2025 Reading List Monthly Update: May

Books read in May of 2025:

"Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing" (Lili Taylor) 5-5-25

"Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division" (Deborah Curtis) 5-8-25

"Six Tragedies: Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Julius Caesar" (William Shakespeare)" 5-16-25 +

"Holding Pattern" (Jenny Xie) 5-21-25 

"Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages" (Umberto Eco) 5-28-25 

"The True History of the Black Adder" (J.F. Roberts) 5-28-25 

"The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra" (William Shakespeare) 5-29-25 

"All's Well That Ends Well" (William Shakespeare) 5-30-25

"The Merchant of Venice" (William Shakespeare) 5-31-25 

-

2025 Reading List Total:

-

1. "The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages" (Sara J. Charles) 1-5-25 

2. "Strange Pictures" (Uketsu) 1-10-25

3. "Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions" (Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi) 1-11-25

4. "The Violin with Human Strings and Other Tales of Musical Madness" (Antonio Ghislanzoni) 1-14-25

5. "Anuarí" (Teresa Wilms Montt) 1-16-25 

6. "Voices of the Fallen Heroes and Other Stories" (Yukio Mishima) 1-20-25

7. "When I Think of My Missing Head" (Adolfo Couve) 1-20-25

8. "Medieval Woodcut Illustrations: City Views and Decorations from the Nuremberg Chronicle" (Carol Belanger Grafton) 1-20-25

9. "Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused" (Melissa Maerz) 1-22-25 

10. "The Song of Roland and Other Poems of Charlemagne" (Anonymous) 1-29-25 

11. "The Illustrated History of the Popes" (Charles Phillips) 2-7-25

12. "The Prince" (Niccolo Machiavelli) 2-16-25

13. "The Complete Canterbury Tales" (Geoffrey Chaucer) 2-17-25 

14. "A Perfect Day to Be Alone" (Nanae Aoyama) 2-20-25

15. "Upuaut" (Brendan Connell) 2-23-25 

16. "The Aristocracy of Nerves (and One Other)" (Justin Isis) 2-24-25 

17. "Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth" (David Browne) 2-24-25 

18. "El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary" (Nora Berend) 2-28-25

19. "The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film" (William Preston Robertson + Tricia Cooke) 3-4-25 

20. "Six Histories: King John, Richard II, King Henry IV Pts. 1 & 2, Henry V, Richard III" (William Shakespeare) 3-14-25

21. "Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws, and Kitties of Yore" (Catherine Nappington) 3-16-25

22. "Orbital" (Samantha Harvey) 3-19-25

23. "The Liminal Zone 2" (Junji Ito) 3-20-25

24. "Spectacular Visual Guides: A Shakespearean Theatre" (Jacqueline Morley/John James) 3-21-25

25. "Vladivostok Circus" (Elisa Shua Dusapin) 3-27-25

26. "Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything" (Jennifer Keishin Armstrong) 3-29-25

27. "En Route" (J.-K. Huysmans/Brendan King translation) 4-6-25 +

28. "10,000 Light-Years From Home" (James Tiptree Jr.) 4-15-25

29. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (J.R.R. Tolkien) 4-25-25 

30. "The Rainbow" (Yasunari Kawabata) 4-30-25

31. "Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing" (Lili Taylor) 5-5-25

32. "Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division" (Deborah Curtis) 5-8-25

33. "Six Tragedies: Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Julius Caesar" (William Shakespeare)" 5-16-25 +

34. "Holding Pattern" (Jenny Xie) 5-21-25 

35. "Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages" (Umberto Eco) 5-28-25 

36. "The True History of the Black Adder" (J.F. Roberts) 5-28-25 

37. "The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra" (William Shakespeare) 5-29-25 

38. "All's Well That Ends Well" (William Shakespeare) 5-30-25

39. "The Merchant of Venice" (William Shakespeare) 5-31-25 

*= book I have read at least once in the past
+= book I have read before, but not this reprint/edition/translation

Currently Reading: 

