I don’t really update this list very often. It’s mostly a place for me to keep track of books I plan to read.
Rob Reid–Year Zero
jasper fforde any i’ve missed
Geektopia (Short story collection)
Richard Milward–Apples
David Waltner-Toews–Food Sex and Salmonella
Maggie Helwig–Girls Fell Down
Julian Barnes–Nothing to Be Frightened Of
Heidi Julavitz–The Uses of Enchantment
Irvine Welsh–The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs
Rick Moody–The Diviners
Bathsheba Monk–Now You See It
Various titles I just bought from the McSweeney’s store.
You’ve seen what I’ve read, and what I plan to read. If you have any suggestions, please send them along, I’m always game for new fiction.
Authors who I may want to read all of their work:
ROBERTO BOLANO
1982 Monsieur Pain (novel, January 2010)
1993 The Skating Rink (novel, 2009)
1996 Nazi Literature in the Americas (novel, 2008)
1996 Distant Star (novella, 2004)
1997 Last Evenings on Earth (“Telephone Calls”) / “Putas asesinas” (2001)
1998 The Savage Detectives (novel, 2007)
1999 Amulet (novella character from TSD, 2006)
2000 By Night in Chile (novella, 2003)
2000 The Romantic Dogs (poems, 2008)
2001 The Return [“Putas asesinas” and “Llamadas telefónicas” not collected July 2010)
2002 Antwerp [actually written in 1980] (novella, April 2010)
2003 The Insufferable Gaucho (5 short stories + 2 essays, August 2010)
2004 Between Parentheses (nonfiction, June 2011)
2004 2666 (novel, 2008)
2007 The Secret of Evil (short stories, November 2011)
2009 Roberto Bolaño: The Last Interview and Other Conversations
2010 El Tercer Reich (“The Third Reich”) [shown to publishers at a book fair in 2008, believed to be written before 1996] (novel, 2011)
2012. “The Troubles of the Real Police Officer” [novel, found in 2009]
2000 Tres [“Three”] (poems)
2007 La universidad desconocida [“The Unknown University”] (poems–]
2002 Una novelita lumpen (“A Lumpen Novella”)
untranslated. “Diorama” [novel, found in 2009]
unpub. “part 6 of 2666(?)” [novella?, found in 2009]
untranslated 1984 [“Advice from a Morrison Disciple to a Joyce Fanatic”] (co-written with Antoni García Porta)]
- RODDY DOYLE
The Commitments (1987), 1991 film) Barrytown 1
The Snapper (1990, 1993 film) Barrytown 2The Van (1991) ; 1996 film) Barrytown 3- Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (1993)
- The Woman Who Walked into Doors (1996) Paula Spencer 1
- A Star Called Henry (1999) Last Roundup 1
- Oh, Play That Thing! (2004) Last Roundup 2
- The Dead Republic (2010) Last Roundup 3
- Paula Spencer (2006) Paula Spencer 2
- Novellas
Not Just for Christmas (1999) (part of the Open Door Series of novellas for adult literacy)- Mad Weekend (2006) (part of the Open Door Series)
- Two Pints (2012)
- Short story collections
- The Deportees and Other Stories, September 2007.
- Bullfighting, April 2011.
- Children’s books
-
The Giggler Treatment (2000)Rover Saves Christmas (2001)The Meanwhile Adventures (2004)
Not Just for Christmas (1999)Wilderness (2007)Her Mother’s Face (2008)A Greyhound of a Girl (2011)
- Co-Authored
Click – 2007
- Non-fiction
- Rory and Ita (2002) — About Doyle’s parents.
