I started keeping a track of the books I read around late 2022. I'll incude a few books from 2022 but the list proper will begin from 2023. I also read a lot of stuff before that of course but for I'm not including that here.
The list is sorted in the order I finished them in, with the most recent being first.
2024
- Monarch of Monsters (novella) by Vylet Pony: the companion novel for this album of the same name. i really love this artist's work in general and this project was really evocative and interesting. also love the artwork.
- Blood and Guts in High School by Kathy Acker: It's just the right mix of abstract and literal writing that i find really appealing.
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: This book destroyed me. It is so beautiful. It's about abuse and god and beauty and so much more. It's transcendentally good.
- Nevada by Imogen Binnie: Torrey Peters recommended this in one of her interviews. Phenomenal piece of trans fiction.
- Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters: Obligatory "this is not a transphobic book" disclaimer out of the way, this is phenomenal. I feel as though I'm not old enough to get everything in this book yet and i will have to read this many times over.
- Firestar's Quest by Erin Hunter
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski: I'm not gonna be normal for a while. When I am, I'm gonna read it again and not gonna be normal once more.
- The Darkest Hour WC#6
- A Dangerous Path WC#5
- Rising Storm WC#4
- Forest of Secrets WC#3
- Fire & Ice WC#2
- Into the Wild Warrior Cats #1
- Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White: I love the grittyness and thee gore and the gay people and the meaning of being a monster. Very Signalis & Magnus Archives-esque
- Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis
- The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers: Started off very strong but the later parts were meh.
- Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue by Leslie Feinberg: Required reading. In general.
2023
- Guards! Guards! (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
- Reaper Man (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett: My first Discworld.
- A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare
- Macbeth by Shakespeare: I read this for Halloween and then watched the 2022 OSP Halloween special which was a re-enactment of it. Go watch the highlights if you've read Macbeth.
- Tragical History of Dr. Faustus by Marlowe
- Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne: Kind of orientalist and pro-British imperialism but good writing regardless. Also amazing plot twist at the end.
- Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Dune by Mark Fisher: Heartbreaking, stellar worldbuilding and writing undercut by homophobia and space eugenics.
- Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher
- Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin A. Saenz: I read this during an internet blockage in my city owing to a political assassination. Formatted in a way that is really easy and fun to read
- Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
- Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg: Probably my favorite book till date. I can't praise it enough
- The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
- The Invisible Man by HG Wells
- Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka: The feeling of being a burden and a curse upon your loved ones is messed up fr.
- Heartstopper Volumes 1-5 by Alice Oseman
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: The denial of redemption as a theme really messed me up for a while. Also Dorian Gray is an adhd icon idc what anyone says.
- Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu
- The Stranger by Albert Camus