The Wide Wide Sea, by Hampton Sides. One of the more haunting narrative histories of recent years, Sides’ latest recounts Captain James Cook’s fateful last voyage along the Oregon coast towards Alaska, and the storm of mistakes and miscalculations that cost him his life.
The Welsh Fairy Book and The Chinese Fairy Book. I’ve been reading piles of vintage fairytale books for a writing project, and these were two of the best. In them, fathers become dragons, tea cups become weapons, and peasants stumble on the slumbering King Arthur.
Chinese fairy tales were my favorite in elementary school (70’s), I loved them and read them over and over.
Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, by Walter Skeat. Skeat was offered the job of supervising the OED but turned it down so he could write this, still the best dictionary of English word origins. He’s also sly and sarcastic, like a Mr Norrell of linguistics.
Passing, by Nella Larsen. When they meet again as adults, Irene is dismayed to learn that her childhood friend Clare is “passing” as white and married to a murderously hateful racist. A story of rare emotional power that becomes almost hypnotic in its final pages.
I was assigned to read Passing by Nella Larson last semester in my Literature class and it's easily one of my favorite books!! It hardly felt like an assignment and I finished it before anybody else. Movie was a great watch too. The Harlem Renaissance gave us some fantastic literature
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight and Orfeo, translated by J. R. R. Tolkien. We can argue all day about the best version of Homer, but Tolkien is the master of Old and Middle English translations and his “Sir Gawain” retains all the terror and sublime joy of the original.
The Crooked Hinge, by John Dickson Carr. I read three mystery novels by Carr this year, each one stranger than the previous, and this—with its impossible murder, coven of witches, mechanical men, and a resolution you will not see coming—was the strangest of all.
I read all the Dr Fells in 2024, and Crooked Hinge was my favorite. 2025 shall be the year I read all the Sherlock Holmes...
I'm making this the year I read all the Fells. I'm just about done with Hag's Nook.
Agreed! This is a really vivid description of an ocean voyage. Carr has a wonderful way of evoking past places, the sounds, the sources of light, the weather.
The Midnight Folk / The Box of Delights, by John Masefield. It’s a CRIME that Masefield’s children’s books aren’t better known in the US. Wonderfully English, featuring Cockney rats, wicked old ladies, dodgy pirates, and a bit of time-travel, they rival the best of C. S. Lewis.
They're great, among my favourite books. Have you read the rest of the sequence though, which wouldn't fall under children's fiction (ODTAA, Sard Harker and The taking of the Gry)? They are most peculiar.
In the Shadow of Young Girls, by Marcel Proust. The second book of Proust’s seven-volume In Search of Lost Time is even funnier, stranger and sharper than the first, centering on a trip via train to the French coast where Marcel makes new friends and falls in love.
My absolute favorite volume of the Search....gorgeous...Planning trip to Cabourg & Le Grand Hôtel one day.
Tell us about the gorgeous picture?
I did a reverse image search, it's an eponymous painting by Snezana Djordjevic. www.singulart.com/en/artworks/...
Thanks!
Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh. If I read a better book this year, I can’t think what it was. Charles Ryder’s Oxford is the best portrayal of the city in print, and the story of his fraught relationship with the Flyte family over several decades is unbearably moving.
I love this book. It’s been way too long since I’ve read it, but it’s stuck with me so powerfully. Plus, Aloysius is one of my favorite fictional teddy bears.
Brideshead is the definition of poignant. I saw the series before I read the book and both are amazing.
I love this so much, and whenever I try to read any of Waugh's other work, I'm desperately disappointed. Do any of them have the beauty and ache of Brideshead?
One of my partners favourite books. The BBC series is a masterpiece
Evelyn Waugh is just so witty and sharp, love his books!
I have been listening to the audiobook. It is read by Jeremy Irons and is wonderful!
What a lovely list, and so beautifully illustrated. Thank you for sharing these suggestions.
I haven't read this since I was at uni which was *some* time ago. I must re-read it I remember it being one of those books that's so well written you can't help but become completely immersed in it. I'll add it to the list!
I love these, and had to import a copy of one from the USA to UK, for it to match the other! The TV series on BBC iPlayer is rather delicious, too.
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I'm surprised this may be the first I've heard of Carr. I've devoured so many other mystery authors of the time. I just added a bunch to my wishlist, thank you!
He’s endless.
I’m still looking for a good one. Maybe this?
Brilliant. Now I want to read a dictionary too.
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WHY HAVEN’T I HEARD OF THIS?
it really is astonishing. I recently found a decent ebook for eighteen dollars on amazon, but at some point I'll have to buy it in hardback. our university library has a lovely edition.
You inspired me to buy ‘A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language’ Walter S Skeats hardcover £41.49 Amazon UK A handy reference book for my library, alongside other reference books, classics, & digital books which I enjoyed so much I bought the hardcover to re-read in future
I enjoyed it a lot, also.
