The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka (1915)
Finished: October
Rating: 4 Stars
Notes: I've lost my knack for literary analysis but 'The Metamorphosis' is a great exploration of isolation, idently and humanity. Tragic and surreal; a great read.

Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin (1956)
Finished: May
Rating: 5 Stars
Notes: It took me three different tries to read this book, but not because it's a bad book; I just kept getting really busy. Baldwin is a fantastic author. This novel is a simply a masterpiece; these internal battles over love, grief and guilt are so heartwrenching because they're so close to many of us. It's a tragedy because you think (or, more accurately, hope) that everything would fix itself but it just doesn't.

The Price of the Phoenix - Myrna Culbreath & Sondra Marshak (1977)
Finished: May
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Notes: Second Star Trek novel I've read. It's incredibly gay. The geography of the base had me really confused, but was still entertaining. Maybe I'll read the sequel?

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - Harlan Ellison (1967)
Finished: April
Rating: 4 Stars
Notes: I decided to listen to Ellison read this book and I must say that really made the experience. He's got this way of narrating the book that just makes the emotions pop. It's rather grotesque.

The Cat and the City - Nick Bradley (2020)
Finished: April
Rating: 2 Stars
Notes: BAD. The cat made very few appearances, and because of that the books wasn't good; I jest, but it's not good by any metric. It was fairly boring. The idea that cities are big and lonely isn't exactly revolutionary. I liked the first story, and it just sort of got worse from there.

Dreams of the Raven - Carmen Carter (1987)
Finished: December
Rating: 5 Stars
Notes: My first time reading a Star Trek novel, and it was a great read. You can tell that Carter has a masterful grasp of these characters, they're really accurately written. I would've loved this as an episode but I think it works better as a novel.

The Invisible Man - H G Wells (1897)
Finished: December
Rating: 4 Stars
Notes: An absolute romp, like it was fun. It's a great comedy even if that wasn't the ultimate intention. To quote an old review of mine from Goodreads:
"Griffin was an arrogant and insufferable git, but its hardly suprising considering the lengths he was willing to go to to keep this thing a secret. like good lord man, just tell people and be out with it already. maybe then you wouldn't want to systematically kill people who got on your nerves a bit."
Great time, would recommend.

No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai (1948)
Finished: July
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Notes: I don't think I really got this one I won't lie. It was painfully bleak the entire way through, and yes I'm aware that this is semi-autobiographical, but I just couldn't find myself really remembering the experience let alone getting any enjoyment from it.

Life Ceremony - Sayaka Murata (2022)
Finished: June
Rating: 4 Stars
Notes: A set of short stories that focus on ideas of belonging, family and, of course, cannibalism. Love how much the tone varies from story to story, and Murata's writing is perfect for these themes. All the stories are pretty enjoyable, even if some are a tad forgetful.

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (1932)
Finished: June
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Notes: Genuinely don't remember anything past the first part; maybe that says something?

Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata (2016)
Finished: June
Rating: 3 Stars
Notes: Just a bit unmemorable? A lot of it felt trite, nor was it particularly inspiring or inspired. Good but not one I'd bother to reread.

One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston (2021)
Finished: May
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Notes: Cute but needed to be shorter. Maybe I'm just not built for the romance genre?

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (1847)
Finished: March
Rating: 5 Stars
Notes: Another one I had to read for school. Adore this book, it's just so messy and crazed. I'm still mad at that one kid in my class who managed to misinterpret the entire book.

The Hounds of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)
Finished: February
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Notes: An absolute icon. I had the unfortunate experience of seeing the BBC Sherlock episode adaptation before reading the actual book and Jesus is that episode so so so so bad in comparison.

If We Were Villains - M L Rio (2017)
Finished: February
Rating: 4 Stars
Notes: Brought the rating down a bit because I genuinely can't remember anything outside of the main plot beats. It was enjoyable to read, but dear God can these people stop quoting Shakespeare. Like, I know you love the guy but it really gets on your nerves after a while.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong (2019)
Finished: January
Rating: 5 Stars
Notes: Hardhitting and raw. A letter from a son to his illiterate mother, circling from the past to the present in beautiful vignettes. Very poetic, very good!

Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf (1925)
Finished: November
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Notes: Had to read this one for school. Love the plot, love (most) of the characters, I just hate hate hate the writing style (stream of consciousness by beloathed).

Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi (2015)
Finished: August
Rating: 3 Stars
Notes: It was pleasant and at times quite heartbreaking, but it just didn't have much of an impact on me. Might need to re-read?

Maurice - E. M Forster (1971)
Finished: July
Rating: 6 Stars
Notes: Gets the covetted sixth star beccause this is my favourite book that I've ever read. I can never quite find the right words to describe how much I adore this book; it's the type of story you just have to read for yourself. You just have to let it take over your entire soul for a couple months so that it can carve out a space just for itself. I'll just let Forster say it best:

“A happy ending was imperative. I shouldn’t have bothered to write otherwise. I was determined that in fiction anyway two men should fall in love and remain in it for the ever that fiction allows, and in this sense, Maurice and [spoiler] still roam the greenwood.”

If I think about this book too hard I start crying!

Dr Jekyll and Mr Seek - Anthony O'Neil (2017)
Finished: July
Rating: 2 Stars
Notes: It was God awful. The dialogue was stilted and unnatural, and Utterson underwent a particularly egregious change in character; like I get that was kind of the point of the book, but even right at the start he's not the same guy you met in the original 'Jekyll and Hyde' story and it's so offputting. Tried too hard. Not worth your time!

Heaven - Mieko Kawakami (2009)
Finished: July
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Notes: I remember reading this on the train. I think a combination of the book itself and the fact I get motion sick made me put it down for the rest of the journey. Despite that setback, it was good.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz (2012)
Finished: January
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Notes: I remember little about this book but clearly I liked it at the time!

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller (2011)
Finished: September
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Notes: This book took over my life at one point, it was actually quite alarming; like, I was up in the dead of night thinking about it. It's very pretty, but the way she (Miller) smooths out Patroclus' personality makes it all a bit disconcerting. I'll give myself some leway since I hadn't consumed The Iliad at this point, but trust me it's better than this book.

They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera (2017)
Finished: July
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Notes: It's been a while since I even thought about this book. I was 15 when I read this and it did have an impact on me (aka it made me cry), but I don't care enough to re-read it.