By Sophie
ABC’s 100 Top Tips, part 3: Jimenez – Martine
To celebrate our birthday this year (officially on 21 April but we’re celebrating it on the weekend of 12 and 13 April) we decided to ask all of the ABC staff what their most memorable books were of the past 25 years – and they, of course, delivered!
I’m very happy to present ABC’s 100 Top Tips, from A-Z by author’s last name, in 5 posts of 20 books this week. There are of course a few rules, some provisos, a couple of quid pro quos… First of all, a title has to be personally loved by a current ABC staff member. Secondly, no current ABC Favorites were selected. Thirdly, the book had to be published between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2024. And finally, only 1 book per author.
I also want to thank our Matty, who designed the poster on the right, and Van Ditmar, who helped print it. It features all the recommended titles and customers will be able to get one when they buy a book in one of our physical stores starting the weekend of 12 and 13 April.
Happy reading!
The Spear Cuts Through Water – Simon Jimenez
“Multi-layered and multi-voiced, often in one paragraph; I’ve never read a fantasy book quite like this and I can’t stop preaching it.” – Sophie
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida – Shehan Karunatilaka
“Will put you right in the middle of the Sri Lankan civil war of the 20th century; I cried, I laughed, and I was very often aghast.” – Sophie
Small Things Like These – Claire Keegan
“Quiet, beautiful and powerful, this story will remain with you for a long time.” – Bruna
Nettle & Bone – T. Kingfisher
“A surprisingly whimsical dark fantasy with a great ensemble cast.” – Iris
“Finally a fantasy with a 30 year-old female protagonist and her potpourri of a crew; silly, freaky, serious.” – Jonna
A Death in the Family – Karl Knausgaard
“Never read anything like it.” – Bob
Whalefall – Daniel Kraus
“Swallowed by a whale and dealing with your father’s death… amazing story!” – Jilles
Yellowface – R. F. Kuang
“Kind of like watching a train wreck in slow motion (in the best possible way), and a fascinating insider’s view of the publishing industry.” – Iris
The Maniac – Benjamin Labatut
“Labatut writes incredibly well about the dark consequences of our scientific discoveries.” – Bob
The Unhoneymooners – Christina Lauren
“Oops! I didn’t mean to inhale this romcom in one sitting, but it was so completely the right book at the right time that I couldn’t help myself.” – Sophie
Ancillary Justice – Ann Leckie
“This is what a space opera should be, according to me: grand scale, high stakes, weird aliens, sentient ships!” – Else
Jade City – Fonda Lee
“A truly brilliant blend of urban fantasy that uses fantasy to amplify real world topics and consequences.” – Juno
The Grace of Kings – Ken Liu
“A fresh epic that is not your average Game of Thrones yet plays with all the familiar tropes of traditional fantasy.” – Tiemen
Monstress, vol. 1 – Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda
“A gruesome, bloody epic positively BRIMMING with strong non-male, other-bodied and LGBTQI+ characters, a dark, raging antihero on a revenge mission, and the most luscious stunning art.” – Sophie
Prophet Song – Paul Lynch
“This book had adrenaline rushing through my veins while I was reading it.” – Else
The Old Ways – Robert MacFarlane
“A beautiful contemplation of history, nature, and travel.” – Jeroen
The Boy, The Fox, The Mole, and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy
“A heart warming story of love, friendship and kindness narrated through beautiful brush strokes” – Shirley
“The best life lessons for young and old in a beautiful illustrated book.” – Jilles
The Great Believers – Rebecca Makkai
“Beautifully written portrait of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s that will have you in ugly tears.” – Sophie
Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
“It’s always nice to think that poetry will survive the end of the world.” – Iris
Matterhorn – Karl Marlantes
“A towering novel about the Vietnam War that sucks you in and spits you out, leaving you forever altered.” – Sophie
A Memory Called Empire – Arkady Martine
“Smart, eloquent, funny and occasionally touching, it is the kind of scifi I absolutely adore.” – Tiemen
Previous posts in this series can be found here.
