miguel-se7

“When you handle books all day long, every new one is a friend and a temptation.”
- Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian

Whether you're a casual reader or an avid fan of books, sometimes it is pretty difficult to decide on what to read next, especially when none of your friends share your reading taste. I'm usually urging people to try on new books and start their reading habit, I currently have around 10 books loaned out to friends and acquaintances, and while I know that I won't be seeing most of them back, I think it is a small price to pay if someone finds their new favorite book thanks to me.

Following that trend I have started writing book reviews for every new book I read here on Coil, but what about those books that I love that I read a long time ago? Well, I think it is fair to give them some credit too. So without further ado, here are a few of my favorite books, in no particular order, from the past years:

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski: A collection of short stories that introduce us to the world of The Witcher. The narrative follows the adventures of Geralt of Rivia. Highly recommended for fans of the Fantasy genre.

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky: One of the bests novels ever written, Dostoevsky delves into Faith, Morality, Reason… As Kurt Vonnegut would put it:

“There is one other book, that can teach you everything you need to know about life... it's The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, but that's not enough anymore.”

Fair warning, this is not an easy book and will require some time to go through, but it is really worth it. I recommend going with the Pevear Volokhonsky translation.

Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist: A vampire book done right. This book is dark, filled with horror and dread, coupled with a complex story. The writing is beautiful and really disturbing at the same time.

What if? by Randall Munroe: Former NASA employee and xkcd comic creator Randall Munroe decided to answer a lot of absurd questions, such as:

What would happen of everyone on Earth stood as close to each other as they could and jumped, everyone landing on the ground at the same time?

using 'serious' science. The result is this book. The writing is simple, witty and accompanied by funny drawings. This book is perfect for reading in small amounts as each question should take you around 5 minutes to read through.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: The personal notes of emperor Marcus Aurelius and one of the greatest works of philosophy. Aurelius teaches us how to live as best we can and confront the daily struggles that come in our way.

If you have read my previous reviews you may have noticed that I'm a fan of Stoicism, this book is the one that introduced me into it. You can download a copy from here.

Hopefully you will find at least one of these recommendations to your taste. In case you were wondering about the book I took that opening quote from, you can find my thoughts about it below:

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