Reading list
A list of what I’m reading and my opinions and all that.
2024
| Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| Absolution | by Jeff Vandermeer | |
| Lake of Souls | by Ann Leckie | Hits and misses for me (like any short story collection) |
| Making Design Theory | by Johan Redström | |
| Somewhere Beyond the Sea | by TJ Klune | A good conclusion, but as much as I appreciate the story and the ideas, I started to find the “positivity” tedious |
| An Academy for Liars | by Alexis Henderson | Found myself wanting |
| The Magician’s Land | by Lev Grossman | Pleasantly concluded |
| The Magician King | by Lev Grossman | Surprisingly different from book one, and just as enjoyable |
| These Deathless Shores | by P. H. Low | Takes a warm friendly story and makes it very much not so—characters grated on me but the underlying was super compelling |
| The Bright Sword | by Lev Grossman | I really enjoyed this but it felt like it petered out somehow |
| A Sorceress Comes to Call | by T. Kingfisher | Wonderful storytelling with a fairy-tale-esque slant |
| Eruption | by Michael Crichton & James Patterson | Books I don’t like are usually just “not for me” but this book is trash |
| The Mercy of Gods | by James S. A. Corey | Absolutely loved this |
| Winter, or a Town Near Palgrave | by André Alexis | Great short, surreal kick |
| Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend | by MJ Wassmer | Felt popcorny, good quick read |
| Duma Key | by Stephen King | One of his legitimately creepy stories |
| The Stardust Grail | by Yume Kitasei | Different! |
| Service Model | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | I loved this—the characters were brilliant |
| The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands | by Sarah Brooks | Somehow brilliantly original and terrifically derivative and I enjoyed it a lot |
| How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive | by Craig DiLouie | I wanted to like this but ehh—quite liked the feeling of immersion in filmmaking though |
| The Bound Worlds | by Megan O’Keefe | Great conclusion to the series |
| Something Rotten | by Jasper Fforde | |
| You Like it Darker | by Stephen King | Adored it |
| The Book of Joan | by Lidia Yuknavitch | Honestly found this really hard to read even if well written |
| Oryx and Crake | by Margaret Atwood | Fascinating, with some tough blunt subject matter |
| The Magicians | by Lev Grossman | Unexpected self-aware adult Hogwartsy |
| The Book that Broke the World | by Mark Lawrence | Was disappointed by this honestly, surprised |
| The Well of Lost Plots | by Jasper Fforde | Coming into itself |
| Ghost Station | by S. A. Barnes | Enjoyed |
| A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking | by T. Kingfisher | Easy fun read |
| Alchemy | by Rory Sutherland | This book brought back some of the energy and excitement I had around brand and design |
| Lost In a Good Book | by Jasper Fforde | Love the use of footnotes as an actual meta storytelling aspect |
| The Eyre Affair | by Jasper Fforde | Silly, in the right way right now |
| Shades of Grey | by Jasper Fforde | Literally read this and “Red Side Story” in the wrong order |
| Black River Orchard | by Chuck Wendig | So many ways to describe eating apples |
| Defiant | by Brandon Sanderson | This world is turning into a popcorn read basically which isn’t a bad thing |
| Red Side Story | by Jasper Fforde | Unexpectedly loved this—the voice works perfectly |
| Abandon | by Blake Crouch | Basically good, liked the setting |
| On Bullshit | by Harry G. Frankfurt | |
| Saevus Corax Gets Away With Murder | by K. J. Parker | Satisfyingly bloviating |
| The Book of Lost Things | by John Connolly | Not whatsoever a lighthearted read |
| The House in the Cerulean Sea | by T.J. Klune | Lovely |
| The Midnight Bargain | by C. L. Polk | Enjoyable, not subtle |
| Among the Living | by Tim Lebbon | Feels vaguely like it was written with the goal of being turned into a show |
| The Tainted Cup | by Robert Jackson Bennett | Love the narrow lens in a broader snippet of a fantastical world |
| Exordia | by Seth Dickinson | Kind of a wild ride that keeps going, but wouldn’t necessarily read again |
| Fevre Dream | by George R. R. Martin | a) Yes I too was startled this exists and b) it’s great |
| The Miracles of the Namiya General Store | by Keigo Higashino | I’m super curious how the voice is in the original language |
