Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Movies, Books, Theater, Concerts, CDs, Etc. I Saw/Read/Attended In 2015



Updated December 31, 2015


BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS
(Increasingly, I am sampling books, reading 10%, 20% even 40 or 50% before deciding to move on. The books below are only the ones I've read completely. That also explains what looks like generous grading -- more and more, if I sense a book is not going to be among my favorites, I stop reading. Too many books; too little time!)

1. Mightier Than The Sword (Clifton Chronicles Vol. 5) by Jeffrey Archer **
2. The Marriage Game by Alison Weir ***
3. I'm Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil ** 1/2
4. One Nation, Under Gods by Peter Manseau *** 1/2
5. Always Magic In The Air: The Bomp and Brilliance Of The Brill Building by Ken Emerson ** 1/2
6. God's Bankers by Gerald Posner ***
7. The Future Of The Catholic Church With Pope Francis by Garry Wills ** 1/2
8. The Francis Miracle by John L. Allen ** 1/2
9. The Age Of Acquiescence by Steve Fraser ***/
10. The Monopolists by Mary Pilon ***
11. Early Warning by Jane Smiley ****
12. Nightbird by Alice Hoffman **
13. The Tightrope Walkers by David Almond ****
14. The Tropic Of Serpents by Marie Brennan ***
15. Voyage Of The Basilisk by Marie Brennan ***
16. Hissing Cousins by Marc Peyser and Timothy Dwyer ***
17. Voices In The Night by Steven Millhauser ****
18. Words Without Music by Philip Glass ***
19. Between You And Me by Mary Norris ***
20. Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens ** 1/2
21. Capital Dames by Cokie Roberts ***
22. Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris ** 1/2
23. Day Shift by Charlaine Harris ***
24. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough ***
25. The Railway Children by E. Nesbit ***
26. The Light Princess by George MacDonald w illus by Maurice Sendak ** 1/2\
27. The Bill Of Rights by Carol Berkin ***
28. Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins ** 1/2
29. And Sometimes I Wonder About You by Walter Mosley ***
30. The Millionaire And The Bard by Andrea Mays ** 1/2
31. Uprooted by Naomi Novik *** 1/2
32. The School For Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin **
33. The Book  Of Aron by Jim Shepard *** 1/2
34. Little Girl Lost by Richard Aleas ** 1/2
35. Irrationally Yours by Dan Ariely ** 1/2
36. My First Hundred Years In Show Business by Mary Louise Wilson *** 1/2
37. Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson *** 1/2
38. Circling The Sun by Paula McLain ***
39. In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume ***
40. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling ** 1/2
41. Paper Towns by John Green ***
42. Looking For Alaska by John Green ***\
43. Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb ***
44. The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove ***/
45. The Curious World Of Calpurnia Tate ***
46. The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn ** 1/2
47. Hostile Takeover by Shane Kuhn ***
48. Mister Max: The Book Of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt ***
49. Mister Max: The Book Of Secrets by Cynthia Voigt *** 1/2
50. Mister Max: The Book Of Kings by Cynthia Voigt ****
51. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter *** 1/2
52. Pope Francis Among The Wolves by Marco Politi ** 1/2
53. Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid ***/
54. Our Man In Charleston by Christopher Dickey ***
55. Katrina by Gary Rivlin ** 1/2
56. Slice Harvester by Colin Atrophy Hegendorf *** 1/2
57. We Believe The Children by Richard Beck *** 1/2
58. Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickam *** /
59. South Toward Home by Margaret Eby ***
60. Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam ****
61. The Rest Of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness ***/
62. Sorcerer To The Crown by Zen Cho ***
63. Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster *** 1/2
64. Jade Dragon Mountain by Elsa Hart ***
65. Stand-Off By Andrew Smith *** 1/2
66. Finale by Thomas Mallon ***/
67. 1944: FDR And The Year That Changed History by Jay Winik *** 1/2
68. Symphony For The City Of The Dead by M.T. Anderson ****
69. Razzle Dazzle by Michael Riedel ** 1/2
70. Saving Capitalism by Robert Reich ** 1/2
71. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston ***
72. Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix ** 1/2
73. Golden Age by Jane Smiley *** 1/2
74. The Silent Boy by Andrew Taylor ** 1/2
75. Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan ***\
76. The Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam *** 1/2
77. The Keeper's Son by Homer Hickam ***/
78. Slade House by David Mitchell ***
79. Avenue Of Mysteries by John Irving ***
80. Dear Mr. You by Mary Louise Parker *** 1/2
81. Cast Of Characters by Thomas Vinciguerra ** 1/2
82. The Great Surge by Steve Radelet ***
83. The Cinder Spires: Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher *** 1/2
84. Beatlebone by Kevin Barry ***
85. How To Catch A Bogle by Catherine Jenkins ***
86. A Plague Of Bogles by Catherine Jenkins ***
87. Memory Theater by Simon Critchley ***
88. The Constable's Tale by Donald Smith ** 1/2
89. Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates ****
90. A Brief History Of Creation by Bill Mesler and H. James Cleaves II *** 1/2
91. All About Sam by Lois Lowry ** 1/2
92. It's All Your Fault by Paul Rudnick (2016 release) ***
93. This Divided Island by Samanth Subramanian *** 1/2
94. The Revenant by Michael Punke *** 1/2
95. The Last Bogler by Catherine Jinks ***
96. Lizzie and the Lost Baby by Cheryl Blackford ***
97. Bryant And May And The Burning Man by Christopher Fowler *** 1/2
98. The Tevye Stories and Other Stories by Sholem Aleichem *** 1/2
99. Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse by Robert Knott ** 1/2
100. Robert B. Parker's Bull River by Robert Knott ** 1/2




CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS (Only the CDs I've listened to thoroughly and with a strong emphasis on the ones I like, so don't think I love everything I listen to -- I just don't bother really listening to the ones I don't like more than once and don't think it's fair to rate on a cursory listen)

