Books You’ve Read in 2023

Damn I think I just play too many video games to read more than like 25 books a year

 

Maybe this is a dumb question, but what app/site is that?

 

GoodReads

 

Columbus one is nice. Has partnerships with all of central Ohio so almost everything I've requested they've had. You can also have a librarian recommend books based on your previous titles and can keep a list of books you want to check out and completed. Nice easy way to keep track

 

1. How To Do the Work by Nicole LaPera - 8/10
2. Dead in the Water by Matthew Campbell & Kit Chellel - 8/10
3. In the Distance by Hernan Diaz - 9/10
4. Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King - 6.5/10
5. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George RR Martin - 9/10
6. Call For The Dead by John Le Carré - 8/10
7. A Murder of Quality by John Le Carré - 6/10
8. We Don’t Know Ourselves by Finan O’Toole - 7.5/10
9. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey - 8.5/10
10. The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland - 9/10
11. The Guest Lecture by Martin Riker - 7/10
12. The Measure by Nikki Erlick - 8/10
13. SPQR by Mary Beard - 6.5/10
14. Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber - 8/10
15. Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond - 9.5/10
16. How to do Nothing by Jenny Odell - 6.5/10
17. The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy - 9/10
18. Outlive by Peter Attia - 8/10
19. We Were Once a Family - 7.5/10
20. The Wager by David Grann - 8.5/10
21. Notes from an Apocalypse by Mark O’Connell - 8/10
22. City of Dreams by Don Winslow - 7/10
23. King: A Life by Jonathan Eig - 9/10
24. Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy - 9.5/10
25. Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley - 5/10
26. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy - 9.5/10
27. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang - 7/10
28. All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby - 8/10
29. Rebel Yell by SC Gwynne - 4/10
30. Drowning by TJ Newman -8/10
31. Dead Wake by Erik Larson - 7/10
32. American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin - 9/10
33. The Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell - 7.5/10
34. Red Rising by Pierce Brown - 9.5/10
35. The Militia House by John Milas - 8/10
36. If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery - 6/10
37. Golden Son by Pierce Brown - 9.5/10
38. Child of God by Cormac McCarthy - 8/10
39. A Thread of Violence by Mark O’Connell - 6/10
40. Holly by Stephen King - 7/10
41. How To Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney - 9/10
42. Morning Star by Pierce Brown - 9/10
43. American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 - 9/10
44. When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut. - 8.5/10
45. The Road by Cormac McCarthy - 10/10
46. Iron Gold by Pierce Brown - 8/10
47. How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr - 8/10
48. North Woods by Daniel Mason - 9/10

49. Dark Age by Pierce Brown - 9.5/10

50. Lightbringer by Pierce Brown - 10/10

51. The Tiger by John Vaillant - 4/10. Had heard about this one often. Should have been a longform article somewhere as the many pedantic digressions took away any consistent narrative.

 

1. Hell of a Book - 7/10 (might have finished this last year - can't remember)
2. Sea of Tranquility - 8/10
3. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck - 5/10 (just didn't really resonate)
4. Mickey7 - 7/10
5. It Ends with Us - 5/10 (just randomly grabbed off amazon best seller - not a genre for me)
6. The Alloy of Law (Mistborn 4) - 8/10
7. Shadows of Self (Mistborn 5) - 710
8. Demon Copperhead - 7/10 (TMB Book Club)
9. The Ferryman - 9/10 (TMB Book Club)
10. The Will of Many - 10/10 (TMB Book Club)
11. The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn 6) - 7/10
12. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny & Murder - 8/10
13. The Lost Metal (Mistborn 7) - 7/10
14. Light Bringer (Red Rising 6) - 10/10
15. Hidden Pictures - 6/10 (TMB Book Club)
16. Holly - 6/10 (TMB Book Club)
17. Killers of the Flower Moon - 8/10
18. In the Distance - 9/10
19. Die with Zero - 6/10
20. All the Sinners Bleed - 6/10
21. Chain Gang All Stars - 9/10

Fell off the book club near the end there with some of the selections. Going to start back up on The Shards next week. Hit 20+ which was my goal though I really slowed down late in the year. 2024 going to try for more non-fiction.

