WHAT I'M READING

To be a writer is to be a reader.
To read is to experience extraordinary journeys.
​To share one's love for specific books is divine.

Follow me on Goodreads to see reviews of everything I read.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter​ where I often post tiny reviews.
Below, by year, are the books ​that have greatly affected me. 

2021


THE WRONG END OF THE TELESCOPE / Rabih Alameddine

No. 91/92: A DIARY OF A YEAR ON A BUS / Lauren Elkin

BARCELONA DREAMING / Rupert Thomsen

OH WILLIAM / Elizabeth Strout

MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON / Elizabeth Strout

SHELTER / Jung Yun

THE OFFICE OF HISTORICAL CORRECTION / Danielle Evans

A LITTLE DEVIL IN AMERICA: NOTES IN PRAISE OF BLACK PERFORMANCE / Hanif Abdurraqib

OLGA / Bernhard Schlink

THE UNPASSING / Chia-Chia Lin

WHEREABOUTS / Jhumpa Lahiri

WAYWARD / Dana Spiotta

THREE ROOMS / Jo Hamya 

LANDSLIDE / Susan Conley 

WE WANT WHAT WE WANT / Alix Ohlin 

I MARRIED YOU FOR HAPPINESS / Lily Tuck

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF LILIANE / Lily Tuck HOUSE AT 

SISTERS / Lily Tuck

THE HOUSE AT BELLE FONTAINE / Lily Tuck

HEATHCLIFF REDUX / Lily Tuck

LETTERS TO CAMONDO / Edmund de Waal

REAL ESTATE / Deborah Levy

THE BELL IN THE LAKE / Lars Mytting

THE NETANYAHUS / Joshua Cohen 

SONGS FOR THE FLAMES / Juan Gabrial Vasquez

SUMMER LIES / Bernhard Schlink

LAKE LIFE / David James Poissant

TRESPASS / Valerie Martin

THE SUN COLLECTIVE / Charles Baxter

INTIMACIES / Katie Kitamura

THE WHITE ROAD: JOURNEY INTO OBSESSION / Edmund de Waal

THE HARE WITH THE AMBER EYES: A FAMILY'S CENTURY OF ART AND LOSS / Edmund de Waal

THE PHONE BOOTH AT THE END EDGE OF THE WORLD / Laura Imai Messina

SECOND PLACE / Rachel Cusk

THE ANOMALY / Herve le Tellier 

CONSENT: A MEMOIR / Vanessa Springora

MONA / Pola Oloixarac

THUS BAD BEGINS / Javier Marias

MY HEART / Semezdin Mehmedinovic

BENEVOLENCE AND BETRAYAL: FIVE JEWISH FAMILIES UNDER FASCISM / Alexander Still

FAMILY LEXICON / Natalia Ginzburg

HAPPINESS, AS SUCH / Natalia Ginzburg

THE DRY HEART / Natalia Ginzburg

A HEART SO WHITE / Javier Marias

A LIE SOMEONE TOLD YOU ABOUT YOURSELF / Peter Ho Davies

PLUNDER: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure / Menachem Kaiser

ANATOMY OF A DISAPPEARANCE / Hisham Matar

TO KNOW A WOMAN / Amos Oz

ANTIQUITIES / Cynthia Ozick

THE HOUSE OF PAPER / Carlos Maria Dominguez

BETWEEN FRIENDS / Amos Oz

​BASED ON A TRUE STORY / Delphine de Vigan

SAY NOTHING:A TRUE STORY OF MURDER AND MEMORY IN NORTHERN IRELAND / Patrick Radden Keefe

THE WHITE DRESS / Nathalie Leger 

SUITE FOR BARBARA LODEN / Nathalie Leger

EXPOSITION / Nathalie Leger

THE LAST INTERVIEW / Eshkol Nevo

SUMMER (Seasonal Quartet #4) / Ali Smith

SPRING (Seasonal Quartet #3) / Ali Smith

WINTER (Seasonal Quartet #2) / Ali Smith

AUTUMN (Seasonal Quartet #1) / Ali Smith

THE END OF MANNERS / Francesca Marciano

ANIMAL SPIRITS / Francesca Marciano

THE OTHER LANGUAGE / Francesca Marciano

THE MATISSE STORIES / A.S. Byatt

SWALLOWED BY THE COLD / Jensen Beach 

LIFE A USER'S MANUAL / Georges Perec

A FURIOUS SKY: THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF AMERICA'S HURRICANES / Eric Dolan

