Castle is really good and so is Ubik. I read a lot. 🙂

  51. I bought YOUR book and have now loaned it to 3 people and I haven’t seen it in months. Which makes me sad, because I want to be the crazy person on the bus again who is laughing out loud while she’s reading.

  54. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
    The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
    Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

    I second the book thief and the particular sadness of lemon cake.

  56. “Round Ireland with a Fridge” by Tony Hawks. A guy hitch hikes the circumference of Ireland while rolling along a small fridge, as a result of a drunken bet. The fridge surfs, gets blessed by nuns…what’s not to love?

  57. I’m a cyborg then. Then again, also Jewish. Today was Chinese Food and a Movie Day. The only angst I felt was whether or not I could eat one more dumpling. Answer: heck yeah I can.

  59. A Dirty Job (Christopher Moore) – darkly funny, this is my recommendation most specific to you. 🙂
    Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
    Bitter is the New Black
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
    The Art of Racing in the Rain

  61. “Bear V Shark” by Chris Bachelder. I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, even though it’s one of my favourites, but I think you’d understand 🙂

    Also “Nights at the Circus” by Angela Carter which is amazing and beautiful.

  62. “Set This House in Order” by Matt Ruff. I love Matt and all of his books but this is the most super stupendous book of all time. It’s about broken people helping each other get less broken and learning to live with their brokenness.

  64. A current series I’m LOVING is the Witch Central series by Deborah Geary. She’s thoughtful, and deep and yet leaves you with this brilliant uplifting feeling. Love love love her!

  66. Ooh, ooh, Ursula Vernon’s DIGGER OMNIBUS from Sofawolf Press is coming out in softcover through comic shops on 1/29/2014! You can pre-order it in your local comic shop! The code is NOV131232 if they are too stupid to look it up properly.

    I don’t get any money from saying this, but I loved this comic so much when it was serialized online that I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign for the omnibus edition & received it Saturday & just sat down and read the whole thing again and it STILL hangs together.

    Ursula described it this way: “A wombat. A dead god. A very peculiar epic.” There are also warrior hyenas, oracular slugs, a little shadow-type person who may or may not be a demon, and the default gender is female. It’s definitely not a typical “talking animal” type of comic, even though there are talking animals.

  67. I got the Hunger Games boxed set and the Chaos Walking trilogy. Both are excellent if you haven’t already read them. I also received Horde be Ann Aguirre. It’s the final book in the Enclave trilogy. Very good so far. I also really like Tabitha King’s books about the Styles family. They’re old but I retread them every couple of years.

  68. The 13th Tale is awesome! Also you probably have it cause uou love Neil gaiman but the one about an Irishman finding a world in underground London is awesomesauce

  70. Yours of course. I’m reading it now. Again. It gets me through the stressfull parts of Christmas.

  71. *Atonement,* *Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,* *The Fault in our Stars,* *Me Talk Pretty One Day,* *The Guinea Pig Diaries, * *The Year Without Made in China, * *Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.*

  72. William Shakespeare’s Star Wars

    by Ian Doescher

    It’s the original Episode four novel, rewritten in Shakespearean iambic pentameter.

  73. Jenny…just have to say that your book was my gift of choice to the people I really like…and also to let you know….it is sold out at lots of places in Austin (which delighted me on one hand for you, but made me a little pissy to have to travel all over the place to find #5!) Congrats on your success and many many thanks for the humor you share with the world.

  74. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It’s the best book I’ve read in years. Also, the audiobook is read by the excellent Mr. Wil Wheaton, who reads even better than he collates paper. 🙂

    Merry Christmas!

  75. Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon (sci-fi, unique, has an old woman as the protagonist, really a scifi book about differentness and community)
    The Songkiller Saga (it’s a trilogy) by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (kind of fantasy, kind of allegory, all about folk music and the soul of humanity)
    Miss Twiggley’s Tree by Dorothea Warren Fox (children’s picture/poetry book, beautiful, my mom won’t let me steal her copy)
    Patchwork Narrative by Tyler Yoder (poetry, all about life and growing up and being different and struggling)
    The Father Brown Mysteries by GK Chesterton (mysteries solved by a priest, kind of the anti-sherlock-holmes)
    A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones (sci fi and fantasy and time travel, children’s/YA)
    Revolutionary Blues by Mike Politis (trippy as FUCK, historicalish fiction)
    Beauty by Robin McKinley (retelling of beauty and the beast)
    (going for variety with my suggestions 😉 )

  77. “He, She, It” by Marge Piercy
    “Unless” by Carole …
    And
    “Good Omens” (which I some you have read but is one of my airways reread in times of need books)

    Sorry for anything that is incorrect or typoed… Just home from the hospital, baby is 48hrs old, anything could happen. As long as it’s a nap.. )

  78. If you have not yet read them, I highly recommend Patrick Rothfuss’ “The Name of the Wind” and “The Wise Man’s Fear”

  79. The Flavia DeLuce series starting with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Every time I finish one I can’t wait for the next to come out!

  80. Where the Red Fern Grows.
    xzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz3333334444444444wszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzyu66666666666666666666666666666666666666666666yu777777777777777777777777777777777777777gf3
    My cat typed that last part. Really. So I left it. You can forward it to Ferris M. He probably knows what it means.
    Back to my list
    The Husband’s Secret, And the Mountains Echoed, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (and all).
    Where’d You Go Bernadette (but it’s sort of unique to Seattle)

  81. Oh, you so need to read “The House With A Clock in Its Walls,” by John Bellairs.

  83. Best book I read this year was Room.
    Merry Christmas and thanks for the much needed pick-me-up 🙂

  84. I admit I am a bit of a fantasy and steampunk nerd …

    So my absolute favorite books are “The Fairy Godmother” by Mercedes Lackey (fantasy) or the “Parasol Protectorate” by Gail Carriger (steampunk)

  86. Love Untethered Soul. Oprah does too, apparently. ? Happy Christmas to you, Jenny! 🙂

  87. My favorite read of the year was Unapologetic by Francis Spufford. Like you, he talks about Jesus while dropping f-bombs. You might feel a kinship.

  88. Your book is the one I always recommend to people. So, if you can’t remember what’s in there, read it again! But since you probably remember all your stories, I’m out of recommendations. Hope you have a great day!

  90. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. One of my new favourites.

    The Locke Lamora series.

  93. I would recommend books by Terry Pratchett (Discworld) & Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next).

    My most favourite books which I read over and over are To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride & Prejudice, Lord of the Rings (although not read much since the movies came out).

    If you want action & intrigue then Matthew Reilly (Contest, Temple, The Tournament).

    I also love The Book Thief and anything by Neil Gaiman. The books I regard as ‘comfort food’ are by Agatha Christie & Georgette Heyer (Regency novels).

    Have a merry Christmas with your family.

    Nicole

  94. I assume you have read yours and Harry Potter. My favorites. If you have not read Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck that is a great book.
    Merry Christmas. I enjoy all things you write.

  95. Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About by Mil Millington
    A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
    Any of Cathy Lambs books
    Pioneer Go Home by Richard Powell
    The Cat Who trilogy by Peter Gethers ( true story about an amazing cat named Norton )
    Rise Of The Steam Goddess by Ben Hamby
    I am off to drown myself in one alcoholic drink ( all I can have with my meds ) and get the Kleenex ready to say goodbye to my beloved Matt Smith. I AM NOT READY.

  96. Zadie Smith’s NW – it’s The Ulysses of our time. (which means it’s actually understandable) Seriously, I can’t say how much it blew me away, I’m a classicist, but this is the best contemporary novel I’ve ever read, in fact, one of the best novels I’ve ever read – up there with Dickens for beautiful detail, and Shakespeare for use of language. I can’t recommend Smith enough.

  97. I recommend “The Fault in Our Stars” because it is awesome, 100 Years of Solitude because Garcia is awesome and The Wasteland series by Stephen King. And the OUtlander series by Diana Gabaldon.
    And I love the ad that needs dependable tires for mother! And an anvil! I want an anvil!

  98. My go-to book suggestion lately has been “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened,” but that probably wouldn’t work for you. Orphan Train is good. So is Sarah’s Key, but that book is also incredibly depressing, but so, so amazing. I would go for that one.

  99. Book Thief, Water for Elephants, Divergent series, The Fault in Our Stars, I could go on and on…

  100. To Begin Again by Jen Knox. I may be on the biased side, Jen Knox is my daughter-in-law. She and my son live in San Antonio. She also has quite a few short stories published online. To Begin Again is a collection of short stories.

  101. Daniel Quinn, Christopher Moore, Hugh Howey. They are authors. They are FANTABULOUS authors.

    Happy lolidays!

  103. I don’t make time to read much but my favorite book of all times is “The Voyage of the Narwhal” by Andrea Barrett. It is a fictionalized account of Shackleton’s voyage to Antarctica on the Endurance. I have read it more than once. I like to read it in the dead of winter because it makes winter even here in Vermont seem like kid’s play. The real story of this voyage of Shackleton’s is, in my opinion, the greatest adventure story of all times. Also any short stories by Alice Munro.

  104. I just opened Sarah Vowell’s “Unfamiliar Fishes” and while I’m only about a chapter into it, I can recommend any of her work unreservedly, so pile in! This one somehow ended up on our bookshelf unread; it’s about Hawaii and American Empire.

  105. 1. A friend of mine always used to respond to overuse of the word “if” (especially in the phrase “if only I had…”) with “If my grandmother had wheels she’d be a motorcycle”. SO maybe mother is motorcycle.
    2. I read How to Talk Dirty and Influence People by Lenny Bruce and The Eden Express by Mark Vonnegut (Kurt’s son) when I was 16 and they totally shaped who I have become (in a good way).

  108. And I second “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” and add “The HIgher Power of Lucky” because…did I mention I would love an anvil? People who want anvils feel no need to explain their choices; it is assumed that others will understand without any added information. Have a day. 😉

  109. First, this: http://www.literature-map.com/ You enter the name of an author you like, and it gives you a “diagram” (for lack of a better term) of related authors. Free, easy, and VERY useful!! Now for the actual books:
    “Illustrated Man” by Ray Bradbury is a MUST. I read it in my teens but am reading it again, and it speaks to me so much more now.
    “Celestine Prophecies” is a cool book. I like the theory, although I’m not in love with way it’s presented. I think it’s totally worth the read just for the concepts you get from it.

