This is where I keep track of all the books I read during 2014. I’m recording a few key words next to each book (mostly as a reminder to myself), but there are also links to my reviews.
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164. J.B. Priestley, What a Life! (England, 1934/2014). Selected short stories, including some with a character named Hebblethwaite… [***]
163. Ryu Murahami, Audition (Japan, 1997/2019). Like Piercing, but not as good. [***]
162. Benjamin Lytal, A Map of Tulsa (USA, 2013). [***]
161. David Mitchell, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (England, 2010). [***]
160. Kirmen Uribe, Bilbao – New York – Bilbao (Spain, 2008/14). How to tell of past generations? [****]
159. Michel Laub, Diary of the Fall (Brazil, 2011/4). The Holocaust receding. [****]
158. Claire North, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (England, 2014). To save those who live again and again. [****]
157. A.L. Barker, Lost Journey (England, 1992). A ghost who can’t die.
156. Denis Johnson, Train Dreams (USA, 2002). The life and landscape of a labourer. [****]
155. Aliya Whiteley, The Beauty (England, 2014). The women have died; the Beauty take their place. [***]
154. Deborah Levy, An Amorous Discourse in the Suburbs of Hell (England, 1990). The angel and the accountant. [****]
153. George Szirtes, Uncle Zoltán: fragments (Hungary/UK, 2014). Bons mots from a Mitteleuropean raconteur. [***]
152. Andrew Kaufman, All My Friends Are Superheroes (Canada, 2003). In love with a superhero. [****]
151. Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend (Italy, 2012). Childhood, adolescence. [****]
150. Chuck Palahniuk, Survivor (USA, 1999).He survived the cult, but can he survive life? [***]
149. Ghalib Islam, Fire in the Unnameable Country (Canada/Bangladesh, 2014). [***]
148. Bogdan Suceavă, Miruna, a Tale (Romania, 2007/14). Myth bleeds into family history. [****]
147. Yan Ge, White Horse (China, 2008/14). Growing up, breaking apart. [***]
146. Gabriel García Márquez, No One Writes to the Colonel (Colombia, 1961/8). Waiting for the mail, and hope. [***]
145. Zadie Smith, The Embassy of Cambodia (England/Jamaica, 2013). A glimpse behind the walls. [****]
144. Pascal Garnier, The Islanders (France, 2010/4). They know where the bodies are buried. [***]
143. Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain (USA, 1997). The story of the film; never really came to life for me. [**]
142. Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines (England, 2001). Re-read for my book group; my extra twelve years as a reader have not been kind to it. [**]
141. Judith Schalansky, The Giraffe’s Neck (Germany, 2011/4). A biology teacher must adapt to survive. [***]
140. Ali Smith, How to be both (Scotland, 2014). The modern English girl and the Renaissance artist. [****]
139. Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave (USA, 1853). An account of being sold into slavery and rescued. [***]
138. Andreas Maier, The Room (Germany, 2010/4). The life of Uncle J. [****]
137. Laird Barron and Michael Kelly (eds.), Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume 1(Various, 2014). Too recursive for its own good. [**]
136. Paul Gallico, Mrs Harris MP (USA, 1965). The charwoman gets elected. [***]
135. Stephen Gallagher, Rain (England, 1990). In search of her sister’s killer. [***]
134. Paul B. Thompson, Thorn and Needle (USA, 1992). Destroying the Fact. [***]
133. Tore Renberg, See You Tomorrow (Norway, 2013/4). Three days of secrets. [***]
132. Janice Galloway, The Trick Is To Keep Breathing (Scotland, 1989). A kaleidoscopic view of one woman’s breakdown. [****}
131. Steve Haynes (ed.), The Best British Fantasy 2014 (UK, 2014). The second annual anthology form Salt. [***]
130. Slavoj Žižek and Srećko Horvat, What Does Europe Want? (Slovenia/Croatia, 2013). Non-fiction: essays on the present and future of Europe. [***]
129. Julie Schumacher, Dear Committee Members (USA, 2014). The letters of a frustrated – and maybe deluded – professor. [****]
128. Simon Critchley, Memory Theatre (England, 2014). Essay into fiction, and the space of memory. [***]
127. Marek Waldorf, Widow’s Dozen (USA, 2014). A broken story collection set in a world with broken physics. [***]
126. John Wyndham, The Midwich Cuckoos (England, 1957). The superior Children. [****]
