My 20 Favourite Contemporary Novels | Favourites Week

[@RovingReader]

I am here for this content!!! I can’t wait to see your favorites of the year!!! I have never heard of Radiance and it sounds so crazy and amazing! Sometimes booktubers talk about the same books all the time in an echo chamber so it’s so wonderful to hear something new although, there’s also often good reason why people rave about the same books! The Rain Before it Falls would be amazing for our family book club!

[@katiejlumsden]

Radiance is truly wonderful, as is The Rain Before it Falls :)

[@rustiqjoy]

So love your enthusiasm.

[@seyma1509]

I’ve just finished The Thirteenth Tale yesterday and it blew me away! I can’t wait to read her other works.

[@katiejlumsden]

So glad to hear it - it is so wonderful!

[@RovingReader]

I'm reading The Kingdoms now!!! Thanks so much for the rec :)

[@ReadingwithMani]

I love hearing you talking about the books you love, especially ones I also love, like The Kingdoms, Station Eleven, Never Let Me Go, because it's like you say exactly what I would say if I were as articulate as you! I'm also adding so many books to my TBR, so thanks!

[@katiejlumsden]

They're such wonderful books :)

[@kathleencraine7335]

I love the way you love books--it's so contagious!. ❤❤

[@laracroft1829]

It’s wonderful to see how excited and sometimes emotional you get when discussing certain books. I’ve read a few of them thanks to you. I’ve read all Diane Setterfield’s books with your readalongs. I read The Wonder and loved it. I’m keeping this year’s favorites on my radar and I’ve never heard you talk about Rites, you make it sound so good. I think you are doing very well with this videos time wise. You are discussing a lot of books in less than 25 minutes.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :)

[@tomcrutcher3045]

Thank you. Very good of course.

[@anasky00]

love how so many of my favourites are on your list!!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :)

[@alisonbell3475]

Great to hear about new books to me to add to my Tbr. X

[@jamesduggan7200]

Hmm, well, the only non-classics I've read recently worth mentioning in a bestie list would be 11/22/63, American Psycho, and a Man Called Ove. King and Bret E Ellis are favourites who IMHO deserve greater critical acclaim. As honorouble mentions there are two detective series, Alex Cross and Jack Reacher. I've also derived great pleasure from the Tom Clancy novels, Philip Roth, and Milan Kundera.

[@lisa60932]

How did I miss you talking about The Kingdoms before? Sounds so completely up my street, I read an alternate history post Napoleonic Wars book a few months ago and it was fairly bad, so can’t wait to get and read The Kingdoms!

[@katiejlumsden]

The Kingdoms is WONDERFUL.

[@lisa60932]

I just finished it and it may be my new favourite book - such a plot and alternative reality! So much going on but still the most wonderful characters. And the writing - she made the strangest but best descriptions. So happy to have it on my shelf and I’ll have to prioritise the rest of Natasha Pulley’s books!

[@alicialozano2802]

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is amazing

[@katiejlumsden]

It is!

[@sLOTFY100]

I always feel that when you like a book I will too. I discovered so many great books thanks to you ♥️

[@Julie-ms9ss]

Wow, what a terrific video . I love how enthusiastic you are about books. I just wanted to comment on one of the first one you mentioned . ( Mr. Loverman ) That book is SO good. Especially wonderful in audio. He’s such a character, and it’s so funny. Thanks for mentioning it. I’m going to try out some of the others on your list now. Happy Reading.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! And yes, Mr Loverman is so wonderful.

[@hyemiyah]

I'm so thrilled that banana yoshimoto is here. I adore her books. her writing is so melancholic and poignant, and goodbye tsugumi is probably my favourite of hers. also, if nobody speaks of remarkable things!!! I don't think I've ever seen anyone talking about it and I'm ecstatic. what a masterpiece.

[@katiejlumsden]

I love Banana Yoshimoto - she's so great. And If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things is wonderful.

[@LedgerAndLace]

Listening to you talk about books makes me think about reading differently. Until the last couple years, I've mostly read non-fiction and I really love memoirs that read like fiction; like THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeanette Walls. I also like historical fiction, THE RED TENT, alternate realities and time travel GIDEON THE CUTPURSE--which is marketed as children's fiction, but SO GOOD! So I'm noticing categories and genres and themes. Thanks, Katie! And thanks for adding to my ever-growing TBR LIST!

[@RoadReads]

Jeez, now I need to buy Miss Austen. 🥰 Wonderful hearing your contemporary favorites!!

[@katiejlumsden]

Oh you should, it is so great!

[@launchedathousand]

Seeing all these alternative 19th century fantasy novels finally jogged something, I think you would really like The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk. It's about a female magician who is about to have her coming out, but she doesn't want to be married she wants to be a magician and help her father in business, along the way she meets a brother and sister who are also into magic. It looks at class, gender and social status really interestingly! Not sure if I can pick a favourite book, but authors would be Mercedes Lackey, Tamora Pierce, N.K. Jemisin and Stephanie Thornton.

