Arkham Asylum - Grant Morrison & Dave McKean

Powered through in one go (rare for me even with comics). Supremely creepy; downright scary in fact. So much symbolism and Jung and weirdness, and wonderfully dark and violent art. The script and annotations are interesting (and helpful) although they do give the impression Morrison is an insufferable smart-arse. The whole "maybe Batman's as crazy as his enemies" idea has been done to death since this book came out, but that can't be held against it.

Creative Writing: A Practical Guide - Julia Casterton

Didn't finish it actually. I found it very interesting and quite helpful but it had a strange effect on me; it made me feel intensely restless, like even though I was enjoying it I had to put it down this instant and go and do something. That's good because that's why I got it: to light a creative fire and get me to write something. I finally feel ready to sit down and face the task of editing. My nemesis. I will edit the meagre handful of stories I have written and maybe something will change. Maybe it will get easier!

21 Stories - Graham Greene

Reminded me very much of Ian McEwan's short stories. All very focused on an event and most set over a very short time, and most very short. The prose itself seemed a bit lacking in places - slightly clumsy or sort of thoughtless. But overall quite inspirational. I also like the way one or other world war is the backdrop to almost every story, and the way you slowly or suddenly are reminded of this in each one.

The Pearl - John Steinbeck

A tightly-written, brutally evocative story that doesn't outstay its welcome. In fact there's something about its length (82 pages, I think) that seems just right. A perfect novella. We're dropped into early 20th century Mexico and shown around with grace and ease, no words wasted, and the travesty of Spanish occupation treated with blunt directness. The story is structured like a page-turner thriller and the words are chosen for maximum power and specificity. The book itself is a flawless pearl.

This Book Will Save Your Life - A.M. Holmes

Very well-written and full of quirky yet deep characters. Laugh-out-loud funny in places. The story has a loose, rambling sort of feel to it, with lots of different threads being taken up, put down, taken up again throughout. In a very light, unassuming way it's an indictment of modern America, but mainly it's what Stephen King calls it: a "story of a lost man reconnecting with the world" - and specifically with his estranged son. It reminds me of The Accidental Tourist, but the prose is more enigmatic.

The Earthsea Quartet - Ursual LeGuin

Studied the first book when I was twelve; didn't remember much about it. The writing style is very dense, but not in an unfriendly way. It just goes very deeply into things. Some great fantasy concepts here, such as the language of magic, where everything is called by its "true name" rather than words being simply signifiers, so speaking it gives you power over reality. It struck me that each book is very self-contained and different from the others, unlike many fantasy series that give the impression of really being one long book cut into manageable sections. Deep and interesting and well-written; I still prefer The Left Hand of Darkness.

The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster

No idea what to say about it. Baffling but brilliant. The complexity of both the prose and the stories, the strands of narrative and ideas that grow and branch out in all directions, makes it like a living organism. But "what's going on?" is the main impression I'm left with. Like a David Lynch film, it's as frustrating as it is compelling. Who's the narrator? Is it the same person in all three stories. Seems to be. How much of each story physically happened? Maybe it was all metaphor, maybe it's a book about a man alone in a room and that's all. Will re-read.

Oracle Night - Paul Auster

Another damn good one. My first encounter with Auster apart from a graphic novel (City of Glass, I think). This reminded me very much of Murakami: a similar writing style and the same kind of weird, not-quite-coherently related events, and an odd supernatural premise lurking beneath a very human sort of story. I read it in three or four sessions - very rare for me. Looking forward to coming back to this author.

The Last Werewolf - Glen Duncan

"Sometimes the entire weight of her self-loathing was compressed into the angle at which she held a cigarette." Beautiful. The prose is like this throughout and the story is good and strong and fast-moving. The werewolf and vampire (yep, vampires too as an added bonus) lore is interesting and gets just the right amount of narrative attention, and there's a lot of philosophical jibber-jabber for smart-arses like me to get our teeth into. This is this guy's seventh book. I think I'm onto a winner.

'Salem's Lot - Stephen King

Just simply bloody brilliant. Beyond the characters, plot and effortless prose you expect from King, it has a bunch of passages scattered throughout that are simply beautiful, poetic works of art, and which approach social commentary (on one level 'Salem's Lot is very much about the Vietnam war) without threatening to push the vampires and the action into the background. This is a book to study and re-read, as an example of how to do novel-writing and of what it can be at its best.

Dracula - Bram Stoker

Not disappointing, although not mindblowing either. Compared to modern fiction there is no tension whatsoever between the good guys (except what is caused by Mina's "false" badguy status). They are a happy family, constantly talking about how brave and noble they all are and patting each other on the back. I suppose a strong "ka-tet" was necessary to defeat the vamp. he certainly is a frightening villain. All in all a good antidote to today's stupid preening pretty-boy American high school heart-throb vampires.

Becoming A Writer - Dorothea Brand

A very impressive book setting out a thorough system for turning yourself into a writer; hopefully as helpful as it is impressive. One thing definitely in its favour is it addresses the problem of "writing at all" - overcoming apathy, absence of ideas and so on - rather than technical advice. It shows its age and certainly isn't meant for a "busy, fast-paced, modern lifestyle" but then who ever said that that lifestyle is compatible with the lifestyle of a writer? Have taken one exercise to heart and begun writing first thing each morning. This is quite exciting and I can't believe I never thought of it myself.

