james rettig

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running list of books i've read since i started keeping track, some favorites in bold (updated 5/8)

2024 20. Geoff Ryman - Was • 19. Robert Gluck - About Ed • 18. John Grisham - The Firm • 17. Clarice Lispector - The Passion According To G.H. • 16. Robert Walser - Jakob von Gunten • 15. Peter Handke - Short Letter, Long Farewell • 14. Nancy Hale - The Prodigal Women • 13. Virginia Woolf - A Room Of One's Own • 12. Italo Calvino - Invisible Cities • 11. Tana French - The Hunter • 10. Caroline Blackwood - Corrigan • 9. Bret Easton Ellis - The Rules Of Attraction • 8. John Dos Passos - Manhattan Transfer • 7. Penelope Mortimer - Daddy's Gone A-Hunting • 6. Richard Hughes - A High Wind In Jamaica • 5. Raymond Carver - What We Talk About When We Talk About Love • 4. John O'Hara - BUtterfield 8 • 3. Magda Szabo - The Fawn • 2. Stefan Zweig - Chess Story • 1. Garth Risk Hallberg - City On Fire


2023 115. Molly Keane - Good Behaviour • 114. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist • 113. David France - How To Survive A Plague • 112. Gwendoline Riley - My Phantoms • 111. J.L. Carr - A Month In The Country • 110. Alan Sepinwall - Welcome To The O.C.: The Oral History • 109. Iris Murdoch - The Black Prince • 108. Shirley Jackson - The Lottery And Other Stories • 107. Leonard Gardner - Fat City • 106. Curzio Malaparte - The Skin • 105. Alasdair Gray - Poor Things • 104. Kate Christensen - Jeremy Thrane • 103. James Schuyler - What's For Dinner? • 102. Margaret Kennedy - The Feast • 101. Britney Spears - The Woman In Me • 100. Henry Green - Living • 99. Dorothy West - The Wedding • 98. Barbara Comyns - Our Spoons Came From Woolworth's • 97. Joy Williams - Harrow • 96. Richard Matheson - Hell House • 95. Stephen King - The Tommyknockers • 94. Mary Renault - The Charioteer • 93. James Vance Marshall - Walkabout • 92. Hiroko Oyamada - Weasels In The Attic • 91. Janet Groth - The Receptionist: An Education At The New Yorker • 90. Charles Dickens - The Pickwick Papers • 89. Budi Darma - People From Bloomington • 88. Rebecca West - The Fountain Overflows • 87. Olivia Manning - Fortunes Of War: The Sum Of Things • 86. Patricia Highsmith - Found In The Street • 85. Olivia Manning - Fortunes Of War: The Battle Lost And Won • 84. Elliott Chaze - Black Wings Has My Angel • 83. Olivia Manning - Fortunes Of War: The Danger Tree • 82. Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater • 81. D. G. Compton - The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe • 80. Olivia Manning - Fortunes Of War: Friends And Heroes • 79. Olivia Manning - Fortunes Of War: The Spoilt City • 78. Jean-Patrick Manchette - Fatale • 77. Olivia Manning - Fortunes Of War: The Great Fortune • 76. Shirley Jackson - The Sundial • 75. Raymond Kennedy - Ride A Cockhorse • 74. David Grann - The Wager: A Tale Of Shipwreck, Mutiny And Murder • 73. Judy Blume - In The Unlikely Event • 72. Antonio Di Benedetto - Zama • 71. John D. MacDonald - Nightmare In Pink • 70. John D. MacDonald - The Deep Blue Good-By • 69. Rona Jaffe - The Best Of Everything • 68. Emma Cline - The Guest • 67. Chris Payne - Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History Of Emo's Mainstream Explosion, 1998-2008 • 66. Oakley Hall - Warlock • 65. Henry Green - Blindness • 64. Inès Cagnati - Free Day • 63. Antal Szerb - Journey By Moonlight • 62. John Fox - The Boys On The Rock • 61. Iris Murdoch - The Unicorn • 60. François-René de Chateaubriand - Memoirs From Beyond the Grave: 1800-1815 • 59. Grady Hendrix - How To Sell A Haunted House • 58. Helen Weinzweig - Basic Black With Pearls • 57. Mary McCarthy - The Company She Keeps • 56. Edward P. Jones - Lost In The City • 55. Connie Willis - To Say Nothing Of The Dog • 54. Dale Peck - Martin And John • 53. Magda Szabo - Iza's Ballad • 52. E.M. Forster - Howards End • 51. Joan Samson - The Auctioneer • 50. Michael Shulman - The Oscar Wars • 49. Julien Gracq - Balcony In The Forest • 48. Grace Paley - The Little Disturbances Of Man • 47. Hervé Le Tellier - The Anomaly • 46. Rose Macaulay - The Towers Of Trebizond • 45. Renata Adler - Pitch Dark • 44. Kerry Howley - Bottoms Up And The Devil Laughs: A Journey Through The