50 Favourite Books from the Past Five Years 📚📚📚

[@nancypacey9011]

Just finished Fingersmith. Loved it! Looking at your 50 books list and noticed Washington Black which I also just loved. Always look forward to your recommendations. Do you ever listen? Both previous books are a great listen too. You are now my go to to look for my next great read. Thanks so much.❤

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Oh wonderful! And it’s a good idea to reread them via audiobook. Thanks so much. 😊📚

[@brendaredmond4678]

Hi Eric, I just found your channel. You are an absolute delight. I'm embarrassed to say I have only read a few of the books you've presented here. I'm such an unorganized reader. Hopefully, that will change this year. One of my favorite things is a great book. I don't have a favorite genre, I love them all. I turned 60 this year and had this... epiphany. "So many books to read, so little time." But which ones? Thank you so much for your recommendations.

[@patriciad.5012]

I feel like I have been living under a rock for the last 5 years! I have only ready 6 of the 50 books and almost none of the others were on my TBR list (until now). Watching your channel gives me mixed feelings. I love your reviews and chats but, at the same time, I am beginning to feel almost frantic that I will never read everything on my ever growing list.

[@whatpageareyouon]

The penultimate list! And I can not imagine the endurance of filing this, phew. Wonderful insights into your picks, how lucky of people to find this vid for recommendations, not only from book premise intrigue but also no doubt your contagious enthusiasm for reading. Thanks Eric!

[@locutusdborg126]

You may want to check out the definition of penultimate.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you, Alex! You're the sweetest. 💖

[@barbaralemon4170]

Lincoln in the Bardo! Finally someone recommended this! Loved it! Fantastic!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yes, such an amazing novel!

[@jenny6904]

I know you posted this a few months ago but I really enjoyed this. I needed something warm and comforting to watch after a long day and listening to you was just what I needed, so thank you.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I’m glad you felt so! 📚

[@harshghosh6431]

It's always delightful to see you rhapsodize about books and authors, Eric! I've read 17 of the books you listed, 15 of them are on my shelf, will get the rest as well! Thank you so much

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! ☺️📚 Hope you find some favourites amongst the ones still on your shelves.

[@jamescollins9178]

Wow what a valuable resource! Thanks for making this video :)

[@laura__5544]

Added so many to my TBR! Really appreciate this video!

[@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711]

Happy booktube fifth birthday. This was a real tour de force and a pleasure to watch because of the mixture of "I loved that too" and "I must read that" for me. I resolved in particular to read The Parcel.

[@sarahwallace2585]

I've just started listening to you (how have I not found you before now?). I love listening to you talk and have no problem watching hour long videos at all (and I am Very fussy about people I can bear to listen to!) So I'm loving all of your videos and working through them find I agree with many of your choices - but 'Paul'!!! I haven't hesrd anyone else talk about this wonderful novel and I LOVED it!! Thank you!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you so much! What a wonderful compliment. And I’m so glad you’re such a fan of Paul too. 😊📚

[@apocalypsereading7117]

1:12 that indignant "please give them back!" caught me totally off-guard 😂 and the person who approached you to bluntly ask about Joyce Carol Oates sounds like they thought they were leaving a KZbin comment rather than communicating IRL 😅 congrats on 5 years 🥂

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Haha, that’s exactly what it felt like: a live KZbin comment. It feels like a mark of how being online has really changed our psychology and how we relate to people.

[@karolinenavarsete6925]

Oof my TBR grew even longer while watching this😅 Very good concept with showing your favorites from the last five years! And happy anniversary 🥳

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

I’ve read 20 on your list. Congratulations 🎉 on your booktube anniversary 🤩🥳☘️👋

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! ☺️📚

[@kaceyodonoghue6684]

Love your videos thank you. Your energy is great and voice is sunny its great 👍 😁

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😊📚

[@rneliv1544]

I can't wait to try some of these books! Thank you so much!

[@MarcNash]

Delighted to see The Years there and I owe that to you as I would never have come across it without you pointing it out. It was second only to "Lost Children Archive" in the year I read them both, so that would definitely be in my top 10.

[@joannarigby1989]

What an incredibly interesting set of books. I’m for sure going to add many to my TBR list. Thank-you for making this video.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Great! Hope some of my favourites become your favourites as well.

