Topic: Years of Reading

This year, I read 23 books and discovered 14 new authors.

I would say that 2014 was the year of non-fiction literature for me. At the same time, I discovered another great author whom I loved instantly. Isle of Dreams by Keizo Hino has become one of my all-time favorites. I also finished The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, a book I had wanted to read since I started working at our local bookstore in 2009.

December

December 12, 2014 Мастер ветров и закатов (Сновидения Ехо #1) by Макс Фрай (2014)
December 7, 2014 Идеальный роман by Макс Фрай (1997)
December 6, 2014 Вторая линия by Макс Фрай (2012)
December 2, 2014 Первая линия by Макс Фрай (2012)

November

November 21, 2014 En gatekatt ved navn Bob by James Bowen (2010)
November 15, 2014 The Private Lives of Plants by Lee Seung-u (2000)
November 14, 2014 Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann (2012)
November 10, 2014 The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann (1924)

August

August 25, 2014 Geschichte des Waldes. Von der Urzeit bis zur Gegenwart by Hansjörg Küster (2008)
August 19, 2014 Civilization: A New History of the Western World by Roger Osborne (2006)

May

May 30, 2014 The Magus by John Fowles (1965)
May 14, 2014 Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco (1988)

April

April 24, 2014 The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (1925)
April 20, 2014 The Stars Look Down by A. J. Cronin (1935)
April 11, 2014 Isle of Dreams by Keizo Hino (1985)
April 8, 2014 Вештачки младеж by Milorad Pavić (2009)
April 5, 2014 Седам смртних грехова by Milorad Pavić (2002)

March

March 29, 2014 Unique Item by Milorad Pavić (2004)
March 27, 2014 My View of Literature by Stanisław Lem (2003)

January

January 22, 2014 The Last Weynfeldt by Martin Suter (2008)
January 18, 2014 Le Solitaire by Eugène Ionesco (1973)
January 15, 2014 Cantique de la racaille by Vincent Ravalec (1998)
January 10, 2014 Angel Pavement by J. B. Priestley (1930)

This year, I read 39 books and discovered ten new authors.

It was a relatively calm year. I changed jobs and focused on settling into the new role. My reading lacked a specific system; I revisited Haruki Murakami, explored some previously unreleased works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and tackled two substantial books by Ernst Jünger. It was a bit of a mixed bag, I suppose.

November

November 18, 2013 Тубурская игра (Хроники Ехо #8) by Макс Фрай (2013)

October

October 11, 2013 El oficinista by Guillermo Saccomanno (2010)
October 5, 2013 Sturm by Ernst Jünger (1923)

September

September 20, 2013 One Last Glimpse by James Aldridge (1977)
September 10, 2013 La Nuit dernière au XVe siècle by Didier Van Cauwelaert (2008)

August

August 28, 2013 The Life of the Bee by Maurice Maeterlinck (1901)
August 14, 2013 The Intelligence of Flowers by Maurice Maeterlinck (1907)

July

July 30, 2013 The Stone Angels by Stuart Archer Cohen (2008)
July 20, 2013 Beyond Seventy: 1965-70 by Ernst Jünger (1980)
July 3, 2013 The Republic of Wine by Mo Yan (1992)

June

June 30, 2013 The Trial by Franz Kafka (1925)
June 24, 2013 The Castle by Franz Kafka (1926)
June 19, 2013 The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (1977)
June 7, 2013 Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (2005)

May

May 29, 2013 Storm of Steel by Ernst Jünger (1920)
May 25, 2013 To the Ends of the Earth by William Golding (1980)
May 18, 2013 Women by Charles Bukowski (1978)
May 14, 2013 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

April

April 30, 2013 Eumeswil by Ernst Jünger (1977)
April 6, 2013 The Howling Miller by Arto Paasilinna (1981)
April 2, 2013 The Son of the Thunder God by Arto Paasilinna (1984)

