JANUARY TO JUNE IN BOOKS : THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2025 ROUND-UP
BOOKS
I have been neglecting this blog due to too much life getting in the way, so to make some sort of amends here’s a list of what I have read this year so far, complete with 10 out of 10 ratings. Hoping to publish some actual reviews next week.
Currently vacationing in Cornwall so I have taken the liberty of popping in some holiday snaps along with a few book jackets.
As you can see, its been a great 2025 so far in the world of books and comix…heres the list and thank you for looking!
Green Water, Green Sky - Mavis Gallant. (Daunt Books. 1959)
10/10
I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness - Irene Solà. Translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Letham. (Granta. 2025)
9/10
Command Performance -Jean Echenoz. Translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti. (NYRB. 2020)
8/10
Anything is Possible - Elizabeth Strout. (Penguin. 2017)
10/10
Cornelius : The Merry Life of a Wretched Dog - Marc Torices. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2025)
10/10
Aug 9-Fog - Kathryn Scanlan. (Bookworks. 2019)
10/10
Candy Darling : Dreamer, Icon, Superstar - Cynthia Carr. (FSG. 2024)
9/10
The Giant Jam Sandwich - John Vernon Lord & Janet Burroway. (Red Fox. 1972)
10/10
The Goalkeeper’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick - Peter Handke. Translated from the German by Michael Roloff. (Penguin Modern Classics. 1970)
7/10
Boy’s Alive - Pier Paolo Pasolini. Translated from the Italian by Tim Parks. (NYRB. 1955)
10/10
I found Myself … The Last Dreams - Naguib Mahfouz. Translated from the Arabic by Hisham Matar. Photographs by Diana Matar. (Viking. 2025)
9/10
The Director - Daniel Kehlmann. Translated from the German by Ross Benjamin. (Riverrun. 2025)
8/10
Search & Destroy Vol. 1 - Atsushi Kaneko. Translated from the Japanese by Ben Applegate. (Fantagraphics. 2019)
10/10
Joe Gould’s Secret - Joseph Mitchell. (Vintage Classics. 1964)
10/10
Suspicion - Seichō Matsumoto. Translated from the Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood. (Penguin Modern Classics. 1982)
6/10
The Young Man / Shame / The Possession - Annie Ernaux. Translated from the French by Alison L. Strayer,Tanya Leslie & Anna Moschovakis. (Fitzcarraldo Editions. 2022/1997/2002)
10/10
I Am Ishmaelle - Xiaolu Guo. (Chatto & Windus. 2025)
9/10
The Wendy Award - Walter Scott. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2024)
8/10
The Cabbie Vol 1 & 2 : Definitive Edition - Martí Riera. Translated from the Spanish by Katie LaBarbara & Andrea Rosenberg. (Fantagraphics. 2025)
9/10
Girl, 1983 - Linn Ullmann. Translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken. (Hamish Hamilton. 2025)
8/10
Dreams of Leaving - Rupert Thomson. (Bloomsbury. 1987)
6/10
We All Got Something - Lawrence Lindell. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2025)
9/10
The Complete Peanuts : 1981 / 1982 - Charles M. Schultz. (Canongate. 2015)
10/10
A Doorway to Joe : The Art of Joe Coleman. (Fantagraphics. 2023)
10/10
Big Questions - Anders Nilsen. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2011)
10/10
Mouth : Stories - Puloma Ghosh. (Astra House. 2025)
8/10
Francis Bacon Retrieved : Lost Words / New Writing - Maria Balaska, Amanda J. Harrison, Martin Harrison, Darian Leader. (Thames & Hudson/E.F.B. 2025)
9/10
Perfection - Vincenzo Latronico. Translated from the Italian by Sophie Hughes. (Fizcarraldo Editions. 2025)
9/10
The Law - Roger Vailland. Translated from the French by Peter Wiles. (Eland. 1957)
8/10
On The Calculation Of Volume : 1 - Solvej Balle. Translated from the Danish by Barbara J. Haveland. (Faber & Faber. 2025)
9/10
Tongues : Vol. 1 - Anders Nilsen. (Jonathon Cape/Pantheon. 2025)
10/10
Tokyo These Days: Book 1, 2 & 3 / NO. 5 : Book 1 - Taiyo Matsumoto. Translated from the Japanese by Michael Aries. (Viz Media. 2021)
10/10
Audition - Katie Kitamura. (Fern Press. 2025)
9/10
Sky Daddy - Kate Folk. (Sceptre. 2025)
10/10
Crook Manifesto - Colson Whitehead. (Fleet. 2023)
9/10
You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation! - Fletcher Hanks. (Fantagraphics. 2009)
10/10
The Weirdo Years : 1981 ~ 1993 - R. Crumb. (Knockabout/Kitchen Sink. 2013)
10/10
Bento’s Sketchbook - John Berger. (Verso. 2011)
9/10
Hunchback - Saou Ichikawa. Translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton. (Viking. 2025)
