Reading List

Literary

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (+)🇳🇬

The Egyptian Book of the Dead by Ani trans. E. A. Wallis Budge (++)🇪🇬

The Lessons by Naomi Alderman (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✡

The Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes trans. R. C. Seton (+)🇬🇷

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (+)🇺🇲✊🏿

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The Unnameable by Samuel Beckett (+) 🇮🇪

Selected Poems of William Blake by William Blake (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Aleph and The Maker by Jorge Luis Borges trans. Andrew Hurley (+++)🇦🇷

Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges trans. Andrew Hurley (+++)🇦🇷

The Book of Sand and Shakespeare's Memory by Jorge Luis Borges trans. Andrew Hurley (+++)🇦🇷

Brodie's Report by Jorge Luis Borges trans. Andrew Hurley (+)🇦🇷

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (+++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino trans. William Weaver (+)🇮🇹

Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino trans. William Weaver (+)🇮🇹

Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Don Quixote Part I & II by Miguel de Cervantes trans. John Rutherford (+) 🇪🇸

Don Quixote Part I & II by Pierre Menard trans. John Rutherford (+) 🇫🇷

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

A Tale of Two Cites by Charles Dickens (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (+)🇵🇱

Room by Emma Donohue (+++)🇨🇮

The Count of Monte Cristo Vol. I by Alexandre Dumas Pére trans. Chapman and Hall (++)🇫🇷🇭🇹

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (+++) 🇷🇺

Silas Marner, Weaver of Raveloe by George Eliot (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (+)🇺🇲

The Collector by John Fowles (+++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Pier Falls by Mark Haddon (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman trans. Roz Schwartz (+++)🇧🇪

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (+++)🇺🇲✡

The Iliad by Homer trans. Samuel Butler (++)🇬🇷🇹🇷

The Odyssey by Homer trans. Emily Wilson(+)🇬🇷🇹🇷

Tales from Ovid by Ovid trans. Ted Hughes (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (+)🇫🇷

The Book of Kings 1 by Jeremiah (KJV) (+) 🇵🇸🕎

The Book of Revelation by John the Apostle (KJV) (+)🇸🇾

The Book of Jonah by Jonah ben Amittai (KJV) (+)🇵🇸🕎

The Metamorphosis by Frans Kafka (+)🇨🇿🕎

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (++)🇺🇸

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (+)🇺🇲

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Book of Esther by Mordecai (KJV) (+) 🇮🇷🕎

A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez trans. Gregory Rabassa (+)🇨🇴

The Gospel According to Matthew by Matthew bar Alphaeus (KJV) (++) 🇵🇸 ✝️

Moby Dick by Herman Melville (++)🇺🇲

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (+)🇷🇺

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien (++)🇨🇮

The Thing in the Stone-Gap Stile by Alice Oswald (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Metamorphoses by Ovid trans. David Raeburn (+++)🇮🇹

The Damned United by David Peace (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (++)🇺🇲🇩🇪

Ariel by Sylvia Plath (+++)🇺🇲🇩🇪

The Colossus by Sylvia Plath (++)🇺🇸🇩🇪

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque trans. Brian Murdoch (++)🇩🇪

The City of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafòn trans. Lucia Graves (+)🇪🇸

The Catcher in the Rye by S. D. Salinger (+)🇺🇲

The Book of Judges by Samuel (KJV) (+) 🇵🇸🕎

The Book of Samuel 1&2 by Samuel (KJV) (++) 🇵🇸🕎

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Tenth of December by George Saunders (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini (+++)🇮🇹

Pulcinellopaedia by Luigi Serafini (+)🇮🇹

Love Sonnets by William Shakespeare (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Song of Solomon/Ecclesiastes by Solomon (KJV) (++) 🇵🇸🕎

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (+)🇮🇪

The Secret History by Donna Tartt (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy trans. Louise and Aylmer Maude (++) 🇷🇺

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (+++)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧🇮🇪

Sailing to Byzantium by W. B. Yeats (+) 🇨🇮

The Epic of Gilgamesh by anon. trans. Gerald Davis (++)🇮🇶

The Twelve Minor Prophets by Various (KJV) (+) 🇵🇸🕎

Arabian Nights trans. Andrew Lang (+)

