Books You've Read in 2024

Im sure Ive mentioned this before - but he's talked about trying to sell the book. At the time all the publishers wanted was YA / Hunger Games type shit. So that's what he wrote to backdoor into the series he really wanted to write.

Good for him. It worked.

 

They don't even hide it with the cover of the book saying "First Ender and Katniss..."

 

Oh wow. It's been a minute since Ive seen the book cover of Red Rising

 

I honestly don't mind going through the same lower class uprising story over and over as long as it's told well, which universal reviews of this seem to hint at. Granted I only watched, not read, Hunger Games and Snow Piercer. Those stories and Silo all boil down to the same general story. But told in very unique ways that they're very entertaining.

 

That’s because you read on an iPad

 

Kindle but yeah. But also i see covers on Goodreads/storygraph/IG

 

The kitschy dialogue is what makes Crosby’s books fun imo

 

I just didn’t buy the dialogue. Seemed contrived to me.

 

1. Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac 6/10
2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 8/10
3. Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner 7/10
4. NW by Zadie Smith 5/10
5. The Wager by David Grann 8/10
6. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky 9/10
7. The Outlaw Ocean By Ian Urbina 9/10
8. Shogun Part One by James Clavell 8/10
9. Shogun Part Two by James Clavell 6/10
10. Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 8/10
11. In the American Grain by William Carlos Williams 5/10
12. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai 9/10
13. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towels 10/10
14. Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond 8/10
15. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 9/10
16. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 9/10
17. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles 8/10
18. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton 7/10
19. Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar 7/10
20. In the Distance by Hernan Diaz 8/10
21. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson 10/10
22. Native Son by Richard Wright 7/10

23. Table for Two by Amor Towles

God damn this man can write. Series of short stories and a novella that’s kind of an extension to his novel Rules of Civility. I’ve now read all of his published works and I believe he’s currently my favorite modern American fiction writer. There’s some really great work in here and Towles is a master of writing lifelike, clever dialogue. The Didomenico Fragment and Hasta Luego are my favorites of the short stories. Eve in Hollywood is the best of the bunch and is a great tribute to one of the more interesting characters Towles has created in his novels. Just a fun treat all the way through, I can’t wait to see what he does next.

8/10

 

1. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica - 7/10
2. Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - 5/10
3. Flying Blind by Peter Robison - 9.5/10
4. The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy - 6.5/10
5. Judgement at Tokyo by Gary Bass - 8.5/10
6. As Gods Among Men by Guido Alfano - 7/10
7. Fire Weather by John Vaillant - 8/10
8. Doppelgänger by Naomi Klein - 8/10
9. The Silverado Squatters by Robert Louis Stevenson - 7.5/10
10. Dune by Frank Herbert - 9/10
11. 3 Shades of Blue by James Kaplan - 9.5/10
12. City of Ruins by Don Winslow - 7/10
13. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - 10/10
14. The Searcher by Tana French - 6.5/10
15. Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham - 6/10
16. The Lincoln Highway - 8/10
17. The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson - 9/10
18. A New World Begins by Jeremy Popkin - 8/10
19. The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut - 10/10
20. Artemis by Andy Weir - 8/10
21. In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger - 9/10
22. WAR by Sebastian Junger - 6/10
23. Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara 6/10
24. Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay - 9/10
25. The Wages of Destruction by Adam Tooze - 9/10
26. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty - 10/10
27. The Master by Christopher Clarey - 9/10

28. Wellness by Nathan Hill - 6/10. Modern novel follows a couple from meeting each other in Chicago through marriage and having children, etc. It skewers lots of things on modern life…the “wellness” industry being a big part. Some nice parts on love/marriage but it was way to scattered and sarcastic to really be that enjoyable

29. The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger - 8/10. My summer of Sebastian continues. Incredible story and some incredible reporting in here

 

25. The Middle Passage: The Caribbean Revisited / V.S. Naipaul (6/10)
British writer (born in Trinidad) takes a tour of the "British West Indies" in 1960, writes about his impressions. Repeats a lot of prejudice which ain't great, but useful to know how people thought/talked I guess. Places visited include Trinidad, Guyana, Martinique, Suriname, Jamaica.

