My 5 Favorite Books I Read in 2024

[@danielrichards-dinger6811]

In no particular order: - Stoner - John Williams - The Crossing - Cormac McCarthy - The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner - The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro - The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky Honorable Mentions: - East of Eden - John Steinbeck - The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath - The Stranger - Albert Camus - Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates - The Quiet American - Graham Greene

[@lalalalalala739]

The Easter Parade - Richard Yates His Master's Voice - Stanislaw Lem The Serpent and the Fire - Jerome Rothenberg The Ordeal of Change - Eric Hoffer Stand Still Like the Hummingbird - Henry Miller

[@Brodorb]

Happy New Year! 1. The True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey 2. Grapes of Wrath - Stienbeck 3. The Sound and the Fury - Faulkner 4.Super Cannes - JG Ballard 5. Vineland - Pynchon Currently making my way through Say Nothing - Patrick Radden Keefe

[@HeroOfTheDay99]

1. The Moviegoer - Walker Percy 2. Hard Rain Falling - Don Carpenter 3. Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry 4. Tropic of Cancer - Henry Miller 5. Stoner - John Williams Honourable mentions: The Malayan Trilogy, On the Road, The Turn of the Screw, Sing Backwards and Weep

[@TheGratefulDeadhead]

1. A Fable - William Faulkner 2. Cane - Jean Toomer 3. There Eyes Are Watching God - Zora Neal Hurston 4. Laughable Loves - Milan Kundera 5. A Tomb For Boris Davidovich - Danilo Kiš

[@greggoat6570]

Glad to see someone got through and appreciated A Fable!

[@LiteraryGladiators]

You are probably the best creator when it comes to giving a review that is brief and to the point. You make understanding the premise of each of these books even clearer. I really need to read each of the omitted classics that you mentioned, though I did read Agamemnon earlier this year to prepare for a discussion on my channel. I really liked the premise of the story and Aeschylus does pave the way for being the first to have characters interact with one another rather than with a chorus and with the chorus being the central point of transition. I think this book would have really benefited if it steered away from that mode of storytelling, but there was a different way of thinking back then. I read Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq. I did not care for it so much, while the people I was discussing the book with hated it with a passion. I am not sure if I will take Houellebecq for his word as far as retiring for good is concerned. I would like to read Butcher's Crossing, for I read Stoner by John Williams and really enjoyed it! It says a lot about one's thinking and seeing the world and I like the setting of the college environment. The other books on your Top 5 lists do look appealing, though. Thank you for sharing and I hope you have a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous new year where you are able to create more videos! -Josh

[@onceaghost2693]

My Favorite Reads of the Year: 5. Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant 4. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 3. Solo Dance by Li Kotomi 2. Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer 1. Human Acts by Han Kang

[@plumiish]

Top 5: Gargoyles-Thomas Bernhard The Last Day of a Condemned Man-Victor Hugo Fires: Essays, Poems, Stories-Carver The Eternal Husband -Dostoevsky In Cold Blood-Capote Honorable mentions: Car-Harry Crews Carnet de bal d’une courtisane -Grisélidis Réal Paradoxia -Lydia Lunch Women-Bukowski Fais pas dans le porno-San-Antonio

[@thefantasynuttwork]

Happy new year mate, still one of my favorite people talking books. Hope the year is full of great reads and good times. Cheers

[@gabriellemarceau9303]

Top five books of the year, love the reviews! - House of Mirth: A heartbreaking, terribly smart portrait of a downfall. - Acting Class, Nick Drnaso: A deeply unsettling and enigmatic graphic novel on identity, performance and everyday fantasy. - The Door, Magda Szabó: The twisted relationship between a writer and her housekeeper. An incredible portrait of co-dependency with the cruelty and magic of a fairytale. - In a Lonely Place, Dorothy B. Hughes: Brutal and lyrical novel about a serial killer in L.A. Ripley before Ripley. - Autobiography of Red, Anne Carson: A novel in verse that turns the tale of an ancient Greek monster from a poem fragment into a shapeshifting story of unrequited love.

