The Millions

Max’s Book Lists

The Millions started out as a place for Max to keep track of his reading, and he did so via various lists. Now that The Millions is about the reading proclivities of so many other people, as well, we’ve moved Max’s reading lists off the main Millions page to their own page here.

What I’m Reading Now

Spooner by Pete Dexter

On Deck

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

The Reading Queue

1. The Fall Of Baghdad by Jon Lee Anderson
2. Super Crunchers by Ian Ayers
3. Darkmans by Nicola Barker
4. The Possessed by Elif Batuman
5. The Free World by David Bezmogis
6. Syncopated: An Anthology of Nonfiction Picto-Essays edited by Brendan Burford
7. New York Diaries edited by Teresa Carpenter
8. Fire Season by Philip Connors
9. The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal
10. Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctorow
11. Ryszard Kapuscinski: A Life by Artur Domoslawski
12. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
13. A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers
14. His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis
15. A Game of Brawl by Bill Felber
16. Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
17. The Tree by John Fowles
18. Tough Trip Through Paradise 1878-1879 by Andrew Garcia
19. The Information by James Gleick
20. The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt
21. Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
22. Tinkers by Paul Harding
23. Hiroshima by John Hersey
24. The Whale by Philip Hoare
25. Round Rock by Michelle Huneven
26. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
27. Where Good Ideas Come From by Stephen Johnson
28. The Revenge of Geography by Robert Kaplan
29. Another Day of Life by Ryszard Kapuscinski
30. Give Me Everything You Have by James Lasdun
31. It’s Beginning to Hurt by James Lasdun
32. If You’re Not Yet Like Me by Edan Lepucki
33. The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan
34. The Ask by Sam Lipsyte
35. Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory
36. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
37. Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker by James McManus
38. McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern Issue 13
39. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham
40. American Rust by Philipp Meyer
41. The Glorious Cause by Robert Middlekauff
42. Manituana by Wu Ming
43. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell
44. The Drunkard’s Walk by Leonard Mlodinow
45. Diary of a Very Bad Year by n+1
46. Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
47. The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo by Peter Orner
48. The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
49. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
50. Listen to This by Alex Ross
51. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks
52. The Braindead Megaphone by George Saunders
53. Atlas of Remote Islands by Atlas of Remote Islands
54. Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter’s by R.A. Scotti
55. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
56. Super Sad Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
57. Arctic Mirrors: Russia and the Small Peoples of the North by Yuri Slezkine
58. NW by Zadie Smith
59. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
60. The Day of the Oprichnik by Vladimir Sorokin
61. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
62. The Suicide Run by William Styron
63. Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb
64. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux
65. A New Culture of Learning by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown
66. Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff by Calvin Trillin
67. Revolution by Deb Olin Unferth
68. Portrait with Keys by Ivan Vladislavic
69. Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace
70. State by State edited by Matt Weiland, Sean Wilsey
71. The Inheritance of Rome by Chris Wickham
72. Stoner by John Williams
73. Mr. Jefferson’s University by Garry Wills
74. Lowboy by John Wray

 

Books Max Read in 2013

• The Politics of Glory by Bill James
• Long for This World by Sonya Chung
• Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson
• The Funny Man by John Warner

 

Books Max Read in 2012

• Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones
• To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
• The Great Night by Chris Adrien
• Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
• Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan
• The Pale King by David Foster Wallace
• Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
• When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man by Nick Dybek
• The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
• Foreskin’s Lament by Shalom Auslander
• Slightly Out of Focus by Robert Capa
• Blame by Michelle Huneven
• Black and Blue: The Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the 1966 World Series That Stunned America by Tom Adelman
• The Big Short by Michael Lewis
• The Missing of the Somme by Geoff Dyer
• Reality Hunger by David Shields

 

Books Max Read in 2011

• Twilight of the Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg
• Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
• American Pastoral by Philip Roth
• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
• Living to Tell the Tale by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
• The Wild Trees by Richard Preston
• Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
• Habibi by Craig Thompson
• You Lost Me There by Rosecrans Baldwin

 

Books Max Read in 2010

• A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
• The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
• The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe by Robert Gellately
• Empires of the Word by Nicholas Ostler
• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
• Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
• Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan
• Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier
• The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald

 

Books Max Read in 2009

• Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen
• Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee
• You Remind Me of Me by Dan Chaon
• The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block
• A Mercy by Toni Morrison
• City of Refuge by Tom Piazza
• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
• When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
• The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
• The Verificationist by Donald Antrim
• The Glory of Their Times: The Story of Baseball Told By the Men Who Played It by Lawrence S. Ritter
• The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
• Heart of Darkness, Youth, Typhoon: Three Short Novels by Joseph Conrad
• Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock
• Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
• English Passengers by Matthew Kneale
• The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn
• Atlas of Unknowns by Tania James
• Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
• Bowl of Cherries by Millard Kaufman
• The Clerk’s Tale: Poems by Spencer Reece
• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre
• Crossing California by Adam Langer

 

Books Max Read in 2008

• The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
• The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 by Rick Atkinson (review)
• The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux (review)
• The Biggest Game in Town by A. Alvarez (review)
• The Mansion by Alvaro Mutis (review)
• Rapture Ready by Daniel Radosh (interview)
• War Nerd by Gary Brecher (preview)
• The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon
• Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden
• The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
• Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower

 

