Tyler Cowen over at Marginal Revolution asked his readers to share a book they loved that no one else did. I am pressed to think of any because I tend to go in the opposite direction and not care for books that others have loved.
Then again, I also veer towards very niche genres and books; ones which have a cult following, but difficult to recommend to others. Be as it may, here are a list of my favourites within that particular parameter:
Anathem by Neal Stephenson—Stephenson is an author I rarely recommend to people. You have to love info dumping and navigating through many pages of non-fiction within his ficton to gain an appreciation for his work.
Anathem is the extreme end of this, requiring you to pay close attention because you are hit with a lot of math and science, all set in a world that is not Earth and therefore, the terminology is different. However, the end result is a masterpiece.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore—Not an obscure title as it has quite the following, but wow, I’ve never laughed so hard at a book. It’s completely irrevarent, witty and worth every moment I lost my breath as a result of those belly laughs.
The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind—Yes, I agree this author has some serious issues. I also agree this series goes in some horrendous, weird and dumb places. I also couldn’t stand more than 20 pages of his attempted sequels and gave up on trying.
But you know what? I kept flipping pages until the very end.
The Gum Thief by Douglas Copeland—One of three authors who have influenced my own writing style and most known for his seminal work, Generation X.
This book by him is by far my favourite, introducing a flow I had never seen but that works magnificently. It pains me this book isn’t for everyone because it’s the one book that I would want everyone to read.
More Than This by Patrick Ness—Ness is a tremendous author. A Monster Calls, in my opinion, is a shining example of perfection in literature. I recommend it to everyone and I don’t say that lightly.
This particular book was recommended to me by one of my students and the best way to describe it is Incepton meets The Matrix meets Kierkegaard. Very hard to pin down, but oh wonderful to read.
Heartstriker Series by Rachel Aaron—Combine anime, video games and an urban fantasy world and you get this series. It was rather enjoyable, especially when the most significant and powerful character in the book… is named Bob.
As for books that everyone loved that I just couldn’t… that’s for another day.
Besides, the last thing the world needs is another pretentious critic.