24. Pocket Atlas Of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Not Visited And Never Will / Judith Schalansky (9/10)
Cute little book I saw in a bookshop. (Then didn't buy. Then thought more about. Then ordered used on Amazon later.) It's a "beautiful" book, nice to look at. Also just fascinating to learn about random remote places. Most of the islands come with dark anecdotes though; it's not a vacation guide.

Spoiler

23. These Truths: A History Of The United States / Jill Lepore (10/10)
22. All Tomorrow's Parties: The Velvet Underground Story / Koren Shadmi (10/10)
21. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Book IV (Penguin Graphic Fiction: TMNT, #4) / Kevin Eastman (reread)
20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Book III (Penguin Graphic Fiction: TMNT, #3) / Kevin Eastman
19. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Book II (Penguin Graphic Fiction: TMNT, #2) / Kevin Eastman
18. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Book I (Penguin Graphic Fiction: TMNT, #1) / Kevin Eastman
17. The Wastelands (Dark Tower #3) / Stephen King (reread)
16. The Drawing Of The Three (Dark Tower #2) / Stephen King (reread)
15. The Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1) / Stephen King (reread)
14. Hopkins (Images Of America Series) / Ann Drayton Lister (8/10)
13. The Villagers / Richard Critchfield (9/10)
12. The Age Of Greed: The Triumph Of Finance And The Decline Of America, 1970-Present / Jeff Madrick (6.5/10)
11. The Nineties: A Book / Chuck Klosterman (90/100)
10. Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid / Douglas Hofstadter (DNF)
9. How To Change Your Mind: What The New Science Of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, And Transcendence / Michael Pollan (10/10)
8. Scar Tissue / Anthony Kiedis and Larry Sloman (9/10)
7. Hoops Heist: Seattle, The Sonics, And How A Stolen Team's Legacy Gave Rise To The NBA's Secret Empire / Jon Finkel (8/10)
6. The Splendid And The Vile: A Saga Of Churchill, Family, And Defiance During The Blitz / Erik Larson (8.5/10)
5. Tao Te Ching / Lao Tzu (10/10)
4. The Creators: A History Of Heroes Of The Imagination / Daniel Boorstin (7/10)
3. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story Of Greed, Terror, And Heroism In Colonial Africa / Adam Hochschild (10/10)
2. Brookgreen Gardens: Ever Changing. Simply Amazing / Paige Kiniry, Dick Rosen, Robin Salmon (8/10)
1. Proust And The Squid: The Story And Science Of The Reading Brain / Maryanne Wolf (7/10)

 

1. The Armour of Light by Ken Follett - 7.5/10
2. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel - 10/10 (re-read)
3. Essex Dogs by Dan Jones - 8/10
4. The White Ship by Charles Spencer - 8/10
5. The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel - 10/10 (re-read)
6. White Teeth by Zadie Smith - 7.5/10
7. Persuasion by Jane Austen - 8/10
8. Every Day is for the Thief by Teju Cole - 8.5/10
9. Emma by Jane Austen - 8/10
10. Trust by Hernan Diaz - 8.5/10
11. This other Eden by Paul Harding - 5.5/10
12. River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard - 9/10
13. If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery - 8/10
14. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - 8/10
15. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng - 9/10
16. Into the Distance by Hernan Diaz - 7.5/10
17. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch - 8.5/10
18. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng - 8.5/10
19. A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyo - 8/10
20. Strong Towns: A Bottom-up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity by Charles L Marohn Jr - 8/10
21. The Coming Days by Sarah Bernstein - 8/10
22. The Giant, O’Brien by Hilary Mantel - 8/10
23. Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein - 7.5/10
24. The Known World by Edward P. Jones - 8.5/10
25. Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell - 8.5/10
I’ve read and enjoyed some of her other books, namely Hamnet, so I decided to check out this novel, published in 2013. The novel is set during the 1976 heatwave/water shortage in England and follows a London based Irish family after the father nonchalantly walks out and doesn’t return. Amidst this crisis are other mini crises amongst the family matriarch and the three adult children. I found the plot captivating enough and the characters and dialogue are entertaining and even funny at times.
26. The Three Edwards by Thomas B. Costain - 7/10
Long-time followers of my book reviews (if any exist) will remember that due to library/Kindle incompatibilities, I rely on $0.99 non-fiction history books on my Kindle when I have periods of travel and don’t want to lug around multiple physical books. This book was a classic example of that: an informative biography of the three successive English Plantagenet kings Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III that I slowly read over a period of six months, mainly on airplanes or on beaches. I had a decent grasp on all three kings beforehand but still learned a lot, so that is good. However, I had a hunch based on the writing style that this book was quite old and after finishing I indeed found out it was published in 1958. As a fan of old book smell, I was disappointed to have been reading this in Kindle format.

 

Project Hail Mary (Weir) - 7/10; a fun sci-fi book, that was a fast paced read. Should be interesting to see this in theaters at some point.

City of Thieves (Benioff) - 9/10; Probably my favorite book I’ve read this year, it’s set during WWII in Russia, and is presented as a quasi biography of the author’s grandfather. Highly recommended.

 

I liked City of Thieves too. I’m pretty sure I finished it in like one evening.

Check out Transit by Anna Seghers. Very good and similar themes

 

1. Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac 6/10
2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 8/10
3. Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner 7/10
4. NW by Zadie Smith 5/10
5. The Wager by David Grann 8/10
6. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky 9/10
7. The Outlaw Ocean By Ian Urbina 9/10
8. Shogun Part One by James Clavell 8/10
9. Shogun Part Two by James Clavell 6/10
10. Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 8/10
11. In the American Grain by William Carlos Williams 5/10
12. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai 9/10
13. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towels 10/10
14. Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond 8/10
15. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 9/10
16. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 9/10
17. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles 8/10
18. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton 7/10
19. Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar 7/10
20. In the Distance by Hernan Diaz 8/10
21. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson 10/10
22. Native Son by Richard Wright 7/10
23. Table for Two by Amor Towles 8/10

24. A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

My third and probably final reread of 2024, collection of essays that delve into the idea of losing oneself in unfamiliar and unknown spaces, whether it’s about explorers and unique artists of the past or about people moving/traveling to places they’ve never been. Solnit writes beautifully and I love how she digs into the idea that a place isn’t just a location but a container of memories and past experiences.

it was fun to go back and look at the notes I made and things I underlined back in 2018 when I first read.

7/10

 

1. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica - 7/10
2. Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - 5/10
3. Flying Blind by Peter Robison - 9.5/10
4. The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy - 6.5/10
5. Judgement at Tokyo by Gary Bass - 8.5/10
6. As Gods Among Men by Guido Alfano - 7/10
7. Fire Weather by John Vaillant - 8/10
8. Doppelgänger by Naomi Klein - 8/10
9. The Silverado Squatters by Robert Louis Stevenson - 7.5/10
10. Dune by Frank Herbert - 9/10
11. 3 Shades of Blue by James Kaplan - 9.5/10
12. City of Ruins by Don Winslow - 7/10
13. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - 10/10
14. The Searcher by Tana French - 6.5/10
15. Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham - 6/10
16. The Lincoln Highway - 8/10
17. The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson - 9/10
18. A New World Begins by Jeremy Popkin - 8/10
19. The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut - 10/10
20. Artemis by Andy Weir - 8/10
21. In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger - 9/10
22. WAR by Sebastian Junger - 6/10
23. Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara 6/10
24. Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay - 9/10
25. The Wages of Destruction by Adam Tooze - 9/10
26. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty - 10/10
27. The Master by Christopher Clarey - 9/10
28. Wellness by Nathan Hill - 6/10
29. The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger - 8/10

