CuriousGeorgette

Golden Witchbreed - Mary Gentle A first contact story in which Lynne de Lisle Christie, a British envoy arrives on Orthe to make contacts for future business. Orthe is a post-apocalyptic world in which various myths and superstitions have arisen about the 'Goldens' the previously technologically advanced race that caused the catastrophe. Lynne is blonde which results in her being viewed with a lot of hatred and fear. Despite having strict instructions not to become involved with the locals, she does. The story is basically about how she survives the local politics. It is grand adventure on another world, with politics, intriguing people, romance, betrayal and survival. Contact - Carl Sagan - deals with the theme of contact between humanity and a more technologically advanced, extraterrestrial life form. Rather more philosophical in some aspects. Some authors I can suggest you look at - Robert Heinlein - Friday and The Cat Who Walked Through Walls spring to mind. Julian May - series but very good. Pliocene Exiles deals with a future earth that solves the problem of misfits in society by sending them on a way trip to the Pliocene. It's got everything - aliens, advanced technology, alternate history of earth, time travel etc. Anne McCaffrey - also lots of series - her "The Ship Who' series are really good. Also all her novels set on Pern. The story of Pern is that a ship load of immigrants headed for another planet entirely crashes on Pern. The original ship people realised that a. help was never coming and b. they had to set up a self sufficient non-technological society for when all their hi-tech ran out of juice and spare parts and failed. Robert J. Sawyers Neanderthal series (3 books Hominids, Humans and Hybrids) are just about the best recent sci-fi I have read. Parallel worlds cross paths when a Neanderthal science experiment ends up sending a Neanderthal to earth.

Scarlett O'Hara must be one of the most unlikeable characters I have ever had the misfortune to read.

Salman Rushdie Tash Aw Conn Iggulden

So that makes 220 books read on the list, which is not bad going. One thing that I did note however while going through the list that there were a number of authors whom I have read - just not the book(s) on this list and also that some titles represent a bulk of reading behind them. Authors I have read (just to name a few): Colm Tóibín Philip Roth J.M. Coetzee Iain Banks J.G. Ballard Joyce Carol Oates Toni Morrison Joseph Conrad Samuel Beckett Doris Lessing Nadine Gordimer Paulo Coelho Samuel Beckett H.P. Lovecraft Authors who represent much reading outside this list: Aldous Huxley Raymond Chandler John Irving William Rice Burroughs Douglas Adams Elmore Leonard John Le Carré Robert Heinlein Stanislaw Lem John Fowles Salman Rushdie H.P. Lovecraft Dorothy L. Sayers

