Books You've Read in 2024

1. Red Rising (Red Rising #1) - Pierce Brown (9/10) (reread)
2. Golden Son (Red Rising #2) - Pierce Brown (9/10) (reread)
3. Morning Star (Red Rising #3) - Pierce Brown (9.5/10) (reread)
4. Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) - Pierce Brown (8.5/10) (reread)
5. Dark Age (Red Rising #5) - Pierce Brown (10/10) (reread)
6. Lightbringer (Red Rising #6) - Pierce Brown (10/10)
7. With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa - E. B. Sledge (10/10) (reread)
8. Helmet For My Pillow - Robert Leckie (7/10)
9. Islands of the Damned - R. V. Burgin (6/10)
10. Battleground Pacific: A Marine Rifleman's Combat Odyssey in K/3/5 - Sterling Mace (7/10)
11. Escape From the Deep - Alex Kershaw (9/10)
12. Kokoda - Peter Fitzsimons (9/10)
13. Goodbye, Darkness - William Manchester (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
A novel about a woman apprenticing under a famous Japanese gardener as she attempts to re-build her life following her experiences during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia in WW2. The novel heavily explores grief and trauma, and provides a lot of insight into Malaysia during WW2 and the subsequent wars of independence. It’s on my recommend list.
19. A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyo - 8/10
Another Booker Prize nominee, this novel, set in Nigeria, follows characters from different economical backgrounds and explores such things as class, corruption, domestic abuse, and traditional gender roles. The plot was a bit rushed at the end but overall I think she managed to sufficiently tie everything together.

 

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 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 (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 8/10
29) Blockade Billy by Stephen King 7/10
30) Chess Story by Stefan Zweig 8/10

Written about a year before his suicide, an interesting story of two completely different chess players who mastered the game in different ways. I'm not usually impressed by an author's prose, but there is some beautiful writing in this one.

 

dragon teeth by Michael Crichton. Loved the first half, Not so much the second part.

 

Remember thinking the same

 

Dark places. Gone girl author.

Kinda of like shameless crossed with murder mystery who dunnit with a twist.

Didn’t love the end but the book is a page turner.

 

I’ve enjoyed all her stuff to varying degrees. None of them reach the heights of Gone Girl. Sharp Objects probably comes the closest.

 

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
Non-fiction book about systematic problems with how American towns and cities have been constructed. The author is featured in some urbanist youtube videos I’ve watched, which is why I decided to check it out. The most interesting parts relate to municipal finance and looming insolvency in municipalities across the country. However, the book does get repetitive. The final chapters are also a bit preachy, shoehorning religion into the book and denouncing (on a surface level) the increased polarization in American society.
21. The Coming Days by Sarah Bernstein - 8/10
A short literary fiction novel. Her other novel, Study for Obedience, received a lot of hype last year, but I am on the waiting list at the library so I decided to check out her first novel in the meantime. There isn’t much plot to speak of but many of the passages and sentences were thought provoking so it was an enjoyable read in the sun over the last two days.

 

I'd like to re rate Dead Man's Walk at 8. Finally finished the first Harry Potter. I stalled out with going to Vegas and Atlanta twice. I'll give Sorcerer's Stone a 7. Deciding between going ahead to the next Potter or Blood Meridian.

 

Queen of Bedlam (7.5/10) - the sequel to the above novel, and the second in a lengthy series following an investigator/magistrate’s clerk in the 1700’s. I think I liked this better than the first one, and I’ll probably read the entire series eventually. Another murder mystery, but set in New York this time. There’s always some interesting historical facts he peppers in his novels, and this was a fun, quick read

100 years of solitude (3/10) - Gabriel Garcia Marquez; this book read like an acid hallucination, but not in a fun way. This novel was lauded heavily, but I didn’t see the redeeming qualities that apparently so many others found. One of the weirdest fucking books I’ve ever read.

Up next: The Lincoln Highway.