30. When the Clock Broke by John Ganz - 8.5/10. A Rick Perlstein type dive into a specific time in American political history, this focusing on the early 90s and conservatives. Starts with David Duke and shows the through line from him to Pat Buchanan, Ross Perot, Bush and eventually Trump. A bit disjointed: a random deep dive into John Gotti and Rudy Giuliani in the middle of the book, but thoroughly entertaining

 

I listen to his podcast and been debating picking this up. I think I will now

 

I think you’ll like it. Definitely reminded me of the Reaganland style

 

1. American Kleptocracy- Casey Michel
2. Eat Drink and be Healthy- Walter Willet
3. How not to die- Michael Gregor
4. The Good Kings- Kara Cooney
5. Killing Pablo- Mark Bowden
6. MBS- The rise of power of Mohammed Bin Salman- Ben Hubbard
7. Outlive-The Science of Longevity- Peter Attia
8. Rebel Yell- SC Gwynne
9. Trail of the Lost- Kristi Burns
10. The War on Drugs- David Farber
11. The Divine Comedy- Dante
12. Moby Dick- Melville
13. Solid State- Kenneth Wommack
14. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter- Sanderson
15. The Sunlit Man- Sanderson
16. Bone Shard Daughter- Andrea Stewart
17. Bone Shard Emperor- Andrea Stewart
18. Under Jerusalem- Andrew Lawler
19. Issac's Storm- Erik Larson
20. Leviathan: The history of Whaling- Eric Jay Dolin
Very interesting and exhaustive
21. Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution- Eric Dolin
Also very interesting. Reminds me of Erik Larson books
22. Black Holes: Brian Cox
Very scientific but fascinating
23. Fire & Blood- GRRM
2 time reading as a refresher
24. The High Sierra: A Love Story- Kim Robinson
Good stories about a guy who hiked the Sierra Nevadas all his life
25. Death in Yellowstone- Lee H Whittlesby
Most of the deaths in Yellowstone going back 100+ years
26. Thirst: 2600 miles to home- Heather Anderson
Stories from a Long Distance hiker hiking the PCT
27. A Walk in the Woods- Bill Bryson
Humorous stories from a guy section hiking the Appalachian Trail.
28. Extra Virginity-Tom Mueller
History of Olive Oil and the counterfeit problem of modern day

 

1. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas (9.5/10)
2. Birnam Wood - Eleanor Catton (9/10)
3. Jade Shards (Green Bone Saga) - Fonda Lee (9/10)
4. Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings - Neil Price (8.5/10)
5. Tusks of Extinction - Ray Nayler (6.5/10)
6. Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice - (8/10)
7. Essex Dogs (Essex Dogs #1) - Dan Jones (8/10)
8. Let Us Descent - Jesym Ward - (7/10)
9. Meru (The Alloy Era #1)- SB Divya (6.5/10)
10. The Black Count - Thomas Reiss (9/10)
11. The Grand Game (Grand Game #1) - Tom Elliott (6/10)
12. The Recital (Orphan X 8.5) - Gregg Hurwitz (7/10)
13. Lone Wolf (Orphan X 9) - Gregg Hurwitz (8.5/10)
14. Combat Codes (Combat Codes #1) - Alexander Darwin (7/10)
15. UnSouled (Cradle #1) - Will Wight
16. Grievar's Blood (Combat Codes #2) - Alexander Darwin (7.5/10)
17. Blacklight Born (Combat Codes #3) - Alexander Darwin (7/10)
18. Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World - Mary Beard (7.5/10)
19. Shogun - James Clavell (9/10)
20. Starter Villain - John Scalzi (7.5/10)
21. Star Wars: The High Republic: Defy The Storm - Justina Ireland (6.5/10)
22. James - Percival Everett (10/10)
23. Wolves of Winter (Essex Dogs #2) - Dan Jones (7.5/10)
24. City in Ruin (Danny Ryan #3) - Don Winslow (8/10)
25. Star Wars: The Living Force - Johnathan Jackson Miller - (7.5/10)
26. Mountain in the Sea - Ray Naylor (8.5/10)
27. Mal Goes to War - Edward Ashton (6.5/10)
28. The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream - Patrick Radden Keefe (9/10)
29. The Familiar - Leigh Bardugo. (7/10)
30. Northern Wrath (The Hanged God Trilogy #1) Thilde Kold Holdt (8/10)
31. Dark Matter - Blake Crouch (9/10)
32. Shackled Fates (The Hanged God Trilogy #2) - Thilde Kold Holdt (8/10)
33. Slaughtered Gods (The Hanged God Trilogy #3) -Thilde Kold Holdt (8.5/10)
34. First Lie Wins - Alice Feeney (7/10)
35. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War - Erik Larson (8/10)
36. Rednecks - Taylor Brown (6.5/10)
37. Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn#1) - Brandon Sanderson (9/10)
38. Star Wars: The High Republic: Temptation of the Force - Tessa Gratton (9 / 10)
39. Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) - Brandon Sanderson (9/ 10)
40. Children Of Anguish and Anarchy (Legacy of Orisha #3) - Tomi Adeyemi (5.5/10)
41. Lies of Locke Lamorra (Gentleman Bastards #1) (10/10)
42. The Night of Baba Yaga - Akiri Otani (6.5/10)
43. Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) - Brandon Sanderson (9.5/10)
44. The Eleventh Metal (Mistborn #.05) - Brandon Sanderson (7/10)
45. Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space - Adam Higgenbotham
46. Shadowheart (UNSUB #4) - Meg Gardiner (8.5/10)
47. Lost Ark Dreaming - Suyi Davies Okungbowa (7.5.10)
48. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams( 8/10)
49. Artificial Wisdom - Thomas R Weaver (10/10)
50. The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World - Riley Black (7/10)
54. Burn - Peter Heller (7/10)
55. Lost in Time - A.G. Riddle (7.5/10)
56. The Stardust Grail - Yumi Kitasei (6.5/10)
57. Southern Man (Penn Cage #7) - Greg Iles (7/10)

