Good Book Catalogue is an online book catalogue.
There is a cosiness in having books around, especially those worn editions crowded with sticky notes. This website is a digital catalogue of one person’s bookshelf. As much as possible the pictures featured here are their own, well-loved copies.
Many of us fall into the pages of books in childhood – sustaining an imagination and nourishing our curiosity. Some of us fall out of the habit later in life. Yet when reading accompanies us through moments of grief, solitude, heartbreak and sickness, it may elevate our spirits & provide perspective on our diverse and fascinating world. This page is curated by designer Emma Hursey.
Where to find books
There are plenty of free books across the internet and hopefully most towns still have a local library. Please don’t buy books from Amazon. Owned by the world’s richest man, Amazon certainly do not need and nor do they deserve your money.
Local Bookshops
Support your local, independent bookshop. If you’re in isolation, contact a shop near you to explain your situation and to ask if they’d be happy to deliver your purchase. In the UK, Hive lets you search local independent bookshops with a percentage of your purchase going towards a shop of your choosing.
Google Maps ︎
Free eBooks
For eReaders, you can find a wealth of classics for FREE on websites such as Project Gutenberg. Independent publisher Verso Books reguarly make eBooks available for free from their wonderful collection too.
Project Gutenberg ︎︎︎
Free Audiobooks
You can often find free audiobooks on iTunes, Spotify and other streaming services. There are a wealth of free audiobooks available at the likes of Loyal Books. They have a wide selection of classics and an easy to navigate website.
eBooks
If you’d like to buy eBooks or audio books, it’s easy to find them in places other than Amazon. Local bookshops often sell them online. One of my favourite finds of late is the Verso Book Club – for as little as £5 a month you can receive a multitude of eBooks for any device every month.
Secondhand Books
Buy books secondhand online. As well as being a more sustainable approach, you can find most books far cheaper than elsewhere. If visuals is your jam, it’s a grand way to get your hands on a wonderful variety of covers.
World of Books ︎︎︎
Library
A novel (pun intended) idea for sourcing books is the humble library. Contact yours and discuss the process of borrowing & buying during the pandemic. Many libraries also have a wealth of online resources which aren’t always limited to your postcode. In a small town? Check out what state libraries have to offer
Support your local, independent bookshop. If you’re in isolation, contact a shop near you to explain your situation and to ask if they’d be happy to deliver your purchase. In the UK, Hive lets you search local independent bookshops with a percentage of your purchase going towards a shop of your choosing.
Google Maps ︎
Independent Bookseller (AU) ︎︎︎
Hive (UK) ︎
Free eBooks
For eReaders, you can find a wealth of classics for FREE on websites such as Project Gutenberg. Independent publisher Verso Books reguarly make eBooks available for free from their wonderful collection too.
Project Gutenberg ︎︎︎
Verso Books ︎︎︎
Free Audiobooks
You can often find free audiobooks on iTunes, Spotify and other streaming services. There are a wealth of free audiobooks available at the likes of Loyal Books. They have a wide selection of classics and an easy to navigate website.
Loyal Books ︎︎︎
eBooks
If you’d like to buy eBooks or audio books, it’s easy to find them in places other than Amazon. Local bookshops often sell them online. One of my favourite finds of late is the Verso Book Club – for as little as £5 a month you can receive a multitude of eBooks for any device every month.
Verso Book Club ︎︎︎
Secondhand Books
Buy books secondhand online. As well as being a more sustainable approach, you can find most books far cheaper than elsewhere. If visuals is your jam, it’s a grand way to get your hands on a wonderful variety of covers.
World of Books ︎︎︎
Oxfam (UK) ︎︎︎
eBay ︎︎︎
Library
A novel (pun intended) idea for sourcing books is the humble library. Contact yours and discuss the process of borrowing & buying during the pandemic. Many libraries also have a wealth of online resources which aren’t always limited to your postcode. In a small town? Check out what state libraries have to offer
Google Maps ︎︎︎
To delve into the nuances of a life, with its characters, time and place, is where we really form our own connections and considerations.
The function of literature is to speak about the world. Fiction and non-fiction alike expand our perception of the world around us. The time we spend in a book is time spent examining the life of another within ourselves. Reading swells those four walls, bringing the company of community into our isolation.
