This year I finished 16 books, a slight increase from ~11 in 2022 but a steep decline from my pandemic peaks of ~53 in 2021 and ~76 in 2020. I’m trying not to be too hard on myself about this. Rather than a specific quota, my goal this year was to ruthlessly abandon books and series I wasn’t enjoying rather than finishing them out of obligation.
| Title | Author | Started | Finished |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundryside | Robert Jackson Bennet | Apr. 20 | Apr. 20 |
| Shorefall | Robert Jackson Bennet | Apr. 21 | Apr. 21 |
| Locklands | Robert Jackson Bennet | Apr. 22 | Apr. 22 |
| Untethered Sky | Fonda Lee | Apr. 22 | Apr. 22 |
| The Element of Fire | Martha Wells | Jun. 18 | Jun. 20 |
| Velocity Weapon | Megan E. O'Keefe | Jun. 1 | Jul. 2 |
| Chaos Vector | Megan E. O'Keefe | Jul. 3 | Abandoned |
| The Luminous Dead | Caitlin Starling | Jul. 4 | Jul. 4 |
| Witch King | Martha Wells | Jul. 7 | Jul. 8 |
| Seven Endless Forests | April Genevieve Tucholke | Jul. 10 | Abandoned |
| Pines | Blake Crouch | Aug. 28 | Aug. 28 |
| Rose/House | Arkady Martine | Aug. 28 | Aug. 28 |
| An Illusion of Thieves | Cate Glass | Aug. 28 | Aug. 29 |
| The House of Styx | Derek Künsken | Aug. 30 | Aug. 31 |
| The Library at Mount Char | Scott Hawkins | Sep. 1 | Abandoned |
| The Etched City | K.J. Bishop | Sep. 1 | Sep. 6 |
| The Blighted Stars | Megan E. O'Keefe | Sep. 6 | Sep. 6 |
| Three Parts Dead | Max Gladstone | Sep. 7 | Sep. 8 |
| This Is How You Lose the Time War | Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone | Oct. 28 | Oct. 28 |
By date, almost all my reading happened while I was traveling. I tore through four books on a week-long jaunt to Big Sur in April, and binged seven books——almost half of my yearly total!——during two miserable weeks of work travel at the start of September.
Also, a comparably large portion of my reading this year was rereads. I reread the first two books in Robert Jackson Bennet’s “the Founders Trilogy” open_in_new ——last read in 2020——in preparation for the newest release, “Locklands” open_in_new . Similarly, I started rereading Megan E. O’Keefe’s “the Protectorate” open_in_new series——also last read in 2020——in anticipation of the third installment, “Catalyst Gate” open_in_new . Unfortunately I sort of bounced off the books this time despite loving them when I first read them. During my initial read through, the unanswered questions really drew me forward, and that just didn’t have as much pull on a reread. I do still really like the series, though, so hopefully I’ll finish it in 2024. Lastly, I impulsively reread “The Element of Fire” open_in_new by Martha Wells. Exactly why, despite doing most of my reading on my Kindle, I like to have physical copies of my favorites kicking around the house.
I finished most books in one to two days. I think this is a reflection of my goal to abandon books I wasn’t enthusiastically enjoying——if it takes me more than a few days to finish a book, it’s usually because it’s not really clicking for some reason. You can see this in the full month it took me to reread “Velocity Weapon” open_in_new compared to my first go around, which took two days.
Highlights
This summer I used some PTO to take off several successive Fridays, to play at having a four-day work week while the weather was nice. My rule was that I had to spend these days doing something——I couldn’t just waste them away. On one such Friday, I biked to Cicada open_in_new , a local coffee shop I had been wanting to try. They had both delicious coffee (sea salt shaker, life-changing) and an idyllic back patio. I almost want to keep it a secret except that I can never shut up, and I’ve already told everyone I know. Anyway, as part of the experience, I planned to read on the back patio and had saved the latest release from my favorite author, “Witch King” open_in_new , for the occasion.
Everyone is crazy about “The Murderbot Diaries” open_in_new and, ergh, I get it, but “Books of the Raksura” open_in_new was my introduction to Martha Wells and I was thrilled to see her return to the fantasy genre. She excels at writing that makes you feel like you’re observing the world, rather than being told about it——call it the opposite of a lore dump. Something about her characterization also really resonates with me, so although I’m usually skeptical of found family stories, this one worked for me.
