I’m fortunate to be surrounded by books. Because of Covid, aging, and a general malaise that makes everything a little harder, I’ve read less in the last five years. The why and how of my reading has changed too.  Typicaly the things on my shelf are fiction, poetry, art books and philosophical stuff. I’m happiest when something is a combination of all four. Also, I  read for atmosphere or maybe more simply put, feeling, rather than contenrt. Certain books instill certain moods and make me think in certain ways. The joke is, that if you ask me for a synopsis, I might be able to relay the narrative, but mirroring my life, I won’t be able to remember any of the character’s names.

Over the past decade I’ve still read a lot. I usually discover things by recommendations from booksellers or a review in the NYT or Guardian. Once I find a new author I like, I go back and try to read everything that person has written.

These are some of my favourites. This is not a chronological list…but more or less my focus in the last ten years.