125. Niven Govinden, All the Days and Nights (England, 2014). The artist and her muse. [****]
124. The BBC National Short Story Award 2014 (Various, 2014). The Award anthology. [***]
123. Alice Furse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (England, 2014). Adrift in your twenties. [***]
122. Patricia A. McKillip, Ombria in Shadow (USA, 2002). Magical intrigue as the city renews. [****]
121. Paul Ewen, Francis Plug: How to Be a Public Author (New Zealand, 2014). Meeting the Booker winners and holding on. [***]
120. Marina Mander, The First True Lie (Italy, 2011/4). A boy won’t tell that his mother has gone. [***]
119. Tomás González, In the Beginning Was the Sea (Colombia, 1983/2014). The Good Life turns sour. [***]
118. Anneliese Mackintosh, Any Other Mouth (England, 2014). Stories of the author’s life, and more. [****]
117. Mark Watson, Hotel Alpha (England/Wales, 2014). Forty years of a hotel and its people. [****]
116. Nevil Shute, A Town Like Alice (England, 1950). Building a new life in Australia. [***]
115. Paul Kingsnorth, The Wake (England, 2014). The cusp of change in medieval England. [****]
114. Stefanie de Velasco, Tiger Milk (Germany, 2013/4). A summer of growing up. [***]
113. Mathias Enard, Zone (France, 2008/10). A train journey through war-scarred Europe. [****]
112. Marco Malvadi, The Art of Killing Well (Italy, 2011/14). Jolly murder mystery starring Italy’s first cookery writer. [***]
111. Annie Ernaux, A Woman’s Story (France, 1988/90). Non-fiction: powerful memoir about the author’s mother. [****]
110. José Carlos Llop, The Stein Report (Spain, 1995/2014). A newcomer at school; secrets of the adult world. [****]
109. Nicholas Royle (ed.), The Best British Short Stories 2014 (UK, 2014). Latest in the anthology series. [***]
108. Ha-Joon Chang, Economics: The User’s Guide (South Korea, 2014). Non-fiction: first title from the revived Pelican Books. [***]
107. Sarah Maine, Bhalla Strand (England, 2014). Past and present mystery on a Scottish island. [***]
106. Andrew Crofts, Confessions of a Ghostwriter (England, 2014). Non-fiction: the life of a hidden writer. [***]
105. Janina Matthewson, Of Things Gone Astray (New Zealand, 2014). Finding yourself after losing something. [****]
104. Nina Allan, The Race (England, 2014). Smartdogs and lost, fragile people. [****]
103. Neil Williamson, The Moon King (Scotland, 2014). A city that waxes and wanes with the moon. [***]
102. Nikesh Shukla, Meatspace (England/India, 2014). An online double in the real world. [***]
101. Nat Segnit, Pub Walks in Underhill Country (England, 2011). Re-read: still marvellous. [****]
100. Agota Kristof, The Notebook (Hungary, 1986/9). Two books do what they must to survive. [****]
99. Joanna Russ, The Female Man (USA, 1975). A woman in four worlds. [****]
98. Yoko Ogawa, The Housekeeper and the Professor (Japan, 2003/8). While life changes, mathematics remains. [****]/
97. Ioanna Bourazopoulou, What Lot’s Wife Saw (Greece, 2007/13). A murder mystery trapped in letters. [****]
96. Llwyd Owen, Faith, Hope & Love (Wales, 2006/10). A man veers off the trackss, before and after prison. [***]
95. Alex Dally MacFarlane (ed.), Aliens: Recent Encounters (various, 2013). An anthology of alien stories. [***]
94. Caryl Lewis, Martha, Jack & Shanco (Wales, 2004/7). Siblings tied to the farm. [***]
93. Andrew Crumey, Mobius Dick (Scotland, 2004). A battle of reality, art, and science. [****]
92. Andrew Crumey, Mr Mee (Scotland, 2000). The search for a new (old) theory of the universe. [***]
91. Jessie Burton, The Miniaturist (England, 2014). Women’s and men’s lives in Golden Age Amsterdam. [****]
90. Ivo Stourton, The Happier Dead (England, 2014). The death of eternal youth. [***]
89. Tony Black, Artefacts of the Dead (Scotland, 2014). Uninvolving crime novel. [**]
88. Angharad Price, The Life of Rebecca Jones (Wales, 2002/10). A family and their valley. [****]
87. Susan Barker, The Incarnations (England/Malaysia, 2014). The lives of a Beijing taxi driver/ [***]
86. Markus Zusak, The Book Thief (Australia, 2005). Re-read: it’s OK, but I still can’t understand the adulation this book inspires. [***]
85. Hamid Ismailov, The Dead Lake (Uzbekistan, 2011/14). A boy who never grows up, in the shadow of Chernobyl. [****]
84. Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park (USA, 1990). Oh dear. [**]
