I had the same experience when I recently tried reading a Star Wars novel, Delarge. I used to love them, now I can't even get through them.
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I had the same experience when I recently tried reading a Star Wars novel, Delarge. I used to love them, now I can't even get through them.
1. Magick of the Beast by Osara and Saddie LaMort (8/10)
2. Sunpath to the Gods by Osara LaMort (6/10)
3. Sex and Spirit by Clifford Bishop (6/10)
4. Mysteries and Secrets of Magic by C. J. S. Thompson (5/10)
5. The Seven Churches by Milos Urban (6/10)
6. Magicon by Yliaster Daleth (6/10)
7. The Symbols and Meanings of Numbers by Hajo Banzhaf (7/10)
8. The Bloody Reign of Slayer by Joel McIver (6/10)
9. Shocking Murders by Torrente del Bosque (4/10)
10. Conspiracy Theories by Torrente del Bosque (5/10)
11. The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts (9/10)
12. Modern Sex Magick by Donald Michael Kraig (8/10)
13. The Black Art by Rollo Ahmed (3/10)
14. A Brief History of Secret Societies by David V. Barrett (8/10)
15. Ödipus of the Mystery-Loose by Thorwald Dethlefsen (8/10)
16. About Life and Death by C. G. Jung (8/10)
17. About Sexuality and Love by C. G. Jung (8/10)
36. White Noise, Don DeLillo
37. Schooling, Heather McGowan
38. The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon
39. Girl with Green Eyes, Edna O'Brien
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Currently reading: Gilead (Marilynne Robinson)
Note: My rating are mostly based on *enjoyment*, and do not take into account the historical literary value of the text.
1. An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham -- 9/10
2. The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham -- 9/10 for Abraham's The Long Price Quartet. Lyrically written with original ideas, which is quite rare and refreshing for the fantasy genre.
3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Excellent book. I love Hawthorne's haunting prose.
4. City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer -- 7/10. Nice and bizzarre set of short stories set in an equally bizzarre fantasy world. It's like 50s, 60s film noir with a bunch of fungus.
5. Don Quixote by Cervantes -- 7/10. Good, but too long--I was board by the end. Probably a better idea to read the first half, put it down for a while, and then read the second half. Alas, I didn't do that.
6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens -- 7.5/10. It was good. Nice historical piece.
7. Inferno by Dante -- 9/10. I love hell, so I loved this. A must read if there ever was one.
8. Purgatorio by Dante -- 8/10. Not as enjoyable a read as Inferno.
9. The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams -- 5/10. It was okay. Its strong point was the world Williams' creates, but annoying characters ruin it.
10. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis -- 8/10. The wonderful historical setting and good writing redeem the draggy plot.
11. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair -- 5/10. A wonderful novel completely ruined by the preachy, soapbox ending.
12. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin -- 9/10. The first book in my favorite fantasy series. Excellent characters, gritty plot, and good writing. A must-read for any fantasy lover.
13. Paradiso by Dante -- 7/10. Just couldn't get into it. The 7 is mostly for the beautiful language. I like the dark imagery of hell--the light and exuberant imagery of heaven does not interest me.
14. Bartleby the Scrivener by Melville. (novella/short story) -- 8/10. It's slow and over-descriptive, but I just love Melville's writing. Plus, it's an interesting story, at times funny, and other dark and disturbing.
15. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 7/10. Okay fantasy story. A bit overrated, in my opinion.
16. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck -- 8/10. Surprisingly good family narrative. Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.
17. The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker -- 6.5/10. Dark and gritty fantasy. Too much misogynism, though.
18. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon -- I honestly don't know what to give this. Definitely the strangest book I've ever read.
19. The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker -- 6/10. Continued with the dark grittiness.
20. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf -- 5/10. Not sure what the big deal is. The stream-of-consciousness writing is good, but the story was just boring. Maybe I missed something.
21. The Thousandfold Thought by R. Scott Bakker -- 6.5/10. And okay ending to an okay trilogy. I don't plan on reading the rest of the series (this trilogy was just part 1).
22. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens -- 7/10. It was alright. Not much more to say, really.
23. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe -- 3/10. Overly preachy, stereotypical and racist depictions of African Americans, one-dimensional characters, and uninteresting writing. I'm being generous with a 3.
24. Moby Dick by Herman Melville -- 10/10. One of the greatest novels ever written, period.
25. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 8/10. Much more enjoyable than the first story of Le Guin's Earthsea series.
26. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 8/10. Another really good story. Good adventure.
27. Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 9/10. Out of the four Earthsea novels I read, this was the most different, which is why I liked it. Not much action or magic, but a wonderfully subdued story.
28. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon -- 9.5/10. Excellent story with wonderfully fleshed-out characters. Plus, I love comic books, so it was a great read.
29. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky -- 6/10. I liked the writing and parts of the story, but it just didn't seem like much happened, which I guess was part of the point.
30. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 9/10. A wonderfully inventive and unique sci-fi novel. One of my faves in the genre.
31. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde -- 8/10. Wonderfully witty dialogue paired with a very dark story. A very good read.
32. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin -- 9/10. Repeat what I said for A Game of Thrones.
33. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley -- 8/10. A good, dark story written very well. A little heavy on the philosophical meanderings at times, though.
34. Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon -- 7.5/10. A much more accessible book than Gravity's Rainbow. Bizzarre and funny.
35. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy -- 10/10. Dark, violent, and disturbing. In the hands of a less talented writer it would seem nothing more than a book going for shock value, but the lyricism of McCarthy make it a masterpiece.
36. Paradise Lost by John Milton -- 10/10. Brilliant. I've never read epic poetry that's grabbed me so completely.
37. A Storm of Swords -- 9.5/10. Probably the best out of the series so far (though I've yet to read the fifth book). Wonderful surprises, good action, good characters, and an engaging plot. What more could one want from a fantasy story?
38. Franklin Evans; or The Inebriate by Walt Whitman -- 6/10. I had to read this for a class. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
39. Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Rather disappointing. After hearing so many great things about Maupassant, I was expecting more. The language was just dull, though maybe it was the translation's fault. There were moments of brilliance, like the dual scene and the death of Forestier.
40. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin -- 8/10. This is often said to be a poor book in Martin's series, and while I agree that it isn't as good as its predecessors, I still find it to be quite an entertaining page-turner.
41. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury -- 9/10. Still a favorite of mine. I love Bradbury's lyrical prose.
42. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury -- 8/10. Some wonderful stories, a few not-so-wonderful, but the good definitely outweigh the bad.
43. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin -- 6/10. A let down. Could have been a lot shorter. Though some of the plot points were interesting, it didn't move forward enough. Seemed like more set up for upcoming books.
I can't remember the novels that I've read, but I've been on a huge complete works of short stories kick this year. I'm doing Lovecraft right now (which I guess anyone could guess), and I'm almost done the Holmes stories and the Grimm brothers. I like to change it up between them.
Lovecraft is awesome.
1. Magick of the Beast by Osara and Saddie LaMort (8/10)
2. Sunpath to the Gods by Osara LaMort (6/10)
3. Sex and Spirit by Clifford Bishop (6/10)
4. Mysteries and Secrets of Magic by C. J. S. Thompson (5/10)
5. The Seven Churches by Milos Urban (6/10)
6. Magicon by Yliaster Daleth (6/10)
7. The Symbols and Meanings of Numbers by Hajo Banzhaf (7/10)
8. The Bloody Reign of Slayer by Joel McIver (6/10)
9. Shocking Murders by Torrente del Bosque (4/10)
10. Conspiracy Theories by Torrente del Bosque (5/10)
11. The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts (9/10)
12. Modern Sex Magick by Donald Michael Kraig (8/10)
13. The Black Art by Rollo Ahmed (3/10)
14. A Brief History of Secret Societies by David V. Barrett (8/10)
15. Ödipus of the Mystery-Loose by Thorwald Dethlefsen (8/10)
16. About Life and Death by C. G. Jung (8/10)
17. About Sexuality and Love by C. G. Jung (8/10)
18. About Good and Evil by C. G. Jung (7/10)
19. About Father, Mother and Child by C. G. Jung (7/10)
I found it a bit weird that I did not like it. The plot was okay, the characters were believable and the writing was not that bad. But I was really relieved when I finished and could get on with some serious literature.Quote:
I had the same experience when I recently tried reading a Star Wars novel, Delarge. I used to love them, now I can't even get through them.
So far in 2011:
1. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 9/10. Orhan Pamuk is simply brilliant and one of my favorite authors. It reminds me alot about Ecos "Name of the Rose" though I greatly prefer Pamuk.
2. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy -- 7/10 First book of McCarthy I ever read. Liked it very much.
3. The Crossing by Cormack McCarthy -- 6/10. Second book in the Border trilogy. Bacame a bit too repetitive at the end.
4. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy 5/10. Not much to say about it. Didn't leave a permanent impression on me.
5. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking -- 5/10. Pretty nice write up of the history of astro physics by one of the most intelligent persons alive. It was meant for the lay man without much knowledge of physics. Too simplified for my taste.
6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens -- 4/10. Dickens novelle takes plave in propably the most interesting time in the history of mankind: The French Revolution. However, I just felt dissapointed. The characters seemed shallow and I din't get to care for them. Really looses in comparison to Hugos master piece Les Miserable
7. The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin -- 7/10. Very inspirational from a man that lived an incredible life and shaped the fate of a nation.
8. Dracula by Bram Stoker -- 8/10. So chilling. I loved the prose and way it was written in letters.
9. Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov -- 5/10. If Nabokov hadn't grew up in the Soviet Union and never heard of Kafka I would say I would say he was in for a law suit on plagiarism.
10. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen -- 6/10. It was entertaining. But I expected more. Actually liked the movie better...
11. Complete Works by John Keats x/10. I have no right to judge this work. I expected some kind of love poetry and wasn't prepared for all those greek/roman epics. It was educational though.
12. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 10/10 -- Read it in one sitting of two hours. Two of the best hours of my life. It totally moved me.
13. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway 8/10 -- I have never read Hemmingway before, but now consider myself a fan.
