Monday, March 25, 2024

The Best Books Of All Time -- A (Partial) List Of Books I've Read By Rating

Updated December 31, 2023
#2 of 2024 

Here's a very incomplete master list of books I've read. This is my list by rating (so you can see which books I gave a perfect four out of four stars to, for example). I've got another list organized by author. 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. Just as often, if a book is so bad it would only get 1 1/2 or fewer stars, I didn't bother finishing it. What's the point? Any weird gaps (I've read a lot more Dickens than I've listed, for example) are usually 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 BEST BOOKS OF ALL TIME -- A (PARTIAL) LIST BY RATING



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 ****
Growing Up by Russell Baker ****  
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 ****
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré **** 
Smiley's People by John Le Carré **** 
My Ántonia by Willa Cather **** 
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler **** 
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 ****
The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo; illus by Bagram Ibatoulline  ****
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens ****
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 **** 
Pogo: Bona Fide Balderdash -- The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips Vol 2 1951-1952 by Walt Kelly ****
Pogo: Evidence To The Contrary -- The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips Vol 3 1953-1954 by Walt Kelly **** 
Pogo: Out Of This World At Home -- The Complete Syndicated Strips Volume 5 1957-1958 by Walt Kelly ****

Kim by Rudyard Kipling **** 
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler ****
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 ****
Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton (1948) **** 
Edisto by Padgett Powell ****
Edisto Revisited by Padgett Powell ****
His Dark Materials: Northern Lights aka The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman ****
All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque **** 
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 ****
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson ****  
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson **** 
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 **** 
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf **** 
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf **** 