THE COPENHAGEN TRILOGY (CHILDHOOD, YOUTH, DEPENDENCY) / Tove Ditlevsen 
​
THAT OLD COUNTRY MUSIC / Kevin Barry
​
THIS IS HAPPINESS / Niall Williams

HISTORY OF THE RAIN / Niall Williams

THE TRUTH ABOUT CELIA / Kevin Brockmeier

THE MEMORY MONSTER / Yishrai Sarid

OUR SPOONS CAME FROM WOOLWORTHS / Barbara Comyns

THE CHATEAU / William Maxwell


2020

ITALIAN SHOES / Henning Mankell

SO LONG, SEE YOU TOMORROW, William Maxwell

THE GREAT FORTUNE / THE BALKAN TRILOGY, Vol. 1 / Olivia Manning

THE SPOILT CITY / THE BALKAN TRILOGY, Vol. 2 / Olivia Manning

FRIENDS AND HEROES / THE BALKAN TRILOGY, Vol. 3 / Olivia Manning
​
OUR FATHERS / Rebecca Wait

THE BAUDELAIRE FRACTAL / Lisa Robertson

WINTER IN SOKCHO / Elisa Shua Dusapin

THE BOY IN THE FIELD / Margot Livesey

LONG LIVE THE POST HORN! / Vigdis Hjorth

THE PRISONER / IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME, Vol. 5 / Marcel Proust
(Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, translator, Carol Clark)

MEMORIAL DRIVE: A DAUGHTER'S MEMOIR / Natasha Trethewey

THE MAN WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE:
STIEG LARSSON'S LOST FILES AND THE HUNT FOR AN ASSASSIN / Jans Stocklasser

HOMELAND ELEGIES / Ayad Akhtar

APEIROGON / Colum McCann

​MONOGAMY / Sue Miller

REVENGE / Mary Morris

THE HOUSE OPPOSITE / Barbara Noble

THE INFORMERS / Juan Gabriel Vasquez

THE GREEN ROAD / Anne Enright

OPTIC NERVE / Maria Gainza

ALL MY GOODBYES / Maria Dimopulos
​
NOT A NOVEL: A MEMOIR IN PIECES / Jenny Erpenbeck

THE SHAPE OF THE RUINS / Juan Gabriel Vasquez

SODOM AND GOMORRAH: IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME, Vol. 4 / Marcel Proust
(Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, translator, John Sturrock)

RED PILL / HARI KUNZRU

MY FACE FOR THE WORLD TO SEE / Alfred Hayes

IN LOVE / Alfred Hayes

THE END OF ME / Alfred Hayes

WHAT HAPPENS AT NIGHT / Peter Cameron

CORAL GLYNN / Peter Cameron

THE FIVE: THE UNTOLD LIVES OF THE WOMEN KILLED BY JACK THE RIPPER / Hallie Rubenhold

HEAVY: AN AMERICAN MEMOIR / Kiese Laymon

SHIFU, YOU'LL DO ANYTHING FOR A LAUGH! / Mo Yan

MISS ICELAND / Audora Ava Olafsdottir

STAY UP WITH ME: Stories / Tom Barbash

CORRIGEDORA / Gayl Jones

WATER STREET: Stories / Crystal Wilkinson 

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE: Stories/ Mariana Enriquez

​THE BLACKER THE BERRY / Wallace Thurman

THE UNDOCUMENTED AMERICANS / Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

THE GUERMANTES WAY: IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME, Vol. 3 / Marcel Proust
(Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, translator, Mark Treherne)

YELLOW BIRD: OIL, MURDER, AND A WOMAN'S SEARCH FOR JUSTICE IN INDIAN COUNTRY / Sierra Crane Murdoch

THE THIRD RAINBOW GIRL: THE LONG LIFE OF A DOUBLE MURDER IN APPALACHIA / Emma Copley Eisenberg 

QUICKSAND / Nella Larsen

PASSING / Nella Larsen

EVERYWHERE YOU DON'T BELONG / Gabriel Bump
​
GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER / Bernardine Evaristo

THE HOUSE IN PARIS / Elizabeth Bowen
​
A WORLD OF LOVE / Elizabeth Bowen

IN THE SHADOW OF YOUNG GIRLS IN FLOWER: IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME, Vol. 2 / Marcel Proust
(Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, translator, James Grieve)