[@alvaroelias4929]

1. Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo 2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck 3. The Price of Salt, or Carol by Patricia Highsmith 4. Devotions by Mary Oliver 5. Turn of the Screw by Henry James HM: 120 Days of Sodom by Marquis De Sade, Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller, Piercing by Ryu Murakami, Schoolgirl by Ozamu Dazai and Pride and Prejuice by Jane Austen Happy reading guys!

[@michaelz9892]

Great list. I always thought East of Eden was somewhat under appreciated. I think it's one of the great American novels.

[@ngoodey]

@@alvaroelias4929 I did an online course on Pedro Paramo and also a couple of years did it in Spanish for my Spanish class. It gets more intriguing the more times you read i

[@RasmusKarlJensen]

My top five reads of 2024: 5. The Idiot - Dostoevsky 4. Les fourmis [Empire of the Ants] - Werber 3. The Master & Margarita - Bulgakov 2. Racing the Beam - Bogost & Montfort 1. 2666 - Bolaño Honorable mentions: Death of a Salesman - Miller Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame - Bukowski The Village of Ben Suc - Schell La chute [The Fall] - Camus Nothing but the Night - Williams Dubliners - Joyce

[@andreas0101]

I also read 2666 this year. Mindblowing. easy nr 1 for me as well.

[@benp4877]

That’s a fine list

[@nl3064]

I read Master and Margarita years ago. That's a good one.

[@Jasminehaydon]

Is the Idiot a good one?

[@glennaustin37]

​@@andreas0101I have The Idiot and Dubliners in my reading pile for this year.

[@aqualucasYT]

Infinite jest review incoming 🙏

[@greggoat6570]

He might as review John Grisham, I mean who really gives a shit about an IJ review in 2025?

[@ludwig327]

@@greggoat6570 You're right there ted

[@TalkingTorah613]

@@greggoat6570i don't get it

[@dtower3316]

@@greggoat6570calm down buddy

[@jeffersonfilho4980]

My top 10 reads of 2024: 1 - Anna Kariênina, by Liev Tolstói 2 - Lord of the Flies, by William Golding 3 - The Flowers of Evil, by Charles Baudelaire 4 - Swann’s Way, by Marcel Proust 5 - A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams 6 - The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood 7 - Absalom, Absalom!, by William Faulkner 8 - Life and Times of Michael K., by J. M. Coetzee 9 - Demons, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 10 - The Old Man and The Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

[@Nodnarb123]

5. Near to the Wild Heart - Clarice Lispector 4. The Shards - Bret Easton Ellis 3. The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky 2. Dune - Frank Herbert 1. The Passion According to G.H. -Clarice Lispector

[@xiaomengbi3357]

The Peregrine, Bel-Ami, Sabbath's Theater, A Feast of Snakes and The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

[@Patrick.__]

My five favorite reads of the year are: In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon Orlando Furioso by Ariosto (Reynolds translation) East of Eden by Steinbeck Other books I liked: Black Leopard Red Wolf, Septology, the Bas Lag Trilogy, El Ojo Castano de Nuestro Amor, and many others.

[@Morfeusm]

Oh wonderful, another China Mieville reader! Also reminds me I really need to get into Pynchon…

[@sonybluraydisk]

Those first 3 might take a whole year on their own LMAO

[@johnsailorsgoat]

Tolstoy's short story, "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", was the best and my favorite read this year. I was blown away at how much a story of only 58 pages devastated me and got me to the point where I almost couldn't finish it. It's not the point of the story, but it really makes you appreciate and more compassionate towards the sick and elderly too. I really want to read it again, but I'm scared to.

[@severianconciliator1862]

You might like checking out A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders. He takes a handful of Russian short stories (unabridged texts) and uses them as springboards to examine the craft of fiction. Included is Master and Man, which moved me in a way very few stories do.

[@Morfeusm]

- An Evil Hour by G G Marquez - Mrs. Dalloway by V Woolfe - Library of Babel by J L Borges - Kafka on the Shore by Murakami - The Book of Elsewhere by China Mieville & Keanu Reeves I also finally read the Harry Potter Series this year finally and it’s an excellent children/teenage/new adult series.

