Books You've Read in 2024

1) Dune by Frank Herbert 9.5/10
2) The Wager by David Grann 8/10
3) Wool by Hugh Howey (reread) 9/10
4) Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel 8.5/10
5) When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut 8.25/10
6) Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert 7.5/10
7) The Great Gatsby 8/10

 

1 - Inferno by Max Hastings (8/10)
2 - Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving (8.5/10)
3 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (9.5/10)

First time reading The Hobbit and what can you really say about it. Classic, fun read. Never would have wanted to read it 20 years ago. Fell in love with the LOTR movies after being dragged to the theater by friends. Still took me until last year to finally decide to read them all plus this. Just so fun. Wish I had read them sooner.

 

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
Historian Dan Jones’ first foray into historical fiction writing. The story (book #1 of a trilogy) follows a company of soldiers in the first days of the Hundred Years’ War. It’s entertaining and well researched but the dialogue gets to be a bit tiresome (it was not surprising when he noted George RR Martin as an inspiration in the Acknowledgements)
4. The White Ship by Charles Spencer - 8/10
Non-fiction book about the White Ship disaster where the heir to the English throne was killed, ultimately leading to a succession crisis known as the Anarchy. Going in I thought the book was mostly about the disaster itself, but most of the book actually discusses the Norman invasion into England, the years leading up to the disaster, and the years of the Anarchy. The disaster itself is limited to one chapter, which was a bit disappointing but then again is probably due to a lack of sources more than anything. It was still an interesting read nonetheless.

 

1. Kennedys Avenger: Assassination, Conspiracy, and the Forgotten Trial of Jack Ruby--Dan Abrams & David Fisher
2. Killers of the Flower Moon--David Grann
3. Washington's Crossing- David Fischer
4. Trust-Hernan Diaz
5. The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams--Adam Lazarus
6. The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge and the World',s Greatest Piece of Cheese--Michael Paterniti

I work from home now with a more low key job, so have more time to read. Some quick thoughts.

Kennedys Avenger--a play by play of the Ruby Trial. Didn't know what a fiasco it was and he was actually granted a new one. Not a lawyer, but found it interesting. Not sure if any the lawyers on here would. It's the authors 4th book focusing on trials. Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln were the focus of 2 others. Didn't read either

The Wingmen--pretty dry, but learned a decent amount on Glenn/Williams. Kind of forgot Williams was a terrible person, but he admired Glenn above anything. They flew a bunch of missions together during the Korean War and remained friends for the next 50 years

The Telling Room--heard about this book when it came out 10 years ago read half of it and quit. Probably because I was in school at the time. Basically a journalist reads about a type of cheese his deli sold. Years later he finds his notes on it, and tracks down the maker. Ends up befriending the guy and hearing his story of how he lost the cheese company

 

I just finished Essex Dogs yesterday. Had the same rating.

 

No, in fact I just realized now that he is Princess Diana’s brother. I’ll put that book on my list.

 

TMB Unofficial Book Club book of the month. Will you read the second book?

 

Yeah. I’ll probably start it this week

I went in w pretty low expectations. Every time a non fiction author i like tries fiction - it’s usually not great. But I really liked this

 

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

A bit too experimental with the ergodic literature and changes in styles throughout the book. Interesting story about random people from a low income area of northwest London and how their lives intersect. Just didn’t really hold my attention and took me too long to finish.

5/10


I just bought The Wager and Tender is the Flesh today so one of those is next

 

6. Between two fires - Christopher Buelman 7/10; there’s an amazing book contained in the story, but it still fell a little flat for me. Framed as a horror book, but presented more like a dark fantasy novel, it was still an enjoyable read, and the author’s style was unique. I’ve complained previously about trimming some fat from the previous books I’ve read this year, but this one could have benefitted from some more pages.

up next: the crossing by McCarthy and the reformatory.

 

1. Usher’s Passing by Robert McCammon - 8.5/10
2. Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons - 8/10
3. Blindsight by Peter Watts - 7.5/10
4. Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom - 8/10.

5. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes: Eclipsing 600 pages, it’s a bit overstuffed, but there’s not a ton of waste amongst the pages and given the complexities of the plot, the detailed backstories of the main characters, and the amount of globe trotting, that’s quite a feat in and of itself. While this may be your typical race against time spy novel, it doesn’t get bogged down by silly love interests or cliched plot holes, and is unflinchingly brutal at times while also quite sentimental. Hayes comes from a screen writing background, and the book is broken up in parts and reads quite like a miniseries. I won’t delve into the plot too much as it would be very easy to spoil, but if you’re a fan of Le Carré, Greene, Ludlum, etc. I don’t see how you wouldn’t find this an enthralling novel. 8.5/10

I’m not quite sure what I’m going to read next. I’m considering American Gods by Neil Gaiman, North Woods by Daniel Mason, or some B-movie type splatter punk lol.