Neo-Passéism Substack Interview

I keep forgetting to mention this, but over the last few months I've been a frequent contributor to the Neo-Passéism Substack. Here's a link to the Substack's archive, where one can find a number of various articles, some (though not all) of which I contributed to (it's planned to get to 50 or so entries): 

https://neopasseism.substack.com/archive?sort=new

Contributors to the Neo-Passéism Substack are also periodically being interviewed, and I was picked as the first subject. Topics covered include virginity, books written by my brothers, my interest in Medievalism, Shakespeare as a fan fiction writer, my long out-of-print debut novel CONFUSION, my forthcoming French Decadent short novel PULP FIN-DE-SIÈCLE, and (most importantly) why Lady Gaga is more important than Rihanna. Thanks to Justin Isis for the questions and Dan Heyer for the artwork (I was happy to see he included the northern boundary line of my chest hair)

https://neopasseism.substack.com/p/james-champagne-interview

2025 Reading List Monthly Update: April

 Books read in April of 2025:

"En Route" (J.-K. Huysmans/Brendan King translation) 4-6-25 +

"10,000 Light-Years From Home" (James Tiptree Jr.) 4-15-25

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (J.R.R. Tolkien) 4-25-25 

"The Rainbow" (Yasunari Kawabata) 4-30-25 

-

2025 Reading List Total:

-

1. "The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages" (Sara J. Charles) 1-5-25 

2. "Strange Pictures" (Uketsu) 1-10-25

3. "Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions" (Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi) 1-11-25

4. "The Violin with Human Strings and Other Tales of Musical Madness" (Antonio Ghislanzoni) 1-14-25

5. "Anuarí" (Teresa Wilms Montt) 1-16-25 

6. "Voices of the Fallen Heroes and Other Stories" (Yukio Mishima) 1-20-25

7. "When I Think of My Missing Head" (Adolfo Couve) 1-20-25

8. "Medieval Woodcut Illustrations: City Views and Decorations from the Nuremberg Chronicle" (Carol Belanger Grafton) 1-20-25

9. "Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused" (Melissa Maerz) 1-22-25 

10. "The Song of Roland and Other Poems of Charlemagne" (Anonymous) 1-29-25 

11. "The Illustrated History of the Popes" (Charles Phillips) 2-7-25

12. "The Prince" (Niccolo Machiavelli) 2-16-25

13. "The Complete Canterbury Tales" (Geoffrey Chaucer) 2-17-25 

14. "A Perfect Day to Be Alone" (Nanae Aoyama) 2-20-25

15. "Upuaut" (Brendan Connell) 2-23-25 

16. "The Aristocracy of Nerves (and One Other)" (Justin Isis) 2-24-25 

17. "Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth" (David Browne) 2-24-25 

18. "El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary" (Nora Berend) 2-28-25

19. "The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film" (William Preston Robertson + Tricia Cooke) 3-4-25 

20. "Six Histories: King John, Richard II, King Henry IV Pts. 1 & 2, Henry V, Richard III" (William Shakespeare) 3-14-25

21. "Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws, and Kitties of Yore" (Catherine Nappington) 3-16-25

22. "Orbital" (Samantha Harvey) 3-19-25

23. "The Liminal Zone 2" (Junji Ito) 3-20-25

24. "Spectacular Visual Guides: A Shakespearean Theatre" (Jacqueline Morley/John James) 3-21-25

25. "Vladivostok Circus" (Elisa Shua Dusapin) 3-27-25

26. "Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything" (Jennifer Keishin Armstrong) 3-29-25

27. "En Route" (J.-K. Huysmans/Brendan King translation) 4-6-25 +

28. "10,000 Light-Years From Home" (James Tiptree Jr.) 4-15-25

29. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (J.R.R. Tolkien) 4-25-25 

30. "The Rainbow" (Yasunari Kawabata) 4-30-25

*= book I have read at least once in the past
+= book I have read before, but not this reprint/edition/translation

Currently Reading: 

"Six Tragedies: Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Julius Caesar" (William Shakespeare) 

2025 Reading List Monthly Update: March

Books read in March of 2025:

"The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film" (William Preston Robertson + Tricia Cooke) 3-4-25 

"Six Histories: King John, Richard II, King Henry IV Pts. 1 & 2, Henry V, Richard III" (William Shakespeare) 3-14-25

"Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws, and Kitties of Yore" (Catherine Nappington) 3-16-25

"Orbital" (Samantha Harvey) 3-19-25

"The Liminal Zone 2" (Junji Ito) 3-20-25

"Spectacular Visual Guides: A Shakespearean Theatre" (Jacqueline Morley/John James) 3-21-25

"Vladivostok Circus" (Elisa Shua Dusapin) 3-27-25

"Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything" (Jennifer Keishin Armstrong) 3-29-25