[@nobody7156]

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle ended up being my favorite book of 2024 and my favorite book of all time. Really recommend you check it out if you haven’t yet.

[@Belle-fk7lp]

1. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott 2. Beware of Pity - Stefan Zweig 3. Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Joan Didion 4. The White Book - Han Kang 5. A Certain Smile - Francoise Sagan I’m currently in the middle of Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal-I think you would thoroughly enjoy it!

[@mongolianqwerty123]

1. Berzerk - Kentaro Miura 2. Beasts, Men and Gods - Ferdinand Ossendowski 3. The Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons 4. Hitler, Born at Versailles - Leon DeGrelle 5. The Secret History - Donna Tartt HMs: Stoner - John Williams Jesus' Son - Denis Johnson The Last Samurai - Helen Dewitt Vineland - Thomas Pynchon The New Media Invasion - John David Ebert

[@domvrazel1171]

My top five of 2024: 5. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro 4. Morte D'Urban, J. F. Powers 3. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, John le Carré 2. War and Peace, Tolstoy 1. Stoner, John Williams Honorable mentions: Waiting for Godot, Beckett A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway Train Dreams, Denis Johnson The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt Moby-Dick, Melville

[@Lugbyz]

My top 5 were 1. Forbidden Colors by Yukio Mishima 2. Nicomachean ethics 3. PESSOA by Richard Zenith 4. Fathers and sons by Ivan Turgenev 5. A lesson before dying by Ernest J. Gaines

[@mulefa1]

Thanks for an awesome year of content, man. Would love to see more poetry reviews in 2025!

[@montecristo6613]

In no particular order : The power and the glory Crime and punishment Grapes of wrath All the pretty horses The sound and the fury Here’s to a great year of reading in 2025. Thanks for the videos

[@miika9600]

I have never commented on a KZbin video before, but I’ll now make an exception. Thank you Cliff for all your interesting and insightful reviews over the years! I’ve followed you for a while and have been inspired to read many books and authors you’ve covered. For example, I picked up McCarthy’s ”The Passenger” and ”Stella Maris” and they ended up being my favorite reads last year. A couple of suggestions: I’d be interested to see you cover Svetlana Alexievich’s works, e.g. ”Second-hand Time”. Also, as a Finn, I’d love to hear your thoughts on some books by Finnish authors! I would recommend novels by Pajtim Statovci (”Crossing” or ”Bolla”), or the trilogy ”Under the North Star” by Väinö Linna. The latter is an essential part of the Finnish literary canon.

[@Matt-nb3yb]

1. Mating by Norman Rush - intellectual, the internal monologue of the narrator is great and the romantic tension is not something I would have thought would capture me as much as it did 2. The Elementary Particles by Houellebecq - sardonic, but interesting ideas and good (translated) prose 3. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney - a "basic" pick, but I like Rooney and how she explores the worlds of young adults in our era 4. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Tokarczuk - a weird book that takes place in a Polish village, the narrator is interested in William Blake's poetry and is just confidently idiosyncratic in a way that works. I enjoyed this one much more than I expected when I started it 5. Demon Copperhead by Kingsolver - another "basic" pick, but as someone who is in the same age as the protagonist and has a familiarity with Appalachia (though not similar to Demon's experience), I liked this one and recommended it to everyone in my family, it was fun to share that with them

[@Gl1tch2263]

Nice! My top 5: Beloved - Toni Morrison The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro Disgrace - J.M Coetzee Solenoid - Mircea Cărtărescu Suttree - Cormac McCarthy

[@James.NewYork]

For me best book in 2024 was keezano’s Your Life Your Game📕It beautifully shows how connecting with God and focusing on your family can lead to spiritual growth, stronger relationships, and success in both your personal and professional life. This book truly changed my life…a must-read. God bless!💟🙏🏼

[@jwelshmanmusic]

I read a few of these after watching your reviews, never disappointed! I particularly loved In the Heart of the Heart of the Country. My Top 5: -Absalom, Absalom -Suttree -The Brothers Karamazov -Beloved -East Of Eden

[@jeremyschneider100]

Happy New Year! I'm excited to read some of these. Thanks for the great content and good recs!

