19th book of the year, “4, 3, 2, 1", by Paul Auster ( https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/4321-by-Paul-Auster-10889359.php)

‘4321,’ by Paul AusterWith spare philosophical mysteries such as “The New York Trilogy,” “City of Glass”...SFGATE

Loved it, spent most of my spare time since I started it with it, will miss it, probably missed a lot in it.

The paperback cover as I read it - lower-case individually-placed stencil letters on an uneven baseline, the author’s name in blue sky atop the title in rust or flame orange, all over flat navy blue
Figure 1. The paperback cover as I read it - lower-case individually-placed stencil letters on an uneven baseline, the author’s name in blue sky atop the title in rust or flame orange, all over flat navy blue.

20th book of the year: “Michael Kohlhaas”, by Heinrich von Kleist. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Kohlhaas)

Michael Kohlhaas - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

4 3 2 1 was full of writers learning the trade from other writers and hundreds of books are mentioned. I’m sure I’ll thumb through it for more suggestions but this one was the first I chose.

I think probably best to go in completely without any idea what it is beyond: german, written early 1800s, takes place in the 1500s, and Kafka, of all people liked it a lot.

The paperback cover as I read it - just over 100 pages (slim!), an illustrated figure wearing a cloak leans against a broad sworn with one foot extended, hand to chin, only there is no chin (and no head), over a green to red to green gradient. The book title atop and author’s name below in gothic script
Figure 2. The paperback cover as I read it - just over 100 pages (slim!), an illustrated figure wearing a cloak leans against a broad sworn with one foot extended, hand to chin, only there is no chin (and no head), over a green to red to green gradient. The book title atop and author’s name below in gothic script.
Posted on Mastodon over two years ago and archived here at /mastodon/2023/09/11/111047266816447546/ in the Mastodon collection.
Proximate posts in the Mastodon collection
newer Mastodon post from September 11, 2023, 111047297740981549 11 September 2023
this post Mastodon post from September 11, 2023, 111047266816447546 11 September 2023
older Mastodon post from September 10, 2023, 111042134224779054 10 September 2023
Proximate posts in the General collection
newer Mastodon post from September 11, 2023, 111047297740981549 11 September 2023
this post Mastodon post from September 11, 2023, 111047266816447546 11 September 2023
older Mastodon post from September 10, 2023, 111042134224779054 10 September 2023