A Year in (Reading) Books: 2024

A couple years ago I saw a post on hackernews for Art Garfunkel’s Library. That triggered my listing tendecies so I started to track the books I read on a spreadsheet. While I somewhat agree with the top comment, this practice has greatly increased my reading frequency and retention.

I’ve include some extra details to make this list mildly more interesting than a pure “checklist”. A short blurb that I wrote for most of the books when I finished them, and a few retroactive ones for this post. I’ve also included the source where I heard about the book if I made note of it.

The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive #1)
Brandon Sanderson (2010)

| fantasy

Source: Bought this for my old Kindle back in 2014 but never read until I got the (dense) paperback as a Christmas gift

All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Remarque (1928)

| fiction

Pythagoras’s Trousers
Margaret Wertheim (1995)

| nonfiction

Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Harriet Stowe (1852)

| fiction

Words of Radiance (Stormlight Archive #2)
Brandon Sanderson (2014)

| fantasy

Lord of the Flies
William Golding (1954)

| fiction

Never held my interest while (re)-reading. Probably too old for this book now after having first read in 10th grade.

Neuromancer
William Gibson (1984)

| sci-fi

Chaotic. Hard to get in a groove while reading. I’ve read other anectdotes that this might deserve a second read.

Source: HN comment

The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath (1963)

| fiction

Female Holden Caufield vibes, especially in the first half. Lots of suicide-ation in the second half. Would this book be such a classic if she didn’t off herself weeks after it was published? Overall struggled to keep my attention.

The Road
Cormac McCarthy (2006)

| sci-fi

Dark. Although I did eventually get into it. I expected to like this book more than I did going in given the praise I’ve heard for it.

Source: HN comment and many Fifth Column mentions by Kmele

Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive #3)
Brandon Sanderson (2017)

| fantasy

Dark Matter
Blake Crouch (2016)

| sci-fi

Source: Co-worker

The Elephant in the Brain
Robin Hanson (2018)

| nonfiction

Source: Coleman Hughes podcast

The Once and Future King
T.H. White (1958)

| fantasy

Had its high points but was long and a slog to read. Partly age and the language made it difficult at times. A soap opera at heart with incest, etc.

Source: Ben Shapiro book club

Speaker For the Dead
Orson Scott Card (1986)

| sci-fi

Enjoyed this more than Ender’s Game. Really got hooked in the second half of the book. A more human story than the Battle School.

Source: Ender’s Game indirect sequel

The Fall of Hyperion
Dan Simmons (1990)

| sci-fi

Another sequel I liked more than the original. Maybe the more traditional structure? It also tied all the threads together in an interesting way. Lots I didn’t see coming at the end.

Source: Co-worker

Rhythm of War
Brandon Sanderson (2020)

| fantasy

Might be my favorite of the series so far. Some of the Shallan arc wasn’t my fave but most of the others I enjoyed.

Riders of the Purple Sage
Zane Grey (1912)

| western

Fun read, definitely had some enjoyable parts. Predictable at times, daughter storyline was obvious but I didn’t make all the connections. First western I’ve read.

Source: Jeopardy Clue

Rogue Moon
Algis Budrys (1960)

| sci-fi

Short. Man’s search for meaning with sci fi as the backdrop. Mostly a series of interpersonal stories that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Source: HN comment

Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie (1934)

| mystery

My first whodunnit. Gave off some adult Scooby Doo vibes but I was pretty hooked. Did a good job of holding my attention with its pacing.

Spoiler Although, not the biggest fan of "everyone" being guilty of this one.

Darkness at Noon
Arthur Koestler (1940)

| fiction

Communism sucks. Interesting and infuriating to read the persecution from an insider/believer point of view.

Source: Frequent mention on the Fifth Column by Moynihan

Around the World in 80 Days
Jules Verne (1872)

| fiction

Quick and fun little read. More like a YA adventure novel, if YA existed 150 years ago.

Cryptonomicon
Neal Stephenson (1999)

| sci-fi

Loooooong. Enjoyed the intertwined stories of WWII and early 2000s tech but sometimes it was a slog.

Rendez-vous with Rama
Arthur Clarke (1973)

| sci-fi

Fun exploration of an exploration of an alien cylinder. Well paced, imaginative, gave me a good picture in my head of the world they were exploring. Left me wanting more

Source: HN comment

Ringworld
Larry Niven (1970)

| sci-fi

Enjoyed the adventure but the luck bits were too heavy handed. I got random 70s cartoon vibes while reading. Some bits were predictable, the ending was kinda meh but I was a bit surprised by the fist of god. Overrated?

Uller Uprising
H. Beam Piper (1952)

| sci-fi

Pulp sci-fi take on colonialism and the perils of nuclear holocaust in a post WW2 world. Not too bad, cheesy at times, the aliens and naming aren’t great but held my interest.

Source: Was on the Standard Ebooks wanted list which I ended up producing.

Republic
Plato (c. 375 BC)

| nonfiction

Dense read and can be hard to follow the progression of arguments. Would almost certainly get more out of it on a second read. It’s always interesting to find so much relatability of people from nearly 2500 years ago. Both in the discussions of everyday life and how it relates to our search for living a good and just life.

Source: Has been on my to read list for a long time.