"And when I read, and really I do not read so much, only a few authors—a few men that I discovered by accident—I do this because they look at things in a broader, milder and more affectionate way than I do, and because they know life better, so that I can learn from them."
— Vincent Van Gogh"Some readers may suppose that such things as these evocations are trifles not worth stopping at; but literature consists of such trifles. Literature consists, in fact, not of general ideas but of particular revelations, not of schools of thought but of individuals of genius. Literature is not about something: it is the thing itself, the quiddity. Without the masterpiece, literature does not exist."
— Vladimir Nabokov2026 summer
underworld, don delillo (07/14-)
pafko at the wall, don delillo (07/14) ✦
demian, hermann hesse, transl. strachan (07/12-07/13)
beautiful star, yukio mishima, transl. dodd (07/11-07/12) ✦
libra, don delillo (07/06-07/11) ✦
the elephant vanishes, haruki murakami, transl. birnbaum and rubin (07/06-)
life for sale, yukio mishima, transl. dodd (07/04-07/05)
a breath of life, clarice lispector, transl. lorenz (07/01-07/02) ✦
the hour of the star, clarice lispector, transl. mosey (06/30) ✦
thousand cranes, yasunari kawabata, transl. seidensticker (06/30)
piranesi, susanna clarke (06/29) ✦
confessions of a mask, yukio mishima, transl. weatherby (06/28-06/30)
the sailor who fell from grace with the sea, yukio mishima, transl. nathan (06/25-06/26) ✦
patriotism, yukio mishima, transl. sargent (06/25)
end zone, don delillo (06/24-06/27)
augustus, john williams (06/16-06/18) ✦
the temple of the golden pavilion, yukio mishima, transl. morris (06/13-06/23)
the decay of the angel, yukio mishima, transl. seidensticker (06/11-06/13) ✦
the temple of dawn, yukio mishima, transl. saunders and seigle (06/09-06/11)
the names, don delillo (05/31-06/09) ✦
2026 spring
runaway horses, yukio mishima, transl. gallagher (05/21-05/28) ✦
spring snow, yukio mishima, transl. gallagher (05/18-05/21) ✦✦
ball lightning, cixin liu, transl. martinsen (05/16-05/17)
after dark, haruki murakami, transl. rubin (05/14)
intimacies, katie kitamura (05/08-05/14)
angel down, daniel kraus (05/05) ✦
memories of the future, sigizmund krzhizhanovsky, transl. turnbull (04/27-05/15)
flesh, david szalay (04/27)
17776, jon bois (04/26) ✦
the skin of dreams, raymond queneau, transl. clarke (04/23-04/26)
a sensitive young man, worst boyfriend ever (04/16-04/17)
no one writes back, jang eun-jin, transl. yewon (04/16) ✦
on the marble cliffs, ernst jünger, transl. lewis (04/12-04/16)
the queen of spades and other stories, alexander pushkin, transl. myers (04/12-05/11)
nothing but the night, john williams (04/09-04/10)
the director, daniel kehlmann, transl. benjamin (04/08-04/23) ✦
taiwan travelogue, yang shuang-zi, transl. king (04/06-04/07)
folding beijing, hao jingfang, transl. liu (04/06)
the elephant’s journey, josé saramago, transl. costa (03/22-04/05)
transparent things, vladimir nabokov (03/19-03/21)
there is no antimimetics division, qntm (03/18-03/19) ✦
mao ii, don delillo (03/16-03/17) ✦
2026 winter
all the names, josé saramago, transl. costa (03/08-03/22) ✦
hunger, knut hamsun, transl. lyngstad (03/07-03/08)
the land at the end of the world, antónio antunes, transl. costa (03/06-03/07) ✦
the winter of our discontent, john steinbeck (02/26-03/06)
fun home, alison bechdel (02/25-03/02)
skin in the game, nassim taleb (02/17-02/18)
south of the border, west of the sun, haruki murakami, transl. gabriel (02/16)