Books Max Read in 2007

• The Cottagers by Marshall N. Klimasewiski (LBC nominee)
• Guerillas by Jon Lee Anderson (review)
• Paper Trails by Pete Dexter (review)
• Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead by Alan DeNiro (LBC Pick!)
• Sacco And Vanzetti Must Die! by Mark Binelli (LBC nominee)
• The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (review, 2)
• Reporting: Writings from The New Yorker by David Remnick (review)
• In the Wake by Per Petterson (review)
• Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski (review)
• Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee (review)
• Liberation by Joanna Scott (review)
• Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow (review)
• Pastoralia by George Saunders (review)

 

Books Max Read in 2006

• Other Electricities by Ander Monson (LBC nominee)
• The White Earth by Andrew McGahan (review)
• Seize the Day by Saul Bellow (review)
• Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux (review)
• The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder (review)
• I Never Liked You by Chester Brown (review)
• The Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford (LBC nominee)
• Television by Jean-Philippe Toussaint (LBC Pick!)
• Ticknor by Sheila Heti (LBC nominee)
• An Army at Dawn by Rick Atkinson (review)
• The Dead Fish Museum by Charles D’Ambrosio
• White Spirit by Paule Constant (LBC nominee)
• Michael Martone by Michael Martone (LBC Pick!)
• The Diviners by Rick Moody (review)
• Firmin by Sam Savage (LBC Pick!)
• ManBug by George K. Ilsley (LBC nominee)
• Without Feathers by Woody Allen (review)
• One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson (review)
• Seven Loves by Valerie Trueblod (LBC nominee)
• Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi Wa’Thiong’O (LBC Pick!) (review)
• Demon Theory by Stephen Graham Jones (LBC nominee)

 

Books Max Read in 2005

• Generations of Winter by Vassily Aksyonov (review)
• Brotherly Love by Pete Dexter (review)
• Balkan Ghosts by Robert D. Kaplan (review)
• 13: The Story of the World’s Most Popular Superstition by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer (review)
• All This Heavenly Glory by Elizabeth Crane (LBC nominee) (review)
• Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis (review, 2)
• Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
• Game Time: A Baseball Companion by Roger Angell (review)
• Bulletproof Girl by Quinn Dalton (review)
• Looking for a Ship by John McPhee (review, 2)
• Fraud by David Rakoff (review)
• Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (LBC Pick!)
• The Island of Lost Maps by Miles Harvey (review)
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (review)
• Belly by Lisa Selin Davis (review)
• Absolutely American by David Lipsky (review)
• The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki (review)
• Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam (LBC nominee)
• Angel of Forgetfulness by Steve Stern (LBC Pick!)
• Our Napoleon in Rags by Kirby Gann (LBC nominee)
• 10:01 by Lance Olsen (LBC nominee)
• Mutual Life & Casualty by Elizabeth Poliner (LBC nominee)
• The People’s Act of Love by James Meek (review)
• Small Island by Andrea Levy (review)
• Plain Heathen Mischief by Martin Clark (review)
• Garner by Kirstin Allio (LBC Pick!)
• Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha by Edward Falco (LBC nominee)
• Divided Kingdom by Rupert Thomson (LBC nominee)

 

Books Max Read in 2004

• Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King (review)
• The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard (review)
• Paris Trout by Pete Dexter (review)
• The Known World by Edward P. Jones (review, 2)
• Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes (review)
• The Moviegoer by Walker Percy (review)
• The First World War by John Keegan (review)
• The Last Amateurs by John Feinstein (review)
• Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuscinski (review)
• Last Train to Memphis by Peter Guralnick (review)
• The Outlaw Sea by William Langewiesche (review)
• Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
• Jumpers by Tom Stoppard
• The Singing by C. K. Williams (review)
• East of Eden by John Steinbeck (review)
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen (review)
• Founding Fish by John McPhee (review)
• Naked in Baghdad by Anne Garrels (review)
• In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat by Rick Atkinson (review)

 

Mrs. Millions Has Been Reading

Currently reading the top book on the list. Now rated, by Mrs. Millions herself, from 0 to 5 *’s

• A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore ****
• The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall ****
• Spooner by Pete Dexter *****
• Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell ***^1/2
• The Wild Trees by Richard Preston ****
• Blame by Michelle Huneven ****^1/2
• Wrestling with Moses by Anthony Flint ***
• Homer & Langley by E.L Doctorow *****
• City of Refuge by Tom Piazza ***
• A Mercy by Toni Morrison *****
• The Local News by Miriam Gershow **^1/2
• The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball ****
• The Echo Maker by Richard Powers ****
• Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden ***
• American Pastoral by Philip Roth ****^1/2
• When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris ****
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz ****
• Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris ***
• Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan *****
• Lost City Radio by Daniel Alarcon ***^1/2
• Bowl of Cherries by Millard Kaufman ****^1/2
• The Biggest Game in Town by A. Alvarez ****
• Last One In by Nicholas Kulish **
• Dishwasher by Pete Jordan **^1/2
• Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin *****
• The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux ****^1/2
• The Cottagers by Marshall N. Klimasewiski *
• Blue Taxi by N. S. Koenings ^1/2
• One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson **^1/2
• Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee ****^1/2
• The O. Henry Prize Stories 2006 ****
• Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware ***
• English Passengers by Matthew Kneale ***
• Looking for a Ship by John McPhee ****^1/2
• The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers ****
• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre ****^1/2
• White Earth by Andrew McGahan ***^1/2
• Crossing California by Adam Langer ***^1/2