    And my “Not-So-Deep” faves:
    -ANYTHING Jim Butcher! Dresden Files are quick and easy with adult themes, Calderon Series is a bit longer but more YA in concepts, IMO
    -The Kingslayer Chronicles: I’m a bit irate with this author b/c I NEED the next book to come out NOW, but I love the way they’re written and the depth of the character development
    -Bringing Home the Birkin: If you liked the brand name-dropping of “The Devil Wears Prada” but want less “Evil Snow Queen”, read this. SO GOOD!

    Honest to goodness, I have a billion more if you are a fiction fan. Bloggess & other readers/posters, feel free to email me if you need/want suggestions. Nothing makes me happier than “prescribing” books! Happy winter-related celebrations!!

  110. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward. If you haven’t read them, you are missing out beyond your wildest dreams.

  111. I am just now reading the Outlander series, and I’m sort of pissed that no one recommended them to me before now. They are so, so good.

    Much merriness to you and yours, Jenny! <3

  113. I just got the 3rd MaddAddam book by Margaret Atwood, I love that series. Also Arsène Lupin: Gentleman Thief is a great series. Sherlock Holmes era and style but Frenchier.

  114. Echo by Francesca Lia Block
    Wonder by RJ Palacio

    …And, although you’ve probably read it before, I’ll add Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes too, because it’s my all-time favorite ever and everyone should read it at least twice. 🙂

  115. Whoa. Don’t read Sarah’s Key. It really was great, but it was probably the saddest book I have ever read. Like ugly cry, physical heart ache kind of sad.

  117. Cyborg indeed… The only thing keeping me from being emotionally drained are meds, meds, meds! 😉
    But you asked about books. Here’s my favorite book list:
    1-10: everything written by Hermann Hesse, beginning with “The glass bead game”
    11: Ken Follett! Bonus for this year is the last part of a trilogy he started four years ago. So basically if you start reading the first two books now you don’t even have to wait for the third book which will be published in 2014!
    12: Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan)
    13: Harry Potter – because it makes me feel all tingely and loved… Knowing he was all alone and still persevered…

    Merry Christmas!

  118. Fool by Christopher Moore
    if you like Shakespeare’s King Lear told from his fool’s pov, then go read this….plus, it has some very creative swearing in it…who doesn’t like creative swearing???
    it’s relatively new, but a great read just the same…

  120. Irvin Yalom: Lying on the Couch, The Schopenhauer Cure, When Nietzsche Wept…..awesome books if you’re into the therapy world! Anyone who liked HBO’s “In Treatment” would probably love anything by Yalom.

  122. Definitely A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving – brilliant, funny, poignant. I read it years ago, and finished at 3am SOBBING for the last 40 pages. Happy New Year, Jenny, thanks for all the laughs and news this year.

  123. I think this book is out of print (well, the old fashioned paper version is), but if you can find a copy, I suggest A Brother to Dragons, A Companion to Owls by Jane Lindskold. There’s just something about the main character, Sara, that I just love so much, and that makes this one of my favorite books ever.

    Synopsis from Lindskold’s site: “Sarah is insane. After all, she talks to walls, rubber dragons, and other inanimate objects. What no one else knows is that the inanimate answers her back. When budget cuts put Sarah out of a mental home and onto the streets, she is adopted by a street gang ruled by Head Wolf, a sometimes brutal man who may be as insane as she is. But someone wants Sarah — perhaps merely to put her back inside, perhaps for more sinister reasons. Championed by the hacker Abalone, assisted by other members of the Pack, Sarah goes into hiding, but hiding may not be enough to preserve her freedom — or her life.”

    I also recommend Elf Defense by Esther M. Friesner, a funny modern fantasy where fairy kind of invades Connecticut, and Beggers In Spain by Nancy Kress, a scifi novel following the lives of genetically engineered children (don’t bother reading the 2nd & 3rd books in the trilogy, as they were meh).

  124. The Man Who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen. Biography of a guy who decided to opt-out of money and work and government stuff, and live in a cave in the wilderness. He doesn’t even barter. He just goes through life on giving. Changed my view of money because now I realize that paying rent and balancing the checkbook is a choice, because living in a cave in the wilderness is an option. (Strangely) I found that empowering and comforting.

  125. Love the idea of travel and history, don’t travel for a number of reasons, but, if you are similar, try Tony Horwitz’ books, Confederates in the Attic, Blue Latitudes or A Voyage Long and Strange. I really love Blue Latitudes, but I am a Captain Cook freak. His wife Geradine Brooks writes great historical novels, Caleb’s Crossing, and People of the Book are wonderful although I have enjoyed everything of hers I have read.

    Finally, Wool by Hugh Howey; I still can’t figure out if I was sad or hopeful at the end of this dystopian novel, but it was well written and enjoyable.

  127. I fourth Eleanor and Park, plus On Being a Woman, Simon Pegg’s autobiography, and for some holiday cheer, The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore, with the best Christmas book opening line:
    “Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe.”
    What more could you want???

  128. Absolutely agree on 13th Tale. Incredible book and well worth it. My holiday guilty pleasure is usually the latest Nora Roberts trilogy. Don’t judge.

  130. Second or third the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Best books ever, and Starz is making the first book into a TV show in 2014.

  132. My favorites are by Elizabeth Peters: The Seventh Sinner, The Murders of Richard III, Die For Love, Naked Once More. They’re all funny mysteries. The heroine, Jacqueline Kirby, was my role model (and the cause of my 15+ pound purse).

    You also can’t go wrong with Michelle Sagara’s Cast in Elantra series, or Kim Hartison’s Hollows series, or Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, or Jill Connor Browne’s Sweet Potato Queen series.

  133. ^ On Being a Woman is by Caitlin Moran. It is NOT Simon Pegg’s autobiography. That was a separate suggestion, although if he wrote a book with that title, lets face it, we’d all want to read it…

  134. The Dud Avocado. A bit of a women’s cult classic from the ’60s I think. You would totally appreciate the humor and first person writing style of a young woman abroad.

  136. Anglemaker from Nick Harkaway is great! Shit my Dad Says is hilarious and anything from Davis Sedaris I’d great 🙂

  138. If you haven’t already read it, I think you would enjoy the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, starting with the Eyre Affair. These books are delightfully weird, very funny, and celebrate my favorite thing ever – books! 🙂

  139. I love Sharyn McCrumb, the ballad series is really great, but anything by her is good.

  141. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay is one of my all-time favourite books. Anything by him is amazing, though.

  142. Northern Borders by Howard Frank Mosher. Coming of age story set in the North East Kingdom of Vermont. A boy is being raised by his feuding (and quirky) grandparents. Takes place in the late 40’s , I think, rural farms are just getting electric power. A beautiful picture of that time and place.

  143. Second on Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I cannot recommend this book enough. The writing is absolutely beautiful.

    Also, Outlander. They are currently making it into a TV series on Starz. My wife loves these books. Multiple re-reads and all of the audiobooks.

    Anything by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Just read Stardust and Ocean at the end of the lane. They were both amazing.

  145. Really basic but… Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and the rest of the series(way better than the lame ass movie!) I second Philip K. Dick. Anything by Sydney Van Syoc if you can find it, the most unique scifi I’ve read. And if you are in the mood for some really twisted messed up shit Chuck Palahnuik (wrote Fight Club) And on the lighter side I adore Agatha Christie.

  146. Anything by Jhumpa Lahiri, including her latest, “The Lowland.”
    Great post – some of these books sound really interesting and since it’s winter in Minnesota for the next 5 months, there’s really nothing else to do but read.
    Looking forward to your new book sometime in the future.
    Till then.
    Barb in Minnesota

  147. I just finished Fall On Your Knees by Anne Marie McDonald. It’s one of those crazy family books that is super dramatic and full of SECRETS, lies, and intrigue. Ooooh!

    The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is complete magic. I want to go live in that circus. I wish it was real.

    Wild by Cheryl Strayed is a memoir of a young woman solo hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Now I want to go have hiking adventures!

    My Life in France by Julia Child has quite literally changed my life. JC is pretty much my hero. Did you know she failed her graduation exam from the Cordon Bleu? And then she didn’t namby pamby around and think, “Oh, I guess I must not be meant to be a chef then, hmm…” Instead she said “Ha! I’ll show them!” retook her test, and then became THE Julia Child. This attitude has helped me overcome a similar setback. Plus she’s absolutely charming.

  151. To Say Nothing of the Dog: or, How we found the Bishop’s bird stump at last
    By Connie Willis

  152. Shantaram. Shantaram. Shantaram.

    Cutting for Stone and The Book Thief are exceptional as well.

    But Shantaram is by far a life changer and the most beautiful and crazy story.

  154. I like the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson (fantasy), Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (mystery) and Ready Player One (sci-fi) by Ernest Cline. Merry Christmas!

  155. Prayer for Owen Meany…wonderful book.
    Any collection of Pat McManus short stories…absurdly funny tales of growing up in Idaho.

  156. Merry Christmas! And I recommend The Alchemist and Veronika Decides to Die by Paolo Coelho (pretty sure that I spelled his name wrong), Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler and Shopgirl by Steve Martin. I reread those books often, sometimes once a year each. Also, Bossypants by Tina Fey and Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton- very funny memoirs by very funny ladies!

  157. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Not something I expected to like, but I bought it to read on the plane on our way to DisneyWorld. It was so good, I ended up waking up at 5 am and sitting in the bathtub to read until everyone else woke up.

  158. The Circle by Dave Eggers. It is absorbing . It took several hours to shake myself loose from it after I read it. I agree about The Night Circus.

  159. OK I haven’t gone through all of the suggestions and I’m sure they’re all excellent highbrow and/or educational reads but sometimes you just need some ménage erotica… so give Hour of The Lion by Cherise Sinclair a try.

    (You’re welcome Victor)

  162. “The Crow Road” by Iain Banks. Probably not as well known in the states as in Britain, but a book everybody should’ve read by the time they’re 25. Starts with the immortal sentence “It was the day my grandmother exploded” and gets better from there.

  164. any of Wally lamb’s books. She’s come undone is my favorite. I also live a tree grows in Brooklyn by Betty smith….

  165. Let’s see, I second Jasper Fforde, Alan Bradley, Terry Pratchett, and Diana Gabaldon. I am loving all the recommendations in these comments and I’m hurriedly taking notes.

    I also recommend “To Say Nothing Of The Dog” by Connie Willis, “Freedom and Necessity” by Steven Brust and Emma Bull, and the most wonderful Ellie Haskell series by Dorothy Cannell, starting with “The Thin Woman”.

  166. Ali and Nino! Lovely book set in picturesque Georgia (the country). I told my mom the basic plot, forgetting to tell her it was Georgia-the-country, and apparently that knowledge makes a difference.