14. Ditte Menneskebarn by Martin Andersen Nexø -- 8/10. A danish classic about the tragic life of the poor Ditte. Social realism from the turn of the century. Well written and heart gripping.
15. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami -- 7/10. I was pleasently surprised by Murakamis first big novelle. A really nice read.
16. Lingua Tertii Imperii by Victor Klemperer -- 9/10. Worth reading for anyone interested in how the Nazis seduced the germans, propaganda or holocaust. It really makes you wonder about the language being used in the media today.
17. The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin -- 10/10. A work of genious. One of the true achievements of mankind. So clearly written, so many great examples. It completely stunned me how Darwin 150 years ago came to his conclusions based on nothing more than careful observations of life. Still worth reading today. And it really made me happy that nowhere in the book does Darwin make any insinuations that man descended from apes.
18. Mord i San Francisco by Dan Turell -- 6/10. Just another chrime novel by my favorite Danish author. They never have great plots, but the prose is outstanding.
19. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley -- 7/10. At times dull and slow, but the questions it raises about life and death and mans place in the world, him playing god, is still very much important.
20. Heart of Darkness and Selected Short Fiction by Joseph Conrad -- 3/10. I didn't like it. At all. To me it was just boring.
21. The Road by Cormac McCarthy -- 8/10. When I think of The Road I think of the colour grey. I found it to actually be very scary. Very brutal.
22. On the Road (The Original Scroll) by Jack Kerouc -- 10/10. One of the best novels I have ever read. I loved it from start to end. I loved Jack. I loved Neil. I loved everything about it. It made me want to leave everything behind and go out into the unknown- to "know time".
23. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami -- 7/10. It is so much more than a book about running and so much more than a book about Murakami.
24. The Possessed by Fjodor Dostojevskij -- 9/10. Great literature and unforgettable characters (is it weird to actually like Verkhovenskij?!). Though it can't compare to his very best works.
25. Doppler by Erlend Loe -- 6/10. Funny little Norwegian book.
26. Populärmusik från Vittula by Mikael Niemi 6/10. Funny little Swedish book.
27. Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami -- 3/10. The follow-up to A Wild Sheep Chase. To me this is Murakamis worst work.
28. Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink -- 5/10. I am trying to brush up my German before starting on the great one (Kafka, Nietzsche, Grass etc). This wasn't great.
29. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy -- 7/10. Blood Meridian has gotten alot of praise on these boards. I don't really know what to think about it. I found it a bit dull and very American in a Steinbeck way. I might have to come back for a reread someday.
30. History of the World volume IX: Spains Century by Carl Grimberg 6/10. Th 16th century isn't that interesting..
31. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee --9/10. I will never forget Scout, Boo and Atticus.
32. History of the World volume X: The Age of Luis XIV by Carl Grimberg 6/10. The 17th century isn't that interesting..
33. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce --8/10. To my surprise I liked it alot. Had my fears after having read Ulysses but Artist was actually readable.
34. After Dark by Haruki Murakami -- 8/10. Very strange and pleasent. One of his best works after Kafka on the Shore and Norwegian Wood.
35. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. Another pleasent surprise from Mr. Joyce. I might actually consider rereading Ulysses now.
36. History of the World volume XI: England Takes the Lead by Carl Grimberg -- 7/10. The 18th century IS that interesting.
36. Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee by Thomas Brussig -- 7/10. A really good read about growing up in the shadow of the Berlin wall.
37. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin -- 7/10. One of the best Sci-Fi novels I have read.
38. Star Wars: Heir to the Empire -- 3/10. Felt like reading some very light literature. This was too light though.
39. Hundehoved by Morten Ramsland -- 8/10. Extremely funny, well written and entertaining. A modern danish classic.
40. After the Quake by Haruki Murakami -- 8/10. I think I have now read his entire authorship (atleast what has been translated into Danish). A few reallly beautiful short stories. Now I gotta go see Norwegian Wood in the theatre.
41. Stormland by Hallgrimur Helgason -- 7/10. I did not like it much. However, it did made me think alot about our society today and how every aspect of public life from politicians to journalists seems to be getting dumber.
Note: My rating are mostly based on *enjoyment*, and do not take into account the historical literary value of the text.
1. An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham -- 9/10
2. The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham -- 9/10 for Abraham's The Long Price Quartet. Lyrically written with original ideas, which is quite rare and refreshing for the fantasy genre.
3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Excellent book. I love Hawthorne's haunting prose.
4. City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer -- 7/10. Nice and bizzarre set of short stories set in an equally bizzarre fantasy world. It's like 50s, 60s film noir with a bunch of fungus.
5. Don Quixote by Cervantes -- 7/10. Good, but too long--I was board by the end. Probably a better idea to read the first half, put it down for a while, and then read the second half. Alas, I didn't do that.
6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens -- 7.5/10. It was good. Nice historical piece.
7. Inferno by Dante -- 9/10. I love hell, so I loved this. A must read if there ever was one.
8. Purgatorio by Dante -- 8/10. Not as enjoyable a read as Inferno.
9. The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams -- 5/10. It was okay. Its strong point was the world Williams' creates, but annoying characters ruin it.
10. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis -- 8/10. The wonderful historical setting and good writing redeem the draggy plot.
11. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair -- 5/10. A wonderful novel completely ruined by the preachy, soapbox ending.
12. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin -- 9/10. The first book in my favorite fantasy series. Excellent characters, gritty plot, and good writing. A must-read for any fantasy lover.
13. Paradiso by Dante -- 7/10. Just couldn't get into it. The 7 is mostly for the beautiful language. I like the dark imagery of hell--the light and exuberant imagery of heaven does not interest me.
14. Bartleby the Scrivener by Melville. (novella/short story) -- 8/10. It's slow and over-descriptive, but I just love Melville's writing. Plus, it's an interesting story, at times funny, and other dark and disturbing.
15. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 7/10. Okay fantasy story. A bit overrated, in my opinion.
16. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck -- 8/10. Surprisingly good family narrative. Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.
17. The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker -- 6.5/10. Dark and gritty fantasy. Too much misogynism, though.
18. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon -- I honestly don't know what to give this. Definitely the strangest book I've ever read.
19. The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker -- 6/10. Continued with the dark grittiness.
20. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf -- 5/10. Not sure what the big deal is. The stream-of-consciousness writing is good, but the story was just boring. Maybe I missed something.
21. The Thousandfold Thought by R. Scott Bakker -- 6.5/10. And okay ending to an okay trilogy. I don't plan on reading the rest of the series (this trilogy was just part 1).
22. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens -- 7/10. It was alright. Not much more to say, really.
23. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe -- 3/10. Overly preachy, stereotypical and racist depictions of African Americans, one-dimensional characters, and uninteresting writing. I'm being generous with a 3.
24. Moby Dick by Herman Melville -- 10/10. One of the greatest novels ever written, period.
25. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 8/10. Much more enjoyable than the first story of Le Guin's Earthsea series.
26. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 8/10. Another really good story. Good adventure.
27. Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 9/10. Out of the four Earthsea novels I read, this was the most different, which is why I liked it. Not much action or magic, but a wonderfully subdued story.
28. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon -- 9.5/10. Excellent story with wonderfully fleshed-out characters. Plus, I love comic books, so it was a great read.
29. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky -- 6/10. I liked the writing and parts of the story, but it just didn't seem like much happened, which I guess was part of the point.
30. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 9/10. A wonderfully inventive and unique sci-fi novel. One of my faves in the genre.
31. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde -- 8/10. Wonderfully witty dialogue paired with a very dark story. A very good read.
32. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin -- 9/10. Repeat what I said for A Game of Thrones.
33. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley -- 8/10. A good, dark story written very well. A little heavy on the philosophical meanderings at times, though.
34. Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon -- 7.5/10. A much more accessible book than Gravity's Rainbow. Bizzarre and funny.
35. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy -- 10/10. Dark, violent, and disturbing. In the hands of a less talented writer it would seem nothing more than a book going for shock value, but the lyricism of McCarthy make it a masterpiece.
36. Paradise Lost by John Milton -- 10/10. Brilliant. I've never read epic poetry that's grabbed me so completely.
37. A Storm of Swords -- 9.5/10. Probably the best out of the series so far (though I've yet to read the fifth book). Wonderful surprises, good action, good characters, and an engaging plot. What more could one want from a fantasy story?
38. Franklin Evans; or The Inebriate by Walt Whitman -- 6/10. I had to read this for a class. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
39. Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Rather disappointing. After hearing so many great things about Maupassant, I was expecting more. The language was just dull, though maybe it was the translation's fault. There were moments of brilliance, like the dual scene and the death of Forestier.
40. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin -- 8/10. This is often said to be a poor book in Martin's series, and while I agree that it isn't as good as its predecessors, I still find it to be quite an entertaining page-turner.
41. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury -- 9/10. Still a favorite of mine. I love Bradbury's lyrical prose.
42. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury -- 8/10. Some wonderful stories, a few not-so-wonderful, but the good definitely outweigh the bad.
43. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin -- 6/10. A let down. Could have been a lot shorter. Though some of the plot points were interesting, it didn't move forward enough. Seemed like more set up for upcoming books.
44. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo -- 7.5/10. Not bad, dragged a bit in places. The title is a bit misleading, as Quasimodo really doesn't have that huge of a role, though that's the fault of the English translation of the title.
1. Surface Detail by Iain M Banks - Excellent sci fi actioner that also considers the concept of hell, and by definition religion. packed full of brilliant ideas. 9/10
2. Lustrum by Robert Harris The second part of Cicero's life. A surprisingly good thriller. arris is a great writer. 7/10
3. Berlin by Antony Beevor Shocking account of the chaos and carnage as WW2 ended. 8/10
4. The City and The City by China Mieville Not as good as other Mieville novels, but an interesting idea set in the form of a murder investigation. 6/10
5. The Iron Council by China Mieville Excellent steampunk/ fantasy/ sci-fi. some fantastic ideas told in a great story. 9/10