 

John Adams by David McCullough 9.5/10
A Tale or Two Cities by Charles Dickens 7/10
The Marquis; Lafayette Reconsidered by Laura Auricchio 8/10
The Turmoil by Booth Tarkington 10/10
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 10/10
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch 9/10
Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews 9.5/10
Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews 9.5/10
The Kremlin's Candidate by Jason Matthews 9/10
Call for the Dead by John le Carre 6.5/10
Empire of Lies by Raymond Khoury 8.5/10
Taking Paris by Martin Dugard 7/10
Less by Andrew Sean Greer 3/10
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe 9/10
Don't Eat the Bruises by Keith Mitnik
The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury 8/10
At Risk by Stella Rimington 8/10
The Sign by Raymond Khoury 7.5/10
Secret Asset by Stella Rimington 7/10
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis 9/10
City of Thieves by David Benioff 8/10
The Measure by Nikki Erlick 6.5/10
Illegal Action by Stella Rimington 7.5/10
Present Danger by Stella Rimington 7.5/10
Rip Tide by Stella Rimington 8/10
The Templar Salvation by Raymond Khoury 8/10
The Picture of Dorian Gray 6.5/10
The Geneva Trap by Stella Rimington 8/10
Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth 9.5/10
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 10/10
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 7/10
The Devil's Elixer by Raymond Khoury 6.5/10
The Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic 9/10
Close Call by Stella Rimington 7/10
Breaking Cover by Stella Rimington 8/10
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles 10/10
Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger 5/10
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain 7.5/10
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle 8.5/10
The Moscow Sleepers by Stella Rimington 7/10
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 8.5/10
Dead Line by Stella Rimington 7/10
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson 8.5/10
George III by Christopher Hibbert 8/10
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev 9.5/10
The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth 8.5/10
Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth 8/10
The Expats by Chris Pavone 7/10
The Late George Apley by John Marquand 9.5/10
Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara 7.5/10
The Anatomy Lesson by Philip Roth 6/10
The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone 7/10
The Prague Orgy by Philip Roth 8.5/10
Your Turn, Mr. Moto by John Marquand 8/10
First Love by Ivan Turgenev 8/10
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson 9/10
H.M. Pulham, Esquire by John Marquand 9.5/10
Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson 6.5/10
Gorsky Park by Martin Cruz Smith 7.5/10
Thank you, Mr. Moto by John Marquand 7.5/10
The Financier by Theodore Dreiser 8.5/10
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami 8.5/10
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh 8.5/10
A Hero of our Time by Mikhail Lermontov 6/10
Rudin by Ivan Turgenev 5.5/10
Wickford Point by John Marquand 9/10
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 7/10
Think Fast, Mr. Moto by John Marquand 7.5/10
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion 9.5/10
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh 8.5/10
Trilby by George Du Maurier 2/10
Porterhouse Blue by Tom Sharpe 7.5/10
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene 8.5/10
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis 7.5/10
Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton 9.5/10
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh 6.5/10
After Dark by Haruki Murakami 6.5/10
Point of No Return by John Marquand 10/10
The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai 6.5/10
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster 4.5/10
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh 7.5/10
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote 10/10
The Titan by Theodore Dreiser 9/10
The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham 9/10
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 8/10
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham 8/10
The Magnificent Ambersons 8/10
The Counterlife by Philip Roth 7/10
The Able McLaughlins 4.5/10
Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh 7.5/10
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder 6.5/10
The Devil's Bargain by Stella Rimington 7.5/10
Up at the Villa by W. Somerset Maugham 8.5/10
Paradise by Donald Barthelme 6.5/10
The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West 8.5
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 7.5/10
Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn Waugh 5.5/10
Mr. Barnes of New York by Archibald Clavering Gunter 7.5/10
Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore 6/10
Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles 5/10
The Moon and Sixpence by W. Someret Maugham 7/10
Theophilus North by Thornton Wilder 8/10
Queen Lucia by E.F. Benson 3/10
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh 8/10
Parade's End by Ford Maddox Ford 10/10
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene 8.5/10
The End of the Battle by Evelyn Waugh 7.5/10
The Man of Feeling by Henry Mackenzie 1/10
Grantchester Grind by Tom Sharpe 7.5/10
The Quiet American by Graham Greene 8/10
Of Human Bondage by W. Someset Maughan 10/10
A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell 7.5/10
A Buyer's Market by Anthony Powell 6.5/10
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 6/10
On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev 7.5/10
The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene 8/10
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller 8.5/10
Mr. Moto is so Sorry by John Marquand 5/5/10
The Acceptance World by Anthony Powell 8.5/10
The Stoic by Theodore Dreiser 8/10
At Lady Molly's by Anthony Powell 8.5/10
Goodby to All That by Robert Graves 8.5/10
A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene 6/10
Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler 6.5/10
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami 9.5/10
Casanova's Chinese Restaurant by Anthony Powell 5.5/10
Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene 8.5/10
The Kindly Ones by Anthony Powell 7.5/10
Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth 4.5/10
The Valley of Bones by Anthony Powell 7.5/10
Melville Goodwin, USA by John Marquand 8.5/10
The Soldier's Art by Anthony Powell 7.5/10
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene 5.5/10
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 10/10
Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham 8.5/10
Box 88 by Charles Cumming 7.5/10
Judas 62 by Charles Cumming 8/10
The Military Philosophers 7/10
American Pastoral by Philip Roth 5/10
Books do Furnish a Room by Anthony Powell 7/10
Kennedy 35 by Charles Cumming 7/10
From a View to a Death by Anthony Powell 8/10
Slaughterhouse Five 9/10
Christmas Holiday by W. Somerset Maugham 8/10
Temporary Kings by Anthony Powell 7.5/10
Hearing Secret Harmonies by Anthony Powell 8/10
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky 9/10
Haven's End by John Marquand 8/10
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 6/10