- Theatre
- Brownbread (1987)
- War (1989)
- The Woman Who Walked into Doors (2003)
- Rewrite of The Playboy of the Western World (2007) with Bisi Adigun
- Screenplays
- When Brendan Met Trudy (2000)
New Boy (2008)- Family (1994)
Thomas Pynchon
- 1963 V
- Crying of Lot 49 (67)
Gravity’s Rainbow (73)- Slow Learner (84)
- Vineland (February, 1990)
- Mason & Dixon (April 30, 1997)
- Against the Day (November 21, 2006)
- Inherent Vice (August 4, 2009)
William Gaddis
- The Recognitions (1955)
J R (1975)- Carpenter’s Gothic (1985)
- A Frolic of His Own (1994)
Agapē Agape (completed 1998, published 2002)- The Rush for Second Place (collection, published 2002)
Jonathan Franzen
- 1988 The Twenty-Seventh City
- 1992 Strong Motion
2001 The Corrections2010 Freedom2002 How to Be Alone (essays)2006 The Discomfort Zone (memoir)The Kraus Project- Farther Away
- Spring Awakening (translation)
David Lipsky
- Absolutely American (2003) (essay)
- The Art Fair (1996) (novel)
- Three Thousand Dollars (1986) (SS)
Michael Chabon
- The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988)
- Wonder Boys (1995)
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2000)
- The Final Solution (2004)
- The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (2007)
- Gentlemen of the Road (2007)
- Summerland (2002)
- A Model World and Other Stories (1991)
- Werewolves in Their Youth (1999)
Maps and Legends (2008)- Manhood for Amateurs (October 2009)
A.M. Homes
- Jack
- In the Country of Mothers
- The End of Alice
- Appendix A
- Music for Torching
- This Book Will Save Your Life
- May We Be Forgiven
- The Safety of Objects (SS)
- Things You Should Know (SS)
- Los Angeles: People, Places, and the Castle on the Hill (2002) [NF]
- On the Street 1980-1990 by Amy Arbus, Introduction by Homes
- The Mistress’s Daughter (2007)[NF]
Colson Whitehead
Fiction
- The Intuitionist (1999)
- John Henry Days (2001)
- Apex Hides the Hurt (2006)
- Sag Harbor (2009)
Zone One (2011)
Non-fiction
- The Colossus of New York (2003)
Haruki Murakami
- Hear the Wind Sing
- Pinball 1973
- Wild Sheep Chase
- hard Boiled Wonderland
- nowegain wood
- dance dance dance
- south of th eborder
- wind up bird
- sputnik sweetheart
- kafka on the shore
- after dark
Christopher Moore
- Practical Demonkeeping
- Coyote Blue
- Bloodsucking Fiends
- Island of the Sequined Love Nun
- The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove
- Lamb
- Fluke
- The Stupidest Angel
- The Stupidest Angel 2.0
- A Dirty Job
- You Suck
- Fool
Kurt Vonnegut
Player PianoSirens of TitanMother NightCanary in a Cathouse (SS)Cat’s CradleGod Bless You Mr RosewaterWelcome to the Monkey House (SS)Slaughterhouse 5Breakfast of ChampionsWampeters (SS)SlapstickJailbirdPalm Sunday (SS) (easy to find 320 pp)Deadeye DickNothing is Lost Save Honor (SS) (very rare 46 pp)GalapagosBluebeardHocus PocusFates Worse Than Death (SS) (240 pp easy to find)Timequake- Bagombo Snuff Box (SS) (384 pp own)
God Bless You Dr Kevorkian (SS)A Man Without a Country (SS)- Armageddon in Retrospect (240 pages, easy to find)
Between Time and TimbuktuLike Shaking Hands with God (80 pages, Princeton; Rutgers)Happy Birthday Wanda June- Look at the Birdie: Unpublished Short Fiction
- While Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short Fiction
- Kurt Vonnegut: The Cornell Sun Years 1941–1943
- We Are What We Pretend to Be: The First and Last Works
- Sucker’s Portfolio: A Collection of Previously Unpublished Writing
Vladimir Nabokov
Written In Russian:
- Mary
- King Queen Knave
- The Defense
- The Eye
- Glory
- Laughter in the Dark
- Despair
- Invitation to a Beheading
- The Gift
- The Enchanter
Written In English:
- The Real Life of Sebastian Knight
- Bend Sinister
- Lolita,
- Pnin
- Pale Fire
- Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle
- Transparent Things
- Look at the Harlequins!
- The Original of Laura (Unfinished/Unpublished)
Short story collections
- Vozvrashchenie Chorba (“The Return of Chorb”). Fifteen short stories and twenty-four poems, in Russian, by “V. Sirin”.
- Sogliadatai (“The Eye”). Thirteen short stories, in Russian, by “V. Sirin”.