 

1) Dune by Frank Herbert 9.5/10
2) The Wager by David Grann 8/10
3) Wool by Hugh Howey (reread) 9/10
4) Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel 8.5/10
5) When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut 8.25/10
6) Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert 7.5/10
7) The Great Gatsby 8/10
8) The Winners by Fredrick Backman 9.5/10

The third book in the Beartown trilogy. Not as good as Beartown, but man I just love the way this guy writes and how he tells a story, definitely my favorite author. Have that feeling that you get when one of your favorite tv shows end.

Spoiler

RIP Benji

 

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)

Essex Dogs - Novel about a troupe of men fighting for England in the 100 Years War. Im not a huge historical novel guy nor do I really like to read non fiction authors who foray into fiction. They're usually not very good. But I really enjoyed this one. Happy that I like it because I really like Dan Jones' non fic work. Will be reading the 2nd one shortly.

Let Us Descend - A retelling of Dante's Inferno set in the south during slavery. A good read but not a pleasant one. You definitely have to be in the right headspace to ingest a book like this. I dont think I really was. I think if I read this at different time, I would have been able to appreciate it more.

Meru - Sci-fi Space Opera about a future where Humans are sequestered to Earth while humanoid alloys that are descendants from humans are out in the universe exploring. Humans basically become a patronized population within the society. A "good premise, meh execution" book for me. Sci-fi is at it's best when it tackles current social issues without it being obvious. this was a little too on the head for me, plus characters were meh. A bit disappointing because Divya's last novel Machinehood knocked it out of the park on all accounts. I probably wont continue this series.

 

Always forget to start this

1. Space Case *6.0
2. Leech *4.0
3. Combat Codes *7.0
4. Walking in Two Worlds *4.0
5. Salvation *2.0
6. Last Argument of Kings *8.5
7. Uncommon Type *7.0
8. Honeymoon Crashers *5.0
9. Yellowface *8.0
10. Never Lie *4.0
11. Whalefall *6.0
12. What an Owl Knows *7.0
13. The Ferryman *8.5
14. Dawnshard *8.0

Space Case - middle school scifi mystery book my kid and I read together. Fun

Leech - Gothic horror/scifi. Very interesting concept, was bored by the execution of it. Wasn't for me.

Combat Codes - Dystopian/SciFi action book. Pretty heavy on tropes, but author is very good at describing action sequences. Will probably read the rest of the series.

Walking in Two Worlds - YA book about a native american girl and her life dominating an MMO and her life on the Rez. Wasn't for me, but not the worst.

Salvation - I think I'm going to have to give this book another try, but this book and the series get amazing reviews for it's SciFi work and I was fucking booooored. Maybe I was in a bad head space, but gave up about 70 pages in.

Last Argument of Kings - First Law book #3. I loved this book. Whole heartedly recommend the trilogy and while it's not perfect, I really enjoyed the series.

Uncommon Type - A series of short stories by Tom Hanks. Some were actually really good! Some were not good at all! But, Tom Hanks narrated it and I think the audiobook made it 100% better than it would have been in print.

Honeymoon Crashers - Fiction/Romance - was something wife and I read together. Not the worst, pretty meh as expected.

Yellowface - Fiction/general - about an author who steals the work of a fellow author who died suddenly and publishes it under her own name. Honestly really, really liked this book.

Never Lie - Horror, murder mystery/trapped by a blizzard in an isolated cabin...was pretty dumb, don't recommend

Whalefall - What was supposed to be hyped as "The Martian" crossed with "127 hours" ended up being a melodramatic and really dumb version of both. Pass. AMAZING concept, bad execution

What an Owl Knows - Non-fictional book all about Owls. Really neat! Author read it so the audiobook had a lot of passion seeping from every chapter. Learned a ton!

The Ferryman - SciFi/Dystopian about reincarnation with a really solid twist. I really thought this was well done. When Justin Cronin is on, he's really, really captivating, but can be inconsistent (surprised at how poorly this is rated on GoodReads.

DawnShard - Novella, dubbed Stomlight Archive 3.5... Good but far from the same quality as the rest of the SLA imo. I think the hyper focus on the disability of the main character was a turn off in the midst of this ongoing massive epic fantasy world

 

I have Combat Codes on my list. I'll get to it eventually.