 

So tough to keep up with the family generations after a while

 

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 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 (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

Summer coming of age kind of story, 21 year old college student takes a job at an amusement park on the coast of North Carolina for the summer. Slow burn in regards to the mystery/thriller part, but I enjoyed the main story. Good, quick read at this time of the year.

 

Reading The Splendid and the Vile and this really caught me off guard

 

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 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 (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

Overlapping stories of 5 people in a section of Tokyo who end up in the local library, and receive book recommendations from a sort of mysterious librarian that end up changing their lives for the better. Came across it as a recommendation of another book I liked, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, that I read in the past couple years.

33) The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs 7.5/10

Stephen King mentioned this as a favorite of his in a video. I would describe it as part Jurassic Park part The Wager.

 

I know we have a lot of Shutdown Fullcast listeners on TMB. I finally read Jason Kirk's book (Hell is a World Without You) and I can't recommend it enough.

If you were in youth group in the late 90s/ early 00s (it's set from 2000-2004), there's going to be a lot of familiar themes. It's basically the story of a guilt ridden high schooler finally deconstructing the hell fire and brimstone and Christian nationalism bullshit that really took off after 9/11 and how it impacts his various friends and family relationships.

9/10

 

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)




Temptation of the Force - Excellent new novel in The High Republic series. Been loving them so far. It's a shame the shows and movies dont have the same hit rate as the books do.

Well of Ascension - Loved it. Once again - I get finally understand the Brando Sando hype

Children of Anguish and Anarchy - very disappointing finale. One of the rare times the Movies/TV has a chance to be better than the books.

Lock Lamora - re-read it on a whim. Just as good as the first time. Love everything about this series except for the lack of a 4th book

 

I haven’t read any Sanderson. I’m almost done with Light Bringer and thinking about Mistborn for my next series.

 

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
A novel, loosely based on a true person, about an 18th century Irish giant’s time being exhibited in London. The dialogue is sharp and the plot is engaging. A solid 8/10 read, which is good considering I randomly pulled it off of the library shelf.
23. Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein - 7.5/10
A short novel about a woman’s experiences in a small village in her ancestral homeland and the locals’ aversion to her existence (a rather obvious allegory to anti-semitism). I didn’t dislike it or anything but the writing is quite complex, with little plot, and would have been tougher to finish if it were longer.

 

A reminder that I really need to finish Wolf Hall. Which probably means I need to re-read the first book

 

Just in-time for season 2 (covering the final book) of the TV series that is coming later this year/early 2025.

 

I will not abide Gabo slander

 

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. Basically a written recap of the Restrepo documentary. Unbelievably intense and he’s such a good writer but just seem iterative

23. Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara 6/10 - Wanted to read with the new season of the bear coming up. Really enjoyed his detailed stories at eleven Madison park but sometimes would just backslide into boring “management” speak and literally bold pithy sentences that were supposed to be important. Idk

24. Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay - 9/10. An actor from a cult horror movie that never got released gets asked to be in the remake. Goes through the backstory of what happened in the original filming and tying it back into the now was awesome. Creepy and suspenseful

 

Assuming different guy but…Julian from Trailer Park Boys?

 

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 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 (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

Was looking for something to read at the beach on vacation and found this on a search on Reddit. A coming of age story, or set of stories, set in the summer of 1928, based around the author's experiences growing up.

 