Damascus Station by David McCloskey 8.5/10
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 8.5/10
Moscow X by David McCloskey 8.5/10
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami 7.5/10
The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer 6.5/10
Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh 4/10
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut 6/10
What's Become of Waring by Anthony Powell 8/10
White Noise by Don DeLillo 1/10
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain 7.5/10
A Spy by Nature by Charles Cumming 6/10
Afternoon Men by Anthony Powell 7/10
Never Mind by Edward St. Aubyn 8/10
Orient Express by Graham Greene 6.5/10

Thanks to Truman for the Damascus Station recommendation. Both it and Moscow X are very good easy spy reads.

Was pretty disappointed by Black Mischief. I've been saving the last few Evelyn Waugh books because I've liked almost everything he's written and I'm getting to the point where I'll have read everything, and it was just like a racist caricature of Africans from someone who lived 75 years ago and probably didn't know a black person. Sucks. Feel like if you want to read stuff thats older you'll just sort of have to overlook some instances of that, but this was just too much.

Both Galapagos and White Noise were plagued by the authors trying to be profound but just being totally overhanded. Like I don't need to be beaten over the head by your message. Subtlety goes a long way imo. Also, DeLillo came across as just a pompous asshole--like do you want your readers to hate all your characters? There were a bunch of people on Goodreads who said they finished this and either literally or metaphorically threw this book at a wall. I just threw it in the trash.

I think a lot of yall would like The Innocents Abroad. Twain went on a tour of Europe and the Middle East on a steamship in the 1860s, and this is an account of everything he saw. It was very, very cool to be transported back to that time. It think it was originally published as a serial in a newspaper, and because of that, it sort of suffered from no continuous characters. THat's why it's not in the 8s.

Would love for some of yall to try Anthony Powell.

 

1. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez (8/10)
2. A Man on the Moon - Andrew Chaikin (9.5/10)
3. Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past - edited by Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer (7/10)
4. Tinkers by Paul Harding (8.5/10)
5. Empire of Shadows: The Epic Story of Yellowstone by George Black (8.5/10)
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (9/10)
7. To Command the Sky: The Battle for Air Superiority Over Germany, 1942-1944 by Stephen L. McFarland and Wesley Phillips Newton (9/10)
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (9.5/10)
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (9.5/10) - finished in September. Wish I had read these way earlier in life

It's been a struggle to read much the past few months. Started Inferno by Max Hastings in October. About 400 pages in, hope to finish soon.