[@kimswhims8435]

I've only read 11 of yours, I thought it would be more. My interest in reading only really took off again, in 2018 after a few years hiatus, so most are from then on. Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud and Minor Detail by Adania Shibli are on my TBR for next month. I still have to get to The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead which is on my 52 USA State's reading challenge for this year.

[@morganblalock873]

SO excited for this! Thanks, Eric! This makes my Friday so much better. Congratulations on five years on the platform :)

[@Tutankhamun18Reads]

Love this concept! So many amazing books I have read too and so many I wrote down!

[@neetupd8510]

I have 5 of the books you mentioned on my wishlist and now that you have mentioned them as some of your favourites, I'm convinced.... I'm making some good choices... Congratulations on your anniversary!💐

[@mradcaqbdb]

Wow! What a great video! Judging by your yearly top tens, I think I’ve probably been watching for about 3 years (plus 2021). I so agree about You Will Be Safe Here. I remember being so drawn into the characters and their stories. It’s a really beautiful book that everyone should read. There are a bunch of books here that I need to research, particularly from the first two years. So happy to see Ghost Wall on your final list. I will have to get The Tidal Zone too, as I am a huge admirer of Sarah Moss.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Awe, thank you for watching for so long! 📚 I'm so glad you also think Damian Barr's novel is a top read! Moss has a new novel coming later this year as well. She's become so prolific!

[@mradcaqbdb]

@@EricKarlAnderson Ha! Already preordered a couple of months ago! 😉

[@ShivangiBhasin]

Aaaah, so glad someone else has read ‘The Pull of the Stars’. I was so surprised by how much I liked it, never thought I’d enjoy a book entirely written in a hospital setting

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yes, such a moving story!

[@scoutharris2687]

What a fantastic list. I’ll definitely be adding a number of these to my TBR (I’ve already ordered three of them!). Thanks! 📖 🤓

[@TheNoaCohen]

You are one of the few accounts that I will happily sit down to watch a nearly hour long video from. What a list!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Awe, thanks so much for sticking with me for so long! 🤗📚

[@johnnamurraycamp5100]

Brilliant choices! Totally on the same page re: Washington Black, Love After Love, Sarah Moss (both Ghost Wall and The Tidal Zone), Gustav Sonata, Solar Bones, Underground Railroad, Lincoln at the Bardo, and Circe ... esp those first two and Sarah Moss novels. (I just finished the thrill of Solar Bones this week. Bravo.) Unsurprisingly, I've added a few of your choices to my TBR list. Thank you, Eric!

[@johnnamurraycamp5100]

Also a fan of Olga Tokarczuk's Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Lina Meruane's Seeing Red, Claire-Louise Bennett's Pond, Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties, novels by Magda Szabó (The Door, et al), Ronan Hession's L & H P (his new one isn't yet released in the US) and here's a good oldy: Hrabal Bohumil's Too Loud A Solitude. Happy reading to all.

[@hill7912A]

I read Ducks, Newburyport - mostly due to your review and praise - right at the beginning of the Irish Lockdowns in March 2020 and loved it. So thanks Mr.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yay! 📚

[@BobTheBookerer]

Ooooh, this is a brilliant idea for a video, and some fantastic book choices (and so many I’ve not heard of or gotten around to!) Congratulations on 5 years on BookTube, Eric! Thank you for being such a great presence on the platform, and your joy is infectious!

[@BobTheBookerer]

Also, I love that JCO is prolific enough to make the list every year!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you!!! I feel proud I have some picks you've not heard of. 🤗

[@EricKarlAnderson]

@@BobTheBookerer Oh yes, usually there are multiple books per year! She's already published two collections of short stories and a book of poetry this year. And in about 2 weeks she has a new novel out. 😅

[@BobTheBookerer]

@@EricKarlAnderson Haha, yes! I need to go and check them out! Our tastes tend to overlap fairly nicely, so I trust your list of 50! Oh my goodness. Meanwhile, I’ve not added more than a few hundred words to my novel in the last few weeks! JCO is a wonderful creative machine!

[@ianp9086]

I have read 5 of your top ten - and often thanks to your recommendation! Ducks, Lincoln, Winter, Parcel and The Years. I think Ducks and Lincoln would also be in my top 10 as I loved them so much, but I might have Autumn in there rather than Winter. The rest might take a lot of thinking about!

