Books I've Read
Oh hello
2024
17 books
| # | Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Utopia of Rules | David Graeber | (abandoned) |
| 2 | A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Emma Southon | Fun premise and writing style, the subject got kinda old |
| 3 | The Grass Crown (Masters of Rome 2) | Colleen McCullough | Preferred to the first book because more character stuff |
| 4 | Fortune's Favourites (Masters of Rome 3) | Colleen McCullough | This took me a long time to get through. I liked the Spain stuff. |
| 5 | Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle | Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski | This book was not quite for me, I think, but might be for someone else |
| 6 | The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible | A.J. Jacobs | I feel this book was lacking a point and also a realization / message, but I learned a few things |
| 7 | The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse | Louise Erdrich | This book was hilariously, tragically touching. Loved it. 10/10 |
| 8 | A Psalm for the Wild-Build | Becky Chambers | Re-read for a different book club |
| 9 | The Best We Could Do | Thi Bui | Interesting first part to read while pregnant, I'll say that anyway |
| 10 | Catch-22 | Joseph Heller | (abandoned) Yeah yeah yeah I get it, this should have been a short story |
| 11 | The Name of the Wind | Patrick Rothfuss | I'm not sure I understand the hype, but I think I would have been into it as a youth. |
| 12 | The Dispossessed | Ursula K. LeGuin | A fun read, lots to think about. Not my favorite of her works perhaps, though. |
| 13 | Fangirl | Rainbow Rowell | Hey, I also lived in Pound Hall! Fun story, maybe went on a bit too long for me. |
| 14 | The Fellowship of the Ring | J.R.R. Tolkien | Let's do a reread! Still holds up to my memory. |
| 15 | The Two Towers | J.R.R. Tolkien | Now that I'm an adult, the Sam and Frodo parts are less of a slog |
| 16 | The Return of the King | J.R.R. Tolkien | He's back, y'all. |
| 17 | The Light Pirate | Lily Brooks-Dalton | Reading this sort of thing is not good for my mental health right now |
2023
36 books
| # | Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broken Homes (Peter Grant 4) | Ben Aaronovitch | I did not enjoy this. They just sat in an apartment the whole book. |
| 2 | Foxglove Summer (Peter Grant 5) | Ben Aaronovitch | Refreshingly interesting |
| 3 | The Hanging Tree (Peter Grant 6) | Ben Aaronovitch | Appreciate that the world is getting bigger |
| 4 | Lies Sleeping (Peter Grant 7) | Ben Aaronovitch | I've been to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry but I don't think Ben has |
| 5 | Abaddon's Gate (Expanse 3) | James S. A. Corey | Still pretty good stuff |
| 6 | Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means | Pamela Herd and Donald P. Moynihan | Bummer book, but fascinating histories of different programs |
| 7 | An Indigenous People's History of the United States | Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz | Pretty hard read |
| 8 | Several People Are Typing | Calvin Kasulke | Very short, pretty weird, lotta wolves |
| 9 | Jakob von Gunten, Ein Tagebuch | Robert Walser | Short, better than say, Catcher in the Rye |
| 10 | Bubble | Jordan Morris and more | Faithful to the podcast, plus lil stabbies |
| 11 | His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire 1) | Naomi Novik | Better than Pern |
| 12 | Throne of Jade (Temeraire 2) | Naomi Novik | Stressed because he should stay there, I reckon |
| 13 | All Systems Red (Murderbot 1) | Martha Wells | Really liked it! |
| 14 | Killers of a Certain Age | Deanna Raybourn | Why did I think this was gonna be sci fi? |
| 15 | The Hot Zone | Richard Preston | Compelling dramatized nonfiction |
| 16 | Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence | R. J. Kuang | Interesting, distressing, everything you could hope for in a book |
| 17 | Cibola Burn (Expanse 4) | James S. A. Corey | This was way more compelling than the TV show version |
| 18 | Nemesis Games (Expanse 5) | James S. A. Corey | Never split the party |
| 19 | Babylon's Ashes (Expanse 6) | James S. A. Corey | Depressing and enthralling |
| 20 | Persepolis Rising (Expanse 7) | James S. A. Corey | Usually I don't like time hops, but they pulled it off with a fresh baddie |
| 21 | Tiamat's Wrath (Expanse 8) | James S. A. Corey | I wish things weren't going this way |
| 22 | Expecting Better | Emily Oster | Fun but also not fun, I should try therapy maybe |