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 Outlander by Gil Adamson *** 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
The Tiger In The Smoke  by Margery Allingham *** 1/2 
A City In Winter by Chris Van Allsburg and Mark Helprin *** 1/2
Swamp Sister by Robert Edmond Alter *** 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
Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood *** 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 
The Method: How The Twentieth Century Learned To Act by Isaac Butler *** 1/2 
The Complete Terry and the Pirates Vol 2: 1937-1938 by Milton Caniff *** 1/2
The Complete Terry and the Pirates Vol. 3: 1939-1940 by Milton Caniff *** 1/2 
The Complete Terry and the Pirates Vol. 4: 1941-1942 by Milton Caniff *** 1/2 
The Complete Terry and the Pirates Vol. 5: 1943-1944 by Milton Caniff *** 1/2 
The Complete Terry and the Pirates Vol. 6: 1945-1946 by Milton Caniff *** 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
The Spy Who Came In From  The Cold by John Le Carré *** 1/2 
The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carré *** 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 Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo; illustrated by Sophie Blackall *** 1/2 
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo *** 1/2 
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo; illustrated by Yoko Tanaka *** 1/2 
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo *** 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 
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo *** 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 
At Freddie's by Penelope Fitzgerald *** 1/2 
Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh *** 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
Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert (1950) *** 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 ***/ 
Boris by Jaap ter Haar; translated by Martha Mearns (1966) *** 1/2 
Warlock by Oakley Hall *** 1/2  
Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton *** 1/2 
M.C. Higgins, The Great by Virginia Hamilton (1974) *** 1/2 
All The Dirty Parts by Daniel Handler *** 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 
All Creatures Great And Small by James Herriot (read by Christopher Timothy) *** 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  
A Portrait Of the Artist As A Young Man by James Joyce *** 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 Magic Pudding written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay *** 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 
Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel *** 1/2 
The Mirror and The Light by Hilary Mantel *** 1/2 \ 
The Human Cosmos by Jo Marchant *** 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 
The Searchers by Alan Le May *** 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 Steam Pig by James McClure *** 1/2 
The Member Of The Wedding by Carson McCullers *** 1/2
John Adams by David McCullough *** 1/2
The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough (read by Edward Herrmann) *** 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 
The Covenant by James Michener *** 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
Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirrlees *** 1/2 
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima *** 1/2
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery *** 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 
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov *** 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 
Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates *** 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 
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka *** 1/2 
The Scramble For Africa by Thomas Pakenham *** 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 
The Ministry For The Future 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 
Owls Of The Eastern Ice by Jonathan C. Slaght *** 
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
The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illos by Jon Klassen *** 1/2 
Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen *** 1/2
Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man by Walter Stahr *** 1/2
A Child's Garden Of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson *** 1/2 
Storm by George R. Stewart *** 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  
The Warden by Anthony Trollope (1855) book one of Barsetshire Chronicles *** 1/2 
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope (1857) book two of Barsetshire Chronicles *** 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 Queen Of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner *** 1/2 
The King Of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner *** 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 
Harlem Shuffle 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 Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1923) *** 1/2 
Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse *** 1/2 (despite the blackface) 
The Code Of The Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse (1938) *** 1/2 
The Barracks Thief by Tobias Wolff *** 1/2
Today A Woman Went Mad in The Supermarket: Stories by Hilma Wolitzer *** 1/2 
Ride With The Devil aka Woe To Live On by Daniel Woodrell *** 1/2 
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson *** 1/2 