  167. Books… I love books 🙂
    I second those who suggested The Night Circus. I LOVED that book. Also Geraldine Brook’s People of the Book.
    The Red Tent by Anita Diamont is wonderful, The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman was amazing.
    Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
    Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
    Saving Francesca, The Piper’s Son, On the Jellicoe Road and the Luminaire Chronicles by Melina Marchetta.
    The Harp in the South and Poor Man’s Orange by Ruth Park

  168. The third chimpanzee by jared diamond. Best science/anthropology book that is written in a manner that most folks can decipher. Disturbing/interesting discussion on sexual selection in animals and humans. But I am a science nerd.

  169. “Swamplandia” by Karen Russell, “Sandman Slim” by R. Kadrey, “Kind of Cruel” by Sophie Hannah, “Harbor” by J. Lindvquist (sp?)

  170. Evil Plans – Having Fun on the Road to World Domination by Hugh MacLeod

    The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron

  175. I’m adding at least half of the above suggestions to my own reading list.

    The one book I wish I could read again for the first time is “A Spot of Bother” by Mark Haddon. It’s written from the perspective of a man who is losing his mind. The ‘bathroom scene’ in particular was a joy/horror of revulsion/identification where I had to keep putting the book down since I couldn’t see through my tears of laughter/horror. Right up your alley, Jenny.

    If there was a book about a giant metal chicken, I might recommend that too, but I usually go ahead and buy the towels.

  176. Donkeys are used as herd guards for other species of animals- sheep, goats, cows, etc…they have almost no fear and a HUGE protective reflex, and i’ve personally seen a donkey kill a coyote that was attacking a herd of sheep. they will run TOWARDS an attacking animal while the flock runs from it, and they kick, bite, and POUND with their front hooves to injure and kill an attacking predator. it’s a powerful and amazing thing to watch!!!! and guard donkeys are inexpensive as well- better than any other system of protection for a herd! almost a 100% success rate, too! Love me a Longear 🙂

  177. My daughter gave me The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern last year for Christmas. I read it about 2/3 of the way through, and then I started over at the beginning so that I could read it all again without knowing the ending.

    I gave a copy to my older son today.

  179. The Black Count by Tom Reiss, adventure story/history/bio of Alexander Dumas’ (fil) father, pretty much the model for The Count of Monte Cristo and a lot of The Three Musketeers stuff: amazing super-hero-type man, totally loyal to family and country, who eventually gets penalized for being black (and probably because Napoleon was paranoid and sorta jealous). Depends on whether you can get into history/bios 🙂

  180. “One Big Damn Puzzler” by John Harding. it was one of the weirdest (in a good way), laugh out loud funniest books I’ve ever read. Even though it’s fiction, there are elements of truth that I wasn’t aware of. I recommend this to anyone who loves a great story.

  182. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet and follow up novel World Without End (also, obvs,by Ken Follet). Epic, long novels. I reread them routinely.

  183. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
    Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
    Both are wonderful reads.

  185. Oh, and my neighbor has a guard donkey. Whenever someone would come down her driveway, the donkey would go crazy braying. Now it’s her geese that go nuts, the donkey is in the pasture now.

  186. The Walt Longmire mystery books by Craig Johnson. Recommend you read them in order. First one is called The Cold Dish.

  188. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. And, I got your book for Christmas! I’m so excited to start reading it.

  189. My everyone should read list would contain books by Daniel Quinn and Hillary Jordan (“When She Woke” and “Mudbound” are both exceptional!). I also really liked “Code Name Verity,” until I got to the end. Now I’m not sure I can ever forgive the author.

  191. Oh Lordy, I love “It was the day my grandmother exploded”!! What a great resource you’re creating: my Amazon Wishlist has just doubled after going other these comments!

  192. I agree with The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield(?)
    It was well written with a twist at the end.

  193. “Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard” by Eleanor Farjeon, and everything else by her, too.

  195. Cats Are Not Peas, by Laura Gould. Science journalist realizes she has a male calico cat and sets out to find out how that’s possible. Fascinating.

  196. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
    You will LOVE it!!! It’s a post apocalyptic sci-fi that is basically a ginormous geekfest about everything 80’s & 90’s. I’m a bookseller & I read ALOT. This is the first book in years that i reread as soon as I finished it because I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss anything!

  197. Books to read, hmmmm. I’ve become a fan of Robert Heinlein’s lately. I never pictured myself a sci fi reader, but it’s been my go to section at Barnes and Noble for the last couple of months now. “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “Have Spacesuit, Will Travel” are a couple of my favorites. Also “The Accidental Time Machine” by Joe Haldeman. Also sci fi, but it was a really good read, I thought. 🙂

    I’m glad people know you because I got, are you ready for it, another Dillard’s gift card. I could not believe it. I sent my wish list as requested and that was sooooooo not on it. I’m buying a straightening iron because I pixie cut my hair again. I need to be able to make it spiky. I, stupidly, gave away the last one I had because I swore I’d never do this again. Live and learn, I guess. At least my mother-in-law knows me and gave me a Joann’s gift card. Looking forward to buying crafting stuff. Yay! 🙂

  198. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman or really anything by him, he’s such a great writer.
    Going in a different direction I just read ATtempting Normal by Marc Maron, it was a funny, very similar to his show on IFC.
    Let’s go in one more direction! The Scotland St series by Alexander McCall Smith is funny and thoughtful.
    Merry Christmas!

  199. Where’d You Go Bernadette and Eleanor and Park are both must reads. I also really liked the Middle Grade novel called Waiting For Normal. If you’re looking for a series, I think you’d really enjoy Lisa Lutz’ books about the Spellman Family. I think the first one is called The Spellman Files. Laugh out loud dysfunction! I also liked Wild by Cheryl Strayed and the Kitchen House. Enjoy!

  200. Any of these by T. R. Pearson

    A Short History of a Small Place
    Off for the Sweet Hereafter
    The Last of How It Was

  201. ‘The Eight’ by Katherine Neville
    ‘The Belgariad, Parts 1 and 2’ by David Eddings
    ‘Smila’s Sense of Snow’ by Peter Hoag

    All are wonderful reads.

  203. BY FAR, The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, both by Patrick Rothfuss. Hands down my two favorite books for years now. I see other people are reccomending them as well and thats AWESOME!

  204. All Souls Trilogy (Book One: “A Discovery of Witches” / Book Two: ”
    Shadow of Night” / Boom Three (Not yet rekeased)

  205. I second anything by Kazuo Ishiguru. I loved Remains of the Day, but Never Let Me Go was awesome, too. He writes beautifully, though both books are laced with melancholy so if you’re looking for something to pick you up, look elsewhere.

    Robin McKinley is my favorite author and Sunshine is one of my favorite of her novels because 1) it’s an adult novel (most of her writing is YA) and 2) it’s kind of a love story, but also weaves a love of baking into it. Delicious!

    And I desperately want a guard donkey, now.

  206. Geoducks are for lover’s. It’s not life altering or anything, but I enjoyed it and it’s quirky and you’re quirky and I can totally see you reading this book (especially after you google geoducks and see what they are).

    Young female donkey = I already have a jack, now he needs a reason to be useful.

  209. I recommend Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck (@ktidbeck) it may or may not be your thing so check the blurbs, but it’s very well written, very weird stuff that makes you think.

  211. Jenny asked: “What’s one of your favorite books that you think everyone should read?”

    I say: Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus written by then-18-year-old and subsequently published by then-21-year-old Mary Shelley.

    I mean, what can you say about someone who goes on vacation with her family (and Lord Byron no less!!) and while rainstorms permeated their time at Lake Geneva, Italy, spend time telling ghost stories only to be challenged by none other than Lord Byron himself to write the best supernatural tale ever?

    So what does Mary come up with? BAM!! Freakin’ Frankenstein !!!

  212. eleanor and park by rainbow rowell, the fault in our stars by john green, and the language of flowers by vanessa diffenbaugh.

  213. Oooh! There are some GREAT suggestions on this list. You are going to have fun!!

    My top-top faves: The Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace (deceptively simple and beautiful series for young people – read them with your daughter!) and “The Cheerleader” by Ruth Doan MacDougall.

    For some reason, my kids have been quoting your book incessantly this week (I read them my two favorite chapters — Jenkins, and the cat sliding you notes under the bathroom door). Jenny = Christmas in the Chardonnay household, apparently.

    Happy, happy Christmas, dear friend whom I’ve never met!

  214. Lullaby by the guy who wrote Fight Club. Palahniuk? It is a guy who accidentally learns a “culling song” which is a song that ancient cultures would use to sing their sick into the next life. Except it is real and accidentally kills people. And he can’t stop saying it over and over in his head so people just drop like flies around him. It’s hilarious. And dark. And sad. And hilarious all over again.

    I also second The Thirteenth Tale. And the Divergent series, but skip the last one. Have someone who read the third one tell you their own dream alternate third book.

  215. Incendiary or Little Bee by Chris Cleave
    The Positron series by Margaret Atwood
    Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos
    The Painted Sisters by Cathy Marie Buchanan
    City of Women by David R. Gillham

    I could go on and on and on and on….

  216. Normally I recommend Neil Gaiman but I think you’ve heard of him. Have you read anything by Christopher Moore? I read ‘The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror’ every December. It has angels, and zombies, and fruit bats.

  217. Girl with the Dragon Tatoo ALL – Middlesex – Wally Lamb (author) any book by him! – Wool Omnibus – Never Fall Down

  220. Another vote for A Prayer for Owen Meany. Also, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (anything of Moore’s, frankly, but Lamb is laugh out loud funny); The Persian Boy by Mary Renault; The Fortress in the Eye of Time by C. J. Cherryh… damn, a bazillion others. I will stop here. 🙂

  222. Embassytown by China Mieville and Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. Two very different books, both excellent.

  223. Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres. Recently read it and soooo good.

    Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli – that’s also for your daughter. But when I was a teacher my best teacher friend and I read it at the same time and loved it so much.

    Gone Girl if you haven’t already read it.

  224. A non-fiction read I am enjoying now is Far From the Tree. The message for me is that difference unites us.

    Andrew Solomon describes the parent/child search for identity in terms of traits that are vertical (inherited or passed down characteristics like height or religion) and traits that are horizontal (such as deafness in children born of hearing parents or genius born of more typically-minded parents).

    He also explores families’ experiences in which traits like schizophrenia can be either part of horizontal or vertical identity. It is fascinating and compassionate at the same time.