Strike through are books I have read and red text are books on my current TBR pile. Pre-1700 1001. Aesop’s Fables – Aesopus 1000. Metamorphoses – Ovid 999. Chaireas and Kallirhoe – Chariton 998. Aithiopika – Heliodorus 997. The Golden Ass – Lucius Apuleius 996. The Thousand and One Nights – Anonymous 995. Gargantua and Pantagruel – François Rabelais 994. Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit – John Lyly 993. The Unfortunate Traveller – Thomas Nashe 992. Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 991. The Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyan 990. The Princess of Clèves – Marie-Madelaine Pioche de Lavergne, Comtesse de La Fayette 989. Oroonoko – Aphra Behn 1700s 988. A Tale of a Tub – Jonathan Swift 987. Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe 986. Love in Excess – Eliza Haywood 985. Moll Flanders – Daniel Defoe 984. Roxana – Daniel Defoe 983. Gulliver’s Travels – Jonathan Swift 982. A Modest Proposal – Jonathan Swift 981. Joseph Andrews – Henry Fielding 980. Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus – J. Arbuthnot, J. Gay, T. Parnell, A. Pope, J. Swift 979. Pamela – Samuel Richardson 978. Clarissa – Samuel Richardson 977. Roderick Random – Tobias George Smollett 976. Tom Jones – Henry Fielding 975. Fanny Hill – John Cleland 974. Peregrine Pickle – Tobias George Smollett 973. Amelia – Henry Fielding 972. The Female Quixote – Charlotte Lennox 971. Candide – Voltaire 970. Rasselas – Samuel Johnson 969. Julie; or, the New Eloise – Jean-Jacques Rousseau 968. Rameau’s Nephew – Denis Diderot 967. Émile; or, On Education – Jean-Jacques Rousseau 966. The Castle of Otranto – Horace Walpole 965. The Vicar of Wakefield – Oliver Goldsmith 964. Tristram Shandy – Laurence Sterne 963. A Sentimental Journey – Laurence Sterne 962. The Man of Feeling – Henry Mackenzie 961. Humphrey Clinker – Tobias George Smollett 960. The Sorrows of Young Werther – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 959. Evelina – Fanny Burney 958. Reveries of a Solitary Walker – Jean-Jacques Rousseau 957. Dangerous Liaisons – Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 956. Confessions – Jean-Jacques Rousseau 955. Cecilia – Fanny Burney 954. The 120 Days of Sodom – Marquis de Sade 953. Vathek – William Beckford 952. Justine – Marquis de Sade 951. The Adventures of Caleb Williams – William Godwin 950. The Interesting Narrative – Olaudah Equiano 949. The Mysteries of Udolpho – Ann Radcliffe 948. Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 947. The Monk – M.G. Lewis 946. Camilla – Fanny Burney 945. Jacques the Fatalist – Denis Diderot 944. The Nun – Denis Diderot 943. Hyperion – Friedrich Hölderlin 1800s 942. Castle Rackrent – Maria Edgeworth 941. Elective Affinities – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 940. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen 939. The Absentee – Maria Edgeworth 938. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen 937. Mansfield Park – Jane Austen 936. Emma – Jane Austen 935. Rob Roy – Sir Walter Scott 934. Ormond – Maria Edgeworth 933. Persuasion – Jane Austen 932. Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen 931. Frankenstein – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 930. Ivanhoe – Sir Walter Scott 929. The Monastery – Sir Walter Scott 928. Melmoth the Wanderer – Charles Robert Maturin 927. The Albigenses – Charles Robert Maturin 926. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner – James Hogg 925. Last of the Mohicans – James Fenimore Cooper 924. The Betrothed – Alessandro Manzoni 923. The Red and the Black – Stendhal 922. The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Victor Hugo 921. Eugénie Grandet – Honoré de Balzac 920. Le Père Goriot – Honoré de Balzac 919. The Nose – Nikolay Gogol 918. Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens 917. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby – Charles Dickens 916. The Fall of the House of Usher – Edgar Allan Poe 915. The Charterhouse of Parma – Stendhal 914. Dead Souls – Nikolay Gogol 913. A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 912. Lost Illusions – Honoré de Balzac 911. The Pit and the Pendulum – Edgar Allan Poe 910. Martin Chuzzlewit – Charles Dickens 909. The Purloined Letter – Edgar Allan Poe 908. The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas 907. La Reine Margot – Alexandre Dumas 906. The Count of Monte-Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 905. Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray 904. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë 903. Agnes Grey – Anne Brontë 902. Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë 901. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë 900. Mary Barton – Elizabeth Gaskell 899. Shirley – Charlotte Brontë 898. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens 897. The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne 896. Moby-Dick – Herman Melville 895. The House of the Seven Gables – Nathaniel Hawthorne 894. The Blithedale Romance – Nathaniel Hawthorne 893. Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lonely – Harriet Beecher Stowe 892. Cranford – Elizabeth Gaskell 891. Villette – Charlotte Brontë 890. Bleak House – Charles Dickens 889. Walden – Henry David Thoreau 888. Hard Times – Charles Dickens 887. North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell 886. Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert 885. Adam Bede – George Eliot 884. Oblomovka – Ivan Goncharov 883. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 882. Max Havelaar – Multatuli 881. The Marble Faun – Nathaniel Hawthorne 880. The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins 879. The Mill on the Floss – George Eliot 878. Castle Richmond – Anthony Trollope 877. On the Eve – Ivan Turgenev 876. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens 875. Silas Marner – George Eliot 874. Fathers and Sons – Ivan Turgenev 873. Les Misérables – Victor Hugo 872. The Water-Babies – Charles Kingsley 871. Notes from the Underground – Fyodor Dostoevsky 870. Uncle Silas – Sheridan Le Fanu 869. Our Mutual Friend – Charles Dickens 868. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll 867. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky 866. Journey to the Centre of the Earth – Jules Verne 865. The Last Chronicle of Barset – Anthony Trollope 864. Thérèse Raquin – Émile Zola 863. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott 862. The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins 861. The Idiot – Fyodor Dostoevsky 860. Maldoror – Comte de Lautréaumont 859. Phineas Finn – Anthony Trollope 858. Sentimental Education – Gustave Flaubert 857. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy 856. He Knew He Was Right – Anthony Trollope 855. King Lear of the Steppes – Ivan Turgenev 854. Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There – Lewis Carroll 853. Middlemarch – George Eliot 852. Spring Torrents – Ivan Turgenev 851. Erewhon – Samuel Butler 850. The Devils – Fyodor Dostoevsky 849. In a Glass Darkly – Sheridan Le Fanu 848. Around the World in Eighty Days – Jules Verne 847. The Enchanted Wanderer – Nicolai Leskov 846. Far from the Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy 845. The Temptation of Saint Anthony – Gustave Flaubert 844. The Hand of Ethelberta – Thomas Hardy 843. Daniel Deronda – George Eliot 842. Virgin Soil – Ivan Turgenev 841. Drunkard – Émile Zola 840. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy 839. Return of the Native – Thomas Hardy 838. The Red Room – August Strindberg 837. The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky 836. Nana – Émile Zola 835. Ben-Hur – Lew Wallace 834. Bouvard and Pécuchet – Gustave Flaubert 833. The Portrait of a Lady – Henry James 832. The House by the Medlar Tree – Giovanni Verga 831. Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson 830. A Woman’s Life – Guy de Maupassant 829. The Death of Ivan Ilyich – Leo Tolstoy 828. Against the Grain – Joris-Karl Huysmans 827. Marius the Epicurean – Walter Pater 826. Bel-Ami – Guy de Maupassant 825. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain 824. Germinal – Émile Zola 823. King Solomon’s Mines – H. Rider Haggard 822. Kidnapped – Robert Louis Stevenson 821. The Mayor of Casterbridge – Thomas Hardy 820. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson 819. She – H. Rider Haggard 818. The Woodlanders – Thomas Hardy 817. The People of Hemsö – August Strindberg 816. Fortunata and Jacinta – Benito Pérez Galdés 815. Pierre and Jean – Guy de Maupassant 814. The Master of Ballantrae – Robert Louis Stevenson 813. Hunger – Knut Hamsun 812. By the Open Sea – August Strindberg 811. La Bête Humaine – Émile Zola 810. The Kreutzer Sonata – Leo Tolstoy 809. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde 808. Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy 807. Gösta Berling’s Saga – Selma Lagerlöf 806. New Grub Street – George Gissing 805. News from Nowhere – William Morris 804. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 803. Diary of a Nobody – George & Weedon Grossmith 802. Born in Exile – George Gissing 801. The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman 800. The Real Charlotte – Somerville and Ross 799. Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy 798. Effi Briest – Theodore Fontane 797. The Time Machine – H.G. Wells 796. The Island of Dr. Moreau – H.G. Wells 795. Quo Vadis – Henryk Sienkiewicz 794. Dracula – Bram Stoker 793. Fruits of the Earth – André Gide 792. What Maisie Knew – Henry James 791. The Invisible Man – H.G. Wells 790. The War of the Worlds – H.G. Wells 789. The Turn of the Screw – Henry James 788. The Awakening – Kate Chopin 787. The Stechlin – Theodore Fontane 786. Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. – Somerville and Ross 1900s 785. Lord Jim – Joseph Conrad 784. Sister Carrie – Theodore Dreiser 783. Kim – Rudyard Kipling 782. Buddenbrooks – Thomas Mann 781. The Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 780. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad 779. The Wings of the Dove – Henry James 778. The Immoralist – André Gide 777. The Riddle of the Sands – Erskine Childers 776. The Ambassadors – Henry James 775. The Golden Bowl – Henry James 774. Hadrian the Seventh – Frederick Rolfe 773. Nostromo – Joseph Conrad 772. Where Angels Fear to Tread – E.M. Forster 771. Professor Unrat – Heinrich Mann 770. The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton 769. The Forsyte Sage – John Galsworthy 768. Young Törless – Robert Musil 767. The Jungle – Upton Sinclair 766. The Secret Agent – Joseph Conrad 765. Mother – Maxim Gorky 764. The House on the Borderland – William Hope Hodgson 763. The Old Wives’ Tale – Arnold Bennett 762. The Iron Heel – Jack London 761. A Room With a View – E.M. Forster 760. The Inferno – Henri Barbusse 759. Tono-Bungay – H.G. Wells 758. Strait is the Gate – André Gide 757. Martin Eden – Jack London 756. Three Lives – Gertrude Stein 755. Impressions of Africa – Raymond Roussel 754. Howards End – E.M. Forster 753. Fantômas – Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre 752. Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton 751. The Charwoman’s Daughter – James Stephens 750. Death in Venice – Thomas Mann 749. Sons and Lovers – D.H. Lawrence 748. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – Robert Tressell 747. Tarzan of the Apes – Edgar Rice Burroughs 746. Rosshalde – Herman Hesse 745. Locus Solus – Raymond Roussel 744. Kokoro – Natsume Soseki 743. The Thirty-Nine Steps – John Buchan 742. The Rainbow – D.H. Lawrence 741. Of Human Bondage – William Somerset Maugham 740. The Voyage Out – Virginia Woolf 739. The Good Soldier – Ford Madox Ford 738. Rashomon – Akutagawa Ryunosuke 737. Under Fire – Henri Barbusse 736. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce 735. Bunner Sisters – Edith Wharton 734. Growth of the Soil – Knut Hamsen 733. Summer – Edith Wharton 732. The Shadow Line – Joseph Conrad 731. The Return of the Soldier – Rebecca West 730. Tarr – Wyndham Lewis 729. Night and Day – Virginia Woolf 728. Women in Love – D.H. Lawrence 727. Main Street – Sinclair Lewis 726. The Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton 725. Crome Yellow – Aldous Huxley 724. The Fox – D.H. Lawrence 723. Ulysses – James Joyce 722. Babbitt – Sinclair Lewis 721. Aaron’s Rod – D.H. Lawrence 720. The Last Days of Humanity – Karl Kraus 719. Life and Death of Harriett Frean – May Sinclair 718. The Glimpses of the Moon – Edith Wharton 717. Siddhartha – Herman Hesse 716. Jacob’s Room – Virginia Woolf 715. The Enormous Room – E.E. Cummings 714. The Garden Party – Katherine Mansfield 713. Amok – Stefan Zweig 712. Antic Hay – Aldous Huxley 711. Cane – Jean Toomer 710. Zeno’s Conscience – Italo Svevo 709. The Devil in the Flesh – Raymond Radiguet 708. A Passage to India – E.M. Forster 707. We – Yevgeny Zamyatin 706. The Magic Mountain – Thomas Mann 705. The Green Hat – Michael Arlen 704. Billy Budd, Foretopman – Herman Melville 703. The Professor’s House – Willa Cather 702. The Artamonov Business – Maxim Gorky 701. The Trial – Franz Kafka 700. The Counterfeiters – André Gide 699. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald 698. Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf 697. Manhattan Transfer – John Dos Passos 696. The Making of Americans – Gertrude Stein 695. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – Agatha Christie 694. One, None and a Hundred Thousand – Luigi Pirandello 693. The Plumed Serpent – D.H. Lawrence 692. The Good Soldier Švejk – Jaroslav Hašek 691. The Castle – Franz Kafka 690. Blindness – Henry Green 689. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway 688. Amerika – Franz Kafka 687. Tarka the Otter – Henry Williamson 686. To The Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf 685. Remembrance of Things Past – Marcel Proust 684. Steppenwolf – Herman Hesse 683. Nadja – André Breton 682. Parade’s End – Ford Madox Ford 681. Quicksand – Nella Larsen 680. Decline and Fall – Evelyn Waugh 679. Quartet – Jean Rhys 678. The Childermass – Wyndham Lewis 677. The Well of Loneliness – Radclyffe Hall 676. Lady Chatterley’s Lover – D.H. Lawrence 675. Orlando – Virginia Woolf 674. Story of the Eye – Georges Bataille 673. Look Homeward, Angel – Thomas Wolfe 672. Les Enfants Terribles – Jean Cocteau 671. The Sound and the Fury – William Faulkner 670. Harriet Hume – Rebecca West 669. The Last September – Elizabeth Bowen 668. Berlin Alexanderplatz – Alfred Döblin 667. All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque 666. The Time of Indifference – Alberto Moravia 665. Living – Henry Green 664. Red Harvest – Dashiell Hammett 663. A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway 662. Passing – Nella Larsen 661. Hebdomeros – Giorgio de Chirico 660. The Maltese Falcon – Dashiell Hammett 659. Vile Bodies – Evelyn Waugh 658. Her Privates We – Frederic Manning 657. The Apes of God – Wyndham Lewis 656. Cakes and Ale – W. Somerset Maugham 655. The Glass Key – Dashiell Hammett 654. The Waves – Virginia Woolf 653. The Radetzky March – Joseph Roth 652. The Thin Man – Dashiell Hammett 651. To the North – Elizabeth Bowen 650. Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons 649. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley 648. Journey to the End of the Night – Louis-Ferdinand Céline 647. A Scots Quair (Sunset Song) – Lewis Grassic Gibbon 646. The Man Without Qualities – Robert Musil 645. A Day Off – Storm Jameson 644. Testament of Youth – Vera Brittain 643. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas – Gertrude Stein 642. Murder Must Advertise – Dorothy L. Sayers 641. Miss Lonelyhearts – Nathanael West 640. Call it Sleep – Henry Roth 639. Thank You, Jeeves – P.G. Wodehouse 638. Tender is the Night – F. Scott Fitzgerald 637. A Handful of Dust – Evelyn Waugh 636. Tropic of Cancer – Henry Miller 635. The Postman Always Rings Twice – James M. Cain 634. Novel With Cocaine – M. Ageyev 633. Threepenny Novel – Bertolt Brecht 632. The Nine Tailors – Dorothy L. Sayers 631. Burmese Days – George Orwell 630. England Made Me – Graham Greene 629. The House in Paris – Elizabeth Bowen 628. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? – Horace McCoy 627. The Last of Mr. Norris – Christopher Isherwood 626. Auto-da-Fé – Elias Canetti 625. Independent People – Halldór Laxness 624. Nightwood – Djuna Barnes 623. At the Mountains of Madness – H.P. Lovecraft 622. Absalom, Absalom! – William Faulkner 621. Wild Harbour – Ian MacPherson 620. Keep the Aspidistra Flying – George Orwell 619. Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell 618. The Thinking Reed – Rebecca West 617. Eyeless in Gaza – Aldous Huxley 616. Summer Will Show – Sylvia Townsend Warner 615. To Have and Have Not – Ernest Hemingway 614. Out of Africa – Isak Dineson (Karen Blixen) 613. The Revenge for Love – Wyndham Lewis 612. In Parenthesis – David Jones 611. The Years – Virginia Woolf 610. The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien 609. Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston 608. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 607. Murphy – Samuel Beckett 606. U.S.A. – John Dos Passos 605. Brighton Rock – Graham Greene 604. Cause for Alarm – Eric Ambler 603. Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier 602. Nausea – Jean-Paul Sartre 601. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day – Winifred Watson 600. After the Death of Don Juan – Sylvie Townsend Warner 599. The Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler 598. Good Morning, Midnight – Jean Rhys 597. Tropic of Capricorn – Henry Miller 596. Goodbye to Berlin – Christopher Isherwood 595. Coming Up for Air – George Orwell 594. At Swim-Two-Birds – Flann O’Brien 593. Finnegans Wake – James Joyce 592. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 591. Party Going – Henry Green 590. The Tartar Steppe – Dino Buzzati 589. The Power and the Glory – Graham Greene 588. Native Son – Richard Wright 587. For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway 586. Farewell My Lovely – Raymond Chandler 585. The Hamlet – William Faulkner 584. Between the Acts – Virginia Woolf 583. Hangover Square – Patrick Hamilton 582. The Living and the Dead – Patrick White 581. The Poor Mouth – Flann O’Brien 580. Conversations in Sicily – Elio Vittorini 579. The Outsider – Albert Camus 578. Go Down, Moses – William Faulkner 577. Embers – Sandor Marai 576. The Glass Bead Game – Herman Hesse 575. Caught – Henry Green 574. The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 573. Dangling Man – Saul Bellow 572. Ficciones – Jorge Luis Borges 571. Transit – Anna Seghers 570. The Razor’s Edge – William Somerset Maugham 569. Christ Stopped at Eboli – Carlo Levi 568. Arcanum 17 – André Breton 567. Loving – Henry Green 566. The Pursuit of Love – Nancy Mitford 565. Cannery Row – John Steinbeck 564. Animal Farm – George Orwell 563. Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh 562. The Bridge on the Drina – Ivo Andric 561. Titus Groan – Mervyn Peake 560. Back – Henry Green 559. The Plague – Albert Camus 558. The Path to the Nest of Spiders – Italo Calvino 557. Under the Volcano – Malcolm Lowry 556. If This Is a Man – Primo Levi 555. Exercises in Style – Raymond Queneau 554. The Victim – Saul Bellow 553. Doctor Faustus – Thomas Mann 552. Cry, the Beloved Country – Alan Paton 551. The Heart of the Matter – Graham Greene 550. Death Sentence – Maurice Blanchot 549. Disobedience – Alberto Moravia 548. All About H. Hatterr – G.V. Desani 547. Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell 546. The Man With the Golden Arm – Nelson Algren 545. Kingdom of This World – Alejo Carpentier 544. The Heat of the Day – Elizabeth Bowen 543. The Case of Comrade Tulayev – Victor Serge 542. Love in a Cold Climate – Nancy Mitford 541. The Garden Where the Brass Band Played – Simon Vestdijk 540. The Moon and the Bonfires – Cesare Pavese 539. I, Robot – Isaac Asimov 538. The Grass is Singing – Doris Lessing 537. Gormenghast – Mervyn Peake 536. The 13 Clocks – James Thurber 535. The Third Man – Graham Greene 534. The Labyrinth of Solitude – Octavio Paz 533. The Abbot C – Georges Bataille 532. The End of the Affair – Graham Greene 531. Molloy – Samuel Beckett 530. The Rebel – Albert Camus 529. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger 528. The Opposing Shore – Julien Gracq 527. Foundation – Isaac Asimov 526. Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham 525. Malone Dies – Samuel Beckett 524. Memoirs of Hadrian – Marguerite Yourcenar 523. The Killer Inside Me – Jim Thompson 522. Wise Blood – Flannery O’Connor 521. The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway 520. Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison 519. The Judge and His Hangman – Friedrich Dürrenmatt 518. Casino Royale – Ian Fleming 517. Go Tell It on the Mountain – James Baldwin 516. The Adventures of Augie March – Saul Bellow 515. Junkie – William Burroughs 514. Lucky Jim – Kingsley Amis 513. Watt – Samuel Beckett 512. The Unnamable – Samuel Beckett 511. The Long Goodbye – Raymond Chandler 510. The Go-Between – L.P. Hartley 509. Under the Net – Iris Murdoch 508. Lord of the Flies – William Golding 507. A Ghost at Noon – Alberto Moravia 506. The Story of O – Pauline Réage 505. Self Condemned – Wyndham Lewis 504. I’m Not Stiller – Max Frisch 503. Bonjour Tristesse – Françoise Sagan 502. The Ragazzi – Pier Paulo Pasolini 501. The Recognitions – William Gaddis 500. The Last Temptation of Christ – Nikos Kazantzákis 499. The Quiet American – Graham Greene 498. The Trusting and the Maimed – James Plunkett 497. A World of Love – Elizabeth Bowen 496. Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov 495. The Talented Mr. Ripley – Patricia Highsmith 494. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien 493. The Floating Opera – John Barth 492. Seize the Day – Saul Bellow 491. The Roots of Heaven – Romain Gary 490. The Lonely Londoners – Sam Selvon 489. Giovanni’s Room – James Baldwin 488. Justine – Lawrence Durrell 487. The Wonderful “O” – James Thurber 486. Doctor Zhivago – Boris Pasternak 485. Pnin – Vladimir Nabokov 484. On the Road – Jack Kerouac 483. Homo Faber – Max Frisch 482. Blue Noon – Georges Bataille 481. The Midwich Cuckoos – John Wyndham 480. Voss – Patrick White 479. Jealousy – Alain Robbe-Grillet 478. The Bell – Iris Murdoch 477. The Once and Future King – T.H. White 476. The End of the Road – John Barth 475. Borstal Boy – Brendan Behan 474. Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris – Paul Gallico 473. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – Alan Sillitoe 472. Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe 471. The Bitter Glass – Eilís Dillon 470. A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute 469. Pluck the Bud and Destroy the Offspring – Kenzaburo Oe 468. The Leopard – Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa 467. Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Truman Capote 466. Billiards at Half-Past Nine – Heinrich Böll 465. Memento Mori – Muriel Spark 464. Henderson the Rain King – Saul Bellow 463. Absolute Beginners – Colin MacInnes 462. The Tin Drum – Günter Grass 461. Naked Lunch – William Burroughs 460. Billy Liar – Keith Waterhouse 459. Cider With Rosie – Laurie Lee 458. Promise at Dawn – Romain Gary 457. Rabbit, Run – John Updike 456. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee 455. The Country Girls – Edna O’Brien 454. Our Ancestors – Italo Calvino 453. How It Is – Samuel Beckett 452. The Violent Bear it Away – Flannery O’Connor 451. Catch-22 – Joseph Heller 450. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark 449. Cat and Mouse – Günter Grass 448. Solaris – Stanislaw Lem 447. Faces in the Water – Janet Frame 446. A Severed Head – Iris Murdoch 445. Franny and Zooey – J.D. Salinger 444. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein 443. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – Giorgio Bassani 442. Girl With Green Eyes – Edna O’Brien 441. Labyrinths – Jorg Luis Borges 440. The Golden Notebook – Doris Lessing 439. The Drowned World – J.G. Ballard 438. Pale Fire – Vladimir Nabokov 437. A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess 436. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey 435. The Collector – John Fowles 434. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich – Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn 433. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath 432. Inside Mr. Enderby – Anthony Burgess 431. The Girls of Slender Means – Muriel Spark 430. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – John Le Carré 429. Manon des Sources – Marcel Pagnol 428. The Graduate – Charles Webb 427. Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut 426. V. – Thomas Pynchon 425. Herzog – Saul Bellow 424. The Ravishing of Lol V. Stein – Marguerite Duras 423. Arrow of God – Chinua Achebe 422. Albert Angelo – B.S. Johnson 421. Come Back, Dr. Caligari – Donald Bartholme 420. Sometimes a Great Notion – Ken Kesey 419. The Passion According to G.H. – Clarice Lispector 418. Everything That Rises Must Converge – Flannery O’Connor 417. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater – Kurt Vonnegut 416. August is a Wicked Month – Edna O’Brien 415. The River Between – Ngugi wa Thiong’o 414. Things – Georges Perec 413. The Crying of Lot 49 – Thomas Pynchon 412. Giles Goat-Boy – John Barth 411. Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys 410. The Vice-Consul – Marguerite Duras 409. The Magus – John Fowles 408. In Cold Blood – Truman Capote 407. Trawl – B.S. Johnson 406. The Birds Fall Down – Rebecca West 405. A Man Asleep – Georges Perec 404. The Third Policeman – Flann O’Brien 403. No Laughing Matter – Angus Wilson 402. The Joke – Milan Kundera 401. Pilgrimage – Dorothy Richardson 400. The Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov 399. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez 398. The Cubs and Other Stories – Mario Vargas Llosa 397. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test – Tom Wolfe 396. Chocky – John Wyndham 395. The Quest for Christa T. – Christa Wolf 394. A Kestrel for a Knave – Barry Hines 393. In Watermelon Sugar – Richard Brautigan 392. The German Lesson – Siegfried Lenz 391. Dark as the Grave Wherein My Friend is Laid – Malcolm Lowry 390. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick 389. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke 388. The First Circle – Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn 387. Cancer Ward – Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn 386. Belle du Seigneur – Albert Cohen 385. The Nice and the Good – Iris Murdoch 384. Myra Breckinridge – Gore Vidal 383. Eva Trout – Elizabeth Bowen 382. A Void/Avoid – Georges Perec 381. Them – Joyce Carol Oates 380. Ada – Vladimir Nabokov 379. The Godfather – Mario Puzo 378. Portnoy’s Complaint – Philip Roth 377. The Green Man – Kingsley Amis 376. The French Lieutenant’s Woman – John Fowles 375. Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 374. Blind Man With a Pistol – Chester Hines 373. Pricksongs and Descants – Robert Coover 372. Tent of Miracles – Jorge Amado 371. The Atrocity Exhibition – J.G. Ballard 370. Jahrestage – Uwe Johnson 369. Troubles – J.G. Farrell 368. Mercier et Camier – Samuel Beckett 367. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou 366. Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick – Peter Handke 365. The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison 364. The Ogre – Michael Tournier 363. The Driver’s Seat – Muriel Spark 362. The Sea of Fertility – Yukio Mishima 361. Rabbit Redux – John Updike 360. The Wild Boys – William Burroughs 359. Group Portrait With Lady – Heinrich Böll 358. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S. Thompson 357. The Book of Daniel – E.L. Doctorow 356. In A Free State – V.S. Naipaul 355. House Mother Normal – B.S. Johnson 354. Surfacing – Margaret Atwood 353. G – John Berger 352. The Summer Book – Tove Jansson 351. The Breast – Philip Roth 350. Invisible Cities – Italo Calvino 349. Sula – Toni Morrison 348. The Black Prince – Iris Murdoch 347. Gravity’s Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon 346. The Honorary Consul – Graham Greene 345. Crash – J.G. Ballard 344. The Castle of Crossed Destinies – Italo Calvino 343. The Siege of Krishnapur – J.G. Farrell 342. A Question of Power – Bessie Head 341. Fear of Flying – Erica Jong 340. Breakfast of Champions – Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 339. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – John Le Carré 338. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum – Heinrich Böll 337. Dusklands – J.M. Coetzee 336. The Fan Man – William Kotzwinkle 335. Ragtime – E.L. Doctorow 334. Correction – Thomas Bernhard 333. Dead Babies – Martin Amis 332. Humboldt’s Gift – Saul Bellow 331. High Rise – J.G. Ballard 330. Willard and His Bowling Trophies – Richard Brautigan 329. Fateless – Imre Kertész 328. The Dead Father – Donald Barthelme 327. Grimus – Salman Rushdie 326. A Dance to the Music of Time – Anthony Powell 325. W, or the Memory of childhood – Georges Perec 324. Autumn of the Patriarch – Gabriel García Márquez 323. Patterns of Childhood – Christa Wolf 322. Amateurs – Donald Barthelme 321. Cutter and Bone – Newton Thornburg 320. Interview With the Vampire – Anne Rice 319. The Public Burning – Robert Coover 318. Ratner’s Star – Don DeLillo 317. The Left-Handed Woman – Peter Handke 316. The Hour of the Star – Clarice Lispector 315. Song of Solomon – Toni Morrison 314. Petals of Blood – Ngugi Wa Thiong’o 313. Dispatches – Michael Herr 312. The Shining – Stephen King 311. Delta of Venus – Anaïs Nin 310. The Passion of New Eve – Angela Carter 309. In the Heart of the Country – J.M. Coetzee 308. The Virgin in the Garden – A.S. Byatt 307. Yes – Thomas Bernhard 306. The Singapore Grip – J.G. Farrell 305. The Sea, The Sea – Iris Murdoch 304. Life: A User’s Manual – Georges Perec 303. The World According to Garp – John Irving 302. The Cement Garden – Ian McEwan 301. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams 300. If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler – Italo Calvino 299. The Safety Net – Heinrich Böll 298. Burger’s Daughter - Nadine Gordimer 297. A Bend in the River – V.S. Naipaul 296. Shikasta – Doris Lessing 295. Smiley’s People – John Le Carré 294. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting – Milan Kundera 293. The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco 292. City Primeval – Elmore Leonard 291. Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole 290. Rituals – Cees Nooteboom 289. Rites of Passage – William Golding 288. Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie 287. Waiting for the Barbarians – J.M. Coetzee 286. Broken April – Ismail Kadare 285. Summer in Baden-Baden – Leonid Tsypkin 284. July’s People – Nadine Gordimer 283. The Comfort of Strangers – Ian McEwan 282. Lanark: A Life in Four Books – Alasdair Gray 281. Rabbit is Rich – John Updike 280. The Names – Don DeLillo 279. Concrete – Thomas Bernhard 278. On the Black Hill – Bruce Chatwin 277. The Newton Letter – John Banville 276. The House of the Spirits – Isabel Allende 275. Schindler’s Ark – Thomas Keneally 274. A Pale View of Hills – Kazuo Ishiguro 273. Wittgenstein’s Nephew – Thomas Bernhard 272. The Color Purple – Alice Walker 271. A Boy’s Own Story – Edmund White 270. If Not Now, When? – Primo Levi 269. The Sorrow of Belgium – Hugo Claus 268. The Piano Teacher – Elfriede Jelinek 267. The Diary of Jane Somers – Doris Lessing 266. The Life and Times of Michael K – J.M. Coetzee 265. Waterland – Graham Swift 264. La Brava – Elmore Leonard 263. Fools of Fortune – William Trevor 262. Worstward Ho – Samuel Beckett 261. Shame – Salman Rushdie 260. Money: A Suicide Note – Martin Amis 259. Flaubert’s Parrot – Julian Barnes 258. Neuromancer – William Gibson 257. Blood and Guts in High School – Kathy Acker 256. The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Milan Kundera 255. Nights at the Circus – Angela Carter 254. The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks 253. Empire of the Sun – J.G. Ballard 252. The Lover – Marguerite Duras 251. The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis – José Saramago 250. The Bus Conductor Hines – James Kelman 249. Dictionary of the Khazars – Milorad Pavi? 248. Legend – David Gemmell 247. Hawksmoor – Peter Ackroyd 246. Queer – William Burroughs 245. White Noise – Don DeLillo 244. Old Masters – Thomas Bernhard 243. Perfume – Patrick Süskind 242. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood 241. Contact – Carl Sagan 240. Less Than Zero – Bret Easton Ellis 239. A Maggot – John Fowles 238. The Cider House Rules – John Irving 237. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit – Jeanette Winterson 236. Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel García Márquez 235. The Parable of the Blind – Gert Hofmann 234. Reasons to Live – Amy Hempel 233. The Drowned and the Saved – Primo Levi 232. Foe – J.M. Coetzee 231. Extinction – Thomas Bernhard 230. An Artist of the Floating World – Kazuo Ishiguro 229. Lost Language of Cranes – David Leavitt 228. The Old Devils – Kingsley Amis 227. Watchmen – Alan Moore & David Gibbons 226. Marya – Joyce Carol Oates 225. Matigari – Ngugi Wa Thiong’o 224. Anagrams – Lorrie Moore 223. The Taebek Mountains – Jo Jung-rae 222. Beloved – Toni Morrison 221. Enigma of Arrival – V.S. Naipaul 220. World’s End – T. Coraghessan Boyle 219. The New York Trilogy – Paul Auster 218. The Bonfire of the Vanities – Tom Wolfe 217. Cigarettes – Harry Mathews 216. The Child in Time – Ian McEwan 215. The Pigeon – Patrick Süskind 214. The Passion – Jeanette Winterson 213. The Black Dahlia – James Ellroy 212. The Afternoon of a Writer – Peter Handke 211. The Radiant Way – Margaret Drabble 210. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – Douglas Adams 209. The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul – Douglas Adams 208. Nervous Conditions – Tsitsi Dangarembga 207. The Player of Games – Iain M. Banks 206. Libra – Don DeLillo 205. Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey 204. The Swimming-Pool Library – Alan Hollinghurst 203. The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie 202. Wittgenstein’s Mistress – David Markson 201. The Beautiful Room is Empty – Edmund White 200. Foucault’s Pendulum – Umberto Eco 199. Cat’s Eye – Margaret Atwood 198. The Book of Evidence – John Banville 197. London Fields – Martin Amis 196. A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving 195. Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel 194. The History of the Siege of Lisbon – José Saramago 193. The Trick is to Keep Breathing – Janice Galloway 192. The Temple of My Familiar – Alice Walker 191. The Melancholy of Resistance – László Krasznahorkai 190. Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro 189. Billy Bathgate – E.L. Doctorow 188. Moon Palace – Paul Auster 187. Sexing the Cherry – Jeanette Winterson 186. A Disaffection – James Kelman 185. The Midnight Examiner – William Kotzwinkle 184. The Buddha of Suburbia – Hanif Kureishi 183. Possession – A.S. Byatt 182. Like Life – Lorrie Moore 181. A Home at the End of the World – Michael Cunningham 180. The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien 179. The Music of Chance – Paul Auster 178. Stone Junction – Jim Dodge 177. Vertigo – W.G. Sebald 176. Vineland – Thomas Pynchon 175. Amongst Women – John McGahern 174. Get Shorty – Elmore Leonard 173. Wise Children – Angela Carter 172. Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord – Louis de Bernieres 171. Downriver – Iain Sinclair 170. Regeneration – Pat Barker 169. Typical – Padgett Powell 168. Mao II – Don DeLillo 167. Time’s Arrow – Martin Amis 166. American Psycho – Bret Easton Ellis 165. Wild Swans – Jung Chang 164. Arcadia – Jim Crace 163. Hideous Kinky – Esther Freud 162. Black Dogs – Ian McEwan 161. Asphodel – H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) 160. The Heather Blazing – Colm Tóibín 159. Black Water – Joyce Carol Oates 158. The Butcher Boy – Patrick McCabe 157. Smilla’s Sense of Snow – Peter Høeg 156. The English Patient – Michael Ondaatje 155. Jazz – Toni Morrison 154. Written on the Body – Jeanette Winterson 153. The Crow Road – Iain Banks 152. Indigo – Marina Warner 151. Possessing the Secret of Joy – Alice Walker 150. A Heart So White – Javier Marias 149. The Discovery of Heaven – Harry Mulisch 148. Life is a Caravanserai – Emine Özdamar 147. The Secret History – Donna Tartt 146. The Emigrants – W.G. Sebald 145. The Robber Bride – Margaret Atwood 144. The House of Doctor Dee – Peter Ackroyd 143. The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides 142. The Stone Diaries – Carol Shields 141. A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth 140. What a Carve Up! – Jonathan Coe 139. On Love – Alain de Botton 138. Complicity – Iain Banks 137. Operation Shylock – Philip Roth 136. Looking for the Possible Dance – A.L. Kennedy 135. Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks 134. Trainspotting – Irvine Welsh 133. The Shipping News – E. Annie Proulx 132. The Invention of Curried Sausage – Uwe Timm 131. Disappearance – David Dabydeen 130. Felicia’s Journey – William Trevor 129. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres 128. How Late It Was, How Late – James Kelman 127. City Sister Silver – Jàchym Topol 126. Pereira Declares: A Testimony – Antonio Tabucchi 125. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami 124. The Master of Petersburg – J.M. Coetzee 123. Land – Park Kyong-ni 122. Whatever – Michel Houellebecq 121. The Folding Star – Alan Hollinghurst 120. Mr. Vertigo – Paul Auster 119. The End of the Story – Lydia Davis 118. Love’s Work – Gillian Rose 117. A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry 116. The Reader – Bernhard Schlink 115. The Rings of Saturn – W.G. Sebald 114. Sabbath’s Theater – Philip Roth 113. The Moor’s Last Sigh – Salman Rushdie 112. The Information – Martin Amis 111. Morvern Callar – Alan Warner 110. The Unconsoled – Kazuo Ishiguro 109. Alias Grace – Margaret Atwood 108. The Clay Machine-Gun – Victor Pelevin 107. Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace 106. Forever a Stranger – Hella Haasse 105. The Ghost Road – Pat Barker 104. Fugitive Pieces – Anne Michaels 103. Hallucinating Foucault – Patricia Duncker 102. Cocaine Nights – J.G. Ballard 101. Silk – Alessandro Baricco 100. The Untouchable – John Banville 99. American Pastoral – Philip Roth 98. The Life of Insects – Victor Pelevin 97. Jack Maggs – Peter Carey 96. Underworld – Don DeLillo 95. Enduring Love – Ian McEwan 94. Great Apes – Will Self 93. Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden 92. The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy 91. Mason & Dixon – Thomas Pynchon 90. Veronika Decides to Die – Paulo Coelho 89. The Hours – Michael Cunningham 88. Another World – Pat Barker 87. Glamorama – Bret Easton Ellis 86. The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver 85. Tipping the Velvet – Sarah Waters 84. The Talk of the Town – Ardal O’Hanlon 83. All Souls Day – Cees Nooteboom 82. Cloudsplitter – Russell Banks 81. Amsterdam – Ian McEwan 80. Intimacy – Hanif Kureishi 79. Elementary Particles – Michel Houellebecq 78. Sputnik Sweetheart – Haruki Murakami 77. Disgrace – J.M. Coetzee 76. The Ground Beneath Her Feet – Salman Rushdie 75. Fear and Trembling – Amélie Nothomb 74. Everything You Need – A.L. Kennedy 73. As If I Am Not There – Slavenka Drakulic 72. Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson 71. The Romantics – Pankaj Mishra 70. Timbuktu – Paul Auster 2000s 69. Pastoralia – George Saunders 68. Blonde – Joyce Carol Oates 67. House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski 66. Super-Cannes – J.G. Ballard 65. Small Remedies – Shashi Deshpande 64. After the Quake – Haruki Murakami 63. The Blind Assassin – Margaret Atwood 62. The Human Stain – Philip Roth 61. How the Dead Live – Will Self 60. City of God – E.L. Doctorow 59. Celestial Harmonies – Péter Esterházy 58. Nineteen Seventy Seven – David Peace 57. Ignorance – Milan Kundera 56. Under the Skin – Michel Faber 55. The Heart of Redness – Zakes Mda 54. White Teeth – Zadie Smith 53. Spring Flowers, Spring Frost – Ismail Kadare 52. The Devil and Miss Prym – Paulo Coelho 51. An Obedient Father – Akhil Sharma 50. The Feast of the Goat – Mario Vargos Llosa 49. Life of Pi – Yann Martel 48. Choke – Chuck Palahniuk 47. At Swim, Two Boys – Jamie O’Neill 46. Fury – Salman Rushdie 45. The Body Artist – Don DeLillo 44. Don’t Move – Margaret Mazzantini 43. The Corrections – Jonathan Franzen 42. Atonement – Ian McEwan 41. Schooling – Heather McGowan 40. Platform – Michael Houellebecq 39. Austerlitz – W.G. Sebald 38. Gabriel’s Gift – Hanif Kureishi 37. The Book of Illusions – Paul Auster 36. Nowhere Man – Aleksandar Hemon 35. Dead Air – Iain Banks 34. Youth – J.M. Coetzee 33. Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides 32. Shroud – John Banville 31. In the Forest – Edna O’Brien 30. That They May Face the Rising Sun – John McGahern 29. The Story of Lucy Gault – William Trevor 28. Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami 27. Unless – Carol Shields 26. Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer 25. The Double – José Saramago 24. Fingersmith – Sarah Waters 23. Family Matters – Rohinton Mistry 22. London Orbital – Iain Sinclair 21. Elizabeth Costello – J.M. Coetzee 20. Islands – Dan Sleigh 19. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon 18. What I Loved – Siri Hustvedt 17. The Light of Day – Graham Swift 16. Thursbitch – Alan Garner 15. The Colour – Rose Tremain 14. Drop City – T. Coraghessan Boyle 13. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell 12. Dining on Stones – Iain Sinclair 11. The Lambs of London – Peter Ackroyd 10. Vanishing Point – David Markson 9. The Master – Colm Tóibín 8. The Plot Against America – Philip Roth 7. The Red Queen – Margaret Drabble 6. The Sea – John Banville 5. Adjunct: An Undigest – Peter Manson 4. Slow Man – J.M. Coetzee 3. On Beauty – Zadie Smith 2. Saturday – Ian McEwan 1. Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro

Then we are back where we started - I agree with you that we can understand WHY some one does something, but regardless of context, society, etc some things are wrong, will remain wrong and should always be forever and amen wrong regardless of how much we can follow the twisted logic society, morals, pressures of the moments, etc that lead to a person doing bad stuff. However if you are victim of aforementioned bad stuff - truly you don't care how bad the person's childhood was, how much he/she thought they needed to do this to advance themselves, protect themselves, or whatever, you are still maimed, injured, damaged, hurt or dead, making the action wrong. In addition to being an optimist I'm also a firm believer in personal choice and accountability. I believe there is always a choice, that there are no moments ever in which there is no choice whatsoever - you may not like the consequences of all the other options making you feel like there is no choice, but there are nonetheless always options. Even in a life and death decision there is still a choice - you can choose your death, or even the death of others to avoid doing a wrong thing or giving in to a tyrant, or giving up things you don't want to give up. A horrible choice, but a choice is still a choice however horrible. And for every choice any one makes there are consequences.

Even in a brutal world there are people who manage without resorting to brutality themselves. This has been true throughout even our own brutal periods. There are those who choose to act with violence and brutality citing the same validation you give as being the reason for their actions and those who do not. I would argue such people are found where-ever and when-ever circumstances give them 'permission' to act violently and often even when they do not. If there were no people who felt that they were justified in acting out their rage at the world in violent action we would have no war, no murders, no riots, no terrorism, no violent protests, no child abuse, no rape, no violence against women ... aah I can't wait .... (yes I am the eternal optimist).