| 23 | Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency | Douglas Adams | The "you don't have a secretary" scene killed me |
| 24 | Leviathan Falls (Expanse 9) | James S. A. Corey | Great ending to a great series |
| 25 | Recoding America | Jennifer Pahlka | (in progress) |
| 26 | Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom | Cory Doctorow | Interesting but didn't land for me, I guess |
| 27 | Artificial Condition (Murderbot 2) | Martha Wells | Fun to make a new friend |
| 28 | Rogue Protocol (Murderbot 3) | Martha Wells | Feels like an episode of an old tv show |
| 29 | Exit Strategy (Murderbot 4) | Martha Wells | Fun to read but I remember nothing about it |
| 30 | Network Effect (Murderbot 5) | Martha Wells | I 100% lost track of who was what and which company |
| 31 | Fugitive Telemetry (Murderbot 6) | Martha Wells | Fun detective sidequest |
| 32 | Kalpa Imperial | Angélica Gorodischer | Fresh feeling structure, hilarious, but hard to get into |
| 33 | Here in the Night | Rebecca Turkewitz | I really enjoyed this, it made me think "hey, maybe I should try writing?" |
| 34 | Naples & the Amalfi Coast | Rick Steves | Love the tours |
| 35 | Top 10 Rome | Eyewitness | It's just okay, I should have stuck to one of my regular guidebooks |
| 36 | The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome 1) | Colleen McCullough | Disappointed that this was more about political speeches than insulas but good |
2022
15 books
| # | Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Termination Shock | Neil Stephenson | Did not finish. My first and last N.S. book, I think. |
| 2 | Whispers Under Ground (Peter Grant 3) | Ben Aaronovitch | I may have enjoyed this more than the previous 2 |
| 3 | Leviathan Awakes (Expanse 1) | James S. A. Corey | I like it, I'll keep reading it |
| 4 | Caliban's War (Expanse 2) | James S. A. Corey | Pretty good |
| 5 | The City We Became | N.K. Jemisin | I was sure I would love it, but ultimately I couldn't get into it |
| 6 | Pie: A Global History | Janet Clarkson | Very interesting, a fast read |
| 7 | The Authenticity Project | Clare Pooley | Read for a new book club, would like to unread it if possible |
| 8 | Parable of the Sower | Octavia Butler | This was an excellent book which was too close to home for me, it gave me nightmares for weeks |
| 9 | The Actual Star | Monica Byrne | A fascinating premise spoiled by poor execution |
| 10 | Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology | Tara Dawson McGuinness | This felt like a good intro but didn't live up to my expectations |
| 11 | Spirit of the Harvest | Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs | The recipes are much more approachable than other NA recipe books I have, although it was also written by white folks |
| 12 | Let's Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World | Danielle Friedman | I was surprised to find that I liked this. Solid pop history. |
| 13 | Sailing Alone Around the Room | Joshua Slocum | With a few exceptions, these poems didn't land for me |
| 14 | A Psalm for the Wild-Built | Becky Chambers | Kinda cute, refreshing premise, but felt awkward in pacing or character or something |
| 15 | You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism | Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar | Not exactly a fun read but ooofta |
2021
19 books
| # | Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Memory Called Empire | Arkady Martine | Super cool premise, but the plot felt too convenient. Loved the world, meh the book. |
| 2 | Ancillary Justice | Ann Leckie | I have no idea what happened but I loved it! |
| 3 | Sentient | Jeff Lemire, Gabriel Walta | It was okay |
| 4 | Invisible Kingdom vol. 1 | Willow Wilson | Forgettable |
| 5 | Song of Solomon | Toni Morrison | It's sticking with me even though I didn't particularly love it? |
| 6 | The Once and Future Witches | Alix E. Harrow | The misogyny was too close to home to enjoy, but the premise was great. |
| 7 | Moon over Soho (Peter Grant 2) | Ben Aaronovitch | I felt a little weird about this one |
| 8 | The Dud Avocado | Elaine Dundy | This book is so not my thing and yet I loved it. The character destriptions! Zop zop. |
| 9 | Howl's Moving Castle | Diana Wynne Jones | So delightful! I loved it! |
| 10 | William Shakespeare's The Clone Army Attacketh | Ian Doescher | Our enthusiasm dipped but our will is not broken yet |
| 11 | William Shakespeare's Tragedy of the Sith's Revenge | Ian Doescher | Okay now we might have been broken |