[@prezidentasplastakius6340]

I really enjoyed your video. Not many of these books have been translated into my Lithuanian language. I read Ali Smith, but I didn’t like it, some vague construct, but I really liked Mr. Saunders about Lincoln. I also liked Mr. Miller’s Circe. Bernardine Evaristo’s book is his favorite. Kiss from Lithuania.

[@draganamaljkovic1133]

Hi Eric! I am new here and really like and enjoy the content. Thank you for that. How many of these 50 are translated book? Thanks

[@CharlieBrookReads]

Love After Love is 100% a favourite of mine too. It was just soooo good. Loved seeing this ♥️Happy 5 years Eric 🎉🎉♥️

[@EricKarlAnderson]

It's a book that will stick with me forever. And thank you! 💖

[@cindyhaiken5644]

Congratulations on five years!!! What a wonderful bookish exercise. I think Ducks, Lincoln in the Bardo and Winter would also be on my top ten list as well. I think I would include Tin Man, Warlight, The Heart’s Invisible Furies, Hamlet, This is Happiness, Writers and Lovers and Moonglow. This would be a lot harder if I added in nonfiction titles!

[@beatingaroundthebooks]

What a tour de force! Love your enthusiasm for books ♥ Quite a few of your favourites are on my TBR, probably the one I'm most excited about is The Years.

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

So many books, I can feel my TBR growing. With the Seasons series by Ali Smith, is it necessary to begin with Autumn? (I saw Spring in my local bookstore.) I've read Public Library and Other Stories and The Accidental previously by Ali Smith. I live in the Republic of Georgia (from where the Eighth Life and The Pear Field Booker nominees came from), so there isn't a large selection of books in English here. We don't have a Barnes and Noble or even a Waterstones....

[@tabithaholmes9863]

Just quick note to say that I absolutely adore your channel. Your thoughtful summaries, combined with your passion for books is a welcome reminder that we may be "lonesome" when we read, but book lovers are connected

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you so much! That’s very kind of you to say. 😊📚

[@tabithaholmes9863]

Just out of curiosity, do you work on the book or literature field? I am a psychology professor but I teach classes on narrative.

[@victoriatangk]

I just discovered your channel and ahhh, I have to add so many books to my TBR now....I love your taste!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! Hope I can tip you off to some new favourites. 📚

[@victoriatangk]

@@EricKarlAnderson I definitely shall, as I'm about to binge a bunch of your prior videos. Enthusiastic new follower here haha!

[@biggsheba1]

Hi Eric! Have you ever done a bookshelf tour? I looked through your playlists and didn't find one. Would love to see your set up in full view!!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I've done two actually, but my last one was in 2018 and you can watch it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rn_OqYiHbbKIhbs 📚📚📚📚

[@rneliv1544]

Thank you for the great reviews!!

[@lulla8754]

My TBR is getting very long! Thank you for a very good video 😀

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😊📚📚📚

[@ChaoticBibliophile]

What a wonderful list! Hearing you revisit your past favorites was a treat. You’ve also reminded me of some titles I really ought to get to already!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! 📚

[@andrewglasson592]

My favourite books over last 5 years would be the 4 Ali Smith books, Alan Moore Jerusalem, Robert Mcfarlane Underland, Nicola Barker The Cauliflower, Joanna kavenna a field Guide to reality, fen daisy johnson, melissa harrison at hawthorn time, zoe gilbert folk, antkind charlie kaufman, the discomfort of evening marieke lucas rijneveld, freshwater akwaeke emezi, the book smuggler omaima al-khamis, when we cease to understand the world benjamin labatut, figuring maria popova, west carys davies, flights olga tokarczuk, compass mathias enard,

[@wavaleebranch]

Thank you so much for a fantastic video ! I value your opinion SO MUCH! You worked so hard for this video, and I really appreciate you! You gave us a real gift here!

[@irinanka]

I really liked Ducks, Newburyport, and I had only gotten it because it was in a set of the 6 books that were longlisted for the Booker prize in that year. It was a pleasant surprise, and I especially liked the little side story and how the 2 protagonists "met" at some point in the book. It thought that was brilliant!

[@angelafraser4572]

congrats on five years!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you!