 

50. In Cold Blood / Truman Capote (9.5/10)
Reads like a 10/10. Only docked a half point because of fuckery with sticking to the facts.

49. Meditations / Marcus Aurelius (8/10)
Obviously a classic. Thought I might enjoy a little more based on all the bros that put this book high on their list. Interesting ideas from someone with a very interesting perspective but not the most compelling thing I've read.

48. The Magician's Nephew: Chronicles Of Narnia #6 / C.S. Lewis (10/10)
Reread. I like bringing little books like this on vacation.

47. You Only Live Twice: James Bond #11 / Ian Fleming (5/10)
Another easy one read on vacation.

46. Taste The State: South Carolina's Signature Foods, Their Recipes, And Their Stories / Kevin Mitchell and David Shields (9/10)
Recommend for any South Carolinian. Would be 10/10 but too many typos to overlook. Are editors still a thing? This was published by an academic press.

45. War In European History / Michael Howard (7.5/10)
Compact book that talks about the changes in warfare from the days of knights to the days of mercenaries to professional soldiers. Good but prob would have enjoyed even more if I had more background in the subject.

44. Baseball In Columbia / Mark Bryant (8/10)
Mostly pictures. Info on all the minor league baseball teams that have called Columbia SC home through 2014.

43. Cockfighter: A Novel / Charles Willeford (5/10)
Reprehensible main character. I assume the author is also a POS but maybe he wants us to despise his character, idk. Decently entertaining to read. Actual cockfighting is horrible stuff. I guess it still goes on in the Caribbean and southeast Asia.

42. At The Altar Of Speed: The Fast Life And Tragic Death Of Dale Earnhardt / Leigh Montville (8/10)
A cheap little book sold at the time of Earnhardt's death but man, I enjoyed it. I'm not a NASCAR guy but you can't not know Dale Earnhardt living in this area and this filled in the parts of the legend I was missing.

Spoiler

41. The Right Stuff / Tom Wolfe (10/10)
40. Winning Every Day: The Game Plan For Success / Lou Holtz (4/10)
39. Kon-Tiki: By Raft Across The South Seas / Thor Heyerdahl (9/10)
38. Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die: Musings From The Road / Willie Nelson (4/10)
37. Zen Guitar / Philip Toshio Sudo (10/10)
36. The Dharma Bums / Jack Kerouac (10/10)
35. A Sand County Almanac And Sketches Here And There / Aldo Leopold (9.5/10)
34. Tao Te Ching / Lao Tzu (10/10)
33. Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents / Isabel Wilkerson (10/10)
32. Daytripper / Fabio Moon (9/10)
31. The Song Of The Machine: From Disco To DJs To Techno, A Graphic Novel Of Electronic Music / David Blot (9/10)
30. They Wore Garnet And Black: Inside Carolina's Quest For Gridiron Glory / Don Barton (5/10)
29. My Career, My Life / Bob Fulton (6/10)
28. The Genius Of Birds / Jennifer Ackerman (9/10)
27. Ninety Percent Of Everything: Inside Shipping, The Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes On Your Back, Gas In Your Car, And Food On Your Plate / Rose George (7/10)
26. The Storyteller: Tales Of Life And Music / Dave Grohl (9.5/10)
25. Saluda County In Story And Scene (2/10)
24. The Birth Of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, And The Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock N Roll / Ian S. Port (10/10)
23. A People's History Of The United States / Howard Zinn (10/10)
22. Center Field Grasses: Poems From Baseball / Gene Fehler (4/10)
21. A Cook's Tour: In Search Of The Perfect Meal / Anthony Bourdain (9/10)
20. Welcome To The Circus Of Baseball: A Story Of The Perfect Summer At The Perfect Ballpark At The Perfect Time / Ryan McGee (7/10)
19. Saucerful Of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey / Nicholas Shaffner (6/10)
18. Heaven And Hell: My Life In The Eagles 1974-2001 / Don Felder and Wendy Holden (8/10)
17. How To Be Perfect: The Correct Answer To Every Moral Question / Michael Schur (6.5/10)
16. High Seas Confederate: The Life And Times Of John Newland Maffitt / Royce Shingleton (6/10)
15. Heart Of Darkness / Joseph Conrad (6/10)
14. Poverty, By America / Matthew Desmond (10/10)
13. The Beach: The History Of Paradise On Earth / Lena Lencek and Gideon Bosker (8/10)
12. From Russia, With Love (James Bond #5) / Ian Fleming (5/10)
11. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side Of The American Meal / Eric Schlosser (9.5/10)
10. The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains / Nicholas Carr (7.5/10)
9. Nickel And Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America / Barbara Ehrenreich (9/10)
8. Through The Looking Glass / Lewis Carroll (7/10)
7. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland / Lewis Carroll (6/10)
6. The Gene: An Intimate History / Siddhartha Mukherjee (8/10)
5. Journey Of The Universe / Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker (9/10)
4. The Tao Of Physics / Fritjof Capra (7.5/10)
3. The Corner: A Year In The Life Of An Inner-City Neighborhood / David Simon and Ed Burns (10/10)
2. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto / Chuck Klosterman (7/10)
1. Will In The World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare / Stephen Greenblatt (8.5/10)

