MMXXI

Here is a list of books I read in 2021: 

 

The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events #8

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

 

BUtterfield 8 by John O'Hara 

 

The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald 

 

The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes by Suzanne Collins 

 

 Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers 

 

Correction by Thomas Bernhard 

 

The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman 

 The Invisible Library #7

The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events #9

The Last Of August by Brittany Cavallaro

Charlotte Holmes #2

The Raconteur's Commonplace Book by Kate Milford

 

Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 

 

The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket 

A Series of Unfortunate Events #10

Bluecrowne by Kate Milford

 

The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket 

A Series Of Unfortunate Events #11

The Ordeal Of Richard Feverel by George Meredith

 

The Mystery Of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel 

A Snicker Of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events #11

Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb

 An Author Agent Team Share The Keys To Achieving Your Dream.

Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine

Creating Stories That Fly

A Tangle Of Knots by Lisa Graff

 

How To Grow A Novel by Sol Stein 

The Most Common Mistakes Writers Make And How To Overcome Them 

 

Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar

The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Greystone Secrets #1

The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman

A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile

Quartet In Autumn by Barbar Pym

 

The Man With Two Left Feet by P.G. Wodehouse 

 

The Case For Jamie by Brittany Cavallaro

Charlotte Holmes #3

The End by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events #13

The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler

Mythic Structure for Writers

The Great Troll War by Jasper Fforde

The fourth and final book of the Dragonslayer series.

 

Writing The Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

 

The House Of The Spirits by Isabel Allende 

 

The Left-Handed Fate by Kate Milford 

 

Difficult Loves by Italo Calvino 

 

 

MMXX

Here is a list of the books I read in 2020:

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes

 

The Magic Words: Writing Great Books For Children And Young Adults by Cheryl B. Klein

 

The Way Of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

 

The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman

The Invisible Library Book Six

 

A Study In Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

Charlotte Holmes Book One

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide To Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser 

 

The Remarkable Inventions Of Walter Mortinson by Quinn Sosna-Spear

 

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Thursday Next Book One

 

Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann

 

Made To Kill by Adam Christopher

Ray Electromatic Mysteries Book One

 

Light In August by William Faulkner

 

Lost In A Good Book by Jasper Fforde

Thursday Next Book Two

 

Guide To Literary Agents 2020 by Robert Lee Brewer

 The Most Trusted Guide To Getting An Agent

 

How To Write A Children's Book And Get It Published by Barbara Seuling 

 

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

 

Love Among The Chickens by P.G. Wodehouse

 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

The Well Of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

Thursday Next Book Three

Pamela by Samuel Richardson

The President by Miguel Ángel Asturias

W, Or The Memory Of Childhood by Georges Perec

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

The Afternoon Of A Writer by Peter Handke

The Bacchae by Euripides

A Room With A View by E.M. Forster

The Fall by Albert Camus

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde

Thursday Next Book Four

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Book The First

On The Eve by Ivan Turgenev

The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Book The Second

 

The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Book The Third

 

Aesop's Fables by Aesop

The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Book The Fourth

 

The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Book The Fifth

 

The Weekend Novelist by Robert J. Ray

Revised & Updated Edition

 

The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Book The Sixth

 

The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Book The Seventh

 

Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov

 

 

 

MMXIX

Here is a list of the books I read in 2019:

Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Tropic Of Cancer by Henry Miller

Alice's Wonderland: A Visual Journey Through Lewis Carroll's Mad, Mad World by Catherine Nichols

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth

Walt Disney's Alice In Wonderland: An Illustrated Journey Through Time by Mark Salisbury

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

The Golden Bowl by Henry James

Closely Watched Trains by Bohumil Hrabal

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser

 

Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover

The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz

Palace Walk, Palace Of Desire, Sugar Street 

A Bend In The River by V.S. Naipaul

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

The Girl Of Slender Means by Muriel Spark

The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark

Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino

Monster by A. Lee Martinez

Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies by Deborah Halverson

Faith Of The Fallen by Terry Goodkind

The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman

Jill The Reckless by P.G. Wodehouse

The Charterhouse Of Parma by Stendhal

The Lover by Marguerite Duras

Making The Perfect Pitch: Advice From 45 Top Book Agents by Katharine Sands

Waiting For The Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

Ghosts Of Greenglass House by Kate Milford

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Southern Mail by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

MMXVIII

This is a list of books I read in 2018:

Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand

One day in the life of an untouchable outcast in India's caste system.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Quentin Coldwater attends the magical school of Brakebills and travels to the magical land of Fillory. 