death’s end, cixin liu, transl. liu (02/15-02/24)
aké: the years of childhood, wole soyinka (02/13-02/23)
the royal game, stefan zweig, transl. bell (02/10-02/11) ✦
lost lake, david auburn (02/10)
proof, david auburn (02/10)
pilgrim at tinker creek, annie dillard (02/09)
mount chicago, adam levin (02/03-02/08) ✦
letter to the father, franz kafka, transl. kaiser and wilkins (02/02-02/09)
the sun also rises, ernest hemingway (02/01-02/03)
the bell jar, sylvia plath (01/27-01/29) ✦
butcher's crossing, john williams (01/26-01/27) ✦
the pillow book, sei shōnagon, transl. mckinney (01/23-01/30) ✦
death in venice, thomas mann, transl. lowe-porter (01/23-01/24)
the wandering earth, liu cixin, transl. liu (01/21)
hard rain falling, don carpenter (01/16-01/20)
confessions, augustine, transl. chadwick (01/12-01/16)
2025 autumn
lockhart's lament, paul lockhart (12/15)
seveneves, neal stephenson (11/16-11/25)
america, jean baudrillard, transl. turner (11/14)
the three stigmata of palmer eldritch, philip k. dick (11/13-11/15) ✦
flow my tears the policeman said, philip k. dick (11/12)
sunjata, bamba suso and banna kanute, transl. innes (11/10-11/19)
tell them i said no, martin herbert (11/10-11/11)
daily rituals, mason currey (11/07-11/08)
kill everyone, lee nelson (11/06)
sátántangó, lászló krasznahorkai, transl. szirtes (10/08-10/15)
dance dance dance, haruki murakami, transl. birnbaum (10/02)
the epic of gilgamesh, transl. george (10/01-10/13)
a wild sheep chase, haruki murakami, transl. birnbaum (10/01-10/02) ✦
pinball, 1973, haruki murakami, transl. goossen (10/01)
hear the wind sing, haruki murakami, transl. goossen (10/01)
kafka on the shore, haruki murakami, transl. gabriel (09/21-09/30) ✦✦
2025 summer
giovanni's room, james baldwin (09/15-09/19) ✦✦
breakfast at tiffany's: three stories, truman capote (09/13) ✦
the castle, franz kafka, transl. harman (09/06)
the long walk, stephen king (09/03)
letters to a young poet, rainer maria rilke, transl. norton (09/02)
and then, natsume sōseki, transl. moore field (08/13-08/15) ✦✦
hard-boiled wonderland and the end of the world, haruki murakami, transl. birnbaum (08/04-08/06)
the woman in the dunes, kōbō abe, transl. saunders (08/02-08/04) ✦✦
a personal matter, kenzaburō ōe, transl. nathan (07/30-08/01)
snow country, yasunari kawabata, transl. seidensticker (07/26-07/30) ✦
white noise, don delillo (07/12-07/18) ✦
harrington on hold 'em, dan harrington (07/05)
the mathematics of poker, bill chen and jerrod ankenman (07/03)
principles, ray dalio (06/18-06/20)
breakfast at tiffany's: a short novel, truman capote (06/14-06/16) ✦
cannery row, john steinbeck (06/12-06/13) ✦✦
the master and margarita, mikhail bulgakov, transl. p and v (05/29-07/11) ✦
2025 spring
my year of rest and relaxation, ottessa moshfegh (05/10-05/11)
sputnik sweetheart, haruki murakami, transl. gabriel (05/07-05/09) ✦
norwegian wood, haruki murakami, transl. rubin (05/03-05/06) ✦
passing, nella larsen (05/01-05/07)
the rebel, albert camus, transl. bower (04/24-04/30)
the best american short stories 2017, various authors (04/22-2026/07/09)
the fall, albert camus, transl. o'brien (04/19)
boule de suif, guy de maupassant, transl. mcmaster and henderson (04/17)
ma rainey's black bottom, august wilson (04/14-04/24)
demons, fyodor dostoevsky, transl. p and v (04/13-05/15)
the stories of vladimir nabokov, vladimir nabokov (04/08-) ✦
the old man and the sea, ernest hemingway (04/05-04/06) ✦✦
the fund, rob copeland (04/03-04/05)