Paper Darts: The Illustrated Letters Of Virginia Woolf *** 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 *** 
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate ***
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 *** 
The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame, radio play by Alan Bennett *** 
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 *** 
150 Glimpes Of The Beatles aka One Two Three Four: The Beatles In Time by Craig Brown *** 
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee by Dee Brown ***
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 by Arthur C. Clarke ***  
Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke *** 
Monica by Daniel Clowes *** 
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 ***
The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais *** 
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 ***
Because Of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo *** 
The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo ***
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 ***
Sorceror's Son by Phyllis Eisenstein (1979) *** 
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 ***
I Was Better Last Night by Harvey Fierstein *** 
The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald ***
Jock Of The Bushveld by J. Percy Fitzpatrick *** 
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 ***
The Confidence Men 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 ***
A Great Deliverance (Inspector Lynley #1) by Elizabeth George *** 
The Epiphany Machine by David Burr Gerrard ***/ 
Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen *** 
Words Without Music by Philip Glass ***
July's People by Nadine Gordimer (1981) *** 
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 Evolution Of Annabel Craig by Lisa Grunwald *** 
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 ***
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket ***
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 ***/
Regeneration by Paul Hawken *** 
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 ***
A London Child of the 1870s by M.V. Hughes (Molly Hughes) (1934) *** 
Neverhome by Laird Hunt *** 
Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston ***
Righteous by Joe Ide *** 
Wrecked 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 *** 
Cover Her Face by P.D. James (first Inspector Dalgliesh) (1962) *** 
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 ***/ 
Pogo: Under The Bamboozle Bush -- The Complete Syndicated Strips Volume 4 1955-1956 by Walt Kelly *** 
The Few by Alex Kershaw (nonfic on Battle Of Britain) *** 
The Learners by Chip Kidd *** 
Gasoline Alley aka Walt and Skeezix Vol. 1: 1921-1922 by Frank King *** 
Gasoline Alley aka Walt and Skeezix Complete Daily Strips 1923-1924 by Frank King *** 
Gasoline Alley aka Walt and Skeezix Complete Daily Strips 1925-1926 by Frank King *** 
Dream Of Spires by Laurie R. King ***
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing Of The Three by Stephen King ***
Later by Stephen King *** 
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King *** 
On Writing 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 *** 
Arguing With Zombies by Paul Krugman ***
Hostile Takeover by Shane Kuhn ***
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner *** 
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 ***
Putting It Together by James Lapine *** 1/2  
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 *** 
The End Of Everything by Katie Mack *** 
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 ***
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane *** 
The World Of Tomorrow by Brendan Matthews ***
Willie And Joe Back Home by Bill Mauldin ***
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier *** 
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 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 *** 
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik ***
Them by Joyce Carol Oates ***
Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates *** 
Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates *** 
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 ***
The Raging 2020s by Alec Ross *** 
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 ***
It's All Your Fault by Paul Rudnick ***
Playing The Palace by Paul Rudnick *** 
Social Disease by Paul Rudnick ***
The Destroyer Of Worlds: Return To Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff *** 
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 *** 
Shane by Jack Schaefer *** 
Tow-Truck Pluck by Annie M.G. Schmidt *** 
The Story Of An African Farm by Olive Schreiner (1883) *** (very radical for its time)  
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 ***  
Happy-Go-Lucky 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 *** 
Rigged by David Shimer (history of covert election interference) *** 
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 ***
A Series Of Unfortunate Events books *** 
The Lump Of Coal by Lemony Snicket, illos by Brett Helquist ***  
Poison For Breakfast by Lemony Snicket *** 
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket ***
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 *** 
Thick As Thieves 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 *** 
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead *** 
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 ***Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf *** 
A Room Of One's Own by Virginia Woolf ***
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 ***