6. If The Dead Rise Not by Philip Kerr Berlin PI escapes to Argentina. Good thriller. 7/10
7. A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr A good noir thriller following Kerr's Policeman/ PI to Cuba.
8. Frankenstein Book 3 by Dean Koonz 2/10 for ripping off Shelley's title in a series that has only a nomnal relation to the old classic. (Was given it)
9. War and Peace by Tolstoy Expansive novel of the battle with napoleon's invading armies. A good read on many levels 8/10
10. The Left hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin Sci fi with an interesting premise - an experiemntal world full of hermaphrodites and a view of them Intelligent and thought provoking. 7/10
11. Notes From a Big Country by Bill Bryson Short column pieces written for a newspaper and compiled. A good anytime read. 7/10
12. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Interesting narrative style and fascinating historical era combine with skillfully drawn characters to make a great read. 9/10
13. Field Grey by Philip Kerr Berlin PI/Policeman returns to Germany and enters the cold war conflict. Good development through flashback. 8/10
14. The Assassins of Isis by Paul Doherty Decent thriller with interesting historical context n ancient Egypt. 6.5/10
15. A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines Great account of a gritty northern existence in the form of soon to leave school Billy Caspar who trains a kestrel. 9/10
16. I Claudius by Robert Graves Good political thriller charting the lives and deaths of the Roman ruling class. 8/10
17. The Vulture by Gil Scott Heron interesting crime thriller howing life in the Harlem Housing Projects in the late 1960s. 7/10
18. Heartstone by CJ Sansom. I was disappointed with this novel, as it was not up to his previous four books. I revolves around the sinking of the Mary Rose and the threat of invasion by the French, but it seemed a little contrived this time. 5/10
19. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. A solid Sci Fi with some interesting metaphors, but too short to develop the ideas he presents into a good narrative. 6/10
20. The Technician by Neal Asher. Great Sci Fi set upon a convincing alien world, with a thumping narrative in a plot that spans millennia. Really good. 9/10
21. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I had rad parts of this novel, but not all at once. A great character study and classic. 8/10
22. Fatherland by Robert Harris. Setin a parallel universe where Germany wins WW2 and the US appeases them, Harris constructs a thriller about the war secrets of the Reich and an SS Police protagonist. 7/10
23. Gateway by Frederik Pohl. A sci fi novel split between the events on Gateway, a meteor discovered to have ancient alien ships that take "prospectors" to rich discoveries orgruesome deaths, and therapy sessions years after Rob, the main character, has made his mint. 7/10
Note: My rating are mostly based on *enjoyment*, and do not take into account the historical literary value of the text.
1. An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham -- 9/10
2. The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham -- 9/10 for Abraham's The Long Price Quartet. Lyrically written with original ideas, which is quite rare and refreshing for the fantasy genre.
3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Excellent book. I love Hawthorne's haunting prose.
4. City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer -- 7/10. Nice and bizzarre set of short stories set in an equally bizzarre fantasy world. It's like 50s, 60s film noir with a bunch of fungus.
5. Don Quixote by Cervantes -- 7/10. Good, but too long--I was board by the end. Probably a better idea to read the first half, put it down for a while, and then read the second half. Alas, I didn't do that.
6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens -- 7.5/10. It was good. Nice historical piece.
7. Inferno by Dante -- 9/10. I love hell, so I loved this. A must read if there ever was one.
8. Purgatorio by Dante -- 8/10. Not as enjoyable a read as Inferno.
9. The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams -- 5/10. It was okay. Its strong point was the world Williams' creates, but annoying characters ruin it.
10. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis -- 8/10. The wonderful historical setting and good writing redeem the draggy plot.
11. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair -- 5/10. A wonderful novel completely ruined by the preachy, soapbox ending.
12. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin -- 9/10. The first book in my favorite fantasy series. Excellent characters, gritty plot, and good writing. A must-read for any fantasy lover.
13. Paradiso by Dante -- 7/10. Just couldn't get into it. The 7 is mostly for the beautiful language. I like the dark imagery of hell--the light and exuberant imagery of heaven does not interest me.
14. Bartleby the Scrivener by Melville. (novella/short story) -- 8/10. It's slow and over-descriptive, but I just love Melville's writing. Plus, it's an interesting story, at times funny, and other dark and disturbing.
15. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 7/10. Okay fantasy story. A bit overrated, in my opinion.
16. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck -- 8/10. Surprisingly good family narrative. Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.
17. The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker -- 6.5/10. Dark and gritty fantasy. Too much misogynism, though.
18. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon -- I honestly don't know what to give this. Definitely the strangest book I've ever read.
19. The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker -- 6/10. Continued with the dark grittiness.
20. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf -- 5/10. Not sure what the big deal is. The stream-of-consciousness writing is good, but the story was just boring. Maybe I missed something.
21. The Thousandfold Thought by R. Scott Bakker -- 6.5/10. And okay ending to an okay trilogy. I don't plan on reading the rest of the series (this trilogy was just part 1).
22. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens -- 7/10. It was alright. Not much more to say, really.
23. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe -- 3/10. Overly preachy, stereotypical and racist depictions of African Americans, one-dimensional characters, and uninteresting writing. I'm being generous with a 3.
24. Moby Dick by Herman Melville -- 10/10. One of the greatest novels ever written, period.
25. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 8/10. Much more enjoyable than the first story of Le Guin's Earthsea series.
26. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 8/10. Another really good story. Good adventure.
27. Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 9/10. Out of the four Earthsea novels I read, this was the most different, which is why I liked it. Not much action or magic, but a wonderfully subdued story.
28. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon -- 9.5/10. Excellent story with wonderfully fleshed-out characters. Plus, I love comic books, so it was a great read.
29. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky -- 6/10. I liked the writing and parts of the story, but it just didn't seem like much happened, which I guess was part of the point.
30. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 9/10. A wonderfully inventive and unique sci-fi novel. One of my faves in the genre.
31. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde -- 8/10. Wonderfully witty dialogue paired with a very dark story. A very good read.
32. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin -- 9/10. Repeat what I said for A Game of Thrones.
33. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley -- 8/10. A good, dark story written very well. A little heavy on the philosophical meanderings at times, though.
34. Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon -- 7.5/10. A much more accessible book than Gravity's Rainbow. Bizzarre and funny.
35. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy -- 10/10. Dark, violent, and disturbing. In the hands of a less talented writer it would seem nothing more than a book going for shock value, but the lyricism of McCarthy make it a masterpiece.
36. Paradise Lost by John Milton -- 10/10. Brilliant. I've never read epic poetry that's grabbed me so completely.
37. A Storm of Swords -- 9.5/10. Probably the best out of the series so far (though I've yet to read the fifth book). Wonderful surprises, good action, good characters, and an engaging plot. What more could one want from a fantasy story?
38. Franklin Evans; or The Inebriate by Walt Whitman -- 6/10. I had to read this for a class. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
39. Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Rather disappointing. After hearing so many great things about Maupassant, I was expecting more. The language was just dull, though maybe it was the translation's fault. There were moments of brilliance, like the dual scene and the death of Forestier.
40. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin -- 8/10. This is often said to be a poor book in Martin's series, and while I agree that it isn't as good as its predecessors, I still find it to be quite an entertaining page-turner.
41. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury -- 9/10. Still a favorite of mine. I love Bradbury's lyrical prose.
42. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury -- 8/10. Some wonderful stories, a few not-so-wonderful, but the good definitely outweigh the bad.
43. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin -- 6/10. A let down. Could have been a lot shorter. Though some of the plot points were interesting, it didn't move forward enough. Seemed like more set up for upcoming books.
44. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo -- 7.5/10. Not bad, dragged a bit in places. The title is a bit misleading, as Quasimodo really doesn't have that huge of a role, though that's the fault of the English translation of the title.
45. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad -- 10/10. After my fourth or fifth read, still one of my favorites. Is it racist? Yes. It's far from perfect, really, but I love the prose. Plus, I consider it to be the first "serious" piece of literature I read and appreciated, so it has a special place in my mind.
1. Magick of the Beast by Osara and Saddie LaMort (8/10)
2. Sunpath to the Gods by Osara LaMort (6/10)
3. Sex and Spirit by Clifford Bishop (6/10)
4. Mysteries and Secrets of Magic by C. J. S. Thompson (5/10)
5. The Seven Churches by Milos Urban (6/10)
6. Magicon by Yliaster Daleth (6/10)
7. The Symbols and Meanings of Numbers by Hajo Banzhaf (7/10)
8. The Bloody Reign of Slayer by Joel McIver (6/10)
9. Shocking Murders by Torrente del Bosque (4/10)
10. Conspiracy Theories by Torrente del Bosque (5/10)
11. The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts (9/10)
12. Modern Sex Magick by Donald Michael Kraig (8/10)
13. The Black Art by Rollo Ahmed (3/10)
14. A Brief History of Secret Societies by David V. Barrett (8/10)
15. Ödipus of the Mystery-Loose by Thorwald Dethlefsen (8/10)
16. About Life and Death by C. G. Jung (8/10)
17. About Sexuality and Love by C. G. Jung (8/10)
18. About Good and Evil by C. G. Jung (7/10)
19. About Father, Mother and Child by C. G. Jung (7/10)
20. Native American Traditions by Arthur Versluis (6/10)
Far From the Madding Crowd (Hardy)
The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer)
Les Misérables (Hugo)
The Turn of the Screw (James)
The Castle of Otranto (Walpole)
Note: My rating are mostly based on *enjoyment*, and do not take into account the historical literary value of the text.
1. An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham -- 9/10
2. The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham -- 9/10 for Abraham's The Long Price Quartet. Lyrically written with original ideas, which is quite rare and refreshing for the fantasy genre.
3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Excellent book. I love Hawthorne's haunting prose.
4. City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer -- 7/10. Nice and bizzarre set of short stories set in an equally bizzarre fantasy world. It's like 50s, 60s film noir with a bunch of fungus.
5. Don Quixote by Cervantes -- 7/10. Good, but too long--I was board by the end. Probably a better idea to read the first half, put it down for a while, and then read the second half. Alas, I didn't do that.
6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens -- 7.5/10. It was good. Nice historical piece.
7. Inferno by Dante -- 9/10. I love hell, so I loved this. A must read if there ever was one.
8. Purgatorio by Dante -- 8/10. Not as enjoyable a read as Inferno.
9. The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams -- 5/10. It was okay. Its strong point was the world Williams' creates, but annoying characters ruin it.
10. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis -- 8/10. The wonderful historical setting and good writing redeem the draggy plot.
11. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair -- 5/10. A wonderful novel completely ruined by the preachy, soapbox ending.
12. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin -- 9/10. The first book in my favorite fantasy series. Excellent characters, gritty plot, and good writing. A must-read for any fantasy lover.
13. Paradiso by Dante -- 7/10. Just couldn't get into it. The 7 is mostly for the beautiful language. I like the dark imagery of hell--the light and exuberant imagery of heaven does not interest me.
14. Bartleby the Scrivener by Melville. (novella/short story) -- 8/10. It's slow and over-descriptive, but I just love Melville's writing. Plus, it's an interesting story, at times funny, and other dark and disturbing.
15. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 7/10. Okay fantasy story. A bit overrated, in my opinion.
16. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck -- 8/10. Surprisingly good family narrative. Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.
17. The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker -- 6.5/10. Dark and gritty fantasy. Too much misogynism, though.
18. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon -- I honestly don't know what to give this. Definitely the strangest book I've ever read.
19. The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker -- 6/10. Continued with the dark grittiness.
20. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf -- 5/10. Not sure what the big deal is. The stream-of-consciousness writing is good, but the story was just boring. Maybe I missed something.
21. The Thousandfold Thought by R. Scott Bakker -- 6.5/10. And okay ending to an okay trilogy. I don't plan on reading the rest of the series (this trilogy was just part 1).
22. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens -- 7/10. It was alright. Not much more to say, really.
23. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe -- 3/10. Overly preachy, stereotypical and racist depictions of African Americans, one-dimensional characters, and uninteresting writing. I'm being generous with a 3.
24. Moby Dick by Herman Melville -- 10/10. One of the greatest novels ever written, period.
25. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 8/10. Much more enjoyable than the first story of Le Guin's Earthsea series.
26. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 8/10. Another really good story. Good adventure.
27. Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 9/10. Out of the four Earthsea novels I read, this was the most different, which is why I liked it. Not much action or magic, but a wonderfully subdued story.
28. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon -- 9.5/10. Excellent story with wonderfully fleshed-out characters. Plus, I love comic books, so it was a great read.
29. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky -- 6/10. I liked the writing and parts of the story, but it just didn't seem like much happened, which I guess was part of the point.
30. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin -- 9/10. A wonderfully inventive and unique sci-fi novel. One of my faves in the genre.
31. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde -- 8/10. Wonderfully witty dialogue paired with a very dark story. A very good read.
32. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin -- 9/10. Repeat what I said for A Game of Thrones.
33. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley -- 8/10. A good, dark story written very well. A little heavy on the philosophical meanderings at times, though.
34. Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon -- 7.5/10. A much more accessible book than Gravity's Rainbow. Bizzarre and funny.
35. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy -- 10/10. Dark, violent, and disturbing. In the hands of a less talented writer it would seem nothing more than a book going for shock value, but the lyricism of McCarthy make it a masterpiece.
36. Paradise Lost by John Milton -- 10/10. Brilliant. I've never read epic poetry that's grabbed me so completely.
37. A Storm of Swords -- 9.5/10. Probably the best out of the series so far (though I've yet to read the fifth book). Wonderful surprises, good action, good characters, and an engaging plot. What more could one want from a fantasy story?
38. Franklin Evans; or The Inebriate by Walt Whitman -- 6/10. I had to read this for a class. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
39. Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Rather disappointing. After hearing so many great things about Maupassant, I was expecting more. The language was just dull, though maybe it was the translation's fault. There were moments of brilliance, like the dual scene and the death of Forestier.
40. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin -- 8/10. This is often said to be a poor book in Martin's series, and while I agree that it isn't as good as its predecessors, I still find it to be quite an entertaining page-turner.
41. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury -- 9/10. Still a favorite of mine. I love Bradbury's lyrical prose.
42. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury -- 8/10. Some wonderful stories, a few not-so-wonderful, but the good definitely outweigh the bad.
43. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin -- 6/10. A let down. Could have been a lot shorter. Though some of the plot points were interesting, it didn't move forward enough. Seemed like more set up for upcoming books.
44. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo -- 7.5/10. Not bad, dragged a bit in places. The title is a bit misleading, as Quasimodo really doesn't have that huge of a role, though that's the fault of the English translation of the title.
45. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad -- 10/10. After my fourth or fifth read, still one of my favorites. Is it racist? Yes. It's far from perfect, really, but I love the prose. Plus, I consider it to be the first "serious" piece of literature I read and appreciated, so it has a special place in my mind.
46. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut -- 9/10. Weird, weird, weird. And quite funny, definitely gave me a few chuckles (which is rare for me). Vonnegut always seems to me like an easier-to-read Pynchon, and that makes him more enjoyable.
