Blue Chi’s

The saga of favourites of 2008 continues (check out my list of favourite shows and favourite albums of 2008), today I bring you the list of my favourite books I read in 2008. These books were not necessarily published in the year 2008, but I read them in 2008. 

1- The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas

The End of Mr Y is a novel about an English literature PhD student who stumbles on a cursed book and her exploration of a parallel universe called the ‘troposphere’. This is not a fantasy book about dungeons and dragons, but an awesome philosophical tale about fate, life, and the realm of thoughts. Had one of the best endings I’ve ever read. I’m extremely bummed about the fact that Scarlett Thomas does not have many books out there.

2- Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland

I read a number of books by Coupland this year, but the one I liked the most was surely Girlfriend in a Coma, the themes and characters were just overwhelming. The story is about a girl who falls into a 17 years coma, the struggle of her family and boyfriend through this period, and then their life after she comes back to life.  The story gets quite dark in certain parts. 

 In the UK, The Guardian described the book as Coupland “becoming extraordinary” (25 April 1998) and The Times as “a disturbing, thought-provoking and moving novel. Girlfriend in a Coma has something of the quality of a fairytale, but it contains a sharp realism that makes the book scarily contemporary” (15 May 1999).

3- The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

The World is Flat is one hell of a book that describes in detail the impact of globalisation and the internet on our daily lives, business, politics, society, education and just every aspect of our life. It is funny how any topic I get to talk about with my friends can always be diverted into something related mentioned in the World is Flat.

I’ve read two awesome books by an English female author named Scarlett Thomas. I have not read anything by a woman in a very long time and mpw it just feels refreshing to read something by one.

The first book I read by Scarlett was her latest book to date, The End of Mr Y, I picked this while browsing a Waterstones library and only picked it up because I found a quote by Douglas Coupland on the back of the it praising the book!

The End of Mr Y is a cool novel about a parallel world of thoughts called the Troposphere. It is a world that is created by the collective thoughts of all creatures that have lived on Earth and in which those who access it can travel in time and space. The book features awesome characters with extreme opinions on fate, god, and thought. I thoroughly enjoyed the End of Mr Y and thought that it was almost like a blend of a Douglas Coupland and Dan Brown.

The second book I read by Scarlett is called PopCo, it is a book about about a toy company, evil corporations, and an unbroken code for a hidden treasure. In addition to the loads of stuff on cryptography, the book talks about fitting in society, religion, and the manipulation of the public’s mind by branding.

I enjoyed The End of Mr Y much more than PopCo, even though both were extremely smart and fun to read. The copy I got for the End of Mr Y was awesome in that it was painted in black from all the sides so that it looked like a book with a curse, just like the subject matter of the story.

I highly recommend Scarlett Thomas for anyone looking for contemporary original fiction.