Ever since I was fifteen I’ve kept a log of the books I read (over 1,400 to date). The vast majority are fiction. I try to keep up with contemporary authors, and read an occasional classic from the nineteenth-century. I don’t restrict my reading to fine literature, and I  touch most of the genres — mystery, thriller, romance, magical realism, science-fiction, fantasy, gothic novels,  historical novels, horror, young adult fiction, dystopian fiction, and very rarely a graphic novel. I do not read about vampires (with the exception of Christopher Moore’s spoofs), or werewolves, simply because I have no interest.

These days I read  hardbacks, paperbacks, and ebooks, while  fully three quarters of my “reading” is through audiobooks.I always reread two or three novels a year. In 2018 I read 52 books, including three non-fiction, and five books that I had read previously. 18 were written by women. Three were translations. 14 of the 52, were by British authors, three were Canadian, one Irish, one Spanish, one Pakistani, and the rest American.

My favorites in the order in which I read them:

The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, by Phaedre Paatrick

The Light of Day, by Eric Ambler

Allie and Bea, by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid

Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly

Feel free to pass on your own recommendations.