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General Recommendations
Best of Adult Fiction 2020 - Auahatanga - Christchurch City Libraries
By:
ChristchurchLib
Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi
Staff-created list
Our fiction-loving librarians on Auahatanga | Level 4 | Tūranga have made their selection, and these are their choices for best fiction for 2020, and you're sure to find just the right thing for your summertime reading! A Christchurch City Libraries list.
By:
ChristchurchLib
Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi
13 items
13 items
A Novel
Book - 2020
Rosies's Pick: I was blown away by Offill’s writing style, her caustic observations and her philosophical musings. Each page is loaded with fragments, lit...Show more
Rosies's Pick: I was blown away by Offill’s writing style, her caustic observations and her philosophical musings. Each page is loaded with fragments, little bursts that feel like thoughts popping into your head - they can feel random, jarring or contemplative. The physical space Offill creates between each paragraph gives a reader time to unpack the myriad of issues our narrator is facing - from the domestic, the mundane to the cataclysmic. A deeply affecting read about navigating through personal and global experience, where the climate crisis mirrors a heartbeat, ever present, universal, yet easy to ignore. A dazzling, terrifying and hilariously funny read.
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Rosies's Pick: I was blown away by Offill’s writing style, her caustic observations and her philosophical musings. Each page is loaded with fragments, lit...Show more
Rosies's Pick: I was blown away by Offill’s writing style, her caustic observations and her philosophical musings. Each page is loaded with fragments, little bursts that feel like thoughts popping into your head - they can feel random, jarring or contemplative. The physical space Offill creates between each paragraph gives a reader time to unpack the myriad of issues our narrator is facing - from the domestic, the mundane to the cataclysmic. A deeply affecting read about navigating through personal and global experience, where the climate crisis mirrors a heartbeat, ever present, universal, yet easy to ignore. A dazzling, terrifying and hilariously funny read.
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Book - 2020
Sofia's Pick: A short story collection about power, desire and life. Stories weave between different sexual encounters some tender and sweet others filled...Show more
Sofia's Pick: A short story collection about power, desire and life. Stories weave between different sexual encounters some tender and sweet others filled with violent delights. This book is beautifully written if you like lyrical writing, melancholic tones and strong characters, this is a read not to be missed. 10/10!
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Sofia's Pick: A short story collection about power, desire and life. Stories weave between different sexual encounters some tender and sweet others filled...Show more
Sofia's Pick: A short story collection about power, desire and life. Stories weave between different sexual encounters some tender and sweet others filled with violent delights. This book is beautifully written if you like lyrical writing, melancholic tones and strong characters, this is a read not to be missed. 10/10!
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by Katz, Ani
Book - 2020
Pru's Pick: A dark, slow-burning literary domestic thriller with a very character-centric plot. From the get-go we learn something has gone terribly awry ...Show more
Pru's Pick: A dark, slow-burning literary domestic thriller with a very character-centric plot. From the get-go we learn something has gone terribly awry for Thomas Martin, though we can only guess at what. As he reflects on the turn his life has taken, the details of this mysterious event and how it came about slowly begin to emerge. The writing quality is excellent; a fascinating character study of a man and his life unravelling.
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Pru's Pick: A dark, slow-burning literary domestic thriller with a very character-centric plot. From the get-go we learn something has gone terribly awry ...Show more
Pru's Pick: A dark, slow-burning literary domestic thriller with a very character-centric plot. From the get-go we learn something has gone terribly awry for Thomas Martin, though we can only guess at what. As he reflects on the turn his life has taken, the details of this mysterious event and how it came about slowly begin to emerge. The writing quality is excellent; a fascinating character study of a man and his life unravelling.
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Book - 2019
Fee's pick: CJ Anders realises an amazingly visual and colourful world, balancing action with introspection, great characters and incredible creatures: th...Show more
Fee's pick: CJ Anders realises an amazingly visual and colourful world, balancing action with introspection, great characters and incredible creatures: three cities: one authoritarian, one hedonistic, and one alien. Can all three work together to share resources and avoid climate catastrophe? Winner of the 2020 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction.
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Fee's pick: CJ Anders realises an amazingly visual and colourful world, balancing action with introspection, great characters and incredible creatures: th...Show more
Fee's pick: CJ Anders realises an amazingly visual and colourful world, balancing action with introspection, great characters and incredible creatures: three cities: one authoritarian, one hedonistic, and one alien. Can all three work together to share resources and avoid climate catastrophe? Winner of the 2020 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction.
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Book - 2010
Clare's Pick: A haunting, fragmented reverie comprising sixty vignettes of archetypal characters in and around Primeval, a village overlooked by angels, b...Show more
Clare's Pick: A haunting, fragmented reverie comprising sixty vignettes of archetypal characters in and around Primeval, a village overlooked by angels, bordered by rivers and forest. Moments of the absurd, imagined and mythic bleed into Tokarczuk's prose - angels hover at the fringes, bodies transform into other creatures, there are invisible borders in the forest that can't be crossed. It's a novel that spans and complicates time and perception, set against the trauma and turmoil of twentieth century Europe. I found it an affecting philosophical exploration of the nature of being - of uncertainty and desire, of the pain, serendipity and strangeness of how we live our lives, and why.
