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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

1 post
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 »

21 likes · Like • 2 comments • flag

Published on October 24, 2016 05:39

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John Darnielle’s books

Average rating: 3.43 · 63,214 ratings · 10,226 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Wolf in White Van 3.72 avg rating — 25,610 ratings — published 2014	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 3.18 avg rating — 19,471 ratings — published 2017 — 18 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 3.20 avg rating — 15,849 ratings — published 2022 — 17 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 — 2,243 ratings — published 2008 — 9 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
	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
	Uncertainties Volume IV by Timothy J. Jarvis (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Rebecca Lloyd (Goodreads Author), Lucie McKnight Hardy really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 15 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
	This Year: 365 Songs Annotated: A Book of Days by John Darnielle (Goodreads Author), John Keogh (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — 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
	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...

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John Darnielle is currently reading

Sister Deborah

by Scholastique Mukasonga

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Sep 07, 2025 08:19AM

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Swinburne, a selection

by Algernon Charles Swinburne

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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 80 of 135 of Sister Deborah Sister Deborah by Scholastique Mukasonga 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 really liked it The Interim by Wolfgang Hilbig	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
Sep 06, 2025 04:09PM · 3 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Interim by Wolfgang Hilbig. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Interim by Wolfgang Hilbig <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Darnielle rated a book it was amazing Under the Neomoon by Wolfgang Hilbig	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
Stunning, singular — highest recommendation. An authorial voice without ready points of comparison. Surreal stories of working life, daily life — paranoia, drudgery, jail time. As soon as I finished it I reached for another Hilbig book; the connectio ...more
Aug 24, 2025 07:46PM · 11 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Under the Neomoon by Wolfgang Hilbig. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Under the Neomoon by Wolfgang Hilbig <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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John Darnielle rated a book it was amazing The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop (Mrs. Bradley, #2) by Gladys Mitchell	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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More of John's books…

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

103 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

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Polls

What will be our open pick book for April, 2015?

As usual, don't vote for the book unless you will read it if it wins.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

10 votes, 38.5%

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

6 votes, 23.1%

An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine

6 votes, 23.1%

The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis

2 votes, 7.7%

Nothing Gold Can Stay by Ron Rash

1 vote, 3.8%

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

1 vote, 3.8%

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

0 votes, 0.0%

26 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Book Challenge: laurea's 2010 challenge	25	82	Jul 11, 2010 01:10PM
21st Century Lite...: 2014 National Book Award	27	184	Nov 20, 2014 07:59AM
Reading Book Club: The Best Books Of 2014	1	26	Dec 05, 2014 04:58AM
J.D. Robb : Best Books - 2014	50	48	Jan 03, 2015 03:34PM
The Book Club: Books and Authors in the Media	71	113	Jan 14, 2015 01:36PM
The Seasonal Read...: 20.3 - Best Review - Book Concierge's task: Caroling, Caroling …	30	104	Feb 12, 2015 05:58AM
21st Century Lite...: Favorite Books of 2014	29	113	Feb 18, 2015 08:46PM

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John’s Year In Books

John Darnielle’s Followers (2,914)

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John’s Friends (272)

John Darnielle

Goodreads Author

1 post
John Darnielle's Blog: Book Acquisition Syndrome

Traveler of the Century

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John Darnielle’s books

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