Index
Use Cmd-F on desktops to search for Fiction, Poetry, Graphic Novels or Non-fiction catergories:
Art & Design, Biography, Environmental, Essays, Grief, History, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Politics, Psychology, Queer, Society & Travel
︎ = Highly recommend
Desert Island Book would be The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli. Only topping bell hooks’ Teaching Community since a Desert Island, by definition, would be devoid of community.
Natives: Race & Class in The Ruins of Empire ︎
Akala
Non-fiction: History & Society
Interaction of Colour
Josef Albers
Non-fiction: Art & Design
Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys ︎
Viv Albertine
Non-fiction: Biography
To Throw Away Unopened ︎
Viv Albertine
Non-fiction: Biography & Music
White Girls ︎
Hilton Als
Non-fiction: Society
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ︎
Maya Angelou
Non-fiction: Biography
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be
Paul Arden
Non-fiction: Art & Design
The Handmaid’s Tale
Margaret Atwood
Fiction
Giovanni’s Room ︎
James Baldwin
Fiction
Image Music Text
Roland Barthes
Non-fiction: Philosophy
Foreign Soil ︎
Maxine Beneba Clarke
Fiction: Short Stories
Ways of Seeing
John Berger
Non-fiction: Art & Design
The Peace of Wild Things
Wendell Berry
Poetry
Now You See It
Michael Bierut
Non-fiction: Art & Design
Heart of the Race: Black Women’s Lives in Britain ︎
Beverley Bryan, Stella Dadzie & Suzanne Scafe
Non-fiction: Society and Culture
The Unnatural Art of The Garden
Roberto Burle Marx
Non-fiction: Art & Design
The Myth of Sisyphus
Albert Camus
Non-fiction: Philosophy
The Outsider
Albert Camus
Fiction
Granite Island: A Portrait of Corsica
Dorothy Carrington
Non-fiction: Travel
Too Much and Not the Mood ︎
Durga Chew-Bose
Non-fiction: Essays
On Anarchism ︎
Noam Chomsky
Non-fiction: Politics
The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis
Lydia Davis
Fiction
Adieux
Simone De Beauvoir
Non-fiction: Biography
She Came To Stay
Simone de Beauvoir
Fiction
The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Fiction
Blue Nights
Joan Didion
Non-fiction: Grief
The Year of Magical Thinking
Joan Didion
Non-fiction: Grief
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race ︎
Reni Eddo-Lodge
Non-fiction: Society
What is the What
Dave Eggers
Biographical Fiction
Art Sex Music ︎
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Non-fiction: Biography & Music
Catch and Kill
Ronan Farrow
Non-fiction: Society
Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Paulo Freire
Non-fiction: Society
The Future We Choose
Christiana Figueres
Non-fiction: Environment
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fiction
Hunger ︎
Roxane Gay
Non-fiction: Biography
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know
Malcolm Gladwell
Non-fiction: Psychology
Girl in a Band
Kim Gordon
Non-fiction: Biography & Music
The Shortest History of Germany
James Hawes
Non-fiction: History
The Book of My Lives
Aleksandar Hemon
Non-fiction: Biography
Colouring The Rainbow: Blak Queer and Trans Perspectives – Life Stories and Essays by First Nations People of Australia ︎
Dino Hodge
Non-fiction: Queer
The Odyssey
Homer
Fiction
Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope ︎
bell hooks
Non-fiction: Society and Teaching
Dubliners
James Joyce
Fiction
No One Belongs Here More Than You
Miranda July
Fiction: Short Stories
The First Bad Man
Miranda July
Fiction
She Said
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
Non-fiction: Society
Border: A Journey to the Edge Europe
Kapka Kassabova
Non-fiction: History
Failed It!