  225. I’m a murder mystery lover, as well as a humor/memoir lover:
    Mystery series that are AMAZING
    Phryne Fisher series by Greenwood
    Maisie Dobbs series by Woodson
    Three Pines mysteries by Louise Penny
    Inspector Rutledge series by Todd
    Deborah Knott series by Maron
    Kate Burkholder series by Costillo

    Humorous Memoirs (You’ve probably read all of these)
    All books by Laurie Notaro
    All books by Jen Lancaster
    ‘Let’s Pretend This Never Happened’

  226. If you want to laugh, anything by Wade Rouse, but “At least in the city someone would hear me scream: misadventures in search of the simple life” made me LOL numerous times. Thanks, I love the book ideas!

  227. How to be a Woman – Catlin Moran
    Thinking Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman (I’m sure I’ve misspelled his name)
    All of the Maisie Dobbs mysteries by Jacqueline Winspear

  228. Um… other than your book? I mean, it’s the book I recommend to everyone. I’m just a boring old archaeologist, so I read a lot of non-fiction, but if you ever want to learn more about history, I can tell you where to start (for people who aren’t so into the traditional history book format) and that’s with just about any Mental Floss book. All of their books are written in a really funny, irreverent way. They’re brutally honest about history. They have one called “Forbidden Knowledge” that I think would be up your alley. It’s also the kind of book you can pick up and put down, because each page is a list of 5-7 things each with their own paragraph, and it’s organized in chapters based on the seven deadly sins. My personal copy is about to fall apart, because it’s kind of my comfort object and I take it with me everywhere.

  229. I think you’d like Michael Ian Black’s You’re Not Doing It Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations

  231. (this will be too long – but you asked about books and I simply have no control at that point) One of my favorites (non-fiction) is ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’ by Daniel Kahneman – simply fantastic. For cats, I am presently enjoying ‘Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet’ by John Bradshaw. Hilary Mantel’s books ‘Wolf Hall’ and ‘Bring Up the Bodies’ are wonderful historical fiction.For Fantasy, anything by Terry Pratchett or ‘Paladin of Souls’ by Lois McMaster Bujold or the ‘Chicks in Chainmail’ series by Ester Friesner. For graphic novels, ‘Maus’ and ‘Maus II’ by Art Spiegelman, ‘Bone’ by Jeff Smith, Persepolis I and II by Marjane Satrapi. For mysteries Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder novels, Reginald Hills Dalziel and Pascoe novels. For romance – ‘Beautiful Bastard’ by Christina Lauren. For children’s books ‘The Westing Game’ et al. by Ellen Raskin, so many by Daniel Manus Pinkwater, ‘By the Great Horn Spoon’ by Sid Fleiscman. Oh fuck, I could go on all day. (Did not mention books that I know that you have already read, i.e. yours, Neal Gaiman, Allie Brosh, Brene Brown, etc.)

  233. Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
    Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
    Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

    Happy Holidays!

  234. Fifthing (? Is that a word) The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

    I also loved the Beautiful Creatures series just because I did.
    The All-Girls Filling Station Reunion by Fannie Flagg
    Tiny, Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed ended up in some stockings. It just speaks.
    Life As We Knew it by Susan Beth Pfieffer
    Anything by Joshilyn Jackson always reads well.

    Merry Christmas Jenny = thank you for affirming for me that depression LIES and making me laugh hysterically and share your posts where ever I can. I hope for the most blessed of New Year’s for you, Victor, your beautiful offspring and – off course – the cats. And my favorite Bearturm. Much love!

  235. Just read The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer (twice – kept it and paid an unnecessary overdue fine, but I digress…). Obviously, I loved it!

    One of my all-time favorite books is A Room With a View by E.M. Forster. When you’re done you can watch the movie, starring Helena Bonham-Carter, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Julian Sands (among others). It’s a wonderful adaptation, if you haven’t seen it. It’s on Netflix :). You get to see Julian Sands’ cute tushie.

    You’re welcome!

  236. If you haven’t encountered it yet, The Unlikely Ones by Mary Brown. Though it’s target readership might be considered young adult I’ve enjoyed it just as much since “growing up”.

  237. Lamb by Christopher Moore. My favorite book ever. Amazingly funny and totally up your alley.

  238. The Night Circus (beautiful imagery), Mr. Penumbra’s 24 hour Bookstore (made me happy) and also The Good Thief. Three very well written books that left me wanting to read them over and over.

  239. Nation” by Terry Pratchett.
    I feel like you’ve probably read Neil Gaiman and Christopher Moore, so this is one that everyone over 12 or so should read. Yes, it is funny ( Pratchett wrote it, so that should go without saying) but it also is a look at what it means to be a society and in the end gives me hope. A good balance to the insanity part of the holidays, and your daughter could read it too.

  240. One that I just read recently which was very good, although somewhat unconventional, was “Me Before You”. It was definitely different – and touching – and one of those books you keep thinking about long after you finished reading it.

    And can I say I hope you survived the holidays with your usual style and humor and I’m really glad you posted this, since I just got some Amazon gift certificates for Christmas. I’m now going to go through everyone’s recommendations and start downloading!

  241. How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship, and Musical Theater, by Marc Acito! Spectacularly hilarious!

    And another vote for Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. Amazing historical fiction.
    Also, Follet’s 20th Century trology- Fall of Giants and Winter of the World…….. The last part comes out September 2014.

  242. Also, I agree with those recommending Where’d You Go, Bernadette? and the Barbara Kingsolver recommendations so far – love love love her work. Happy reading!

  243. I’ll always recommend Good Omens – love that book – but here are a few more:

    The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams
    The Thief Taker (a great work of historical fiction) by Janet Gleeson
    and
    Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold

    Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

  244. I’d suggest “Oh Myyy” by George Takei. Just as funny to me as you are but not as motivational. Maybe he can make you laugh once in awhile.

  245. I third Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Just loved it! It’s like a love letter to *loving* something, to being a fan, to fan fiction. The main character is a fan of a series of books, writes fic, goes to college, has trials and tribulations, social anxieties, a quirky parent and more. There is a story within the story.

    I’d also like to rec all Dick Francis’ books, if you like crime/mystery/drama, of which there were about 30 before he passed away. Francis was a jockey, and each book includes some aspect of the equine world (there are characters who are jockeys, trainers, who own horse transports etc etc). Each book is a mystery, with some crime uncovered, and the main character always goes through some testing times. There is also always some other profession or knowledge base woven into the story, from the wine trade, to art, to much more. I learned stuff reading his books, there are wonderful details throughout. Word is his wife (Mary?) helped vastly with the research (sadly she passed away, too), and the quality shows.

    Sorry, I’ve just rambled on rather a lot!!

  247. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessel
    House of Leaves by Mark Danieleweski
    anything by Jo Nesbo if you like crime novels

  248. The Monsters of Templeton IS terrific, kudos to the poster who thought of that one. This year, I really enjoyed The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope by Rhonda Riley, and a non-fiction favorite was Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell JR. The second one is about a hermit heiress who only died a few years ago.

  249. The Night Circus. And The Shadow of the Wind. Neither are really new per se but I love them.

  250. Now I want a donkey. Husband won’t let me have one. He also wouldn’t let me get any baby pygmy goats, which are the most precious things in the world. Something about the homeowners association. Whatever.

    Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. One of my favorite books of all time. I’ve read everything Terry Pratchett has written, except for last week’s grocery list. I recommend all of them, except for Small Gods; loved the talking turtle, but hated the torture scenes.

    Also: anything by Cory Doctorow, Connie Willis, Christopher Moore.

  251. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. It’s in the public domain, so you can probably find a free version online, but I like paying money for the hard copy when I find myself in need of a new one (I tend to hand it out a lot).

  252. Medicine Road by Charles DeLint
    The year I discovered this book, I ended up buying copies for almost everyone that Christmas.

  254. Some of my oldies but goodies; you may have read them all:
    The Accidental Tourist
    The Once and Future King
    A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
    Palace Walk
    East of Eden

  256. The Fault in Our Stars – Green
    Tell the Wolves I’m Home – Brunt
    This is Where I Leave You – Tropper
    Lamb – Christopher Moore
    The Storyteller – Jodi Picoult

  257. Malcom Gladwell- Not Novels but fantastic social anthropology. Reads like a novel.
    His latest is called David and Goliath. It is about how Underdogs came to be such large influences in society. I think EVERYONE should read this book.

  259. Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. It’s non-fiction and fascinating yet not a tough read , plus it’s fun to read in public places where people might annoy you!

  261. Merry Christmas! China Mieville’s The City and the City.
    PS- don’t know if anyone has said this yet, but want to go through the comments with a pen and make notes 🙂

  265. I second Charles de Lint. Anything, really. My favorites are the Newford stories, though.

  269. The Chalion trilogy by Lois McMaster Bujold–the heroine of the second book is particularly awesome.

  271. The Fault in Our Stars made me cry the ugly cry, but so worth it.
    Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was a great read, and I just noticed Book 2 Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children is available for pre-order.
    Of course YOUR book is among my favorites!

  276. Lamb (or just about anything) by Christopher Moore. I think he has a sense of humor that you would appreciate.

  282. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
    Assassination Vacation, by Sarah Vowell
    The Sot-Weed Factor, by John Barth

  283. Geek Love. It’s about circus geeks, not nerdy geeks. It’s also about family.

  284. Guardians of being by Eckhardt Tolle. With nice illustrations and any dog/cat owner will get the full meaning…

  285. The Children’s Hospital

    Geek Love

    The Raw Shark Texts

    The Book Thief

    (in no particular order)

  286. Pulitzer prize winner Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty…so much better than the mini series. Shocker.
    The Girls by Lori Lansens a diary written in turn by conjoined twins
    Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildner a memoir
    A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel a memoir about growing up in a town of 300ish people

  287. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. It’s one of the only books I regularly gift to the important females in my life and I read it at least once a year.

  289. Just read ALL the books. Because they are all amazing and that’s my plan and it seems to be working out so far if you like being alone and not having a job and drinking tea!

    Recently of what I have read I THINK my favorites are:
    The Ocean at the End of the Lane
    Orphan Train
    The Glass Castle

    and I just realized that if I continued that list would never stop because I would literally just keep listing SO MANY BOOKS because I love all of them and I want reading to be my job! GAH (I’m a nerd, whatev)

  290. *Books that are totally awesome* besides yours

    THE NIGHT CIRCUS – erin morganstern its magical!
    Whores on the Hill – Colleen Curran soooo good!
    White Oleander – Janet Fitch
    She’s Come Undone – Wally Lamb
    Summer Sisters – Judy Bloom
    Uglies/Pretties/Specials/Extras – Scott Westerfield
    Invisible Monsters – Chuck Palahnuk
    The bitch Posse – Martha O’connor

  291. That’s it! I’m going to stop begging my husband to get a dog and start angling for a guard donkey! Preferably nice and female, of course.