SWANN'S WAY: IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME, Vol. 1 / Marcel Proust
(Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, translator, Lydia David)
​
ABIGAIL / Magda Szabo

KIM JIYOUNG, BORN 1982 / Cho Nam-Joo

HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD: INSIDE THE MIND OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY / Robert Kolker

TWO SERIOUS LADIES / Jane Bowles

​PROUST'S OVERCOAT / Lorenza Foschini

NIGHT BOAT TO TANGIER / Kevin Barry

ALL THE WAY TO THE TIGERS / Mary Morris

INDELICACY / Amina Cain

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CARSON MCCULLERS / Jen Shapland

THE NEW ORDER: STORIES / Karen E. Bender

IN THE CLOSET OF THE VATICAN / Frederic Martel

TRANSMIGRATION OF BODIES / Yuri Herrera

SIGNS PRECEDING THE END OF THE WORLD / Yuri Herrera

LOVE LIFE / Zeruya Shalev

PAIN / Zeruya Shalev

MY LIFE AS A RUSSIAN NOVEL / Emmanuel Carrere

A CERTAIN SMILE / Francoise Sagan

BONJOUR TRISTESSE / Francoise Sagan

THE DEATH OF THE HEART / Elizabeth Bowen
​

2019

​TERRITORY OF LIGHT / Yuko Tsushima

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME / Angela Readman

SOMETHING LIKE BREATHING / Angela Readman

THE GODMOTHER / Hannelore Cayre

COVENTRY: ESSAYS / Rachel Cusk

A HOUSE IN NORWAY / Vigdis Hjorth

  WILL AND TESTAMENT / Vigdis Hjorth 
​
THE MODEL / Lars Saabye Christensen

THE YELLOW HOUSE / Sarah M. Broome
​
THE MAN WHO SAW EVERYTHING / Deborah Levy

BLACK VODKA / Deborah Levy

HOT MILK / Deborah Levy

THE COST OF LIVING: A WORKING AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Deborah Levy

WHAT IS MISSING / Michael Frank

SWEET DAYS OF DISCIPLINE / Fleur Jaeggy

​HAPPENING / Annie Ernaux

SIMPLE PASSION / Annie Ernaux

A WOMAN'S STORY / Annie Ernaux

BITTER / Francesca Jakobi

THE NICE AND THE GOOD / Iris Murdoch
​
UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN: A STORY OF VIOLENT FAITH / Jon Krakauer

FURIOUS HOURS: MURDER, FRAUD, AND THE LAST TRIAL OF HARPER LEE / Casey Cep

IN THE COUNTRY OF WOMEN / Susan Straight 
​
HEROIC MEASURES / Jill Ciment

THE BODY IN QUESTION / Jill Ciment

WALKING ON THE CEILING / Aysegül Savas

THE UNDERNEATH / Melanie Finn

THE GLOAMING / Melanie Finn

CORRESPONDENTS / Tim Murphy

DISAPPEARING EARTH / Julia Phillips

​MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE / Siri Hustvedt

CLASS TRIP / Emmanuel Carrere

THE RED CAR / Marcy Dermansky

10:04 / Ben Lerner

THE NIGHT SWIMMERS / Peter Rock

THE LINE BECOMES A RIVER / Francisco Cantú

THE FRIEND / Sigrid Nunez
​
THE INFATUATIONS / JAVIER MARIAS

​THE CUT OUT GIRL / Bart Van Es

THE COLD SONG / Linn Ullmann

UNQUIET / Linn Ullmann

THE END OF LONELINESS / Benedict Wells 

INHERITANCE FROM MOTHER / Minae Mizumura
​
LATE IN THE DAY/ Tessa Hadley

NORTH OF DAWN / Nuruddin Farah

A SINGLE MAN / Christopher Isherwood

THE ROAD HOME / Rose Tremain

A FEATHER ON THE BREATH OF GOD / Sigrid Nunez

MIRROR, SHOULDER, SIGNAL / Dorthe Nors


2018

TRESPASS / Rose Tremain

MY YEAR OF DIRT AND WATER / Tracy Franz

BLEAKER HOUSE / Nell Stevens

THE LIFE TO COME / Michelle de Kretser

IMMIGRANT, MONTANA / Amitava Kumar

DISORIENTAL / Négar Djavadi 

KUDOS / Rachel Cusk

ISLAND DWELLERS / Jen Silverman 
​
THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR / Yewande Omotoso