[@nancyenjay7966]

Thanks! Great video, lots of interesting reads to add to my TBR. Very... powerful :)

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thanks for watching! 📚

[@zubooks]

Hi Eric, Thank you for this video and congratulation on your 5 years!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! 📚

[@SelinaAllinson]

Awww great video Eric! Thank you 😊 🙏🏼 I’ve read 9 of these. Lincoln and the Bardo and The Nickel Boys were unforgettably heartbreaking. Ali Smith’s Winter was just so beautiful. I love the small intricacies and how she captures so wonderfully the thoughts and feelings of her characters. Looking forward to Spring and Summer. Oh and Shuggie Bain too! What an emotional read that was! Looking forward to reading more of what you mentioned. I’m yet to read a novel by Joyce Carol Oates but definitely going to. From the past five years I really enjoyed Milkman and His Bloody Project (6 years I think 🤔) After Wolf Hall I just don’t think I want to continue with any more… I wasn’t a huge fan but sometimes it’s good to give things another go! So many books so little time… Thank you for your channel. Love it 🤍

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! I always meant to read His Bloody Project so thanks for the reminder. Yes, never enough time for all the books! 😄📚📚📚

[@SelinaAllinson]

@@EricKarlAnderson You’re welcome ☺️

[@ericgeneric135]

I love your videos! My favorite booktuber. 👍

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you so much! 😊📚

[@dr.nerdcraft8526]

XX is such an interesting and thought-provoking book. More people need to read it. :)

[@gillianlaker1033]

Very enganging and wide-ranging podcast. I have read four on your final list, which is a perfect overlap as it gives me six to check out. Five books not mentioned that I would definitely put on my longlist are The Heavens by Sandra Newman, Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor, Bass Rock by Evie Wyld and Lanny by Max Porter. The last three would also make it to my shortlist.

[@alanshadastrokeanddiedinho2897]

Such a great video. Congratulations on five years.

[@ashTame]

Eric, I'm half way through and absolutely loving this. It's reminding me of reading some of them and giving me tips for ones to read. I'm thoroughly enjoying your small asides and descriptions of why you enjoyed each. My excitement is growing, it's like a small whirlwind Booker Prize for those of us who simply can't wait!!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Ah, so glad you're enjoying. Thank you! Yes, exciting times coming with the announcement in a few days! 📚📚📚

[@ashTame]

@@EricKarlAnderson so exciting! Can't wait to see how many of your picks match the judges this year, you've certainly been brave in not choosing dozens!

[@claudiaberger9560]

My TBR is now incredibly long. I don't think my wallet will be able to keep up 😁. Congratulations on your 5 years in KZbin!!!

[@Missfrankiecat]

So happy to see Love after Love made it so high in the cut. I found it a wonderful book which combined structure and theme with exceptional characterisation. I loved all three central characters. I enjoyed Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld. A very interesting angle on the 'Sliding Doors' type theme of what if ... Congratulations on your ten years. I read a lot of classics and modern thrillers but always come to your videos for thoughts on what contemporary literary fiction to read.

[@meenuiyer7011]

This is a brilliant and engaging video, Mr. Eric. My TBR just skyrocketed!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you so much! 📚📚📚

[@Amy_Yuki_Vickers]

I remember when you originally talked about some of the books from 2016 and 2017 and on. Has it really been that long? Time feels like an accordion.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

That's such a great description! Time really does feel like that especially when I casually click back to a video I made in 2016 and it feels like yesterday but I realise how long ago it actually was. 😅🤗

[@julierogers1155]

I thought the same thing about your description: "Time feels like an accordion." Great description!

[@thessalymeteora3789]

The pink fairy armadillo is my new spirit animal! Omg! Squee!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

It's sooo cute!

[@marias.5812]

This video is so unfair to my TBR! 😂🙃(but seriously, thank you!)

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😅📚📚📚

[@arshaijaz6348]

In this entire list I only know about 3 in which 1 I physically own and the other 2 i've heard about them. The rest of the books are just unknown to me and honestly I do want to read them. All of them. Thanx for sharing

[@shivpratapsingh8459]

52 minutes 55 seconds well spent. Good content brother.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! 😊📚

[@SpringboardThought]

I’m a recent subscriber so this was pretty great to see. I took the plunge and got Ducks, Newburyport recently because of you. Some fantastic picks on here. Too many I haven’t read. I haven’t even started the Ali Smith quarter because I waited until it was complete.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

In that case, I'm not sure when the omnibus version of Ali Smith's quartet is coming out but it might be worth waiting for that (unless you don't like holding big books as I'm guessing it will be around 1000 pages)

[@SpringboardThought]

@@EricKarlAnderson It did not even occur to me to wait, haha! I ended up ordering the UK versions of each a few months ago. The US editions are very boring, imo. To justify the purchase, I’ll have to challenge myself to read them all before the collected edition comes out. 🙃

[@EricKarlAnderson]

@@SpringboardThought That's a good challenge! And I agree, the UK editions are much better.

