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John’s Year In Books

John’s 2025 Year in Books

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John Darnielle

Goodreads Author

Born

in Bloomington, Indiana, The United States

Genre

Music, Fiction

Member Since

June 2008

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John Darnielle (/dɑrˈniːl/, born March 16, 1967) is an American musician, best known as the primary (and often solitary) member of the American band the Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist and vocalist.

Source: Wikipedia. ...more

1 post
John Darnielle's Blog: Book Acquisition Syndrome

Traveler of the Century

When people send or give me a book, I always try to make a point of saying: "It takes me forever to get around to anything." My editor at FSG, Sean McDonald, gave me Neuman's Traveler of the Century during one of our earliest meetings -- before I'd even finished Wolf in White Van, I think. I started reading Traveler...last week.

So far it's tremendous -- I often struggle with stories involving 19th Read more of this blog post »

21 likes · Like • 2 comments • flag

Published on October 24, 2016 05:39

Combine Editions
John Darnielle’s books

Average rating: 3.43 · 64,697 ratings · 10,534 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Wolf in White Van 3.72 avg rating — 26,002 ratings — published 2014 — 36 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Universal Harvester 3.17 avg rating — 19,911 ratings — published 2017 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Devil House 3.19 avg rating — 16,356 ratings — published 2022 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Master of Reality 4.07 avg rating — 2,289 ratings — published 2008 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	This Year: 365 Songs Annotated: A Book of Days by John Darnielle (Goodreads Author), John Keogh (Illustrator) 4.60 avg rating — 104 ratings — published 2025 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Uncertainties Volume IV by Timothy J. Jarvis (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Rebecca Lloyd (Goodreads Author), Lucie McKnight Hardy really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2020	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Topograph: New Writing from the Carolinas and the Landscape Beyond by Jeff Jackson (Goodreads Author), John Darnielle (Goodreads Author), Blake Butler 3.81 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mays 20 by John Darnielle (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Sebastiano Barassi (Editor), Tao Lin (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	From Blacksheep Boys to Bill Collectors: The Music-Related Artwork of William Schaff by William Schaff (Illustrator), John Darnielle (Goodreads Author) (Introduction), Will Sheff (Introduction) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My picture-book [Hardcover] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by John Darnielle…

A good scary story is an oddly appealing experience. There’s something about the subtle chills of the ghost story—or the cathartic thrills of...

John is Currently Reading

John Darnielle is currently reading

I Was Alive Here Once: Ghost Stories (Calico Series, 13)

by Sarah Coolidge

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Feb 19, 2026 07:22PM

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Nightmarch

by Alpa Shah

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Feb 09, 2026 07:32PM

John Darnielle is currently reading

Swinburne, a selection

by Algernon Charles Swinburne

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jun 12, 2025 07:47AM

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John’s Recent Updates

John Darnielle is on page 220 of 352 of Nightmarch Nightmarch by Alpa Shah progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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John Darnielle is on page 50 of 216 of I Was Alive Here Once I Was Alive Here Once: Ghost Stories (Calico Series, 13) by Sarah Coolidge progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17 hours, 34 min ago · like · see status
John Darnielle is currently reading I Was Alive Here Once: Ghost Stories (Calico Series, 13) by Sarah Coolidge	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 19, 2026 07:22PM · 1 like · like
John Darnielle is currently reading Nightmarch by Alpa Shah	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 09, 2026 07:32PM · 1 like · like
John Darnielle finished reading The Joyful Song of the Partridge by Paulina Chiziane	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 09, 2026 12:55PM · 1 like · like
John Darnielle is currently reading The Joyful Song of the Partridge by Paulina Chiziane	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 29, 2026 06:38PM · 1 like · like
John Darnielle rated a book it was amazing Grace Period by Maria Judite de Carvalho	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I grabbed this book from a stack of books with no preconceptions — just something to read — and it proceeded to quietly and methodically devastate me. Essentially a character study, but one so exacting and precise and unflinching…and written so clear ...more
Jan 25, 2026 02:24PM · 19 likes · like · see review
John Darnielle is currently reading Grace Period by Maria Judite de Carvalho	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 24, 2026 06:25AM · 2 likes · like
John Darnielle rated a book really liked it The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 23, 2026 08:44AM · 7 likes · like
John Darnielle is currently reading The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 16, 2026 07:07PM · like

More of John's books…

Quotes by John Darnielle (?)

“When you punish a person for dreaming his dream
Don't expect him to thank or forgive you.”
― John Darnielle

tags: dreams

102 likes

“This is why people cry at the movies: because everybody’s doomed. No one in a movie can help themselves in any way. Their fate has already staked its claim on them from the moment they appear onscreen.”
― John Darnielle, Wolf in White Van

70 likes

“People say friends don't destroy one another - what do they know about friends?”
― John Darnielle

50 likes

See all John Darnielle's quotes »

Polls

2nd Quarter 2022 - Horror #2

Sundial by Catriona Ward, 304p

6 votes, 60.0%

Extasia by Claire Legrand, 496p

1 vote, 10.0%

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas, 352p

1 vote, 10.0%

The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 479p

1 vote, 10.0%

Devil House by John Darnielle, 416p

1 vote, 10.0%

Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, 416p

0 votes, 0.0%

From Hell by Alan Moore, 576p

0 votes, 0.0%

The Diviners by Libba Bray, 578p

0 votes, 0.0%

The White Road by Sarah Lotz, 272p

0 votes, 0.0%

10 total votes

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