TWO AND A HALF STARS

Ackroyd's Brief Lives: Newton by Peter Ackroyd ** 1/2
The Restaurant at the End of The Universe by Douglas Adams ** 1/2
Life, The Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams ** 1/2
Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams ** 1/2
The Outlander by Gil Adamson *** 1/2
The Great Night by Chris Adrian ** 1/2
Go Saddle The Sea by Joan Aiken ** 1/2
Little Girl Lost by Richard Aleas ** 1/2
Glass House: The 1% Economy and the Shattering Of The All-American Town by Brian Alexander ** 1/2 
The Francis Miracle by John L. Allen ** 1/2
The Z Was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg ** 1/2
Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg ** 1/2
Just A Dream by Chris Van Allsburg ** 1/2
Queen Of The Falls by Chris Van Allsburg ** 1/2
The Chronicles Of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg ** 1/2
The Assassination Of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin ** 1/2
Best Kept Secret (Clifton Chronicles Vol 3) by Jeffrey Archer ** 1/2
The Sins Of The Father (Clifton Chronicles Vol 2) by Jeffrey Archer ** 1/2
Irrationally Yours by Dan Ariely ** 1/2
David Starr, Space Ranger by Isaac Asimov ** 1/2
Lucky Starr and the Pirates Of the Asteroids by Isaac Asimov ** 1/2
Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus by Isaac Asimov ** 1/2
More Tales of the Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov ** 1/2
Casebook of the Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov ** 1/2
Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov ** 1/2
The Man Who Was Poe by Avi ** 1/2
Don't You Know There's A War On? by Avi ** 1/2
Midnight Magic by Avi ** 1/2
Traitor's Gate by Avi ** 1/2 
The Button War by Avi ** 1/2 
Gold Rush Girl by Avi ** 1/2
Knee-Knock Rise by Natalie Babbitt ** 1/2
The Devil's Other Storybook by Natalie Babbitt ** 1/2
All The Truth Is Out by Matt Bai ** 1/2
Nightwood by Djuna Barnes ** 1/2
Jane And The Twelve Days Of Christmas by Stephanie Barron ** 1/2
The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz by L. Frank Baum ** ½
The First Wave (Billy Boyle WW II mystery) by James R. Benn ** 1/2
A Blind Goddess (Billy Boyle WW II mystery) by James R. Benn ** 1/2
Dead Cat Bounce by Nic Bennett ** 1/2
The Face-faker's Game by Chandler J. Birch ** 1/2
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury ** 1/2
The October Country by Ray Bradbury ** 1/2
From The Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury ** 1/2
A Natural History Of Dragons by Marie Brennan ** 1/2
Lincoln's Gamble by Todd Brewster ** 1/2
Mrs. Jeffries and the Ghost by Emily Brightwell ** 1/2
Mrs. Jeffries Dusts For Clues by Emily Brightwell ** 1/2
Stained Glass by William F. Buckley Jr. ** 1/2
Who's On First by William F. Buckley Jr. ** 1/2
See You Later, Alligator by William F. Buckley Jr. ** 1/2
The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs ** 1/2
The Warlord Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs ** 1/2 
The Complete Terry and the Pirates 1934-1936 by Milt Caniff ** 1/2
Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote ** 1/2 
We The People by Erwin Chemerinsky ** 1/2 
The Goblin's Puzzle by Andrew S. Chilton ** 1/2
Murder On The Orient Express by Agatha Christie (1934) ** 1/2 
Endless Night by Agatha Christie ** 1/2 
The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark ** 1/2 
Delilah Dirk and The Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff ** 1/2
Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-nehisi Coates & illo by Brian Stelfreeze ** 1/2
Just William by Richmal Compton ** 1/2 
The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington by Jennet Conant ** 1/2
The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper ** 1/2
An Alchemy of Masks and Mirrors by Curtis Craddock ** 1/2
The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech ** 1/2
James And The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl ** 1/2
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl ** 1/2
The BFG by Roald Dahl ** 1/2
Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond ** 1/2 
Orris and Timble: The Beginning by Kate DiCamillo; illustrations by Carmen Mok ** 1/2 
The Three Emperors by William Dietrich ** 1/2
The Case-Book Of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle ** 1/2
Hypatia of Alexandria by Maria Dzielska ** 1/2 
The Triumph of Christianity by Bart Ehrman ** 1/2
The Spirit Archives Vol. 1 by Will Eisner ** ½
Always Magic In The Air: The Bomp and Brilliance Of Brill Building by Ken Emerson ** 1/2
How America Lost Its Secrets by Edward Jay Epstein ** 1/2
Seeing Red by Kathryn Erskine ** 1/2
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides ** 1/2
Hank and Jim (Bio of Henry Fonda/Jimmy Stewart) by Scott Eyman ** 1/2
The Ground Truth by John Farmer ** 1/2
The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle ** 1/2
Civilization: The West And The Rest by Niall Ferguson ** 1/2
Toby Alone by Timothee de Fombelle ** 1/2
Rule Of The Robots by Martin Ford ** 1/2  
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S Forester ** 1/2
Scribbling The Cat by Alexandra Fuller ** 1/2