Bad News by Edward St. Aubyn 7.5/10
Some Hope by Edward St. Aubyn 7.5/10
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray 9/10
Mother's Milk by Edward St. Aubyn 6.5/10
King, Queen, Knave by Vladimir Nabokov 6.5/10
Venusburg by Anthony Powell 7/10
Transit by Anna Seghers 9/10
At Last by Edward St. Aubyn 7/10
Transcription by Kate Atkinson 3/10
Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman 9.5/10
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro 7.5/10
O How the Wheel Becomes It by Anthony Powell 6/10
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes 5/10
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 8/10
The Death of Napoleon 6.5/10
Home of the Gentry by Ivan Turgenev 9/10
Red Widow by Alma Katsu 7/10
The New York Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Warton 9/10
Red London by Alma Katsu 8.5/10
One Fat Englishman by Kingsley Amis 5/10
Beirut Station by Paul Vldich 6/10
A Meaningful Life by LJ Davis 6/10
Alias Emma by Ava Glass 8.5/10
Memories from Moscow to the Black Sea by Teffi 8.5/10
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn 6/10
Free Day by Ines Carnatic 7.5/10
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov 8.5/10
The Traitor by Ava Glass 8.5/10
Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford 8/10
All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West 9/10
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford 6/10
The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson 710
The Dud Avocado by Elain Dundy 7/10
The Ghost War by Alex Berenson 7/10
The Silent Man by Alex Berenson 7/10
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser 9/10
Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum 8/10
The Midnight House by Alex Berenson 7/10
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford 8/10
The Secret Soldier by Alex Berenson 7/10
Agostino by Alberto Moravia 6/10
The Shadow Patrol by Alex Berenson 7/10
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 9/10
The Night Ranger by Alex Berenson 7/10
The Counterfeit Agent by Alex Berenson 7/10
Table of Two by Amor Towles 9/10
Lost for Words by Edward St. Aubyn 7/10
Twelve Days by Alex Berenson 7/10
The Wolves by Alex Berenson 6/10
The Prisoner by Alex Berenson 6/10
Address Unknown by Katherine Kressman Taylor 7/10
The Deceivers by Alex Berenson 8/10
Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin 2/10
Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford 8/10
Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford 8/10
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by JK Rowling 10/10
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling 10/10
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 10/10
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 10/10
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix 9/10

Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford 8/10
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 10/10
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 10/10
The Blessing by Nancy Mitford 7.5/10
Berlin Game by Len Deighton 9/10
Mexico Set by Len Deighton 9/10
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne 4/10
Memories by ALgernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Redesdale 6/10
London Match by Len Deighton 7.5/10
Into the Distance by Hernan Diaz 8/10
SS-GB by Len Deighton 6.5/10
From Hostage to Hero by Sari de la Motte
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald 5.5/10
Spy Hook by Len Deighton 7/10
Spy Line by Len Deighton 7/10
Spy Sinker by Len Deighton 8.5/10
Faith by Len Deighton 8/10
The Fortune of the Rougans by Emile Zola 7/10
Highland Fling by Nancy Mitford 7.5/10

The Mitford family had 6 girls who were really famous in the interwar period in the UK. Nancy Mitford wrote a bunch of best sellers and a lot of them are based on her family. They're easy reads and really entertaining.

I was in London with my wife and bought a couple of books to read on the way back. There was a buy one get one free sale at the bookstore in Heathrow. I bought Tender is the Night, which was fine, and a spy book by Len Deighton, who I'd never heard of. Apparently he was pretty prolific--something like 30 books published--and the 9 book series that is mostly based in Berlin and London in the 1980s is really really really good. Very much not nonstop action if you're looking for that in thriller/spy novels. But they're really well done, and they are all being reprint. Most are available at B&N.

The Scarlet Letter was borderline terrible. Rereading some of the books that were required reading in schools sort of makes me realize why a lot of kids don't like reading. Like why in the world is that being read by millions of school aged kids a year. Same thing for To Kill a Mockingbird. Like let's have black kids read the n-word over and over again and make them fall in love with reading. wtf.

Into the Distance was great. I'll probably read everything that Hernan Diaz publishes.

I'm almost done with the second book in the Rougan-Macquard series of 20 novels published by Emile Zola in the 1870-80s. The Oxford University Press paid to have them all translated in the last twenty years or so. They're really good. I'm sure I'm going to be the only person to be interested in them. I sort of like these series of old novels. Interesting to see how Paris was 150 years ago.

