Top 5 Best Books of the Year

This is my list of the best five books I have read this year. The books in this list don’t necessarily have to be released this year but I would have to have read them this year. Some of the books in this list I reviewed right here and some I didn’t. I have read a total of 40 books this year, which grossly below my target but life gets in the way and there  is little I can do about that. Would have loved the list to be longer but I felt that would be stretching it.

Here goes:

 

 

5. The Prodigal by HC Maree

HC Maree makes it to the list with her dazzling debut novel The Prodigal. The prodigal is a slow burning masterpiece, with memorable characters and a prose that is so picturesque and vivid. The book transcends itself and what emanates is an unforgettable experience for the reader.

 

 

4. Complexity by Michael Llyod

Michael Lloyd’s debut sci-fi novel Complexity is intelligent, realistic and beautiful. The book tells the story of what would happen if the internet became sentient, what unravels is a conspiracy major with philosophical ramifications. What you have in the end is clever masterpiece, crafted to be etched in your psyche forever.

 

 

 

3. The WikiLeaks Files: The World According to the US Empire by Julian Assange

Julian Assange and an array of contributors compiled this mammoth of an eye opening book about international relations and the role the US has played in them and more. The book draws on the leaked US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks and other sources for a comprehensive picture of the world and the forces shaping it. To say the book is eye-opening, confrontational and challenging would be an understatement. It is simply one of the best contributions of the year to the study of politics and international relations outside of academia.

 

2. The Health Gap: The Challenge of an Unequal World by Michael Marmot

Sir Michael Marmot adds to the political philosophy debate of what makes better societies or a life that is worthwhile. He shows how social justice, health and a happy life are all connected. Although the book is about the social and environmental determinants of poor health and how those can be rectified it is in many ways an insightful and radical a read as the works of Robert Nozick and John Rawls. Michael’s quests for conditions that support a worthwhile human life and optimum health leads him to arguments and claims, supported by research and real data, which go a long way to show the importance of social justice, welfare, conceiving the utilitarian conception of the good and more. The book isn’t just a book about health, it touches on many disciplines aimed at societal transformation.

1. Pretty girls by Karin Slaughter

Pretty Girls is the latest from Karin Slaughter and it showcases her abilities at their highest.  Gripping, shocking thriller with clever twists, heart throbbing moments and characters that make one ache with sympathy. It has everything, it is as much about the characters it is about the plot and it is how these two elements are intertwined that add to its poignancy.

 

 

 

And that is my list for the year. I hope you really enjoyed being here with me.

A happy new year to you.

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