Listmania!
Reading list 2003
Lanark: Life in Four Books: A Life in 4 Books (Canongate Classics)Lanark: Life in Four Books: A Life in 4 Books (Canongate Classics) by Alasdair Gray
Buy used from: £1.47
Really really good. Gritty, dark, magical, fascinating...
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (International Writers)Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (International Writers) by Patrick Suskind
Buy new: £4.96 / Used from: £0.01
Fairly good, but not all that engaging I thought.
Mr. VertigoMr. Vertigo by Paul Auster
Buy used from: £0.01
It starts really well, but it seems like Paul Auster got bored of writing it.
Poor Things: Alasdair Gray (A Harvest Book)Poor Things: Alasdair Gray (A Harvest Book) by Alasdair. Gray
Buy used from: £1.64
So different from Lanark, and it's own way so very good.
Everything is IlluminatedEverything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Buy new: £5.71 / Used from: £1.50
Moving in the extreme.
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable ThingsIf Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor
Buy new: £4.81 / Used from: £0.01
Average in the extreme.
The Count of Monte Cristo (Oxford World's Classics)The Count of Monte Cristo (Oxford World's Classics) by Alexandre Dumas (père)
Buy new: £8.99 / Used from: £0.02
This is not a children's book! A brilliant, complex and absorbing read.
American PsychoAmerican Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.01
OK, I haven't quite finished it yet, but when you get past the blood and labels, it's quite involving.
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled SelfSamuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin
Buy new: £7.66 / Used from: £0.01
Not much of a history reader, but I loved this from cover to cover.
Stone Junction: An Alchemical PotboilerStone Junction: An Alchemical Potboiler by Jim Dodge
Buy used from: £0.01
This was recommended to me and I kind of liked it, but also thought it was a bit silly.
Death and the Penguin (Panther)Death and the Penguin (Panther) by Andrey Kurkov
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £1.05
I found this on a few lists and decided to give it a go. I recommend you do too!
Let It Come DownLet It Come Down by Paul Bowles
Buy used from: £4.48
I was going to Morocco so I had to read Paul Bowles. This is gritty. I felt tarnished when I'd finished it.
Life of PiLife of Pi by Yann Martel
Buy new: £5.40 / Used from: £0.01
No other book has made me angrier this year. Irritating and over-rated.
The Book of IllusionsThe Book of Illusions by Paul Auster
Buy new: £4.89 / Used from: £0.01
Really quite mediocre. I enjoyed Mr Vertigo a lot more.
The Catcher in the RyeThe Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Buy new: £4.90 / Used from: £0.90
I was too old to read this for the first time.
The Silver Darlings (FF Classics)The Silver Darlings (FF Classics) by Neil M. Gunn
Buy used from: £0.13
There were good bits, but by the end I didn't much care.
The Little FriendThe Little Friend by Donna Tartt
Buy used from: £0.01
I haven't read the Secret History. Everyone says it's much better than this. I hope so.
Tomato RedTomato Red by Daniel Woodrell
Buy used from: £2.63
Y'know, I like this. It was a present and I really like it. A small gem.
Blast from the Past (Kinky Friedman Novels)Blast from the Past (Kinky Friedman Novels) by Kinky Friedman
Buy used from: £1.01
Oh you know, it's Kinky!
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Essential.penguin): WITH WunderkindThe Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Essential.penguin): WITH Wunderkind by Carson McCullers
Buy used from: £2.77
I got confused because I didn't realise it was short stories. Loved the giant and the dwarf.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (Broadview Literary Texts)The Picture of Dorian Gray (Broadview Literary Texts) by Oscar Wilde
Buy new: £8.95 / Used from: £3.06
Third time lucky, I really really got it this time!
You Shall Know Our VelocityYou Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
Buy used from: £1.25
It's gimmicky and ultimately a bit pointless.
The Art of TravelThe Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
Buy new: £5.47 / Used from: £2.63
Not as good as the Proust one or the philosophy one, but interesting nonetheless.
The Turn of the Screw (Penguin Popular Classics)The Turn of the Screw (Penguin Popular Classics) by Henry James
Buy new: £2.00 / Used from: £0.01
Sorry, but the prose is turgid and the story really not very gripping.
Madame Bovary: A Story of Provincial Life (Penguin Popular Classics)Madame Bovary: A Story of Provincial Life (Penguin Popular Classics) by Gustave Flaubert
Buy new: £2.16 / Used from: £0.01
'...human speech is like a cracked cauldron on which we knock out tunes for dancing-bears...'!