March

March 24, 2013 The Forest of the Hanged Foxes by Arto Paasilinna (1983)
March 20, 2013 The Chef by Martin Suter (2010)
March 17, 2013 A Deal with the Devil by Martin Suter (2006)
March 15, 2013 Three Hours Between Planes by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1941)
March 10, 2013 Underground by Haruki Murakami (1997)
March 5, 2013 Underground 2 by Haruki Murakami (1998)

February

February 28, 2013 Barbe bleue by Amélie Nothomb (2012)
February 28, 2013 The Red and the Green by Iris Murdoch (1965)
February 22, 2013 Master Misery by Truman Capote (1949)
February 19, 2013 The First Man by Albert Camus (1994)
February 11, 2013 Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (1987)
February 7, 2013 The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald (1920)
February 1, 2013 Jenny Villiers: A Story Of The Theatre by J. B. Priestley (1947)

January

January 30, 2013 The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1922)
January 22, 2013 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Six Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1932)
January 20, 2013 The Colonel’s Daughter by Richard Aldington (1950)
January 17, 2013 Novels and Stories, 1920-1922 by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1922)
January 14, 2013 Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck (1961)

This year, I read 141 books and discovered 25 new authors.

It was a chaotic year! I was sick a lot and spent six to eight hours each day reading, devouring one book after another. I also reread a lot of familiar works, like those by Макс Фрай, Haruki Murakami, and others. While I discovered several new authors, that wasn’t my main goal. Given the numerous challenges I faced this year, I wanted to revisit my all-time favorite books and keep their memories fresh in my mind.

December

December 30, 2012 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
December 20, 2012 After Dark by Haruki Murakami (2004)
December 16, 2012 Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami (1999)
December 14, 2012 South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami (1992)
December 10, 2012 What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (2007)
December 6, 2012 Underground by Haruki Murakami (1997)

November

November 29, 2012 Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (1985)
November 20, 2012 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (1994)
November 9, 2012 A Perfect Day for Kangaroos by Haruki Murakami (1981)
November 7, 2012 A Slow Boat to China by Haruki Murakami (1980)
November 5, 2012 Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (2002)

October

October 31, 2012 Tokyo Legends by Haruki Murakami (2005)
October 29, 2012 The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami (1985)
October 28, 2012 Murakami Radio by Haruki Murakami (2001)
October 27, 2012 A Shinagawa Monkey by Haruki Murakami (2005)
October 26, 2012 All God’s Children Can Dance by Haruki Murakami (1999)
October 25, 2012 TV People by Haruki Murakami (1989)
October 24, 2012 Firefly by Haruki Murakami (1983)
October 23, 2012 Carrousel’s Dead-heat by Haruki Murakami (1985)
October 22, 2012 Lexington Ghosts by Haruki Murakami (1996)
October 21, 2012 Большая телега by Макс Фрай (2008)
October 20, 2012 Ключ из жёлтого металла by Макс Фрай (2009)
October 18, 2012 Дар Шаванахолы (Хроники Ехо #7) by Макс Фрай (2010)
October 17, 2012 Обжора-хохотун (Хроники Ехо #6) by Макс Фрай (2007)
October 15, 2012 Горе господина Гро (Хроники Ехо #5) by Макс Фрай (2006)
October 12, 2012 Ворона на мосту (Хроники Ехо #4) by Макс Фрай (2005)
October 11, 2012 Неуловимый Хабба Хэн (Хроники Ехо #3) by Макс Фрай (2005)
October 9, 2012 Властелин Морморы (Хроники Ехо #2) by Макс Фрай (2004)
October 7, 2012 Чуб земли. Туланский детектив (Хроники Ехо #1) by Макс Фрай (2004)
October 5, 2012 Мой Рагнарёк by Макс Фрай (1998)
October 2, 2012 Гнёзда Химер by Макс Фрай (1997)