| 12 | It's Not Easy Being Green and Other Things to Consider | Jim Henson | Found a wedding quote, crisis averted |
| 13 | The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark | Carl Sagan | Wedding quote NOT found |
| 14 | Cosmos | Carl Sagan | Cool book but not full of wedding quotations |
| 15 | Dracula | Bram Stoker | Chad did not like it, which means he doesn't have a man brain like Mina. |
| 16 | A Civic Technologist's Practice Guide | Cyd Harrell | This was such a good intro, and she came to talk to our book club, too! |
| 17 | Native Plants of the Midwest | Alan Branhagen | Nice introduction, I've marked a lot of pages |
| 18 | Salt Fat Acid Heat | Samin Nosrat | Lovely book, lovely stories, now I add a lot more salt to things |
| 19 | 99 Bottles of OOP | Sandi Metz and Katrina Owen | Dang I suck at programming but this made me a little better |
2020
20 books
| # | Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Shakespeare's Verily, A New Hope | Ian Doescher | Levi nailed Greedo and that's all we could ask for |
| 2 | William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back | Ian Doescher | Davy and his space worm </3 |
| 3 | William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return | Ian Doescher | In which Lando became more and more Texan by the minute |
| 4 | William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace | Ian Doescher | Helen is getting old enough to slam the laptop shut |
| 5 | Saga vol 1 - 9 | Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples | Kinda depressing but memorable |
| 6 | Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up | Tom Phillips | Wasn't expecting much but honestly, it was kind of a fun, light read |
| 7 | Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion | Jia Tolentino | No thanks |
| 8 | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | I wasn't buying what this guy was selling |
| 9 | The Old Guard vol 1 | Greg Rucka | I kinda liked it |
| 10 | Family Tree vol 1 - ? | Jeff Lemire | These were fun and creepy and I should probably keep reading them. |
| 11 | Watership Down | Richard Adams | I was surprised to find I was bored stiff. |
| 12 | The Sting of the Wild | Justin O. Schmidt | Love love love it. I continue to quote the pain index. |
| 13 | The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet | Becky Chambers | Refreshing and chill, but also kinda clunky or awkward. |
| 14 | Harriet Porber and the Bad Boy Parasaurolophus | Chuck Tingle | I'll never look at Trent Reznor the same way again |
| 15 | Rivers of London (Peter Grant 1) | Ben Aaronovitch | I really enjoyed this, though I sometimes questioned whether the author or the character were the sexist ones... |
| 16 | Why Fish Don't Exist | Lulu Miller | First half I was quite bored, second half was suddenly bomb dot com |
| 17 | The House of the Spirits | Isabel Allende | 100 Years of Solitude Lite -- would recommend! |
| 18 | Worm | Wildbow | omg I read the entire thing a second time. This book is so incredible????!!!! |
| 19 | The Poisonwood Bible | Barbara Kingsolver | Totally consuming, I spent a week living with these characters. |
| 20 | Farmhand vol 1 - 2 | Rob Guillory | I honestly do not remember reading this so I guess it didn't make an impression. |
2019
23 books
| # | Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ms. Marvel (several volumes) | G. Willow Wilson | I thought it was fine, though I'm not big on superhero stories |
| 2 | Thud! | Terry Pratchett | Loved it |
| 3 | The Butchering Art | Lindsey Fitzharris | Golly this book was so well done! |
| 4 | Salvage the Bones | Jesmyn Ward | Very evocative but I wouldn't read it again? |
| 5 | Snuff | Terry Pratchett | Yay Discworld |
| 6 | Runaways (several volumes) | Brian K. Vaughan | I only read them because of a book club I was in. |
| 7 | Less | Sean Greer | A funny, charming book that I would love to read again in a few years. |
| 8 | Carpe Jugulum | Terry Pratchett | Apparently I was on a Discworld kick |
| 9 | This Blessed Earth | Ted Genoways | I really enjoyed the history / ag sections and really wanted to skip the "folksy Americana farmer" sections |
| 10 | No Parachute: A Fighter Pilot in World War I | Arthur Gould Lee | This book is incredible and fascinating. |
| 11 | Fables: Legends in Exile | Bill Willingham | I did not enjoy this |
| 12 | Trail of Lightning | Rebecca Roanhorse | I wanted to like it but I hated the main character so... |