Deep State • 43. Rebecca Makkai - I Have Some Questions For You • 42. Jonathan Abrams - All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story Of The Wire • 41. Malcolm Braly - On The Yard • 40. Helen DeWitt - The Last Samurai • 39. Joan Didion - Run River • 38. Patrick Modiano - In The Cafe Of Lost Youth • 37. Geoffrey Household - Rogue Male • 36. Annie Ernaux - The Years • 35. Bret Easton Ellis - The Shards • 34. Bret Easton Ellis - Less Than Zero • 33. Christopher Priest - Inverted World • 32. J. R. Ackerly - My Dog Tulip • 31. Elizabeth Taylor - Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont • 30. Thomas Tryon - The Other • 29. James B. Stewart & Rachel Abrams - Unscripted: The Epic Battle For A Media Empire... • 28. Elizabeth Hardwick - Sleepless Nights • 27. Walter Kempowski - All For Nothing • 26. John Williams - Augustus • 25. Anna Kavan - Machines In The Head • 24. Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Gift From The Sea • 23. James Andrew Miller - Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit Of New Frontiers • 22. Walker Percy - The Moviegoer • 21. Robert Aickman - Compulsory Games • 20. Virginia Woolf - Orlando • 19. Qiu Miaojin - Last Words From Montmarte • 18. Vita Sackville-West - The Edwardians • 17. Violette Leduc - The Lady And The Little Fox Fur • 16. Hiroko Oyamada - The Hole • 15. Mathias Énard - Tell Them Of Battles, Kings, And Elephants • 14. Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove • 13. Louis Guilloux - Blood Dark • 12. Iris Murdoch - A Fairly Honourable Defeat • 11. Kerry Howley - Thrown • 10. Maria Dermout - The Ten Thousand Things • 9. Gore Vidal - The City And The Pillar • 8. Mary Karr - The Liars' Club • 7. Lynda Barry - Cruddy • 6. James Baldwin - Tell Me How Long The Train's Been Gone • 5. Stephen King - Fairy Tale • 4. Iris Murdoch - The Flight From The Enchanter • 3. François-René de Chateaubriand - Memoirs From Beyond The Grave: 1768-1800 • 2. Robertson Davies - The Deptford Trilogy: World Of Wonders • 1. Robertson Davies - The Deptford Trilogy: The Manticore


2022 58. Darcy O'Brien - A Way Of Life, Like Any Other • 57. Robertson Davies - The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business • 56. Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver • 55. John Wyndham - Chocky • 54. Joy Williams - The Changeling • 53. Barbara Kingsolver - Prodigal Summer • 52. J.G. Farrell - The Siege Of Krishnapur • 51. Josephine Tey - The Daughter Of Time • 50. Ray Russell - The Case Against Satan • 49. Patricia Highsmith - This Sweet Sickness • 48. Wilkie Collins - The Woman In White • 47. Shirley Jackson - We Have Always Lived In The Castle • 46. Stephen King - The Institute • 45. Ivy Compton-Burnett - A House And Its Head • 44. Dorothy B. Hughes - The Expendable Man • 43. Ken Auletta - Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein And The Culture Of Silence • 42. Lillian Ross - Picture • 41. Marisha Pessl - Night Film • 40. Don Carpenter - Hard Rain Falling • 39. Caroline Blackwood - Great Granny Webster • 38. Robert Gluck - Margery Kempe • 37. Elizabeth Taylor - Angel • 36. Beth Macy - Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, And The Drug Company That Addicted America • 35. Tom Breihan - The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal The History Of Pop Music • 34. Elaine Dundy - The Old Man And Me • 33. Kaitlyn Tiffany - Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created The Internet As We Know It • 32. Iris Murdoch - The Nice And The Good • 31. Eve Babitz - Eve's Hollywood • 30. Wolfgang Herrndorf - Sand • 29. Evan Ross Katz - Into Every Generation: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts • 28. Alfred Dobin - Berlin Alexanderplatz • 27. Tobias Wolff - This Boy's Life • 26. Shirley Hazzard - The Transit Of Venus • 25. Gary Shteyngart - Our Country Friends • 24. John Wyndham - The Chrysalids • 23. Edith Wharton - The Custom Of The Country • 22. Emily St. John Mandel - Sea Of Tranquility • 21. George Eliot - Silas Marner • 20. Arthur Conan Doyle - The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes • 19. Iris Murdoch - A Severed Head • 18. Kingsley Amis - Lucky Jim • 17. Dorothy Baker - Young Man With A Horn • 16. Don DeLillo - Libra • 15. Mona Simpson - The Lost Father • 14. William Lindsay Gresham - Nightmare Alley • 13. Sybille Bedford - A Compass Error • 12. John Darnielle - Devil House • 11. Nina de Gramont - The Christie Affair • 10. Sybille Bedford - A Favourite Of The Gods • 9. Magda Szabó - Katalin Street • 8. Iris Murdoch - Under The Net • 7. Clive Barker - Abarat • 6. Anita Loos - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes & But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes • 5. Sarah Messer - Red House: Being A Mostly Accurate Account Of New England's Oldest Continuously Lived-in House • 4. Philip K. Dick - Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said • 3. Barbara Comyns - The Juniper Tree • 2. Thomas Savage - The Power Of The Dog • 1. Elizabeth Taylor - A Game Of Hide And Seek


2021 80. Margaret Jones - Patsy • 79. Arthur Conan Doyle - The Sign Of The Four • 78. Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study In Scarlet • 77. Willa Cather - O Pioneers! • 76. Eileen Chang - Little Reunions • 75. David Zucchino - Wilmington's Lie • 74. Tove Jansson - The Summer Book • 73. J.G. Farrell - Troubles • 72. Hermann Hesse - Narcissus And Goldmund • 71. Elizabeth Von Arnim - The Enchanted April • 70. Evelyn Waugh - Vile Bodies • 69. Elizabeth Gaskell - North And South • 68. Stephen Graham Jones - My Heart Is A Chainsaw • 67. Betty Medsger - The Burglary: The Discovery Of J Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI • 66. Daphne du Maurier - Jamaica Inn • 65. Erik Larson - The Devil In The White City • 64. Stephen King - Misery • 63. Doris Lessing - The Fifth Child • 62. Edith Wharton - The New York Stories Of... • 61. Michael Azerrad - Our Band Could Be Your Life • 60. William Sloane - The Edge Of Running Water • 59. Patricia Highsmith - Strangers On A Train • 58. William Gibson - Neuromancer • 57. Sally Rooney - Beautiful World, Where Are You • 56. Allan Gurganus - Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All • 55. Mona Simpson - Anywhere But Here • 54. David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas • 53. Iris Murdoch - The Bell • 52. Jean Stafford - The Mountain Lion • 51. William Sloane - To Walk The Night • 50. Rachel Ingalls - Binstead's Safari • 49. Josephine Tey - The Man In The Queue • 48. Isabel Allende - The House Of The Spirits • 47. Elizabeth Taylor - A View Of The Harbour • 46. Pearl S. Buck - The Good Earth • 45. Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited • 44. Muriel Barbery - The Elegance Of The Hedgehog • 43. Don Winslow - The Power Of The Dog • 42. Susan Orlean - The Orchid Thief • 41. Shawn Levy - The Castle On Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, And Scandal At Hollywood's Chateau Marmont • 40. David Grann - The Lost City Of Z: A Tale Of Deadly Obsession • 39. Alex Trebek - The Answer Is... • 38. Tom O'Neill - CHAOS: Charles Manson, The CIA, And The Secret History Of The Sixties • 37. Sylvia Townshend Warner - Lolly Willowes • 36. B.A. Shapiro - The Art Forger • 35. Stephen King - Dolores Claiborne • 34. R.L. Stine - The Babysitter • 33. Madeline Miller - The Song Of Achilles • 32. Annie Proulx - The Shipping News • 31. Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov • 30. Hanif Abdurraqib - A Little Devil In America • 29. Torrey Peters - Detransition, Baby • 28. Patricia Lockwood - No One Is Talking About This • 27. Jeanette Winterson - Written On The Body • 26. Alan Garner - Red Shift • 25. Robert Kolker - Hidden Valley Road: Inside The Mind Of An American Family • 24. Jeanette Walls - Dish: The Inside Story Of Gossip • 23. Claire Messud - The Emperor's Children • 22. Jean Giono - A King Alone • 21. Lisa Robinson - Nobody Ever Asked Me About The Girls • 20. Susanna Clark - Piranesi • 19. John Williams - Stoner • 18. Lauren Oyler - Fake Accounts • 17. Nicholson Baker - The Mezzanine • 16. Douglas Stuart - Shuggie Bain • 15. Zora Neale Hurston - Barracoon: The Story Of The Last "Black Cargo" • 14. Elaine Dundy - The Dud Avocado • 13. Iris Murdoch - The Sea, The Sea • 12. Valeria Luiselli - Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay In Forty Questions • 11. Jenny Odell - How To Do Nothing: Resisting The Attention Economy • 10. Magda Szabó - The Door • 9. Patrick Radden Keefe - Say Nothing: A True Story Of Murder And Memory In Northern Ireland • 8. Zadie Smith - Swing Time • 7. Kelly Conaboy - The Particulars Of Peter • 6. Charles Yu - Interior Chinatown • 5. Alexandre Dumas - The Count Of Monte Cristo • 4. Karina Longworth - Seduction: Sex, Lies, And Stardom In Howard Hughes's Hollywood • 3. Claude McKay - Romance In Marseille • 2. Chloe Hooper - The Arsonist: A Mind On Fire • 1. Doris Lessing - The Golden Notebook


