We have a guest blogger today, Sylvia, from the new website www.usedbooksearch.net, a site dedicated to finding and getting the best price on second hand editions and rare print books. I definitely fit the description above, a bookworm on a budget, so I love what they have to offer. When she asked me if they could do a fun post on 5 books that you have to read before 2014 I answered with a huge YES, because who doesn’t love a countdown and a challenge to squeeze in a few more books before the new year? All of the links lead straight to the great deals on their website so feel free to shop, share, and repeat! Here is their list:
Books to Read Before End of 2013
With with the year already half behind us you may not have had the chance to keep up with the explosion of literature that has had us all hooked this year. New authors have made a splash in 2013, yet the books you have to read before the mayhem of Christmas hits are also tried and tested classics. Hollywood and HBO are making fair use of some great characters and epic tales to reel us into the big screen, yet they all started from the humble pen and paper. Don’t get left waiting at the station and pick up these titles today to see what’s had the world talking in 2013.
- A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
Since Sean Bean had his head lopped off, everyone’s been talking about the hottest TV series to ever hit HBO, known popularly as The Game of Thrones. The epic race to the iron throne all started with fantasy writer George R.R Martin and his Song of Fire and Ice Series. If you really want something meaty to sink your teeth into until the New Year then these books are a must, even for fantasy naysayers. These books have it all, a plethora of characters to love and loathe in equal measure, the twists and turns that would put Ancient Rome to shame, and white walkers that haunt the night. Winter is coming and there’s no better way to spend it then stuck in the pages of the hottest fantasy series of the decade.
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Speaking of fantasy, this Christmas middle earth lovers are anticipating the second installment of The Hobbit trilogy on the big screen. If you haven’t yet picked up The Hobbit to see exactly where Bilbo and Gandalf started their journey then make sure you do before December swings around. The Hobbit is much more manageable than the ceaseless Lord of the Rings trilogy but still has all the charm and phantasmagorical elements of Tolkien’s world. From fire breathing dragons to hungry trolls, angry dwarves and mystical elves, do you really need another reason to go back to Bag end?
- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Every year you should attempt to tackle at least one tireless classic and thanks to the cinematic release of Les Mis on the big screen last year, it makes perfect sense to escape to Victor Hugo’s world before 2013 is up. Jean Valhjean is one of literatures most notorious characters and after his release from prison for stealing bread to feed his family, the reader is transported deep into the darkness of the Parisian underground in 1832. Despite its age this masterpiece still manages to evoke a timeless appeal thanks to Hugo’s prolific and modern style of prose. Dramatic, tragic and a canvas that Hugo used to scrawl his displeasure against the government, this mighty classic proves that there are books and then there are books.
- The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir
Celebrating the anniversary of the late and great feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir now is the time to pick up a copy of The Woman Destroyed. Clever, intelligent and remarkably insightful, Beauvoir does what she has always done best and captures the essence of what it is to be a woman. These three stories follow the lives of three women who are all coming to terms with the change in their minds and bodies at the end of their youth. Real characters with real issues in a book that’s totally devoid of fluff and filler, if you loved The Second Sex, then celebrate the 50th anniversary of this fabulous writer with style.
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Thanks, Sylvia!
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