 

23. These Truths: A History Of The United States / Jill Lepore (10/10)
Probably the best single volume history of the US I've read. She looks at "big" questions like "Guns Germs and Steel" or "Sapiens" which is a perspective I really like. Also has a unique tie-in to information literacy and the founding documents. Equally interesting from the colonial period through the first Trump election.

22. All Tomorrow's Parties: The Velvet Underground Story / Koren Shadmi (10/10)
Graphic novel telling the history of the band Velvet Underground. Very well done. John Cale and Lou Reed feel like characters I know now.

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
Had an OG copy of #4 someone gave me as a kid. Got on a little nostalgia kick and bought the other three used online. Good stuff if you like Ninja Turtles and graphic novels. Darker/grittier than the cartoons.

17. The Wastelands (Dark Tower #3) / Stephen King (reread)
Summer reading.

Spoiler

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. 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. A history of the rise of the Nazi regime through an economic lens. How did Hitler so quickly get the war machine set up to take on Europe. Incredibly well researched and 'readable considering its basically an economic history book. Helps to kind of settle the debate would Germany have actually been able to win their war.

26. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty - 10/10. I dont think I've enjoyed reading a book more than this in the last 10+ years. A masterpiece. Got a little emotional when it is was over that I couldnt keep reading.

 

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 (7.5/10)

The Night of Baba Yaga - Short Story/Novella length about woman Yakuza body guard. The blurb hooked me. Said it was Baba Yaga/Handmaids Tale in a Yakuza Japanese setting. Just kind of fell flat. Not mad I read it tho. It was something different

Hero of Ages - Incredibly Unique story. My first trilogy reading Brando Sando. Turns out he's worth the hype. Now I have a mountain of other shit to read.

11th Metal - Short story about one of the Mistborn Characters. Super shot. Kind of limited as far as being great just by length

Challenger - Tells the story of the Challenger Disaster. I dont think I enjoyed this as much as his book on Chernobyl, but it was still a good read. Got a little dry at parts. But just an incredibly frustrating read. It could have been prevented in so many ways.

 

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

ok I’m back. This took me forever to finish it and a lot of parts of it didn’t click with me, but at its core it’s the story how blacks in America where treated during Jim Crow and how such treatment can lead to depravity and the cycle of violence.

Slow read for me but ultimately worth it. The last 50 pages are very good.

7/10

 

Have you read "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison? I hear that one is similar; great novel about being black in America, a little tough to read

 

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 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 (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

Read this on a recent visit to Chicago. Can't remember a more bleak/depressing story I've read.

 

It’s a fav of mine. Poor Jurgis, he thinks “I will work harder!” Is the solution to everything. At least for a little while.

The end is exhilarating at least: “CHICAGO WILL BE OURS!”

One of the best scenes is when he decides to quit being so straight and narrow and ends up drinking at the mansion of the slaughterhouse owner. His deprivation, coming in contact with the opulence it makes possible

 

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)
7. Morning Star (Red Rising #3) - Pierce Brown (10/10)
8. Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) - Pierce Brown (9/10)
9. Dark Age (Red Rising #5) - Pierce Brown (10/10)
10. Light Bringer (Red Rising #6) - Pierce Brown (10/10)

 

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

Started this a few months ago, but didn't really get into it very much at the start, ended up reading many other books instead during this time. But I got hooked and read the last half to two thirds in the past week. Will read the next one, and maybe stopping there with the Dune series.

 

One Dune was enough for me.

Well, one Dune book. Both (new) movies were awesome.

