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Books Every King Should Read - The Best of Cannonball Read V

By Mswas Sawsm | Books | December 26, 2013 |

By Mswas Sawsm | Books | December 26, 2013 |


If you were distraught when you read what happens to The Lives of Four Kings, then you know how important and wonderful a book can be. Below are the most important and wonderful books read by our Cannonballers this year. Hands down, the new favorite author is Rainbow Rowell. Check out the titles below for our participants’ favorites and a few comments, to boot. Or look through our worst books of the year and learn what tomes to leave uncracked.

Not Prince Hamlet
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

Siege
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Allison Arngrim
The Garner Files: A Memoir by James Garner
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

TroublesomeTots
Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Caitlin
I Wear the Black Hat by Chuck Klosterman
(Tie) Fangirl and Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Scootsa1000
Wonder by RJ Palacio
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

ElCicco
Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish: A Novel by David Rakoff. Told in rhyme, it is funny sad, witty and tragic, and a well rounded, compact story that covers multiple story lines and several generations. Impressive and engrossing.
Life After Life: A Novel by Kate Atkinson. A novel about someone reliving her life over and over could have been tedious and disastrous. This is brilliant.
Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and Identity by Andrew Solomon. A superbly researched and beautifully written work of non-fiction. Solomon writes with intelligence and compassion about "difference" of all sorts. I wish I could make people read this book.

Katsings
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
City of Thieves by David Benioff

Captain Tuttle
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

The Mama
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay. There are no vampires, no dystopia, no fantasy, just two broken kids trying to figure out how to deal with life.
Indiscretion by Charles Dubow. This one snuck up on me, but I still think about it, even now.
Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell. Not because it was the best book of the year (although it was fantastic), but because this is the first Rainbow book I read, so it has a special place in my heart. And it led me to the other two, and then it led me to a full-on girl crush. I want to be BFFs with Rainbow.

narfna
Everything Rainbow Rowell, but Attachments is my personal favorite.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (which got a RT from NG!)
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Blew my mind.

loulamac
Smiley’s People by John Le Carre
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
World War Z by Max Brooks

ardaigle
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Runaways Deluxe Volume One by Brian K. Vaughan

badkittyuno
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (so hard to choose just one Atwood, even)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (and just one Chabon! But they’re all so good!)
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

jennp421
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller
The Light Between Oceans
by ML Stedman
Rainbow Rowell didn’t quite make the list though I loved everything I read by her so maybe favorite new author? Attachments was my favorite of hers.

ScruffyRube
Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (note, this review has yet to be posted)
Revenge by Stephen Fry

Lollygagger
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
American Savage by Dan Savage
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Even Stevens
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

popcultureboy
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty

KayKay
Where’d You Go Benadette by Maria Semple
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Lady Cordelia
The Circle by Dave Eggers
Luther: The Calling by Neil Cross
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

dsbs42
Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

llp
Milking the Moon by Katherine Clark and Eugene Walters
Unchangeable Spots of Leopards by Kristopher Jansma
Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

lefaquinThe Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht
Baghdad Without a Map by Tony Horowitz
Sex and the Citadel by Shereen el Feki

denesteak
Some Hope, 3rd book in the Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St. Aubyn
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
World War Z by Max Brooks

teresaelectro
Silver Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells
Shadowfever by Karen Moening
Thicker Than Water by Mike Carey

Travis Jarrod Smith
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

faintingvioletThe Gods of Gotham by Lyndsey Faye
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Honorable Mention: City of Thieves by David Benioff

Sophia
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed 
World War Z by Max Brooks 

Mrs. Smith
Tenth of December by George Saunders
Going Clear by Lawrence Wright
Prisoner of Heaven  by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Runner up: Serena by Ron Rash

Shucks Mahoney
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf http://cannonballread5.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/shucks-mahoneys-cbrv-review-23-mrs-dalloway-by-virginia-woolf/
Close to the Machine by Ellen Ullman http://cannonballread5.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/shucks-mahoneys-cbrv-review-21-close-to-the-machine-technophilia-and-its-discontents-by-ellen-ullman/
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima http://cannonballread5.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/shucks-mahoneys-cbrv-review-16-the-temple-of-the-golden-pavilion-by-yukio-mishima/ 

tmoney
Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats by Kristen Iversen
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World by Mathew Goodman

Rachie
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Firecracker by David Iserson
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

reginadelmar
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo  
Angelmaker by Nick Hardaway
Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel 

If the fact that Rainbow Rowell has a new book coming out in July 2014 thrills you to no end, then come along for the ride and join Cannonball Read Six. Even if you can’t bear to register, you can follow our group blog all year long. In addition to Guy’s Awesome Graphic, the reviews and opinions are worth the read.