-

2025 Reading List Total:

-

1. "The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages" (Sara J. Charles) 1-5-25 

2. "Strange Pictures" (Uketsu) 1-10-25

3. "Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions" (Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi) 1-11-25

4. "The Violin with Human Strings and Other Tales of Musical Madness" (Antonio Ghislanzoni) 1-14-25

5. "Anuarí" (Teresa Wilms Montt) 1-16-25 

6. "Voices of the Fallen Heroes and Other Stories" (Yukio Mishima) 1-20-25

7. "When I Think of My Missing Head" (Adolfo Couve) 1-20-25

8. "Medieval Woodcut Illustrations: City Views and Decorations from the Nuremberg Chronicle" (Carol Belanger Grafton) 1-20-25

9. "Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused" (Melissa Maerz) 1-22-25 

10. "The Song of Roland and Other Poems of Charlemagne" (Anonymous) 1-29-25 

11. "The Illustrated History of the Popes" (Charles Phillips) 2-7-25

12. "The Prince" (Niccolo Machiavelli) 2-16-25

13. "The Complete Canterbury Tales" (Geoffrey Chaucer) 2-17-25 

14. "A Perfect Day to Be Alone" (Nanae Aoyama) 2-20-25

15. "Upuaut" (Brendan Connell) 2-23-25 

16. "The Aristocracy of Nerves (and One Other)" (Justin Isis) 2-24-25 

17. "Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth" (David Browne) 2-24-25 

18. "El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary" (Nora Berend) 2-28-25

19. "The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film" (William Preston Robertson + Tricia Cooke) 3-4-25 

20. "Six Histories: King John, Richard II, King Henry IV Pts. 1 & 2, Henry V, Richard III" (William Shakespeare) 3-14-25

21. "Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws, and Kitties of Yore" (Catherine Nappington) 3-16-25

22. "Orbital" (Samantha Harvey) 3-19-25

23. "The Liminal Zone 2" (Junji Ito) 3-20-25

24. "Spectacular Visual Guides: A Shakespearean Theatre" (Jacqueline Morley/John James) 3-21-25

25. "Vladivostok Circus" (Elisa Shua Dusapin) 3-27-25

26. "Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything" (Jennifer Keishin Armstrong) 3-29-25

*= book I have read at least once in the past
+= book I have read before, but not this reprint/edition/translation

Currently Reading: 

"En Route" (J.-K. Huysmans) 

"10,000 Light-Years From Home" (James Tiptree Jr.) 

2025 Reading List Monthly Update: February

 Books read in February of 2025:

"The Illustrated History of the Popes" (Charles Phillips) 2-7-25

"The Prince" (Niccolo Machiavelli) 2-16-25

"The Complete Canterbury Tales" (Geoffrey Chaucer) 2-17-25 

"A Perfect Day to Be Alone" (Nanae Aoyama) 2-20-25

"Upuaut" (Brendan Connell) 2-23-25 

"The Aristocracy of Nerves (and One Other)" (Justin Isis) 2-24-25 

"Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth" (David Browne) 2-24-25 

"El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary" (Nora Berend) 2-28-25 

-

2025 Reading List Total:

-

1. "The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages" (Sara J. Charles) 1-5-25 

2. "Strange Pictures" (Uketsu) 1-10-25

3. "Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions" (Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi) 1-11-25

4. "The Violin with Human Strings and Other Tales of Musical Madness" (Antonio Ghislanzoni) 1-14-25

5. "Anuarí" (Teresa Wilms Montt) 1-16-25 

6. "Voices of the Fallen Heroes and Other Stories" (Yukio Mishima) 1-20-25

7. "When I Think of My Missing Head" (Adolfo Couve) 1-20-25

8. "Medieval Woodcut Illustrations: City Views and Decorations from the Nuremberg Chronicle" (Carol Belanger Grafton) 1-20-25

9. "Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused" (Melissa Maerz) 1-22-25 

10. "The Song of Roland and Other Poems of Charlemagne" (Anonymous) 1-29-25 

11. "The Illustrated History of the Popes" (Charles Phillips) 2-7-25

12. "The Prince" (Niccolo Machiavelli) 2-16-25

13. "The Complete Canterbury Tales" (Geoffrey Chaucer) 2-17-25 

14. "A Perfect Day to Be Alone" (Nanae Aoyama) 2-20-25

15. "Upuaut" (Brendan Connell) 2-23-25 

16. "The Aristocracy of Nerves (and One Other)" (Justin Isis) 2-24-25 

17. "Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth" (David Browne) 2-24-25 