1. Fall Out Boy -- American Beauty/American Psycho ***/
2. Diana Krall -- Wallflower ** 1/2
3. Steve Earle -- Terraplane *** 1/2
4. The Lone Bellow -- Then Came The Morning *** 1/2
5. The Waterboys -- Modern Blues ***
6. The Subways -- The Subways **
7. Lee Ann Womack -- The Way I'm Livin' (2014) ** 1/2
8. Kris Allen -- Horizons (2014) ** 1/2
9. Bob Dylan -- Shadows In The Night ***/
10. Old Crow Medicine Show -- Carry Me Back (2012) ***
11. Sleater Kinney -- No Cities To Love ** 1/2
12. Dakota Staton -- Dynamic! (1958) ***
13. Courtney Barnett -- Sometimes I Just Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit *** 1/2 \
14. Martin Sexton -- Mixtape Of The Open Road *** (esp "Do It Daily")
15. Marina And The Diamonds -- Froot **
16. Mick Flannery -- By The Rule ** (esp "Get What You Give")
17. Amy LaVere and Will Sexton -- Hallelujah, I'm A Dreamer *** 1/2
18. Andrew Combs -- All These Dreams *** (esp "Strange Bird")
19. Brian Setzer -- Rockabilly Riot (2014) ** 1/2
20. Nellie McKay -- My Weekly Reader ***
21. The Tallest Man On Earth -- Dark Bird Is Home ****
22. Ozark Henry -- Paramount ***
23. Randy Travis -- Influence Vol. 2: The Man I Am (2014) ** 1/2
24. Bill Ryder-Jones -- Home Recordings Jan/Feb 2015 ** 1/2
25. Sufjan Stevens -- Carrie And Lowell ****
26. Bill Fay -- Who Is The Sender? ***
27. Tobias Jesso Jr. -- Goon **
28. The Staples Singers -- Freedom Highway Complete ** 1/2 (poorly miked concert; bad sound)
29. Steve Earle -- Terraplane *** 1/2
30. Various Artists -- Zomba Prison Project ** 1/2
31. Leonard Cohen -- Can't Forget: A Souvenir Of The Grand Tour ***
32. Kendrick Lamar -- To Pimp A Butterfly *** 1/2
33. Father John Misty -- I Love You Honeybear ** 1/2
34. Drew Holcomb -- Medicine **
35. The Honeydrips -- In The City **
36. John Grant -- Strongroom (EP) *** 1/2
37. Kasey Chambers -- Bittersweet **
38. Kodaline -- Coming Up For Air **
39. Lady Lamb The Beekeeper -- After **
40. Loudon Wainwright III -- Haven't Got The Blues (Yet) ***
41. Matt Wertz -- Old Flames **
42. Richard Thompson -- Acoustic Classics (2014) ***
43. The White Birch -- The Weight Of Spring * 1/2
44. The Watkins Family Hour -- The Watkins Family Hour * 1/2
45. Vetiver -- Complete Strangers ** 1/2
46. The Vespers -- Sisters and Brothers **
47. Two Gallants -- We Come Undone ** 1/2
48. Tony Joe White -- The Complete Collection **
49. Tom Broseau -- Perfect Abandon **
50. Toni Braxton And Babyface --- Love, Marriage And Divorce (2014) ***/
51. Steve Gunn -- Seasonal Hire ***
52. The Staves -- Dead And Born And Grown **
53. San Cisco -- Gracetown **
54. Robert Earl Keen -- Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions ** 1/2
55. Sean Watkins -- All I Do Is Lie **
56. Seth Avett And Jessica Lea Mayfield -- Sing Elliot Smith ***
57. Shakey Graves -- And The War Came (2014) ***
58. Shakey Graves -- Nobody's Fool (2015) *** 1/2
59. Kelly Clarkson -- Piece By Piece ***
60. James McMurtry -- Complicated Game ** 1/2
61. She And Him -- Classics (2014) *** 1/2
62. Garth Brooks -- Man Against Machine (2014) **
63. Shelby Lynne -- I Can't Imagine ** 1/2
64. Leon Bridges -- Coming Home **
65. James Taylor -- Before This World ** 1/2
66. Boz Scaggs -- A Fool To Care ***
67. Jason Isbell -- Something More Than Free ***/
68. Davy Knowles -- The Outsider **
69. Josh Ritter -- Sermon On The Rocks ** (but final track "Man On A Horse" a keeper)
70. Richard Thompson -- Still ** 1/2
71. Trailhead -- Leave Me To Learn **
72. Lindi Ortega -- Faded Gloryville *** 1/2\
73. Daniel Romano -- If I've Only One Time Askin' *** 1/2\
74. Ernestine Anderson -- Swings The Penthouse (1962 concert) ***/
75. Lesley Gore -- Girl Talk (1964) ***/
76. Lianne La Havas -- Blood ***
77. Curtis Harding -- Soul Power (2014) **
78. Sean Taylor -- ** 1/2
79. Mika -- No Place In Heaven ***
80. Langhorne Slim -- The Spirit Moves ** 1/2
81. Iris DeMent -- The Trackless Woods *** 1/2/
82. Jack Savoretti -- Scars **
83. The Wands -- The Wands ** 1/2
84. Ruthann Friedman -- The Complete Constant Companion Sessions (1969) ***/
85. Johnny Mathis -- So Nice (1966) ** 1/2
86. East Anderson -- Delilah ***/
87. Darlene Love -- Introducing Darlene Love ** 1/2
88. Kasey Musgraves -- Pageant Material  ***  1/2
89. Various Artists -- Country Soul [sic] ** 1/2
90. Family Of The Year -- Family Of The Year **
91. Samantha Fish -- Wild Hearts **
92. Run Boy Run -- Something To Someone (2014) **
93. Fotheringay -- Fotheringay (1970) ****
94. Fotheringay -- Fotheringay 2 (1971-ish) *** 1/2
95. Old Man Luedecke -- Domestic Eccentric **
96. Garnet Mimms -- Looking For You: The Complete United Artists and Veep Singles (1963-1967) ****
97. Courtney Barnett -- Double EP: A Sea Of Spilt Peas (2014) *** 1/2
98. Jill Scott -- Woman *** 1/2
99. Marion Williams -- Gospel Soul Of Marion Williams ****
100. Public Enemy -- Man Plans God Laughs ** 1/2
101. Various Artists -- Southpaw Soundtrack ** 1/2
102. Beirut -- No No No **
103. Boz Scaggs -- A Fool To Care *** 1/2 (better on repeated listening)
104. Anna and Elizabeth -- Anna and Elizabeth ** (Appalachian face)
105. The Kingston Trio -- Greatest Hits **
106. George Benson -- The Best Of George Benson **
107. What's Eating Gilbert -- That New Sound You're Looking For **
108. The Weeknd -- Beauty Behind The Madness ** 1/2
109. Janis Ian -- Anthology **
110. Bruce Hornsby -- Essential **
111. Fotheringay -- Nothing More: Collected *** 1/2
112. Fleetwood Mac -- Play On ****
113. The Fratellis -- Eyes Wide Tongue Tied *** 1/2
114. Findlay Brown -- Slow Light **
115. Greg Trooper -- Live At The Rock Room **
116. Freddy Cole -- Singing The Blues (2014) ** 1/2
117. The Strypes -- Little Victories **
118. Procol Harum -- Shine On Brightly (1968)  ***/
119. Prince -- HitnRun Phase One ***\
120. Lesley Gore -- California Nights (1967) ***/
121. Marine Dreams -- Producer's Wonderland ** 1/2
122. Years And Years -- Communion ** 1/2
123. Steep Canyon Rangers -- Radio **
124. Meg Baird -- Don't Weigh Down The Light **
125. Leigh Nash -- The State I'm In ***
126. Rhodes -- Wishes *** (romantic, anthemic pop w great arrangements)
127. Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin -- Lost Time ***\
128. Bones -- Powder *** 1/2\
129. Bones -- HateToBreakItToYou ***
130. Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap -- The Silver Lining *** 1/2
131. David Bowie -- Hunky Dory (1971) ****
132. David Bowie -- Space Oddity (1969) *** 1/2
133. David Bowie -- Aladdin Sane (1973) *** 1/2
134. John Grant -- Grey Tickles, Black Pressure ** 1/2
135. Harry Connick Jr. -- That Would Be Me ***
136. Don Henley -- Cass Country ***/
137. Carrie Underwood -- Storyteller ***/
138. The Mavericks -- Mono *** 1/2
139. Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings -- It's A Holiday Soul Party ** 1/2
140. Def Leppard -- Def Leppard **
141. Original Broadway Cast -- Hamilton *** 1/2 /
142. Chris Young -- I'm Comin' Over ** 1/2
143. Magic System -- Radio Afrika ***
144. The Coasters -- Christmas With The Coasters * 1/2
145. Jesse Malin -- Outsiders **
146. Eric Church -- Mr. Misunderstood ***/
147. Tom McGraw -- Damn Country Music **
148. The Specials -- The Specials (weak vocals) ***
149. Peter Case -- Hway 62 **
150. Sara Bareilles -- What's Inside: Songs From Waitress *** 1/2
151. Carousel Kings -- Three Christmas Classics: A Four Song EP **
152. Chris Isaak -- First Comes The Night ***
153. Adele -- 25 ***/
154. Jeff Lynne's ELO -- Alone In The Universe ***
155. Francesco Yates -- Francesco Yates **
156. The Lighthouse And The Whaler -- Mont Royal ** 1/2
157. Edie Brickell and Steve Martin -- So Familiar **
158. Kylie Minogue -- Kylie Christmas **
159. The Brian Setzer Orchestra -- Rockin' Rudolph **
160. Angie Stone -- Dream **
161. Frank Sinatra -- A Voice On Air: 1935-1955 ***
162. Amy Winehouse -- Amy (soundtrack) **
163. The Velvet Underground -- Loaded (1970) *** 1/2
164. Steven Curtis Chapman -- Christmas Hymns * 1/2
165. Danny Gokey -- Christmas Is Here * 1/2
166. The Pretty Things -- The Sweet Pretty Things (Are In Bed Now, Of Course) ** 1/2
167. The Dead Weather -- Dodge And Burn ** 1/2
168. Ben Rector -- Brand New ** 1/2 (but song "Make Something Beautiful" lovely)
169. Duran Duran -- Paper Gods ** 1/2
170. Drake and The Future -- What A Time To Be Alive ** 1/2
171. Holy Sons -- Fall Of Man **
172. Joanna Newsome -- Divers **
173. Lana Del Rey -- Honeymoon **
174. Los Lobos -- Gates Of Gold *** 1/2 \
175. Madonna -- Rebel Heart ***
176. Rod Melancon -- Parish Lines **
177. Ruby Amanfu -- Standing Still ** 1/2
178. Ryan Adams -- 1989 ***
179. Various Artists - Nippon Girls 2: Japanese Pop, Beat And Rock n Roll 1965-1970 *** 1/2
180. Ron Sexsmith -- Carousel One *** \
181. Ike Reilly -- Born On Fire *** 1/2
182. Foals -- What Went Down ** 1/2
183. Ryley Walker -- Primrose Green **
184. The Felice Brothers -- Feliz Navidad **
185. Jim O'Rourke -- Simple Songs **
186. Hop Along -- Painted Shut ** 1/2
187. Patty Griffin -- Servant Of Love *** 1/2
188. James Bay -- Chaos And The Calm **
189. Bill Ryder-Jones -- West Kirby County Primary ***\
190. David Bowie -- Station To Station (1976) *** 1/2
191. The Mekons and Robbie Fulks -- Jura ** 1/2
192. Sun Bears! -- Do Christmas ** 1/2
193. Ashley Monroe -- The Blade ** 1/2
194. Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band -- Wrap This! * 1/2
195. Rumer -- Love Is The Answer EP ***
196. Alabama Shakes -- Sound And Color ***
197. Bob Moses -- Days Gone By ***
198. Cowboy Junkies -- Notes Falling Slowly *** 1/2
199. Prince -- HitNRun Phase Two ** 1/2
200. The London Souls -- The London Souls *** 1/2
201. The Vamps -- Wake Up **
202. Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment -- Surf ** 1/2
203. Bruce Springsteen -- The River Single Album Version ** 1/2
204. Miguel -- Wildheart ***
205. The Arcs -- Yours, Dreamily **
206. Carly Rae Jepsen -- Emotion ** 1/2 (vocals over-processed; strong songs)
207. Tame Impala -- Currents *** 1/2
208. Skrillex and Diplo -- Present Jack U ***/
209. Tinariwen -- Live In Paris 2014 *** 1/2
210. Chris Stapleton -- Traveller *** 1/2
211. Mackintosh Braun -- Arcadia ** 1/2
212. Malinky -- Malinky ** 1/2
213. Michael Sherwood and Christian Nesmith -- Groovy Lemon Pie ***
214. Kamasi Washington -- The Epic *** 1/2
215. Kanaku Y El Tigre -- Quema Quema Quema ** 1/2
216. Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams -- Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams ** 1/2
217. Leigh Nash -- The State I'm In ** 1/2
218. Quiet Company -- Transgressor ** 1/2
219. Peter Buck -- Warzone Earth **
220. Paul Weller -- Saturn's Pattern ***
221. Kimmie Rhodes -- Cowgirl Boudoir **
222. Kristin Diable -- Create Your Own Mythology ***/
223. Kurt Cobain -- Montage Of Heck **
224. Dirty Revival -- Dirty Revival **
225. Veruca Salt -- Ghost Notes ***/
226. Whitney Rose -- Heartbreaker Of The Year ***
227. Cage The Elephant -- Tell Me I'm Pretty ***/
228. Alan Jackson -- Angels and Alcohol **
229. April Verch -- The Newpart ** 1/2
230. Car Seat Headrest -- Teen Style ***
231. Warm Soda -- Symbolic Dream ***
232. Royal Headache -- High ***
233. Scouting For Girls -- Still Thinking About You ** 1/2
234. Dwight Yoakum -- Second-Hand Heart *** 1/2
235. Orange Humble Band -- Depressing Beauty *** 1/2/
236. Franz Ferdinand Sparks -- Franz Ferdinand Sparks ***/
237. Vince Staples -- Summertime '06 *** 1/2
238. Kurt Vile -- B'lieve I'm Going Down ***
239. Graham Parker -- Mystery Gate ** 1/2
240. The Bellfuries -- Workingman's Bellfuries ** 1/2
241. Blur -- The Magic Whip ***



MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES 

1. Foyle's War Season 8 * 1/2
2. The Babadook (2014) ** 1/2
3. Mommy *** 1/2
4. Wild Tales *** 1/2
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) *** 1/2
6. We Are The Best! (2014) ***
7. Birdman (2014) *
8. Nightcrawler (2014) *** 1/2
9. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) **
10. Ida (2014) *** 1/2
11. The Lunchbox (2014) *** 1/2
12. Force Majeure (2014) *** 1/2
13. Fury (2014) *** 1/2
14. The Avengers: Age Of Ultron * 1/2
15. Beggars Of Life (1928) (Film Forum w live accompaniment) *** 1/2
16. Bad Little Angel (1939) * 1/2
17. I'll Be Seeing You (1944 w Joseph Cotten, Ginger Rogers, Shirley Temple) ** 1/2
18. Pitch Perfect 2 * 1/2
19. Inside Out ***
20. Dope ** 1/2 (but fun)
21. Confessions Of A Nazi Spy (1939) **
22. Mr. Holmes (2015) * 1/2
23. Ant-man ** 1/2
24. Amy (Amy Winehouse docu) **
25. Flamenco Flamenco (2014) *** 1/2
26. Beyond Zero: 1914 -- 1918 *** 1/2
27. Seashore ***
28. Adventures Of Jane Arden (1939) *
29. Pride Of The Blue Grass (1939) **
30. Mission Impossible Rogue Nation ** 1/2
31. Microbe And I (Michel Gondry) **
32. Indian Summers (TV series season one) **
33. The Walk **
34. Brooklyn [Noam] ***\
35. Bridge Of Spies [Andy] **
36. Spectre [Luis) ***
37. The Danish Girl [Luis] ** 1/2
38. Carol [Noam] ** 1/2
39. Chimes At Midnight [Noam] ***
40. Son Of Saul *** 1/2
41. In Jackson Heights *** 1/2
42. The Revenant ** 1/2
43. Creed ** 1/2
44. Joy ** 1/2
45. The End Of The Tour ** 1/2
46. Slow West ***/
47. Sicario **
48. Me And Earl and the Dying Girl **
49. Güeros *** 1/2
50. The Clouds Of Sils Maria ** 1/2
51. The Big Short ** 1/2
52. Far From The Madding Crowd (2015 w Carey Mulligan) ***
52. Oscar shorts live action
          Stutterer ** 1/2
          Everything Will Be Okay ***
          Day One **
          Ave Maria * 1/2
          Shok * 1/2
53. Oscar shorts animation
          Bear Story ***
          We Can't Live Without Cosmos ** 1/2
          Prologue *
          World Of Tomorrow **
          Sanjay's Super Team ***
54. Love And Mercy *** 1/2
55. Chi-raq * 1/2
56. The Diary Of A Teenage Girl *** 1/2
57. Straight Outta Compton ***/
58. Anomalisa ** 1/2
59. Tangerine ***/
60. The Tribe *** 1/2
61. The Hateful Eight ***







THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS

1. Honeymoon In Vegas [Garrett] **
2. The Woodsman [Noam] ***
3. Constellations [Noam] ** 1/2
4. Taylor Mac's A 24 Decade History Of Popular Music 1930s-1950s [Noam] ** 1/2
5. Let The Right One In [Solo] **
6. Da [Noam] no rating
7. A Month In The Country [Noam] ** 1/2
8. Parade in Concert at Lincoln Center [Noam] ** 1/2
9. Hamilton at the Public [Luis] ***
10. The World Of Extreme Happiness [Noam, Zoe] ** 1/2
11. Broadway By The Year 1915-1940 [TJ] **
12. Verite * 1/2
13. Fabulous! [TJ] *
14. The Mystery Of Love And Sex **
15. An Octoroon at Polonsky Shakespeare Center [TJ] *** 1/2
16. Fish In The Dark *
17. The Audience ***
18. Josephine And I [Zoe] ***
19. Posterity * 1/2
20. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame at Paper Mill [Noam] **
21. Lonesome Traveler [Noam] **
22. On The Twentieth Century [Cohen] ***
23. Radio City Music Hall's New York Spring Spectacular [Noam] ** 1/2
24. The Heidi Chronicles [Noam] *
25. The Tallest Tree In The Forest * 1/2
26. Broadway By The Year: 1941-1965 [TJ] ***
27. Twelfth Night by Bedlam [Noam] ***
28. What You Will by Bedlam [Noam] *** 1/2
29. Wolf Hall Parts I and II [Noam] ** 1/2
30. Skylight [Noam] ***
31. Nellie McKay [Noam] at 54 Below ***
32. Ludic Proxy ** 1/2
33. It Shoulda Been You {TJ] ** 
34. Finding Neverland [TJ] ** 1/2
35. Hamlet w Peter Sarsgaard at CSC [Noam] no stars
36. The King And I [Noam] ***
37. Gigi * 1/2
38. An American In Paris [] ** 1/2
39. Doctor Zhivago [TJ] no stars
40. Fun Home [Noam] ** 1/2
41. Living On Love [TJ] * 1/2
42. Early Shaker Spirituals: A Record Album Interpretation [solo] ***
43. Airline Highway [Noam] * 1/2
44. The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (Fiasco Theatre) [Noam] *** 
45. The Visit (w Chita Rivera) [Noam] ** 1/2
46. The Sound And The Fury (ERS) [Noam] ** 
47. Broadway By The Year: 1966-1990 [TJ] ***
48. The Spoils * 1/2
49. Ever After (at Papermill) [Noam] **
50. Heisenberg [Noam] *** 1/2
51. Marilyn Maye at 54 Below [TJ] ***
52. Kaiser Chiefs at Irving Plaza [Noam] *** 1/2
53. What I Did Last Summer (AR Gurney at Signature) [Noam] *
54. Betty Buckley at Joe's Pub [Noam] ***
55. Orville And Wilbur Did It (reading w Bobby Steggert, Matt Doyle et al) [Noam] ***
56. The Painted Rocks At Revolver Creek (Athol Fugard at Signature) [Noam, Zoe, Cohen] *** 1/2
57. An Act Of God [TJ] **
58. The National High School Musical Theatre Awards [Noam] *** 
59. Amazing Grace [TJ] *
60. My Report To The World (David Strathairn staged reading of play about Jan Karski) [Noam]  
61. The Absolute Brightness Of Leonard Pelkey (James Lescene one-man play) [Noam] ** 1/2
62. Cymbeline (Shakespeare In The Park w Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater)[Noam]  *** 
63. John (by Annie Baker at Signature) *** 1/2 [Noam, Zoe, Cohen, Robynne]
64. Hamilton (on Broadway) [Noam] *** 1/2 production of **** musical
65. The Christians (Playwrights Horizons) [Zoe] ***\
66. A Midsummer Night's Dream (Pearl Theatre Company) [Noam]
67. Reread Another (Target Margin at The Brick) **
68. Daddy Long Legs (musical at Davenport) **
69. Spring Awakening (2015 Bway revival by Deaf Theatre West) [Luis]  *** 1/2
70. Barbecue (Public Theater) [Noam] **
71. Fool For Love (W Nina Arianda, Sam Rockwell) [Noam] ** 1/2
72. Old Times (w Clive Owen) [Stephen Garrett] **
73. The Bandstand (at Papermill) {TJ] ***\
74. The Gin Game (w James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson) [Noam] **
75. Rothschild And Sons (w Robert Cuccioli) ** 1/2
76. The Inn At Lake Devine [Noam] **
77. First Daughters Suite (Public) [Zoe] 
78. Tannhauser (at Met w Eva-Maria Westbroek, Johan Botha) ** 1/2
79. Ripcord (Holland Taylor) [Noam] **
80. Janitor (mood piece at Hudson Park Carousel) [Noam] **
81. Dames At Sea (Broadway) [TJ] ** 1/2
82. The Humans (Jane Houdyshell, Reed Birney) [Noam] *** 1/2
83. Sylvia (Matthew Broderick) [Luis] **
84. Therese Raquin (Keira Knightley) [Noam] * 1/2
85. King Charles III (Tim Piggot-Smith) [Noam] *** 1/2
86. Hir (Taylor Mac play) [Zoe] **
87. Henry IV (Harriet Walter at St. Ann's in all-female production) ***
88. On Your Feet [Luis] **
89. Misery (Bruce Willis) [Stephen Garrett] *

