Have you read it before? It’s the kind of book everyone will like. And there’s a movie worth watching.
January 15, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Have you read it before? It’s the kind of book everyone will like. And there’s a movie worth watching.
“…we look up and we hope the stars look down, we pray that there may be stars for us to follow, stars moving across the heavens and leading us to our destiny, but it’s only our vanity.”
- Salman Rushdie - The Moor’s Last Sigh
- Salman Rushdie - The Moor’s Last Sigh
January 15, 2026 at 3:28 AM
“…we look up and we hope the stars look down, we pray that there may be stars for us to follow, stars moving across the heavens and leading us to our destiny, but it’s only our vanity.”
- Salman Rushdie - The Moor’s Last Sigh
- Salman Rushdie - The Moor’s Last Sigh
(Forgot the picture…. )
January 12, 2026 at 3:59 PM
(Forgot the picture…. )
Other really good nonfiction:
The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes
Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller
The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor
A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin
The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes
Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller
The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor
A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin
The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
January 12, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Other really good nonfiction:
The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes
Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller
The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor
A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin
The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes
Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller
The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor
A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin
The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
Other good or curious classics:
Piers Plowman by William Langland
Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Rabbit, Run by John Updike
Antigone by Sophocles
Piers Plowman by William Langland
Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Rabbit, Run by John Updike
Antigone by Sophocles
January 12, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Other good or curious classics:
Piers Plowman by William Langland
Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Rabbit, Run by John Updike
Antigone by Sophocles
Piers Plowman by William Langland
Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Rabbit, Run by John Updike
Antigone by Sophocles
Faulkner -
Go Down, Moses
Intruder in the Dust
(I also read The Wild Palms {If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem}, his collected stories, but wasn’t a fan)
Go Down, Moses
Intruder in the Dust
(I also read The Wild Palms {If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem}, his collected stories, but wasn’t a fan)
January 12, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Faulkner -
Go Down, Moses
Intruder in the Dust
(I also read The Wild Palms {If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem}, his collected stories, but wasn’t a fan)
Go Down, Moses
Intruder in the Dust
(I also read The Wild Palms {If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem}, his collected stories, but wasn’t a fan)
older Booker-listed books (all terrific):
A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
January 12, 2026 at 3:56 PM
older Booker-listed books (all terrific):
A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
2025 Booker Prize longlist personal favorites not listed above
On the Calculation of Volume (Book I) by Solvej Balle
Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu
Eurotrash by Christian Kracht
On A Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer
Endling by Maria Reva
Flesh by David Szalay
Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga
On the Calculation of Volume (Book I) by Solvej Balle
Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu
Eurotrash by Christian Kracht
On A Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer
Endling by Maria Reva
Flesh by David Szalay
Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga
January 12, 2026 at 3:56 PM
2025 Booker Prize longlist personal favorites not listed above
On the Calculation of Volume (Book I) by Solvej Balle
Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu
Eurotrash by Christian Kracht
On A Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer
Endling by Maria Reva
Flesh by David Szalay
Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga
On the Calculation of Volume (Book I) by Solvej Balle
Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu
Eurotrash by Christian Kracht
On A Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer
Endling by Maria Reva
Flesh by David Szalay
Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga
Favorite New fiction
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Clear by Carys Davies
Favorite Nonfiction (the best of the best)
A Backward Glance by Edith Wharton
The Secret of Life by Howard Markel
Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
William Blake vs the World by John Higgs
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Clear by Carys Davies
Favorite Nonfiction (the best of the best)
A Backward Glance by Edith Wharton
The Secret of Life by Howard Markel
Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
William Blake vs the World by John Higgs
January 12, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Favorite New fiction
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Clear by Carys Davies
Favorite Nonfiction (the best of the best)
A Backward Glance by Edith Wharton
The Secret of Life by Howard Markel
Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
William Blake vs the World by John Higgs
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Clear by Carys Davies
Favorite Nonfiction (the best of the best)
A Backward Glance by Edith Wharton
The Secret of Life by Howard Markel
Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
William Blake vs the World by John Higgs
Books to highlight
Best classic: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Favorite “modern classics” (some Booker-listed)
The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt
The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
Best classic: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Favorite “modern classics” (some Booker-listed)
The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt
The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
January 12, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Books to highlight
Best classic: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Favorite “modern classics” (some Booker-listed)
The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt
The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
Best classic: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Favorite “modern classics” (some Booker-listed)
The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt
The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
It’s only work if you’re not enjoying it 🙂
January 12, 2026 at 4:41 AM
It’s only work if you’re not enjoying it 🙂
Thanks. Those spaces are for the two Booker Prize longlists. One comes out in March, the other near Aug 1. They’ve been traditionally 13 books each. So i don’t get to choose, just hope the judges pick a nice collection. 🙂 I don’t read many new books. Those 26 will be most of them.
