Best Reads of 2005!

[yellowish haze]

The more I think about this thread, the more I’m unable to decide on a top ten list of books I’ve read last year. All of them are simply FANTASTIC! In fact, there is one aspect of 2005 which is, in my case, quite obvious - it was definitely the most Ligottian year of my life and will probably stay so forever. Not only, after discovering Ligotti in December 2004, did I read most of his stories, but I also have managed to investigate an incredible plethora of authors writing under a strong influence of TL and discover many other weird fiction writers. I must give credit for this achievement to TLO – without this site and all of you I would probably be still reading Dean Koontz and all the other mediocre or main stream writers.
Just have a look at those titles (actually, I included all of the titles. They appear in a seemingly-chronological order):

IN A FOREIGN LAND, IN A FOREIGN TOWN by Thomas Ligotti (my first collection by TL – probably my favorite one)

NOCTUARY by Thomas Ligotti

THE GOD OF FOULNESS by Matt Cardin (thanks Matt, once again!)

MY WORK IS NOT YET DONE by Thomas Ligotti
…
(at this point I decided to stop reading Ligotti for some time – I was simply afraid that later there would be nothing left)
…
THE DIVINITY STUDENT by Michael Cisco

AGAINST THE WORLD, AGAINST LIFE by Michel Houellebecq (the on-line version)

DIVINATIONS OF THE DEEP by Matt Cardin

THE GOLEM by Michael Cisco (I think the first part – The Divinity Student – was much better. However, The Golem was still an enjoyable read )

THE THOMAS LIGOTTI READER by various

DEATH POEMS by Thomas Ligotti

SELLECTED LETTERS III by Lovecraft ( yeah, I know… I should have started reading those letter in a chronological order. I was simply too desperate to wait for the first two volumes)

NU: THE SCIENCE FRICTION REMIXES by Simon Logan

HELLHOUSE by Richard Matheson ( I don’t know if I was satisfied with this one – “I Am Legend” was much better)

CRAMPTON by Thomas Ligotti and Brandon Trenz

A DREAMER AND VISIONARY by S. T. Joshi (this is the British version of Lovecraft’s biography by Joshi as some of you may know. Although it is much shorter than the original, it’s still very comprehensive)

SCARS AND OTHER DISTINGUISHING MARKS by Richard Christian Matheson

THE SEXUAL LABIRYNTH OF NIKOLAI GOGOL by Simon Karlinsky (In fact I’ve paged through this one only in search of info on my ancestors)

THE CHARNEL WINE by Richard Gavin

THE EXORCIST by William Peter Blatty (I knew I had to read this one some time)

THE WEIRDMONGER WHEEL by D. F. Lewis (on-line) (unfinished YET – no need to explain why )

THE LOST by Jonathan Aycliffe (pretty cool – maybe because I really like Stoker’s “Dracula”)

OLIVER TWIST by Charles Dickens ( there was simply no way I could go to see the Polański’s adaptation without having read the novel)

WYSPA ITONGO (THE ITONGO ISLAND) by Stefan Grabiński (there is no translation of this novel in English – we can only hold thumbs for Miroslaw Lipinski, the official translator. Nevertheless, Grabinski is much better in his short fiction).

OBSERVATORY MANSIONS by Edward Carey

MR. TEMPLETON’S TOYSHOP by Thomas Wiloch ( great!)

THE WHITE HANDS AND OTHER WEIRD TALES by Mark Samuels (…-this one as well)




That’s all (finally!). I hope everyone is going to share their 2005 best reads. I am looking forward to reading your plethora of titles.

	TLO THOMAS LIGOTTI ONLINE

[G. S. Carnivals]

2005 was a slow reading year for me.

Among the works I read for the first time (and enjoyed):

Both versions of Crampton by Thomas Ligotti and Brandon Trenz
No Beast So Fierce by Edward Bunker
A Swell-Looking Babe by Jim Thompson
The Dealings of Daniel Kesserich by Fritz Leiber
Heart of Whitenesse by Howard Waldrop
The Evil Entwines (Extended Version!) by John B. Ford and Guests
A number of short stories by various writers, most notably "The Town Manager" and "Purity" by Thomas Ligotti (I held out, too, Slawek. I understand the exhaustion of resources and the agony of the deprivation...)