steppenwolf, hermann hesse, transl. creighton (04/01-04/12) ✦
de bello gallico, julius caesar, transl. dewey (03/27-04/26)
a hero of our time, mikhail lermontov, transl. nabokov (03/25-04/08)
what i talk about when i talk about running, haruki murakami, transl. gabriel (03/24-03/25)
oblomov, ivan goncharov, transl. magarshack (03/21-03/24) ✦✦
the wind-up bird chronicle, haruki murakami, transl. rubin (03/18-03/20) ✦
invincible compendium volume 3, kirkman (03/14)
invincible compendium volume 2, kirkman (03/14)
i who have never known men, jacqueline harpman, transl. schwartz (03/12)
2025 winter
secondhand time, svetlana alexievich, transl. shayevich (03/05) ✦
man's search for meaning, viktor frankl, transl. lasch (02/27-03/09)
the blue octavo notebooks, franz kafka, transl. kaiser and wilkins (02/03-02/06)
aeneid, virgil, transl. mandelbaum (02/03-03/25)
speak memory, vladimir nabokov (02/01-02/04) ✦
the demon, lermontov, transl. johnston (01/26-01/28)
pnin, vladimir nabokov (01/18-01/25) ✦
the coast of chicago, stuart dybek (01/16-01/18)
stoner, john williams (01/12-01/15) ✦✦
lectures on literature, vladimir nabokov (01/03-01/05) ✦
in our time, ernest hemingway (01/01-01/10)
2024 autumn
white nights, fyodor dostoevsky, transl. garnett (12/20-12/21) ✦
doorways in the sand, roger zelazny (12/13-12/15)
dandelion wine, ray bradbury (12/07-12/09) ✦
titus groan, mervyn peake (11/24-11/25) ✦
ubik, philip k. dick (11/21-11/22) ✦
the crying of lot 49, thomas pynchon (11/16-11/19)
the metamorphosis, franz kafka, transl. johnston (11/15)
nature, ralph waldo emerson (11/12-11/13)
walden, henry david thoreau (11/01-11/11) ✦
in the penal colony, franz kafka, transl. johnston (10/20)
the trial, franz kafka, transl. mitchell (10/17-10/30)
parable of the sower, octavia butler (10/12-10/15)
the tortilla curtain, t.c. boyle (10/05-10/12)
a supposedly fun thing i'll never do again: essays and arguments, david foster wallace (10/01) ✦
201 stories, anton chekhov, transl. garnett (09/03-)
demon copperhead, barbara kingsolver (08/12)
pale fire, vladimir nabokov (08/05-08/11) ✦✦
notes from the underground, fyodor dostoevsky, transl. p and v (08/03)
2024 summer and beyond
1984, george orwell
a clockwork orange, anthony burgess
a connecticut yankee in king arthur's court, mark twain
a discourse on inequality, jean-jacques rousseau
a treatise of human nature, david hume
adventures of huckleberry finn, mark twain
american indian stories, zitkála-šá
an american sunrise, joy harjo
animal farm, george orwell
babel, r.f. kuang
bartleby the scrivener, herman melville ✦
benito cereno, herman melville
blood meridian, cormac mccarthy ✦
brave new world, aldous huxley ✦
children of dune, frank herbert
concrete island, j.g. ballard
dark age, pierce brown ✦
do androids dream of electric sheep, philip k. dick
dracula, bram stoker ✦
dune, frank herbert ✦
dune messiah, frank herbert
ecce homo, friedrich nietzsche
essays first and second series, ralph waldo emerson
ethan frome, edith wharton
empire of silence, christopher ruocchio
exhalation: stories, ted chiang ✦
fahrenheit 451, ray bradbury
fear and trembling, søren kierkegaard ✦
flowers for algernon, daniel keyes
foundation, isaac asimov
galactic pot-healer, philip k. dick ✦
gödel escher bach, douglas hofstadter ✦
golden son, pierce brown
gulliver's travels, jonathan swift
hero of two worlds, mike duncan
hillbilly elegy, j.d. vance
hyperion, dan simmons ✦✦
industrial society and its future, ted kaczynski
interpreter of maladies, jhumpa lahiri
iraq the borrowed kettle, slavoj žižek