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Clare's Pick: A haunting, fragmented reverie comprising sixty vignettes of archetypal characters in and around Primeval, a village overlooked by angels, b...Show more
Clare's Pick: A haunting, fragmented reverie comprising sixty vignettes of archetypal characters in and around Primeval, a village overlooked by angels, bordered by rivers and forest. Moments of the absurd, imagined and mythic bleed into Tokarczuk's prose - angels hover at the fringes, bodies transform into other creatures, there are invisible borders in the forest that can't be crossed. It's a novel that spans and complicates time and perception, set against the trauma and turmoil of twentieth century Europe. I found it an affecting philosophical exploration of the nature of being - of uncertainty and desire, of the pain, serendipity and strangeness of how we live our lives, and why.
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A Novel
by Porter, Max
Book - 2019
Caitee's Pick: The second novel by Max Porter, Lanny expertly navigates the character of the 'green man', an old Britonic symbol of rebirth, growth and gr...Show more
Caitee's Pick: The second novel by Max Porter, Lanny expertly navigates the character of the 'green man', an old Britonic symbol of rebirth, growth and green power. This time, the green man is called Dead Papa Toothwart. Toothwart is hilarous, bloodthirsty, distressing and listening. This is a novel that is deeply aware of its 'british-ness' and the tropes that come along with small cute, British towns and the people that inhabit them. Dead Papa Toothwart is aware of this, and of the mucky, sticky, grating, gnawing and sometimes (not often) nice people who aren't anything like the dirty folk who lived in his patch a few years ago. This book reads more like a play than a novel, and by a mile has been the most delightful to read.
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Caitee's Pick: The second novel by Max Porter, Lanny expertly navigates the character of the 'green man', an old Britonic symbol of rebirth, growth and gr...Show more
Caitee's Pick: The second novel by Max Porter, Lanny expertly navigates the character of the 'green man', an old Britonic symbol of rebirth, growth and green power. This time, the green man is called Dead Papa Toothwart. Toothwart is hilarous, bloodthirsty, distressing and listening. This is a novel that is deeply aware of its 'british-ness' and the tropes that come along with small cute, British towns and the people that inhabit them. Dead Papa Toothwart is aware of this, and of the mucky, sticky, grating, gnawing and sometimes (not often) nice people who aren't anything like the dirty folk who lived in his patch a few years ago. This book reads more like a play than a novel, and by a mile has been the most delightful to read.
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Book - 2019
Claudine's Pick: A strange and original tale of art scams and authenticity, glamour and greed, this one will keep you guessing till the end.
Claudine's Pick: A strange and original tale of art scams and authenticity, glamour and greed, this one will keep you guessing till the end.
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Claudine's Pick: A strange and original tale of art scams and authenticity, glamour and greed, this one will keep you guessing till the end.
Claudine's Pick: A strange and original tale of art scams and authenticity, glamour and greed, this one will keep you guessing till the end.
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Book - 2017
Renee's Pick: The first book in the Daevabad Trilogy, and this is one of my favourite fantasy series yet. A mythological fantasy set in historical Middle ...Show more
Renee's Pick: The first book in the Daevabad Trilogy, and this is one of my favourite fantasy series yet. A mythological fantasy set in historical Middle East and based on their folklore – think djinn, ifrits and marid! The story starts with Nahri, a street-smart con artist with a secret gift for healing. Her world is turned on its head when she accidentally summons a djinn warrior, and so starts an epic quest including magical cities, political intrigue, and trying to right social and historical wrongs. I can't recommend this series more highly, especially to fans of Catherine Arden and Naomi Novik– best read together without breaks.
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Renee's Pick: The first book in the Daevabad Trilogy, and this is one of my favourite fantasy series yet. A mythological fantasy set in historical Middle ...Show more
Renee's Pick: The first book in the Daevabad Trilogy, and this is one of my favourite fantasy series yet. A mythological fantasy set in historical Middle East and based on their folklore – think djinn, ifrits and marid! The story starts with Nahri, a street-smart con artist with a secret gift for healing. Her world is turned on its head when she accidentally summons a djinn warrior, and so starts an epic quest including magical cities, political intrigue, and trying to right social and historical wrongs. I can't recommend this series more highly, especially to fans of Catherine Arden and Naomi Novik– best read together without breaks.
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Book - 1992
Pru's 2nd Pick: Very pleased I finally got around to reading this! It's an absorbing, atmospheric read about a close-knit group of American college studen...Show more
Pru's 2nd Pick: Very pleased I finally got around to reading this! It's an absorbing, atmospheric read about a close-knit group of American college students studying Ancient Greek, who find themselves locked on a sinister and increasingly disturbing path. Donna Tartt has a gift for description and scene-setting, and really draws you into her story and the character's lives.
