Best Books of the '00s

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Bugsy
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Best Books of the '00s

Post by Bugsy »

I saw this linked a few weeks ago and just found it again in my bookmarks. I'm looking through it now and just thought I'd share it here.

http://community.livejournal.com/ohnoth ... tml#cutid1

Agree? Disagree?
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Spudd
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Re: Best Books of the '00s

Post by Spudd »

I'll only comment on the ones I've read:

Devil In The White City (2003), Erik Larson - I got this on audiobook and could NOT slog through it. It was so dry and boring and slow. NOT recommended.
The Blind Assassin (2000), Margaret Atwood - It was okay, but I wouldn't write home about it.
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (2003), Mark Haddon - Loved this. I thought it was brilliant.
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2005), J.K. Rowling - I don't even remember which one this was. In general I've enjoyed the Harry Potter books but I'd never put them on a "best of" list.
Middlesex (2002), Jeffrey Eugenides - Really liked this. I don't remember much about it any more but I remember I enjoyed it greatly.
The Time Traveler’s Wife (2003), Audrey Niffenegger - I really liked this one as well. It had a few spots where I wasn't that into it, but overall I'm a fan.
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Re: Best Books of the '00s

Post by Sílvia »

I haven't read many of those, but here it is:

Atonement - good, but not for any moment. You have to be in the mood for more quality and less speed. I'm almost never in that mood anymore, but I was when I read the book.

Blind Assassin - I feel the same as Spudd.

Empire Falls - Boring as can be.

Never Let me Go - couldn't get past page 50. Holy boredom.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Loved it.

White Teeth - I don't remember anything about it, just that I didn't like it.

ETA: I was just reading their description of Empire Falls, and holy crap, how could that be anything but boring?? Nothing ever happens in that damn book until the very end.
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Re: Best Books of the '00s

Post by Blush »

Freakonomics (2005), Steven D. Levitt and Steven J. Dubner; This book really intrigued me. I remember telling everyone about it at the time.

The Tipping Point (2000), Malcolm Gladwell. LOVED this. Though, to be fair, I love anything that Malcolm Gladwell writes or says.

The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle (2008), David Wroblewski. I started this and didn't get very far at all. The first description of a starving dog had me slamming the book shut. I couldn't read it.

THAT'S IT? Not a very comprehensive list, IMO.
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Bugsy
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Re: Best Books of the '00s

Post by Bugsy »

Yeah, it seems like a strange list, but to fair, it was posted on what is normally a celeb-gossip website. So, yeah.

From the list I've only read a few:

-Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (loved it)
-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (easily my favorite from the series; I love all of the backstory that got told...really helped to make sense of some things. But yeah, not sure that anything from this series should be on a best-of list)
-Middlesex (really enjoyed it but don't remember a ton about it; I read it like 4 years ago)

I did add quite a few from the list to my to-read list, though, so we'll see how I feel about those ones after actually reading them. I definitely want to read the Atwood one; the 2 I've read by her so far have been really good.
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Re: Best Books of the '00s

Post by Crystal Meth »

I liked White Teeth, so of course Silvia didn't. ;)

I saw another article from the London Times that was the 100 most influential books of the decade. So, it included the big award-winners, but also The Da Vinci Code and Twilight - books that were poorly written but struck a chord with reading audiences. (For better or worse...)
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Re: Best Books of the '00s

Post by Beverly »

That is a strange list, I think. Anyway, these are the books I've read:

The Blind Assassin -- loved it; seriously, one of the best books I've ever read

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao -- a really good book, but maybe too much Spanish in key passages (I had to have Kayley help me when I was reading it, because my rudimentary Spanish just wasn't cutting it)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime -- I thought this was a pretty good book, but it was nothing that really grabbed me. I think maybe I heard too much hype about it before I finally got around to reading it, and there was no way it could have measured up.

The Road -- hated it; I am so not into post-apocalyptic stuff, and it was just way too bleak and hopeless. At least it was a quick read.
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