A bittersweet reminder of the glories of Sebald, perhaps the most important cultural and historical commentator in the late 20th and early 21st century. Muted, passive even, he nonetheless drives you back to the source, making you reconsider everything.
2. The Animals: Love Letters between Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy (Chatto and Windus)
Your initial reaction to this book is that you're peering into a relationship, almost without permission, so tender, so frank is the correspondence. Yet the letters between Isherwood and Bachardy are also so well constructed, almost poised, that it soon turns into one of the most enjoyable reading experiences.
3. People of the 20th Century by August Sander (Schirmer/Mosel)
Finally, Sander's extraordinary document of people of all classes, professions and affiliations, now available with English commentary.
4. Twilight of the Romanovs by Philipp Blom and Veronica Buckley (Thames and Hudson)
Spanning the length and breadth of Russia before the collapse of its Empire, this compendium of images, quotations, essays is a glorious must have.
5. Egon Schiele: The Beginning (Hirmer)
Exhibition catalogues can be ponderous, raking over the coals of the curatorial process, while others are mere souvenirs, stocked with images but little else. This, on the other hand, is a fascinating book, full of insights into the world in which Schiele first appeared and took his steps towards being the 'Schiele' we know and revere.
Turkey: My reading, sadly, has been considerably less impressive this year, due to work pressures and the continuing presence of Proust on my bedside table (hence the reduction to five rather than ten titles). Thankfully, however, I have managed to avoid reading a complete turkey.
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