iron gold, pierce brown
life the universe and everything, douglas adams
letters to milena, franz kafka ✦
light bringer, pierce brown
little men, louisa may alcott
little women, louisa may alcott
lolita, vladimir nabokov ✦
lord of the flies, william golding
macbeth, william shakespeare
mama day, gloria naylor
meditations, marcus aurelius
meditations on first philosophy, rené descartes
minor feelings, cathy park hong
morning star, pierce brown
native guard, natasha trethewey
night, elie wiesel
nightfall, isaac asimov
of mice and men, john steinbeck
oliver twist, charles dickens
on the genealogy of morals, friedrich nietzsche
one-punch man, one
othello, william shakespeare
politics and the english language, george orwell
philosophical investigations, ludwig wittgenstein ✦
project hail mary, andy weir
red rising, pierce brown
robinson crusoe, daniel defoe
romeo and juliet, william shakespeare
snow crash, neal stephenson
so far from god, ana castillo
so long and thanks for all the fish, douglas adams
station eleven, emily st. john mandel
stories of your life and others, ted chiang
strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde, robert louis stevenson
tao te ching, lao tzu
the adventures of tom sawyer, mark twain
the age of mccarthyism, ellen schrecker
the art of war, sun tzu
the boys in the boat, daniel james brown
the call of the wild, jack london
the colour of magic, terry pratchett
the communist manifesto, karl marx and friedrich engels
the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, mark haddon
the dark forest, liu cixin ✦
the death of ivan ilyich, leo tolstoy
the enchanter, vladimir nabokov
the fall of hyperion, dan simmons
the fountainhead, ayn rand
the gay science, friedrich nietzsche
the great gatsby, f. scott fitzgerald ✦✦
the handmaid's tale, margaret atwood
the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, douglas adams
the inequality machine, paul tough
the light fantastic, terry pratchett
the martian, andy weir
the myth of sisyphus, albert camus ✦
the odyssey, homer ✦
the outsiders, s.e. hinton
the pearl, john steinbeck
the piazza tales, herman melville
the picture of dorian gray, oscar wilde
the plague, albert camus ✦
the power of now, eckhart tolle
the psychology of money, morgan housel
the republic, plato ✦
the restaurant at the end of the universe, douglas adams
the reveries of the solitary walker, jean-jacques rousseau
the scarlet letter, nathaniel hawthorne
the social contract and discourses, jean-jacques rousseau
the sorrows of young werther, johann wolfgang von goethe
the storm before the storm, mike duncan
the stranger, albert camus
the sublime object of ideology, slavoj žižek
the swiss family robinson, johann david wyss ✦
the three-body problem, liu cixin
the time machine, h.g. wells
the war of the worlds, h.g. wells
the will of the many, james islington
things fall apart, chinua achebe
this is how you lose the time war, amal el-mohtar and max gladstone
this is water, david foster wallace
thus spoke zarathustra, friedrich nietzsche
tractatus logico-philosophicus, ludwig wittgenstein
twilight of the idols, friedrich nietzsche
under the udala trees, chinelo okparanta
waiting for godot, samuel beckett ✦
watchmen, alan moore and dave gibbons ✦
what if, randall munroe
what if 2, randall munroe
wide sargasso sea, jean rhys
wool, hugh howey
works of love, søren kierkegaard
žižek's jokes, slavoj žižek
2026 summer
2026 spring
2026 winter
2025 autumn
2025 summer
2025 spring
2025 winter
2024 autumn
2024 summer and beyond
