42 books
—
41 voters
Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
to-read
(977)
currently-reading (11)
read (463)
did-not-finish (0)
mystery (251)
next-up (125)
history (105)
this-england (102)
between-the-wars (92)
japan (69)
non-fiction (68)
noir-environs (59)
currently-reading (11)
read (463)
did-not-finish (0)
mystery (251)
next-up (125)
history (105)
this-england (102)
between-the-wars (92)
japan (69)
non-fiction (68)
noir-environs (59)
city-of-light
(53)
music (52)
memoir (48)
france (47)
east-west (46)
short-stories (45)
period-travel (42)
simenon (42)
europe (41)
asia (40)
new-york-city (39)
re-read (39)
music (52)
memoir (48)
france (47)
east-west (46)
short-stories (45)
period-travel (42)
simenon (42)
europe (41)
asia (40)
new-york-city (39)
re-read (39)
“When you set sail for Ithaca,
wish for the road to be long,
full of adventures, full of knowledge.”
―
wish for the road to be long,
full of adventures, full of knowledge.”
―
“When people ask me whether I am a spy –‘are you now, or have you ever been?’ –I am tempted to reply with a hearty –‘Yes, and since the age of five.’ For a state of watchfulness must surely be the first requisite of a writer, as it is of a secret agent. A writer, like a spy, must prey upon his neighbours; like a spy he is dependent on those whom he deceives; like a spy he must somehow contrive to keep a distance from his own feelings and by doing so conjure up a package that will meet with the approval of his masters. Like a spy, he is not merely an outsider, but implicitly a subversive..”
―
―
“Listening is the most dangerous thing of all, listening means knowing, finding out about something and knowing what’s going on, our ears don’t have lids that can instinctively close against the words uttered, they can’t hide from what they sense they’re about to hear, it’s always too late.”
― A Heart So White
― A Heart So White
“At night all cats are grey.”
― Keep the Aspidistra Flying
― Keep the Aspidistra Flying
“When a man invents an image that he wants to propagate, that he may even want to substitute for himself, he starts by experimenting, making mistakes, sketching out freaks and other non-viable monsters that he has to tear up unless they disintegrate of their own accord. But the operative image is the one that's left after the person dies or withdraws from the world, as in the case of Socrates, Christ, Saladin, Saint-Just and so on. They succeeded in projecting an image around themselves and into the future. It doesn't matter whether or not the image corresponds to what they were really like: they managed to wrest a powerful image from that reality.”
― Prisoner of Love
― Prisoner of Love
Patricia Highsmith
— 69 members
— last activity May 04, 2026 08:50AM
Long live the queen of psychological crime thrillers!
Goodreads Librarians Group
— 342630 members
— last activity 3 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
Completists' Club
— 555 members
— last activity Mar 25, 2026 12:59PM
A group for those attempting to complete, or who have completed, the canons of their favourite writers. Share your canon-wide knowledge and opinion wi ...more
Bright Young Things
— 1225 members
— last activity Apr 24, 2026 11:39AM
...the perfect place for you to discuss your favourite authors from the early 20th Century. In the years from 1900 to 1945 the world of literature w ...more
English Mysteries Club
— 2948 members
— last activity 8 hours, 13 min ago
Do you love mysteries written in the "English" style? Why not come and join us? We are an established group of mystery readers, which re-launched in 2 ...more
J.’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at J.’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
1,785 books
|
893 friends
3,050 books
|
3,412 friends
462 books
|
257 friends
6,393 books
|
136 friends
1,919 books
|
363 friends
5,736 books
|
1,812 friends
1,282 books
|
158 friends
22,614 books
|
537 friends
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Not selected yet.
Polls voted on by J.
Lists liked by J.