2021

1 ⭐ Empty Space by M John Harrison. Sublime.

2 ⭐ Six Walks in the Fictional Woods by Umberto Eco.

3 Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Not bad.

4 The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa. An enjoyable novel.

5 ⭐ City of the Iron Fish by Simon Ings. A forgotten classic of gothic fantasy.

6 Spook Country by William Gibson. A reread.

7 Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin. Fine. Well done. A mood.

8 Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle. A good cosmic horror period piece.

9 ⭐ The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M John Harrison. I am going to need some time to process this and a reread to fully get it. There are pages and pages of this which are stunning and absolutely virtuosic.

10 The Little Goddess by Ian McDonald. A good post-cyberpunk novella.

11 We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. A surprisingly difficult read for me. Maybe not the best choice of novel to read when one is feeling imprisoned in a granite city.

11 ⭐ Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo. Six volumes. Excellent. The animated film from 1988 is a cut and remixed version of the then incomplete manga. This series is peerless in both its visual and written narrative.

12 How to Read Literature by Terry Eagleton. I read this to refresh and renew my perspectives on more critical reading practices. It was fine and provoked me in interesting ways, but aside froma couple of good anecdotes I’m not sure I’d recommend.

13 ⭐ Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks. Stunning.

14 334 by Thomas Dish. This took me longer to get through than I intended it to and I don’t love it, but I highly respect its cleverness. If I come back to this in a couple o years I’m sure I’ll love it.

15 Berserk vol1 by Kentaro Miura|. The first three chapters of a legendary dark fantasy manga. I’m cautiously hooked.

16 The Dying of the Light by George R R Martin. Not something I’d unconditionally recommend, but enjoyable enough.

17 Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczu Good. Builds slowly then snaps into place. I always find translations from Polish slightly difficult to maintain active enthusiasm with, and this was no different, but I persevered and was rewarded.