Books You've Read in 2024

4. Razor Blade Tears - S.A. Crosby 9/10 - just love his writing, kind of saw it coming so it's not a 10/10 but I like it

Currently Reading - The Devil All The Time - Donald Ray Pullock

 

Loved Razorblade Tears

 

7. The Crossing by McCarthy; Honestly, the first book from him I don’t care for. His prose is always extremely descriptive, but this was on another level.

Up next: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, and the Power of the Dog by Don Winslow.

 

I assume you read All the Pretty Horses prior to The Crossing?

Been wanting to read some of Tananarive’s stuff (African Immortals series in particular) so I’ll be interested in your review there.

 

I read all the pretty horses a while ago, but have also read Suttree, blood meridian, no country for old men, and the road. This one was a slog for me.

think the reformatory will be a pretty quick read.

 

Yea The Crossing is some hard reading.

 

Currently reading
-Wool (re-read)
-Children of Ash and Elm
- Just got Starship Troopers in the mail.

 

Probably go with another horror genre after I finish these up. Any recommendation to add to the list?

 

1) Dune by Frank Herbert 9.5/10
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 7.5/10
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 by Christopher Ruocchio 9.5/10

Had high expectations going into this one after hearing about it from a YouTube video, Mike's book reviews, and it met them for sure. Even though the story was much different than I thought beforehand. May honestly give it a 10/10 for me, kind of hit the same spot that Rage of Dragons did a few years ago. Will read the next book soon.

 

Dang. Rage of Dragons is high praise

 

I read a lot of horror. Any particular tropes you’re looking for?

 

Just anything. Big Lovecraft and King fan but anything super creepy

 

I quit including "up next" in my posts because if you get a like it's unclear if they like what you just read or what you're about to read

 

I basically throw around likes at everything people post in here because as long as you're reading something you're doing something right (unless it's a book by John Daly or something)

 

Like for up next

 

Up next: Bawitdaba: The Life and Times of Kid Rock

 

1) Dune by Frank Herbert 9.5/10
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 7.5/10
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 by Christopher Ruocchio 9.5/10
11) Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel 9.25/10

Flew through this one in 2 days. Right up my alley. Will read this one again, maybe next year, think it will be a good reread to pick things out now that I know the story and what happened. Would make a good movie imo, actually just googled and HBO making this a series with another of her books.

 

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

This is peak absurdist drama to the point where I couldn’t even imagine humans acting like this. Some really funny moments in rather somber story. Not many writers can portray the internal conflict of being human like Dostoyevsky did.

9/10

 

60 pages into The Outlaw ocean and now hating myself for that time I wanted to try Shark Fin soup in Japan 12 years ago

 

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


Orphan X - Long running series about a off the books CIA assassin that escaped the program he was in. He now is a good sumaritatn that helps people in need. Escape from gangs, gets out of trouble w drug cartels, gets people out of shit w corrupt government shit ect. Recital was a nice little novella. Lone Wolf was really good. Lots of action, good characters and was able to bring current event into a book with social commentary that isnt obnoxious or takes you out the story.

Combat Codes - Sci fi novel about system where disputes between countries are setting via trial by combat to avoid mass death of wars ect. I was entertained. Didnt blow me away but will definitely read the 2nd book in the trilogy.

Unsouled - fantasy novel about a kid in a primitive tribe who is a black sheep because he's not provided with the magical gifts most others in the tribe are, and is seen as useless. Then the whole world/universe opens up. Kind of hard to describe without spoiling. Really liked this one. Very unique. In an eastern/asian setting that was cool too. Will definitely read on in the series.

 

Takes off after the 3rd or 4th books.

 

I was just having a convo w myself -

I liked his and want to continue. But also I'll push it off because - 12 books. Then I'll never get to it and be frustrated

 

They're all short if it makes you feel better. Sometimes they feel too short.