clearly (as if I didn't know this) I don't keep up with the news but I can make 'educated' guesses LOL 5/10 for Feb and March.

As a person who writes slowly myself I understand his writing style however having said that I would not embark on a lengthy series and leave people hanging. I also don't understand his attitude. Sorry but it is just plain silly to further alienate readers by having attitude when they have enjoyed your books so much that they are saying 'we want the next one' and if sometimes there is a little over enthusiasm in saying that, well he doesn't have to get shirty about it. Fans, and more importantly enthusiastic fans are to be appreciated not snubbed. When they leave, they often don't come back. I compare his attitude to that of Kristen Britain who took a long time to write the last book in her Green Rider series. She took to her blog and apologised for how long it was taking, explained a few of her personal circumstances that had led to the delay and assured fans that she was writing it as fast as she could. This had the effect of appeasing fans who were desperate to find out what happened and created a completely different atmosphere around waiting. Martin's attitude leaves me stone cold quite frankly.

To change the direction of the discussion - with regard to your 'spoiler' comment - does doing the wrong things for the right reason make them right? I don't think so. Just because we can understand the motivation behind actions, that does not make the wrong actions excusable.

that is where I'm rapidly arriving at. which is the problem ... a hearty % of fans of the series are going to go 'so what' if and when he finally does publish the last books.

so in other words he needs to stop farting around and pull his finger out and write the book already!

I am sure you won't regret it - Amelia Peabody is a character and a half, but she is madly in love with Emerson and he is of course tall, dark and handsome and comes to her rescue in the nick of time with suitable dashing splendour, although to be fair she seldom actually needs rescuing, or is in dire need of rescuing depending on whose version you believe Enjoy them!

the last interview I read he had a bit more attitude than that about it - basically kind of said a polite version of don't call me, I'll call you if and when I get round to it and basically I don't. It kind of annoyed me. In 2012 it was: "--New George R.R. Martin: There's good news and bad news for Game of Thrones fans. Watch Martin, the mastermind behind the fantasy series-turned-popular HBO show, read from his upcoming sixth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter. But fans will to have to wait for the real thing. Martin tells CTV News he has written about 200 pages so far and plans to finish in about two years." a year later it is: MARTIN: I have to have the next book out in less than five years. What will his expected time span be on it by the middle of this year?

Really loved these books, super annoyed the last one is so long in coming .... how to annoy your readers in one easy step - write an amazing series, get your readers deeply involved in it and then refuse to write the last book. Yay George Martin!

Seeing that I am being asked for opinions I will try to go through my list: Amelia Peabody - love them! Victorian suffragette in the making Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson are Egyptologists and amateur sleuths. They dig up pyramids and solve mysteries at the same time. The writing is delightfully reminiscent of Agatha Christie - in particular the Hercule Poirot books - there is a delightful innocence and slight formality to the writing, with a glorious self-mocking tongue-in-cheek humour. Of course there is an arch-enemy 'The Master Criminal' and an assortment of adventures in far flung locations complete with all kinds of dramatic near escapes from death. All just wonderful fun to read. The Atlantis Gene - first in a series, won't read more, too implausible and quite frankly I'm surprised I finished it. Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress · Thoroughly enjoyed it. Two youths sent for re-education during the cultural revolution discover a suitcase full of translated classics which they steal. At first they just read the books, and then, in the way of young men the world over, use the books to court a young lady in the next village. Semi-autobiographical based on the author's own experiences it is, unusually, quite a lighthearted look at the cultural revolution and makes you realise that despite everything life still went on, and young men were young men, and young women were young women. Beyond the Black Stump and A Town Like Alice - I love Nevil Shute and these were a reread. Beyond the Black Stump was one of his first books and not one of his best, but for all that not a bad read. A Town Like Alice is one of his more well known books and a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed rereading both. Often when many years lie between readings sometimes things are not as good as you remember, these books lived up to my happy memories of them. Marina Fiorato Books - I bought a bunch of her books after reading The Glassblowers Daughter. Her books get mixed reviews which I don't really understand. For what they are, they are good and what they are a light historical fiction with a bit of romance thrown in. You aren't getting heavy politics, or a book that is attempting to unfold the actual course of history going for complete accuracy as some historical fiction does. These are a light read with enough accuracy to be interesting while making the characters entirely human. Her stories keep moving forward sufficiently quickly to be a fairly quick read, while holding your attention. Her characters are sympathetic and interesting. What more praise do you want for what is essentially a light romance? Brave New World & Fahrenheit 451 and The Great Gatsby - all quick rereads to refamiliarise myself with the stories. Deepak Chopra - do those actually need any review / opinion? Interesting ideas that I don't wholly agree with. The book on spirituality vs science was truly fascinating. I will be both rereading and referring to that one for many years to come. The Little Prince - another quick reread. One of those profound books like Jonathon Livingstone Seagull that you either think is very profound or very silly. Either a quick hours read or a very long read with lots of pondering inbetween. Nic Costa series - love them. Detective series set in Rome with particularly Roman crimes to solve. A bit Dan Brownish in some respects but not overly or badly so. As a fairly prolific reader of detective novels these come down on the good side. Riyria Revelations - great fantasy / adventure. swords, mysterious priests, strange powers and murder ... there is even a dragon. Scent of Butterflies · Interesting book. Not sure I will reread it, but it was sufficiently intriguing on a first read to get me to the end. Steve Martin - always liked his movies and him as an actor and reading these two autobiographical books was interesting. I'm slowly getting into reading more autobiographies and these were a quick and fun read, with the usual amount of pathos thrown in. Bernard Cornwall wrote 5 modern adventure/crime books based on the world of sailing. He is a keen sailor and although well known for his historical fiction these books are great and will stand up to any other book of the same kind. Mo Yan - just recently discovered his books. He has an unusual style of writing that is hard to describe, but if you can imagine simultaneously crying with laughter, while crying with genuine sadness at the pain the people are experiencing you might have some idea of how he writes. I wish I could write as vividly as he does with as much humour amidst the tragedy. Soul Mountain · Gao Xingjian - an unusual book, perhaps the most difficult of the Asian books I have listed here as it relates the same events as the first person and with the narrator as a the third person from both perspectives - as participant and onlooker swopping between the two perspectives chapter to chapter. In a way it encapsulates that feeling you get at times in your life when you feel like an onlooker to the events of your own life and you have that peculiar duality of both experiencing the moment and watching it happen at the same time. Parts of this book were very profound. The Universe Inside You · Brian Clegg - an unusual way of looking at science in terms of the human body. Interesting read. Not too technical, suitable for readers with little or no scientific knowledge, but still interesting enough for others. Chang-rae Lee - I first read one of his books many years ago and it made a very deep impression on me. These books had a similar deep impression. He writes very much about the difficulty of being an outsider, being an immigrant and both holding on to your culture and trying to be assimilated into the new. Tash Aw - if you read no other Asian writer read these. The Venice Conspiracy · Jon Trace - what happens when an author tries to do Dan Brown and fails. Not recommended.