 

Also side note currently reading Empire of Silence and it’s amaaaazing so far

 

Yeah it’s a good read and pretty quick too. Not gonna be earth shattering but it was enjoyable

 

Thought about getting this, Mike's book reviews on YouTube raves about it, just ordered it.

Fyi: Amazon has some books buy one get one 50% off, got this and empire of the vampire (another book Mike's reviews raves about)

 

Gladiator the movie….. IN SPAAAAAAAACE.

im a little over halfway done with the hardcover and its the best sci fi I’ve read since 2022 so far (To Sleep in a Sea of Stars).

I don’t count the Expanse series because that’s a massive all encompassing series

 

Well I’m sold

 

1. Usher’s Passing by Robert McCammon - 8.5/10
2. Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons - 8/10
3. Blindsight by Peter Watts - 7.5/10
4. Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom - 8/10
5. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes - 8.5/10

6. Satan’s Burnouts Must Die! by David Sodergren: Satan’s Burnouts are a deranged biker gang that have shown up in a sleepy desert town in the middle of nowhere Nevada, and yeah, you can imagine what happens next. I read a lot of horror/splatter punk, and while some novels are very well written and developed, others are pure literary junk food. Empty calories that I can binge between more serious reads with ridiculous plots, obscene violence, and depraved characters. This checked all of those boxes, was rife with 70’s exploitative horror vibes (particularly Last House on the Left), and was a fun and easy read in two sittings. Boxes checked. 6.5/10

Up next: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

 

Trust by Hernan Diaz 8.5/10
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

I wanted to read a spy book after reading some more challenging stuff recently. Transcription was legit terrible. My review on goodreads: I have no idea how this got published. Interesting spy plot interrupted by a hundred pages of... I'm not sure what. And finished with a "twist" that made no sense whatsoever. This badly needed a good editor"

However, the Red Widow and Red London books were fun. I guess Katsu previously published some horror novels and these were her first foray into the spy genre. She worked for the CIA before becoming a novelist, and it's pretty easy to tell with the level of detail. Red Widow was a pretty good debut, and Red London was very good. There was a mild cliffhanger at the end of the second book, so I'm guessing there will be another one at some point next year.

A High Wind in Jamaica is, I think, the first book NYRB sends to people when the sign up for their subscription to receive a book per month from them. They should seriously consider a different one. I follow this dude on goodreads and his review of it was like a novel written by someone who has maybe never read a novel. It was v tedious.

Life and Fate was amazing. A bunch of people have called it the 21st century equivalent to War and Peace. Highly recommend. It is like 1000 pages though.

The New York Stories of Edith Warton is a collection of 20 of her short stories. It was excellent. I also enjoyed this because it was easy to just read 1-2 per day while also reading someone else. Another NYRB book.

 

High Wind in Jamaica was the first classic in that NYRB series. That and Warlock have been the only two from the series I didn't love

 

What is the Bible? Rob bell. I know,I know but if you believe that there was a real person named Jesus that once lived it’s worth a read.

 

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

The Wager was so good and has me really interested in more books about the sea.

Side note: I looked into finally buying The Terror online and every copy I can find has nothing but advertising for the AMC show on the cover. I really fucking hate the “now a show on x” shit and I just want a regular book cover.

 

There a handful of Pirate Histories I could recommend if that interests you. They all discuss many of the same aspects of "life at sea" as The Wager. Also Endurance, by Alfred Lansing scratches the same itch. About the Shackleton Expedition. Same themes as The Wager - sailing, shipwreck, stranded survival ect.

 

1. Pretty Girls - Karin Slaughter 7/10
2. The Will of the Many - James Islington 10/10 - not sure what it was about the book but I really enjoyed it, couldn't put it down.
3. Recursion - Blake Crouch 8/10 - really enjoyed this one as well, only reason it is an 8 and not higher is it felt a lot like I was reading Dark Matter again

Currently reading: Razor Blade Tears - S.A. Crosby

 

2024
Hell is a World Without You by Jason Kirk - 6/10
Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller - 8/10
Blackout by Sarah Hepola - 9/10
Mortal Error by Sonar Menninger - 8/10
The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming - 7/10
The Moroccan Girl by Charles Cumming - 7/10
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton - 7/10
Never Mind by Edward St Aubyn - 6/10
Bad News by Edward St Aubyn - 7/10
Some Help by Edward St Aubyn - 6/10
Mothers Milk by Edward St Aubyn - 5/10
At Last by Edward St Aubyn - 8/10
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown - 9/10
Red Rising by Pierce Brown 8/10

 

Bought a bunch of Charles cumming books after box 88 series and gave up on them after I read one that was terrible. Maybe I need to give trinity six a shot

 

the box 88 series was really good. The rest of his stuff isn't nearly as good but great for providing an easy read when I'm not in the mood for some of the dark non-fiction stuff I really like.