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon ** 1/2
Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin ** 1/2
Demon of the Waters by Gregory Gibson ** 1/2
Hubert's Freaks by Gregory Gibson ** 1/2
City Of Women by Davir R. Gillham ** 1/2
The Vicar Of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith ** 1/2
The Teacher Wars by Dana Goldstein ** 1/2
Include Me Out by Farley Granger ** 1/2
The Devil's Workshop by Alex Grecian ** 1/2
Riders Of The Purple Sage by Zane Grey ** 1/2
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard ** 1/2
A Knife In The Fog by Bradley Harper ** 1/2
A Friend Of Mr. Lincoln by Stephen Harrigan ** 1/2
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris ** 1/2
Dead To The World by Charlaine Harris ** 1/2
Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris ** 1/2
Night Shift by Charlaine Harrius **1/2
The Hottest State by Ethan Hawke ** ½
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein ** 1/2
Space Cadet by Robert Heinlein ** 1/2 
Citizen Of The Galaxy by Robert Heinlein (1957) ** 1/2
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein (1959) ** 1/2
The Green Hills Of Africa by Ernest Hemingway ** 1/2 
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry ** ½  
Ground Zero: Essays by Andrew Holleran ** 1/2
The Beauty Of Men by Andrew Holleran ** 1/2
In September, The Light Changes by Andrew Holleran ** 1/2
Grief by Andrew Holleran ** ½
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz ** 1/2
Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz ** 1/2
The House Of Silk by Anthony Horowitz ** 1/2 
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley ** 1/2 
Hi Five by Joe Ide ** 1/2 
The Water Method Man by John Irving ** 1/2
The 158-Pound Marriage by John Irving ** 1/2
A Widow For One Year by John Irving ** 1/2
When The World Stopped To Listen by Stuart Isakoff ** 1/2
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro ** 1/2
Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson ** 1/2
Cart And Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones ** 1/2
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling ** 1/2
Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan ** 1/2
Direct Action by LA Kaufman ** 1/2
The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler ** 1/2
The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd ** 1/2 
Gasoline Alley aka Walt and Skeezix Complete Daily Strips 1927-1928 by Frank King ** 1/2 
Garment Of Shadows by Laurie R. King ** 1/2
Island Of The Mad by Laurie R. King ** 1/2
Up In The Air by Walter Kirn ** 1/2
Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse by Robert Knott ** 1/2
Robert B. Parker's Bull River by Robert Knott ** 1/2
Robert B. Parker's Revelation by Robert Knott ** 1/2
High Crimes: The Fate Of Everest In An Age Of Greed by Michael Kodas ** 1/2
Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg ** 1/2
The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn ** 1/2
Economism by James Kwak ** 1/2
The House Of The Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory ** 1/2
My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier ** 1/2 
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson ** 1/2  
The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen ** 1/2 
Waiting For Augusta by Jessica Lawson ** 1/2
Live By Night by Dennis Lehane ** 1/2
Death At La Fenice by Donna Leon ** 1/2  
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis ** 1/2 
Eight Flavors by Sarah Lohman
The End Of Eddy by Edouard Louis ** 1/2
All About Sam by Lois Lowry ** 1/2
Attaboy, Sam by Lois Lowry ** 1/2
The Republic Of Thieves by Scott Lynch ** 1/2 
The Light Princess by George MacDonald w illus by Maurice Sendak ** 1/2\
Nightmare in Pink by John D. MacDonald (Travis McGee #2) ** 1/2
His Majesty's Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal ** 1/2
A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh ** 1/2
Enter A Murderer by Ngaio Marsh ** 1/2
Cruel Shoes by Steve Martin ** 1/2
Shopgirl by Steve Martin ** 1/2
The Ghost Of The Mary Celeste by Valerie Martin ** 1/2 
Bob by Wendy Mass and illo by Rebecca Stead ** 1/2
The Millionaire and the Bard by Andrea Mays ** 1/2
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy ** 1/2
Insignificant Others by Stephen McCauley ** 1/2
The Greater Journey by David McCullough ** 1/2 
The Butterfly Effect: Insects and the Making Of The Modern World by Edward D. Melillo ** 1/2 
Quick Curtain by Alan Melville (1934) ** 1/2
Anne Of The Island by L.M. Montgomery ** 1/2
Anne's House Of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery ** 1/2
Emily Of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery (1923) read before ** 1/2
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo ** 1/2
Blood Grove by Walter Mosley ** 1/2 
The Returned by Jason Mott ** 1/2
Invasion by Walter Dean Myers ** 1/2
Tru and Nelle by G. Neri ** 1/2
The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit ** 1/2
The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness ** 1/2  
Release by Patrick Ness ** 1/2