Burn - Novel about two guys on a hunting trip in Maine, during a time where there is a lot of secessionist fervor in the country. During their trip Maine secedes and all hell breaks loose. Survival story about them trying to get out. I liked it, but also not really what I read Peter Heller for. He usually writes novels about outdoorsmanship and nature. He does such a good job in a nature setting. This was less of that and more a 'thriller'. Good, but a little disappointed based on what my expectations were.

Lost In Time - Empty calorie sci-fi novel about a guy that gets framed for murder and is sent back to the Triassic Period. Dumb, but fun and enjoyable.

The Stardust Grail - Cool premise - basically Indiana Jones in space. Fell flat. For whatever reason, Im trying really hard to like this author but both books of hers that ive read have started strong and fizzled out big time. There just arent enough cool sci-fi space stand alones. Im too desperate to give then a chance lol

Southern Man - Really struggled with how to rate this. The series started out as really intense, good southern noir. Then the author didnt write for several years and came back w this. 3 novel plots squeezed into one. But squeezed is the wrong word. Book was absurdly long. Like there was no editor or something. At it's word it's a resistance libs' wet dream. Incredibly cheesy, while at the same time being compelling enough to read. Idk - it's probably a good thing people read this. It's confronting about several current day issues, but just does it in the laziest, patting yourself on the back way.

 