I also set a goal of 50 books this year so I have definitely been piling up some quick reads

 

Read the Patrick melrose series. They’re quick and v good

 

kopped

 

Was Kennedy 35 bad? I havent gotten to it yet

 

Big SA Cosby fan. Alll 3 of his books have been wins for me

 

It was fine. Probably my least favorite of the three. I think I liked the second book best

 

Starting The Idiot by Dostoyevsky tonight and then The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina will be next I think

 

Outlaw Ocean is good. Learned a lot

 

I read The Idiot and Brothers Karamazov back in like 2012 and have wanted to tackle them both again. Probably a summer deal. Both were absurdly good

 

if you want to tackle a long ass Russian masterpiece you should read life and fate

 

Shitty AMC show

 

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)


The Black Count - Biography of Alex Dumas, father of the famous Alexander Dumas. Really enjoyed this one coming off reading The Count of Monte Cristo. It was really interesting to see history through the POV of somewhat 'normal' person during such a wild historical period. Not a 'great man' perspective. Additionally you can see exactly where in his father's life Dumas drew inspiration for his novels. Just a great read all around if you like history and/or Dumas as an author. Shout out to Mix for the recommendation.

The Grand Game - Tried this on a whim, in an attempt to branch out a little bit. This is a litRPG. Basically if a video game was a novel. I dont want to say this is bad, but it absolutely was not for me. Im not a gamer, and when I was - I played sports and shooters. RPGs bored the shit out of me. Dont regret trying something new, but also not sure what I was thinking either lol. However if you are into RPGs - something you might want to check out.

 

When you say LitRPG, it brings back memories of the cheesy choose your own adventure books I used to read as a kid lol.

 

1. The Wager David Grann- 8/10

2. The Escape Artist Jonathan Freedland- 9/10

3. Red Sparrow Jason Matthews 9/10

4. Palace of Treason Jason Matthews 8/10

5. The Kremlin's Candidate- Jason Matthews 8.5/10

Good finish to the trilogy, would probably rerate all books as an 8.5

Next Up: Fall of Giants Ken Follett

 

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)

Currently reading: Player Piano - Kurt Vonnegut

 

1) Dune by Frank Herbert 9.5/10
2) The Wager by David Grann 8/10
3) Wool by Hugh Howey (reread) 9/10
4) Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel 8.5/10
5) When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut 8.25/10
6) Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert 7.5/10
7) The Great Gatsby 8/10
8) The Winners by Fredrick Backman 9.5/10
9) Shift by Hugh Howey 9/10

Good book. Felt like reading a Blake Crouch novel for a good portion of the book. Will read the third soon. I would like to know the cost of building all these silos, had to be on par with the death star or something.

Next up: Empire of Silence

 

Just short of halfway through The Idiot.

forgot just how masterful Dostoyevsky was with internal dialogue and portraying anguish within his leading characters.

 

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. His first novel, and to be frank it shows. But fun to read in the context knowing what comes later.

5. Judgement at Tokyo by Gary Bass - 8.5/10. Doorstop size history of the lesser known WWII trials of Japanese politicians and military leaders. Fascinating and in depth, showing how popular attitudes and politics shaped the outcome of the trial and history coming after. The US leading a trial on Japanese killing citizens during war after dropping 2 atomic bombs was…interesting.

been moving houses and sick for about 2 weeks, severely limiting my #output so far in 2024. But we’re back

 

1. Usher’s Passing by Robert McCammon - 8.5/10
2. Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons - 8/10
3. Blindsight by Peter Watts - 7.5/10
4. Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom - 8/10
5. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes - 8.5/10
6. Satan’s Burnouts Must Die! by David Sodergren - 6.5/10

7. Mystery Walk by Robert McCammon - A novel of Native American mysticism vs evangelical fervor, Mystery Walk follows Billy Creekmore and Wayne Falconer, two young men with paranormal gifts who go down very separate life paths. Billy can sense when people are about to die and help their revenants leave the places they’re tethered to journey into the spirit world, while Wayne has healing powers to bring the dead back. McCammon is, in my opinion, a master storyteller and this novel is no different. There are themes of institutional racism, small town outsider life, classic monsters, and love without understanding throughout the novel. The characters as in all of his works are very well developed, but I thought the ending was a bit abrupt. Otherwise, another fantastic read in the McCammon cannon. 7.5/10

On deck: Solaris by Stanisław Lem and Dead Silence by SA Barnes