 

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. Biography of the GOAT Federer. A bit hagiographic at times, but Fed hardly did wrong so who can blame the author. Going to go back and watch some mid 2000-2010 matches now

 

1. Let Us Descend - Jesmyn Ward (8/10)
2. The Sun Sets in Singapore - Kehinde Fadipe (6/10)
3. The Marlow Murder Club - Robert Thorogood (6/10)
4. Red Rising - Pierce Brown (9/10)
5. America Fantastica - Tim O'Brien (6/10)
6. Lessons from an American Stoic: How Emerson Can Change Your Life - Mark Matousek (8/10)
7. Player Piano - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (8/10)
8. Damascus Station - David McCloskey (9/10)
9. Trust - Hernan Diaz (8/10)
10. Prophet Song - Paul Lynch (9/10)
11. Razorblade Tears - S.A. Cosby (9/10)
12. The Candy House - Jennifer Egan (7/10)
13. While Idaho Slept: The Hunt for Answers in the Murders of Four College Students - J. Reuben Appelman (1/10)
14. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires - Grady Hendrix (7/10)
15. The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories - Ken Liu (9/10)
16. Golden Son (Red Rising Saga #2) - Pierce Brown (9/10)
17. Morning Star (Red Rising Saga #3) - Pierce Brown (10/10)
18. Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga #4) - Pierce Brown (9/10)
19. Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5) - Pierce Brown (10/10)
20. Lightbringer (Red Rising #6) - Pierce Brown (10/10)

21. Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy (10/10)

22. Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar (8/10)

23. How It Went: Thirteen More Stories of the Port William Membership - Wendell Berry (4/10)
A collection of short stories which was chosen for my regular book club. The author has been writing stories about Port William, a fictional town in Kentucky, for decades, and I believe this is supposed to be the final installment. I have not read anything else by him, and therefore, I was not the target audience. The writing was good enough, but I found the stories quite boring. It was a struggle to get through.

24. The Terminal List - Jack Carr (6/10)
Although at times a right-wingish, militaristic circle jerk, I'm always a sucker for a revenge story. It held my attention.

25. True Believer - Jack Carr (5/10)
This one took almost half the book to get into the real story. I don't think I'll be reading any more of the series.

 

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)


Shadowheart - If you like serial killer/fbi profiling/psychological thrillers, you'll probably like the UNSUB series. Closest thing to Hannibal Lector series that Ive found. Really enjoy them.

Lost Ark Dreaming - Speculative Sci-fi West African novella about a huge building in the Atlantic ocean built so people could escape the flooding on the mainland caused by global warming. Upper class lives on the top floors, lower on the bottom floors. Good short read/change of pace ect.

Hitchhikers - Everyone knows about this. It's good/funny. A modern classic for a reason.

Artificial Wisdom - Mentioned it in the Suggestions Thread, but absolutely loved it. Sci-fi Technological thriller/murder mystery. Politics. Cover ups ect. in 2050 the planet is fucked by climate change. The world gets together to elect a Dictator like the Romans use to. Someone that will have absolute power to fix the situation, put earth on the right path. Then relinquish power when it's achieved. A bunch of rich people have built a floating island/city to escape the perils of climate change. They use an AI as their governor to rule. That AI is one of the leading candidates for Dictator. And it goes from there. Just great stuff all around

Last Days of the Dinosaurs - Pretty self explanatory. Walks you through what happened after the asteroid hit, how the dinos died off, and life recovered. Pretty interesting but also just kind of meh. I love the Paleonerds podcast. So I think a lot of the info wasnt new to me. And they present it in a more fun way. Just ok, but glad I read it.

 

The Lincoln Highway (Towles) 8/10 - another great book in towles’ catalogue - this one being more of a coming of age story.

fever house (Rosson) 6/10 - Saw Stephen king and his son recommended it, so I grabbed it from the library. There’s a good, clever story in here somewhere, but an editor failed at their job.

gone south (McCammon) - 5/10 - first book by this author I wouldn’t recommend. It was weird and disjointed.

Red Rabbit (Grecian) - 8/10 - one of the best horror books I’ve read this year. Fun, quick read.

mongrels (graham jones) - 6/10 - another instance of a good book being in here, but an editor might have helped bring it out more.

razor blade tears (Cosby) - 5/10 - this was on everyone’s must read list, and I’m not sure why. It’s a revenge story, that isn’t particularly well written, with mostly unbelievable dialogue. I expected a lot more from this book, which may be my own fault.

up next: Project Hail Mary.