1) Dune by Frank Herbert 10/10
2) The Wager by David Grann 8/10
3) Wool by Hugh Howey (reread) 9/10
4) Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel 8.5/10
5) When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut 8.25/10
6) Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert 8/10
7) The Great Gatsby 8/10
8) The Winners by Fredrick Backman 9.5/10
9) Shift by Hugh Howey 9/10
10) Empire of Silence (Sun Eater #1) by Christopher Ruocchio 10/10
11) Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel 9.25/10
12) Fairy Tale by Stephen King 6.5/10
13) We Should Not Be Friends by Will Schwalbe 7.5/10
14) Reykjavik: A Crime Story by Ragnar Jonasson/Katrin Jakobsdottir 5/10
15) Revan by Drew Karpyshyn 7.5/10
16) Quantum Radio by AG Riddle 6/10
17) The Lesser Devil (Sun Eater #1.5) by Christopher Ruocchio 8/10
18) The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut 7/10
19) Educated by Tara Westover 9/10
20) The Door to Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn 7/10
21) Unguarded by Scottie Pippen 7/10
22) Mickey7 by Edward Ashton 9/10
23) Star Wars: Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson 7.5/10
24) What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami 8/10
25) You Like It Darker by Stephen King 9/10
26) The Lost City of Z by David Grann 8/10
27) The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury 7.5/10
28) Night Shift by Stephen King 8.25/10
29) Blockade Billy by Stephen King 7/10
30) Chess Story by Stefan Zweig 8/10
31) Joyland by Stephen King 8.25/10
32) What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama 8.5/10
33) The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs 7.5/10
34) Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury 7/10
35) The Jungle by Upton Sinclair 9/10
36) Children of Dune by Frank Herbert 7.5/10
37) God Emperor of Dune 7.75/10

Last entry for me in the Dune universe. Might even rank this one second behind the first Dune book. I'll probably watch YouTube recap videos on the last two books in the series. Just a lot more books I want to get to.

38) The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time by Michael Craig 8/10

Thought this was going to be about the weekend Phil Ivey won like 15 million from billionaire Andy Beal, but it was about several games that took place before that. Was on a poker kick this summer and watched a ton on vlogs on YouTube, and ordered a few poker books as a result. Quick read.

39) One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stu Ungar 9/10

Grew up around a bar and sports betting, apparently the greatest gin player before becoming arguably the greatest poker player. Lived a cycle of winning money at poker, then losing it all betting on sports or horses, later turning to drugs. Died broke a year after winning the main event for a third time.

 

1. Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac 6/10
2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 8/10
3. Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner 7/10
4. NW by Zadie Smith 5/10
5. The Wager by David Grann 8/10
6. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky 9/10
7. The Outlaw Ocean By Ian Urbina 9/10
8. Shogun Part One by James Clavell 8/10
9. Shogun Part Two by James Clavell 6/10
10. Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 8/10
11. In the American Grain by William Carlos Williams 5/10
12. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai 9/10
13. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towels 10/10
14. Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond 8/10
15. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 9/10
16. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 9/10
17. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles 8/10
18. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton 7/10
19. Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar 7/10
20. In the Distance by Hernan Diaz 8/10
21. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson 10/10
22. Native Son by Richard Wright 7/10
23. Table for Two by Amor Towles 8/10
24. A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit 7/10

25. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

I think I initially misunderstood what this book was about and thus the first 100 pages or so didn’t click with me. This is a story about a murder of a young girl in a New Hampshire boarding school in the mid 90’s and how the justice system maybe got everything wrong and a former student turned famous podcaster returns to the school to teach a class and ends up bringing the case back into the light.

However, it’s really a look into the violent, predatory acts of men and how they’ve gotten away with it or how the system chooses to look the opposite way time and time again. It’s a slow in the beginning, but it picks up and becomes hard to put down and it has a really wild twist towards the end. Ultimately, as it so often happens in real life, the justice system kind of fails, which made the story feel unresolved. I think that was the point though.

8/10

ten books left to hit my goal by the end of the year folks

 

1. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica - 7/10
2. Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - 5/10
3. Flying Blind by Peter Robison - 9.5/10
4. The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy - 6.5/10
5. Judgement at Tokyo by Gary Bass - 8.5/10
6. As Gods Among Men by Guido Alfano - 7/10
7. Fire Weather by John Vaillant - 8/10
8. Doppelgänger by Naomi Klein - 8/10
9. The Silverado Squatters by Robert Louis Stevenson - 7.5/10
10. Dune by Frank Herbert - 9/10
11. 3 Shades of Blue by James Kaplan - 9.5/10
12. City of Ruins by Don Winslow - 7/10
13. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - 10/10
14. The Searcher by Tana French - 6.5/10
15. Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham - 6/10
16. The Lincoln Highway - 8/10
17. The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson - 9/10
18. A New World Begins by Jeremy Popkin - 8/10
19. The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut - 10/10
20. Artemis by Andy Weir - 8/10
21. In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger - 9/10
22. WAR by Sebastian Junger - 6/10
23. Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara 6/10
24. Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay - 9/10
25. The Wages of Destruction by Adam Tooze - 9/10
26. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty - 10/10
27. The Master by Christopher Clarey - 9/10
28. Wellness by Nathan Hill - 6/10
29. The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger - 8/10
30. When the Clock Broke by John Ganz - 8.5/10