| 13 | Ice Cream Man | W. Maxwell Prince | NOPE never again |
| 14 | Nine Princes in Amber | Roger Zelanzy | I think I get why people recommended this to me but I was a meh to no thanks |
| 15 | Kindred | Octavia Butler | Very good, very upsetting, very recommended |
| 16 | Keith County Journal | John Janovy Jr. | Really enjoyable and informative, like a mug of hot cider in the winter |
| 17 | Moving Pictures | Terry Pratchett | I'm gonna call this a rare miss |
| 18 | Catseye | Andre Norton | It's refreshing to read old sci fi that isn't super sexist, although it wasn't very good, either? |
| 19 | Chew vol 1 - 4 | John Layman and Rob Guillory | I was into it, though everybody else in my book club was grossed out, lol |
| 20 | Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind | Hayao Miyazaki | Only read part of this one, got bored. |
| 21 | One of Ours | Willa Cather | The Cather Archive told me this wasn't a strong book but I actually really enjoyed it! |
| 22 | Die | Kieran Gillen | Meh |
| 23 | The Fires of Vesuvius | Mary Beard | A much more interesting and academic read than I feared from the title |
2018
22 books
| # | Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul | Douglas Adams | I neither liked nor disliked this book |
| 2 | The Misanthrope | Molière | I was okay with the main character being exiled |
| 3 | March vol 1 - 3 | John Lewis | Really incredible, I learned so much from these books |
| 4 | Lords and Ladies | Terry Pratchett | Solid Discworld |
| 5 | The Stars are Legion | Kameron Hurley | This was a very creative, unusual, and wtf sci fi novel that I would not recommend. |
| 6 | The Wee Free Men | Terry Pratchett | Cute |
| 7 | Independent People | Halldór Laxness | An Icelandic epic. Well told and infuriating, which I think was the point. |
| 8 | A Room with a View | E. M. Forster | Not really my normal thing, vaguely entertaining. |
| 9 | The Radium Girls | Kate Moore | A horrifying and infuriating read. Fun to think about how very little has changed. |
| 10 | Lincoln in the Bardo | George Saunders | Interesting idea, not my favorite execution. |
| 11 | The Sandman vol 1 - 3 | Neil Gaiman | I was quite bothered by the torture stuff and had to stop. |
| 12 | The Mars Room | Rachel Kushner | Ugh I hated this, although it's not the story's fault |
| 13 | Peter Pan | J. M. Barrie | Entertaining, light, but not something I would revisit |
| 14 | Morning Glories vol 1 - 3 | Nick Spencer | I want to know what happens but am too lazy to read it all. Also all the women look exactly the same. |
| 15 | Super Indian vol 1 | Arigon Starr | I'm definitely not the audience, but I enjoyed this. |
| 16 | Men at Arms | Terry Pratchett | Solid enough |
| 17 | Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience | Rebecca Roanhorse | Really, really amazing short story. |
| 18 | Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic | Alison Bechdel | An interesting read, not the sort of genre I would seek out though |
| 19 | The Power | Naomi Alderman | Lovely premise, strong start, but disappointing conclusions |
| 20 | Black Hammer vol 1 - 2 | Jeff Lemire | I have no member of reading this so it can't have been that good |
| 21 | Jingo | Terry Pratchett | I don't remember this one, I'm afraid |
| 22 | The Fifth Elephant | Terry Pratchett | I enjoyed it! |
2017
28 books
| # | Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Master and Commander | Patrick O'Brian | Very different from the movie, still a fun read |
| 2 | The Underground Railroad | Colson Whitehead | I kept getting hung up on "historical inaccuracies" which I realize is silly because the book wasn't going for accuracy. |
| 3 | The Man Who Would Be King | Rudyard Kipling | Meh. Skip it. |
| 4 | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Oscar Wilde | Much longer than I was expecting, just hearing a summary is enough. |
| 5 | The Last Ringbearer | Kirill Yeskov | Great premise, meh plotline and characters. I enjoyed the idea that the magical northerners were the aggressors against industrially inclined southerners in Middle Earth. |
| 6 | The Professor's House | Willa Cather | Very beautiful and sad book. I hope that I am not the professor someday. |
| 7 | Soul Music | Terry Pratchett | A rare miss, in my opinion |
| 8 | Pale Fire | Nabokov | This book blew my mind, I was totally fascinated and ensnared. |
| 9 | Small Gods | Terry Pratchett | YES more of this all the time! |
