Well, the list of books to be given away next year has just been finalised. World Book Night will be on April 23rd (as always), and until January 23rd you can apply to help out with distributing the books. The list for next year is:
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
A Little History of the World by E.H Gombrich
Little Face by Sophie Hannah
Damage by Josephine Hart
The Island by Victoria Hislop
Red Dust Road by Jackie Kay
Last Night Another Soldier... by Andy McNab - the first "quick read" for WBN
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Reader by Bernard Schlink
No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Road Home by Rose Tremain
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson
Judge Dredd: The Dark Judges by John Wagner - the first graphic novel for WBN
I confess I've only read four of these so far, but The Knife of Never Letting Go and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal are going on my list of must-read books. I'm still very much open to suggestions for that list by the way. I'm particularly keen to add more books from the last couple of years or proper old classics. Visit my 'Book' page and leave a comment if you've got a suggestion for me. Thanks!
How many of these have you read? Any favourites?
I've also only read 4, of which I'd definitely recommend "The Island" and "Noughts and Crosses". I'll have to go and look through the other 21 - I'm sure there are some fantastic books in there!
ReplyDeleteShamefully, I've only read one of these; The Reader. It's a fantastic book, and when I saw the movie I cried my eyes out (because I had the more intense relationship with the characters that reading the book brings)
ReplyDeleteI got Why be Happy for my birthday, but have such a big 'to read' list that I've not got to it yet.
Erm...just the one book read. Girl with a Pearl Earring. I thought it was brilliant. I heard an excerpt from Jeanette Winterson's book on the radio and was gobsmacked, so it's one to go on my list. Just reading the titles alone is an exercise in creativity!
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those things - some lists you'll have read pretty much all of them, other none at all. Between us we might have read them all. (I've read Noughts and Crosses, The Eyre Affair (a MUST-READ for any avid reader or writer!), Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Treasure Island (not sure why that's on the list!)
ReplyDeleteGirl With A Pearl Earring is a beautiful book!
ReplyDeleteHi Willa - welcome! Thanks for the recommendation. I will add it to my list of books to read. I sort of feel ashamed I haven't read it already!
DeleteI really enjoyed Pearl Earring, and Treasure Island is wonderful escapism. The Jeanette Winterson book seems to be a biography so I'm going to sneak in a couple of n/f suggestions. Wild Swans by Jung Chang is one of the most powerful stories I've ever read and a must-read in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite book of last year, and one of my favourites of all time, was Empire of the Summer Moon by SC Gwynne. It's about the destruction of the Commanche as a tribe and in particular revolves round the story of Quannah Parker, the son of an Indian chief and an abducted white woman who went on to become their last chief. You don't have to have any interest in the old West or Indians to enjoy it - it's a brilliantly written and captivating story of the end of a way of life.
You love your non-fiction! I didn't realise Wild Swans was n-f. I'll add it to the list!
DeleteOh wait... it's already on my list because you've suggested it before! I'll get round to it some time! Thanks :)
DeleteWell, I have been flying the flag for it for a long time! Just to keep you happy I'm adding a fiction book as well. If Andy McNab can get onto the World Book list I have no hesitation in offering up William Goldman's Marathon Man. Not only was he a proper writer, but it's the best thriller I've ever read!
ReplyDeleteI hardly ever read thrillers but having read one recommended to me recently off my list (Tell No One), I'm quite up for some more!
DeleteOh wait - you've already recommended that one as well!
DeleteOh dear, I seem to keep repeating mysef - a sign of old age...
ReplyDelete