“The House of Styx” open_in_new by Derek Künsken was a lot of work and well worth the effort. A fascinating exploration of the mundane logistics of daily life in an alien environment! Complex characters, political maneuvering, high emotional stakes! I finished this book with the same feeling of exhaustion you get from a long, satisfying hike. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, “The House of Saints” open_in_new , and other works by the same author… once I’ve recovered a little bit.
I started reading “The Etched City” open_in_new in the gorgeous courtyard of the Hammer museum open_in_new while killing time before a flight home. I highly recommend if you’re in the area; it’s free, although I did eventually succumb to some bougie wine and a bread and butter board at Lulu open_in_new . No regrets! Anyway, I’m so disappointed that K.J. Bishop hasn’t written more novels, because I’m obsessed with her worldbuilding. “The Etched City” is set in this deliciously surreal, fantastical, lived-in world where every detail feels like it has its own story waiting in the wings. I’ve added her collection of short stories, “That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote” open_in_new , to my “want to read” list as a consolation prize.
Tangentially, while visiting the museum I got to see this incredible installation open_in_new . Don’t get me wrong, the lasers were exciting, but after a very overstimulating week I think the best part was just sitting in the dark room and listening to the condensation drip. I stayed until they closed the gallery.
Disappointments
I picked up “Seven Endless Forests” open_in_new by April Genevieve Tucholke in the hopes of a “The Green Knight (2021)” open_in_new -esque retelling of Arthurian legend, and instead I got bland YA fantasy. I keep having “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat” moments with YA books. Here’s how it goes: the blurb sounds so intriguing. Although it’s marked YA, I think to myself, “Well, there’s no reason young adults can’t be sophisticated readers”. Then I start reading, and it just has that YA flavor; or really, lack thereof. I know, I know, these books have their place and their audience, I think I just need to accept that I no longer am that audience. I felt the same way about Naomi Novik’s “Spinning Silver” in 2022.
“Recursion” open_in_new and “Dark Matter” open_in_new by Blake Crouch were both outstanding sci-fi mystery thrillers when I read them in 2021, so I was eager to pick up more of his work. “Pines” open_in_new was similarly gripping, but I would also place it solidly in the “horror” genre; I found it too gruesome and depressing for my tastes. I finished it to find out what was going on, and promptly abandoned the series. Similarly, the premise of Scott Hawkins’ “The Library at Mount Char” open_in_new was fascinating, but I think my experience with it suffered because I started it immediately after finishing “Pines”. I might have been better able to tolerate its bleak violence with fresh eyes, but under the circumstances I made it through a few chapters before calling it quits on account of, “this is bumming me out, actually”.
Now, I’m not sure if I actually decided to abandon the “Chimera” open_in_new series by Cate Glass, or if I simply forgot it existed immediately after finishing “An Illusion of Thieves” open_in_new . I actually had to look up the synopsis of this book while writing this post to remember anything about it. It was a competent fantasy story, it simply did not make any sort of impression on me——so that’s that.
Finally, sadly, “Three Parts Dead” open_in_new by Max Gladstone. Oh, this one bummed me out because the characters were compelling, the worldbuilding was fresh and thoughtful, and I loved “Empress of Forever” open_in_new when I read it in 2020. I fully expected to devour the remainder of the “Craft Sequence” open_in_new after finishing this one, but instead I just kind of… stopped. I have a hard time connecting with contemporary urban fantasy; I had a very similar experience with “City of Stairs” open_in_new by Robert Jackson Bennett, a story that I felt like I should love but just could not get through. Speaking of Max Gladstone, I did read the Twitter darling “This is How You Lose the Time War” open_in_new , another one for the Cicada open_in_new patio. Paradoxically, I think it was harmed by the hype——if I had gone in with no expectations I probably would have loved it, but as it was I found it just… interesting.
Looking Forward
In 2023, I spent a lot more time seeking out new books to add to my “want to read” list than I did actually reading. In 2024, no more! I currently have 52 books downloaded to my library, some of which have been gathering digital dust for years. I’d like to start this year by curating and culling my “want to read” list.
As for a quantitative goal for 2024, I think I’m going to set it at a modest 18, for an average of 1.5 books per month. I’m sure to have some travel this year, so I’m hoping to make swift progress. Although I generally don’t follow upcoming releases, I am eagerly anticipating Tamsyn Muir’s next installment in “the Locked Tomb” open_in_new series.