LOL I have time and time enough to read and I have always been one to devour books. Assassins Creed was much better than I expected. They are based on the computer games of the same name but for all that are a good read. The historical accuracy is pretty good and they crack along at a good pace even if they do muddle a few things up together that weren't really historically concurrent. Often when reading a book from a successful game you have moments when you feel like you are reading a blow-by-blow account of the action in the game, but I only got that feeling once or twice in the whole series. I would give them a 4/5 stars for the kind of book they are. Don't expect more than a good action adventure novel with a reasonable amount of historical accuracy thrown in and a bunch of secret society woohoo stuff to keep the plot moving, but I have definitely read far worse in the genre. On the whole recommended.

I think that any good children's book should be written well enough that it can be appreciated by adults. I disapprove of the dumbing down of books for kids. Kids are capable of reading and understanding things far beyond what is considered 'age appropriate' these days. I cringe when I see some kid's TV shows as well. Children are not small mindless morons that have to be spoken to in an infantile and patronizing tone, whether in person or in writing. They may need some filtering of some content, and some concepts are not suitable, but apart from that, they are in fact quite able to comprehend complete sentences. Actually 'horror' as it is in Grimm's Fairy Tales is apparently good for kids because their imaginary worlds are often filled with horror and stories like that, where the wicked witch is burnt in her own oven, and wickedness gets its just deserts help children cope with putting a name on their fears and give them the power to overcome them. However it must be said that there must a clear line between good and evil and evil must always be overcome.

I would highly recommend the prequels. Not just because they round out the universe but are cracking good books in their own right. In fact I think you could read them as stand alone novels without any reference to Dune. As for the 'unexplained' feeling to Dune - I think that is because it was always meant to be part of a series. It is the same as LOTR - the first book ends on a cliffhanger and you can't read any of the volumes separately from the others. Although the original Dune series is more complete within each book they do continue the story throughout the series - thus many of things Paul alluded to and the path he set his feet on in choosing to find another future for mankind in Dune are developed as a continuous story line through the series. In fact some of the things you don't even get a clear explanation and understanding of until the very end of the series at which point you go 'ohhhhh so that is what he was doing' and some of the things along the way that seemed ... well ... read the books. thanks for the welcome.

The healer books were as good, if not better than the two previous series. I also prefer to have all the books in a series before I start reading them, but her books stand quite well on their own as books in their own right so I didn't mind that I don't have the whole series. I don't do tree books at the moment due to circumstances so for me ebook it is. I don't really mind if it is in one volume or 4 although I do find having a series in one volume on an ereader to be a great benefit if you want to start and finish in one go. Not so convenient however for those series that I like to go back and just read one book out of the series now and then.

It is indeed rare that you have a world that is so comprehensively thought out and described. The research Herbert did must have been extensive. In fact I believe his notes on the universe were so extensive that his son used them to write the prequels.

Golden Witchbreed is brilliant. I also had Ash on my list of books to find and read, but somehow it slipped between the cracks. Going to look it up again now. Thanks.

Fantasy definitely - dragons ... have to have dragons!

Not a month-by-month list but nonetheless what I can remember reading this year LOL The Deeds of the Disturber (Amelia Peabody [5]) · Elizabeth Peters The Last Camel Died at Noon (Amelia Peabody [6]) · Elizabeth Peters Assassin's Creed 1: Renaissance (Assassin's Creed [1]) · Oliver Bowden Assassin's Creed 2: Brotherhood (Assassin's Creed [2]) · Oliver Bowden Assassin's Creed 3: The Secret Crusade (Assassin's Creed [3]) · Oliver Bowden Assassin's Creed 4: Revelations (Assassin's Creed [4]) · Oliver Bowden Assassin's Creed 5: Forsaken (Assassin's Creed [5]) · Oliver Bowden The Atlantis Gene · A.G.Riddle Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress · Dai Sijie Beyond the Black Stump · Nevil Shute Blood Of Flowers · Amirrezvani Anita Body Energy - Discover The Secrets Of The Chinese Body Energy Clock (Healthy Living Techniques: Learn The Secret Of Tai Chi Chuan and Qi Gong Masters) · Matthew Harrigan Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life · Steve Martin The Botticelli Secret · Marina Fiorato Brave New World · Aldous Huxley China Witness · Xinran Xue Cosmology of Consciousness · Deepak Chopra Dexter 1 - Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter [1]) · Jeff Lindsay Dexter 2 - Dearly Devoted Dexter (Dexter [2]) · Jeff Lindsay Dexter 3 - Dexter in the Dark (Dexter [3]) · Jeff Lindsay Dexter 4 - Dexter by Design (Dexter [4]) · Jeff Lindsay Dexter 5 - Dexter Is Delicious (Dexter [5]) · Jeff Lindsay Dexter 6 - Double Dexter (Dexter [6]) · Jeff Lindsay The Elegent Universe · Brian Greene The Elephant Vanishes · Haruki Murakami The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine Third Edition · Michael Murray Fahrenheit 451 · Ray Bradbury Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Book · Meyers, Ric Five Star Billionaire: A Novel · Tash Aw The Flower Reader · Elizabeth Loupas The Golden Mean · Annabel Lyon Golden Witchbreed (Orthe [1]) · Mary Gentle The Great Gatsby · F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Wall · Rojas, Carlos. The Harem of Aman Akbar · Elizabeth Ann Scatborough The Harmony Silk Factory · Tash Aw Healer 01 - Touch of Power (Healer [1]) · Maria V. Snyder Healer 02 - Scent of Magic (Healer [2]) · Maria V. Snyder How to Win Friends and Influence People · Dale Carnegie Life and Death are Wearing Me Out · Mo Yan The Little Prince · Antoine de Saint Exupry Lucky Man: A Memoir · Michael J. Fox The Minimalist Photographer · Johnson, Steve Moby-Duck · Donovan Hohn Modesty Blaise · Peter O' Donell Native Speaker · Chang-rae Lee Nic Costa 1 - Season for the Dead (Nic Costa [1]) · David Hewson Nic Costa 2 - The Villa of Mysteries (Nic Costa [2]) · David Hewson Nic Costa 3 - Sacred Cut (Nic Costa [3]) · David Hewson Nic Costa 4 - The Lizard's Bite (Nic Costa [4]) · David Hewson Nic Costa 5 - The Seventh Sacrament (Nic Costa [5]) · David Hewson Nic Costa 6 - The Garden of Evil (Nic Costa [6]) · David Hewson An Object of Beauty: A Novel · Steve Martin Red Sorghum · Mo Yan Riyria Revelations 1 - Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations [1]) · Michael J. Sullivan Riyria Revelations 2 - Rise Of Empire (Riyria Revelations [2]) · Michael J. Sullivan Riyria Revelations 3 - Heir of Novron (Riyria Revelations [3]) · Michael J. Sullivan Scent of Butterflies · Dora Levy Mossanen Shifu, You'll Do Anything For a Laugh · Mo Yan Soul Mountain · Gao Xingjian Stonehenge · Bernard Cornwell Stormchild · Bernard Cornwell The Surrendered · Chang-rae Lee A Town Like Alice · Nevil Shute The Universe Inside You · Brian Clegg The Venetian Contract · Marina Fiorato The Venice Conspiracy · Jon Trace War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality · Deepak Chopra Wildtrack · Bernard Cornwell