Every year I tend to read a good amount of books and listen to some audiobooks. I’ve always wanted to retain better memory of content I consume (including movies or shows) and these blog posts have been a great way to reinforce what I’ve gone through. These posts offer brief reviews, some thoughts or notable things from the works, and general impressions of the material. Beyond the memory benefits which come from writing these I think it is good to stop periodically after consuming new information and spend some time to think critically and assess the information or story.
I’ll update this post throughout the year as I finish books and things. I’d also love to get recommendations from anyone reading this or to hear your thoughts on any of the books listed. Please feel free to comment! Here are links for past book posts; last year I managed 50 (an increase of 15 from 2022 & 2 above my target!) I am hoping to maintain or increase that amount this year!
New entries will show up on the bottom of this page. SPOILERS… Obviously!
January
Murtagh by Christopher Paolini
2023, Fantasy
Pretty good book. I would not recommend it if you haven’t read the Eragon/Inheritance Cycle books. Much more introspective fantasy than other books of this type but it also has some really nice worldbuilding/mythology it creates. My biggest criticism is that it feels like there were more plots and questions asked than answered by quite a bit so, while the resolution felt alright, it also felt incomplete. I’m very much hoping a future book tackles some of these times.
The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu
2008, Science Fiction
This is the second book in the ‘Three-Body Problem’ series. I found it more compelling than the first and liked some of the directions they took the story!
Death’s End by Cixin Liu
2012, Science Fiction
This was a very unexpected end to the trilogy. Parts of it felt like Arthur C. Clarke. I enjoyed the attempt at scientific-ish explanations for the events, the characters and motivations all felt pretty rational, and the story felt very fresh/unique. Would definitely read other works by Cixin Liu.
Elon Musk by Walter Issacson
2023, Biography
Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (audiobook by Stephen Fry)
multiple dates, Fiction/Detective Stories
He Who Fights with Monsters by Travis Deverell Shirtaloon
2021, Fantasy/LitRPG,
February
Movies:
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Okay but not great
V for Vendetta:
Stands up great!
The Holdovers:
Pretty good, a little on the slow side. Actors seemed pretty good. Good background movie.