It’s typical really. I’d made my mind up that I wasn’t going to get caught up in the usual January nonsense of resolutions and bucket lists. Then I started thinking about the books that I’d never read despite wanting to.  It wasn’t long before I started making a list, working on the basis that if I wrote down the titles, there was more likelihood of me actually reading them. Somewhere along the way it occurred to me that I had selected enough literature to last me about twelve months. And so, despite my intentions to the contrary, I now have a plan of twelve books I want to read before the year is out. I’ve even worked out a vague order to read them in (because if a job’s worth doing.. ).

Here are the books I’ve chosen  and the reason why each one is on the list.

Nova Express by William S Burroughs. I’ve read two of Burrough’s other novels – Naked Lunch and Interzone – and they are possibly the most hypnotically dark literature I’ve encountered. I’m intrigued to find out what this one is like.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. This one was a Christmas gift from a friend. Featuring a narrator with Asperger’s Syndrome, it looks like an intriguing and unusual murder mystery.

Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Daniken. Based on the premise that ancient civilizations were visited by aliens, this has influenced lots of Science Fiction that I love from mid 70’s Doctor Who to Prometheus.

Schrodinger’s Cat Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson. This Quantum Physics influenced book was itself an influence on one of my favourite artists, Shezad Dawood

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. I enjoyed the film, it’ll be interesting to see if I like the novel as much.

Captive Universe by Harry Harrison. Harrison is one of those famous Science Fiction writers I’ve never got round to reading and this one has Aztecs in it so potentially a double win.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Pirates. Arrr! Need I say more?

A Handmaiden’s Tale by Margaret Attwood. I do love a bit of dystopian fiction and this one has a good reputation.

Videodrome by Jack Martin. A novelisation might seem like an odd choice but I’m intrigued to see how such a surreal film makes the leap into the new flesh of prose.

Grass by John Christopher. His Tripods trilogy  – and the TV adaption of the first two books – was a huge part of my childhood. This appears to be the most highly regarded of his adult novels.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This has been on my Kindle for over a year now. I really need to read it.

The Castle by Franz Kafka. As strange and beguiling as Metamorphosis? We shall see!

So those are the books I hope to read in 2015. And I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each of them right here!

See you in the reading room.

Damian