90. A View From The Bridge (Mark Strong) ***
91. Paper Bullets (strong songs by Billie Joe Armstrong) [Noam] ***
92. China Doll  [Noam] *
93. New York Animals (Bedlam) (but strong songs by Steven Sater and Burt Bacharach) [Livia Belman-Wells] ** 1/2
94. Incident At Vichy (Signature revival) [Zoe, Livia] ** 1/2
95. Night Is A Room (Signature show) **
96. School Of Rock [Luis] * 1/2
97. The New Standards: The Holiday Show (w guests Nellie McKay, Fred Schneider, Julian Fleischer, Har Mar Superstar et al) [Noam] ***/
98. Lazarus * 1/2 [Dave Cohen]
99. Plaid Tidings ** 1/2 [Cohen]
100. Marjorie Prime ** [Noam]
101. The Color Purple (Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Hudson) [Noam] ** 1/2
102. Once Upon A Mattress (Jackie Hoffman, John Epperson) [Cohen, Luis] ** 1/2
103. Daniel Kitson's Christmas Show [Noam] *** 1/2 (marked off half a star cause no hot chocolate)





Updated December 31, 2015

Saturday, May 02, 2015

BOOKS: The Best Books Of All Time Organized By Rating

Updated December 31, 2018

Here's a very incomplete master list of books I've read. This is my list organized by author. I've got another list organized by rating. I tend to focus on good books or authors I've read a lot. I don't see the point of including a book I didn't like by someone most people haven't heard about.

I've only got year-by-year lists of my reading going back to 2006. Before that, it's very catch as catch can. Since I've also considerably winnowed down my personal library without noting the books I got rid of over the years, I don't even have a good record of the books I SAVED for decades. So please understand that this isn't remotely comprehensive. If I seem overly generous in the number of 3 1/2 and 4 star books, well those are simply the ones I remember best. The many minor books I consumed over the years (especially reams and reams of sci-fi, fantasy and mysteries) have faded from memory. Any weird gaps (I've read a lot more Dickens than I've listed, for example) are perhaps because I don't remember with enough specificity what I thought of certain books to rate them.

Art Garfunkel and Peter Bogdanovich had the right idea! Keep a list, everyone; you'll be glad you did. What I wouldn't give for index cards with my brief thoughts on the movies I watched, books I read, albums I heard from a young age onward....




THE BOOKS MASTER LIST BY RATING

I list all the 4 star books, then all the 3 1/2 star books, then all the 3 star books and then I stop. Because who cares about what books I felt meh about? 



FOUR STARS

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe ****
The Unwomanly Face Of War by Svetlana Alexievich (1985) ****
The Mysteries Of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg ****
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg ****
Swan Lake by Chris Van Allsburg and Mark Helprin ****
The Tightrope Walkers by David Almond ****
Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Hero by Jon Lee Anderson ****
The Astonishing Life Of Octavian Nothing Volume 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson ****
The Astonishing Life Of Octavian Nothing Volume 2: The Kingdom On The Waters by M.T. Anderson ****
Symphony For The City Of The Dead by M.T. Anderson ****
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood ****
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen ****
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ****
The True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle by Avi ****
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt ****
Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie ****
Dark Lies The Island by Kevin Barry ****
Forty Stories by Donald Barthelme ****
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano ****
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury ****
The Mists Of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley ****
The Stranger by Albert Camus ****
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote **** 
True History Of The Kelly Gang by Peter Carey **** 
The Path To Power: The Years Of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro ****
In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin ****
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin ****
Black Wings Has My Angel by Elliott Chaze ****
Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates ****
Nostromo by Joseph Conrad ****
Evicted by Matthew Desmond ****
This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz ****
David Copperfield by Charles Dickesn ****
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens ****
Ragtime by EL Doctorow ****
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas; translated by Richard Pevear ****
My Family And Other Animals by Gerald Durrell ****
The World Of The Short Story edited by Clifton Fadiman ****
The Good Soldiers by David Finkel ****
Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel ****
Autumn Term by Antonia Forest (1948) ****
Beat To Quarters by C.S Forester ****
Ship Of The Line by C.S Forester ****
Don't Lets Go To The Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller ****
Coraline by Neil Gaiman ****
Sunset Song by Lewis Gibbons ****
We Wish To Inform You... by Philip Gourevitch ****
Goodbye To All That by Robert Graves ****
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley ****
Act One by Moss Hart ****
Ellis Island and Other Stories by Mark Helprin ****
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin ****
Swan Lake by Mark Helprin with Chris Val Allsburg (illo) ****
The Snows Of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories by Ernest Hemingway ****
Krazy Kat (the strip in general) by George Herriman ****
Rocket Boys (aka October Sky) by Homer Hickam ****
Seabiscuit by Lauren Hillenbrand ****
The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes ****
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston ****
Pogo: Through The Wild Blue Yonder -- The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips Vol. 1 by Walt Kelly ****
Kim by Rudyard Kipling ****
The Ecstatic by Victor LaValle ****
Valdez Is Coming by Elmore Leonard **** 
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively **** 
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill -- Visions Of Glory 1874-1932 by William Manchester ****
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill -- Alone 1932-1940 by William Manchester ****
Wolf Hall By Hilary Mantel ****
Malcolm X: A Live Of Reinvention by Manning Marable ****
A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin ****
Castles Of Steel by Robert Massie ****
Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie ****
Truman by David McCullough ****
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville ****
Dangerous Laughter by Steven Millhauser ****
Martin Dressler: The Tale Of An American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser ****
Voices In The Night by Steven Millhauser ****
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell ****
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris ****
Devil In A Blue Dress by Walter Mosley ****
Bad Boy Brawly Brown by Walter Mosley ****
Train Whistle Guitar by Albert Murray ****
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov ****
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian ****
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien ****
The Buddha In The Attic by Julie Otsuka ****
The Unwinding by George Packer ****
Edisto by Padgett Powell ****
Edisto Revisited by Padgett Powell ****
His Dark Materials: Northern Lights aka The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman ****
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson ****
American Pastoral by Philip Roth ****
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie ****
Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupery ****
Bambi: A Life In The Woods by Felix Salten ****
Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders ****
Gaudy Nights (Lord Peter Wimsey) by Dorothy L. Sayers ****
Busman's Honeymoon (Lord Peter Wimsey) by Dorothy L. Sayers ****
The Complete Peanuts 1959-1960 by Charles M. Schulz ****
The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962 by Charles M. Schulz ****
The Complete Peanuts 1965-1966 by Charles M. Schulz ****
The Rings Of Saturn by W.G. Sebald **** 
Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak ****
A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan ****
A Boy And A Bear In A Boat by Dave Shelton ****
On Sunset Blvd.: The Life and Times Of Billy Wilder by Ed Sikov ****
Early Warning by Jane Smiley ****
Some Luck by Jane Smiley ****
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne ****
The Old Forest and Other Stories by Peter Taylor ****
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin ****
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein ****
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein ****
The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkein ****
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King by J.R.R. Tolkein **** 
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, trans by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhnosky ****
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, trans by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky ****
Doonesbury (the comic strip overall) by Garry Trudeau ****
Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain ****
Mister Max: The Book Of Kings by Cynthia Voigt ****
The Age Of Innocence by Edith Wharton ****
A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White ****
Stoner by John Williams ****
The Virginian by Owen Wister ****
This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff ****