 

2024
1. Hell is a World Without You by Jason Kirk - 6/10
2. Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller - 8/10
3. Blackout by Sarah Hepola - 9/10
4. Mortal Error by Sonar Menninger - 8/10
5. The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming - 7/10
6. The Moroccan Girl by Charles Cumming - 7/10
7. Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton - 7/10
8. Never Mind by Edward St Aubyn - 6/10
9. Bad News by Edward St Aubyn - 7/10
10. Some Help by Edward St Aubyn - 6/10
11. Mothers Milk by Edward St Aubyn - 5/10
12. At Last by Edward St Aubyn - 8/10
13. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown - 9/10
14. Red Rising by Pierce Brown 8/10
15. The Underground Railroad by Colton Whitehead 3/10
16. My Best Friends Exorcism by Grady Hendrix 4/10
17. The Scarlet Papers by Matthew Richardson 6/10
18. Hester Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi 7/10
19. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 7/10
20. The King of Diamonds by Rena Pederson 8/10
21. The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson 10/10
22. Berlin Game by Len Deighton 8/10
23. Mexico Set by Len Deighton 6/10
24. Dead Wake by Erik Larson 9/10
25. The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides 9/10
26. The Maltese Falcon 7/10 by Dashiell Hammett - heard an interview with Erik Larson that this was his favorite book
27. London Match 9/10 by Len Deighton - best of this series imo. was disappointed with Mexico Set
28. The Splendid and the Vile 9/10 by Erik Larson - a friend said this was his least favorite Larson book. I loved it.
29. In the Garden of Beasts 9/10 by Erik Larson - wildly fascinating perspective
30. The Devil in the White City 8/10 by Erik Larson
31. Churchill's Secret Warriors 8/10 by Damien Lewis
32. All The Shah's Men 10/10 - by Stephen Kinzer

 

texasraider what's your favorite Larson? Have you read Isaac's Storm?

 

that was my first foray into him. Loved it.

Currently reading Thunderstruck so it's an incomplete list. And I tend to love history books from an angle I've either never considered or wasn't aware of. So Larson checks those boxes but it also opens up the chance at exaggerated and fluffed facts. Larson is so well researched and cited that I don't have to worry about that.

1. Demon of Unrest
2. Isaac's Storm
3. In the Garden of Beasts
4. The Splendid and the Vile
5. Devil in the White City
6. Dead Wake

 

Hard Task. I think Id rank them

1. Devil in the White City
2. Thunderstruck
3. In the Garden of Beasts
4. Demon of Unrest
5. Isaac's Storm
6. Splendid and the Vile
7. Dead Wake

 

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
An award winning historical fiction novel published in 2003 that I pulled off of the library shelf at random. It tells the story of a multitude of characters in a fictional Antebellum Virginia county, most of them being slaves, free black people, or slaveholders. Uniquely, some of the slaveholders heavily featured in the novel are black, which I hadn’t really realized was an actual thing, albeit rare. The book has enjoyable flow and dialogue, though it jumps from character to character quite quickly.

 

Mexico set was the worst of the 9. The next 3 are very good. Glad you’re enjoying them

 

Finally cracked open Red Rising yesterday and burned through 70 pages like it was nothing. Super easy to read and pretty good pacing for it being 300 pages. I kinda enjoy how simple his writing format and sentence structures are. Really makes it feel like a young kid is telling the story.

 

In terms of writing style (more complex sentences instead of these spurts of 6-7 word sentences in a row) or what? I like that there's not some huge exposition in the beginning. The first big world building was actually where I stopped around page 70 with Dancer giving the history of the colonies.

But so far the simple ass writing style does make it feel like a lower class 16yo kid is telling the story. Also at this point I'd kill someone for Eo