Erik Kessels
Non-fiction: Art & Design
Wabi-Sabi: Further Thoughts
Leonard Koren
Non-fiction: Art & Design
I Love Dick
Chris Kraus
Non-fiction: Biography & Art
Infinity Net ︎
Yayoi Kusama
Non-fiction: Biography & Art
Women Together/Women Apart
Tirza True Latimer
Non-fiction: Queer History
Decolonizing Solidarity
Clare Land
Non-fiction: Society
The Whitsun Weddings
Phillip Larkin
Poetry
A Wizard of Earthsea ︎
Ursula K. Le Guin
Fiction: Fantasy
Searoad
Ursula K. Le Guin
Fiction
Tales From Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin
Fiction: Fantasy
Tehanu
Ursuka K. Le Guin
Fiction: Fantasy
The Farthest Shore
Ursuka K. Le Guin
Fiction: Fantasy
The Other Wind
Ursuka K. Le Guin
Fiction: Fantasy
The Tombs of Atuan
Ursuka K. Le Guin
Fiction: Fantasy
A Grief Observed
C.S. Lewis
Non-fiction: Grief
How Democracies Die
Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt
Non-fiction: Politics
So Real it Hurts
Lydia Lunch
Non-fiction: Biography & Music
Revolting Prostitutes ︎
Juno Mac & Molly Smith
Non-fiction: Society
Prisoners of Geography
Tim Marshall
Non-fiction: Politics
On Chesil Beach
Ian McEwan
Fiction
Poverty Safari
Darren McGarvey
Non-fiction: Society
The Natural Enemies of Books
MMS
Non-fiction: Art & Design
Design as Art ︎
Bruno Munari
Non-fiction: Art & Design
Norweigen Wood
Haruki Murakami
Fiction
Sputnik Sweetheart
Haruki Murakami
Fiction
Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
Fiction
Animal Farm
George Orwell
Fiction
1984
George Orwell
Fiction
Equal Rites ︎
Terry Pratchett
Fiction: Fantasy
Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett
Fiction: Fantasy
Mort ︎
Terry Pratchett
Fiction: Fantasy
Pyramids
Terry Pratchett
Fiction: Fantasy
Sourcery
Terry Pratchett
Fiction: Fantasy
The Colour of Magic ︎
Terry Pratchett
Fiction: Fantasy
The Light Fantastic
Terry Pratchett
Fiction: Fantasy
Wyrd Sisters
Terry Pratchett
Fiction: Fantasy
The Crying of Lot 49
Thomas Pynchon
Fiction
Letters to a Young Painter
Rainer Maria Rilke
Non-fiction: Art
Conversations with Friends
Sally Rooney
Fiction
Normal People
Sally Rooney
Fiction
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Carlo Rovelli
Non-fiction: Physics
The Order of Time ︎
Carlo Rovelli
Non-fiction: Physics
Footnotes in Gaza
Joe Sacco
Non-fiction: Graphic Novel
Palestine
Joe Sacco
Non-fiction: Graphic Novel
Bonjour Tristesse
Françoise Sagan
Fiction
Franny and Zooey
J.D. Salinger
Fiction
Nine Stories
J.D. Salinger
Fiction
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters
J.D. Salinger
Fiction
Assata: An Autobiography ︎
Assata Shakur
Non-fiction: Biography
Autumn
Ali Smith
Fiction
Spring ︎
Ali Smith
Fiction
Winter
Ali Smith
Fiction
Just Kids
Patti Smith
Non-fiction: Biographical
M Train
Patti Smith
Non-fiction: Biography
Swing Time
Zadie Smith
Fiction
Hope in the Dark
Rebecca Solnit
Non-fiction: Society
Men Explain Things to Me
Rebecca Solnit
Non-fiction: Society
The Mother of All Questions
Rebecca Solnit
Non-fiction: Society
Whose Story Is It?
Rebecca Solnit
Non-fiction: Society
On Photography
Susan Sontag
Non-fiction: Art & Design
How to Reform Capitalism
The School of Life
Non-fiction: Society & Art
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
Olga Tokarczuk
Fiction
Killing and Dying ︎
Adrian Tomine
Fiction: Graphic Novel
The Responsible Object ︎
Marjanne Van Helvert
Non-fiction: Art & Design
The End of Policing
Alex S. Vitale
Non-fiction: Society
Cat’s Cradle
Kurt Vonnegut
Fiction
Galapagos
Kurt Vonnegut
Fiction
Hocus Pocus
Kurt Vonnegut
Fiction
Slaughterhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut
Fiction
Cat On a Hot Tin Roof
Tennesse Williams
Fiction: Play
A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
Fiction
The End