[@katiejlumsden]

I do love an alternative 19th century! The Midnight Bargain sounds fun!

[@AliceandtheGiantBookshelf]

I've really enjoyed the Jonathan Coe books I've read, but haven't read that one so will certainly have to pick that up. Also intrigued by Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell and I've wanted to read Never Let Me go for years. So many brilliant books I need to get round to, thank you for this video! I absolutely love Station 11.

[@ABearandaBeeBooks]

Your copy of Radiance is beautiful! I have thought about picking that one up many times.

[@katiejlumsden]

It's a great one!

[@josephcossey1811]

So that's another 15 books i've just added to my TBR list (sigh...I HAVE managed to read 5 from your current list!) Especial thanks for NOT including the hugely over-rated "Normal People" by Sally Rooney. Two of my favourite contemporary-ish novelists are Richard Brautigan and Tom Robbins. Ken Kesey - author of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" once remarked..."in a 1000 years time when the rest of us have been long forgotten, people will still be reading Richard Brautigan." The titles of some of Tom Robbins novels give an indication of this writers uniquely quirky genius: "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues", "Still Life With Woodpecker", "Jitterbug Perfume", "Skinny Legs And All"...and my favourite of all..."Half Asleep In Frog Pyjamas". Thanks - as always - for the fascinating vlog.

[@katiejlumsden]

I read Normal People and quite liked it, but that was about all!

[@FullyBookedMelissa]

Of this list, I've only read Never Let Me Go. I read it earlier this year and it will make my top books of the year easily. I agree with every you said about it! The Thirteenth Tale has been sitting unread on my shelf and you've inspired me to pick it up soon.

[@katiejlumsden]

I think you'd like The Thirteenth Tale :)

[@jodihowe7274]

Loving these videos and also love Setterfield!!

[@katiejlumsden]

She is amazing!

[@thelibrarybat4254]

If you like music as a motif in novels I'd highly recommend An Equal Music by Vikram Seth!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@gladysl77]

The thirteenth tale is also one of my favourites books 😍

[@reshanegi3268]

Emma Donoghue is great!

[@RovingReader]

So agree!!!

[@katiejlumsden]

She really is :)

[@Tinahgirl83]

My favorite contemporary novel is also The Thirteenth Tale! It’s just brilliant. I’m currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, after which I want to reread Vilette (I read it when I was a teen and couldn’t appreciate it as much), and then I want to read The Luminaries.

[@katiejlumsden]

It is truly wonderful :) I think you'd like The Luminaries.

[@marytumulty4257]

A subtitle for this video could be: Favorite Novels of Supernatural Occurrences.

[@katiejlumsden]

I do like a slightly supernatural book, and a book where you don't know if it's supernatural for ages :)

[@GenWivern2]

Yay, Ishiguro! A little bit of common ground today. Shameful as it is, I think that the most recent significant novel I have read is Bleeding Edge, and that was 2013. After which it was back to my 18th century happy place for a few years.

[@davidleonard8547]

I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell when it came out. The characters are so vivid and realized. Also: Dickens meets Harry Potter, I believe it was pitched as. A must read, regardless whether you like "fantasy," which it is. The Thirteenth Tale has been on my shelf for far too long. I ought to be at it. Some of my favourite contemporaries; they are Canadian, because so am I: Not Wanted on the Voyage Fifteen Dogs Half-Blood Blues Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture Life of Pi Three Day Road On a Cold Road

[@katiejlumsden]

I have Half-Blood Blues on my shelves - very excited for it!

[@WandaD.P.B.]

I love Ishiguro. I want to read everything by him. However I heard that Klara and the Sun is not that good. Regards from Switzerland.

[@katiejlumsden]

I really liked Klara and the Sun too. He's a great author.

[@onejarvis7484]

Hey, which publication of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell do you have? The cover is gorgeous! I'd like to buy it too. Loved your video, by the way! Added some books to my reading list 😊

[@katiejlumsden]

It's a Bloomsbury Modern Classics one I think.

[@madis4913]

‘The Underground Railroad’ by Colson Whitehead was great, though brutal, and I want to read more by him. His prose is wonderful and I enjoyed how he uses language but I’m taking a long break before ‘The Nickel Boys’ because I can only do so much brutality at once, especially when it’s based on reality.

[@katiejlumsden]

I've read The Underground Railroad; I slightly struggled with it because it wasn't what I expected (I got a bit thrown by the way he plays with history) but I do want to read more by him.

[@novellenovels]

I loved the thirteenth tale but I also love someone I used to know by Paige toon and get a life Chloe brown

[@katiejlumsden]

I just read Get a Life Chloe Brown and I loved it so much - thanks for recommending it :)

[@novellenovels]

@@katiejlumsden oh yay I’m sooo glad you enjoyed it. It’s my second favourite of the year