KATALIN STREET / Magda Szabo

IF NOBODY SPEAKS OF REMARKABLE THINGS / Jon McGregor

RESERVOIR 13 / Jon McGregor

THE ADVERSARY / Emmanuel Carrère

HOTEL SILENCE / Audur Ava Olafsdottir

THREE DAUGHTERS OF EVE / Elif Shafak

THE MEMOIR OF TWO YOUNG WIVES / Honore de Balzac

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ADELE BEDEAU / Graeme Macrae Burnet

ALL FOR NOTHING / Walter Kempowski

MRS. BRIDGE / Evan S. Connell 

THE BOOK OF WORDS / Jenny Erpenbeck

GO, WENT, GONE / Jenny Erpenbeck

THREE FLOORS UP / Eshkol Nevo

FOREST DARK / Nicole Krauss

WOMAN AT 1000 DEGREES / Hallgrimur Helgason

YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT / Daniel Kehlmann

2017

THE EXTRA / A.B. Yehoshua

IMPROVEMENT / Joan Silber

FAMILY LIFE / Akhil Sharma

A LATE DIVORCE / A.B. Yehoshua

GHOST WARRIORS / Samuel Katz (NF)

IZA'S BALLAD / Magda Szabo

THE BOOK OF EVIDENCE / John Banville

MRS. OSMOND / John Banville

BUDDENBROOKS / Thomas Mann

THE SEPTEMBERS OF SHIRAZ / Dalia Sofer

UNACCUSTOMED EARTH / Jhumpa Lahiri (2nd time)