- Nine Stories
- Vesna v Fial’te i drugie rasskazy (“Spring in Fialta and other stories”)
- Nabokov’s Dozen: A Collection of Thirteen Stories (Also reprinted as Spring in Fialta and First Love and Other Stories)
- Nabokov’s Quartet
- Nabokov’s Congeries; reprinted as The Portable Nabokov
- A Russian Beauty and Other Stories
- Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories
- Details of a Sunset and Other Stories
- The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov(alternative title The Collected Stories — complete collection of all short stories
- Cloud, Castle, Lake
Douglas Coupland–up to date
Zadie Smith
- White Teeth
- The Autograph man
On Beauty- NW
- Changing My Mind
- Piece of Flesh
Book of Other People
Junot Diaz
- Drown
Oscar Wao- This is How You Lose her
McSweeney’s remaining:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
Unthinkable Thoughts of Joshua Green was very good-though I sort of forget what happens in it. But I did really like it and I bet you will too!
Hey, I had no idea Mark Haddon had another book out. Aren’t I a great librarian?! I can’t wait to read what you think of it.
I’m such a poor librarian, I never even realized it was that Incident of Dogs guy. Whoops!
I have been a John Irving fan (The one who wrote Cider House Rules) for a long time now. Have you read ‘A prayer for Owen Meany’ its a classic.
His other books like ‘The fourth hand’, ‘Setting Free The Bears’, ‘The Hotel New Hampshire’…I have read these till now. I can’t seem to get my hands on the rest.
I have not read any John Irving. He’s one of those authors that I’ve always heard of, but never read. I’ll have to check out Owen Meany.
As for the rest of his books…your local library can get you pretty much anything!
Depending on what type of fiction you like, Earl Emerson is a great author. He’s a Seattle firefighter who writes about firefighting in Seattle. Since he knows all about his subjects, it turns out to be some great books.
Into the Inferno was the best, and I recommend starting there.
Thank you. I’ll have to check him out.
Consider adding Drawers & Booths to your “I will read” list.
Such blatant salesmanship! I looked it up on Amazon, and the book looks good. I’ll see if I can get a copy.
Hi- I found you randomly when I searched for Solzhenitsyn and when I read you had heard of him first for the same reason I had to keep reading!
Recommended Reads:
Tom Robbins: I recommend “Stilllife with Woodpecker” or “Invalids Home from Hot Climates” A daring, bizarre, creative, lol writer whose every sentence is poetic but when combined form drug-trip-like descriptions.
also
Joanne Harris: “Gentlemen and Players” or “Blackberry Wine”
Books infused with food, a touch of magic, and plots like animal paths; earthy, careful and yet carefree, but that can be twisty.
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I’ve not read either author, but I shall definitely add them to my list!
And thanks for checking out my site.
Paul,
You are right to want to read Haruki Murakami, I have read all his novels and they are wonderful. The Wind-Up Bird Chronical made me need glasses! Norwegian Wood is divine.
As for John Irving, please read him, too, although some of his work is not so great (imho). His early work (Garp, Hotel New Hampshire, etc. is great, Owen Meany is fantastic.
If you could recommend one book to your audience, what would it be?
Thank you.
Linda
Thanks for the suggestions Linda. Let me give some thought into the ONE BOOK I would recommend!
This answer will probably change on any given day, but scanning back through the books I’ve read recently I’m going to go with Zadie Smith’s On Beauty. It covers a lot of terrain and a lot of topics. It is beautifully written and packs an emotional wallop. I tend to read somewhat lighter fair, but I do like a heavy book from time to time and this one has left a lasting impact with me.
Paul,
Thanks much for the suggestion, but I already read this book. Can’t say I am as thrilled about it as you, found it somewhat trite, although I do think it is a good book. But anything by Milan Kundera, Haruki Murakami, and most of John Irving has it beat. I have become a Cormac McCarthy fan, although some of his work was too dense for me–The Road, The Border Trilogy were excellent. OK, well, do you have a second favorite book? 🙂
Linda
Hi Linda,
I got lost in life before getting a chance to write back. I loved Unbearable Lightness of Being, and have enjoyed what little of Murakami I have read. John Irving I’ve not read, so I’ll add him to my consideration.
A book I am planning to re-read in the near future which is light and fast and yet not light and insubstantial is Christopher Moore’s Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. It’s a sardonic look at religion, and is quite funny. Again, nothing hair-raisingly difficult, but fun nonetheless.
OK, well, thanks, I will certainly give it a go after I finish “Infinite Jest,” which may be some time next year ;-)!
Hello Pavel, would you be so kind and translate me a book from Roberto Bolano called “Companeros de celda”? Thank you very much.
Um, no. I will not. But I’m sure you can find a publisher who will. (or maybe Google Translate, which is what I would use.
Go ahead & read Chabon’s _Final Solution_. Quick, easy, & fab. From another librarian.