Book and other reviews – 2024
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 35 (missing my target of ~50) and am hoping to increase that amount this year!
New entries will show up on the bottom of this page. PROBABLY SPOILERS BELOW!
January
Tropic of Cancer (Tropic, #1)
Miller, Henry | Fiction | 1934
The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1)
Yancey, Rick | Sci-Fi | 2013
He Who Fights with Monsters (He Who Fights with Monsters, #1)
Shirtaloon | Fantasy/LitRPG | 2021
He Who Fights with Monsters 2 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #2)
Shirtaloon | Fantasy/LitRPG | 2021
He Who Fights with Monsters 3 (He Who Fights with Monsters #3)
Shirtaloon | Fantasy/LitRPG | 2021
He Who Fights with Monsters 4 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #4)
Shirtaloon | Fantasy/LitRPG | 2022
He Who Fights with Monsters 5 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #5)
Shirtaloon | Fantasy/LitRPG | 2021
He Who Fights with Monsters 6 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #6)
Shirtaloon | Fantasy/LitRPG | 2022
He Who Fights With Monsters 7 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #7)
Shirtaloon | Fantasy/LitRPG | 2023
July's People
Gordimer, Nadine | Fiction | 1981
Never Let Me Go
Ishiguro, Kazuo | Sci-Fi | 2005
The Dark Forest (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #2)
Liu, Cixin | Sci-Fi | 2009
February
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction | 1887-1927
Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World
Schneier, Bruce | Non-fiction | 2016
A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
Akhenaten: King of Egypt
Aldred, Cyril | Non-fiction | 1988
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #3)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #4)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #6)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
Elon Musk
Isaacson, Walter | Non-fiction/Biography | 2023
The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
Sanderson, Brandon | Fantasy | 2014
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes, #5)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Kahneman, Daniel | Non-fiction | 2013
His Last Bow (Sherlock Holmes, #8)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
March
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes, #5)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #4)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #6)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes, #7)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
His Last Bow (Sherlock Holmes, #8)
Doyle, Arthur Conan | Fiction
Out of the Silent Planet (The Space Trilogy, #1)
Lewis, C.S. | Sci-Fi
April
The Jungle
Sinclair, Upton | Fiction
May
Lafayette
Unger, Harlow Giles | Non-fiction
The Problem of Pain
Lewis, C.S. | Non-fiction
The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)
Islington, James | Fantasy
He Who Fights With Monsters 8 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #8)
Shirtaloon | Fantasy
Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple, #1)
Christie, Agatha | Fiction
Silas Marner
Eliot, George | Fiction
June
The Maltese Falcon
Hammett, Dashiell | Fiction
Dubliners
Joyce, James | Fiction
Think Like a Freak
Levitt, Steven D. | Non-fiction
July
He Who Fights with Monsters 11: A LitRPG Adventure
Shirtaloon | Fantasy
August
Dragon Teeth
Crichton, Michael | Fiction
The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke
Clarke, Arthur C. | Sci-Fi
Dungeon Crafting Series #1-3
Brooks, Jonathan | Fantasy/LitRPG
Dungeon Crafting Series #4-6
Brooks, Jonathan | Fantasy/LitRPG
September
MAKE: Bootstrapper’s Handbook, Building Startups The Indie Way
Levels, Pieter | Non-fiction
Elantris (Elantris, #1)
Sanderson, Brandon | Fantasy
The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery
Moulton, Gary E. | Non-fiction
Not Till We Are Lost (Bobiverse, #5)
Taylor, Dennis E. | Sci-Fi
Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
Felton, Tom | Non-fiction
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Kahneman, Daniel | Non-fiction
October
Endymion (Hyperion Cantos, #3)
Simmons, Dan | Sci-fi
The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion Cantos, #4)
Simmons, Dan | Sci-fi
Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend
Gordon, Meryl | Non-fiction
Lessons in Chemistry
Garmus, Bonnie | Fiction
November
Lab Girl
Jahren, Hope | Non-fiction
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
Vance, J.D. | Non-fiction
This Inevitable Ruin (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #7)
Dinniman, Matt | Sci-Fi/Fantasy/LitRPG
Every Day Is for the Thief
Cole, Teju | Non-fiction
Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A.
Babitz, Eve | Non-fiction
Lost and Found by Andrew Clements, Mark Elliott
Clements, Mark Elliott | Fiction
Elon Musk
Isaacson, Walter | Non-fiction/Biography
A PhD Is Not Enough!: A Guide to Survival in Science
Feibelman, Peter J. | Non-fiction
When Wizards Follow Fools (Arcane Ascension #5)
Rowe, Andrew | Sci-fi/Fantasy/LitRPG
The Man from the Future: The Visionary Ideas of John von Neumann
Bhattacharya, Ananyo | Non-fiction/Biography
December
The Queen's Gambit
Tevis, Walter | Fiction
How to American: An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents
Yang, Jimmy O. | Non-Fiction/Biography
Forging Divinity (The War of Broken Mirrors, #1)
Rowe, Andrew | Fantasy/LitRPG
Stealing Sorcery (The War of Broken Mirrors, #2)
Rowe, Andrew | Fantasy/LitRPG
Defying Destiny (The War of Broken Mirrors, #3)
Rowe, Andrew | Fantasy/LitRPG
Diamantine (Weapons and Wielders, #2)
Rowe, Andrew | Fantasy/LitRPG
Jedediah Smith: No Ordinary Mountain Man
Barbour, Barton H. | Non-fiction/Biography
Soulbrand (Weapons and Wielders, #3)
Rowe, Andrew | Fantasy/LitRPG
The Torch that Ignites the Stars (Arcane Ascension, #3)
Rowe, Andrew | Fantasy/LitRPG
Cinema Speculation
Tarantino, Quentin | Non-Fiction/Biography
The Silence of Unworthy Gods (Arcane Ascension, #4)
Rowe, Andrew | Fantasy/LitRPG
Lust, Caution
Chang, Eileen | Historical Fiction
The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
Sanderson, Brandon | Fantasy
Lucy
Kincaid, Jamaica | Non-fiction/Biography(?)