[@vitriolvm]

Been watching since fingerless glove era. Glad you kept going. Thank you, many worlds over.

[@ThePoliticsofFiction]

Great video as always, man. Eloquent and concise. My top 5 of the year off the top of my head: The Left Hand of Darkness, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Piranesi, This is How You Lose the Time War, The Secret History (re-read).

[@chunkypuffs3838]

I'm a new subscriber, just some feedback. It would be nice to see the book covers of the books you mention, gives something to look at while you're talking about the book. Glad I found this channel :)

[@palodine1]

Your reviews ARE literature. Beautiful passages, magnificent descriptions. Been following you since the beginning of your channel and I've read many great novels thanks to your reviews.Appreciate it man!!

[@greggoat6570]

Is this Cliff’s alt account? Going a bit far there. His reviews are more so glorified summaries than they were at one point in his career.

[@nl3064]

My faves of the past year - 1. A Maggot (J. Fowles) (1985) - every year, there's a book that obsesses me, and in 2024, that was John Fowles' A Maggot. What starts as a boooooring period piece story written in faux old-timey English (the plot is set in England in the 1730's, and the slowness and language do make it, admittedly, an extreme chore to get into in the first section) becomes a captivating (potential) murder mystery, before taking a left-field sci-fi turn. 2. Acting Class (Graphic Novel) (N. Drnaso) (2022) - a graphic novel from the guy who made Sabrina a few years back. Great stuff, love the deceptively 'simple' art style. Wild, wacky, though Sabrina was more coherent. 3. Our Wives Under the Sea (J. Armfield) (2022) - apart from an overly sappy ending that was a bit stretched, loved it. Almost as great as people say. 4. Satan In Goray (I.B. Singer) (1935) - wonderful writing. Clearly, there's a reason this man won a Nobel for literature. Things get worse and worse for the Jews of a Polish village in the 1600's, culminating in a violent exorcism scene. A delight. 5. Geek Love (K. Dunn) (1989) - fun cult classic about a family of freaks ('geeks') that operate a traveling carnival. Only complaint, needed to be trimmed a bit, particularly the b-plot. H.M. - -Life For Sale (Y. Mishima) - easily Mishima's most fun novel. Nice to see him cut loose, drop the literary pretentions, and just write a straight-up pulp novel. -Death in Midsummer (Y. Mishima) - solid collection of short stories, some of my favorite writings from Mishima.

[@abhishekbhandari517]

Always looking forward to your reviews and end of the year favourites. However, I'd love to see you do your favourite 5 of the books that came out in the calendar year..

[@Batavo666]

Thanks a lot for all the reviews during 2024. Happy New Year, and greetings from Brasil. 🎉

[@aunt.mabel.is.a.phenocopy]

In no particular order: 1) A Heart So White: Javier Marías 2) Stoner: John Williams 3) The Maniac: Benjamín Labatut 4) How to Live: Sarah Bakewell 5) Flights: Olga Tokarczuk

[@willwhitman717]

Great picks, BTF. Happy new year.

[@louismolyneux4055]

1. Angels - Denis Johnson 2. The Passenger - Cormac McCarthy 3. Agua viva - Clarice Lispector 4. Train Dreams - Denis Johnson 5. Remainder - Tom McCarthy My favourite non fiction: Our Band Could be your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground - Michael Azerrad Also you should review Infite Jest either way, few books have ever stayed with me as long

[@j_a731]

Love you & happy new year from IRAN ❤

[@marcelhidalgo1076]

1. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer 2. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton 3. Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon 4. The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis 5. My Struggle Vol. 3 by Karl Ove Knausgaard

[@oggymation3875]

1. Legend of the Holy Drinker - Joseph Roth 2. The Favorite Game - Leonard Cohen 3. The Sun Also Rises -Hemingway 4. Hour of the Star - Clarice Lispector 5. The Rum Diary - HST

[@SheriMaple]