The Family Of Pascual Duarte by Camilo José Cela

Pascual serves more than one prison sentence for murdering more than one person.

The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman

Irene and Kai are sent to an alternate 1920's New York to investigate a rogue librarian meddling in Dragon politics. The fourth novel in The Invisible Library series.

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol

A Russian official is shocked when his nose leaves his face and begins a life of its own.

The Zoo Story by Edward Albee

Two strangers meet in the park and discuss much more than a visit to the zoo.

Our Town by Thornton Wilder

Life in the small town of Grover's Corners implores us to appreciate our own life before it is gone.


Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

A historian gets a sick feeling from everything.


The Medea by Euripides

Medea plots revenge against her unfaithful husband.


Howl by Allen Ginsberg

A poem.


Some Prefer Nettles by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

A husband becomes obsessed with puppet theater while considering divorce from his wife.


Where Angels Fear To Tread by E.M. Forster

An English family thinks they can raise a child better than its father after the death of the mother.


Scalia's Court by Antonin Scalia and Kevin Ring

A legacy of landmark opinions and dissents from this generation's most readable jurist.


The Last Jedi by Jason Fry

Led by Leia Organa, the Resistance flees the attacks of the First Order and hopes for the return of Luke Skywalker.


The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

Nick Charles solves a murder mystery.


Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov

Professor Timofey Pnin takes the wrong train.


The Complete Idiot's Guide To Publishing Children's Books by Harold D. Underdown

A guide to publishing children's books for complete idiots.


The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

The consequences of their actions catch up to Frank and Cora.


Copyediting And Proofreading For Dummies by Suzanne Gilad

An expert gives dummies tips on how to become a copyeditor or proofreader.


Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

Takeshi Kovacs solves a murder mystery in the 25th century.


A Grain Of Wheat by Ngûgî Wa Thiong'o

The hero of an African village is haunted by a terrible secret.


Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul

An author of children's books gives advice on how to perfect a manuscript.


Indiscretions Of Archie by P.G. Wodehouse

Archie criticizes his father-in-law's hotel. Disapproval and hilarity follow.


Cane by Jean Toomer

Poems and stories about black life in the South.


Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz

Childishness and immaturity are celebrated.


Death In Venice by Thomas Mann

An aging writer longs for youth.


Down The Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams

 Thirteen-year-old Ingrid idolizes Sherlock Holmes and solves a murder mystery in the first book of the Echo Falls Mystery trilogy.


Meet The Frugalwoods by Elizabeth Willard Thames

One couple achieves financial independence through extreme frugality.


Behind The Curtain by Peter Abrahams

Ingrid solves another mystery in the second book of the Echo Falls Mystery trilogy.


Temple Of The Winds by Terry Goodkind

Richard Rahl must stop a deadly magical plague in the fourth book of The Sword Of Truth series.


Into The Dark by Peter Abrahams

Ingrid solves another mystery in the final book of the Echo Falls Mystery trilogy.


Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy

Jude marries the perfect woman for him after getting it wrong the first time.


My Ideal Bookshelf by Thessaly La Force

Authors and artists create an ideal bookshelf that contains the books that are most important to them.


Books Of The Century: A Hundred Years Of Authors, Ideas and Literature by Philip F. Turner

A selection of reviews, essays and interviews spanning the years 1897-1997.


The Widow Of Jerusalem by Alan Gordon

Theophilos recounts the story of the Queen of Jerusalem and her jester named Scarlet in the fourth book of the Fools' Guild mystery series.


A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

The Brown family meets a bear on a railway platform at Paddington station.


The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer

A rich man's family and farm is destroyed.


The Unholy Consult by R. Scott Bakker

The Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus reaches Golgotterath in the fourth and final book of the Aspect-Emperor series.


Writing Great Books For Young Adults by Regina Brooks

Everything you need to know, from crafting the idea to landing a publishing deal.


The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

Michael Henchard is a prosperous and well-respected man but hides a shameful secret in his past.


Alice Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.


Soul Of The Fire by Terry Goodkind

Richard Rahl must stop a deadly power that threatens the existence of magic in the fifth book of The Sword Of Truth series.


Evelina by Fanny Burney

A young girl visits her estranged family, discovers her true heritage and marries a wealthy, powerful man.


The Magician King by Lev Grossman

Quentin Coldwater sails to the edge of the world on a quest to save magic in the second book of The Magicians trilogy.


Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Twelve-year-old Milo solves a mystery at his family's Inn.


The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Women are oppressed in the dystopian Republic of Gilead.


The Heart Of The Matter by Graham Greene

A single indiscretion leads to a stunning fall from grace for a pious and righteous man.