9/10
Precious Rubbish - Kayla E. (Fantagraphics. 2025)
10/10
This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Penguin Modern Classics. 1920)
9/10
Hold Still - Sally Mann. (Penguin Art. 2015)
10/10
Mansect - Koga Shinichi. Translated from the Japanese by Ryan Holmberg. (Smudge. 2025)
6/10
Vanishing World - Sayaka Murata. Translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori. (Granta. 2025)
8/10
Notes From An Island - Tove Jansson with illustrations by Tuulikki Pietilä. Translated from the Swedish by Thomas Teal. (Sort of Books. 1961)
10/10
No One Belongs Here More Than You : Stories - Miranda July. (Canongate. 2007)
9/10
The Country Girls / The Lonely Girl or A Girl With Green Eyes / Girls In Their Married Bliss / Epilogue - Edna O’Brien. (FSG Classics. 1960/1962/1964)
10/10
Holy Lacrimony - Michael DeForge. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2025)
6/10
My Name is Lucy Barton - Elizabeth Strout. (Penguin. 2016)
10/10
The New Seoul Park Jelly Massacre - Cho Yeeun. Translated from the Korean by Yewon Jung. (Honford Star. 2024)
9/10
Baby Blue - Bim Eriksson. Translated from the Swedish by Melissa Bowers. (Fantagraphics. 2025)
9/10
Dream Count - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (4th Estate. 2025)
9/10
Death Takes Me - Cristina Rivera Garza. Translated from the Spanish by Sarah Booker and Robin Myers. (Bloomsbury. 2008/2025)
7/10
Tedward - Josh Pettinger. (Fantagraphics. 2025)
10/10
Serendipity : The Afterlife of The Object - Carol Mavor. (Reaktion. 2024)
8/10
Nancy & Sluggo’s Guide to Life : Comics about Money, Food and Other Essentials - Ernie Bushmiller. (New York Review Comics. 2024)
10/10
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Shehan Karunatilaka. (Sort of Books. 2022)
10/10
Crumple : The Status of Knuckle - Dave Cooper. (Fantagraphics. 2000)
7/10
The New Yorker Cartoon Album : 1975 / 1985 - Various Artists. (Andre Deutsch. 1986)
10/10
A Single Match - Oji Suzuki. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2010)
9/10
Monsieur Teste - Paul Valéry. Translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell. (NYRB. 1896)
8/10
They - Kay Dick. (Faber & Faber. 1977)
9/10
Over To You : Letters Between Father & Son - John Berger & Yves Berger. (Tate. 2024)
10/10
The Adventures of Tintin : The Black Island / The Calculus Affair - Hergé. Translated from the French by Michael Turner & Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper. (Egmont. 1938/1960)
10/10
Dead Stars - Bruce Wagner. (Arcade. 2012)
8/10
Whatever Next - Jill Murphy. (MacMillan. 1983)
10/10
Walking Practice - Dolki Min. Translated from the Korean by Victoria Caudle. (HarperVia. 2024)
9/10
Wimbledon Green - Seth. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2006)
10/10
It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken - Seth. (Drawn & Quarterly. 1996)
10/10
The GNB Double C : The Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists - Seth. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2011)
10/10
Clyde Fans - Seth. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2019)
10/10
Why Don’t You Love Me? - Paul B. Rainey. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2025)
10/10
Money To Burn - Asta Olivia Nordenhof. Translated from the Danish by Caroline Waight. (Jonathan Cape. 2025)
9/10
Campo Santo - W. G. Sebald. Translated from the German by Anthea Bell. (Penguin. 2003)
10/10
Dear Zoo - Rod Campbell. (Pan. 1982)
10/10
The Complete Peanuts : 1995 / 1996 - Charles M. Schultz. (Canongate. 2015)
10/10
All In Line - Saul Steinberg. (NYRB. 2024)
10/10
Aliasing - Mara Coson. (Semina No. 9/Book Works. 2018)
8/10
The Legend of Kamui - Shirato Sanpei. Translated from the Japanese by Richard Rubinger. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2025)
9/10
Chroma - Derek Jarman. (Vintage. 1994)
10/10
The Village of Ben Suc - Jonathan Schell. (NYRB. 1967)
10/10
Red Flowers & Other Stories - Yoshiharu Tsuge. (Drawn & Quarterly. 2024)
9/10
Zone One - Colson Whitehead. (Vintage. 2011)
2/10
Jasper Johns : Pictures Within Pictures - Fiona Donovan. (Thames & Hudson. 2017)
10/10
The Vegetarian - Han Kang. Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith. (Granta. 2015)
10/10
The Extinction of Irena Rey - Jennifer Croft. (Scribe. 2024)
9/10
Pond - Claire-Louise Bennett. (Fitzcarraldo Editions. 2016)
10/10