18. "El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary" (Nora Berend) 2-28-25

*= book I have read at least once in the past
+= book I have read before, but not this reprint/edition/translation

Currently Reading: 

"Six Histories" (William Shakespeare)

2025 Reading List Monthly Update: January

Books read in January of 2025:

"The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages" (Sara J. Charles) 1-5-25 

"Strange Pictures" (Uketsu) 1-10-25

"Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions" (Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi) 1-11-25

"The Violin with Human Strings and Other Tales of Musical Madness" (Antonio Ghislanzoni) 1-14-25

"Anuarí" (Teresa Wilms Montt) 1-16-25 

"Voices of the Fallen Heroes and Other Stories" (Yukio Mishima) 1-20-25

"When I Think of My Missing Head" (Adolfo Couve) 1-20-25

"Medieval Woodcut Illustrations: City Views and Decorations from the Nuremberg Chronicle" (Carol Belanger Grafton) 1-20-25

"Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused" (Melissa Maerz) 1-22-25 

"The Song of Roland and Other Poems of Charlemagne" (Anonymous) 1-29-25 

-

2025 Reading List Total:

-

1. "The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages" (Sara J. Charles) 1-5-25 

2. "Strange Pictures" (Uketsu) 1-10-25

3. "Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions" (Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi) 1-11-25

4. "The Violin with Human Strings and Other Tales of Musical Madness" (Antonio Ghislanzoni) 1-14-25

5. "Anuarí" (Teresa Wilms Montt) 1-16-25 

6. "Voices of the Fallen Heroes and Other Stories" (Yukio Mishima) 1-20-25

7. "When I Think of My Missing Head" (Adolfo Couve) 1-20-25

8. "Medieval Woodcut Illustrations: City Views and Decorations from the Nuremberg Chronicle" (Carol Belanger Grafton) 1-20-25

9. "Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused" (Melissa Maerz) 1-22-25 

10. "The Song of Roland and Other Poems of Charlemagne" (Anonymous) 1-29-25 

*= book I have read at least once in the past
+= book I have read before, but not this reprint/edition/translation

Currently Reading: 

"The Illustrated History of the Popes" (Charles Phillips) 

"The Complete Canterbury Tales" (Geoffrey Chaucer) 

Top 100 Albums of All-Time List (as of January 2025)

Recently I decided to update my Top 100 Albums of All-time list (mainly rock/pop, not counting soundtracks, Classical, and so on). Albums with an asterisk indicate new additions

1. Add N to (X): Avant Hard (1999)

2. Alice in Chains: Dirt (1992)

3. Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992)

4. Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Volume 2 (1994)

5. Bauhaus: In the Flat Field (1980)

6. Brendan Perry: Eye of the Hunter (1999)

7. Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023) *

8. Chris & Cosey: Heartbeat (1981) *

9. Chrome: Half Machine Lip Moves (1979)

10. Cibo Matto: Stereo Type A (1999)

11. Coil: Horse Rotorvator (1986)

12. The Cure: Seventeen Seconds (1980) *

13. The Cure: The Top (1984) *

14. Current 93: Dogs Blood Rising (1984)

15. Current 93: Imperium (1987)

16. Current 93: Black Ships Ate the Sky (2006)

17. Cut Hands: Festival of the Dead (2014)

18. D.A.F.: Alles Ist Gut (1981)

19. David Bowie: The Next Day (2013)

20. Dead Can Dance: Dead Can Dance (1984)

21. Depeche Mode: Black Celebration (1986)

22. Depeche Mode: Playing the Angel (2005)

23. Depeche Mode: Violator (1990) *

24. Durutti Column: The Return of the Durutti Column (1980) *

25. Einstürzende Neubauten: Halber Mensch (1985)

26. Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Brain Salad Surgery (1973)

27. Fad Gadget: Gag (1984)

28. Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes (2008) *

29. Fleetwood Mac: Rumours (1977)

30. Fleetwood Mac: Tusk (1979)

31. Front Line Assembly: The Initial Command (1987) *

32. Garbage: Garbage (1995) *

33. Genesis: Invisible Touch (1986)

34. Harry Styles: Fine Line (2019)

35. Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures (1979)