Young Houdini: The Magician's Fire by Simon Nicholson ** 1/2
Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix ** 1/2
The Borrowers Afield by Mary Norton ** 1/2
The Borrowers Afloat by Mary Norton ** 1/2
Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik ** 1/2
Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel ** 1/2 
Factfulness by Hans Rosling with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund ** 1/2
The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy In Three Parts by Richard Peck ** 1/2
The Mouse With The Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck ** 1/2
Pope Francis Among The Wolves by Marco Politi ** 1/2
A Woman Named Drown by Padgett Powell ** 1/2
The Lost City Of The Monkey Gods by Douglas Preston ** 1/2
The French Chef In America by Alex Prud'homme ** 1/2
Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman ** 1/2
The Broken Bridge by Philip Pullman ** 1/2
The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman ** 1/2
Clockwork, or All Wound Up by Philip Pullman ** 1/2
The Scarecrow and His Servant by Philip Pullman ** 1/2
The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman ** 1/2
Decelerate Blue by Adam Rapp and Mike Cavallaro ** 1/2
Saving Capitalism by Robert Reich ** 1/2
Curious George Goes To The Hospital by Margaret and H.A. Rey; read by John Krazinski (1967) ** 1/2
Dawn Dusk Or Night by Yasmina Reza ** 1/2
Razzle Dazzle by Michael Riedel ** 1/2
Katrina by Gary Rivlin ** 1/2 
Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson ** 1/2 
Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker... by John F. Ross ** 1/2
The Human Stain by Philip Roth ** 1/2
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling ** 1/2
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling ** 1/2
I'll Take It by Paul Rudnick ** 1/2
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg ** 1/2
Elsewhere: A Memoir by Richard Russo ** 1/2
The Story Of Roberto Clemente by Wilfred Santiago ** 1/2
Whose Body by Dorothy L. Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey) ** 1/2 
The Throne Of Caesar by Steven Saylor ** 1/2
Push by Sapphire ** 1/2
Old Man's War by John Scalzi ** 1/2
Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective by Richard Schickel ** 1/2
The War Below by James Scott ** 1/2 
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris ** 1/2 
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris ** 1/2  
In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak ** 1/2 
The Light Princess by George MacDonald w illus by Maurice Sendak ** 1/2 
The Art Of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Phillip Sendker ** 1/2 
The Stowaway by Laurie Gwen Shapiro ** 1/2
The Secret Horses Of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd ** 1/2
The Twelve Rooms Of The Nile by Enid Shomer ** 1/2
Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve ** 1/2
Stella Bain by Anita Shreve ** 1/2
Pietr The Latvian by Georges Simenon (1931) (Maigret #1) ** 1/2
Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter ** 1/2
Undefeated: America's Heroic Fight For Bataan and Corregidor by Bill Sloan ** 1/2
The Constable's Tale by Donald Smith ** 1/2
The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snicket, illos by Matthew Forsythe ** 1/2  
The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket; illos Carson Ellis, music Nathaniel Stookey ** 1/2
Goldfish Ghost by Lemony Snicket, illos by Lisa Brown ** 1/2 
Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens ** 1/2
Overtime by Will Stronge and Kyle Lewis ** 1/2
Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace by Kate Summerscale ** 1/2 
Fingal O'Reilly, Irish Doctor (2013) ** 1/2 
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier ** 1/2
Taking Woodstock by Eliot Tiber with Tom Monte ** 1/2
High Strung: Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe And The Untold Story Of Tennis's Fiercest Rivalry by Stephen Tignor ** 1/2
The Sign Of The Cross: Travels In Catholic Europe by Colm Toibin ** 1/2
Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle Earth by J.R.R. Tolkein ** 1/2
The Children Of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien ** 1/2
The Torre Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci ** 1/2 
Conspiracy Of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner ** 1/2 
Cast Of Characters by Thomas Vinciguerra ** 1/2
Teddy and Co. by Cynthia Voigt ** 1/2
The Fantastic Family Whipple by Matthew Ward ** 1/2
War Of The World Records (The Family Whipple) by Matthew Ward **1/2
Murder At The Brightwell by Ashley Weaver ** 1/2
Home School by Charles Webb ** 1/2
I'm Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil ** 1/2
The Creepy Case Files Of Margo Maloo by Drew Weing ** 1/2 
The Dinosaur Artist by Paige Williams ** 1/2 
Why Priests? by Garry Wills ** 1/2
The Future Of The Catholic Church With Pope Francis by Garry Wills ** 1/2
Alif The Unseen by G. Willow Wilson ** 1/2
The Night In Question by Tobias Wolff ** 1/2
Reckless Daughter (Joni Mitchell bio) by David Yaffe ** 1/2
Lincoln's Boys by Joshua Zeitz ** 1/2
Hope by Richard Zoglin ** 1/2