The Greatest Books You'll Never Read by Bernard Richards

A list of unpublished masterpieces by the world's greatest writers.


The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman

Irene, Kai and Vale travel to an alternate 1890's Paris to investigate a murder that threatens to derail peace talks between the Fae and Dragons.


Festivus! The Book by Mark Nelson

A complete guide to the holiday for the rest of us.

MMXVII

This is a list of the books I read in 2017:

Mountolive by Lawrence Durrell

The third book in the Alexandria quartet.

Adolphe by Benjamin Constant

The titular character is in a destructive relationship.

The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman

An old enemy plots to destroy the Library in the third book of the Invisible Library series. 


Jealousy by Alain Robbe-Grillet

The events of an evening are geometrically described and a centipede is killed again and again.


Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

The Seeker, the Mother Confessor and the Great Wizard prevent Darken Rahl from becoming omnipotent in the first novel of the Sword Of Truth series.


Clea by Lawrence Durrell

The concluding volume of the Alexandria quartet.


Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

A collection of short stories set in a small town. I listened to the audio version.


The Courage To Write: How Writers Transcend Fear by Ralph Keyes

This book examines the fear writers experience throughout the process and suggests strategies to overcome it.


Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

Kristin Lavransdatter is a rebellious daughter, headstrong wife and devoted mother in 14th century Norway. This trilogy includes The Wreath, The Wife and The Cross.


The Black Violin by Maxence Fermine

A cursed violin affects two artists in profound ways.


René by François-René de Chateaubriand

A short, semi-autobiographical novel about the melancholy that drives one to introspection.


At The Mountains Of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft

An expedition to the Antarctic discovers an ancient civilization and a dormant menace. I listened to the audio version.


Death At The Excelsior And Other Stories by P.G. Wodehouse

A collection of short stories from a comedic genius.


The Great Ordeal by R. Scott Bakker

The third novel of the Aspect-Emperor series.


The House Of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Lily Barton resists high society's pressure to marry a rich man. I listened to the audio version.


A Hero Of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov

A collection of stories. Most feature an anti-hero named Pechorin.


David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The many loves, labors and losses of David Copperfield.


The Elements Of Style by William Strunk, Jr.

A grammar and style guide.


Confessions Of Zeno by Italo Svevo

The narrator talks to a therapist about the events in his life that causes his anxiety.


Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov

A play.


Venus And Adonis by William Shakespeare

The myth adapted as an epic poem.


The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad

Anarchists detonate a bomb near a well-known building.


Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov

A play.


Lucrece by William Shakespeare

An epic poem.


The Vicar Of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

The misadventures of a priest's family.


Kokoro by Sōseki Natsume

An older man mentors a younger student and reveals to him a shameful secret about his past.


Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans

Des Esseintes indulges in the arts.


The Book That Changed My Life by Roxanne Coady and Joy Johannessen

71 authors share the novel that affected them most.


Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe

A purported firsthand account of the life of a thief and con artist.


The Woman In The Dunes by Kōbō Abe

Two captives shovel sand to prevent a town from being buried.


Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This novel chronicles the dangers faced by pilots in the early nights of aviation.


The Watcher And Other Stories by Italo Calvino

A collection of three short stories.


The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

A mentally ill woman insists she sees someone behind the wallpaper.


Kim by Rudyard Kipling

A young boy and an old priest begin a quest and a friendship.


Worstward Ho by Samuel Beckett

A prose piece.


Ill Seen Ill Said by Samuel Beckett

A short novel.


Stone Of Tears by Terry Goodkind

The second novel in the Sword Of Truth series separates the heroes and introduces a new villain.


Talking Pictures: How To Watch Movies by Ann Hornaday

A guide to turn a casual movie watcher into a more critical reviewer.


Stories And Texts For Nothing by Samuel Beckett

A collection of stories.


The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Woland and an anthropomorphic cat create supernatural mischief in a book that jumps between modern Moscow and ancient Jerusalem.


No One Writes To The Colonel by Gabriel García Márquez

A bleak picture of an older couple's struggle in an unfair world.


Chronicle Of A Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez

Murder is referenced on the first page and carried out on the last.


Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett

A play open to many interpretations.


Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West

The writer of an advice column is emotionally burdened by the letters he receives.


The Bridal Canopy by S.Y. Agnon

A Jewish father's quest to find dowries and husbands for his three daughters.


The Day Of The Locust by Nathanael West

Hollywood inspires an artist to paint a masterpiece.


The Death Of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

Ivan faces the greatest challenge to his life of health and happiness.


