I’ve often wondered how many books I read in a year. In 2019 I intend to find out.
I’m including books I read to my son at his bedtime, but not (for instance) the little £1 Penguin mini-classics.
(R) means a re-read. I re-read a lot.
January
1. Oliver, Neil – The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places
2. Coxon, Dan (ed.) – This Dreaming Isle (review here)
3. Pearson, Joan – Tales of the Tay
4. James, M.R. – Collected Ghost Stories (R)
5. Sebald, W.G. – The Rings of Saturn (R)
6. Herge – The Seven Crystal Balls
7. Goscinny & Uderzo – Asterix the Legionary (R)
8. Goscinny & Uderzo – Asterix and the Great Crossing (R)
9. Duras, Marguerite – The Garden Square (R) (review here)
10. Jones, Darryl – Sleeping With The Lights On: The Unsettling Story of Horror
11. Boyd, Alex – St Kilda: The Silent Islands
12. Grant, Alan & Ranson, Arthur – Mazeworld
13. Conan Doyle, Arthur – Gothic Tales
14. Niffenegger, Audrey (ed.) – Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories (review here)
15. Crumley, Jim – The Winter Whale
16. Crumley, Jim – A High and Lonely Place
17. Scovell, Adam – Mothlight (review here)
18. Barthes, Roland – Mythologies
19. Goscinny & Uderzo – Asterix and the Roman Agent (R)
20. Heath, Stephen – The Nouveau Roman
21. Blackwood, Algernon – Ancient Sorceries
22. Goscinny & Uderzo – Asterix and Son (R)
23. Monaco, James – Alain Resnais
24. Goscinny & Uderzo – Asterix and the Black Gold (R)
25. Redford, Ian – Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head: My Autobiography
February
26. Budden, Gary – Hollow Shores (R) (review here)
27. Goscinny & Uderzo – Obelix & Co. (R)
28. Rankin, Ian – In A House of Lies
29. Goscinny & Uderzo – Asterix and the Normans (R)
30. Hogg, James – The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
31. Tzara, Tristan – Selected Poems
32. Sedgwick, Marcus – Snow (R)
33. Larkin, Philip – A Girl in Winter
34. Goscinny & Uderzo – Asterix and the Soothsayer (R)
35. Woolf, Virginia – Mrs Dalloway (R)
36. Tzara, Tristan – Seven Dadaist Manifestos
37. Jones, Darryl (ed.) – Horror Stories: Classic Tales from Hoffmann to Hodgson
38. Kerouac, Jack – Satori in Paris (Kerouac post here)
39. Kerouac, Jack – Lonesome Traveler (R)
March
40. Kerouac, Jack – Desolation Angels (R)
41. Goscinny & Uderzo – Asterix and the Golden Sickle (R)
42. Kerouac, Jack – Big Sur
43. Kelman, James – Selected Stories (R) (Kelman article here)
44. Kelman, James – That Was a Shiver
45. Aaronovitch, Ben – Lies Sleeping
46. Watterson, Bill – Exploring ‘Calvin and Hobbes’: An Exhibition Catalogue
47. Kelman, James – How Late It Was, How Late (R)
48. Kelman, James – A Disaffection (R)
49. Ridgway, Keith – Hawthorn & Child
50. Larkin, Philip – Jill