Rashomon and Other Stories - Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Very tightly written and imaginative stories. I can certainly see how they influenced Murakami. The role of the narrator is very interesting. In some stories it's just a voice as is usual in modern third person fiction; in some it's an unnamed person who seems to have been present during the story's events; in some it's apparently a historian piecing the story together later; and in one it seems to be Akutagawa himself, admitting that it's fiction yet still approaching it as fact, telling it like it's a true story while writing as a fiction writer.

From Hell - Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

A deep, dark, winding, labyrinthine work of art. In Moore's words, a whydunnit rather than a whodunnit, so deeply researched that almost everything that happens either did happen or could have. The appendix telling the story of "ripperologists" through the ages is a work of art in its own right. General consensus among Mooreites is that From Hell is his crowning achievement, but I'm not sure it's better than Watchmen... Either way, he's a visionary for our times and should take a place in the same line as Milton and Blake.

Vernon God Little - D.B.C. Pierre

Very good. The language and imagery is unlike anything I've ever read, enough to provoke a physical reaction at times. Hard to imagine how this writer comes up with some of the phrases. Brilliantly written protagonist with all sorts of psychological twists hinted at through his narrative voice. At times more dark and demented than anything I've read by Chuck Palahniuk (its nearest comparison). At other times it's just very beautiful.

Assassin's Quest - Robin Hobb

So ends the first trilogy. Still got several more to chomp through at my leisure, and very much looking forward to them. This book had a more active feeling on account of it being a quest and not confined to one place. Otherwise, more of the same. I loved the stuff about carving a dragon and imbuing it with your emotions. Seems like a metaphor for artistic projects. Very glad I borrowed these books. Fitz takes his place in my brain alongside Roland and Cloud.

Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb

More of the same, and very satisfying. Fitz is a wonderful main character, I really felt for him. There's a great line in this one, or passage, where he gets suddenly very angry at being moved around like a piece on a chessboard. Having had time to get acquainted with the setting and characters though, I have noticed these books are not all that well written. There not much economy, lots of kind of pointless adverbs and so on and it gets a bit frustrating. The story and characters make it worth it.

The Shining - Stephen King

I flew through the first half then slowed right down. More than any other Stephen King novel, it impressed me far more with the human stuff, the characters and their relationships and pasts and states of mind, than with the supernatural stuff. In fact the film did a much better job of being scary. Hedge animals coming to life is not very scary at all. Still a very good book. Confirms again my view that King should be read as simply a writer, not a horror writer.

Snakes and Earrings - Hitomi Kanehara

Tough one. Self-destructive masochist waster as a protagonist never invites much sympathy. I suppose there was Fight Club. I didn't like it at first. I had exactly zero sympathy for the narrator (not that she or the author intended to provoke sympathy I'm sure, but that's not the point) and it seemed sparsely written and just too grim and nihilistic (even for me, which is saying something). As it went on I got more into it. The death of a main character had quite a powerful effect on my emotions in fact. Short and not at all sweet, but worth the read.

Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb

My first actual foray into the overcrowded genre of high fantasy (not counting Lord of the Rings or Dark Tower) and I loved it. The setting is vividly evoked but doesn't steal the show. Each character is very well-written. The story is all politics, espionage and assassination, but with a streak of the supernatural. The magic is very subtle (all about telepathy and empathy) and the "Red Ship Raiders" are superbly frightening. The spying and assassination stuff reminded me very much of the Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion. This is one writer I'll definitely be coming back to.

Letter to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris

Picked it up more as an enjoyable indulgence than for serious reasons. I already have all my opinions on this subject. not much to say, really. Punchy, well-written, a bit arrogant. Mostly agreed with him. Would still recommend The God Delusion over this. Reading this almost straight after No Logo has certainly straightened things out. Strong as my opinions are, religion is by no means the biggest problem facing mankind. Corporate greed is. Maybe I'll invite Dawkins, Harris and Klein for a dinner party and a debate.

All Hail the New Puritans - Various

Picked it up because of the very intriguing "manifesto" really. I thought the stories were not as groundbreaking and the manifesto and review quotes ("controversial" - really?) suggested, but they are very good, most of them. Immediate, plot-driven, straight-forward and totally unpretentious. Alex Garland's one especially, about a journalist at a Grand Prix race track, is so vivid and photographic (in more ways than one) that it has lodged in my head firmly. The world needs more short stories.

No Logo - Naomi Klein

Best non-fiction book I've ever read (not that I read that many). Calm, coherent, thorough, assertive and enlightening. Not only does it not come across as vitriolic left-wing ranting, it actually succeeds in showing the ultra-capitalist mentality to be the wrong-headed and crazed one. I found it simultaneously empowering - because it makes sense of so many things - and depressing - because it came out 12 years ago and the movement Klein observed seems to have fizzled out.

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula LeGuin

All-around brilliant. Interesting setting; good, developed characters (though not many); and ever third sentence is so good you want to read it aloud two or three times. And all the sociology and political stuff seems enduringly relevant. "A man who doesn't despise a bad government is a fool, and if there was such a thing on earth as a good government it would be a joy to serve it." It's (along with playing Final Fantasy XIII) made me keen to write some big fantasy or sci-fi story.

On Writing - Stephen King

Second time I've read it. It's lit a creative fire in my brain. Finished a first draft of a story a few days ago, just had a new idea today. I believe King will one day be recognised as the greatest writer of his generation, and will be studied on literature courses.