    As for books, I second (or third) ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ and ‘Where’d You Go Bernadette.’ I’d also add ‘Leaving Tinkertown’ by Tanya Ward Goodman (I think you’d love this one!), ‘Middlesex’ by Jeffrey Eugenides if you haven’t read it yet, ‘The World Without Us’ by Alan Weisman (nonfiction, super trippy), ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Kazuo Ishiguro, ‘Bel Canto’ by Ann Patchett and reread ‘Lolita’ (so damn funny!). Enjoy!

  292. Selling the Fountain of Youth
    How the Anti-aging Industry Made A Disease Out of Getting Old–and Made Billions
    Weintraub, Arlene

  293. Selling the Fountain of Youth
    How the Anti-aging Industry Made A Disease Out of Getting Old–and Made Billions
    Weintraub, Arlene

  294. I got an amazon gift card and the FIRST THING I did was to order your book finally! Also Allie Brosh’s! I can’t wait to get them!

    Now I’m going to read back through all these and add to my wish list! LOL

  297. I got “Hyperbole and a Half” this morning and snarfed it down like a metabolically challenged kid with cake.
    I saw your quote on the back and I said, “Hey, I ‘know’ her!” and I used air quotes and then punched myself in the throat. That’s not at easy as it sounds.

  298. Okay, two books:
    1) Grrrl power fantasy that turned me on to so many new ideas. Newbery Award winner, good to read with Haleigh: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley.
    b) Okay, I lied, not really a book so much as it is a series of books that have been re-packaged into companion volumes that is a master opus of awesome. Lois McMaster Bujold’s Miles Vorkosigan series. Cordelia’s Honor follows the main characters mom & dad meeting/his arrival on the planet. Young Miles is a re-publication of two novels with a novella in between in story-chronological order. Miles Vorkosigan is a dwarf with brittle bones, as a result of a toxic gas attack on his father. Who happens to be the Lord Regent for the Emperor of Barryar, a highly militaristic society just coming out of a time of isolation after being nuked back to the stone age by their arch enemies, the Cegagandans. Miles is being groomed for a bright political future, but just doesn’t realize it and wants to measure himself by the same stick as every other perfectly rugged military recruit. He thinks he’s 10 feet tall and bullet proof and shoots off his mouth without thinking and fakes it until he makes it, but manages to get himself into a hell of a lot of entertaining trouble while he’s at it. High space opera + mystery + brilliant character development and subtle touches of Earth-That-Was, all rolled together by a kind, funny, incredibly talented writer. If I had to take one set of books with me to a deserted island, THAT would be the series.

  299. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch- by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

  300. In line with the spirit of your post, I recommend Agent to the Stars, by John Scalzi. It’s the story of an alien blob that comes to earth and recruits an agent to introduce him to humans. A fun and light-hearted read.

  301. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente. Read it with Hailey–you’ll both adore it (I don’t know anyone yet who hasn’t loved it, and the audience I’ve talked to range in ages from 8-60).

  302. The best book I read this year is Carol Rifka Brunt’s “Tell the Wolves I’m Home”. But don’t read it without a box of tissues!!! It was a great book. (Your book was #2 on my list for making me laugh so hard!) Also any book by Marisa de los Santos–her writing is rich and poetic and touching. Ann Patchett’s “Patron Saint of Liars” was one of her best. And if you are into inspirational type books, Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild” set me to thinking about pushing my limits and opportunities lost. If you like mysteries, Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley series. Have to love Havers! I’ve read them all except her latest which I’ve yet to start. I like books that tweak (NOT twerk!) my emotions one way or the other, and are written with warmth of the human spirit.

  304. Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files” books. Very witty and engaging writing. I believe there’s eight books in the series. The first few are a bit repetitious w/the facts but the story lines are great…and they build as they go, to become more interwoven. However, not as interwoven and intricate as George R.R. Martins “The Game of Thrones” books. At least Butcher doesn’t kill off your favorite character two chapters in.

  306. The Story of O by Pauline Reage. although I think that’s a pen name.

    It’s a light-hearted romantic novel.

  307. Books for EVERYONE:

    Let the Great World Spin – Colum McCann (good ole literary fiction)
    Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein (but i suspect you may have already read this one)
    The Good Fairies of New York – Mark Millar (Fairies as in like Tinkerbell not like gay men. Also these fairies start off with puking in your shoes because they are hungover)

  308. Have you read Diary of Opal Whitely? While there’s some question as to whether it’s true or not, the story continues to fascinate me and the phrasing and imagery involved might appeal to you.

  310. Christopher Moore!!! Lamb, A Dirty Job, or every Christmas I read The Stupidest Angel 🙂

  314. Wow, so many great books! Respect to Lamb, Gabaldon, Pratchett, and many more.

    I received an awesome book that I haven’t even opened yet, but think it is a must read for mystery lovers. Plus, one author lives here in Austin and the other is J.J. Abrams. Nuff said. I cannot begin to describe the plot, but the book comes in a box, has two readers leaving notes to each other in the margins, and comes with items between the pages to help solve the mystery. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=la_B00EPGROHC_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388027130&sr=1-1

    I now return to my depression/anxiety/agoraphobic avoidance of the outside world. 🙂

  316. Every year in January, I read, or reread, exclusively end of the world books: Alas, Babylon, Long Voyage Back, Day of the Triffids, Lucifer’s Hammer, The Postman . . . . It makes January in Michigan seem not so bad. Just an idea.

  319. Anything by Elizabeth Hunter. She writes fantastic paranormal series. Diana Gabaldons Outlander series is huge but one of my favorites. Wade Rouse, Jen Lancaster, or Christopher Moore.

  320. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It’s got vampires AND witches and gets pretty steamy in some parts.

  322. Oh, I second so many of these and am now intrigued about so many more! Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude is a masterpiece.

    I’ll add an oldie-but-goodie that I have read many many times: For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. If your only exposure to Hemingway was being forced to read Old Man and the Sea in school, you are missing out.

  323. Most recently, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion–funny, tender love story with a unique and engaging narrator.

    Thank you to Mandy for mentioning Pioneer, Go Home! by Richard Powell. I had never heard of the book, but googling revealed that this is the same Richard Powell who wrote one of my and my husband’s all time favorite novels, Don Quixote, USA. A truly hilarious take on the ugly American/naive tourist. A couple of years ago I found an intact though yellowy used copy of the paperback to replace my husband’s falling apart copy. He was a very happy camper. I look forward to tracking down Pioneer…

  325. Pillars of the Earth is great, and so is Joseph Conrad’s book Heart of Darkness. Also Adriana Trigiani’s book Big Stone Gap. And your book was also great, as is Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half. Oops, that’s more than one.

  327. Rainbow Rowell has really great books. Eleanor and Park and Fangirl were amazing.

    Anything by Chuck Klosterman is really fun to read. I loved his new book, I Wear the Black Hat.

  328. You probably have been told this already, but donkeys will kick a bitch ass coyote in the face. They areawesome guard animals.

    Book: Good Omens. Gaiman AND Pratchett. It’s my absolute favorite.

    Other options include…. you know what? Good Omens is the only book I can think of and you’re very likely up to your eyeballs in book recs anyway. 😀

    Happy holidays. Just remember, when you’re feeling down, somewhere in the world I exist. And if that doesn’t put a smile on your face, well. Chocolate also exists and there’s free porn on the internet?

  329. A confederate of dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Shaun Tan’s Outer Suburbia and Garmann’s Summer by Stian Hole.

  330. My whole family had a violent stomach flu (one at a time) and it finally hit me tonight. Good thing I at mostly Christmas cookies all day knowing I would likely toss them later. In between heaves, I remember some of my favorite books I read this year…and couldn’t stop thinking about.
    -The Sea of Tranquility by Katya Millay. Heartbreakingly beautiful. Best last line
    -Wonder by R.J. Pallacio. My son’s entire middle school was required to read this book over the summer and he thought the parents should too.
    -Divergent series. Couldn’t stop reading.
    -The House on Tradd Street by Karen White. Great ghost story
    -The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.
    -Hopeless by Colleen Hoover (also loved Slammed and Point of Retreat)
    -Garden Spells and all Sarah Addison Allen books.
    -The Kitchen House. Such an amazing story.
    That’s all I can remember in between heaves.

  332. You’ve seen the movie, but until you read The Princess Bride by William Goldman, you don’t know the real story.

  333. My favorite book ever is the Phantom Tollbooth. And I’m reading a new book called the Good Mother Myth, a collection of essays, I think you’d like it.

  334. 3rd vote for Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (and I think I’m in love with Anouk who picked it first!).
    Anything by Ann Tyler, John Irving, Bernice Rubens, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman.
    Also try Moab is my Washpot by the wonderful Stephen Fry, The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson, The Other Hand by Chris Cleave…maybe I should just send the last 10 years of my book clubs’ selections!

  335. The Red Tent is better than Pillars of the Earth which is very, very good. East of Eden because birth defects can be mental too.

    Pain-in-the-A donkeys keep preditors away from livestock, but probably you know that by now.

  336. If someone already recommended, ignore this post, but a book I truly loved was Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton. Loved it.

  337. i have no idea what you enjoy reading so i will suggest a few:

    ‘mrs peregrine’s home for exceptional children’ is what i am reading now and really enjoying it.
    the real and not ‘movie tie-in’ text of ‘under the tuscan sun’ is just a fun read, with recipes! (i did not enjoy the movie but the book was fabulous!)
    ‘the flame trees of thika’ – by elspeth huxley.
    ‘the secret life of bees’ – older and you’ve probably read already if it interested you.
    ‘operating instructions’ by anne lamott.
    ‘feast day of fools’ by james lee burke.
    ‘the bad mother’ by ayelet waldman.
    ‘poisonwood bible’ by barbara kingsolver.

    i will stop now…(you’re welcome!)

  341. The Golem and The Jinni by Helen Wecker, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norris by Susannah Clarke, Song of The Vikings -can’t remember the author, I am also reading Perdido Street Station by China Mie’ville and it’s pretty fucking awesome. Oh and the Book of Lost Things by Jon Connoly was one of my favorites last year. And Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link and The Coldest Girl In Coldtown by Holly Black was great. Did you read Ocean At The End Of The Lane? Of course you did..Ok I’ll stop now-happy book shopping..And Merry Christmas-

  342. 1. Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
    2. The Circus of Dr. Lao, by Charles G. Finney
    3. The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet, which has sequels that I do not recommend only because I never did read them.

