We spend plenty of time here on The Millions telling all of you what we’ve been reading, but we are also quite interested in hearing about what you’ve been reading. By looking at our Amazon stats, we can see what books Millions readers have been buying, and we decided it would be fun to use those stats to find out what books have been most popular with our readers in recent months. Below you’ll find our Millions Top Ten list for February.
This
Month
Last
Month
Title
On List
1.
1.
The Goldfinch
5 months
2.
2.
Selected Stories
5 months
3.
3.
The Flamethrowers
5 months
4.
4.
The Luminaries
5 months
5.
6.
Draw It with Your Eyes Closed: The Art of the Art Assignment
5 months
6.
5.
The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose
3 months
7.
9.
The Interestings
6 months
8.
8.
The Lowland
5 months
9.
7.
Bleeding Edge
6 months
10.
10.
Just Kids
2 month
No new titles were added to this month's Top Ten, and the four books in the top spots held onto their exact positions from last January. That's to be expected, I suppose, considering the fact that
The Goldfinch is everywhere these days, and was also the subject of
Claire Cameron's recent
Millions piece, "
How to Tweet Like Boris from The Goldfinch."
Meanwhile,
Alice Munro continues to ride her rightfully-deserved wave of
post-Nobel Prize publicity, and her
Selected Stories held onto her second-place spot in our list as a result. Still, it may behoove some readers to check out Munro's other works in the coming months, and for guidance in that department, look no further than
Ben Dolnick's classic, "
Beginner’s Guide to Alice Munro." In the event that you've exhausted her bibliography, or you're simply bitten by Maple Fever following Canada's hockey sweep in the Sochi Olympics, you might also want to check out
Michael Bourne's essential "
Beginner’s Guide to Canadian Lit." (The cure for Maple Fever, incidentally, is a serving of Timbits from any Tim Horton's establishment.)
Another item of interest for avid Top Ten fans is the recent debut of Paper Monument's
Draw it With Your Eyes Closed supplemental
website of the same name, which was developed to “expand on the previously published content, allowing a broader range of teachers, students, and artists to access, share, and contribute to the project.”
Rounding out this month's near misses is
Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being, which surely blipped onto some readers' radars after being nominated for the
The L.A. Times Book Prize a few weeks back. That Prize will be awarded on April 11. Ozeki's novel was also featured prominently in
our recent comparison of U.S. Vs. U.K. book covers.
Lastly, I'd like to take this moment to announce that I'll be taking the Top Ten reins from now on. My hope is that I can use my experience with the
Curiosities blog to supplement each month's list with as much recent news about the books as possible. See you in a few weeks!
Near Misses: The Circle, Eleanor & Park,
The Son,
The Unwinding, and
A Tale for the Time Being.
See Also: Last month's list.
I've been engaging with Netherland, and Zadie Smith's NYRB article on same here:
http://nigelbeale.com/2009/01/part-1-netherlandwood-smith-and-the-truly-great/
and here:
http://nigelbeale.com/2009/01/netherland-lyrical-realism-and-the-flip-flops-of-zadie-smith-part-ll/
I'm 400 pp. into 2666.
Last month I read Oscar Wao and Tree of Smoke.
Kirk, Tx.
I finished 2666 last week. I loved it.
I just started reading 2666 yesterday and so far I can't put it down. This is the second book of Bolano's I've read (the first being Amulet). I probably should have read The Savage Detectives first, but I just couldn't wait.
I've read Infinite Jest and A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, but the rest I have not.
I'm reading 2666. On the first book right now and can't put it down. So far so good. I've read most of DFW except Infinite Jest. Prefer his essays, but that's just my taste.
read Netherland (loved it, seriously considering adding it to my syllabus next semester)
read The Savage Detectives (loved the first half, alright in the middle, really liked the end) – liked it so much that I . . .
bought 2666 and it is on "The Stack"
Infinite Jest shows up on "The Stack" sometimes, but usually comes out before I get to it (though sometimes I start it before deciding I don't have time right now).
bought The Dud Avocado on recommendations here
am reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. about half way and would probably enjoy it more if I knew more Spanish (but I can get by). I think it might come off as heavy-handed in its "geek culture" references (for lack of a better term), but at least I haven't found more than one that I don't get immediately. if I didn't have the Spanish AND I had never spent much time with comics and hanging out in comic book shops I think I would be very lost.
I read Oscar Wao last year, and I loved it. I am not a comic book reader and have never read Lord or the Rings, but I still loved the book. As soon as I finished it, I ran out and bought Diaz's book of short stories Drown and enjoyed it very much too. I think Oscar Wao is a classic in the making.
I'm about 200 pages into 2666, and the book led me on a side trip, as they always do, to the book by journalist Teresa Rodriguez, "The Daughters of Juarez" A true story of serial murder south of the border."
I'm reading 2666 now, savouring it slowly. It is my first venture into Bolano, it has been very interesting this far. The Savage Detectives is buried somewhere beneath the mountain of coursework.
I have had Savage Detectives and haven't gotten around to reading it but judging from all the comments here maybe I need to pick it up next. Infinite Jest is the only thing on this list I've read and the more I let it marinate the highter it moves up on my list of favorite books…
Just finished Netherland Great read. Tried infinite Jest but just could not get into it.
Read Bolano's 2666, DFW's Supposedly Fun Thing, and O'Neill's Netherland. Netherland was a bit of a disappointment after all the hype, while 2666 was simply amazing even with the hype. It's been a few months since I read 2666, and I still find anything I've read since lackluster and uninteresting. I remember enjoying a number of the essays in this collection by DFW, but I read it so long time ago that my memory can't be trusted. I, too, prefer his essays to his fiction.