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In late June I was beyond excited about hitting my 500^th follower only a few days before my one year blogiversary, as you can imagine I’m blow away and incredibly thankful for each and every one of you as I have hit my 1000^th follower today. My blogging experience has far surpassed my wildest expectations, having gained several friends through interacts in the blogging community that I would have otherwise never enjoyed. I find myself eagerly looking forward to the comments and insight you bring to my posts. As such I wanted to come up with a unique way to commemorate my blog reaching this very special milestone. Upon a bit of pondering I began musing about books that I consider literary works of art. Of course, the books that first come to mind are the classics, i.e., The Hobbit, Pride and Prejudice, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Secret Garden. Please forgive me, I know I’m grossly limiting my aforementioned list of classics, however these few were the ones that first jumped in my head. However, a list consisting of the most literarily beautiful books, containing classics is stale, and is no way unique. Threfore, I decided to compose a list of recently published books that cross the threshold into works of art. The authors of the books that you’ll find in my list below, meticulously constructed their novels word by word into sentences that will leave any book lover’s soul purring.

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10 Recently Published Literary Works of Art, i.e., Books

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

While this series is among my favorite of all time, it might be debatable, if not seem appropriate for this list. However the detail and depth that is found throughout the series, as well as subtle breadcrumbs alluding to future events sprinkled within the text, often leading to heated debates among fans, crosses the threshold into a work of art. Martin created not only a unique realm, and dynamic characters, but a rich history spanning thousands of years, countless Houses, religions, and mystique that captured the imagination and hearts of his readers. I’m currently in the middle of a reread of A Song of Fire and Ice and am constantly being surprised by little details that I overlooked during my first read, as well as falling in love with the story all over again. I truly believe that A Song of Ice and Fire will be one of the classics that represent our time period, as such, a series of such caliber it belongs on a list of beautifully written books.

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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Details, details, details. Anyone who has ever glanced at my blog can attest to the fact that I love details, and a novel that doesn’t satisfy my longing for a fully flushed and developed world will probably have disappointed me on some level, regardless of the plot. The Name of the Wind is so chocked full of details that every sentence is of importance. However, Rothfuss does the nigh impossible task of taking a data dump of information and transforming it into beautifully constructed stories/adventures that doesn’t overbear the reader. As with A Song of Ice and Fire, I struggled adding this book to my list because I couldn’t decide if it was truly a literary work of art or if my bias toward this type of book made it stand out to me. However, upon some refection, if it is my list I suppose I’m allowed some form of bias.

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The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler’s Wife is an elegant, beautiful tale that leaves the reader in a severely compromised emotional state. Niffenegger weaves a mind-boggling tale in which the reader was given glimpse of the future, however the way the pieces fit together is kept shrouded in mystery. I remember reading this book while being home from college on break and literally sobbing on my parent’s back porch. My poor Father walks out the door, witnesses the unhampered emotion and promptly turns around and headed back through the door. I still find myself thinking about this book almost 10 years later.

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The Bone Clocks by David Mitchel

The Bone Clocks can be accurately described as a puzzle, similar in structure to The Time Traveler’s Wife, in which the reader struggles chapter, after chapter to piece together a glimpse of the bigger scope/world that the characters find themselves apart of. The plot is truly only revealed in the final chapters of the book, which yield a magical and otherworldly battle for good and evil. The effortless way in which the story is weaved, transporting the reader in time and place flawlessly until the varying characters eventually collide in a most spectacular finish, will leave the reader pondering this book long after finishing.

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The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman

The Country of Ice Cream Star was a wonderfully crafted, ingenious read, which wholeheartedly earned a perfect score when I reviewed it back in November 2015, due to the truly original and creative narrative. The world created by Newman, lies approximately 100 years in the future after a deadly disease, ‘posies’ eliminates all Caucasians and remaining population post the age of 18. The narrative is boldly, and eloquently written in a shortened dialect, which elevates this novel from one that easily could have slipped into young adult. Overall, I am still talking, and reflecting upon this novel almost a year later!

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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Having been drawn to A Monster Calls by the upcoming movie, I was surprised to find myself immersed in a book that tugged on heartstrings and old memories as a young boy’s mother is sick and he is on the cusp of being alone in the world, all the while being terrorized by a Monster. Despite being a rather short book, Ness mercilessly reels the reader in, only to have their emotions battered to a pulp by the end of this though provoking tale.

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All the Light You Cannnot See by Anthony Doerr

It has been forever since I read All the Light You Cannot See, to the point of needing to read a synopsis to remember what the book was about. However, when first writing up my list this was probably the third book I thought of. The fact that I couldn’t recall a single thing about the book other than the fact that the writing style was beautiful, i.e., elegant eloquent, speaks volumes about the impact Doerr’s writing made on me while reading.

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane/Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

When compiling my original short list I had both of these books written down, however I didn’t feel as though was quite appropriate to have the same author take up two of the ten spots. Therefore, I’ve decided to treated you to two books in the same spot, by the incredibly, talented Neil Gaiman. In Gaiman’s books he quickly transport the reader into new highly detailed worlds. When reading his books, I find myself enjoying the process of reading, not only for the plot but also for the words themselves.

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I’ll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Initially, I was unnecessarily hesitant to start this novel due to sneaking a peak at the synopsis and perceiving a sad story. I’m always reluctant to start anything sad (movies not excluded). However, I very quickly fell under Nelson’s spell as she began to weave this story told from the perspective of two very special twins, Noah and Jude, each from a different, pivotal age (13 and 16, respectively). Despite sharing the unique connection typically associated with twins, Noah and Jude have very diverse personalities, which polarize to a point of collision. I’ll Give You the Sun is the story of a quirky family, torn apart by tragedy and lies, and their journey of healing and truth.

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 The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

The Summer that Melted Everything is a beautifully constructed and eloquently delivered debut novel that captures both the readers’ attention and sympathies. While the story itself is sad, incredibly sad, McDaniel weaves a tale that is so elegantly written that it crosses over into a work of art. Throughout reading The Summer that Melted Everything, I many, many times found myself highlighting passages or quotes, due to loving the manner in which the unique sentences were written. Overall, McDaniel does the near impossible by making such a heartbreaking, sad tale into a vivid work of art that leaves the reader pondering Fielding and his summer of 1984 long after finishing the last words.

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Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

When discussing recently published books we liked from a literary standpoint with my coworkers, the first book out of their mouth matched up with the top book on my list. Morgenstern creates a delightfully, detailed world in Night Circus that captures the imagination of the reader. I wasn’t necessarily in love with the story or the ending, however I believe the impact of writing style speaks volumes as I have relentlessly recommended this novel to friends and family. Night Circus is a beautifully woven tale that sweeps the reader up into its magical folds. If you have yet to pick up Night Circus I would highly recommend adding it to your list.

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