  343. I would suggest Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh, but you’ve clearly already read it since you have a blip on the cover. A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon was great. Also I would recommend The Hitchhiker’ s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.

  345. I highly recommend “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened” by Jenny Lawson…maybe you’ve heard of it?

    Also, “A Dog’s Purpose” by W. Bruce Cameron. You don’t have to be a dog lover to love this book.

  346. Its a kid book..but worth the read..the miraculous journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Decamillo. Beautifully written and moving

  347. You’ll never make it this far down the list, but “Le Ton Beau de Marot” by Douglas Hofstadter. It made my head grow three sizes, and left me weeping like a baby.

  348. The Last Supper Catering Company by Michaelene McEvoy. Reading is my vice. I read a LOT. This is my favorite book of the last ten years. This is sweet, quirky, funny, sad, true, but odd. I just love McEvoy’s voice. Read this book. It will make you happy. I am not using hyperbole. This is peace and joy between two covers.

    My second favorite of the last ten years would probably be Cleaning Nabokov’s House: A Novel, by Leslie Daniels. I was hooked by this terrific first sentence, “I knew I could stay in this town when I found the blue enamel pot floating in the lake.” This book is an odd but marvelous mashup of literary fiction/chick lit–as if Elizabeth Berg and Jennifer Crusie were stuck in the same body and used their time wisely.

    My favorite novel(s) of ALL time are Outlander (and subsequent) by Diana Gabaldon. Not having read previous comments tonight, I imagine these are already on the list and you don’t need commentary. I adore just every little detail of these books, and so does everyone I’ve passed them on to. My mother says they’re so well written, they make other authors seem as if they’re only practicing. Every time Gabaldon publishes a new one, my daughter starts at the beginning and reads them all through before starting the latest one, just to prolong the pleasure. While re-reading them during a painful divorce (she would say “I’m going to visit Jamie and Claire now”) she proclaimed, “I’ve decided. I am never going to marry again. Unless I can marry Jamie Fraser.” (She did. Her husband is a 6′ 4″ red haired gentleman).

    Enjoy your splurge! Merry Christmas

  350. I would recommend Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh, but since your blurb is on it, I know you already read it. This is my favorite book of the year and made me laugh until I cry. And cry until I laughed. I read it over and over and when my son wanted to borrow it, I almost made him sign an affideant swearing he would bring it back.

    I can also recommend all of Chelsea Handler books. I’m reading Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang. It makes me laugh and makes me say, “I thought I was the only one who did that!” It’s awesome.

    Merry Christmas! Thanks for being my hero and inspiration. 🙂

  351. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I’ve loved the movie since I was five and the book since I was fourteen. It would be wonderful to share with your daughter, as well.

  352. I agree with so many of these! Anything by Terry Pratchett; the Dortmunder books by Donald Westlake; A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving; The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern; A Wrinkle in Time/A Wind in the Door/A Swiftly Tilting Planet and all of the Austins books by Madeleine L’Engle; Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks; Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli; Th Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein; and *cough* mine, because as Sara (above) said, if you don’t toot your own horn, who will? Let the Dogs Speak! Puppies in Training Tell the Story of Canine Companions for Independence.

  353. The End of Mr Y. By Scarlett Thomas. But you might disappear after reading it so never mind.

  354. I liked the ad below Kara’s, in which the poster is looking for good, dependable tires for mother. Reminds me of the saying, “If my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a trolley.” As to books, the best I have read is The Time Traveler’s Wife. SOO much better than the movie.

  355. I’m not reading the other comments – too many of them – so I apologize if this has been mentioned

    John Crowley’s masterwork “Little, Big”. Mysterious, unearthly, strange yet familiar, haunting in its ability to make me read it at least twice a year since it was first published more than 25 years ago.

  358. You must read The Sparrow by Mary Dorua Russell and the sequel Children if God. Best books ever. Jesuits in outer space. I know it sounds weird but truly amazing reads.

  359. Spud–John Van de Ruit (hysterical!!! yet sweet and moving too)
    Crimes by Moonlight–Charlaine Harris (ed) (creepy, spooky, darkly funny short stories)
    The Stupidest Angel–Christopher Moore (may make you snort whatever you’re drinking out your nose)
    Ghost Soldiers–Hampton Sides (harrowing, moving, true)
    The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir–Bill Bryson (bits will make you pee yourself laughing)
    The Red Scream–Mary Willis Walker (awesome mystery, TX writer)
    The Sculptress–Ruth Rendell (may make you pee yourself from creepedoutness)

    hope you find one of these worth your while. I read A LOT and I read just about anything except grocery store romance novels (bodice rippers) even though I’ve read some of those too. I could’ve listed a bunch more, but it looks like you’ve got plenty to research as is. merry, merry!

  361. My vote is for either The Night Circus or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to re-read them again.

  363. Merry Christmas!

    I think my favorite single book is Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay. But I also highly recommend Cordelia’s Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold (and the whole rest of the Vorkosigan series). –m

  364. My friend got me Hyperbole and a Half for Christmas without even realising how much I wanted it this Christmas, so I’m counting that as a miracle.
    I know you read a lot so it is rather daunting to come up with a book that you haven’t probably read and should.
    So I’m just going to say A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez…it’s a different kind of magical <3

  365. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. Definitely our level of weirdness. Even has Pan. You’ll love it. Guaranteed or your money back! ???

  367. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.
    And/or The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Probably the second- it would appeal to the red dress tightrope walker in you! 🙂

  368. The best book I have read in a three year, illness-induced reading spree is Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s book “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating.” Gorgeously, compassionately written story of her encounter with a wild snail during the early period of her own catastrophic disease. After reading this book, I will never look at a snail the same way again.

  369. Winters Tale by Mark Helprin is a beautiful, poignant, soaring story of hope and fierce joy and adventure.

    One for the morning glory by John Barnes fantastic cynical fiction looking fun at adventure fiction while being…adventure fiction. Lovely 🙂

    Caitlin Moran’s How to be a woman is hilarious and honest

  370. I am a mystery fan and this year I’ve especially enjoyed “The Cuckoo’s Calling”. Another writer I recommend is Louise Penny.

    I like Sci-Fi as well and I stumbled upon a quirky sci-fi mystery called “The Last Policeman” by Ben H. Winter as a Kindle ebook and it was a great find!! Another good sci-fi was “The Dog Stars”.

    I love Amy Tan and my favorite of hers is “The Kitchen God’s Wife”.

    To other folks, I’ve been recommending YOUR book!!

  373. “Possession,” by A. S. Byatt.
    Seriously though, “A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Re-Examined As a Grotesque, Crippling Disease and Other Cultural Revelations,” by Cintra Wilson.

    Now I want a guard donkey.

  374. Have you read the Night Circus? Because, oh my god THE NIGHT CIRCUS! And Bossypants, but I’m SURE you’ve read that 😉

  375. Any (or all) of Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael books: Ishmael, The Story of B, and My Ishmael. I have read the first 104 pages of My Ishmael ten or more times.
    A long time ago I really enjoyed reading Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin, (not Halperin, he’s a douche-nozzle).
    Also, you could get My Side of the Mountain by Jean George for Hailey, because every kid should read that book.
    My friend Briana was curious about the guard donkey, so I asked her if we hadn’t seen a video of a donkey killing a mountain lion, but she said no, that was a mule. Apparently that makes a big difference?

  376. Night Flim, The All Girls Filling Station Reunion (it will make you feel good), I was disappointed by the New Wally Lamb and Diane Sutterfield.

  377. Alive Munroe. Anything by her. She’s Canadian, so am I. You’ll love her. Oh and World War Z. It’s essential, and awesome.

  379. Fiction – Anything by Seanan Mcguire/Mira Grant 🙂 She has the best twisted sense of humor.

    Non-fic – Either The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean, or Made in America by Bill Bryson

  380. With a greater understanding of the world mythologies all other stories are better. So you should get this book:
    Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology.

  381. *denotes the most interesting books I’ve read in 2013. The others are a little older.

    Funny:
    Anything by Sarah Vowell, David Sedaris, David Rakoff, Nick Hornby, Jonathan Ames, Jon Ronson, Mary Roach.
    Charlie Stross’ Laundry Files series: The Atrocity Archives , The Jennifer Morgue, The Fuller Memorandum , The Apocalypse Codex. It’s a cross between Lovecraft, James Bond and The Office.
    Attack of the Theater People, by Marc Acito.

    Sweet and sad:
    Anything by Garth Stein.
    *The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa.
    The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon.

    Strange and unusual:
    Anything by Octavia Butler, Peter S. Beagle.
    *Unpossible and Other Stories, by Daryl Gregory

    Interesting and sometimes disturbingly prophetic:
    Jennifer Government, by Max Barry
    Machine Man, by Max Barry
    *The Postmortal, by Drew Magary
    The Last Policeman, by Ben Winters
    The Silo Saga trilogy, by Hugh Howley: Wool, Shift, and Dust
    Super Sad True Love Story, by Gary Shteyngart

  382. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan is an absolute must for book lovers.

    The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – be ready to read for long stretches – you don’t want to leave the book’s world while you’re reading this.

    The Time Traveller’s Wife – always good for a therapeutic cry (speaking of which – how much did you cry at the end of the Christmas Special tonight???)

    As always – everything ever published by Mr. Gaiman including the graphic novels and anything by Terry Prachett – if you’ve read them read them again.

    Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

  383. So many to choose from… Hellspark by Janet Kagen. Hob’s Bargain by Patricia Briggs. Cordelia’s Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Sunshine by Robin McKinley.

  385. Merry Christmas! City of Thieves by David Benoit. A bookseller recommended it & said a word is not wasted in the book. He was right! (The author is one of the writers for Game of Thrones now.)

  386. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
    Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh (you’ve read this already, yes?)
    Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

    The above books are all fantastic and cleverly written. Also, they made me laugh loudly in public.

  390. Zoobiquity by Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers! It talks about illness and diseases that are widespread throughout the human-and-other-animal kingdom, from diabetes and heart attacks to self-injury, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and eating disorders.

    It’s a great insight into our minds as animals. It makes me feel better to know that other animals struggle with behaviors that humans think are singular to us.

  391. I really enjoyed “Let’s pretend this never happened”. 🙂 Also, my holiday pick is definitely “Alice in Tumblr-land”.

  392. Amish Vampires in Space.

    Because… it’s called Amish Vampires in Space, and it exists.

  393. Happy holidaze. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris is what I just gifted to introduce someone to his writings. And Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was how I was introduced to him. But maybe you have and this is a throw away suggestion…Craig Ferguson wrote an autobiographical something whose title I can’t recall and am apparently being too lazy to look up. I just started that one and it’s very entertaining thus far.