I enjoyed many of the books I read in 2024. The books listed have themes identity, memory, language, rebirth, loss, and community. These people were a richer experience as read and discussed them with a group. Here are some of the books: James by Percival Everett Erasure by ^^^ What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J Chancy Corregidora by Gayl Jones Sula by Toni Morrison

[@glennaustin37]

Great list... I must endeavor to read more Ballard! Here's my top 5 reads of 2024 : 1 The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep (H G Parry) 2 How High we go in the Dark (Sequoia Nagamatsu) 3 My Brother's Keeper (Tim Powers) 4 The Midnight Library (Matt Haig) 5 Slaughterhouse 5 (Kurt Vonnegut Jr).

[@farbaby7624]

My favorite read this year was actually Infinite Jest. There were portions I loved, that made me laugh out loud, and portions that felt like an absolute slog. I finished it feeling that is was really good but not great, maybe undeserving of its more extreme reputations, but it grew on me afterwards. I kept thinking and thinking about it and I feel like it impacted me pretty significantly. Like many books published in the late 90s and early 2000s, a lot of the book concerns cynicism and escapism. But it digs beneath that into the discomfort which causes that detachment in the first place. There's a lot of the author in the book, equally in the fantastic humor, the expertly crafted characters, and the 20 page descriptions of tennis matches, which I realized is the reason those sloggish sections didn't taint it for me.

[@ubik2388]

My top five: 5. The Fruit Thief - Peter Handke 4. Red Sky Morning - Paul Lynch 3. Kairos - Jenny Erpenbeck 2. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - Olga Tokarczuk 1. The Instructions - Adam Levin Honorable Mentions: Submission - Michel Houllebecq, Not Even the Dead - Juan Gomez Barcena, My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Otessa Moshfegh

[@MsLoila]

happy new year ❤ My favourite booktuber!!

[@havardwarnes769]

Looking forward to Infinite Jest review. Favourites of 2024: 1. Hang Kang - We Do Not Part 2. Anne Carson - Autobiography of Red 3. Henrik Ibsen - Ghosts 4. Godset - Signe Holm 5. The Possibility of an Island - Michel Houellebecq

[@morteningemannpedersen8691]

1. Woodcutters - Thomas Bernhard 2. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Phillip K. Dick 3. the Wizard of the Kremlin - Guiliano da Empoli 4. Journey to the end of the Night - Celine 5. Hyperpolitics - Anton Jäger

[@chrissaenz6281]

My favorite list for 2024 1. Journey to the End of the Night by Louis Ferdinand Celine 2. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller 3. Ask the Dust by John Fante 4. Sons and Lovers by D.H Lawrence 5. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

[@ACMMMachado]

My best of 2024 were: The Fifth Child - Doris Lessing 11.22.63 - Stephen King The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez East of Eden - John Steinbeck Voice of the Fire - Alan Moore My Friend Dahmer - Derf Backderf

[@nicobruin8618]

My top 5, in no particular order: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson Hilarious and surreal. As someone who has had some experience with a few of the substances Thompson's characters are on in the book, I really appreciate how brilliantly Thompson can describe the experiences which often seem indescribable. The Education of Julius Caesar - Arthur D Kahn. A comprehensive account of the political times and career of the most iconic politician in history. It is rather partisan in favour of Caesar, but it is well sourced and credible. Agricola and Germania - Tacitus Very short, frustratingly short even, but a fascinating text. Tacitus's ability to fascinate the reader with descriptions of the peoples at the edge of the Roman world might even surpass Herodotus. If you're looking for an author to read from antiquity, this one is very accessible. The Proud Tower - Barbara Tuchman A portrait of the western world prior to the catastrophe of WW1. I'm obviously not 150 years old but reading this feels like trying to recall fading memories from a happier childhood. Ficciones - Jose Louis Borges Fascinating little tales each revolving around a single idea. Every one of them a masterful little composition.