September

September 30, 2012 Лабиринт Мёнина (Лабиринты Ехо #8) by Макс Фрай (2000)
September 29, 2012 Болтливый мертвец (Лабиринты Ехо #7) by Макс Фрай (1999)
September 27, 2012 Власть несбывшегося (Лабиринты Ехо #6) by Макс Фрай (1998)
September 26, 2012 Наваждения (Лабиринты Ехо #5) by Макс Фрай (1997)
September 25, 2012 Тёмная сторона (Лабиринты Ехо #4) by Макс Фрай (1997)
September 24, 2012 Простые волшебные вещи (Лабиринты Ехо #3) by Макс Фрай (1997)
September 23, 2012 Волонтёры вечности (Лабиринты Ехо #2) by Макс Фрай (1997)
September 20, 2012 Чужак (Лабиринты Ехо #1) by Макс Фрай (1996)
September 18, 2012 Live With Lightning by Mitchell Wilson (1949)
September 14, 2012 Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2001)
September 12, 2012 Saturday by Ian McEwan (2005)
September 11, 2012 The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn (2001)
September 8, 2012 Москва 2042 by Владимир Войнович (1987)
September 5, 2012 The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (1881)

August

August 30, 2012 Slow Man by J. M. Coetzee (2005)
August 25, 2012 To Hell With the Ugly. They Do Not Realize by Boris Vian (1948)
August 23, 2012 The Red Grass by Boris Vian (1950)
August 21, 2012 Autumn in Peking by Boris Vian (1947)
August 19, 2012 Heartsnatcher by Boris Vian (1953)
August 17, 2012 Shut a Final Door by Truman Capote (1949)
August 15, 2012 Summer Crossing by Truman Capote (1943)
August 14, 2012 Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (1958)
August 13, 2012 Man in the Holocene by Max Frisch (1979)
August 12, 2012 Montauk by Max Frisch (1975)
August 10, 2012 Bluebeard by Max Frisch (1982)
August 7, 2012 Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote (1948)
August 5, 2012 The Winners by Julio Cortázar (1960)
August 3, 2012 Crystal Horizon: Everest: The First Solo Ascent by Reinhold Messner (1989)
August 1, 2012 The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)

July

July 31, 2012 In the Shape of a Boar by Lawrence Norfolk (2000)
July 27, 2012 Lemprière’s Dictionary by Lawrence Norfolk (1991)
July 22, 2012 The Sea Eagle by James Aldridge (1944)
July 20, 2012 Strahlungen II by Ernst Jünger (1988)
July 16, 2012 The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey (1969)
July 15, 2012 You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe (1940)
July 10, 2012 Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe (1929)

June

June 30, 2012 All Men Are Enemies by Richard Aldington (1933)
June 25, 2012 Hatter’s Castle by A. J. Cronin (1931)
June 22, 2012 Суси-Нуар. Занимательное муракамиЕдение by Дмитрий Коваленин (2004)
June 20, 2012 The Sweet Poison Cook by Arto Paasilinna (1988)
June 19, 2012 The Amnesiac by Sam Taylor (2008)
June 17, 2012 The Dark Side of the Moon by Martin Suter (2000)
June 16, 2012 Small World by Martin Suter (1997)
June 14, 2012 A Perfect Friend by Martin Suter (2002)
June 12, 2012 Violet, Violet by Martin Suter (2004)
June 11, 2012 Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk (2005)
June 8, 2012 Diary by Chuck Palahniuk (2003)
June 6, 2012 When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro (2000)
June 4, 2012 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (2009)

May

May 30, 2012 A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch (1961)
May 27, 2012 Tuer le père by Amélie Nothomb (2011)

This year, I read 15 books and discovered eight new authors.

To be honest, I’m not happy with my reading list this year. I managed to finish a disappointingly low number of books, although some were quite challenging, like Sometimes a Great Notion. Still, taking three months to finish a book is unacceptably long! Another book that took me too long to read was Dubliners by James Joyce, which I thoroughly disliked. Following my rule of not abandoning boring books, I ended up feeling trapped by my own principles. You know the situation.