 

1- Cassandra at the Wedding – Dorothy Baker (8/10)
2- Trespasses – Louise Kennedy (9/10)
3- Emerald City – Jennifer Egan (8.5/10)
4- Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout (5.5/10)
5- Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont – Elizabeth Taylor (6.5/10)
6- Jesus’ Son – Denis Johnson (8.5/10)
7- Child of God – Cormac McCarthy (10/10)*

8- Angels – Denis Johnson (8/10)
Published in 1983, it was Johnson’s first novel. It’s about a helpless couple who embark on a highway odyssey filled with drugs and violence. The writing is extremely direct and the story is horrifying. Armed robbery, child neglect, sexual abuse, prison, etc. all feature prominently. Roth called it “a small masterpiece”. Johnson was as good as it gets at gritty realism

9- The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac – Louise Kennedy (9.5/10)
Published in 2021, it’s an exquisite collection of 15 stories revolving around women who suffer to varying degrees at the hands of the world. There’s one about The Troubles that wrecked me and a couple told from the perspective of young girls that evoke Foster or Small Things Like These. No wasted words, extremely precise writing. I’m a huge Salter fan and Kennedy’s writing is as close to his as anyone I’ve found besides Keegan or maybe Rooney

10- Airships – Barry Hannah (0/10)
Published in 1978, it’s a collection of 20 Southern gothic stories focused on working-class people as they drink, fight, fish, raise children, and get divorced. It’s got acid-fueled prose and might have been humorous upon release, but it’s packed with homophobic and racist language. Such language is not used to critique society, instead it simply seems to reflect the author’s disdain for minorities. Hannah taught creative writing at the University of Mississippi for nearly 30 years and I’d bet anything he was wearing a “Colonel Reb is my mascot” sticker circa 2004

11- Rabbit Is Rich – John Updike (9/10)
The third installment in the Rabbit series, it won the 1981 National Book Critics Circle Award as well as the 1982 National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize. Set against the backdrop of late 1970s America, we find Rabbit in middle age as boorish, prejudiced, provincial, and vulgar as ever with the same self-destructive tendencies that complicated his life in Rabbit, Run and Rabbit Redux. Updike had some of the strongest descriptive powers of his generation and they’re fully on display here

12- The Name of the World – Denis Johnson (7.5/10)
A finalist for the 2001 PEN/Faulkner Award, it’s an introspective novella told from the perspective of an adjunct professor at a large Midwestern state university. He seeks redemption through campus life after his world was turned upside down four years earlier. I’m a huge fan of Johnson’s prose because it manages to be both lyrical and raw

13- The Ghost Writer – Philip Roth (6/10)
A finalist for the 1980 National Book Award, it’s the first of Roth’s novels narrated by Nathan Zuckerman. It’s about a narcissistic/privileged young writer who gets to spend an evening at his literary idol’s farmhouse. The plot isn’t exciting but the writing is so strong it’s still an enjoyable read

* = re-read

 

Truman do the Orphan X books need to be read in order?

 

Cornelius Suttree did you get Angels from a library? Doesn’t appear to be on Kindle after a cursory search and it sounds a little bit like Natural Born Killers, so I’m quite intrigued.

 

It’s probably ideal but not completely necessary. Each book introduces a little bit of back story and side characters that culminates. Like if you read out of order there might be parts you feel like you’re missing stuff but shouldn’t make it too difficult to get the lot of the current book.

basically I’d try to read in order if you can.

 

Just downloaded the first book

 

If it’s a matter of what’s available at the library i can always send you the ebooks

 

I ordered it through the local indie store

Really looking forward to tackling Tree of Smoke and Already Dead by Johnson but gonna wait to do so till summer for those. Surprised it took me till last year to discover him

 

Nice. They’re good change of pace / fun reads between heavier ones

 

that Kennedy story collection had me absolutely enthralled. Irish women are running the literary world right now

 

The Prague orgy is my favorite of the Zuckerman books. I think it’s like 90 pages. I was laughing the entire time

 

I’m late to the Red Rising game, but now halfway through Morning Star and whew buddy…

It’s on pace to be behind Dark Tower but ahead of Old Man’s War in terms of favorite fantasy series.

 

1 - Inferno by Max Hastings (8/10)
2 - Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving (8.5/10)
3 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (9.5/10)
4 - The Bones of Plenty by Lois Phillips Hudson (9.5/10)...re-read

Read this back in college and finally decided to read again. Set in North Dakota in 1933-34, it follows a family and those around them during the Depression and dust bowl as they try to farm wheat. It's a historical novel and reads as such; I expected the author to come out in the end author notes and say that it was her family. She said she wrote this to give voice to the nameless Depression statistics. Her preface is powerful and still relevant... Good critique of capitalism. Will read again

 

I opened Red Rising last night and that's gonna have to wait till summer. Seems like a pool book

 

I had just finished Sapiens and needed a fun, lighter series.

 

8. The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (8.5/10). I’m a sucker for historical fiction, and this book shed some light on some of Florida’s history that I never knew about. Loosely based on events that transpired at the Dozier school of boys, this is a heartbreaking story of life in the Jim Crow south, and more specifically one family. Highly recommend.