Non-fiction

Between Two Rivers by Moudhy Al-Rashid (+) 🇸🇦🇱🇧

Bolívar: American Liberator by Marie Arana (++)🇵🇪

Great Heroes and Heroines of Hawaiian Heritage by Leilani Basham (+) 🏴󠁵󠁳󠁨󠁩󠁿

Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen (++)🇺🇲

The Reckoning by Patrick Bishop (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

A Narco History by Carmen Boullosa and Mike Wallace (+) 🇲🇽🇺🇸

No Way Down by Graham Bowley (+++) 🇺🇲

The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown (+)🇺🇲

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (++)🇺🇲

The Red Prince by Helen Carr (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The First Emperor of China by Jonathan Clements (++)

Bitch by Lucy Cooke (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Life and Legacy of Muhammed by Maria Dakake (+) 🇺🇲☪️

Half-American by Matthew F. Delmont (+++)🇺🇲✊🏿

The Bluegrass Conspiracy by Sally Denton (+++) 🇺🇲

Perfect Victims by Mohammed El-Kurd (+++)🇵🇸

The Holocaust Industry by Norman Finkelstein (++) 🇺🇲🇵🇱🕎

Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank trans. Susan Massotty (+++)🇳🇱🕎

Hannibal: Rome's Greatest Enemy by Philip Freeman (++)🇺🇲

Julian: Rome's Last Pagan Emperor by Philip Freeman (++)🇺🇸

G-Man by Beverly Gage (+++)🇺🇲

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (+++) 🇺🇲

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Grann (++)🇺🇲

The White Darkness by David Grann (+) 🇺🇸

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X (++)🇺🇲✊🏿☪️

The Plantagenets by Dan Jones (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo (++)🇯🇵

On Color by David Scott Kastan and Stephen Farthing (++) 🇺🇲

Freedom from Fear Part I by David P. Kennedy (+) 🇺🇸

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi (+++)🇵🇸

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (++)🇺🇲

Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer (++)🇺🇲

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (++)🇺🇲

The Palestine Laboratory by Antony Loewenstein (+) 🇦🇺🇩🇪✡

Greece Against Rome by Philip Matyszac (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

By The Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle (++) Flag

Hunting Monsters by Darren Naish (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

A Voyage for Madmen by Peter Nichols (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup (+++)🇺🇲✊🏿

Blitzed by Norman Ohler trans. Shaun Whiteside (++) 🇩🇪

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti (+)🇺🇲🇮🇹

Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick (++)🇺🇲

In The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick (++)🇺🇲

Mayflower: Voyage to War by Nathaniel Philbrick (+)🇺🇲

The Woman Who Murdered Babies for Money by Alison Rattle and Allison Vale (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney (+) 🇬🇾

Ghost on the Throne by James S. Romm (+++)🇺🇲

The Five by Hallie Rubenhold (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth by Gitta Sereny (+++)🇦🇹

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Immortal Game by David Shenk (+) 🇺🇸🇵🇱🕎

A History of Delusion by Victoria Shepard (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Longitude by Dava Sobel (++) 🇺🇲🇷🇺✡

The Borgias by Paul Strathern (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance by Paul Strathern (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

A History of Ancient Greece in 50 Lives by David Stuttard (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Historical fiction:

The Liars' Gospel by Naomi Alderman (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✡

Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker (++) 🇺🇲

HHhH by Laurence Binet (+++)🇫🇷

A Universal History of Iniquity by Jorge Luis Borges trans. Andrew Hurley (++)🇦🇷

The Warlord Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon trans. Humphrey Hare (+)🇫🇷

I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏳️‍🌈

Roots by Alex Haley (+++)🇺🇲🇬🇲✊🏿

Fatherland by Robert Harris (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Rizzio by Denise Mina (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Three Fires by Denise Mina (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Thriller/Crime/Adventure

No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay (++)🇺🇲

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (+) 🇳🇬

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John le Carre (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (+++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The White Road by John Connolly (+)🇮🇪

The Wolf in Winter by John Connolly (+)🇮🇪

Deception by Roald Dahl (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇳🇴

Cruelty by Roald Dahl (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇳🇴

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮🏴󠁧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪

The Brotherhood of Mutilation by Brian Evenson (++)🇺🇲

The Sanza Affair by Brian Evenson (+)🇺🇲

Maxwell's Demon by Steven Hall (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Appeal by Janice Hallet (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Curious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallet (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Examiner by Janice Hallett (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Killer Question by Janice Hallett (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (++)🇺🇲