| 10 | The Brothers Karamazov | Fyodor Dostoevsky | I would need a whole blogpost to list the ways this book agitated me. In summary? Dostoevsky needed an editor. |
| 11 | The Shepherd's Crown | Terry Pratchett | Pratchett saying goodbye to himself through his characters. Very moving, I cried. |
| 12 | The Fifth Season | N.K. Jemisin | One of the most incredible books I've ever read |
| 13 | The Stone Sky | N.K. Jemisin | My friends and I still talk about pirate island. |
| 14 | The Obelisk Gate | N.K. Jemisin | Not where I thought we'd be ending up but I liked it |
| 15 | The Three-Body Problem | Cixin Liu | Fascinating premise, so I was willing to overlook sexism...for now |
| 16 | The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket | Edgar Allan Poe | I read this while barfing repeatedly on a plane to Singapore, and the book did not help. Be glad Poe only wrote one novelette. |
| 17 | Witches Abroad | Terry Pratchett | I kinda wish they'd stayed home, but it was an okay read. |
| 18 | Pym | Mat Johnson | Loved the beginning, then all of a sudden it toggled into the weirdest shit, like watching Hot Fuzz for the first time. |
| 19 | The Immense Journey | Loren Eiseley | I think I expected more, but I like slowing down and thinking about nature. |
| 20 | Last Chance to See | Douglas Adams | A lovely, poignant, hilarious book. I loved it. |
| 21 | The Dark Forest | Cixin Liu | Okay this time I CANNOT get over the hideous sexism so that's the end of this series for me. |
| 22 | The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents | Terry Pratchett | Kind of fun |
| 23 | The Poisoner's Handbook | Deborah Blum | A re-read but such a good book! |
| 24 | The Storm Before the Storm | Mike Duncan | Although I'm not a big roman history person, I enjoyed this |
| 25 | Star Trek Book of Opposites | I need more books like this | |
| 26 | Step Aside, Pops | Kate Beaton | She never misses |
| 27 | Right Ho, Jeeves | P.G. Wodehouse | Delightful |
| 28 | A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings | Gabriel García Márquez | Upsetting and sad, but beautifully crafted. |
2016
26 books
| # | Title | Author | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worm | wildbow | I wish this was a "real" book series so badly |
| 2 | Music in Willa Cather's Fiction | Richard Giannone | Made me like Willa more |
| 3 | A Wizard of Earthsea | Ursula K. Le Guin | <3 |
| 4 | Interesting Times | Terry Pratchett | |
| 5 | Homage to Catalonia | George Orwell | Extremely striking, I actually think of it often |
| 6 | Going Postal | Terry Pratchett | I think this is the best Discworld book of them all |
| 7 | Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions | Edwin A. Abbott | I want to stab people with my linear body |
| 8 | Guards! Guards! | Terry Pratchett | |
| 9 | Pyramids | Terry Pratchett | Kind of a disappointing one, sadly |
| 10 | The Monkey Wrench Gang | Edward Abbey | Did this book try to make me an anti-environmentalist? |
| 11 | The Black Cauldron | Lloyd Alexander | I don't know how I missed this one as a child |
| 12 | Grant's Final Victory | Charles Bracelen Flood | Medical history on an individual scale, glad I am not Grant |
| 13 | The Book of Three | Lloyd Alexander | Golly this book is so good |
| 14 | The Green Boat | Mary Pipher | A lot to think about, inspired me to go to Keystone XL events |
| 15 | Romeo and / or Juliet | Ryan North | Okay this is brilliant |
| 16 | Logicomix | Apostolos Doxiados | I'm just not into it |
| 17 | The Hundred Year Walk | Dawn Anahid Mackeen | I got to meet the author! A fascinating, terrifying read. |
| 18 | So You've Been Publicly Shamed | Jon Ronson | Things to think about but I don't care to |
| 19 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ursula K. Le Guin | Probably groundbreaking back then, I found it less so for myself |
| 20 | Reaper Man | Terry Pratchett | |
| 21 | Good Omens | Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman | I wanted to like it more than I did |
| 22 | Station Eleven | Emily St. John Mandel | Maybe hit too close to home, idk, not my thing |
| 23 | Eric | Terry Pratchett | Sadly, I wasn't into this one |
| 24 | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Philip K. Dick | Very different than the movie, ultimately just about as boring lol oh no |
| 25 | Hark! A Vagrant | Kate Beaton | How I wish there were volumes and volumes to read |
| 26 | Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond | Bill Campbell and Edward Austin Hall | Some hits, mostly misses or mehs |