51. Jamie, Kathleen – The Bonniest Companie (Kathleen Jamie article here)
52. Kelman, James – Dirt Road
53. Peacock, Charlotte – Into the Mountain: a Life of Nan Shepherd (Nan Shepherd article here)
54. Gray, Daniel – Black Boots & Football Pinks: 50 Lost Wonders of the Beautiful Game
55. Tutuola, Amos – The Palm-Wine Drinkard
56. Kelman, James – Not Not While The Giro (R)
57. Jansson, Tove – Moominland Midwinter (R)
April
58. Coxon, Dan (ed.) – Tales from the Shadow Booth, vol.3 (review here)
59. Kelman, James – A Lean Third
60. Kelman, James – A Chancer (R)
61. Tutuola, Amos – Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer
62. Kelman, James – Mo said she was quirky
63. Selvon, Sam – The Lonely Londoners
64. Tutuola, Amos – The Witch-Herbalist of the Remote Town (R)
65. Kafka, Franz – The Trial (R)
66. Joyce, James – Dubliners (R)
67. Kafka, Franz – The Castle
68. Joyce, James – Ulysses (R)¹
69. King, Stephen – Hearts in Atlantis
70. Tutuola, Amos – Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle
May
71. Woolf, Virginia – The Waves
72. Neve, Christopher – Unquiet Landscape: Places and Ideas in 20th Century English Painting
73. Warhol, Andy & Hackett, Pat – POPism
74. Jansson, Tove – Finn Family Moomintroll (R)
75. Marsden, Philip – Rising Ground: A Search for the Spirit of Place (R)
76. Garner, Alan – The Owl Service (R)
77. Byrne, David – How Music Works
78. Woolf, Virginia – To The Lighthouse
79. Kafka, Franz – Metamorphosis & other stories (R)
80. Zamyatin, Yevgeny – We
81. Jansson, Tove – Moominsummer Madness
82. Uderzo, Albert – Asterix and the Falling Sky
83. Porter, Max – Lanny (article here)
84. Reynolds, Simon – Rip It Up And Start Again: Post-Punk 1978 – 1984 (R)
85. Meijer, Eva – Bird Cottage (review here)
86. Garner, Alan – Thursbitch
87. Darton, Mike – The Dictionary of Place Names in Scotland
88. Harrison, Melissa – All Among the Barley (article here)
June
89. Ballard, J.G. – Crash
90. Garner, Alan – Red Shift
91. Ochota, Mary-Ann – Hidden Histories: A Spotter’s Guide to the British Landscape
92. Crumley, Jim – The Nature of Spring (Jim Crumley article here)
93. Sagan, Françoise – Bonjour Tristesse (R)
94. Fisher, Mark – K-Punk (review here)
95. Macfarlane, Robert – Underland
96. Ridgway, Keith – The Long Falling
97. Goscinny & Uderzo – Asterix in Britain (R)
98. Webb, Sarah (ed.) – Beyond the Stars: Twelve Tales of Adventure, Magic and Wonder
99. Andreyko, Marc & Kowalski, Piotr – Clive Barker’s Nightbreed, volume 1 (R)
100. Barker, Clive & Jones, Stephen – Clive Barker’s A-Z of Horror
101. Tutuola, Amos – Ajaiyi and his Inherited Poverty
102. Davies, Sioned (tr.) – The Mabinogion
103. Bonnett, Alastair – Off The Map: Lost Spaces, Invisible Cities, Forgotten Islands, Feral Places and wha they tell us about the world
