Although tbh I'm a little more mesomorphic now that I'm meso-aged.

I think you’re going to want to swap that out for *at least* a medium.

Al the ones marked ***** are total bangers, although Unrest is probably the one I bring up the most in conversation (protagonist-less story about anarchist watchmakers in c.1900 Switzerland). Pacification also v v excellent.

Not Empire of Signs, but thanks. I read it so long ago that I’m questioning my memory. Maybe it was a book about Barthes rather than by him.

Same thing happens in The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut (although I think it’s at the White Sands test), which is mostly a biography of John Von Neumann that then veers into the story of AlphaGo. A great, breezy read—much more formally interesting than most historical fiction.

Also, if you (or anyone else) haven’t read this George Saunders article published just after the US election, it’s well worth your time.
Five Thought Experiments Concerning the Underlying Disease www.newyorker.com/magazine/dis...

Too many great books last year to pick one, but I’ll single out the last one I finished, Complete Minimal Poems by Aram Saroyan, which I am tempted to reproduce here in its entirety because every page is pure joy.

I Saw The TV Glow ****
Last Things *****
Cure ***
Swallow ***
Late Night with the Devil ***
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat *****
Evil Does Not Exist ****
Dahomey ****(*)
La Chimera *****
Frenzy ****

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World ****
The Beast **(*)
Those Who Are Fine ****
The Death of Louis XIV ***(*)
The Sweet East **
Monster **(*)
Tabu ***(*)
Kinds of Kindness ****
Ob-i Ob-a the end of civilization **
Worst Person in the World *
Family Portrait **
The Substance ****

This Lisa Ullen is lovely! Thanks for the introduction.