1. East of Eden
— John Steinbeck
The great American novel. An epic tale and a worthy classic. And my book of the month.
2. The Radetzky March
— Joseph Roth
Generally considered his best work. I enjoyed it, but still Job is my very favorite Roth novel.
3. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
— Raymond Carver
My first Carver. I’m not typically a fan of short stories (most are too long). These I loved. Will find and read more.
4. White Noise
— Don DeLilio
Enjoyed the opening and setup, but for me it, despite the fun writing, it just didn’t pay off.
5. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
— Satoshi Yagisawa
A hug of a book. A lovely, simple heartwarming tale. Great feel-good weekend read.
6. More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
— Satoshi Yagisawa
The even better sequel. Sometimes a little cheesy but a touching tale that’ll make you cry.
7. Persepolis Rising
— James S.A. Corey
Seventh of nine in the entertaining Expanse series and, after the first, my present favorite.
8. Parade
— Rachel Cusk
Not my favorite Cusk. Found myself enjoying her writing, as always, but missing her storytelling.
9. The Meaning of it All
— Richard P. Feynman
A call to common sense and right thinking. Needed now more than ever — when millions still believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows.
10. The Sun Also Rises
— Ernest Hemingway
I guess I’m just not a Hemingway fan.
11. Weights and Measures
— Joseph Roth
This author is one of this year’s great discoveries. This one wins the prize for best character name with Euphemia Nikitsch (no doubt a comic nod to the third-century Christian martyr by the same name).
12. Human Acts
— Han Kang
Brutal, violent, bleak, depressing.