January 12, 2026 at 4:38 AM
Thanks. Those spaces are for the two Booker Prize longlists. One comes out in March, the other near Aug 1. They’ve been traditionally 13 books each. So i don’t get to choose, just hope the judges pick a nice collection. 🙂 I don’t read many new books. Those 26 will be most of them.
I don’t know. Not for me. I loved it. I love reading about the books I’m reading. So a good reading guide is a joy. That said, the reading guide helped with the details, but stayed mute on the larger themes. So I was free to go bonkers there. And i did…
January 12, 2026 at 4:33 AM
I don’t know. Not for me. I loved it. I love reading about the books I’m reading. So a good reading guide is a joy. That said, the reading guide helped with the details, but stayed mute on the larger themes. So I was free to go bonkers there. And i did…
For nonfiction, consider Atwood’s new autobiography, Book of Lives. (If it interests, of course )
January 11, 2026 at 8:21 PM
For nonfiction, consider Atwood’s new autobiography, Book of Lives. (If it interests, of course )
Song of Solomon and Chronicle are wonderful classics. James is a fantastic newish novel. It confronts you, and you probably don’t come out well. I didn’t. I vote Morrison for you. Then maybe James, to get a contemporary view of the same problem. They would make a great pairing. 🙂
January 11, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Song of Solomon and Chronicle are wonderful classics. James is a fantastic newish novel. It confronts you, and you probably don’t come out well. I didn’t. I vote Morrison for you. Then maybe James, to get a contemporary view of the same problem. They would make a great pairing. 🙂
I adore this one. Hope the plodding pays off. The prose is terrific. (Read some out loud, or listen on audio 🙂)
January 11, 2026 at 8:14 PM
I adore this one. Hope the plodding pays off. The prose is terrific. (Read some out loud, or listen on audio 🙂)
I read GR with a reader guide and helped a lot. I got so frustrated with Mason & Dixon, I stopped reading Pynchon. 🙂 (it’s a lot of pages without a standard sentence to be found anywhere). V. has been my favorite of his, and is probably the easiest to digest.
January 11, 2026 at 8:12 PM
I read GR with a reader guide and helped a lot. I got so frustrated with Mason & Dixon, I stopped reading Pynchon. 🙂 (it’s a lot of pages without a standard sentence to be found anywhere). V. has been my favorite of his, and is probably the easiest to digest.
Who is the author? On my tbr shelves is Muriel Sparks biography of Shelley.
January 11, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Who is the author? On my tbr shelves is Muriel Sparks biography of Shelley.
I finished Mrs. Dalloway. 😔 Now starting The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie (1995). Sir Thomas Malory continues.
January 11, 2026 at 8:03 PM
I finished Mrs. Dalloway. 😔 Now starting The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie (1995). Sir Thomas Malory continues.
I’m so happy to know that. Enjoy!
January 6, 2026 at 1:20 PM
I’m so happy to know that. Enjoy!
"What a moron I was to think you were sweet and innocent, when it turns out you were actually college-educated the whole time."
January 1, 2026 at 5:37 AM
"What a moron I was to think you were sweet and innocent, when it turns out you were actually college-educated the whole time."