Dansite Reading Journal

Dan Jewett's chronological reading record.

Note June 20, 2026

It all comes together in one profound nugget of Wisdom right?

I've got progress bookmarks in The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño, Montaigne's Complete Works, Vollman's The Dying Grass and Expelled From Eden, and a little Sci-fi guilty pleasure Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Also fairly well into Stalingrad (the novel) by Vasily Grossman.

Just honest enough to realize I wasn't going to make it through The Grapes of Wrath on this go-round, I've set it aside for now.

Not to mention my listed To-Be-Read, includes eleven more books. TBRs are pretty arbitrary lists thought right? I could have every unread volume in my library in there. Should be titled more like "Hankerin' to Read at the Moment."

Timeline Note
Cover image has the title and author's name in black lettering appearing as broad paint brush strokes.
Book, In Progress
The Savage Detectives (1998)
by Roberto Bolaño • translated by Natasha Wimmer
Literary Fiction
Cover of The Breakthrough
Book, read June 16, 2026
The Breakthrough (1966)
by Daphne Du Maurier
Novella Science Fiction
Book cover of "The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western" by Richard Brautigan, featuring a bright green revolver and purple background with a bullet breaking through the right edge.
Book, read June 16, 2026
The Hawkline Monster
by Richard Brautigan
Literary Fiction Western
Book cover for "Angel Down" by Daniel Kraus features bold white text over a background of swirling smoke and clouds in red and beige tones.
Book, read June 15, 2026
Angel Down (2026)
by Daniel Kraus
Literary Fiction Pulitzer Prize World War I
The cover of the novel "She Rides Shotgun" by Jordan Harper, showing a blurred car interior and road, with large white text displaying the title and author.
Book, read June 14, 2026
She Rides Shotgun (2017)
by Jordan Harper
Crime Fiction
Close-up of a carved wooden mask decorated with feathers, featured on the cover of "Heart of Darkness and Other Tales" by Joseph Conrad, Oxford World's Classics edition.
Book, read June 13, 2026  ·  2nd time reading
Heart of Darkness (1899)
by Joseph Conrad
Classic Literature Top Pick
Cover of "Hard Rain Falling" by Don Carpenter, featuring a blurred image of a car driving on a road with trees in the background. Introduction by George Pelecanos.
Book, read June 9, 2026
Hard Rain Falling (1964)
by Don Carpenter
Crime Fiction Top Pick
Cover of "Stalingrad" by Vasily Grossman shows a soldier on snowy battlefield beside a tank. Text includes translator names Robert and Elizabeth Chandler.
Book, In Progress
For a Just Cause (Stalingrad) (1952)
by Vassily Grossman • translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler
Historical Fiction Russian Literature Translation World War II
Cover of "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck, depicting a vintage truck loaded with belongings on a rural road, conveying a sense of journey and struggle.
Book, Did not finish — started June 9, 2026
The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
by John Steinbeck
American Literature Classic Literature Pulitzer Prize
Cover for "Beowulf" translated by Seamus Heaney, featuring a figure wearing chainmail armor and displaying a sticker noting the Whitbread Award.
Book, read June 5, 2026
Beowulf (2000)
translated by Seamus Heaney
Classic Literature Poetry Translation
Book cover of "Pedro Páramo" by Juan Rulfo, featuring a black and white photo of a cactus fence, with text crediting Susan Sontag, Gabriel García Márquez, and Douglas J. Weatherford.
Book, read June 4, 2026
Pedro Páramo (1955)
by Juan Rulfo • translated by Douglas J. Weatherford
Literary Fiction Translation
Image depicts a giant eyeball hovering over a cityscape, staring downward.
Book, read June 1, 2026
We (1920)
by Yevgeny Zamyatin • translated by Bela Shayevich
Dystopian Literature Literary Fiction Translation
Black and white image of Sonny Rollins playing his Tenor Saxophone.
Article, read May 30, 2026
The Sound of Sonny Rollins

New York Review of Books, September 27, 2012

by Christopher Carroll
Music Review
Illustration of Hu Anyan with short hair, wearing a light sweater, surrounded by stacked cardboard boxes. The tone is organized yet crowded.
Article, read May 30, 2026
On the Road (Alam)

The New York Review of Books, June 11, 2026

by Rumaan Alam
Book Review
Cover of "Stalingrad" by Antony Beevor, featuring wartime ruins and silhouetted soldiers. The title stands out boldly, conveying a tense atmosphere.
Book, read May 29, 2026
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 (1998)
by Antony Beevor
History Non-Fiction World War II
Cover of "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley; features a figure with robotic gears for torso, arms raised, on a stark background, evoking mechanization.
Book, read May 24, 2026  ·  2nd time reading
Brave New World (1932)
by Aldous Huxley
Classic Literature Dystopian Literature English Literature
Abstract cover of "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf, featuring overlapping pastel shapes outlined in orange and blue, creating a textured, modern look.
Book, read May 19, 2026
To the Lighthouse (1927)
by Virginia Woolf
Classic Literature
Cover of "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolf. A stylized floral pattern with bold, earthy tones; title and author’s name in white lettering.
Book, read May 7, 2026
A Room of One's Own (1929)
by Virginia Woolf
Essay Literary Non-Fiction
Cover of "Trout Fishing in America" by Richard Brautigan. Brautigan in a hat and Michaela Le Grand seated, both in vintage clothing, pose near a statue, conveying a bohemian vibe.
Book, read May 6, 2026
Trout Fishing in America (1967)
by Richard Brautigan
American Literature Nature Writing Satire