83. Julia Crouch, The Long Fall (England, 2014). A woman’s past returns to life. [***]
82. Juli Zeh, Decompression (Germany, 2012/14). Different views of a love triangle. [***]
81. Gareth R. Roberts, Whatever Happened to Billy Parks? (Wales, 2013). A footballer’s second chance at glory. [****]
80. Cynan Jones, The Dig (Wales, 2014). The farmer and the badger-digger. [****]
79. Lesley Glaister, Little Egypt (England, 2014). Family secrets; trapped by obsession. [***]
78. Harry Karlinsky, The Stonehenge Letters (Canada, 2014). The secret Nobel Prize… or is it? [***]
77. Charles Lambert, With a Zero at its Heart (England, 2014). Fragments of memory. [****]
76. Paul Wilson, Mouse and the Cossacks (England, 2013). Finding a voice while others lose theirs. [***]
75. Valerio Massimo Manfredi, The Ides of March (Italy, 2009). Not too enamoured of this thriller about Caesar. [**]
74. Cristina Henríquez, The Book of Unknown Americans (USA/Panama, 2014). Across the border. [***]
73. Linda Mannheim, Above Sugar Hill (USA, 2014). Tales from Washington Heights, Manhattan. [***]
72. Emma Healey, Elizabeth is Missing (England, 2014). A woman with dementia has a mystery to solve. [*****]
71. David Safier, Apocalypse Next Tuesday (Germany, 2008/14). The end of the world and the beginning of love. [***]
70. Timur Vermes, Look Who’s Back (Germany, 2012/14). Hitler returns with his own show. [****]
69. Kate Clanchy, Meeting the English (Scotland, 2013). The playwright’s assistant. [***]
68. Lois Lowry, The Giver (USA, 1993). Uncovering the secrets of a structured society. [****]
67. Kirsty Logan, The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales (Scotland, 2014). Tales of love and other strange phenomena. [****]
66. Andy Miller, The Year of Reading Dangerously (England, 2014; non-fiction). Reigniting the spark of reading. [****]
65. Sathnam Sanghera, Marriage Material (England/India, 2013). Three generations and the family corner shop. [***]
64. Jason Hewitt, The Dynamite Room (England, 2014). A girl and a German soldier. [***]
63. Peter Buwalda, Bonita Avenue (Netherlands, 2010/14). A family (saga) thrown off balance. [****]
62. Robert Allison, The Letter Bearer (England, 2014). An amnesiac searches for a place in wartime northern Africa. [***]
61. Sam Byers, Idiopathy (England, 2013). Old friends and catatonic cattle. [***]
60. Dave Eggers, A Hologram for the King (USA, 2012). One last hope, in work and life. [***]
59. Elvira Dones, Sworn Virgin (Albania, 2007/14). Readjusting to life as a woman. [****]
58. Eimear McBride, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing (Ireland, 2013). Powerful, harrowing stuff. [*****]
57. Anna Jaquiery, The Lying-Down Room (France, 2014). The Parisian detective and the Russian orphan. [***]
56. Kameron Hurley, God’s War (USA, 2011). Action-adventure sf as it should be. [****]
55. James Smythe, The Machine (England, 2013). The perils of restoring memories. [****]
54. D.W. Wilson, Ballistics (Canada, 2013). Rural male North-Americana. [***]
53. Phillip Mann, The Disestablishment of Paradise (New Zealand/UK, 2013). I wish I could forget this one, too. [**]
52. Nathan Filer, The Shock of the Fall (England, 2013). Portrait of a damaged brother. [****]
51. Katharine Grant, Sedition (England, 2014). Learning the piano as an act of rebellion. [****]
50. Donal Ryan, The Spinning Heart (Ireland, 2012). A chorus affected by financial collapse. [****]
49. Oscar Coop-Phane, Zenith Hotel (France, (2012/14). A streetwalker and her clients. [***]
48. Ramez Naam, Nexus (USA/Egypt, 2013). Actually, I’d rather forget this one. [**]
47. Ann Leckie, Ancillary Justice (USA, 2013). A tale of revenge in space. [**]
46. Jake Wallis Simons, Jam (England, 2014). Stuck on the M25. [***]
45. Julie Otsuka, The Buddha in the Attic (USA/Japan, 2011). Re-read: as good as I remember. [****]
44. Jón Kalman Stefánsson, The Sorrow of Angels (Iceland, 2009/13). Sequel to Heaven and Hell. [****]
43. Julia Franck, Back to Back (Germany, 2011/13). Children of East Germany. [***]
42. Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Heaven and Hell (Iceland, 2007/10). A journey in storm-tossed prose. [****]
41. Ma Jian, The Dark Road (China, 2013). A mother’s freedom. [****]
40. Jeremy P. Bushnell, The Weirdness (USA, 2014). A strange way to learn life. [***]
39. Andrej Longo, Ten (Italy, 2007/13). The Ten Commandments in Naples. [****]