TWO STARS

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams **
The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul by Douglas Adams **
Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie **
Bridle The Wind by Joan Aiken ** 
Apropos of Nothing by Woody Allen **
City Of The Beasts by Isabel Allende **
Kingdom Of The Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende ** 
Bad Day At Riverbend by Chris Van Allsburg **
Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg **
Be Careful What You Wish For (Clifton Chronicles Vol. 4) by Jeffrey Archer **
Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury by Isaac Asimov **
Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter by Isaac Asimov **
Lucky Starr and the Rings Of Saturn by Isaac Asimov **
Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov **
On Being: A Scientist's Exploration Of The Great Questions Of Existence by Peter Atkins **
Crispin: The Cross Of Lead by Avi **
Murder At Midnight by Avi **
The Book Without Words by Avi **
The School For Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin **
The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter **
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle **
High Jinx by William F. Buckley Jr. **
The Vast Fields Of Ordinary by Nick Burd **
Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs **
The Gods Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs **
Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher ** 
Last Summer In The City by Gianfranco Calligarich (1973) ** 
The Big Bazoohley by Peter Carey ** 
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky **
The Riddle Of The Sands by Erskine Childers ** 
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke **/ 
Unterzakhn by Leela Corman **
The Watsons Go To Birmingham -- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis **
Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl ** 
Matilda by Roald Dahl **
Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich **
Shadows On The Grass by Isak Dinesen **
Unforgivable by Phillipe Djian **
Jack Of Spies by David Downing **
Blockbusters by Anita Elberse **
The Malice Of Fortune by Michael Ennis **
Moonfleet by J. Meade Falkner **
The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg **
Toby And The Secrets Of The Tree by Timothee de Fombelle **
Cousins: A Memoir by Athol Fugard **
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner **
Angler by Barton Gellman (Dick Cheney book) **
A Matter For Men: War of The Chtorrs by David Gerrold **
Grief Cottage by Gail Goodwin **
Supreme Conflict by Jan Crawford Greenburg **
Animas: Legacy of The Claw by C.R. Grey **
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman **
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid **
We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler ** 
Dead As A Doornail by Charlaine Harris ** 
The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris ** 
Bishop's Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison **
Red Planet by Robert Heinlein **
The Pacific and Other Stories by Mark Helprin **
In Sunshine And In Shadow by Mark Helprin **
Paris In The Present Tense by Mark Helprin **
Nightbird by Alice Hoffman **
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm **
The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg **
A Bandit's Tale by Deborah Hopkinson **
The Falcon's Malteser by Anthony Horowitz **
Public Enemy Number Two by Anthony Horowitz **
Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz ** 
Subversive Orthodoxy by Robert Inchausti ** 
In One Person by John Irving **
We'll Always Have Casablanca by Noah Isenberg **
Sound Man by Glyn Johns **
Middle Passage by Charles Johnson **
Mygale by Thierry Jonquet **
The Trumpeter Of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly **
The Man Who Made Lists (Roget's Thesaurus) by Joshua Kendall ** 
Gasoline Alley: The Complete Sundays 1920-1922 Volume One by Frank King **  
Firestarter by Stephen King **
The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (2003 expanded edition) by Stephen King ** 
Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein ** 
Tightrope by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn ** 1/2
Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Journey by Kathryn Lasky **
Flight Of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon ** 
Out Of The Silent Planet by C.S.  Lewis **
Perelandra by C.S.  Lewis ** 
That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis **  
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis **   
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis **
The New New Thing by Michael Lewis **
Draw The Line by Laurent Linn **
A Pound Of Flesh by Art Linson **
The Voyages Of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting **
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum **
Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal **
Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal **
Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen In The 1980s by Dave Marsh **
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series  by Alexander McCall Smith ** or so 
Alternatives To Sex by Stephen McCauley **
The Mark Of Zorro by Johnston McCulley **
I Love You, Philip Morris by Steve McVicker ** (but story ***)
Valerian and Laureline: The Empire Of A Thousand Planets by JC Mezieres/P. Christin **
Greenglass House by Kate Milford **
Big Sky Mountain by Linda Lael Miller **
Mask Of Shadows by Linsey Miller **
Anne Of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery ** 
Girl by Blake Nelson **

Sabriel by Garth Nix ** 
The Borrowers Aloft by Mary Norton ** 
The Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older ** 
The Quick by Lauren Owen **
Grace After Midnight by Felicia Snoop Pearson **
The Double by George Pelecanos **
Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre **
Letters To his Neighbor by Marcel Proust, trans Lydia Davis **
Round by Joyce Sidman and Taeeun Yoo **
Spring-Heeled Jack by Philip Pullman **
Thunderbolt's Waxwork by Philip Pullman **
The Gasfitter's Ball by Philip Pullman **
The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman **
I Was A Rat! or, The Scarlet Slippers by Philip Pullman **
The Adventures Of John Blake: Mystery Of the Ghost Ship by Philip Pullman illos Fred Fordham **
The 500 by Matthew Quirk **
Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls ** 
The Common Good by Robert Reich **
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs **
The Remarkable Courtship Of General Tom Thumb by Nicholas Rinaldi **
A-Rod: The Many Lives Of Alex Rodriguez by Selena Roberts **
Divergent by Veronica Roth **
Sidney Chambers And The Shadow Of Death by James Runcie **
Drive by James Sallis ** 
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson ** 
Becoming Richard Pryor by Scott Saul ** 1/2
We Are All In The Dumps With Jack And Guy by Maurice Sendak **
Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds ** 
Stupid, Stupid Rat Tales by Jeff Smith et al **
Swarm Of Bees by Lemony Snicket, illos by Rilla Alexander ** 
Kipling’s Choice by Geert Spillebeen **

