I am utterly convinced that reading makes me a better writer, thus Niko Reads is a quintessential part of Niko Writes.

This list formerly started in 2014 in graduate school, though I have been making these lists on and off since I won the summer reading competition in 1st grade. I think what someone reads is a huge window into who they are, so here is my *official* list of every book I’ve read (cover to cover—no unfinished books listed, though there are many) by year. This collection includes fiction (classic and contemporary), as well as nonfiction books that explore philosophy, spirituality, memoir, the art of writing and more. Enjoy this map of my journey as a reader, writer and a human being.

You can also follow me on GoodReads.

*indicates a re-read, not a first read

2021

1. Crying in H Mart Michelle Zauner
2. The Incendiaries R.O. Kwan
3. Wired for Love Stan Tatkin
4. Real Life Brandon Taylor
5. I Might Regret This Abbi Jacobson
6. Nightbitch Rachel Yoder
7. Cultish Amanda Montell
8. Ayurveda for Beginners Lakshmi Vemuri
9. Awakening Fertility Heng Ou
10. Daddy Emma Cline
11. The Five Invitations Frank Ostaseski
12. The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk
13. Stray Stephanie Danler
14. Niksen Olga Mecking
15. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World Haruki Murakami
16. Without Her Patsy Creedy
17. Luster Raven Leilani
18. It Didn’t Start With You Mark Wolynn
19. Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents Lindsay C. Gibson
20. The Fifth Vital Sign Lisa Hendrickson-Jack
21. Milk Blood Heat Dantiel W. Moniz
22. Let Me Tell You What I Mean Joan Didion
23. Intimacy in Alcoholic Relationships Alanon Family Groups
24. How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America Kiese Laymon
25. Un-Wifeable Many Stadmiller

2020

1. Exit West Mohsin Hamid
2. Wow, No Thank You. Samantha Irby
3. Wild Cheryl Strayed
4. Godshot Chelsea Bieker
5. Your Brain on Love Dr. Stan Tatkin
6. Loving What Is Byron Katie
7. Very Nice Marcy Dermansky
8. All This Could Be Yours Jami Attenberg
9. Say What You Mean Oren Jay Sofer
10. The Art of Leaving Ayelet Tsabari
11. Capricorn, A Love Letter Heidi Rose Robbins

2019

1. The Goldfinch Donna Tartt
2. Nine Perfect Strangers Liane Moriarty
3. The Comedown Rebecca Frumkin
4. Cherry Nico Walker
5. No Exit Jean Paul-Sartre
6. How To Write An Autobiographical Novel Alexander Chee
7. Long Live The Tribe of Fatherless Girls T. Kira Madden
8. Lizard Banana Yoshimoto
9. Slow Days Fast Company Eve Babitz
10. There There Tommy Orange
11. They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us Hanif Abdurraqib
12. Sugar Run Mesha Maren
13. Junk Tommy Pico
14. IRL Tommy Pico
15. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Ocean Vuong
16. What My Mother & I Don’t Talk About (various contributors)
17. Drama of the Gifted Child Alice Miller
18. Someone Who Will Love You In All Your Damaged Glory Raphael Bob-Waksberg
19. Costalegre Courtney Maum
20.  I’m the One Who Got Away Andrea Jarrell
21. Heavy Kiese Laymon
22. All About Love bell hooks
23.  Trick Mirror Jia Tolentino
24. The Highly Sensitive Person Elaine N. Aron
25. My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh

2018

1. The Artist’s Way Julia Cameron
2. The White Album Joan Didion
3. Valencia Michelle Tea
4. The Duke in His Domain Truman Capote
5. LA Woman Eve Babitz
6. I’ll Tell You In Person Chloe Caldwell
7. So Sad Today Melissa Broder
8. Literally Show Me A Healthy Person Darcie Wilder
9. The Blood of Others Simone de Beauvoir
10. Slouching Towards Bethlehem Joan Didion
11. Field Guide to Getting Lost Rebecca Solnit
12. Call Me By Your Name Andre Aciman
13. The Situation and the Story Vivian Gornick
14. Meaty Samantha Irby
15. Tonight I’m Someone Else Chelsea Hodson
16. Good Old Neon David Foster Wallace
17. The Easy Way to Stop Smoking Allan Carr
18. Against Memoir Michelle Tea
19.  We Are Never Meeting In Real Life Samantha Irby 
20. In Cold Blood Truman Capote
21. Codependent No More Melody Beattie
22. Calling A Wolf A Wolf Kaveh Akbar
23. What If This Were Enough Heather Havrilesky
24. Too Much and Not The Mood Durga Chew Bose
25. Dead Girls Alice Bolin
26. Nobody Cares Anne T. Donahue