31. The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley - 6.5/10. Needed a book on a long road trip with my wife over labor day, fit the bill. Think we've ripped through all of her books on road trips lol

32. The Looking Glass War by John le Carre - 6/10. Not my favorite le Carre. More of a look at the interactions between agencies during the cold war period than the typical spy story I was kind of looking for. But on to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy now

 

30. Tao Te Ching: A New English Version / Stephen Mitchell (reread)
A translation/version I haven't read before. Third (maybe fourth) translation I've read overall.

29. My Teacher Glows In The Dark (My Teacher Is An Alien #3) / Bruce Coville (reread)
28. My Teacher Fried My Brains (My Teacher Is An Alien #2) / Bruce Coville (reread)
27. My Teacher Is An Alien (My Teacher Is An Alien #1) / Bruce Coville (reread)
My favorite series back in the Scholastic Book Fair days. Saw the first three books collected in one volume for $4 at a bookstore; kopped immediately. Still need to find #4 somewhere.

26. The Silk Roads: A New History Of The World / Peter Frankopan (10/10)
Fantastic. This book almost makes you forget "the west" exists. Everything from the Crusades to World War II gets more interesting/illuminating when you consider the Asian perspective.

Spoiler

25. The Middle Passage: The Caribbean Revisited / V.S. Naipaul (6/10)
24. Pocket Atlas Of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Not Visited And Never Will / Judith Schalansky (9/10)
23. These Truths: A History Of The United States / Jill Lepore (10/10)
22. All Tomorrow's Parties: The Velvet Underground Story / Koren Shadmi (10/10)
21. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Book IV (Penguin Graphic Fiction: TMNT, #4) / Kevin Eastman (reread)
20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Book III (Penguin Graphic Fiction: TMNT, #3) / Kevin Eastman
19. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Book II (Penguin Graphic Fiction: TMNT, #2) / Kevin Eastman
18. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Book I (Penguin Graphic Fiction: TMNT, #1) / Kevin Eastman
17. The Wastelands (Dark Tower #3) / Stephen King (reread)
16. The Drawing Of The Three (Dark Tower #2) / Stephen King (reread)
15. The Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1) / Stephen King (reread)
14. Hopkins (Images Of America Series) / Ann Drayton Lister (8/10)
13. The Villagers / Richard Critchfield (9/10)
12. The Age Of Greed: The Triumph Of Finance And The Decline Of America, 1970-Present / Jeff Madrick (6.5/10)
11. The Nineties: A Book / Chuck Klosterman (90/100)
10. Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid / Douglas Hofstadter (DNF)
9. How To Change Your Mind: What The New Science Of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, And Transcendence / Michael Pollan (10/10)
8. Scar Tissue / Anthony Kiedis and Larry Sloman (9/10)
7. Hoops Heist: Seattle, The Sonics, And How A Stolen Team's Legacy Gave Rise To The NBA's Secret Empire / Jon Finkel (8/10)
6. The Splendid And The Vile: A Saga Of Churchill, Family, And Defiance During The Blitz / Erik Larson (8.5/10)
5. Tao Te Ching / Lao Tzu (10/10)
4. The Creators: A History Of Heroes Of The Imagination / Daniel Boorstin (7/10)
3. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story Of Greed, Terror, And Heroism In Colonial Africa / Adam Hochschild (10/10)
2. Brookgreen Gardens: Ever Changing. Simply Amazing / Paige Kiniry, Dick Rosen, Robin Salmon (8/10)
1. Proust And The Squid: The Story And Science Of The Reading Brain / Maryanne Wolf (7/10)