 

Finished Green Lights on the last Thursday of 2023

 

Never got around to posting my 2023 list


2023

1. Not My First Rodeo *4.0
2. Gulp *8.5
3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks *8.5
4. The Body Keeps the Score *7.0
5. Switch *4.0
6. Breech of Peace *7.0
7. Before the Coffee Gets Cold *6.0
8. The Peripheral *6.0
9. The Darkest Time of Night *7.0
10. The Giver of Stars *7.0
11. The Lost Apothecary *7.0
12. The Art of War *6.0
13. Remarkably Bright Creatures *8.0
14. Learn to Concentrate *6.0
15. Texas Ranger *6.0
16. Starry Messenger *7.0
17. Arch Conspirator *6.5
18. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat *5.0
19. Fahrenheit 451 *7.0
20. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster *7.5
21. How Am I Doing? *6.0
22. The Milky Way *5.0
23. To You We Shall Return *5.0
24. The Mentor Leader *6.5
25. Under an Outlaw Moon *6.5
26. Every City is Every Other City *5.0
27. Network Effect *7.0
28. Grace Peril *6.5
29. Hunger Games re-read *7.5
30. Fugitive Telemetry *7.0
31. Shift *8.0
32. Hell Bent *7.5
33. Leviathan Wakes (Expanse #1) *8.5
34. The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin *4.0
35. Dust *8.5
36. Caliban’s War (Expanse #2) *9.0
37. Surrounded by Idiots *5.0
38. Abandon’s Gate (Expanse #3) *9.0
39. Cibola Burn *8.5 (Expanse #4)
40. Outlive *3.0
41. Everyone in my Family had Killed Someone *7.0
42. An Immense World *5.0
43. The Blade Itself *8.0
44. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow *7.0
45. Rider of Ruby Hills *6.5
46. It Ends with Us *5.0
47. Fractal Noise *8.5
48. The Possibilities *6.0
49. Check and Mate *7.0
50. The Giver *8.0
51. The Wild Robot *5.0
52. Shatter Me *2.0
53. Before They were Hanged *8.0

 

Trying to edit and add to that post was a disaster on mobile so adding details here:

My wife doesn’t read as many books as I do (10-12) so I read some with her since she was reading them for her book club. I did try to read some books at the library that she might also like so I could give her recommendations, but a lot ended up very, very mediocre.

some highlights on the year -

The Expanse!! Really enjoyed it! Finally got around to reading it. Great sci fi!

Wool series! Very good! Not as good as the expanse but still solid!

Check and Mate - a very uncharacteristic book for me to enjoy, but a simple romance book about a chess player. Hysterically unrealistic but weirdly I enjoyed it as much as my wife did.

Most disappointing were definitely salt, fat, acid, heat which came recommended as some amazing cooking manifesto and was just boring idk. Also Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin was awful.

As a physician, I’ll just say Outlive was fucking trash.