| Shubeik Lubeik | by Deena Mohamed | Absolutely adored this graphic novel |
| The Haunting of Hill House | by Shirley Jackson | |
| Sword Catcher | by Cassandra Clare | Enjoyed the characters in this one |
| Legion | by Brandon Sanderson | Meh |
| Operation Angus | by Terry Fallis | Really like seeing Canadian politics here |
| Saevus Corax Captures the Castle | by K. J. Parker | Rambly in all the right ways |
2023
| Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| Age of Ash | by Daniel Abraham | |
| Nettle & Bone | by T. Kingfisher | Really enjoyed, perfectly fairy-tale-esque |
| Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead | by K. J. Parker | Hilarious, but ending fell flat |
| Sign Here | by Claudia Lux | Takes a great premise and sees it through with a great character-driven plot |
| This is How You Lose the Time War | by Amal el-Mohtar & Max Gladstone | |
| System Collapse | by Martha Wells | I love the depth of universe behind the very solid first-person characterization |
| The Storyteller’s Death | by Ann Dávila Cardinal | Explores Puerto Rico in a way I haven’t experienced before |
| The Dead Take the A Train | by Cassandra Khaw & Richard Kadrey | |
| The Sunlit Man | by Brandon Sanderson | |
| Yumi and the Nightmare Painter | by Brandon Sanderson | Sanderson’s really had some fun with this collection |
| The Fractured Dark | by Megan O’Keefe | |
| The Blighted Stars | by Megan O’Keefe | Really enjoyed this blend of epic sci-fi and characterization |
| The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England | by Brandon Sanderson | |
| Prophet | by Sin Blaché & Helen MacDonald | Almost feels like this was written to be a movie |
| The Vanished Birds | by Simon Jimenez | |
| Starter Villain | by John Scalzi | I can just picture Scalzi chortling to himself while writing this |
| Never | by Ken Follett | Probably going to abandon this |
| Holly | by Stephen King | Less “crunchy,” whatever that means |
| Children of Memory | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | Took a while to get into, but compelling |
| Looking Glass Sound | by Catriona Ward | They went for it with the exploratory storytelling mechanisms |
| Ascension | by Nicholas Binge | One-day romp of a read—enjoyed the techniques |
| The Invention of Sound | by Chuck Palahniuk | Thought this was Wendig not Palahniuk until halfway through |
| Dust | by Hugh Howey | |
| Shift | by Hugh Howey | |
| Wool | by Hugh Howey | I loved this |
| Time Shelter | by Georgi Gospodinov | |
| The Road | by Cormac McCarthy | Bit of a tough read on a few axes |
| Dogsbody | by Diana Wynne Jones | Children’s book recommended by Gaiman I believe |
| The End of All Things | by John Scalzi | |
| The Human Division | by John Scalzi | It took me so long to figure out it’s “Human Divide” not “Human Department” |
| Yellowface | by R. F. Kuang | Brutal compelling—unlike “Babel,” made and kept its promises |
| Zoe’s Tale | by John Scalzi | |
| The Last Colony | by John Scalzi | |
| The Ghost Brigades | by John Scalzi | Apparently “Old Man’s War” is my summer re-read series |
| The God of Endings | by Jacqueline Holland | Beyond the story, I loved this book’s style and pacing |
| The Relentless Moon | by Mary Robinette Kowal | I love how much this series challenges a range of topics |
| Old Man’s War | by John Scalzi | Re-read, such fun |
| The Fated Sky | by Mary Robinette Kowal | |
| The Calculating Stars | by Mary Robinette Kowal | |
| The Lives of Puppets | by TJ Clune | I think the author was going for something that got cut short—the acknowledgement section is rather startling |
| Steering the Craft | by Ursula K. Le Guin | Just lovely |
| The Book that Wouldn’t Burn | by Mark Lawrence | Enjoyed the first bit so much, but then it turned into an overflowing soufflé |
| Winter in Sokcho | by Elisa Shua Dusapin | Great voice, but not quite for me |
| Putting the Fact in Fantasy | by Dan Koboldt | |
| City of Last Chances | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | |
| Save the Cat! Writes a Novel | by Jessica Brody | |
| Reaper Man | by Terry Pratchett | |
| The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi | by Shannon Chakraborty | One of my favourites of the last couple years—and real clever storytelling techniques |
| The Coral Bones | by E. J. Swift | |
| Men at Arms | by Terry Pratchett | |
| Guards! Guards! | by Terry Pratchett | |
| The Art of Description | by Mark Doty | |