November

November 4, 2011 Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey (1964)

August

August 20, 2011 Dubliners by James Joyce (1914)

July

July 20, 2011 Das abenteuerliche Herz. Figuren und Capriccios by Ernst Jünger (1938)
July 1, 2011 Strahlungen I by Ernst Jünger (1949)

June

June 18, 2011 Across the River and into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway (1950)
June 6, 2011 Demon Box by Ken Kesey (1986)

May

May 29, 2011 Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)
May 14, 2011 Supermarket by Satoshi Azuchi (1984)

April

April 3, 2011 The Plague by Albert Camus (1947)

March

March 7, 2011 The Prospector by J. M. G. Le Clézio (1985)

February

February 20, 2011 Desert by J. M. G. Le Clézio (1980)
February 5, 2011 Onitsha by J. M. G. Le Clézio (1991)

January

January 15, 2011 A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg (2004)
January 10, 2011 Dangerous Corner by J. B. Priestley (1932)
January 5, 2011 Kesey’s Garage Sale by Ken Kesey (1973)

This year, I read 45 books and discovered 25 new authors.

December

December 30, 2010 Fight Club: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk (1996)
December 29, 2010 Les Quatre vies du saule by Shan Sa (1999)
December 28, 2010 La pell freda by Albert Sánchez Piñol (2002)
December 25, 2010 Last Go Round: A Real Western by Ken Kesey, Ken Babbs (1994)
December 22, 2010 Ein Regenschirm für diesen Tag by Wilhelm Genazino (2001)
December 20, 2010 My Life by Bill Clinton (2004)
December 1, 2010 Nine Stories by J. D. Salinger (1953)

November

November 27, 2010 The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1941)
November 21, 2010 This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1920)
November 14, 2010 Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1933)

October

October 31, 2010 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
October 25, 2010 Sailor Song by Ken Kesey (1992)
October 13, 2010 Волшебник by Владимир Набоков (1955)
October 7, 2010 On the Marble Cliffs by Ernst Jünger (1939)
October 4, 2010 The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna (1975)
October 2, 2010 Fup by Jim Dodge (1983)
October 1, 2010 Antichrista by Amélie Nothomb (2003)

September

September 29, 2010 Le Voyage d’hiver by Amélie Nothomb (2009)
September 27, 2010 Hygiène de l’assassin by Amélie Nothomb (1992)
September 25, 2010 The Coma by Alex Garland (2004)
September 20, 2010 The Master of Petersburg by J. M. Coetzee (1994)
September 14, 2010 The Lake. Hard-boiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto (2005)
September 6, 2010 About her by Banana Yoshimoto (2008)
September 2, 2010 Ni d’Ève ni d’Adam by Amélie Nothomb (2007)

August

August 25, 2010 N.P. by Banana Yoshimoto (1990)
August 21, 2010 Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto (1989)
August 18, 2010 Journal d’Hirondelle by Amélie Nothomb (2006)
August 12, 2010 Степные боги by Андрей Геласимов (2008)
August 10, 2010 Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters & Seymour: An Introduction by J. D. Salinger (1955)
August 4, 2010 Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro (2009)

July

July 18, 2010 The Book of Proper Names by Amélie Nothomb (2000)
July 14, 2010 Le fait du prince by Amélie Nothomb (2008)
July 10, 2010 Biographie de la faim by Amélie Nothomb (2004)
July 1, 2010 The Italian Girl by Iris Murdoch (1964)

June

June 27, 2010 The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan (1978)
June 23, 2010 Métaphysique des tubes by Amélie Nothomb (2000)
June 22, 2010 Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger (1961)
June 20, 2010 The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis (1994)
June 14, 2010 Muleum by Erlend Loe (2007)
June 10, 2010 The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberi (2006)
June 3, 2010 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1959)

May

May 27, 2010 Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (1957)
May 24, 2010 Cosmétique de l’ennemi by Amélie Nothomb (2001)
May 18, 2010 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (1951)
May 14, 2010 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (1962)