This year, I’ve committed to reading more books, for reasons I discuss in this podcast. So far, I’ve read eight books, which is six ahead of my ’25 books in 2016′ schedule:
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: Not sure what all the fuss was about. The worldbuilding and descriptions of magic were well done, but ultimately rendered empty by the flat characters, who were quite literally plot devices.
- Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald: Game of Thrones meets The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, but in a good way.
- What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly: Achieves that rare feat of being a book about technology that doesn’t feel instantly dated. Worth reading, and a new take on the techno-optimist slant.
- Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton: Great fun, as expected from the webcomic.
- City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett: Surprisingly enough, a novel with great worldbuilding and decent characters that isn’t part of a 7-book series.
- Sword of My Mouth: A Post-Rapture Graphic Novel by Jim Monroe
- Common Sense by Thomas Paine: Still stirring; decided to read this after the related In Our Time. Not exactly book-length, I know.
- Step Aside, Pops by Kate Beaton: Also great fun.
Currently reading Superforecasting by Philip Tetlock; so far, so good, except for the feeling that it would’ve made for a killer 20,000 word New Yorker piece rather than an entire book.
mssv 