| Mort | by Terry Pratchett | I love how Pratchett plays with typography as part of the novel, like poetry |
| Sourcery | by Terry Pratchett | |
| Nation | by Terry Pratchett | |
| Wonderbook | by Jeff VanderMeer | Super interesting format, great content on writing |
| The View from the Cheap Seats | by Neil Gaiman | Such a range, widely felt |
| A Slip of the Keyboard | by Terry Pratchett | |
| The Immortality Thief | by Taran Hunt | |
| A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe | by Alex White | |
| Record of a Spaceborn Few | by Becky Chambers | |
| Family Lexicon | by Natalia Ginzburg | Very powerful writing, particularly one scene around creativity post-WW2 |
| A Closed and Common Orbit | by Becky Chambers | |
| The Trial | by Franz Kafka | I’ve decided I can’t stand Kafka |
| Hell Bent | by Leigh Bardugo | |
| Fugitive Telemetry | by Martha Wells | Really enjoyed the indication that Murderbot’s way of being is just them, not a SecUnit thing |
| Network Effect | by Martha Wells | Comfortable popcorn reading at this point |
| The Sound on the Page | by Ben Yagoda | Starting to include the nonfiction reads in this list too |
| Exit Strategy | by Martha Wells | |
| Rogue Protocol | by Martha Wells | |
| City of Miracles | by Robert Jackson Bennett | |
| Artificial Condition | by Martha Wells | |
| All Systems Red | by Martha Wells | |
| The Measure | by Nikki Erlick | |
| Tress of the Emerald Sea | by Brandon Sanderson | Adored this book, adored the deaf character and their parallel-to-me adaptations |
| Chaos Vector | by Megan E. O’Keefe | |
| The Man in the High Castle | by Philip K. Dick | Good plot, great alt history, horrible characterization and ending |
| The Illustrated Man | by Ray Bradbury | |
| City of Blades | by Robert Jackson Bennett | Really enjoyed having a different PoV character from the first book |
| Echopraxia | by Peter Watts | Didn’t finish |
| Blindsight | by Peter Watts | Not for me—I found it very “down” |
| City of Stairs | by Robert Jackson Bennett | Occasionally I discover an author I didn’t know and oh look so many books to read! |
| Beyond the Burn Line | by Paul McAuley | |
| Locklands | by Robert Jackson Bennett | This is a different book than others in the series, but I enjoyed it |
| Shorefall | by Robert Jackson Bennett |
2022
| Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| Foundryside | by Robert Jackson Bennett | Hit all the notes I wanted in the moment |
| The Mountain in the Sea | by Ray Nayler | |
| Leech | by Hiron Ennes | This clicked in all kinds of ways |
| Wayward | by Chuck Wendig | |
| The Expert System’s Brother | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | |
| Defending Elysium | by Brandon Sanderson | |
| The Fisherman | by John Langan | I enjoyed the fractal nature of it |
| The Atlas Paradox | by Olivie Blake | |
| The Creeper | by A. M. Shine | |
| The Spare Man | by Mary Robinette Kowal | My cocktail ingredients shopping list |
| Thistlefoot | by GennaRose Nethercott | |
| From the Wreck | by Jane Rawson | |
| The Golden Enclaves | by Naomi Novik | Nice job tying the trilogy together |
| Ballad for Sophie | by Filipe Melo | Gorgeous graphic novel with exceptional story |
| End of the World House | by Adrienne Celt | |
| Dead Silence | by S. A. Barnes | Actually dang spooky |
| How High We Go in the Dark | by Sequoia Nagamatsu | Great book, horribly sad |
| A Half-Built Garden | by Ruthanna Emrys | Wasn’t really for me |
| Fairy Tale | by Stephen King | Has an Ending |
| Babel | by R. F. Kuang | Made promises and then didn’t hold to them |
| A Prayer for the Crown-Shy | by Becky Chambers | |
| A Psalm for the Wild-Built | by Becky Chambers | Loved it |
| Eversion | by Alastair Reynolds | Fascinating read, well-knit together |
| Klara and the Sun | by Kazuo Ishiguro | Fascinating read |
| On Writing | by Stephen King | |
| Under the Whispering Door | by TJ Klune | |
| A Discovery of Witches | by Deborah Harkness | Abandoned; I feel this book comes dangerously close to glorifying abusive behaviours |
| Under Fortunate Stars | by Ren Hutchings | Neat concept well executed |
| The Night Circus | by Erin Morgenstern | Really enjoyed the prose |
| Jack Four | by Neal Asher | I didn’t actually like this, felt like reading a video game |
| Ordinary Monsters | by J. M. Miro | |
| Mordew | by Alex Pheby | Feels wildly all over the place, wouldn’t read again |
| Hummingbird Salamander | by Jeff Vandermeer | Didn’t finish for some reason |