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Pru's 2nd Pick: Very pleased I finally got around to reading this! It's an absorbing, atmospheric read about a close-knit group of American college studen...Show more
Pru's 2nd Pick: Very pleased I finally got around to reading this! It's an absorbing, atmospheric read about a close-knit group of American college students studying Ancient Greek, who find themselves locked on a sinister and increasingly disturbing path. Donna Tartt has a gift for description and scene-setting, and really draws you into her story and the character's lives.
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House of X ; Powers of X
Graphic Novel - 2020
Carl's Pick: I enjoyed this soft reboot of the X-Men, a great new story with some some amazing artwork to go along with it. A new plan for Mutantkind tha...Show more
Carl's Pick: I enjoyed this soft reboot of the X-Men, a great new story with some some amazing artwork to go along with it. A new plan for Mutantkind that will bring all the mutants together against a new threat. Some of the older graphic novels of the X-Men were really good (Astonishing X-Men) but in recent years, X-Men in general haven't been doing very well with graphic novels and other media. So far I'm loving this run :)
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Carl's Pick: I enjoyed this soft reboot of the X-Men, a great new story with some some amazing artwork to go along with it. A new plan for Mutantkind tha...Show more
Carl's Pick: I enjoyed this soft reboot of the X-Men, a great new story with some some amazing artwork to go along with it. A new plan for Mutantkind that will bring all the mutants together against a new threat. Some of the older graphic novels of the X-Men were really good (Astonishing X-Men) but in recent years, X-Men in general haven't been doing very well with graphic novels and other media. So far I'm loving this run :)
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A Novel
Book - 2020
Caitlin's Pick: A superb debut, perfect for fans of contemporary character-driven fiction. Over the course of an evening in a small-town bar, Emma recount...Show more
Caitlin's Pick: A superb debut, perfect for fans of contemporary character-driven fiction. Over the course of an evening in a small-town bar, Emma recounts the tragic circumstances that led to the breakup of her marriage and the destruction of her charmed life. I really enjoyed this - it wasn't an uplifting story by any means, but the characterisation was excellent, Emma's grief was palpable, the plot was slow-burning yet captivating, and the unexpected climax tied everything together in a really satisfying way. I can't wait for more from this author!
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Caitlin's Pick: A superb debut, perfect for fans of contemporary character-driven fiction. Over the course of an evening in a small-town bar, Emma recount...Show more
Caitlin's Pick: A superb debut, perfect for fans of contemporary character-driven fiction. Over the course of an evening in a small-town bar, Emma recounts the tragic circumstances that led to the breakup of her marriage and the destruction of her charmed life. I really enjoyed this - it wasn't an uplifting story by any means, but the characterisation was excellent, Emma's grief was palpable, the plot was slow-burning yet captivating, and the unexpected climax tied everything together in a really satisfying way. I can't wait for more from this author!
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Book - 2020
Lizzie's Pick: I have enjoyed previous books by Scott Turow he is a lawyer and writes quite complicated but intriguing legal thrillers.
One of his old c...Show more
Lizzie's Pick: I have enjoyed previous books by Scott Turow he is a lawyer and writes quite complicated but intriguing legal thrillers.
One of his old characters, defense attorney Sandy Stern comes out of semi retirement to defend an old friend Nobel Prize winner, Dr Kiril Pafko who has developed a new cancer treatment that Sandy acknowledges has extended his life. The first year of trials for this drug showed much promise but the second year results are looking very different and the Dr is charged with with altering test results, insider trading, attempted murder and fraud.
It is a complex read with most of the book being set in the court room while Stern defends his friend. The trial uncovers issues within families, vengeance, compromises and lies as trials for what could be life improving new drugs are developed. It is worth the time to read.
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Lizzie's Pick: I have enjoyed previous books by Scott Turow he is a lawyer and writes quite complicated but intriguing legal thrillers.
One of his old c...Show more
Lizzie's Pick: I have enjoyed previous books by Scott Turow he is a lawyer and writes quite complicated but intriguing legal thrillers.
One of his old characters, defense attorney Sandy Stern comes out of semi retirement to defend an old friend Nobel Prize winner, Dr Kiril Pafko who has developed a new cancer treatment that Sandy acknowledges has extended his life. The first year of trials for this drug showed much promise but the second year results are looking very different and the Dr is charged with with altering test results, insider trading, attempted murder and fraud.
It is a complex read with most of the book being set in the court room while Stern defends his friend. The trial uncovers issues within families, vengeance, compromises and lies as trials for what could be life improving new drugs are developed. It is worth the time to read.
Show less
Book - 2019
Claudine's 2nd Pick: A setting-rich, beautifully written and evocative story of two very different people and how they become linked.
Claudine's 2nd Pick: A setting-rich, beautifully written and evocative story of two very different people and how they become linked.
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Claudine's 2nd Pick: A setting-rich, beautifully written and evocative story of two very different people and how they become linked.
Claudine's 2nd Pick: A setting-rich, beautifully written and evocative story of two very different people and how they become linked.
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