THREE AND A HALF STARS


The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo *** 1/2
Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman *** 1/2
Dickens by Peter Ackroyd *** 1/2
Milton In America by Peter Ackroyd *** 1/2
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams *** 1/2
The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories by Joan Aiken *** 1/2
The Tevye Stories And Other Stories by Sholem Aleichem *** 1/2
The Absolutely True Adventures of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie *** 1/2
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie *** 1/2
A City In Winter by Chris Van Allsburg and Mark Helprin *** 1/2
A Coffin For Dimitrios by Eric Ambler *** 1/2
King by Ho Che Anderson *** 1/2
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson *** 1/2
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou *** 1/2 
Endling The Last by Katherine Applegate *** 1/2
The Bear And The Nightingale by Katherine Arden *** 1/2
The Girl in The Tower by Katherine Arden *** 1/2
Foundation by Isaac Asimov *** 1/2
Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov *** 1/2
Some Hope by Edward St. Aubyn *** 1/2
Mother's Milk by Edward St. Aubyn *** 1/2
Emma by Jane Austen *** 1/2
Persuasion by Jane Austen *** 1/2
Beyond The Western Sea Book 2 by Avi *** 1/2
The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela *** 1/2
The Devil's Storybook by Natalie Babbitt *** 1/2
Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz  *** 1/2
Longbourn by Jo Baker *** 1/2
Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin *** 1/2 
Little Man, Little Man by James Baldwin and illos by Yoran Cazac (1976) *** 1/2 
Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme *** 1/2
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby *** ½
Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum *** 1/2
The Feast Of Love by Charles Baxter *** 1/2
The Sellout by Paul Beatty *** 1/2
We Believe The Children by Richard Beck *** 1/2
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall *** 1/2
Ball Four by Jim Bouton *** 1/2
Miracle At Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen *** ½
Tarzan Of The Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs *** 1/2
The Cinder Spires: Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher *** 1/2
Breakfast At Tiffany's by Truman Capote *** 1/2
Selected Writings Of Truman Capote *** 1/2
A Capote Reader by Truman Capote *** 1/2
The Complete Stories of Truman Capote *** 1/2 
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey *** 1/2 
Junius And Albert's Adventures In The Confederacy by Peter Carlson *** 1/2
Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes (trans by Edith Grossman) *** 1/2
A Passionate Prodigality by Guy Chapman *** 1/2
My Life In France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme *** 1/2
The Awakening by Kate Chopin *** 1/2
The Big Show by Pierre Closterman *** 1/2
Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb *** 1/2
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins *** 1/2
Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad *** 1/2 
Skippy: Daily Comics 1925-1927 by Percy Crosby *** 1/2
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt *** 1/2
Deadwood by Pete Dexter *** ½
Drown by Junot Diaz *** 1/2
The Adventures Of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens *** 1/2
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens *** 1/2
Bleak House by Charles Dickens *** 1/2
Hard Times by Charles Dickens *** 1/2
Out Of Africa by Isak Dinesen *** 1/2 
Fup by Jim Dodge *** 1/2
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr *** 1/2
The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle *** 1/2
The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle *** 1/2
The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle *** 1/2
The Return Of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle *** 1/2
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas *** 1/2
Chronicles Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan *** ½
A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers *** 1/2
A Hologram For The King by Dave Eggers *** 1/2
Nest by Esther Erlich *** 1/2
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides *** 1/2
Their Finest by Lissa Evans *** 1/2
The House Of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer *** 1/2
The Siege Of Krishnapur by JG Farrell *** 1/2 
Small Country by Gaël Faye *** 1/2
The Princess Of Cleves by Madame de La Fayette *** 1/2
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde *** 1/2 
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1943) *** 1/2 
Hornblower and the Hotspur by C.S Forester *** 1/2
Hornblower During The Crisis by C.S Forester *** 1/2
Hornblower and the Atropos by C.S Forester *** 1/2
Flying Colours by C.S Forester *** 1/2
Prince Valiant Volume 3: 1941-1942 by Hal Foster *** 1/2
Prince Valiant Volume 4: 1943-1944 by Hal Foster *** 1/2
Bryant And May And The Burning Man by Christopher Fowler *** 1/2
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen *** 1/2
Cocktail Hour Under The Tree Of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller *** 1/2
The Book That Changed America by Randall Fuller ***
Sea Of Poppies by Amitov Ghosh *** 1/2
River Of Smoke by Amitov Ghosh *** 1/2
The Princess Bride by William Goldman *** 1/2
The Yard by Alex Grecian *** 1/2
Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory *** 1/2
The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove ***/
Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton *** 1/2
The Assassination Of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford by Ron Hansen *** 1/2
The Art Of Fielding by Chad Harbach *** 1/2
An Officer And A Spy by Robert Harris *** 1/2
The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris *** ½
The Spark And The Drive by Wayne Harrison *** 1/2 
The Sea Queen by Linnea Hartsuyker *** 1/2
Masqueraders by Georgette Hayer *** 1/2
The Tale Of Shikanodo Book 1: Emperor Of The Eight Islands by Lian Hearn *** 1/2
The Tale Of Shikanodo Book 2: Autumn Princess, Dragon Child by Lian Hearn *** 1/2
Slice Harvester by Colin Atrophy Hegendorf *** 1/2
A Dove Of The East and Other Stories by Mark Helprin *** 1/2
A Soldier Of The Great War by Mark Helprin *** 1/2
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway *** 1/2
A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway *** 1/2
The Complete Short Stories Of Ernest Hemingway *** 1/2
A Dual Inheritance by Joanna Hershon *** 1/2
The Boys' House: New and Selected Stories by Jim Heynen *** 1/2
The Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam *** 1/2 
The Divided Earth by Faith Erin Hicks *** 1/2
Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand *** 1/2
Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb *** 1/2
The Devil In The Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson *** 1/2
The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson *** 1/2
The Hidden Life Of Trees by Peter Hohlleben *** 1/2
Dancer From The Dance by Andrew Holleran *** 1/2
A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 by Alistair Horne *** 1/2
I Served The King Of England by Bohumil Hrabal *** ½
IQ by Joe Ide *** 1/2
Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls (1982) *** 1/2
The World According To Garp by John Irving *** 1/2
The Cider House Rules by John Irving *** 1/2 
The Fifth Season by N.J. Jemisin (Broken Earth Trilogy Vol. 1) *** 1/2
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin (Broken Earth Trilogy, Vol. 2) *** 1/2
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (Broker Earth Trilogy Vol 3) *** 1/2 
Queen Of The Air by Dean Jensen *** 1/2
Children of Earth And Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay *** 1/2
The Last Temptation by Nikos Kazantzakis *** 1/2
Berlin, 1961: Kennedy, Kruschev and The Most Dangerous Place On Earth by Frederick Kempe *** 1/2 
Beneath A Ruthless Sun by Gilbert King *** 1/2
The Murder Of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King *** 1/2
Different Seasons by Stephen King *** 1/2
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling *** 1/2
The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling *** 1/2
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling *** 1/2
Collected Verse by Rudyard Kipling *** 1/2
Empire Of Sin by Gary Krist *** 1/2
Austerity Britain: 1945-1951 by David Kynaston *** 1/2
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri *** 1/2
The Sea Witch by Alexander Laing *** ½
The Far Side(the comic strip in general) by Gary Larson *** 1/2
Slapboxing With Jesus by Victor LaValle *** 1/2
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee *** 1/2 
A Wizard Of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin (1968) *** 1/2
Prayers For Rain by Dennis Lehane *** 1/2
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane *** 1/2
Hombre by Elmore Leonard *** 1/2 
The Street Where I Live by Alan Jay Lerner *** 1/2
The Lies Of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch *** 1/2
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch *** 1/2
