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John Darnielle

Goodreads Author

Born

in Bloomington, Indiana, The United States

Genre

Music, Fiction

Member Since

June 2008

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John Darnielle (/dɑrˈniːl/, born March 16, 1967) is an American musician, best known as the primary (and often solitary) member of the American band the Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist and vocalist.

Source: Wikipedia. ...more

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John Darnielle's Blog: Book Acquisition Syndrome

Traveler of the Century

When people send or give me a book, I always try to make a point of saying: "It takes me forever to get around to anything." My editor at FSG, Sean McDonald, gave me Neuman's Traveler of the Century during one of our earliest meetings -- before I'd even finished Wolf in White Van, I think. I started reading Traveler...last week.

So far it's tremendous -- I often struggle with stories involving 19th Read more of this blog post »

22 likes · Like • 2 comments • flag

Published on October 24, 2016 05:39

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John Darnielle’s books

Average rating: 3.43 · 65,465 ratings · 10,681 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Wolf in White Van 3.72 avg rating — 26,151 ratings — published 2014 — 36 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Universal Harvester 3.17 avg rating — 20,227 ratings — published 2017 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Devil House 3.19 avg rating — 16,589 ratings — published 2022 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Master of Reality 4.07 avg rating — 2,311 ratings — published 2008 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	This Year: 365 Songs Annotated: A Book of Days by John Darnielle (Goodreads Author), John Keogh (Illustrator) 4.55 avg rating — 151 ratings — published 2025 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Uncertainties Volume IV by Timothy J. Jarvis (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Rebecca Lloyd (Goodreads Author), Lucie McKnight Hardy 4.06 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2020	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Topograph: New Writing from the Carolinas and the Landscape Beyond by Jeff Jackson (Goodreads Author), John Darnielle (Goodreads Author), Blake Butler 3.81 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mays 20 by John Darnielle (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Sebastiano Barassi (Editor), Tao Lin (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	From Blacksheep Boys to Bill Collectors: The Music-Related Artwork of William Schaff by William Schaff (Illustrator), John Darnielle (Goodreads Author) (Introduction), Will Sheff (Introduction) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My picture-book [Hardcover] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by John Darnielle…

A good scary story is an oddly appealing experience. There’s something about the subtle chills of the ghost story—or the cathartic thrills of...

John is Currently Reading

John Darnielle is currently reading

The Die Is Cast

by Robert Desnos

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15 hours, 37 min ago

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Swinburne, a selection

by Edith Sitwell

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Jun 12, 2025 07:47AM

John Darnielle is currently reading

Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy

by Theodor W. Adorno

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Jun 08, 2025 08:20PM

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John Darnielle is on page 46 of 205 of The Die Is Cast The Die Is Cast by Robert Desnos progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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John Darnielle rated a book it was amazing Balcony in the Forest by Julien Gracq	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Simply one of the best books I have ever read.
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John Darnielle is currently reading The Die Is Cast by Robert Desnos	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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John Darnielle rated a book it was amazing Balcony in the Forest by Julien Gracq	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Simply one of the best books I have ever read.
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May 10, 2026 10:59AM · 7 likes · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Balcony in the Forest by Julien Gracq. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Balcony in the Forest by Julien Gracq <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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May 09, 2026 07:38PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Balcony in the Forest by Julien Gracq. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Balcony in the Forest by Julien Gracq <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Darnielle rated a book it was amazing The Boy Who Followed Ripley (Ripley, #4) by Patricia Highsmith	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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John Darnielle started reading The Boy Who Followed Ripley (Ripley, #4) by Patricia Highsmith	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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John Darnielle rated a book it was amazing I Was Alive Here Once: Ghost Stories (Calico Series, 13) by Sarah Coolidge	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Quotes by John Darnielle (?)

“When you punish a person for dreaming his dream
Don't expect him to thank or forgive you.”
― John Darnielle

tags: dreams

101 likes

“This is why people cry at the movies: because everybody’s doomed. No one in a movie can help themselves in any way. Their fate has already staked its claim on them from the moment they appear onscreen.”
― John Darnielle, Wolf in White Van

70 likes

“People say friends don't destroy one another - what do they know about friends?”
― John Darnielle

50 likes

See all John Darnielle's quotes »

Polls

2nd Quarter 2022 - Horror #3

The White Road by Sarah Lotz, 272p

5 votes, 62.5%

Extasia by Claire Legrand, 496p

1 vote, 12.5%

From Hell by Alan Moore, 576p

1 vote, 12.5%

Devil House by John Darnielle, 416p

1 vote, 12.5%

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas, 352p

0 votes, 0.0%

Sundial by Catriona Ward, 304p

0 votes, 0.0%

Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, 416p

0 votes, 0.0%

The Diviners by Libba Bray, 578p

0 votes, 0.0%

The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 479p

0 votes, 0.0%

8 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Book Challenge: laurea's 2010 challenge	25	83	Jul 11, 2010 01:10PM
21st Century Lite...: 2014 National Book Award	27	187	Nov 20, 2014 07:59AM
J.D. Robb : Best Books - 2014	50	48	Jan 03, 2015 03:34PM
The Book Club: Books and Authors in the Media	71	117	Jan 14, 2015 01:36PM
The Seasonal Read...: 20.3 - Best Review - Book Concierge's task: Caroling, Caroling …	29	104	Feb 12, 2015 05:58AM
21st Century Lite...: Favorite Books of 2014	29	114	Feb 18, 2015 08:46PM
21st Century Lite...: April Open Pick Nominations	49	92	Mar 19, 2015 03:22AM

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John’s Year In Books

John Darnielle’s Followers (3,044)

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John’s Friends (268)

John Darnielle

Goodreads Author

1 post
John Darnielle's Blog: Book Acquisition Syndrome

Traveler of the Century

Combine Editions
John Darnielle’s books

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