36. Joy Division: Closer (1980)

37. Kate Bush: Hounds of Love (1985)

38. Keane: Under the Iron Sea (2006) *

39. King Crimson: Red (1974) *

40. Lady Gaga: The Fame (2008)

41. Lady Gaga: Artpop (2013)

42. Lady Gaga: Chromatica (2020)

43. Ladytron: Ladytron (2019)

44. Lindsey Buckingham: Lindsey Buckingham (2021) *

45. Madonna: Like a Virgin (1984)

46. Manic Street Preachers: The Holy Bible (1994)

47. Manic Street Preachers: Journal for Plague Lovers (2009)

48. Meg & Dia: Here, Here and Here (2009) *

49. Ministry: The Land of Rape & Honey (1988)

50. Ministry: Filth Pig (1996)

51. Ministry: Animositisomina (2003) *

52. Ministry: Houses of the Mole (2004) *

53. Natalie Imbruglia: Left of the Middle (1998) *

54. Nico: The Marble Index (1968)

55. Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine (1989)

56. Nine Inch Nails: The Downward Spiral (1994)

57. Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (1999)

58. Nine Inch Nails: Hesitation Marks (2013)

59. NON: Children of the Black Sun (2002) *

60. Nurse With Wound: Merzbild Schwet (1980)

61. ohGr: Welt (2001) *

62. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1979)

63. The Pixies: Doolittle (1989) *

64. The Police: Synchronicity (1983)

65. Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet (1990)

66. Public Image Limited: Second Edition (1980)

67. The Residents: The Third Reich & Roll (1976)

68. Rilo Kiley: Under the Blacklight (2007)

69. Sara Bareilles: The Blessed Unrest (2013) *

70. Scott Walker: The Drift (2006) *

71. Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel: Nail (1985)

72. The Shins: Heartworms (2017) *

73. Silicon Teens: Music for Parties (1980) *

74. Siouxsie & the Banshees: The Scream (1978)

75. Siouxsie & the Banshees: Join Hands (1979)

76. Siouxsie & the Banshees: Kaleidoscope (1980)

77. Siouxsie & the Banshees: Juju (1981) *

78. Siouxsie & the Banshees: A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982)

79. Skinny Puppy: Cleanse, Fold and Manipulate (1987)

80. Soft Cell: This Last Night in Sodom (1984)

81. Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation (1988)

82. Sonic Youth: Murray Street (2002)

83. Sting: The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985)

84. Sting: The Soul Cages (1991) *

85. Sting: Ten Summoner’s Tales (1993) *

86. Suicide: A Way of Life (1988)

87. Suzanne Vega: Days of Open Hand (1990)

88. Suzanne Vega: Nine Objects of Desire (1996)

89. Swans: Children of God (1987)

90. Switchblade Symphony: Serpentine Gallery (1995)

91. Terry Riley: Shri Camel (1978)

92. Throbbing Gristle: Heathen Earth (1980)

93. Utada Hikaru: Ultra Blue (2006)

94. Vainio Väisänen Vega: Endless (1998) *

95. The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

96. The Velvet Underground: White Light/White Heat (1968)

97. Whitehouse: Bird Seed (2003)

98. Wire: A Bell is a Cup… (1988)

99. Yes: Fragile (1972) *

100. Yola: Walk Through Fire (2019) *

The old list (from 2020):

https://onyxglossary.blogspot.com/2020/06/top-100-albums-of-all-time-as-of-june.html

100. Yola: Walk Through Fire (2019) *

Third Novel Complete: PULP FIN-DE-SIÈCLE

Yesterday I finished work on my third novel, PULP FIN-DE-SIÈCLE. For those keeping track of such things, it’s literally been almost nine years since I finished the first draft of my second novel HARLEM SMOKE (on Jan. 20, 2016); of course, in that span of time, I did do a few other books. This new one began life as a short story/novella that I wrote back in 2019 (back then, it was called THE POISONED CITY). Over the last five years, I kept adding bits and pieces to it on a periodic basis, and it kept expanding and getting longer and longer, eventually more than doubling its original size. Finally, last year I decided to just start thinking of it as a short novel. At over 40,000 words, it’s slightly shorter than, say, something like THE GREAT GATSBY. But I think every author should have at least one short novel in their bibliography: Camus had THE STRANGER, Orwell had ANIMAL FARM, Steinbeck had THE PEARL and OF MICE AND MEN, Conrad had HEART OF DARKNESS, and so on. But I should stress that I view it not as a novella, but as either a short novel or just a plain novel period!