The Deep Blue Goodbye by John D. MacDonald (Travis McGee #1) *** 1/2
A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre *** 1/2
Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi *** 1/2
One Nation, Under Gods by Peter Manseau *** 1/2
West With The Night by Beryl Markham *** 1/2
The Fisher King by Paule Marshall *** 1/2
A Clash Of Kings by George R.R. Martin *** 1/2
A Storm Of Swords by George R.R. Martin *** 1/2
A Feast For Crows by George R.R. Martin *** 1/2
A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin *** 1/2
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin *** 1/2
Lost Books Of The Odyssey by Zachary Mason *** 1/2
Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann *** 1/2
Transatlantic by Colum McCann *** 1/2
The Longest Way Home by Andrew McCarthy *** 1/2
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy *** ½ 
The Road by Cormac McCarthy *** ½ 
Wolves Of Eden by Kevin McCarthy *** 1/2 
The Man Of The House by Stephen McCauley *** 1/2
Little Nemo in Slumberland (the strip in general) by Winsor McCay *** 1/2
The Member Of The Wedding by Carson McCullers *** 1/2
John Adams by David McCullough *** 1/2
Someone by Alice McDermott *** 1/2
Atonement by Ian McEwan *** 1/2
The Children Act by Ian McEwan *** 1/2
A Brief History Of Creation by Bill Mesler and H. James Cleaves II *** 1/2
The Son by Philip Meyer *** 1/2 
God: A Biography by Jack Miles *** 1/2 
Circe by Madeline Miller *** 1/2
The Barnum Museum by Steven Millhauser *** 1/2
Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Steven Millhauser *** 1/2
Enchanted Night by Steven Millhauser *** 1/2
In The Penny Arcade by Steven Millhauser *** 1/2
We Others: New and Selected Stories by Steven Millhauser *** 1/2
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima *** 1/2
Anne Of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery *** 1/2
Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery *** 1/2
Two Adolescents by Alberto Moravia *** 1/2
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris *** ½
Beloved by Toni Morrison *** 1/2
A Red Death by Walter Mosley *** 1/2
White Butterfly by Walter Mosley *** 1/2
Black Betty by Walter Mosley *** 1/2
A Little Yellow Dog by Walter Mosley *** 1/2
Little Scarlet by Walter Mosley *** 1/2
Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley *** 1/2
Little Green by Walter Mosley *** 1/2
Rose Gold by Walter Mosley *** 1/2 
I'm A Free State by V.S. Naipul *** 1/2 
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar *** 1/2
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness *** 1/2
More Than This by Patrick Ness *** 1/2
Temeraire by Naomi Novik *** 1/2
Throne Of Jade by Naomi Novik *** 1/2
Victory Of Eagles by Naomi Novik *** 1/2
Blood Of Tyrants by Naomi Novik *** 1/2
Uprooted by Naomi Novik *** 1/2  
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik *** 1/2 
Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama *** 1/2 
The Aubrey-Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian *** 1/2 
Fly Girls by Keith O'Brien *** 1/2
My Father, The Pornographer by Chris Offutt *** 1/2
Thunderhead by Mary O'Hara *** 1/2
The Abominable Mr. Seabrook by Joe Ollmann *** 1/2 
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje *** 1/2 
There There by Tommy Orange *** 1/2 
The Library Book by Susan Orlean *** 1/2 
When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka *** 1/2
Dear Mr. You by Mary Louise Parker *** 1/2
Resolution by Robert B. Parker *** 1/2
The Horseman by Tim Pears *** 1/2
A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck *** 1/2
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck *** 1/2
On The Wings Of Heroes by Richard Peck *** 1/2
A King's Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman *** 1/2
"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins (short story) *** 1/2
Out Stealing Horses by Pers Petersen *** 1/2  
Imperial Twilight by Stephen R. Platt *** 1/2 
The Interrogative Mood: A Novel? by Padgett Powell *** 1/2
The Ruby In The Smoke by Philip Pullman *** 1/2
The Shadow In The North by Philip Pullman *** 1/2
His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman *** 1/2
His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman *** 1/2
The Revenant by Michael Punke *** 1/2 
The Tangled Tree by David Quammen *** 1/2 
Playing To The Gods by Peter Rader *** 1/2 
The Doorman's Repose by Chris Raschka *** 1/2 
Enter Talking by Joan Rivers with Richard Meryman (1986) *** 1/2
Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson *** 1/2
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson ***1/2
The Years Of Rice And Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson *** 1/2
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson *** 1/2
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson *** 1/2
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson *** 1/2
The Leviathan by Joseph Roth (trans Michael Hoffmann) *** 1/2
I Married A Communist by Philip Roth *** 1/2
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth *** 1/2
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling *** 1/2
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff *** 1/2
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks *** 1/2
Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks *** 1/2
Blindness by Jose Saramago *** 1/2
Unnatural Deaths by Dorothy L. Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey) *** 1/2
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (Wimsey) by Dorothy L. Sayers *** 1/2
Strong Poison (Lord Peter Wimsey) by Dorothy L. Sayers *** 1/2
Murder Must Advertise (Lord Peter Wimsey) by Dorothy L. Sayers *** 1/2 
The Nine Tailors (Lord Peter Wimsey) by Dorothy L. Sayers *** 1/2 
Roman Blood by Steven Saylor *** 1/2 
Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm *** 1/2
Peanuts (the comic strip in general) by Charles M. Schulz *** 1/2
The Complete Peanuts 1957-1958 by Charles M. Schulz *** 1/2
The Complete Peanuts 1963-1964 by Charles M. Schulz *** 1/2
The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 by Charles M. Schulz *** 1/2
The Complete Peanuts 1969-1970 by Charles M. Schulz *** ½
Bicycle Days by John Burnham Schwartz *** 1/2 
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris *** 1/2 
Calypso by David Sedaris *** 1/2 
Transit by Anna Seghers (1944) *** 1/2 
The Marvels by Brian Selznick *** 1/2
Young Nicholas by Rene Goscinny; illustrated by Jean-Jacques Sempe *** 1/2
Kara Kush by Idries Shah *** 1/2
Nosferatu by Jim Shepard *** 1/2
The Book Of Aron by Jim Shepard *** 1/2
Amsterdam by Russell Shorto *** 1/2
Dark Victory: The Life Of Bette Davis by Ed Sikov *** ½
The Summer Before The War by Helen Simonson *** 1/2
Indelible by Karin Slaughter *** 1/2
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter *** 1/2
Stitches by David Small *** 1/2
Golden Age by Jane Smiley *** 1/2
Stand-Off by Andrew Smith *** 1/2
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith *** 1/2
The Complete Bone by Jeff Smith *** 1/2
Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen *** 1/2
Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man by Walter Stahr *** 1/2
The Secret Of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange *** 1/2
This Divided Island by Samanth Subramanian *** 1/2
Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson *** 1/2
I Can't Breathe by Matt Taibbi *** 1/2
The Secret History by Donna Tartt *** 1/2
A Woman Of Means by Peter Taylor *** 1/2
The Collected Stories Of Peter Taylor *** 1/2
A Summons To Memphis by Peter Taylor *** 1/2
The Oracle At Stoneleigh Court by Peter Taylor *** 1/2
Habibi by Craig Thompson *** 1/2
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti *** 1/2 
The Master by Colm Toibin *** 1/2  
#SAD: Doonesbury In The Time of Trump by Garry Trudeau *** 1/2
The Guns Of August by Barbara W. Tuchman *** 1/2 
The Gilded Age by Mark Twain *** 1/2 
Sketches New And Old by Mark Twain *** 1/2
Mister Max: The Book Of Secrets by Cynthia Voigt *** 1/2
The Hungry Years: A Narrative History of the Great Depression in America by 
T.H. Watkins *** 1/2
The Complete Calvin And Hobbes by Bill Waterson *** 1/2
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh *** 1/2
The Graduate by Charles Webb *** 1/2
Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster *** 1/2 
The Murderer's Ape by Jakob Wegelius *** 1/2 
The House That Ruth Built by Robert Weintraub *** 1/2 
The Woman's Hour by Elaine Weiss *** 1/2
The House Of Mirth by Edith Wharton *** 1/2
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead *** 1/2
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead *** 1/2
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead *** 1/2
Butcher's Crossing by John Williams *** 1/2
My First Hundred Years In Show Business by Mary Louise Wilson *** 1/2
1944: FDR and The Year That Changed History by Jay Winik *** 1/2
The Barracks Thief by Tobias Wolff *** 1/2
Ride With The Devil aka Woe To Live On by Daniel Woodrell *** 1/2
What's Left Of Me: The Hybrid Chronicles Vol. 1 by Kat Zhang *** 1/2
Triumph and Disaster: Five Historical Miniatures by Stefan Zweig *** 1/2