The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy

Jealousy drives a husband to murder his wife.


Journey To The End Of The Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline

A misanthrope fights in World War I, travels to Africa, works for the Ford Motor company and becomes a doctor.


Blood Of The Fold by Terry Goodkind

The Seeker unites the armies of the Midlands to fight the Imperial Order in the third novel of the Sword Of Truth series.

MMXVI

Here is a list of the books I read in 2016:

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Members of the Pickwick club report on their travels.

Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Sagan describes the universal mysteries science has solved.

Variations On Night And Day by Abdelrahman Munif

The final novel in the Cities Of Salt trilogy.


The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni

Renzo survives famine, war and pestilence to marry Lucia.


Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan

A vision of the human future in space.


Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Stowe describes the evils of slavery.


Waverley by Walter Scott

Edward travels to Scotland, fights battles and marries Rose.


Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Scarlett O'Hara does whatever necessary to provide for her family and save her beloved home.


Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

Phillip Marlowe investigates a jewelry theft and murder.


One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Solzhenitsyn desribes the brutal conditions of life in a Russian prison camp.


Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost

A scandalous couple cons their way across two continents.


Voss by Patrick White

A German explorer leads an expedition to map the continent of Australia.


Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

A lonely artist shares his experiences.


Hard Times by Charles Dickens

I listened to the audio version of the author's only book set in Coketown.


New Grub Street by George Gissing

A social circle of writers have varying degrees of success.


The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster

The novelization of the movie.


Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth

A Jewish man unburdens his worries on a psychiatrist.


The Bridge On The Drina by Ivo Andrić

The construction of a stalwart bridge near a small town in Bosnia and its importance to multi-generations.


Henry IV Parts One And Two by William Shakespeare

Henry matures and becomes Henry V.


The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

Carroll's classic characters are reimagined in an action-adventure, fantasy novel.


Man's Fate by André Malraux

Terrorists attempt to overthrow the government in Shanghai.


Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor

The Looking Glass Wars continue in book two of the trilogy.


Justine by Lawrence Durrell

Justine is introduced in the first book of the Alexandria quartet.


Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger

A compilation of nine stories by J.D. Salinger.


Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The author of The Little Prince flies mail routes across oceans and deserts. In places, it reaches the poetic and magical heights of his classic children's tale.


The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

Noir is born in this progenitor of the hard-boiled detective story.


ArchEnemy by Frank Beddor

Beddor concludes The Looking Glass Wars trilogy.


Wildwood by Colin Meloy

Prue's baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows and she must explore the fantastic land of Wildwood to rescue him.


A Wodehouse Miscellany by P.G. Wodehouse

A collection of essays and short stories.


The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The little prince travels to many planets, including Earth, befriends a fox and an aviator and pines over his far away rose before returning to the stars.


Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis

A Brazilian man avoids becoming a priest to marry his childhood sweetheart.


Harry Potter And The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

The next generation of Potters, Weasleys and Grangers must defeat an enemy in the past to protect the future.


Six Memos For The Next Millennium by Italo Calvino

Five lectures on literature from one of its masters.


Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

Jean-Louise Finch visits Maycomb county and is disillusioned by her childhood hero.


Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The classic children's book with new illustrations by Anna Bond.


Balthazar by Lawrence Durrell

The second book in the Alexandria quartet.


Origins by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith

Astrophysicists explore cosmology.


The Mysteries Of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

Melancholy tears fill every page of this gothic novel.


The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Irene travels to alternate worlds and steals books for The Library.


The Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

An aging butler ponders his life of service and unrealized love.


A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz

Charlie Brown learns what Christmas is all about.


Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane

Infidelity ends the marriage between a young woman and a much older man.


The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

Irene must rescue her abducted partner in the second Invisible Library novel.

Unnamed

I read The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni.

Renzo and Lucia wish to marry but a tyrant named Don Rodrigo prevents the nuptials by intimidating and threatening the local officials. The young couple are separated and whisked away out of town and out of the reach of Don Rodrigo.

The young couple survive separation, riots, arrest, kidnapping, famine, war and pestilence to reunite. They forgive those that tried to keep them apart and thank those that helped bring them together. They marry, have lots of children and live happily ever after.

Manzoni breaks off from the main narrative twice to describe the bubonic plague's devastating effects on Italy and to relate the history of a nun at the convent where Lucia hides from Don Rodrigo.

Manzoni's masterful use of language is evident on the first page and the beautiful prose continues throughout the novel. He is humble and repeats often that he wishes not to bore the reader. He has no reason to be humble. This reader was not bored.