The project can be (tongue-in-cheek) described as MONSIEUR DE PHOCAS meets THE CANTERBURY TALES, and is kind of a tribute to all of the 19th-century French Decadent authors I’ve been reading and enjoying over the last 20 years or so (in particular, Jean Lorrain, J.-K. Huysmans, and Leon Bloy). It’s set over a period of 24 hours on an April day in Paris in 1893, and is divided into seven 10-15 page sections, each of which revolve around a stock character from the books and stories of that era: a Priest, a Symbolist Artist, a Dandy, an Actress, a Prostitute, a Diabolist/Occultist, and a Decadent Novelist . . . but all of the characters drift in and out of each other’s sections/stories, hence why I somewhat jokingly gave the book the current title it has. Of course, even though it’s something of a mosaic novel, the true main character of the book is Paris itself, with its churches and cafés, its opera houses and artist studios, and so on and so forth.

2024 Reading List Monthly Update: December (Finale)

Books read in December of 2024:

"LAbyrinth" (Randall Sullivan) 12-2-24

"The Epic of Gilgamesh" (Anonymous/N.K. Sanders translation) 12-3-24

"Plastic Soul" (James Nulick) 12-12-24

"DOOM: Scarydarkfast" (Dan Pinchbeck) 12-15-24

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (J.R.R. Tolkien) 12-22-24

"The Beggar Student" (Osamu Dazai) 12-22-24 

"H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu" (Adapted/Illustrated by Gou Tanabe) 12-29-24

-

2024 Reading List Total:

-

1. "The Explosion of a Chandelier" (Damian Murphy) 1-7-24

2. "Empire of the Sun" (J.G. Ballard) 1-11-24

3. "The Consolation of Philosophy" (Boethius) 1-14-24

4. "CAW: Colossal Abandoned World" (James Champagne) 1-17-24

5. "The Green Fly and Other Stories" (Robert Scheffer) 1-19-24

6. "Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again" (Shigeru Kayama) 1-22-24

7. "Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982" (Cho Nam-joo) 1-27-24

8. "The Planetary Omnibus" (Warren Ellis) 1-28-24

9. "A Song in the Night" (Daniel Mills) 1-31-24 

10. "The Princess of Darkness" (Rachilde) 2-13-24

11. "i'm still growing" (Josiah Morgan) 2-15-24

12. "Winona" (Robert Rich) 2-16-24

13. "Alexandria: The City That Changed The World" (Islam Issa) 2-21-24

14. "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)" (Mindy Kaling) 2-27-24

15. "Self-Portraits" (Osamu Dazai) 2-27-24

16. "The Siren's Lament: Essential Stories" (Jun'ichirō Tanizaki) 3-10-24

17. "The Secret History with Related Texts" (Prokopios) 3-13-24

18. "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" (Marie Kondo) 3-14-24

19. "Crampton" (Thomas Ligotti & Brandon Trenz) 3-16-24 +

20. "Stitches" (Hirokatsu Kihara + Junji Ito) 3-26-24

21. "Artists and Their Cats" (Alison Nastasi) 3-28-24

22. "Great Cities of the Ancient World" (L. Sprague de Camp) 4-3-24

23. "Terminal Boredom" (Izumi Suzuki) 4-12-24

24. "Dragon Palace" (Hiromi Kawakami) 4-16-24

25. "Alexander the Great: His Life and Mysterious Death" (Anthony Everitt) 4-21-24

26. "The Antichrist: A New Biography" (Philip C. Almond) 5-24-24

27. "The Old Capital" (Yasunari Kawabata) 5-16-24

28. "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" (Bettany Hughes) 5-20-24

29. "The Cat Inside" (William S. Burroughs) 5-22-24 +

30. "A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages: The World Through Medieval Eyes" (Anthony Bale) 5-29-24

31. "Diary of a Void" (Emi Yagi) 5-29-24

32. "The Book of Marvels and Travels" (Sir John Mandeville/Anthony Bale translation) 6-4-24

33. "The Edge of the World: How the North Sea Made Us Who We Are" (Michael Pye) 6-9-24

34. "The Three Cornered World" (Natsume Soseki) 6-15-24

35. "A Kingdom of Frozen Tears" (Tom Champagne) 6-21-24

36. "Michigan Basement" (Thomas Ligotti & Brandon Trenz) 6-22-24

37. "The Stronghold" (Dino Buzzati) 6-24-24 

38. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (Gawain-Poet/Keith Harrison translation) 7-1-24