Up next: The Power of the Dog.

 

Wool 9/10
Shift 9.5/10
Dust 9/10

Loved this series all the way through. Super easy read. And the rabbit hole of how and why the world is fucked up was a fresh take on the post-apocalypitic class struggle.

 

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
Mixed emotions with this book. I enjoyed the dialogue, historical tidbits, and diversity of cultures represented, plus there are little bits of humour sprinkled throughout. That being said, I wasn’t captivated by any of the characters and the last ~30% of the storyline just didn’t do it for me.

 

1) Dune by Frank Herbert 9.5/10
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 7.5/10
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 by Christopher Ruocchio 9.5/10
11) Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel 9.25/10
12) Fairy Tale by Stephen King 7/10

Spoiler

I liked the beginning, up until he goes into the fairy tale world and it gets fleshed out (how he gets there reminded me of 11/22/63). I wish the other world was written differently without so many fairy tale references, but I guess that's his point for this book.

 

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

The last time I read non-fiction that made me so frustrated was Killers of the Flower Moon back in 2018. A collection of investigative journalism into illegal happenings on the ocean. From illegal shark fin fishing in Palau to a boat that travels the world to whisk women away from countries where abortion is illegal to perform operations on international waters, Urbina writes beautifully and presents the facts and also the effects these trips had on him as a person not just a reporter.

I never considered the idea of forced labor and slavery on fishing vessels and come away from this book feeling pretty guilty about it. A lot of terrible shit is happening in fishing boats particularly in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea. I’m going to look into organizations that help these workers and donate to them I think.

9/10

Next up is part one of James Clavell’s Shogun books so I can keep up with the characters and their names as I watch the show.

 

Outlaw Ocean was great. I had a lot of the same thoughts / discoveries you did. Learned so much. Most of it was not great.

Also - I started Shogun this weekend. Got through part 1. It's really good so far

 

1. The Passage - Justin Cronin 10/10
2. Life After Life - Kate Atkinson 6.5/10

3. Dune - Frank Herbert 9.5/10
4. Doppelganger - Naomi Klein - 7.5/10
5. Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert 7/10

Dune series was great. I wish I had read it years ago, but better late than never. I doubt I'll read any more beyond these two, but did love the setting and story telling. Doppelganger was a great read as well - my first Klein novel though I've had her on my radar for a while. Really brightens up your day and I'm sure her other works do the same, but that's the nature of most of the non-fiction I read (see below).

Next is King Leopold's Ghost and a re-read of Heart of Darkness. White Flight after those two.

 

1) Dune by Frank Herbert 9.5/10
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 7.5/10
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 by Christopher Ruocchio 9.5/10
11) Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel 9.25/10
12) Fairy Tale by Stephen King 7/10
13) We Should Not Be Friends by Will Schwalbe 7.5/10

I forget how I found this book, probably YouTube or Reddit, but the description of it being around a secret club in Yale got my attention having read Donna Tartt's The Secret History last fall and enjoyed it. It's about a lifelong friendship between two polar opposite guys that met in this senior year secret club at Yale (based on true events from the author). I would have rated this higher, maybe 8.5, but the author came across as a bit of an asshole to me on some things.

 

6. The Splendid And The Vile: A Saga Of Churchill, Family, And Defiance During The Blitz / Erik Larson (8.5/10)
Another long one but it went by fast. Read the final 150 pages in a lazy work from home day. It's not "Devil In The White City" good but it's good.

5. Tao Te Ching / Lao Tzu (10/10)
Reread.

4. The Creators: A History Of Heroes Of The Imagination / Daniel Boorstin (7/10)
One of the tomes in my "read all the long books just sitting on the shelf" project. Like taking a really long survey course in art history and literature. Suffers from the usual bias towards white men. Same guy has a sweeping history of scientists too ("The Discoverers") and of philosophers ("The Seekers"); prob won't read either of those.

Spoiler

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. Poverty, by America - Matthew Desmond (8/10)
2. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (7.5/10)
3. The Wager - David Grann (9/10)
4. Red Rising (Red Rising #1) - Pierce Brown (9.5/10)
5. When These Mountains Burn - David Joy (6/10)
6. Golden Son (Red Rising #2) - Pierce Brown (10/10)

Next up: Morning Star (Red Rising #3) - Pierce Brown

 

You lucky fucks that don’t have to wait a year between Golden Son and Morning Star. That was torture.

 

Can’t imagine! I had a hard time not immediately starting Morning Star as soon as I finished Golden Son this morning