2017

1. Zen in the Art of Writing Ray Bradbury
2. Veronica Mary Gaitskill
3. Money Rules  Jean Chatzky
4. We Should All Be Feminists Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5. Ernest Hemingway On Writing
6. *The Giver Lois Lowry
7. Second Sex (a reader) Simone de Beauvoir
8. How To Grow Up Michelle Tea
9. On Booze F. Scott Fitzgerald
10. Answered Prayers Truman Capote
11. , said the shotgun to the head Saul Williams
12. Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth Warsan Shire
13. *The Malady of Death Marguerite Duras
14.  Black Wave Michelle Tea
15. The Agony of Eros Byung-Chul Han
16. Existentialism is Humanism Jean Paul Sartre
17. A Return to Love Marianne Williamson 
18. Men Without Women Haruki Murakami
19. Between the World And Me Ta-Nehisi Coates
20. Drop The Rock Removing Character Defects Step 6 & 7
21. Sex and Rage Eve Babitz
22. Comradely Greetings: The Prison Letters of Nadya & Slavoj 
23. Nicotine Nell Zink
24. Best of Bill
25. The Faraway Nearby Rebecca Solnit

2016

1. Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Hiding In Plain Sight M.E. Thomas 
2. In Praise of Love  Alain Badiou 
3. The 6 Pillars of Self Esteem Nathaniel Branden 
4.  Discovering Your Soul Signature Panache Desai 
5. Birth Work As Care Work Alana Afpel 
6.  Worst Person Ever Douglas Coupland 
7.  Narcisa  Jonathan Shaw 
8. The Art of War  Steven Pressfield 
9. I Hate You Don’t Leave Me  Jerold Kreisman & Hal Straus 
10.  The Buddha And The Borderline  Keira Van Gelder 
11. Milk and Honey Rupi Kaur 
12. When the Body Says No Dr. Gabor Mate, MD 
13.  Bone Yrsa Daley-Ward 
14.  Many Lives Many Masters Brian Weiss 
15.  Portrait of Doom  Marie Buck
16.  Black: The Brilliance of a Non-Color  Alain Badiou

2015

1. 1Q84 Haruki Murakami
2. Nausea Jean Paul Sartre
3. *The Revolution of Everyday Life Raoul Vaneigem
4. My Favorite Things Maira Kalman
5. Dragon’s Breath MariNaomi
6. The Event Slavoj Zizek
7. Aya Love in Yop City Clement Oubrerie & Marguerite Abouet
8. Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs Chuck Klosterman
9. Death Blossoms Mumia Abu-Jamal
10. The Malady of Death Marguerite Duras
11.  Alain Badiou: A Graphic Guide Michale J Kelly & Piero
12. The Story of the Eye George Bataille
13. Writing Marguerite Duras
14. Story of O Pauline Reage
15. After Dark Haruki Murakami
16. Norwegian Wood Haruki Murakami
17. Hey Nostradamus Douglas Coupland
18. The Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage Haruki Murakami
19. South of the Border, West of the Sun Haruki Murakami
20. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Haruki Murakami
21. Warrior Goddess Training: Become the woman you are meant to be Heatherash Amara

2014

1. The Grundrisse Karl Marx
2. Fresh Fruit Broken Bodies Seth Holmes
3. Anti-Systemic Movements Immanuel Wallerstein
4. Discipline and Punish Michel Foucault
5. After Leaving Mr. McKenzie Jean Rhys
6. The Production of Space Henri Lefebvre
7. Value of Nothing Raj Patel
8. Stuffed and Starved Raj Patel
9. Eleanor Rigby Douglas Coupland
10. We are the Poors Ashwin Desai
11. The Urban Revolution Henri Lefebvre
12. Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
13. The Beautiful and Damned F. Scott Fitzgerald
14. *The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
15. Disordered Anhvu Buchanan
16. Metamorphosis Franz Kafka
17. Killing Yourself to Live Chuck Klosterman
18. Theory of a Subject Alain Badiou
19. Being and Event Alain Badiou
20. A Subject to Truth Peter Hallward
21. Badiou & Politics Bruce Bosteels
22. Kafka on the Shore Haruki Marukami 
23. Microfinancing and its Discontents Lamia Karim
24. Philosophy for Militants Alain Badiou
25. The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 
26. Hi, I’m a Social Disease Anderson Prunty