  394. Anything by Laurie notaro, I’ve only read her first 3 books but now after looking her up I realize its been forever since I got lost reading a book all day. I think I have to go to a bookstore or Amazon asap!

  395. Anything by Mary Roach – if you haven’t read her, I just have a feeling you’ll find a kindred spirit.

  396. I just needed you to know that I really needed to hear that thing about the holidays being weird and hard for everyone. Like, you have no idea how much I needed to hear that tonight.

    Books:
    I’m sure you know about Ender’s Game, but just in case you haven’t read it, here’s a plug- I liked it as a kid because I felt different from everyone else, just like Ender. He made me feel better. Also, sci-fi and explosions.

    I’ve been listening to a lot of audio books by Brene Brown lately. She’s effing fantastic. The Power of Vulnerability is my favorite so far.

    Happy Christmas!

  398. I’ve decided to dive into some of the classics in 2014. C.S. Lewis, H.G. Wells, Harper Lee, Jane Austin, and there are many popular books on the “banned and challenged” list that I want to read.

  400. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
    The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess
    Charmed City: thirteen tales of the strange and peculiar and obscure in Baltimore by Michelle D. Sonnier

  401. If you have not read Lidia Yuknavitch’s _The Chronology of Water_ I think that you would love it. Like you, specifically. I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone. It’s a memoir told in gorgeous, lyrical prose. It’s wrenching, it’s weirdly organized, it’s unexpected and unique. I highly recommend it.

  402. all of Lily Prior’s books..(Nectar, Ardor, La Cucina, Cabaret)..they are zany, fantastical, and absolutely HILARIOUS

  403. Anything by Tiffanie DeBartolo (especially God-Shaped Hole).
    Anything by Emily Giffin.
    Anything by Sarah Addison Allen.

  404. I just finished reading “A Series of Unfortunate Events” for the second time. Either that, or one of the Tempe Brennan novels, you pick.

  405. I too have a problem with books. I’ve read over 100 this year alone on my kindle (not counting all the real old fashioned books that I read as well!) Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follett was AMAZE-BALLZ. I just finished reading it last week. Also, on the plus side…after you read the book, there are also an 8 episode series to watch, and even another book that takes place like 100 years after the first one (also with it’s very own 8 episode series in case you just can’t get enough). Check it out. Amazon gave it killer reviews.

    Happy Reading!

  406. A few of my favourites (so hard to keep the list short!):

    The Earthsea Quartet (series) – Ursula Le Guin
    The Baroque Cycle (series) – Neal Stephenson
    Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
    Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
    The Line of Beauty – Alan Hollinghurst
    Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
    Essays in Love – Alain De Botton

    Happy reading 🙂

  409. OMG I can’at believe I didn’t suggest these first. I’m aging and my brain is getting mushy. Although, I would bet you’ve read them

    Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea Time Of The Soul – Douglas Adams

  410. “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. Just finished it (my hair stylist loaned it to me) and wished there were another one-hundred pages!

  413. Louise hay – you can heal your life
    Ekhart tolle – a new earth

    Saved my life after cancer diagnosis – no shit!

    So did “daring greatly” but you probably already have that one.

  414. The 13th Tale was really good. Also the Emily of New Moon series, by LM Montgomery.
    Someone to Run With by David Grossman was also lovely.

  416. John Kennedy Toole, “A Confederacy of Dunces”. Grove Press, NY. ISBN 978-0-8021-3020-4. My best beloved bought it for me for Christmas and I haven’t stopped laughing since.

  418. Anything by Christopher Moore is AMAZING. I recommend Lamb, A Dirty Job, Fool, or the Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.

  419. Well I started out with 12, but got it down to 5. And I’ve added a bunch of stuff to my to read list thanks to all the other commenters 🙂

    The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
    Wild by Cheryl Strayed
    Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis
    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
    Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine

  420. John Dies At The End by David Wong. The most horrifyingly funny book I’ve ever read though its sequel This Book Is Full Of Spiders is a close second.

  421. What books on a gift certificate? That’s kind of a no brainer. Well, first, it depends on what you like. In theory. Plan out a good list. Make it worthy of prying eyes. Include Jane Eyre, Daniel Quinn, Vonnegut, Ken Follett, etc. Keep it heavy so that people will whisper “Oh, she’s so deep…so smart. I want to know her!” After leaving the list out for all to see for a few days, pocket it and NEVER look at it again. Take a friend with you to the book store. Enter giggling and with a plan. And hit the naughty section. Just hear me out. The good shit will always be there to hug you later, but the dirty shit will make you spit tea out of your nose. And since this is free money, use it for sin! How often does this happen? Exactly!

    Seriously, though, there’s a lot of good erotica and fun light crap out there (and I’m not just saying that because I write that stuff…OK, well, maybe that’s ONE reason I’m saying that), so go wild. Get things you wouldn’t necessarily with your own money. You might find unexpected inspiration. And most importantly, HAVE FUN WITH IT!

  422. Ready Player One. If you’re into audiobooks, your paper collating pal Wil Wheaton narrates the audiobook which makes it even more awesome.

  424. oh my gosh, 100% agree on Outlander by Diana Gabaldon but also Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati

  425. I think everyone should read One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It’s very different than the movie because it is written from the Chief’s (altered) point of view. It taught me a lot about the pressure to conform.

  426. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell. Some of the most gorgeous writing ever. Japan and Dutch trading.

    Anything by Ursula K Leguin but especially The Left Hand of Darkness.

    The Seamstress, by Frances de Pontes Peebles. Brazil as it becomes modern

  427. Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is absolutely my favorite series. Love, history, and everything in between.
    Wonder by RJ Palacio is a terrific book that will make you feel “normal” and loved. Your daughter will also love it. A great read to share mother to daughter.

  429. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is probably the best book I’ve read, and one of the few books I’ve read more than once. Get it!

  430. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova – I have read it a dozen times
    Anything Terry Pratchett – good for post- holiday blues
    I am currently reading lots of Shirley Jackson. Her writing is so rich, you can roll around in it, like snow.

  431. About 2/3 of the way through “Ahab’s Wife” and I dearly love it. Life in a lighthouse, sea-farin’ adventure, clever gal in mid 19th C Nantucket…It’s lovely.

    But for all-time wonderfulness, “Johnathon Strange and Mr. Norrell” by Susannah Clarke. Set in an Edwardian England in which magic had once been real, had disappeared, and is beginning to re-emerge. It’s gorgeous and has stayed with me for years.

  434. You MUST read Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (if you haven’t already) and I’d also recommend My Enemy’s Cradle by Sara Young.

  435. I always recommend “If you lived here, I’d know your name” by Heather Lende. She moved to Alaska and wrote for the local newspaper. Excellent essays on life in small-town Alaska.

  439. Another vote for The Thirteenth Tale. I always read anything written by Lisa Genova or Sarah Addison Allen. Also, the book that scared the hell out of me this year: Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes. Jen Lancaster is funny…..

  440. I came here straight away from my feed to post that you absolutely MUST read “Eleanor & Park” by Rainbow Rowell, and the first commenter had posted it. That’s excellent. Really, it is such a gorgeous book. I ate it up.

  441. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. It won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for a Hugo. It is a fantasy book and without a doubt my favourite book of all time.

    The Curse of Chalion is about a man who has lost everything, who believes his life is a failure, and, at the book’s opening, has been through a huge and terrible trauma. But the book is not about the trauma, but what happens to him after that. It’s fantasy, and she’s created a beautiful and amazing world -including a 5-god/dess theology-, a world where there are people who are corrupted and greedy, as well as those who are honourable and good. And those between the two, of course.

    In the end, it is not only about what the characters – and she creates relatable people who you may recognize from your own life, or from your mirror – but it is not just about what the characters go through, but also powerful questions about why we’re here, whether our lives are fated or not, if there is such a thing as redemption. And the reason it is my favourite book: it is about whether or not there is life after something so difficult has happened that you shouldn’t have survived it, but somehow did. It is about making choices, too, on how we move through the world and what sort of person we decide to be. And how we choose to survive the unsurvivable.

    It is my go-to book when the world is cruel, as it frequently is, and I need a place where I can be reminded that there is also good along with cruelty and that someone (Lois McMaster Bujold) was a good enough person with enough depth of character to write this book.

    And it reminds me that there are ways to face the bad that happens in the world and to me and still remain true to who one is.

    And lest I’m putting too much on this book, I will say it’s just a good story. It’s not preachy or filled with messages. The plot and writing are excellent and sweep me off to Chalion and the people who live there.

  442. Well, I’m about set for life with this list, so thank you and everyone who made a suggestion. My own gift certificates are spent about a thousand times over, and I couldn’t be happier.

    As much as I love everything Neil Gaiman, my absolute favorite author is Charles de Lint. I always recommend “Someplace to be Flying” as an excellent place to start — animal people, Celtic mythology, the best made-up location in the universe, real characters with human problems as well as dealing with magic — it has everything. I’ve read it about a dozen times.

  443. St. George and the Dragon and the Quest for the Holy Grail By Edward Hays and ANY of the Odd Thomas books by Dean Koontz 🙂

  444. United We Stand by Eliana Gil. It’s about people with Multiple Personalities.

    Any book by David Sedaris….this time of year is great for reading Holidays On Ice.

    Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.

    The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

    Anything by Jeanette Winterson….Boating for Beginners is hilarious.

    So many more….

  446. A real great read is Christopher Moore’s Lamb and A Dirty Job… They are crazy, make you laugh kind of books.

  448. How about something different? SAGA, Volume 1 & 2; best graphic novels I’ve read in the last three years. They’re weird, so you’ll probably like them.

  450. I’m reading the newest Wally Lamb book…. We are water. Very good.
    P.S I don’t know if I have a need for a donkey in my condo in Massachusetts,
    but how cool would I be?

  452. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter and The Book of Flying by Keith Miller – Merry Christmas!

  453. Kelly (#91) suggested “The Doomsday Book” by Connie Willis.
    It is so powerful I have to agree — but please also give time to two other bits of fiction with the same characters: “FireWatch” (a novella, collected into a book of the same name) and most importantly “To Say Nothing of the Dog”. Because Doomsday Book is a moving tragedy, FireWatch is wistful—and Dog made me and many others laugh out loud. Then polish it off with “Three Men in a Boat” –written in 1904 by Jerome K. Jerome and it inspired Willis to write the Dog, and it made me laugh in 2004.

    For a total switcheroo, try “Pastrix” by Nadia Boltz-Weber. I’ll recommend this to anyone who grew up feeling a bit “off normal” in their conservative church/family. Gotta love a pastor who refers to herself as “God’s bitch”.