| Drunk on All Your Strange New Words | by Eddie Robson | |
| Inhibitor Phase | by Alastair Reynolds | |
| The Bone Orchard | by Sara A. Mueller | I went into this with no idea what to expect and I was surprised by how unique it feels |
| Stringers | by Chris Panatier | Very popcorny, but would’t read again |
| Eyes of the Void | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | |
| Until the Last of Me | by Sylvain Neuvel | |
| Gallant | by V. E. Schwab | |
| Last Exit | by Max Gladstone | |
| Ogres | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | |
| The Shadow People | by Graham Masterton | Went too far into gruesome for me, abandoned |
| Sea of Tranquility | by Emily St. John Mandel | |
| The Watchers | by A. M. Shine | I enjoyed this a lot |
| The Atlas Six | by Olivie Blake | |
| The Cartographers | by Peng Shepherd | |
| The Kaiju Preservation Society | by John Scalzi | |
| The Silent Patient | by Alex Michaelides | |
| Devil House | by John Darnielle | |
| The Long Earth | by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter | |
| Termination Shock | by Neal Stephenson | |
| The Two of Swords: Part Three | by K.J. Parker | |
| The Two of Swords: Part Two | by K.J. Parker |
2021
| Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| Stories of Your Life and Others | by Ted Chiang | Very tasty bits of short sci fi |
| Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language | by Gretchen McCulloch | This book is incredible and helps me level up how I communicate remotely |
| Leviathan Falls | by James S. A. Corey | I didn’t finish this and I’m not sure why |
| The Two of Swords: Part One | by K.J. Parker | The setting is GoT-ish but the tone is more like subtly like Hitchhiker's Guide |
| Elder Race | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | Did not realize it was a short story, majorly bummed out to accidentally run into the end |
| Cytonic | by Brandon Sanderson | I love the process of an AI learning emotions |
| The Apollo Murders | by Chris Hadfield | Not fair to be both an astronaut AND an author |
| The Lost Pianos of Siberia | by Sophy Roberts | |
| The Unfinished Land | by Greg Bear | |
| Utopia Avenue | by David Mitchell | Kinda fell off of it |
| Tears of the Truffle-Pig | by Fernando A. Flores | |
| The Last Graduate | by Naomi Novik | Should not be as sticky as it is and yet |
| The Scavenger Door | by Suzanne Palmer | Aw yeah |
| The Exiled Fleet | by J. S. Dewes | |
| The Hunt for Red October | by Tom Clancy | Keeps moving forward, all men only men |
| The Art of Logic | by Eugenia Cheng | Actively made me better at thinking |
| Clear and Present Danger | by Tom Clancy | |
| Billy Summers | by Stephen King | I would do naughty things to be able to write characters like King |
| The Great Mistake | by Jonathan Lee | |
| A History of What Comes Next | by Sylvain Neuvel | |
| The Library of the Dead | by T. L. Huchu | Not really about the library of the dead |
| The Big Short | by Michael Lewis | History repeats |
| Black Sun | by Rebecca Roanhorse | New level of squeamish in some scenes |
| Later | by Stephen King | |
| Turn the Ship Around! | by L. David Marquet | Love that he digs into his method failing as well as thriving |
| The Last Watch | by J.S. Dewes | Compelling idea, good characterization in points of views |
| The Hidden Palace | by Helene Wecker | Fascinating followup to The Golem and the Djinni |
| A Master of Djinn | by P. Daeli Clark | Fell off, never got back to it |
| The Lost Future of Pepperharrow | by Natasha Pulley | Like a totally different book from the first, not satisfying |
| Project Hail Mary | by Andy Weir | COMMUNICATION |
| The Lost Apothecary | by Sara Penner | |
| The Invisible Life of Addie Larue | by V. E. Schwab | The best cover |
| The Mask of Mirrors | by M. A. Carrick | Fell off, didn't finish |
| A Memory Called Empire | by Arkady Martine | |
| The Watchmaker of Filigree Street | by Natasha Pulley | Compelling |
| The Forever War | by Joe Haldeman | |
| The Starless Sea | by Erin Morgenster | Beautiful writing |
| To Sleep in a Sea of Stars | by Christopher Paolini | |
| The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet | by Becky Chambers | Pleasant read, optimistic |
| Velocity Weapon | by Megan E. O'Keefe | |
| Seveneves | by Neal Stephenson | |
| Beowulf | by Maria Dahvana Headley | Bro! |
| Bone Silence | by Alastair Reynolds | |
| Revenger | by ALastair Reynolds | |