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (++)🇺🇲

Call of the Wild by Jack London (+)🇺🇲

The Skin Trade by George R. R. Martin (+)🇺🇲

Ice Station by Matthew Reilly (++)🇦🇺

Temple by Matthew Reilly (+)🇦🇺

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson(++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami trans. Yuji Oniki(+)🇯🇵

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Last Murder At The End of the World by Stuart Turton (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Horror

Nocturnes by John Connolly (+)🇮🇪

Noctures 2: Night Music by John Connolly (++)🇮🇪

The Breach by Nick Cutter (++)🇨🇦

The Deep by Nick Cutter (+++)🇨🇦

Little Heaven by Nick Cutter (+)🇨🇦

The Troop by Nick Cutter (++)🇨🇦

House of Leaves by Mark L. Danielewski (++) 🇵🇱🇺🇲

Contagion and Other Stories by Brian Evenson (++) 🇺🇲

A Collapse of Horses by Brian Evenson (+++)🇺🇲

Good Night Sleep Tight by Brian Evenson (++)🇺🇲

None of You Shall be Spared by Brian Evenson (+)🇺🇲

Song for the Unravelling of the World by Brian Evenson (+++)🇺🇲

1408 by Stephen King (++)🇺🇲

The Jaunt by Stephen King (+)🇺🇲

Misery by Stephen King (++)🇺🇲

Night Shift by Stephen King (+)🇺🇲

The Bone Key by Sarah Monette (+)🇺🇲

Equoid by Charles Stross (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer (++)🇺🇲

The Weird ed. Anne and Jeff Vandermeer (+)

Science Fiction/Fantasy

Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Power by Naomi Alderman (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✡

Foundation by Isaac Asimov (+)🇺🇲✡

Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov (+)🇺🇲✡

Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The Reinvented Detective ed. Jennifer Brozak and Cat Rambo (+) 🇺🇲

Halo: Envoy by Tobias Buckell (+)🇺🇲

Unexpected Tales by Octavia E. Butler🇺🇲✊🏿

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Memory's Legion by James S. A. Corey (+)🇺🇲

Terra Ultima by Raoul Deleo (+)🇳🇱

Man After Man by Dougal Dixon (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin (+)🇺🇲

The Raw Shark Texts by Stephen Hall (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

XX by Rian Hughes (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Children of Men by P. D. James (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Star Wars: the Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire by Chris Kempshall (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (novella) (+++)🇺🇲✡

All Tomorrows by C. M. Kosemen (+)🇹🇷

Vintage Season by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (+)🇺🇲

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin (++) 🇺🇲

The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. LeGuin (++)🇺🇲

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (++)🇵🇱

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (+)🇺🇲

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (+)🇺🇲

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin (+++)🇺🇲

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (+++)🇺🇲

The World of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, Linda Antonssen, and Elio M. Garcia (+) 🇺🇲🇸🇪🇨🇺

The City and the City by China Mieville (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Embassytown by China Mieville (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Kraken by China Mieville (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Scar by China Mieville (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Three Moments of an Explosion by China Mieville (+++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

1984 by George Orwell (+++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

A Short Stay in Hell by Stephen L. Peck (+)🇺🇲

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Unto Leviathan by Richard Paul Russo (++)🇺🇲

The Oxford Book of Science-Fiction Stories ed. Tom Shippey (++)

The Science-Fiction Hall of Fame Vol. 1 ed. Robert Silverberg (+++)🇺🇲✡

Halo: Contact Harvest by Joseph Staten (+)🇺🇲

The Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇵🇱

The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien (++)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Children of Hûrin by J. R. R. Tolkein and Christopher Tolkein (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Fall of Gondolin by J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The Fall of Númenor by J. R. R. Tolkien and Brian Sibley (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Radiance by Cathrynne M. Valente (+)🇺🇲

Blindsight by Peter Watts (++)🇨🇦

The Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts (++)🇨🇦

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (+)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

A Martian Odyssey by Stanley G. Weinbaum(++)🇺🇲✡

Graphic Novels

Maus by Art Speigelman (+++)🇺🇲🇵🇱✡

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Watchmen by Alan Moore (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Peterloo by Eva Schlunk (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Plays

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (++) 🇮🇪

The Complete Plays of William Shakespeare (+++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Mike Walker and Harlan Ellison (+++) 🇺🇲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✡

Corona by Mike Walker and Samuel R. Delaney (+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇲✊🏿

Who Goes There by Mike Walker and John W. Campbell (++) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇲