Science Fiction and Fantasy
For another year, I read more speculative fiction than anything else. Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series, which included The Fated Sky and The Relentless Moon was a favorite. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle blended the genres of an English manor mystery with a time-loop puzzle. The novel was original, clever, and fun.
I really enjoyed reading Heinlein’s novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and felt that it must have been source material for the Belters in the Expanse series, which ended with Leviathan Falls. For endings, it was alright; but really the last book in the Expanse could have been pared down by hundreds of pages.
After reading Brandon Sanderson’s Rhythm of War, I’m ready to quit the series. The books are too long with not much happening.
- Leviathan Falls
- The World Gives Way
- The House in the Cerulean Sea
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
- Endymion
- The Rise of Endymion
- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Eveylyn Hardcastle
- The New Wilderness
- The Space Between Worlds
- Rhythm of War
- The Relentless Moon
- The Fated Sky
- The Ten-Thousand Doors of January
- The Bone Ships
Literary Fiction
The novels I most enjoyed were A Children’s Bible, Deacon King Kong, Beloved, Breast and Eggs, and Saint X. Surprisingly, even though I loved The Overstory, I was really underwhelmed by Bewilderment as it felt like a rehash of similar themes and a repackaged, less compelling version of Flowers for Algernon.
- Disappearing Earth
- A Children’s Bible
- Deacon King Kong
- Beloved
- A Ladder to the Sky
- Transcendant Kingdom
- The Good Lord Bird
- Breast and Eggs
- Bewilderment
- Want
- Saint X
Children’s Books
For kid’s books, my favorites were the Wild Robot books and the Ralph S. Mouse books. These are books I read with my kids and those two series were the most compelling and fun.
- Clementine
- Kenny & the Dragon
- The Wild Robot
- The Wild Robot Escapes
- Comet in Moominland
- Ralph S. Mouse
- The Mouse and the Motorcycle
- Runaway Ralph
- The Reptile Room
- The Bad Beginning
- Mouseguard
Mysteries
I only read The Neon Rain, and it was good in a pulpy kind of way.
Abandoned Books
What do these books have in common? They couldn’t keep my attention.
- The Dragon Waiting
- An I-Novel
- Inland
