149 books
—
47 voters
to-read
(241)
currently-reading (11)
read (1430)
did-not-finish (0)
new-zealand (155)
waiting-upstairs (78)
poetry-shelf (49)
short-story-shelf (47)
favorites (42)
in-my-library (42)
james-bond (27)
scandi-noir (26)
currently-reading (11)
read (1430)
did-not-finish (0)
new-zealand (155)
waiting-upstairs (78)
poetry-shelf (49)
short-story-shelf (47)
favorites (42)
in-my-library (42)
james-bond (27)
scandi-noir (26)
art-shelf
(24)
john-berger-shelf (20)
mcewan-shelf (19)
french (18)
booker-prize-winners (17)
byatt-shelf (16)
mythology (16)
alex-miller-shelf (14)
danish (14)
first-world-war (14)
greene-shelf (14)
le-carre-shelf (14)
john-berger-shelf (20)
mcewan-shelf (19)
french (18)
booker-prize-winners (17)
byatt-shelf (16)
mythology (16)
alex-miller-shelf (14)
danish (14)
first-world-war (14)
greene-shelf (14)
le-carre-shelf (14)
“When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. What is to happen next will take place within the four walls of the story. And this is possible because the story's voice makes everything its own.”
― Keeping a Rendezvous: Essays
― Keeping a Rendezvous: Essays
“Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.”
― The Lathe of Heaven
― The Lathe of Heaven
“People disappear when they die. Their voice, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living memory of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is an exception to this annihilation. For in the books they write they continue to exist. We can rediscover them. Their humor, their tone of voice, their moods. Through the written word they can anger you or make you happy. They can comfort you. They can perplex you. They can alter you. All this, even though they are dead. Like flies in amber, like corpses frozen in the ice, that which according to the laws of nature should pass away is, by the miracle of ink on paper, preserved. It is a kind of magic.”
― The Thirteenth Tale
― The Thirteenth Tale
Newest Literary Fiction
— 1320 members
— last activity 1 hour, 47 min ago
Discover and share your discovery of the most recently published literary fiction. If you love reading novels before anyone else decides they are good ...more
21st Century Literature
— 3647 members
— last activity 1 hour, 19 min ago
We read literary fiction from 2000 to present, with the intent of finding those literary gems of timeless and enduring quality. We're less focused o ...more
The Mookse and the Gripes
— 2178 members
— last activity 2 minutes ago
Forum for spirited and convivial discussion of fiction from around the world, with particular though not exclusive focus on 20th and 21st century fict ...more
Books Almost Nobody Reads (But Should)
— 166 members
— last activity May 13, 2026 06:05AM
What oldish unread stuff should more people be reading? Do you love riveting out compelling stories from the back shelves of used bookstores? Are you ...more
Homer's The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson
— 199 members
— last activity Aug 15, 2025 01:06PM
In this group, we will read and discuss Emily Wilson's new translation of Homer's The Odyssey, published in November 2017 by Norton. We also welcome d ...more
Marcus’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Marcus’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Polls voted on by Marcus
Lists liked by Marcus

































