BASED ON A TRUE STORY / Delphine De Vigan

THE MAIDS / Junichiro Tanizaki

KNOTS: STORIES / Gunnhild Oyehaug

THE MIGHTY FRANKS / Michael Franks

ILL WILL / Dan Chaon

THE COUNTRY LIFE / Rachel Cusk

THE GUSTAV SONATA / Rose Tremain

ARLINGTON PARK / Rachel Cusk

BAD DREAMS AND OTHER STORIES / Tessa Hadley

WAKING LIONS / Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

WAR AND TURPENTINE / Stefan Hertmans

THE UNCONQUERED:
IN SEARCH OF THE AMAZON'S LAST UNCONTACTED TRIBE / Scott Wallace

PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOM / Kyung-Sook Shin

A PRIVATE VIEW / Anita Brookner

UNFORMED LANDSCAPE / Peter Stamm

ALL DAYS ARE NIGHT / Peter Stamm

WE'RE FLYING / Peter Stamm

SEVEN YEARS / Peter Stamm

AGNES / Peter Stamm

SIX FOUR / Hideo Yokoyama

THE MIDDLE GROUND / Margaret Drabble

MY DARLING DETECTIVE / Howard Norman

COMMONWEALTH / Ann Patchett

THE WOMAN ON THE STAIRS / Bernhard Schlink

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW / Amor Towles

THE DARK FLOOD RISES / Margaret Drabble

THE STRAYS / Emily Bitto

IN THE DARKROOM / Susan Faludi

THE BOYS OF MY YOUTH / Jo Ann Beard

TRANSIT / Rachel Cusk

LILLIAN BOXFISH TAKES A WALK / Kathleen Rooney

AN UNNECESSARY WOMAN / Rabih Alameddine

WEDDING BUSH ROAD / David Francis

2016

THE SOUND OF THINGS FALLING / Juan Gabriel Vasquez

LOVERS ON ALL-SAINTS DAYS / Juan Gabriel Vasquez

REPUTATIONS / Juan Gabriel Vasquez

2666 / Roberto Bolano

NOVEL 11, BOOK 18 / Dag Solstad

SHYNESS & DIGNITY / Dad Solstad

DEAR MR M / Herman Koch

THE STONE DIARIES / Carol Shields

NUTSHELL / Ian McEwan

THE LIGHT OF DAY / Graham Swift

RICH AND PRETTY / Rulaam Alam

BETTYVILLE / George Hodgeman

WILLNOT / James Sallis

THE CAZALET CHRONICLES (Volumes 1-5) / Elizabeth Howard

TWENTY-EIGHT ARTISTS AND TWO SAINTS / Joan Acocella

THE RAPTURE / Liz Jensen

THE UNINVITED / Liz Jensen

MOTHERING SUNDAY / Graham Swift

EAST WEST STREET / Phillipe Sands

THE BOAT ROCKER / Ha Jin

LILY AND THE OCTOPUS / Steven Rawley

2015

THE DOOR / Magda Szabo

OUTLINE / Rachel Cusk

THE FOLDED CLOCK: A DIARY / Heidi Julavits

THE STORY OF MY TEETH / Valeria Luiselli

THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING / Colum McCann

MY HISTORY / Antonia Fraser

THE GIRL FROM KRAKOW / Alex Rosenberg

A LITTLE LIFE / Hanya Yanagihara

EICHMANN IN JERUSALEM / Hannah Arendt

JANE AND PRUDENCE / Barbara Pym

FAMILY TIES / Clarice Lispector

MUSIC FOR WARTIME / Rebecca Makkai

THE HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD / Matthew Salesses

LET THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ERASE YOUR NAME / Vendela Vida

IN THE COUNTRY: STORIES / Mia Alvarez

MISSOULA: RAPE AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN A COLLEGE TOWN / Jon Kraukauer (NF)

LILLIAN ON LIFE / Alison Jean Lester 

IT'S FINE BY ME / Per Petterson

I REFUSE / Per Petterson

THE EMPATHY EXAMS / Leslie Jamison 

THE ODD WOMAN AND THE CITY / Vivian Gornick

EUPHORIA / Lily King

THE LAST OF HER KIND / Sigrid Nunez

THE DISCREET HERO / Mario Vargas Llosa

WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE / Shirley Jackson

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE / Shirley Jackson

THE BOOKSHOP / Penelope Fitzgerald

HANGSAMAN / Shirley Jackson

THE GIRL FROM HUMAN STREET / Roger Cohen (NF)

BEAR AND HIS DAUGHTER / Robert Stone (SC)

REFUND / Karen E. Bender

THIS IS THE STORY OF A HAPPY MARRIAGE / Ann Patchett

THE COST OF LIVING / Mavis Gallant

VARIETIES OF EXILE / Mavis Gallant

PARIS STORIES / Mavis Gallant

LET ME BE FRANK WITH YOU / Richard Ford

TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES / Alison Lurie


2014

ALL THAT IS / James Salter

GOD ON THE ROCKS / Jane Gardam

RECAPITULATION / Wallace Stegner

THE BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN / Wallace Stegner

REMEMBERING LAUGHTER / Wallace Stegner

ME AND KAMINSKI / Daniel Kehlmann

COLLECTED STORIES / Carson McCullers

THE STORIES / Jane Gardam

REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE / Carson McCullers

ANGLE OF REPOSE / Wallace Stegner

41 FALSE STARTS, ESSAYS ON WRITERS AND ARTISTS / Janet Malcolm

ALL THE LITTLE LIVE THINGS / Wallace Stegner

THE SPECTATOR BIRD / Wallace Stegner

LAST FRIENDS / Jane Gardam

CROSSING TO SAFETY / Wallace Stegner

ALL THE BIRDS, SINGING / Evie Wyld

CLOCK WITHOUT HANDS / Carson McCullers

THE PEOPLE ON PRIVILEGE HILL / Jane Gardam

THE RISE AND FALL OF GREAT POWERS / Tom Rachman

CRUSOE'S DAUGHTER / Jane Gardam

OLD FILTH / Jane Gardam

THE MEMBERS OF THE WEDDING / Carson McCullers

IN THE LIGHT OF WHAT WE KNOW / Zia Haider Rahman

AMERICAN INNOVATIONS / Rivka Galchen

THE TRANSLATOR / Nina Schyuler

CLEVER GIRL / Tessa Hadley

KINDER THAN SOLITUDE / Yiyun Li

THE PEOPLE IN THE TREES / Hanya Hanagihara

COLLECTED STORIES / Bernard Malamud

THE FOREIGN STUDENT / Susan Choi

A PERSON OF INTEREST / Susan Choi

FAMILY ALBUM  / Penelope Lively

THE REPUBLIC OF LOVE / Carole Shields

GREAT HOUSE / Nicole Krauss

STATE OF WONDER / Ann Patchett

WE THE ANIMALS / Justin Torres

THE FIRE NEXT TIME / James Baldwin

LEAVING THE ATOCHA STATION / Ben Lerner

THE BELIEVERS / Zoe Heller