[@nl3064]

Hyup. We all ❤️ Fear and Loathing. I do love me some Thompson 👍

[@TalkingTorah613]

Funny just last night i was watching your favorites of 2023, 2022 and 2021. I added a few books to my tbr even. And today u put out a new list for 2024. Awesome

[@nikkivenable73]

I look forward to your list all year long! My favorite books of 2024: North Woods by Daniel Mason, Mrs.Dalloway, Milkman, The Manual for Cleaning Women, Farewell to Arms.

[@ImSchneckenhaus]

I read Butcher's Crossing this year too, thanks to your review, and by gods was it amazing. I've discovered Cormac McCarthy and played Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2024 so I guess this year is my western era lol

[@jf8559]

My top fiction book goes to As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. And top nonfiction goes to Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.

[@arafatsafin650]

I read very few books this year. My favourite is easily Journey to the End of the Night.

[@gediminaskontrimas7992]

"Story of O" by Pauline Reage; "Termination shock" by Neal Stephenson; "Lessons" by Ian Mcewan; "The Pole" by J.M. Coetzee; "The Crimson Petal and the White" by Michel Faber; "The Breast" by Philip Roth. 🌿

[@MartaSpendowska]

Black Sun, added to TBR in 2025. Pagan Christian, murder, hot blood-I’m all in. Thanks and Happy New Year!

[@bobhopper609]

1. The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald. The tone was consistently sad, and I like the way he used images. 2. The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola. Wild stories about a man who wants his tapster back. Interesting pidgin English. 3. Me and the Spitter by Gaylord Perry/Bob Sudyk. Funny biography about the best baseball outlaw of all time.

[@cecethompson914]

Black-eyed peas and Cliff’s top 5 reads of the year! 2025 is off to an incredible start!

[@fabiocunha25]

1 - O Conde de Monte Cristo _ Alexandre Dumas 2 - O Mundo de Ontem _ Stefan Zweig 3 - Neve de Primavera _ Yukio Mishima 4 - Cavalo Selvagem _ Yukio Mishima 5 - Bairro Distante Jiro Taniguchi

[@darthenclave6946]

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer, all four of John Williams novels, and Beneath a Scarlett Sky and The Last Green Valley by Mark T Sullivan are my favorite books of 2024.

[@Im_No_Expert_72]

Stoner by John Williams. Excellent 👌

[@jamesgwarrior1981]

Oh sweet love these and you are one only a handful of book dudes I dig 🤘🏾 📚

[@jamesgwarrior1981]

Percival Everett “Dr No” was my favorite book this year. 📖 or Last year. 2024

[@michaelkennedy5126]

My favorite reads of the year 1. The 3 Body Problem Cixin Liu 2. The Haunting - Raymond M Hall 3. The Housemaid Is Watching - Freida McFadden 4. What Blood is For - Nyx Kain 5. Dune - Frank Herbert

[@brianjanson3498]

The Comedy of Agony by Christopher Spranger was my favorite. I read and enjoyed The Cormorant..

[@joniheisenberg]

“All The King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren is the best book I have ever read. Nothing comes close. Read “The Tropic of Cancer” years ago. Outstanding experience.

[@TraumaTizedLOL1]

I've been waiting for this one!

[@TheLinguistsLibrary]

Ohhh I guess we're reading Infinite Jest this January

[@Raymond-d2l7n]

I recently bought Lawrence Durrell's The Dark Labyrinth on a whim from a charity shop. Glad I did. Set in Greece where Durrell lived for a long time. Very well written. A page-turner. In the first sitting I read 168 pages. Not like me.

[@Caleb-ue2jv]

A Farewell to Arms moved me, also did not see that ending coming

[@lilwasted7685]

For me, The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut takes top spot for 2024. Astounding in combination with the Oppenheimer Movie, I hope you will review it some day!

[@allesvergaengliche]

Agreed

[@jwelshmanmusic]

This ones in my TBR, can't wait to get to it!

[@eumeswil1976]

Un verdor terrible is also incredible. The themes are maybe not as as interesting and it doesn't have the overall unity of MANIAC, but its writing is even better in my opinion.

