I finished this novel last night, and immediately re-read the last three pages again, as if in a trance, as if unable to let go of something I'd spent a lot of time with over the last three weeks, as if I couldn't stand for the story to be over. It's hard to compare this book to much else I've read, though I've added it to my favourite books, just as I did The Road earlier this year. I think the last time a book made me stop and re-read a sentence or whole passages so many times was probably Gabriel Garcia Marquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude. I'd recommend 2666 to everybody who loves a great sentence, can deal with tangents, and will invest time into this 900-page novel in five parts.
So how am I doing with my fifty-two books for 2009? Well, the last time I updated about it here was back in February, though I update my Goodreads status nearly daily with my reading. I'm still completely open to suggestions - the last time I did it, I added your suggestions to my "to-read" list, currently at 206 books! So, I might not get to it right away, but...it'll be there. Perhaps just tell me about a book that really moved you, something that might be akin to how relevatory I found 2666. Even if I've already read it or whatever - I love hearing about books other people treasure and why. My own favourites can be found here.
Fifty-Two Books in 2009
01 A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin (01.05.09)
02 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks (01.18.09)
03 Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer (01.20.09)
04 The Road, Cormac McCarthy (01.22.09)
05 Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughn (01.27.09)
06 Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyers (01.31.09)
07 Infinity Blues, Ryan Adams (02.12.09)
08 The Best American Magazine Writing 2008 (02.28.09)
09 First Love, Ivan S. Turgenev (03.08.09)
10 Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (03.15.09)
11 Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (03.16.09)
12 The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera (03.24.09)
13 Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro Kazuo (03.29.09)
14 The Last Vampire, Christopher Pike* (04.05.09)
15 Whisper of Death, Christopher Pike (04.13.09)
16 Monster, Christopher Pike (04.21.09)
17 A Storm of Swords, George R.R. Martin (04.30.09)
18 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith (05.15.09)
19 Crimson, Brian Augustyn (CURRENTLY READING)**
20 2666, Roberto Bolaño (06.07.09)
21 The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson (CURRENTLY READING)
Hopefully I'll reach the halfway point of 26 books in July! After I finish Jam's suggestion of The Devil in the White City (which is a quite good non-fiction read so far!), I have a few shorter books lined up to take a little breather from those novels which add pounds to my commute! They include, The Sound of My Voice by Ron Butlin (128 pages), Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall (240 pages), and The Lover by Marguerite Duras (128 pages).
So, again, let me know what your favourite book ever is and explain why you love it and how it moved you! I'm excited to read about them!
*Did you know that Christopher Pike chose his pen name from the Star Trek character? Still. Relevant.
**This graphic series isn't really doing it for me, I may put it down after finishing the second volume.