The majority of my 2005 reading was actually a rereading (and worth it):

Grimscribe by Thomas Ligotti (His best single collection.)
In a Foreign Town, In a Foreign Land by Thomas Ligotti
The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein & Other Gothic Tales by Thomas Ligotti
My Work Is Not Yet Done by Thomas Ligotti
Noctuary by Thomas Ligotti
Teatro Grottesco and Other Tales (from The Nightmare Factory) by Thomas Ligotti Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
A number of short stories by various writers in different genres.

I'm rereading T.E.D. Klein's Dark Gods on either side of the new year.

[Severini]

I feel like a snail when I look at your lists...I am lazy and kind of fussy (specially about literature) so I will list four books I loved one I loathed and regreted until the end and one curious discovery...

LOVED
The Golem by Gustav Meyrink
(I expected a scary book but this one has an encompassing and effective dreamy atmosphere)

Os suicidas - (The suicidals) By Antonio di Benedetto
(A great book for everyone who romanticizes suicide)

Alone with the horrors by Ramsey Campbell
(Didn´t finish this one, but I enjoyed everything I read so far, specially "The Companion", "The Scar" and "Machintosh Willly")

How it is by Samuel Beckett
(Disturbing.Disturbing.Disturbing)

LOATHED
Disgrace by J M Coetzee
It didn´t work for me at all.

CURIOUS DISCOVERY
Sex and Character by Otto Weininger
(Controversial.Not recommended to feminists)

[The Silent One]

Quote Originally Posted by Severini";p=&quot

IAlone with the horrors by Ramsey Campbell (Didn´t finish this one, but I enjoyed everything I read so far, specially "The Companion", "The Scar" and "Machintosh Willly")

Great collection. "Macintosh Willy" is one of my personal favorites, along with "Before the Storm" and "The Voice of the Beach".

[unknown]

this year, I don't think I read anything that was "new"...it was more about discovering new authors and focusing more on great storytelling. I read an incredible amount of nonfiction. List of memorable books I read:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I thought this was an excellent piece of storytelling, though I was kind of mad when his next book, Anasasi Boys came out because it sounds like a rehash of the same plot.

Stranger than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk. This is what essentially started my nonfiction kick

The Red Notebook by Paul Auster. This is the book that introduced me to the world of Paul Auster. This book practically moved me to tears it was so amazing. So naturally I picked up a couple more of his books, The New York Trilogy and Moon Palace which have become quick favorites as well.

The Kafka Effekt by D. Harlan Wilson definitely wins for Best Out of Nowhere book. This bizarre collection of short stories was incredibly hilarious and "irreal" (as the author calls it). There is no end to the depth or scope of Wilson's imagination. I quickly snatched up his other books.

there were a bunch of other books. I actually read quite a lot this year. There was also a release by some guy named Thomas Ligotti about a Shadow somewhere, but nobody cares about that

[Nemonymous]

Paul Auster is also a great favourite of mine. I think I've read most of his fiction.
des

[unknown]

I've forced all of my friends to read his books now.

*slowly converting them all*

Starting the year off on a good note! I'm reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (since some of you said it was pretty gruesome and were pretty correct in that)...love it...almost finished with it

[SwansSoilMe/SwansSaveMe]

Some of mine might be (no order)

COMPANY (Samuel Beckett)
STREET OF CROCODILES (B. Schulz)
A couple of Borges stories
Ligotti: Reread of SONGS OF A DEAD DREAMER
THE CONSUMER (M. Gira)
ALL OVER (Edward Albee)
THE DWARFS (Harold Pinter's only novel)

Disappointments, horrificly speaking: "Father Panic's Opera Macabre," by Thomas Tessier, now published with the superb FINISHING TOUCHES.
Clive Barker: THE HELLBOUND HEART

[Severini]

Quote Originally Posted by unknown";p=&quot

Starting the year off on a good note! I'm reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (since some of you said it was pretty gruesome and were pretty correct in that)...love it...almost finished with it

What a nice coincidence! I am reading "Child of God", also by Cormac McCarthy.This is the first book I read by him.I am at the first 20 pages, so I can´t say much about it.He has a very peculiar writing style.

[SwansSoilMe/SwansSaveMe]

Years ago I read McCarthy's OUTER DARK, which is perhaps (I hear) his most disturbing book. I liked it a lot.