[@sandra7319.]

Running my hands together....oh good a list📝!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

🤗📚📚📚

[@krzysamm7095]

Congratulations on your book tube anniversary

[@AuburnAfterglow]

Can't wait to watch this over the weekend! :DDDD

[@EricKarlAnderson]

🤗📚

[@fallingwickets]

fantastic...bravo on being able to make picks!!!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! 📚

[@NeetuSingh-eo4iu]

Congratulations and wonderful list of books.

[@rosalinkrieger3352]

Have you read Toews's A Complicated Kindness? I loved it.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I’ve not. I’ve only read one book by her but eager to read more.

[@aethikv]

I so want to read the whole Lucy Ellman novel but had such a hard time with the format. Is there a way I can cope?

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I think you either get along with the style or not, but maybe it'll just take you time to get into it.

[@deborahlindsey6074]

You could use the entire content of this video to write your own unique memoir. Your thoughts on the times, your feelings and how the books affected you, and how you go on in your life reflecting on certain passages and how they color the way you move forward in this world. I'd read it.

[@Phil-p7p]

Awesome ... settling in with a coffee to do this justice!!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Fab! Hope you don’t think it’s too long. 🙈📚

[@Phil-p7p]

@@EricKarlAnderson What a great selection of books. And what a fantastic achievement the last five years of your channel have been. Thank you.

[@davidgagen9856]

Shuggie Bain is a such a wonderful book.

[@rimattiman]

There is Winter, Summer and Autumn in the books. Just an observation. Anyway, you definitely increased my TBR quantity

[@thesleepvampire]

Thank you so much Eric, what an amazingly diverse list. Some of your picks I struggled with due to the subject matter, especially rape and sexual violence. I would not say they are “bad” books, but in my “not for me” pile. I would like to champion Exit West by Mohsin Hamid. I adore magical realism and Hamid uses it masterfully to discuss the reception of refugees. Has a series of vignettes in the structure. Highly recommended!

[@jamesholder13]

Awesome video!

[@alanshadastrokeanddiedinho2897]

Couple of books that I would add. May not have come out in the last five years. The Sympathizer The Narrow Road to the Deep North Berlin Alexanderplatz Train to Pakistan Philosopher of the Heart Memoirs from Beyond the Grave.

[@dinasmith8277]

Thank you for sharing this. I thought Underground Railroad was an amazing book. I tried to watch the series, but it was too upsetting for me. I could handle it on paper, but seeing it on the screen was too hard for me.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

That’s totally understandable

[@katesammons9252]

What a treat of a video!

[@jennymcevoy8961]

Great video 👏👏🙏🙏

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thank you! 📚

[@koribee7743]

This was great :)

[@johnnamurraycamp5100]

(Off topic, sorta kinda): Why aren't more people reading Percival Everett's excellent novels? Smart fun. Check 'em out!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Oh yes, I've been meaning to read his books. I have one on my shelf.

[@johnnamurraycamp5100]

@@EricKarlAnderson :^) I hope you enjoy the one you've picked!

[@maeiscompletelyfine]

Just finished reading Emezi’s The Death of Vivek Oji! 😭😭😭 Have you read it? I think you’ll like it!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I've not read it yet but I've heard so many good things!

[@maeiscompletelyfine]

@@EricKarlAnderson would love to hear your thoughts about it once you come around to reading it! ❤️ take care!

[@ashleyperry9337]

Here for the sassy finger wagging

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😂📚

[@LarryHasOpinions]

this is not helping my TBR haha :-D

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😈📚📚📚

[@StevenSlawinski]

Cavalry officer … Calvary was where Jesus died. Sorry, but I’m an Army officer and bibliophile and everyone makes this mistake.

[@eliotopian]

Ghost wall?! Perfect novel?! It was abuse porn! *throws book away*

[@derbuchhandel]

Der Buchhandel Berlin Germany