| Rhythm of War | by Brandon Sanderson | |
| Org Design for Design Orgs | by Merholz & Skinner | |
| Radical Candor | by Kim Scott | Good ideas, often used as an excuse to be a jerk |
| Mismatch | by Kat Holmes | Wonderful read around inclusive design |
| Post-Truth | by Matthew D'Ancona | |
| The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist | by Adrian Tomine | Lovely graphic novel |
| How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It | by K. J. Parker | |
| Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City | by K. J. Parker | Fun and quick |
| A Peculiar Peril | by Jeff Vandermeer | Honestly, I have trouble getting into Vandermeer after his original trilogy |
| A History of the World in Twelve Maps | by Jerry Brotton | |
| Finder | by Suzanne Palmer | Aw yea |
| Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | by Philip K. Dick | Finally got to it |
| Sixteenth Watch | by Myke Cole | |
| The Doors of Eden | by Adrian Tchaikovsky |
2020
| Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| Early Risers | by Jasper Fforde | |
| The Hollow Ones | by Guillemo del Toro & Chuck Hogan | |
| Upheaval | by Jared Diamond | |
| Great North Road | by Peter F. Hamilton | |
| Bird by Bird | by Anne Lamott | I like this a lot |
| Kingdom of Copper | by S. A. Chakraborty | I love this cultural mythology |
| The Empire of Gold | by S. A. Chakraborty | I love this cultural mythology |
| Dead Astronauts | by Jeff Vandermeer | Fell off |
| Fuzzy Nation | by John Scalzi | Dunno what I expected, wasn't that, loved it |
| Why I'm No Longer Talking About Race | by Reni Eddo-Lodge | |
| Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing | by Libbie Hawker | Excellent read to procrastinate writing |
| The Ten Thousand Doors of January | by Alix E. Harrow | Lovely, bought a copy for my mom after |
| A Deadly Education | by Naomi Novik | Popcorn |
| The Light Brigade | by Kameron Hurley | |
| The Migration | by Helen Marshall | |
| Shards of Earth | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | Meh, doesn't live up to the rest of the author's work |
| If It Bleeds | by Stephen King | Don't usually like novellas, but these struck a chord |
| The Last Astronaut | by David Wellington | |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | by Douglas Adams | Must read every year |
| Cage of Souls | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | |
| The City We Became | by N. K. Jemisin | Fell off |
| The Priory of the Orange Tree | by Samantha Shannon | |
| Driving the Deep | by Suzanne Palmer | |
| The Escapement | by K. J. Parker | |
| Evil for Evil | by K. J. Parker | Interesting how I can't decide who's the good characters |
| Devices and Desires | by K. J. Parker | Nice prose |
| The Library of the Unwritten | by A. J. Hackwith | |
| The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat | by Oliver Sacks | |
| The Hidden Life of Trees | by Peter Wohlleben | |
| Through the Language Glass | by Guy Deutscher | |
| The Last Emperox | by John Scalzi | |
| Salvation | by Peter F. Hamilton | |
| Gravity | by Tess Gerritsen | |
| Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behaviour | by Leonard Mlodinow | |
| The Lies of Locke Lamora | by Scott Lynch | |
| The Book Thief | by Merkus Zusak | |
| The Anatomy of a Story | by John Truby | |
| The Buried Giant | by Kazuo Ishiguro | |
| Ninth House | by Leigh Bardugo | Best cover |
| Wanderers | by Chuck Wendig | Aw yeah kickin off a pandemic |
| Hogfather | by Terry Pratchett | |
| Good Strategy Bad Strategy | by Richard Rumelt | |
| Children of Ruin | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | |
| Children of Time | by Adrian Tchaikovsky | |
| The Terror | by Dan Simmons | |
| Skyward | by Brandon Sanderson | |
| Supernova Era | by Cixin Liu | |
| The Quantum Magician | by Derek Künsken | |
| Starsight | by Brandon Sanderson | |
| The Testaments | by Maraget Atwood | |
| The Da Vinci Code | by Dan Brown | |
| Angels and Demons | by Dan Brown | |
| The Institute | by Stephen King | |
| The Silent Patient | by Alex Michaelides | |
| The Memory Police | by Yōko Ogawa | |
| First Cosmic Velocity | by Zach Powers | |
| A Gentleman in Moscow | by Amor Towles | Really enjoyed this |
| … | by |
Struck through books are those I abandoned—which I’m trying to let myself do when a book isn’t right for me at that moment. Missing thoughts are just me not remembering exactly what I thought at the time.