1. Leopardi, Perle Abbrugiati
2. Minima Moralia, Adorno – highly recommended
3. Die Antiquiertheit des Menschen, Günther Anders – highly recommended
4. Metaphysics, Aristotle
5. Nous sommes des zéros satisfaits, Piergiorgio Bellocchio
6. La Vie sur Terre, Baudouin de Bodinat (probably Jaime Semprun) – highly recommended
7. L’enseignement et l’exemple de Leopardi, Yves Bonnefoy
8. Mes Amis, Emmanuel Bove
9. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë – highly recommended
10. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë (reread)
11. The Dumb House, John Burnside
12. A lie about my father, John Burnside (unfinished)
13. Théorie anti-utilitariste de l’action, Alain Caillé
14. La Belle Lurette, Henri Calet
15. Il Visconte dimezzato, Calvino
16. Marcovaldo, Calvino
17. Le Jardin de Babylone, Bernard Charbonneau – highly recommended
18. Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe (read in English)
19. Why sex is fun, Jared Diamond
20. The Third Chimpanzee, Jared Diamond – highly recommended
21. A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens (read in English)
22. Les Fiancées sont froides, Guy Dupré
23. On Literature, Umberto Eco
24. The World as I see it, Einstein
25. Imperial Bedrooms, Bret Easton Ellis
26. Exégèse des nouveaux lieux communs, Jacques Ellul – highly recommended
27. Le Système technicien, Jacques Ellul
28. Histoire des institutions – L’Antiquité, Jacques Ellul
29. Die Blechtrommel, Günter Grass (unfinished)
30. Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Hardy – highly recommended
31. Vorträge und Aufsätze, Heidegger
32. The Sun also rises, Hemingway
33. For whom the bell tolls, Hemignway
34. Farewell to arms, Hemingway
35. La Ligne de force, Herbart
36. Indignez-vous, Hessel
37. Tools for conviviality, Ivan Illich
38. Le Je-ne-sais-quoi et le Presque-rien, Jankélévitch
39. Crédit à mort, Anselm Jappe
40. Les Aventures de la marchandise, Anselm Jappe
41. Industrial society and its future, Theodore Kaczynksi
42. Letters, Kafka
43. Carrie, Stephen King (read in English)
44. Just after sunset, Stephen King (read in English)
45. The Culture of narcissism, Christopher Lasch – highly recommended
46. The Revolt of the Elites, Christopher Lasch
47. Le Procès-verbal, Le Clézio (unfinished)
48. Correspondence, Leopardi
49. Canti, Leopardi (reread)
50. Théorie des arts et des lettres (excerpts of the Zibaldone), Leopardi
51. La Théorie du plaisir (excerpts of the Zibaldone), Leopardi
52. Operette morali, Leopardi – highly recommended
53. Discorso sopra lo stato presente dei costumi degl’Italiani, Leopardi
54. Memorie del primo amore, Leopardi
55. Discorso di un Italiano intorno allo poesia romantica, Leopardi
56. The Call of the wild, Jack London (read in English)
57. White Fang, Jack London (read in English)
58. On Aggression, Konrad Lorenz
59. La Femme et le Pantin, Pierre Louÿs
60. Suite à Poëtique, Pierre Louÿs
61. Dans le chaudron du négatif, Jean-Marc Mandosio
62. L’Enseignement de l’ignorance, Jean-Claude Michéa
63. Tropique of Cancer, Miller (unfinished)
64. Runaway, Alice Monro (unfinished)
65. Selected works, William Morris
66. The Transformations of Man, Lewis Mumford – highly recommended
67. Correspondence (1875-1879), Nietzsche
68. Leopardi et le retrait de la voix, Riccardo Pineri
69. Time, Labor, and Social Domination, Moishe Postone
70. Gravity’s rainbow, Pynchon (unfinished)
71. Bérénice, Racine (reread)
72. Quand la misère chasse la pauvreté, Majid Rahnema
73. Le Spectateur émancipé, Jacques Rancière
74. Le Maître ignorant, Jacques Rancière
75. L’Éthologie, Jean-Luc Renck et Véronique Servais
76. Du progrès dans la domestication, René Riesel
77. The Human Stain, Philip Roth (unfinished)
78. Portrait de Leopardi, Sainte-Beuve
79. Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, Schopenhauer (reread)
80. Parerga & Paralipomena, Schopenhauer – highly recommended
81. Discours préliminaire de l’Encyclopédie des Nuisances, Jaime Semprun
82. La Nucléarisation du monde, Jaime Semprun
83. Dialogues sur l’achèvement des temps modernes, Jaime Semprun
84. L’Abîme se repeuple, Jaime Semprun – highly recommended
85. Défense et Illustration de la langue française, Jaime Semprun
86. Catastrophisme, administration du désastre et soumission durable, René Riesel et Jaime Semprun
87. Andromaque, je pense à vous ! Jaime Semprun
88. Treasure Island, Stevenson (read in English)
89. Gerusalemme liberata, Tasso
90. Les Œuvres de maître Tchouang
91. L’Invention de l’Europe, Emmanuel Todd – highly recommended
92. L’Illusion économique, Emmanuel Todd – highly recommended
93. Après la démocratie, Emmanuel Todd
94. Sur Leopardi, Giuseppe Ungaretti
95. Mélanges, Paul Valéry
96. The Time Machine, Wells (read in English)
97. The Invisible Man, Wells (read in English)
98. Lectures and Conversations, Wittgenstein