[@boomadoom123]

My favorites of the year in no order, including many that were recommended by Cliff at one point or another: Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille Das Boot by Lothar-Günther Buchheim Junkie by William S Burroughs American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka Sunstone / Piedra de Sol by Octavio Paz Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre The Hunter by "Richard Stark" (Donald E Westlake) Dead End by Michel Surya Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by unknown

[@matthewjaco847]

Happy New Year! My WiFi cut out for a second at 0:35 which only made the pause after you mentioning Infinite Jest all the more dramatic.

[@gastondeveaux3783]

You seem to have a penchant for challenging and sometimes bizarre subject matter. Are you an english professor or writer by any chance? Great video ! I'm really interested in reading your #1. Just added it to my list !

[@emilianoviolinista]

yes, infinite jest, please and thank you...

[@mafiabugsy2763]

Happy New Year, man :)

[@Malik-ji3mz]

Favs of the year: War and Peace - better than the rep, a page turner and life changer, can't recommend it enough Memoirs of Hadrian - another life changer, astounding fictional memoir written by the roman emperor hadrian on his death bed to his grandson Marcus Aurelius The Last Samurai - not the Tom Cruise movie, experimental in a way that's eminently readable, filled with beautiful prose and characters, funny, heartwarming in a true and no saccharine way, clearly the work of a genius The Invention of Morel - a perfect little puzzle of a book, astounding The Savage Detectives - I wanted this book to be 2000 pages long tbh

[@evenings.6170]

YES! Finally Infinite Jest, my favourite novel of all time, thanks man

[@MarkFirstList]

I don't get the people who so dislike Infinite Jest. And the footnotes are just amazing. Let's have fun with amazing things!

[@alancawfield6549]

My top reads of the year, in no particular order. Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead Dead Man's Walk by Larry McMurtry I am Legend by Richard Matheson Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon Mr Midshipman Hornblower by CS Forester Killshot by Elmore Leonard Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

[@williambentley2802]

The Hunters by James Salter , magnificent.

[@samtehranipour8087]

How do you avoid blinking for that long?

[@davidjsward]

Great roundup! My two favourites of 2024 are two that I think you would really love, Cliff: 'Mama Black Widow' by Iceberg Slim and 'The Birds' by Tarjei Vesaas. Two wildly different books about very different people, places and subjects, but linked by the painful sincerity and humanity of their writing. Check them out; you won't be disappointed!

[@iv0rysh0es39]

Fave books read in 2024: No Country for Old Men (read twice) by Cormac McCarthy We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis Big Swiss by Jen Beagin Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams The Glutton by AK Blackmore

[@nl3064]

Always love a discussion on Ballard, big fan, though Crash and Atrocity Exhibition (those were also the ones a started with years ago) are some of those I liked less.

[@DTG79989]

Berlin - by Jason lutes Birnam wood Dream story Stalking the atomic city - Rivethead Honourable mention goes to septology, cancer ward, life with pacsso, dr Faustus, the moviegoer, when we cease to understand

[@alexjohnson9798]

Colorado mention

[@alexmacdonald9182]

"The Jakarta Method" was the best book for me, it's the perfect answer to the brain rot question of "how many people has communism killed??" (not nearly as many as capitalism is the answer)

[@derwandschauer]

Nathan Hill is great. Both books are fantastic.

[@r.s.9861]

John Williams in da hauz! :))

[@TheLinguistsLibrary]

Brazilian coffee is the best xoxo

[@ngoodey]

Javier Marias Your Face Tomorrow would be my book of the year. It's an intellectual spy trilogy exploring what you need to do to terrorize someone. Regarding books released this year, Ferdia Lennon's Glorious Exploits transports 21st-century Dublin and its slang to Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War. Funny and sad by turns. I second your opinion about 'Butcher's Crossing' one of my favorite American novels.

[@greg0879]

Kathe Koja's The Cipher and Bad Brains. Great writing with creepy endings that stick with you.

[@ccoope02]

Henry James was an absolute master.

[@animallibrary-100]

"Hi everyone, we're so glad you've joined us at the Animal Library! We're looking forward to seeing you."

[@elbowjuice2627]

I only read blood meridian (lol) and made it a third of the way through Satanic Verses