39. "The Death of King Arthur" (Sir Thomas Malory/a retelling by Peter Ackroyd) 7-2-24

40. "Flunker" (Dennis Cooper) 7-4-24

41. "The Rule of St. Benedict" (St. Benedict of Nursia) 7-5-24

42. "Beowulf" (Unknown/John McNamara translation) 7-9-24

43. "Alley" (Junji Ito) 7-15-24

44. "Out of the Silent Planet" (C.S. Lewis) 

45. "Soviet Asia" (Roberto Conte + Stefano Perego) 7-17-24

46. "The Adventure Zone Vol. 6: The Suffering Game" (The McElroys + Carey Pietsch) 7-19-24

47. "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" (Soji Shimada) 7-27-24

48. "The Singularity" (Dino Buzzati) 7-31-24

49. "Goodnight Tokyo" (Atsuhiro Yoshida) 8-3-24

50. "Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders" (Vincent Bugliosi + Curt Gentry) 8-5-24

51. "Spook" (Klabund) 8-7-24

52. "Dark Entries: Bauhaus and Beyond" (Ian Shirley) 8-9-24

53. "The Sun Also Rises" (Ernest Hemingway) 8-15-24

54. "Depeche Mode: A Biography" (Steve Malins) 8-20-24

55. "The Sirens of Titan" (Kurt Vonnegut) 8-25-24

56. "We" (Yevgeny Zamyatin) 8-26-24

57. "Siouxsie & the Banshees: The Authorised Biography" (Mark Paytress) 9-3-24

58. "Vita Nouva" (Dante Alighieri/Mark Musa translation) 9-5-24

59. "Shakespeare and the Medieval World" (Helen Cooper) 9-10-24

60. "The Medieval Castle: Design - Construction - Daily Life" (Charles Phillips) 9-19-24

61. "The Art of War" (Sun Tzu) 9-23-24

62. "Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era" (Saul Austerlitz) 9-26-24

63. "Peppermint Werewolf: Murkstave" (Aaron Lange) 9-28-24

64. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (J.R.R. Tolkien) 9-29-24

65. "Nightlands Issue 2 - Summer 2024" (Various) 10-2-24

66. "Charnel Glamour" (Mark Samuels) 10-4-24

67. "Uncanny: The Origins of Fear" (Junji Ito) 10-6-24

68. "The Universe As Performance Art" (Colby Smith) 10-10-24

69. "Come Tomorrow and Other Tales of Bangalore Terror" (Jayaprakash Satyamurthy) 10-13-24

70. "The Dark Chamber" (Leonard Cline) 10-14-24

71. "The Worlds of George R.R. Martin" (Tom Huddleston) 10-19-24

72. "Tales of the Grotesque" (L.A. Lewis) 10-23-24

73. "The Medieval Warrior" (Martin Dougherty) 10-28-24

74. "The Jordan Rules" (Sam Smith) 10-29-24

75. "Four Great Comedies: A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The Tempest" (William Shakespeare) 11-8-24

76. "There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale" (Sean Astin + Joe Layden) 11-15-24

77. "The Greek Alexander Romance" (Unknown) 11-19-29

78. "Spiritus Ex Machina: Dark Tales of Creation" (LC von Hessen) 11-20-24

79. "Princess Diana: A Little Golden Book Biography" (Sonali Fry/Illustrated by Hollie Hibbert) 11-20-24

80. "Cats In Art: From Prehistoric to Neo-Pop Masterpieces" (Alix Paré) 11-23-24

81. "Set My Heart on Fire" (Izumi Suzuki) 11-25-24

82. "LAbyrinth" (Randall Sullivan) 12-2-24

83. "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (Anonymous/N.K. Sanders translation) 12-3-24

84. "Plastic Soul" (James Nulick) 12-12-24

85. "DOOM: Scarydarkfast" (Dan Pinchbeck) 12-15-24

86. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (J.R.R. Tolkien) 12-22-24

87. "The Beggar Student" (Osamu Dazai) 12-22-24 

88. "H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu" (Adapted/Illustrated by Gou Tanabe) 12-29-24

*= book I have read at least once in the past
+= book I have read before, but not this reprint/edition/translation

Currently Reading: 

"The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages" (Sara J. Charles)