Six Amendments by John Paul Stevens ** 
An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor (2008) ** 
An Irish Country Christmas (2008) ** 
An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor (2010) ** 
An Irish Country...series by Patrick Taylor all about ** 
The Singapore Wink by Ross Thomas **
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne **
Lady Gregory's Toothbrush by Colm Toibin **
The Testament Of Mary by Colm Toibin **
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker **
Anything Could Happen by Will Walton **
Love, Roger by Charles Webb **
The Wages of Sin by Kaite Welsh **
The Married Man by Edmund White **
Fair Game by Valerie Plame Wilson **
Journey To Munich: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear **
News Prints by Ru Xu **
Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar **



ONE AND A HALF STARS

Mightier Than The Sword (Clifton Chronicles Vol. 5) by Jeffrey Archer * 1/2
Mr. Majeika by Humphrey Carpenter * 1/2
Then And Now by Barbara Cook * 1/2
Charlie and the Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl * 1/2
The Maze Runner by James Dashner * 1/2
"The Cricket On The Hearth" by Charles Dickens novella * 1/2 
I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan * 1/2

Making "Tootsie" by Susan Dworkin * 1/2
A Rage For Revenge: War of The Chtorrs by David Gerrold *1/2
Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War by Che Guevara * 1/2 
Bolivian Diary by Che Guevara * 1/2
I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes * 1/2 
Farmer In The Sky by Robert Heinlein (1950) * 1/2
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse * 1/2
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini * ½
The Last Lincoln Conspirator by Andrew Jampoler * 1/2
Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture by Kathryn Lasky *1/2
Guardians of Ga'Hoole: Rescue by Kathryn Lasky * 1/2 
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis * 1/2 
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis * 1/2 
The Silver Hearted by David McConnell * 1/2
Farm Boy by Michael Morpurgo * 1/2
Elect H. Mouse State Judge by Nelly Reifler * 1/2
Haroun and the Sea Of Stories by Salman Rushdie * 1/2
Playing By The Book by S. Chris Shirley * 1/2 
The Little Red Pen by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel * 1/2
Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir by John Paul Stevens * 1/2 
An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor * 1/2 


ONE STAR

A Wolf At The Table by Augusten Burroughs *
A Princess Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs * 
"The Chimes" by Charles Dickens novella * 
Trumpocalypse by David Frum * 
Dog Beach by John Fusco * 
The Reckoning by John Grisham * 
Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert Heinlein *
Cosmos Coyote and William The Nice by Jim Heynen *
Things I've Learned From Women Who Dumped Me edited by Ben Karlin * 
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis *  
A New York Christmas by Anne Perry * 
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Persig * 
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon * 
The Vampire Diaries: Awakening by L.J. Smith *


NO STARS


The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum – stopped, couldn’t keep reading



Updated December 31, 2023
#2 of 2024 

2 comments:

Unknown said...

There is no possible way you read all these books.

Michael Giltz said...

Ha! Don't forget -- I'm pretty old. When I was a kid, my school had a read-a-thon to raise money for some charity. Instead of sponsoring you for a run or walk-a-thon, it was a read-a-thon. They pledged X amount of money for every book you read within a month. I was over at the neighbor's house; they had a lot of kids and we knew them well. I asked the dad if he would sponsor me and he said sure, how about a dollar a book? The entire family exploded -- Dad! We'd go broke! Don't do it!

Of course that was when I was reading Hardy Boys and the like, stuff you can zoom through.

So, I'm old and it's my job to read books, watch movies, listen to music and so on. It's nice to have a job doing something you love.

Check out my music list:

https://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-best-books-of-all-time-master-list_55.html

My Movie list:

https://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2015/05/best-movies-of-year-master-list.html

And my theater list:

https://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2013/11/theater-master-list.html

I'm not just humble bragging. I love to think someone might look at them and discover a book or movie or album or tv show they'll come to love. Thanks for commenting!