2020 88. Jean Stein - Edie • 87. Hilary Mantel - Fludd • 86. Wayétu Moore - She Would Be King • 85. Anna Kavan - Ice • 84. Jenn Shapland - My Autobiography Of Carson McCullers • 83. Michelle Zauner - Crying In H Mart • 82. John le Carré - The Little Drummer Girl • 81. Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler - The Crimes Of Paris • 80. Nafkote Tamirat - The Parking Lot Attendant • 79. Jean Toomer - Cane • 78. Susanna Clarke - Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell • 77. Francesa Lia Block - Weetzie Bat • 76. Rachel Kushner - The Mars Room • 75. Sarah Bakewell - How To Live or A Life Of Montaigne • 74. Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood • 73. Lily King - Writers & Lovers • 72. James Baldwin - Go Tell It On The Mountain • 71. Dodie Smith - I Capture The Castle • 70. Peter Cameron - What Happens At Night • 69. Charles Dickens - Great Expectations • 68. Claire McNear - Answers In The Form Of Questions • 67. Elena Ferrante - The Lying Life Of Adults • 66. Lucy Ellman - Ducks, Newburyport • 65. Oscar Wilde - The Picture Of Dorian Gray • 64. Tana French - The Searcher • 63. H. G. Wells - The War Of The Worlds • 62. Mary Shelley - Frankenstein • 61. Edith Wharton - The Age Of Innocence • 60. Annie Baker - The Flick • 59. Ursula K. Le Guin - The Tombs Of Atuan • 58. Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr. Ripley • 57. Clarice Lispector - The Hour Of The Star • 56. Renata Adler - Speedboat • 55. Ursula K. Le Guin - A Wizard Of Earthsea • 54. James Baldwin - Another Country • 53. John Steinbeck - The Grapes Of Wrath • 52. Brandon Taylor - Real Life • 51. Philip Roth - The Plot Against America • 50. Fernanda Melchor - Hurricane Season • 49. Min Jin Lee - Pachinko • 48. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go • 47. Anne Carson - Autobiography Of Red • 46. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Americanah • 45. Jenny Offill - Dept. Of Speculation • 44. Stephen King - The Long Walk • 43. Madeline Miller - Circe • 42. Meg Wolitzer - The Female Persuasion • 41. Zadie Smith - White Teeth • 40. Virginia Woolf - Mrs. Dalloway • 39. Don DeLillo - White Noise • 38. Sarah M. Broom - The Yellow House • 37. Andrea Lawlor - Paul Takes The Form Of A Mortal Girl • 36. Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina • 35. Magda Szabó - Abigail • 34. Anna Wiener - Uncanny Valley • 33. Octavia E. Butler - Kindred • 32. Miaojin Qiu - Notes Of A Crocodile • 31. Sigrid Nunez - The Friend • 30. Leila Slimani - The Perfect Nanny • 29. Joyce Carol Oates - The Accursed • 28. Joan Lindsay - Picnic At Hanging Rock • 27. Jane Austen - Mansfield Park • 26. Willa Cather - My Antonia • 25. Garth Greenwell - What Belongs To You • 24. Gabriele Tergit - Kasebier Takes Berlin • 23. Carson McCullers - The Member Of The Wedding • 22. Susan Orlean - Rin Tin Tin • 21. Patrick Suskind - Perfume • 20. Emily St. John Mandel - The Glass Hotel • 19. Hilary Mantel - The Mirror & The Light • 18. Angela Carter - Heroes And Villains • 17. Colson Whitehead - The Underground Railroad • 16. Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains Of The Day • 15. Marie Darrieussecq - Pig Tales • 14. Jean Stafford - Boston Adventure • 13. Barbara Ehrenreich - Nickel And Dimed • 12. Yoko Ogawa - The Housekeeper And The Professor • 11. Maggie O'Farrell - After You'd Gone • 10. Valeria Luiselli - Lost Children Archive • 9. Charles Dickens - A Tale Of Two Cities • 8. Naomi Novik - Spinning Silver • 7. Hugh Ryan - When Brooklyn Was Queer • 6. Agatha Christie - The A.B.C. Murders • 5. George Saunders - Lincoln In The Bardo • 4. Larry Brown - Tiny Love: The Complete Stories • 3. Mary McCarthy - The Group • 2. Hiroko Oyamada - The Factory • 1. Dorothy Baker - Cassandra At The Wedding