38. Hiromi Kawakami, Strange Weather in Tokyo (Japan, 2001/12). Re-read: I liked it better the second time. [****]
37. Sinan Antoon, The Corpse Washer (Iraq, 2010/13). Death and life in Baghdad. [***]
36. Auđur Ava Ólafsdóttir, Butterflies in November (Iceland, 2004/13). A distant road trip. [***]
35. Karl Ove Knausgaard, A Man in Love (Norway, 2009/13). The second volume of My Struggle. [***]
34. Yoko Ogawa, Revenge (Japan, 1998/2013). Interlinked, macabre tales. [****]
33. Hubert Mingarelli, A Meal in Winter (France, 2012/3). The German guards and their Jewish prisoner. [***]
32. Javier Marías, The Infatuations (Spain, 2012). What can be known about a murder? [****]
31. Andreȉ Makine, Brief Loves that Live Forever (Russia, 2011/3). The transitory outlives the permanent. [****]
30. Rachel Kushner, The Flamethrowers (USA, 2013). Performance, art, and motorcycles. [***]
29. Graham Greene, The Quiet American (England, 1955). The morality of war in Indochina. [****]
28. Rebecca Hunt, Everland (England, 2014). Parallel Antarctic expeditions. [***]
27. Karl Ove Knausgaard, A Death in the Family (Norway, 2009/12). The first volume of My Struggle. [****]
26. Tamara Astafieva, Born in Siberia (Russia, non-fiction, 2014), Memoir and poems. [***]
25. Dave Hutchinson, Europe in Autumn (England, 2014). The map of Europe redrawn. [***]
24. Emma J. Lannie, Behind a Wardrobe in Atlantis (England, 2014). Fairytale-tinged slices of life. [***]
23. Helen Oyeyemi, Boy, Snow, Bird (England/Nigeria, 2014). Wicked stepmothers and mirrors in Massachusetts [****]
22. Carlos Busqued, Under This Terrible Sun (Argentina, 2009/13). An insurance scam turns sour. [***]
21. Nihad Sirees, The Silence and the Roar (Syria, 2004/13). What place for a writer not permitted to write? [***]
20. Pasi Ilmari Jäaskeläinen, The Rabbit Back Literature Society (Finland, 2006/13). A town infested with story. [***]
19. Roelof Bakker & Jane Wildgoose, Strong Room (Netherlands/England, non-fiction, 2014). The permanent and the transient. [****]
18. Koren Zalickas, Mother, Mother (USA, 2013). A family in danger from within. [***]
17. Antti Tuomainen, The Healer (Finland, 2010/3). Near-future disappearance. [***]
16, Naomi Wood, Mrs. Hemingway (England, 2014). The women married to Ernest. [****]
15. Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon (Hungary, 1940). The interrogation of Rubashov. [***]
14. Eliza Granville, Gretel and the Dark (England, 2014). Fairytales brought to life. [***]
13. Srikumar Sen, The Skinning Tree (India, 2012). Boarding school tragedy. [***]
12. Dr Benjamin Daniels, Further Confessions of a GP (UK, non-fiction, 2014). A doctor’s tales. [****]
11. Shani Boianjiu, The People of Forever are Not Afraid(Israel, 2012). Army service without combat. [***]
10. Joanna Kavenna, Come to the Edge (England, 2012). Battle of the second homes. [****]
9. Fuminori Nakamura, The Thief (Japan, 2009/12). Layers of theft and manipulation. [****]
8. Otto de Kat, News from Berlin (Netherlands, 2012/14). A diplomat’s dilemma. [***]
7. Yoko Ogawa, The Diving Pool (Japan, 1990-1/2008). Three spare, subtly sinister novellas. [***]
6. Ray Robinson, Jawbone Lake (England, 2014). A thriller plot intrudes on a grieving family. [****]
5. Hanna Krall, Chasing the King of Hearts (Poland, 2006/13). A Holocaust love story. [****]
4. Romain Slocombe, Monsieur le Commandant (France, 2011/13). A wartime confession and condemnation. [****]
3. Anna Hope, Wake (England, 2014). Waiting for the Unknown Warrior. [****]
2. Lee Ki-ho, At Least We Can Apologize (South Korea, 2008/13). Extreme fault-finding. [****]
1. Katharina Hagena, The Taste of Apple Seeds (Germany, 2008/13). Old house; family secrets. [***]
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I like this idea of keeping a list of books read. On my blog I don’t review everything – partly through time constraints – so might try something similar. Followed a link here from Max Cairnduff’s review on Pechorin’s Journal of Eleanor Catton’s The Rehearsal, and have enjoyed reading your blog.
Thanks, I’m really glad you enjoyed the blog! I’ve kept private lists of books read in the past, but it was actually the time constraints you mention that led me to start posting them on the blog – knowing I wouldn’t be able to review everything made me want to have some place to record it all.