July
104. Levin, Ira – Rosemary’s Baby
105. Payton, Philip – Cornwall: A History (Cornwall article here)
106. Whittaker, David – St. Ives Allure
107. Straffon, Cheryl – Ancient Sites in West Penwith
108. Sullivan, Danny – Leys: Secret Spirit Paths in Ancient Britain
109. Schulz, Charles M – The Complete Peanuts: 1957-1958
110. Isayama, Hajime – Attack on Titan, volume 1
111. Schulz, Charles M – The Complete Peanuts: 1979-1980
112. Isayama, Hajime – Attack on Titan, volume 2
113. Paciorek, Andy et al. (ed.) – Folk Horror Revival: Urban Wyrd 1 – Spirits of Time
114. Isayama, Hajime – Attack on Titan, volume 3
115. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volumes 1-3
August
116. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 4
117. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 5
118. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 6
119. Chapman, Alison – MacDuff: Thane of Fife – History and Legend
120. Stephens, Chris – St. Ives: The Art and The Artists
121. “Daniels, Jack” – The Adventures of Tintin: Breaking Free
122. Schulz, Charles M – The Complete Peanuts: 1983-1984
123. Lupoff, Richard – Lovecraft’s Book
124. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 7
125. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 8
126. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 9
127. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 10
128. Braddon, Mary Elizabeth – The Face in the Glass: The Gothic Tales of Mary Elizabeth Braddon
129. Phillips, Tom – A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel (5th edition)
130. Schalansky, Judith – Pocket Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Not Visited and Never Will
131. Treves, Toby – Peter Lanyon: Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings and Three-Dimensional Works
September
132. Anderson, Darran – Imaginary Cities
133. Kundera, Milan – The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
134. Westall, Robert – The Watch House (R)
135. Oswald, Alice – Woods etc.
136. Ness, Patrick – A Monster Calls
137. Kundera, Milan – The Joke (R)
138. Mishima, Yukio – The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea
139. De Zaeytijd, Dries & Leroy, Fons – Van Vlaanderen 2002 tot Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise: 25 Jaar Kweekvijver van Koerstalent
140. Mishima, Yukio – The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
141. Cox, Tom – Help the Witch
142. Ito, Junji – Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror, volume 1
143. Ito, Junji – Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror, volume 2
144. Ito, Junji – Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror, volume 3
145. Ross, Christopher – Mishima’s Sword: Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend
146. Mishima, Yukio – Thirst for Love
147. “Bourne, George” – I Flew With Braddock (R) (article here)
148. Thunberg, Greta – No-one is Too Small To Make a Difference
149. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 11
150. Mishima, Yukio – Death in Midsummer & other stories
151. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 12
152. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 13
October
153. Jamie, Kathleen – Surfacing (review here)
154. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 14
155. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 15
156. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 16
157. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 17
158. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 18
159. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 19
160. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 20
161. Mishima, Yukio – Confessions of a Mask
162. Mishima, Yukio – Spring Snow
163. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 21
162. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 22
165. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 23
166. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 24
167. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 25
168. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 26
169. Mishima, Yukio – Runaway Horses
170. Arakawa, Hiromu – Fullmetal Alchemist, volume 27
171. Perec, Georges – An attempt at exhausting a place in Paris
172. Coxon, Dan (ed.) – Tales from the Shadow Booth, vol. 4
173. Mishima, Yukio – Acts of Worship
174. Shinkai, Makoto – Your Name, vol. 1
175. Mishima, Yukio – Forbidden Colours
176. Queneau, Raymond – Hitting the Streets
177. Pullman, Philip – Northern Lights (R)
178. Kundera, Milan – Life is Elsewhere (R?)
179. Pullman, Philip – The Subtle Knife (R)
180. Mishima, Yukio – The Temple of Dawn
181. Mishima, Yukio – The Decay of the Angel
182. Mairowitz, David Zane & Korkos, Alain – Introducing Camus
183. Modiano, Patrick – Pedigree
184. Camus, Albert – The Fall
November
185. Sacher-Masoch, Leopold von – Venus in Furs
186. Carey, Peter – Wrong About Japan
187. Zweig, Stefan – The Invisible Collection
188. Musil, Robert – The Confusions of Young Törless
189. Hardinge, Francis – Cuckoo Song
190. Schnitzler, Arthur – Late Fame
191. Schnitzler, Arthur – Fraulein Else
192. Pullman, Philip & Fordham, Fred – The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship
193. Setchfield, Nick – The Spider Dance
194. Schimmelpfennig, Roland – One Clear, Ice-Cold January Morning at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century
195. Pullman, Philip – The Amber Spyglass (R)
196. Proust, Marcel – Letters to the Lady Upstairs
197. Mishima, Yukio – Life For Sale
198. Modiano, Patrick – The Black Notebook
199. Pullman, Philip – La Belle Sauvage
200. Black, Sue – All That Remains: A Life in Death
December
201. Musil, Robert – The Man Without Qualities: Volume One
202. Holmes, Deborah & Constantine, Helen (ed.) – Vienna Tales
203. Nix, Garth – Mister Monday
204. Shelley, Mary – Frankenstein (R)
205. Lovecraft, H.P. & Culbard, I.N.J. (ill.) – At The Mountains Of Madness (R)
206. Heaney, Seamus (tr.) – Beowulf (R)
207. Cleijne, Jan – Legends of the Tour
208. Motter, Dean & Askwith, Mark – The Prisoner: Shattered Visage
209. Schnitzler, Arthur – Dream Story
210. Porter, Max – Grief is the Thing with Feathers
211. Zweig, Stefan – Chess
212. Döblin, Alfred – Berlin Alexanderplatz
213. Baudot, François – Vienna 1900
214. Roché, Henri-Pierre – Jules et Jim
215. Rinzler, J.W. – The Making of Star Wars (R)
216. Rinzler, J.W. – The Making of The Empire Strikes Back (R)
217. Proust, Marcel & Heuet, Stephane (ill.) – In Search of Lost Time: The Graphic Novel: Swann’s Way (R)
218. Proust, Marcel & Heuet, Stephane (ill.) – In Search of Lost Time: The Graphic Novel: In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower: Place Names: The Place
219. Ferri, Jean-Yves & Conrad, Didier – Asterix and the Chieftain’s Daughter
¹ Well, almost. I’ve read Ulysses several times, but I got as far as ‘Oxen of the Sun’ before grinding to a halt. That’s 500 pages in, so I’m counting it
Into the Gyre 