THREE STARS

Three Brothers by Peter Ackroyd ***
So Long, And Thanks for All The Fish by Douglas Adams ***
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga ***
The Teeth Of The Gale by Joan Aiken ***
Aliens: The World's Leading Scientists on the Search For Extra-Terrestrial Life edited by Jim Al-khalili ***
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg ***
The Wreck Of The Zephyr by Chris Van Allsburg ***
The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg ***
Skellig by David Almond
The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas by David Almond ***
Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid ***
Journey Into Fear by Eric Ambler ***
Feed by M.T. Anderson (2002) ***/
Landscape With Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson ***
Mom And Me And Mom by Maya Angelou ***
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt ***
Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer ***
Only Time Will Tell (Clifton Chronicles Vol 1) by Jeffrey Archer ***
A Massacre in Memphis by Steven V. Ash ***
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov ***
Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov ***
The Caves Of Steel by Isaac Asimov ***
Tales of the Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov ***
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson ***
Never Mind by Edward St. Aubyn ***
Bad News by Edward St. Aubyn ***
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen ***
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen ***
Beyond The Western Sea Book 1 by Avi ***
The Most Important Thing by Avi ***
Murder At Midnight by Avi **The Search For Delicious by Natalie Babbitt ***
Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt *** 
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin ***/ 
Jane And The Waterloo Map by Stephanie Barron ***
Beatlebone by Kevin Barry ***
Saul and Patty by Charles Baxter *** 
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel ***
Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel ***
Death Walks In Eastrepp by Francis Beeding ***
Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery by James R. Benn ***
Blood Alone by James R. Benn ***
Ten Men Dead: The Story of the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike by David Beresford ***
38 Nooses by Scott W. Berg ***
The Bill Of Rights by Carol Berkin ***
The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry ***
Orphans Of The Carnival by Carol Birch ***
Lizzie and the Lost Baby by Cheryl Blackford ***
Lucky Us by Amy Bloom ***
In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume ***
By Night In Chile by Roberto Bolaño *** 
The Mandela Plot by Kenneth Bonert ***
The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin ***
The First Congress by Fergus M. Bordewich ***
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: From Concept To Classic by Laurent Bouzereau ***
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury ***
Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury ***
The Dead In Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley ***
As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust by Alan Bradley ***
A Million Heavens by John Brandon ***
Court-Martial by Chris Bray ***
The Tropic Of Serpents by Marie Brennan ***
Voyage Of The Basilisk by Marie Brennan ***
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronté ***
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronté
Hinterland by Caroline Brothers *** 
Hickory by Palmer Brown *** 
The Panic Of 1907 by Robert F. Bruner and Sean Carr ***
Atlantic High by William F. Buckley Jr. ***
Marco Polo If You Can by William F. Buckley Jr. ***
The Story Of Henri Tod by William F. Buckley Jr. ***
Right Reason by William F. Buckley Jr. ***
Racing Through Paradise by William F. Buckley Jr. ***
Why Time Flies by Alan Burdick ***
The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs ***
Music For Chameleons by Truman Capote ***
Leviathan Awakes by James S.A. Carey *** 
A Long Way From Home by Peter Carey ***  
Southern League: A True Story of Baseball, Civil Rights... by Larry Carlton ***
The Alienist by Caleb Carr *** 
The Case Against The Supreme Court by Erwin Chemerinsky ***
Sorcerer To The Crown by Zen Cho ***
Global Discontents by Noam Chomsky; interviews w David Barsamian ***  
The Unknown Universe by Stuart Clark ***
Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke *** 
2001: A Space Odyssey ***  
Rendezvous With Rama *** 
The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate ***
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins ***
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ***
The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad ***
Achilles by Elizabeth Cook ***
London Falling by Paul Cornell ***
Soulless by Gail Corriger ***
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill ***
Memory Theater by Simon Critchley *** 
Skippy: Daily Comics 1928-1930 by Percy Crosby ***
Skippy: Daily Comics 1931-1933 by Percy Crosby *** 
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis ***
Rodzina by Karen Cushman ***
Showdown At Shepherd's Bush by David Davis ***
The Ipcress File by Len Deighton ***
Funeral In Berlin by Len Deighton *** 
The War Before The War by Andrew Delbanco *** 
No Tomorrow by Vivant Denon ***
Our Man In Charleston by Christopher Dickey ***
Hans Brinker, Or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge ***\
I Am Spartacus: Making A Film, Breaking The Blacklist by Kirk Douglas ***
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Himself ***
A Study In Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle *** 
The Sign Of The Four by Arthur Conan Doyle ***
The Valley Of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle ***
His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle ***
Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar ***
Half Magic by Edward Eager ***
Sum: Forty Tales From The Afterlives by David Eagleman ***
South Toward Home by Margaret Eby ***
Dodsworth in Rome by Tim Egan ***
Revolutionary Summer by Joseph Ellis ***
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From Making Of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes ***
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides ***
Of Bone And Thunder by Chris Evans ***
Toms River by Dan Fagin ***
Luminous Airplanes by Paul La Farge ***
A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks ***
The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald ***
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn ***
Lieutenant Hornblower by C.S Forester ***
Lord Hornblower by C.S Forester ***
Prince Valiant Volume 1: 1937-1938 by Hal Foster ***
Prince Valiant Volume 2: 1939-1940 by Hal Foster ***
The History of Sexuality by Michel Foucault ***
Bryant And May: Strange Tides by Christopher Fowler *** 
Conan Doyle For The Defense by Margalit Fox ***
Four Futures: Visions Of The World After Capitalism by Peter Frase ***
The Age Of Acquiescence by Steve Fraser ***/
Quiet Until The Thaw by Alexandra Fuller ***/
George F. Kennan by John Lewis Gaddis ***
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman ***
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman ***
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman ***A Gathering Of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines ***
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell ***
The Epiphany Machine by David Burr Gerrard ***/
Words Without Music by Philip Glass ***
Nicholas Again by Rene Goscinny; illustrated by Jean-Jacques Sempe ***
Otis Redding by Jonathan Gould ***/
Jumper by Steven Gould ***
Jumper: Griffin's Story by Steven Gould ***
Refugee by Alan Gratz ***
The Black Country by Alex Grecian ***
Looking For Alaska by John Green ***
Paper Towns by John Green ***\
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green ***
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene ***
The Magician by Lev Grossman ***
The Magician King by Lev Grossman ***
The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman ***
The Road To Jonestown by Jeff Guinn ***
The Case Of The Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall ***
The Case Of The Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall ***
The Case Of The Man Who Died Laughing by Tarquin Hall ***
The Bad-Ass Librarians Of Timbuktu by Josh Hammer ***
Living Dead Until Dallas by Charlaine Harris ***
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris ***
Day Shift by Charlaine Harris ***
Fatherland by Robert Harris ***
Enigma by Robert Harris ***
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris ***
Joan Of Arc: A Life Transfigured by Kathryn Harrison ***
Jade Dragon Mountain by Elsa Hart ***
The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker ***/
The Tale Of Shikanodo Book 3: Lord Of Darkwood by Lian Hearn ***
The Tale Of Shikanodo Book 4: The Tengu's Game Of Go by Lian Hearn ***
Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein ***
Memoir From Antproof Case by Mark Helprin ***
The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway ***
The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway ***
Losing Our Way by Bob Herbert ***
Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen ***
Skink -- No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen ***
The Keeper's Son by Homer Hickam ***
Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickam ***/
The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks ***
The Stone Heart: The Nameless City Volume 2 by Faith Erin Hicks ***/
Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins ***
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith ***
Seven Rivers West by Edward Hoagland ***
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb ***
Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb ***
The Midnight Assassin by Skip Hollandsworth ***
Nights In Aruba by Andrew Holleran *** 
Aladdin -- a new translation by Paolo Lemos Horta *** 
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household ***
Neverhome by Laird Hunt *** 
Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston ***
Righteous by Joe Ide ***
Setting Free The Bears by John Irving ***
The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving ***
A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving ***
Avenue Of Mysteries by John Irving ***
A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood ***
How To Catch A Bogle by Catherine Jenkins ***
A Plague Of Bogles by Catherine Jenkins ***
The Last Bogler by Catherine Jenkins ***
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson ***
A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston ***
The Siege by Ismail Kadare ***
Frank: The Voice by James Kaplan ***/
The Learners by Chip Kidd ***
Dream Of Spires by Laurie R. King ***
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing Of The Three by Stephen King ***
Plain Tales From The Hills by Rudyard Kipling ***
The Phantom Rickshaw and Other Eerie Tales by Rudyard Kipling ***
Barrack-Room Ballads by Rudyard Kipling ***
Captain's Courageous by Rudyard Kipling ***
The Complete Stalky And Co. by Rudyard Kipling ***
From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg ***
Hostile Takeover by Shane Kuhn ***
The Translation Of Love by Lynne Kutsukaka *** 
Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism? by Robert Kuttner *** 
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri ***
In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri ***
The French Admiral (Alan Lewrie series) by Dewey Lambdin ***
The King's Privateer by Dewey Lambdin, an Alan Lewrie adventure ***
Savage Season (Hap and Leonard #1) by Joe R. Lansdale ***
Big Machine by Victor LaValle ***
The Devil In Silver by Victor LaValle ***
The Changeling by Victor LaValle ***
A Drink Before The War by Dennis Lehane ***
Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane ***
Sacred by Dennis Lehane ***
Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane ***
The Child Who by Simon Lelic ***
The Gentleman by Forrest Leo ***
Death In A Strange Country by Donna Leon ***
Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem ***
Juliet's Nurse by Lois Leveen ***
The Remarkable Education Of John Quincy Adams by Phyllis Lee Levin *** 
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis *** 
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis (1961) ***
Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis ***
The Big Short by Michael Lewis ***
The Wind On The Moon by Eric Linklater ***
What Just Happened by Art Linson ***
The Siege Of Washington by John Lockwood and Charles Lockwood ***
Proxy by Alex London ***
America's Bank by Roger Lowenstein ***
Midnight Plus One by Gavin Lyall ***
Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon ***
Finale by Thomas Mallon ***
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill -- Defender Of The Realm 1940-1965 by William Manchester with Paul Reid ***
Tamburlaine Parts I and III by Christopher Marlowe ***
The World Of Tomorrow by Brendan Matthews ***
Willie And Joe Back Home by Bill Mauldin ***
All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy ***
Easy Way Out by Stephen McCauley *** 
Marilla Of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy *** 
1776 by David McCullough ***
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough ***
The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid ***
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan ***
Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan ***
The Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor And Charley Boorman *** 
Circling The Sun by Paula McLain *** 
Beatles Vs. Stones by John McMillian *** 
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy ***
Billy Budd by Herman Melville ***
Tales of The South Pacific by James A Michener *** 
God in the Qu'ran by Jack Miles *** 
Quakeland by Kathryn Miles ***
Hero Of The Empire by Candice Millar ***
The King In The Tree by Steven Millhauser ***
The Knife Thrower by Steven Millhauser ***
Little Kingdoms by Steven Millhauser ***
Slade House by David Mitchell ***
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell *** for story/* for ugliness
Young Once by Patrick Modiano ***
Suspended Sentences by Patrick Modiano ***
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery ***
Anne Of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery ***
Rilla Of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery ***
Hero by Perry Moore ***
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo ***
The Trillion Dollar Meltdown by Charles R. Morris ***
Starting Out In The Evening by Brian Morton ***
Charcoal Joe by Walter Mosley  ***
Cinnamon Kiss by Walter Mosley ***
Gone Fishin' by Walter Mosley ***
Six Easy Pieces by Walter Mosley ***
And Sometimes I Wonder About You by Walter Mosley ***
Keats by Andrew Motion ***
The Spyglass Tree by Albert Murray ***
Revolutionary by Alex Myers ***
Grand Pursuit by Sylvia Nasar ***
Five Children And It by E. Nesbit ***
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit ***
The Wives of Los Alamos by TaraShea Nesbit ***
The Rest Of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness *** 
Astounding by Alec Nevala-Lee (bio of John W Campbell and sci-fi) *** 
John Saturnall's Feast by Lawrence Norfolk ***
Between You And Me by Mary Norris ***
Bed Knob And Broomstick by Mary Norton ***
The Borrowers by Mary Norton ***
Black Powder War by Naomi Novik ***
Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik ***
League Of Dragons by Naomi Novik ***
Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik ***
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats Of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien ***
My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara ***
Green Grass Of Wyoming by Mary O'Hara ***
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill ***
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel ***
Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel *** 
Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker ***
Brimstone by Robert B. Parker ***
Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B. Parker ***
A Mighty Heart by Mariane Pearl ***
Fair Weather by Richard Peck ***
East Of The West by Miroslav Penkov ***
The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman ***
Cruel As The Grave by Sharon Kay Penman ***
Dragon's Lair by Sharon Kay Penman ***
Prince Of Darkness by Sharon Kay Penman ***
Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman ***
Hissing Cousins by Marc Peyser and Timothy Dwyer ***
Freak The Mighty by Rodman Philbrick ***
Dog Man Unleashed by Dav Pilkey ***
The Monopolists by Mary Pilon ***
God's Bankers by Gerald Posner ***
Typical by Padgett Powell ***
Aliens Of Affection by Padgett Powell ***
Mrs. Hollingsworth's Men by Padgett Powell ***
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers ***
The Book Of Dust Volume One: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman ***
The Tiger In The Well by Philip Pullman ***
The White Mercedes by Philip Pullman ***
Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Bway Revolution by Scott S. Purdum ***
To Ruhleban and Back by Geoffrey Pyke ***
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon ***
The Great Surge by Steve Radelet ***
Genius For Deception by Nicholas Rankin ***
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome ***
The Evenings by Gerard Reve (1956) (trans by Sam Garrett) ***/
Capital Dames by Cokie Roberts ***
Island Of Bones by Imogen Robertson ***
Circle Of Shadows by Imogen Robertson ***
Switched On by John Elder Robinson ***
The Martians by Kim Stanley Robinson ***
New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson ***
Bright Island by Mabel L. Robinson ***
The Violet Hour by Katie Roiphe ***
Moonday by Alex Ross ***
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling ***
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling ***
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling ***
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling ***
Social Disease by Paul Rudnick ***
It's All Your Fault by Paul Rudnick ***
Awakenings by Oliver Sacks ***
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery ***
Dominion by C.J. Samson ***
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi ***
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi ***
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey) ***
The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers ***
Have His Carcase (Lord Peter Wimsey) by Dorothy L. Sayers ***  
Arms Of Nemesis by Steven Saylor ***
Naming Thy Name: Cross Talk in Shakespeare's Sonnets by Elaine Scarry ***
Tow-Truck Pluck by Annie M.G. Schmidt ***
The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952 by Charles M. Schulz ***
The Complete Peanuts 1953-1954 by Charles M. Schulz ***
The Complete Peanuts 1955-1956 by Charles M. Schulz ***
The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972 by Charles M. Schulz ***
The Complete Peanuts 1973-1974 by Charles M. Schulz ***
Reservation Road by John Burnham Schwartz ***
The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz *** 
Barrel Fever by David Sedaris ***
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris *** 
Naked by David Sedaris ***  
Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris ***  
The Cricket In Times Square by George Selden ***
The Invention Of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick ***
The Nutshell Library by Maurice Sendak ***
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More To Life by Maurice Sendak ***
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell ***
New Thoughts by Wallace Shawn ***
Battling Against Castro by Jim Shepard ***
Demon Vol. 2 by Jason Shiga ***
The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve ***
Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides ***
Blood And Thunder by Hampton Sides ***
In The Kingdom Of Ice by Hampton Sides ***
Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers by Ed Sikov *** 
The Carter Of La Providence by Georges Simenon (1931) (Maigret #2) ***/
The Late Monsieur Gallet by Georges Simenon (1931) (Maigret #3) ***
Kisscut by Karin Slaughter ***/
A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter ***/
Faithless by Karin Slaughter ***
Cop Town by Karin Slaughter ***
No. 1 Ladies Detctive Agency by Alexander McCall Smith ***
Winger by Andrew Smith ***
Mussolini by Denis Mack Smith ***
American Mirror: The Life And Art of Norman Rockwell by Deborah Solomon ***
Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy by Bishop John Shelby Spong ***
The Last Cowboys Of San Geronimo by Ian Stansel *** 
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson *** (but *** 1/2 in terms of influence)
Love, Nina by Nine Stibbe ***
The Living Constitution by David A. Strauss ***
The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout ***
The Curious World Of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Tate *** 
The Emissary by Yoko Tawada ***
In The Miro District and Other Stories by Peter Taylor ***
In The Tennessee Country by Peter Taylor ***
Duke: A Life Of Duke Ellington by Terry Teachout ***
The Vatican Diaries by John Thavis ***
The Land Of Steady Habits by Ted Thompson ***
The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin ***
Mothers and Sons by Colm Toibin ***
Play It Loud by Brad Tolinski and Alan Di Perna ***
The Tolkein Reader by J.R.R. Tolkein ***
The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkein ***
The Silmarilion by J.R.R. Tolkein ***
Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin ***
Cue For Treason by Geoffrey Trease ***
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner ***
The Celebrated Jumping Frog Of Calaveras County And Other Sketches by Mark Twain ***
The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain ***
The Prince And The Pauper by Mark Twain ***
Countdown To Pearl Harbor by Steve Twomey ***
Bobby Kennedy by Larry Tye ***
The Cleaner of Chartres by Sally Vickers ***
Mister Max: The Book Of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt *** 
Toaff's Way by Cynthia Voigt ***
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut ***
The Late Scholar (A Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery) by Jill Paton Walsh ***
Farthing by Jo Walton *** 
Camelot's End by Jon Ward *** 
Coffin, Scarcely Used by Colin Watson (1958) ***
Bump In The Night: A Flaxborough Mystery by Colin Watson ***
Patient: The True Story Of A Rare Illness by Ben Watt ***
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh ***
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh ***
Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh ***
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh ***
New Cardiff by Charles Webb ***
The Marriage Game by Alison Weir ***
The Young World by Chris Weitz ***
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton ***
Cosby: His Life And Times by Mark Whitaker ***
Smoketown by Mark Whitaker ***
States of Desire by Edmund White ***
The Beautiful Room Is Empty by Edmund White ***
The Farewell Symphony by Edmund White *** 
Hotel de Dream by Edmund White *** 
Jack Holmes and His Friends by Edmund White *** 
John Henry Days by Colson Whitehead *** 
The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky and Death by Colson Whitehead *** 
Falling Ill by CK Williams ***
Writing To Save A Life: The Louis Till File by John Edgar Wideman ***
A Series Of Catastrophes And Miracles by Mary Elizabeth Williams ***
The Kings of Cool by Don Winslow ***
Savages by Don Winslow ***
Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters ***
The Duke Of Deception by Geoffrey Wolff ***
In The Garden Of The North American Martyrs by Tobiass Wolff ***
Back In The World by Tobias Wolff ***
In Pharoah's Army by Tobias Wolff ***
Old School by Tobias Wolff ***
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson ***
Death Of A Red Heroine (Inspector Chen mystery) by Qiu Xialong ***
The Ploughmen by Kim Zupan ***
Genius and Discovery: Five Historical Miniatures by Stefan Zweig *** 



Updated December 31, 2018


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