    Wishing that everyone in the tribe is having a decent December, that those of you who lost power (US Northeast) have a fireplace or generator so your pipes don’t freeze, and that anyone else who has to work today is having as quiet a time of it as I am. Well….I guess if we have any line workers in the US Northeast, they’re working like crazy…so thank you to them!

  455. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Brilliant.
    The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukyama. Lovely.

  456. Don Quixote, hands down. A zillion pages, so it’s a commitment, but my God, so worth it. That something written hundreds of years ago can remain so relevant is amazing. And for those of us with mental illness, the over-riding question of who is truly the crazy one was refreshing and thought-provoking.

    Anna Karenina – the ending gave me goosebumps. The story of Anna is annoying, think Danielle Steel, but the story of Levin is eye-opening and life-affirming.

    Oh, and anything by David Sedaris and Mark Twain.

    Love you Jenny.

  458. Already posted once, but I’ve pored over this whole thread and no one mentioned the following:

    The Rook by Daniel O’Malley–creepier and way funnier than the zombie apocalypse.

    This thread makes an interesting yet tricky TBR list, in that it says more about the diversity of your readers than it does about the books recommended. Some of the suggestions make me want to argue which is just asinine. Someday I’d like to see a book list titled: “Don’t touch it with a ten foot pole and here’s why.” I bet you’d get some really juicy recs from that list.

  459. You’ve probably already read it, and I’m sure tons of people have already suggested it … Neil Gaiman’s Ocean At The End Of The Lane. Pure magic.

    Happy Day-After Christmas!
    Beth 🙂

  460. I recieved on of your fantastic note books from my son as well as Voltaire’s “God and Human Beings” and Newton’s ” Historiacal Accounts fo Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture”. These pieces are from the smaty pants of their ages, Always in trouble. But something light and different…Auntie Mame by Patrik Dennis.

  461. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

  464. I love at least 500 books, but I think a must read for everyone is ‘Mists of Avalon’ by Marian Zimmer Bradley.

  465. I recently read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.
    Its all about these two guys in the WWII era and they wrote comic books.
    I found it pretty entertaining. I’d put it about #6 on my top ten list.

  466. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dix. And I second anyone who said “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. He’s amazing!

  467. Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie

    Because it’s always a good idea to learn how to accept oneself and how to hide a body.

  468. Just especially for you: Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy

    Things everyone should read:
    Something by Charles Stross. Like Chuthulu, James Bond, and Government Beuracracy? Try the Laundry Series. Would you prefer a near-future Police Procudural filled with high weirdness? Then the Halting State Trilogy might be for you (actually, the third book has been cancelled, since Stross has now seen nearly everything he’s written come true and it’s breaking his brain a little, so there’s only “Halting State” and “Rule 34”). Perhaps you’d like some high-concept science fiction about an experimental mind-wipe community in the far future. Then I recommend Glasshouse.

    Want something uplifting and tear-inducing? Then “Raising my Rainbow” should be on your list.

    Confused by the English? Then try “Watching the English” by Kate Fox.

    And finally “Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse”. No, I won’t give you a synopsis, because I know that you’ll buy it on the basis of its title alone.

    I’m sure there’s more, but I’m full of booze and turkey so I cannot brain. Happy Boxing Day!

  469. #439… I ditched a school day my senior year of high school to see Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson speak and sign books. I handed over my battered copy of “Mists,” all a quiver with excitement. Bradley raised her eyebrows a bit at its condition, gave me a small smile, and signed my well-loved book. I hugged it to my chest for the rest of the evening. It’s still one of my most cherished memories.

  470. Absolutely ANYTHING written by Christopher Moore or David Sedaris (but you probably already know about Sedaris).

  473. In the past week I’ve read Orphan Train by Christina Kline and He’s Gone by Deb Caletti. Both were pretty good.

  474. Dean Koontz Frankenstein Series that’s FIVE books! Good reads. Also A Dog’s Purpose and A Dog’s Journey by W Bruce Cameron, stories from the dogs prospective.

  477. The Sword in the Stone (by T.H. White) if you want to laugh. Or Mistress Masham’s Repose (same author) if you want to know more about little people. Or The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Muriel Barbery) if you want to really think, cry and get a feeling for how French recluses live.

  478. The orphan master’s son. Modern day north Korea. Beautiful story of unspeakable horrors written as one man’s epic journey.

  480. Picking two that haven’t been mentioned:

    Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan (best book I’ve read all year and I’m on #230, so that’s saying something).

    I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (because everyone keeps recommending The Book Thief, but I thought this one was better).

  481. You should read “Till We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis, if you haven’t. It’s the kind of thing you can read at the age of 13 and be like “yeah, I get it” and then re-read 10 or 15 years later and be like “wait, what?”

  482. Anything by Oliver Sacks, but especially The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, and Seeing Voices.

  484. Longtime lurker, first-time poster.
    I believe I have found my tribe – so many fantastic books listed! So many of my favorites (books I thought no one knew of!) have already be listed, I will add a few I haven’t seen yet:

    Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon – favorite quote (partial): ‘We all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us.’

    A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson – I love almost all of his books, but this is the first book I have read that made me understand just how far away Pluto really is – holy shiznits!

    Julian May has written 2 sagas or series of books that I have really enjoyed:
    The Saga of the Pliocene Exile – The Many Coloured Land (1), The Golden Torc (2), The Nonborn King (3) and The Adversary (4) – your mind will boggle.
    Because this series was written later but pertains to the Pliocene Exile: The Galactic Milieu Triology – Jack the Bodiless (1), Diamond Mask (2), and Magnificat (3)

    Thanks Jenny (I’ve given your book to two people so far) and thanks to everyone for the excellent suggestions for books I must read!
    Merry Christmas!

  488. My recommendations already got posted but they are so-o-o good.

    Recent faves:
    The Newsflesh trilogy (Feed, Deadline, Blackout, and a trio of novellas) – Mira Grant (the best zombie novels I’ve ever read; keep tissues close at hand)
    The sea of tranquility – Katja Millay (YA that will make your heart ache – in a good way)
    Tried-and-true besties:
    Good omens – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (such sly humor)
    Beauty – Robin McKinley
    The blue sword & The hero and the crown – Robin McKinley

    Wishing you and yours a wonderful new year!

  489. Ready, Player One. There is so much to geek over about this book it’s crazy. Besides, if you listen to the audiobook, it’s read by your buddy, Wil Wheaton.

  490. People swear that donkeys or minature donkeys are great at guarding stock from wolves, coyotes, and various predators. I guess they give warning and sometimes scare them off (you know – like how some kids are affraid of midgets). I’ve always figured they are kind of like the tasty treat. Please don’t eat my expensive horse and you can dine on the sacrificial donkey (poor thing).

    Favorite books:Linda Howards – To Die For and Drop Dead Gorgeous (romance/mystery/funny)
    Man O’ War by Walter Farley – fictionalized biography about a great horse.

  491. John Dies at the End and the sequel This Book is Full Of Spiders by David Wong. Dark, creepy, strange, suspenseful, and HILARIOUS.

  492. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a definitely one you won’t want to miss, and will be sad to finish. Everything written by David Sedaris, of course. Amy Tan has a new book! I got it for Christmas, and can’t wait to dig in!

  493. The book I tell everyone to read when looking for suggestions is called Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson. 🙂 Seriously, I’ve bought it for multiple friends and recommended it to even more.

  494. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society. If joy were a book, this would be it.

  495. You definitely would enjoy The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern. You will be so sorry when it is over. Like everyone else is saying, anything and everything by David Sedaris, also in the same vein, anything by Laurie Notaro, especially The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club and Autobiography of a Fat Bride–hilarious! Just re-read the Hunger Games trilogy, yup, still just as good. And Amy Tan has a new book out–yayyyy! Just got it for Christmas and can’t wait to dive in.

  496. The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. It’s an epic fantasy saga that I read for the first time in high school and have read multiple times since.

  499. The Anne Rice Vampire series. I read these in my mid 20s’ and knew..for the first time…without a shadow of a doubt..I was not alone in the universe. Apparently there were millions of us out here, who all had a dark heart.

  502. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. It is an odd love story (and I am not a love story fan so I was very hesitant in choosing this but it came highly recommended by a trusted friend and I’m so thankful that I listened). It transported me through time. I could absolutely not put it down. Stunning.

  503. Lol my horse despised asses, 4 and 2 legged… The secret life of plants, Thompson-trippy cool wtf really?! Kinda book. Intense read.. love it, and the book of birthdays… shit that makes your eyes go round, AND your eyebrows readjust!

  507. The Apes of Wrath (great anthology about anything to do with apes) edited by Rick Klaw.
    Anything by Dan Savage (although Skipping Towards Gomorrah wasn’t my favorite).
    Rayguns Over Texas (all Texas sci-fi writers, these are some freaky folks we have here in Texas) edited by Rick Klaw.
    Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr. (a pseudonym for Alice Sheldon) All of her stuff is great.
    Follow Peggy J. Hailey on Facebook. She’s a librarian for the Runge Public Library and puts out the most amazing lists of books to read. I’m hooked. And yeah, she and Rick are both friends of mine. So what, I love what they write!

  508. I’ve been feeling a little depressed after last night’s Doctor Who. Not just over Matt Smith leaving – that’s par for the course when you’re a Whovian, but knowing that’s the last new Doctor Who episode until Autumn 2014. How am I going to go 10 months (give or take) without Doctor Who?!!! I really need to contact my wife’s uncle who has DVDs of every old series Doctor Who episode. That would fill the gap nicely.

    As for books everyone should read (besides yours, of course), I’d recommend Year Zero by Rob Reid. The basic premise of the story is that aliens not only exist but discovered Earth’s music awhile back and love it. As in it puts them into an orgasmic state kind of loving it. So, naturally, they’ve made copies of every song they could get their hands on. Then, they discover copyright law. Being sticklers for following the rules, they figure out how much they owe and realize it’s more than all of the money in the galaxy! What follows is a hilarious tale of copyright law – the only time this sentence will ever be uttered!

    Another one I’d recommend is Off To Be The Wizard by Scott Meyer. In this book, a computer hacker discovers a mysterious file that not only describes all of reality, but can be changed to alter reality. Want more money? Change your balance in this file and you’ve got it. Want to go somewhere else? Change your position in the file and you’re there! The hacker, of course, gets into trouble and winds up in medieval times posing as a wizard. That’s when things get really interesting. (No spoilers, but this book both closes out the story nicely while leaving room for a sequel which I really hope he makes.)