Every book I've read so far in 2024.
The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis
Fit Nation: The Pains and Gains of America's Fitness Obsession by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela fascinating
I'll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara gripping and complex
The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel liked this one!
Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story by Max Marshall
Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux what a bonkers story
A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back by Kevin Hazzard first in my Big EMS Read. binge-able, fast read, very gruesome
What Walks At Night by T. Kingfisher not as good as the first but I enjoyed it!
People Care by Thom Dick the second book in my Big EMS Read. will probably read again.
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
Verbal Judo by Dr George J Thompson useful for some, I suppose, but I should have known better than to pick up a book by a cop...
Lay Them To Rest by Laurah Norton a fascinating, respectful true-crime read about unidentified decedents (jane and john does)
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger C. Bregman a universal recommend. will absolutely make you feel better about yourself and your fellow humans.
Elderhood by Louise Aronson a paradigm-shifter, another universal recommend. could have been shorter, otherwise, no critiques.
Grunt by Mary Roach I adore all of mary's writing. fascinating.
Reaperman by Terry Pratchett I love all of Death's books. also: discworld indiana jones?!
Gulp by Mary Roach ditto
Fake Money, Blue Smoke by Josh Haven very fun, felt like a White Collar episode
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle this was so good, I cried in the car over the audiobook
The Body by Bill Bryson re-read. still so good
Paladin's Strength re-read for cosplay prep purposes. also still good.
Lost Girls by Robert Kolker
Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe fascinating
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe phenomenal reporting and storytelling of the Sackler family dynasty.
Litte Eve by Catriona Ward great short horror if you like cults and historical horror
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore good, not great, historical literary mystery/family drama
Wayward Pines by Blake Crouch this one had me fully captivated. blah main character but fully pulled in by the premise
Orbital by Samantha Harvey at the risk of sounding like a LARB reviewer, this was luminous
If You Can't Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury by Geraldine DeRuiter really enjoyed this one! bummer follow up to a hillarious feel-good
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz super useful, liked this better than Verbal Judo
Reading: Hurts So Good, Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis
Every book I read in 2023.
A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart the most radical book on education I've ever read from someone outside of the radical ed field.
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis wonderfully written, believable, devestating but somehow uplifting. loved it.
Free Time by Jenny Blake loved this one. will come back to it, probably
No More Police: A Case for Abolition by Mariame Kaba and Andrea J. Ritchie clear, to-the-point, highly recommended
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz not nearly as soul-sucking as the title led me to believe. solid.
Savage Appetites: True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession covers four women entangled in true crime. solid, although I would have appreciated a slightly wider lens
The Missing Cryptoqueen by Jamie Bartlett
Second Contact by Mike Resnik fun little sf mystery / thriller
Hype: How Scammers, Grifters, and Con Artists Are Taking Over the Internet - and Why We're Following by Gabrielle Bluestone
Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race by Mary-Jane Rubenstein
Black Hole Survival Guide by Jana Levin lovely prose, tiny little book!
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis an utter delight
One Giant Leap by Charles Fishman a 'dad book', a comprehensive overview of the politics and tech behind Apollo - great read though
The New Guys by Meredith Bagby really enjoyed this look at the space shuttle through the eyes of its first class of astronauts
The Mission: A True Story by David W. Brown a sometimes tedious but mostly fun look inside the world of uncrewed planetary science missions at NASA, building up to the formation of the Europa Clipper
Intuitive Eating by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole solid
Up To Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes by Christine Yu this one was fantastic, strong recommend
Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt
The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud sold as 'the Martian Chronicles meets True Grit' and honestly? yeah.
The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown tense little space horror debut novella. I do think this would have benefitted from being longer, but the prose didn't annoy me and the representation felt natural
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Michael Brown a quick, fun science memoir of not-planet discovery
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes space horror kick continues
Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space by Erika Nesvold
The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage by Nick De Semlyen
If It Sounds Like a Quack...: A Journey to the Fringes of American Medicine by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling
The Posibility of Life by Jamie Green liked this one!
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer this one shook me, recc'd
It Rides A Pale Horse by Andy Marino fun concept, a bit overwritten for my tastes
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle this one really hit for me!
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why is a book by Bart D. Ehrman fascinating, reasoned
The Dark Between The Trees by Fiona Barnett spooky folk horror of a weird wood and an academic field trip gone wrong
Ararat by Christopher Golden
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2022, edited by Anya Elizabeth Johnson this one took me FOREVER to get through, mostly because it was so enviro-heavy and featured so many short articles that it just didn't hit the way this collection hits for me. bummer. looking forward to 2023's.
Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders, and a 15-hour Workweek by Rutger Bregman accessible, optimistic, read. a great place especially for your centrist, libertarian, or old-school conservative relatives to start
System Collapse by Martha Wells you put the murderbot into situations, you take the murderbot out of situations, you put the murderbot into situations and you shake it all about.....
For Small Creatures Such As We by Sasha Sagan lovely
How Jesus Became God by Bart D. Ehrman solid if perhaps a bit long
Every book I've read so far, 2022.
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell. great, quick read.
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. ouch
Year's Best Science and Nature Writing 2021 by Ed Yong. not a single dud, making this my favorite edition.
Amish Christmas Search by Debbie Guisty. we read a whole Amish romance for a bit.
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline. a little uneven, still enjoyed it
Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg liked it, strong recommend.
American Sherlock by Kate Winkler Dawson. really enjoyed this one! love some historical forensics.
American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts by Chris McGreal. nauseating and unbelievable. please get narcan, it's almost certainaly free to you if you live in the US. I keep some in my backpack.
Faith and Practice, New England Yearly Meeting (interrim F+P, 2015).
Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo sad and sweet
Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaskan Frontier. absolutely harrowing.
Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy I know so much about rabies now
White Fragility by Robin Diangelo short, readable, necessary
A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H. Knoll also short and readable, although of a much different flavor
Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker fascinating
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor delightful
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, Phd and Amelia Nagoski, DMA necessary, powerful, intersectional, if I did find the tone a bit grating
Lumberjanes: Beware the Kitten Holy very cute
The Little Book of Restorative Justice by Howard Zehr
Holes by Louis Sachar ok ok I get the hype
The Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown Loved this one enough to buy it
Near the Bone by Christina Henry A little uneven, stil tore right through it
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher Loved this one.
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir still incredible, I love these books
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carryrou gripping
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann enjoyed it
For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too enjoyed it, even though it wasn't what I was expecting (more for classroom teachers).
Bloodline by Claudia Gray sometimes you just need a Star Wars novel about Princess Leia written by a woman, idk
Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab a useful book and a quick read despite the length.
Slenderman by Kathleen Hale
Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall actually a very fun, quick lil read
Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty stumbled at the end, still fun
The Outside by Ada Hoffmann
STEM, STEAM, Make, Dream: Reimagining the Culture of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics by Christopher Emdin good!
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake loved this. insightful, hopeful, expansive.
Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez 'just the facts', thorough, necessary
The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care by Rina Raphael wide-ranging, empathetic, clear-eyed. recommend.
How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis phenomenal, compassionate, so so good and needed
Every book I read in 2021
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdez
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones good, though I'd categorize it as more tragedy than horror
Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix fun!
Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice oh no, I loved this book
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix fantastic
Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher fantasy romance. a delight
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice fun and weird and needed editing and beautiful
My Best Friend's Exorcist by Grady Hendrix good, though not what I expected
Christ for Unitarian Universalists liked it
The Wild Robot robot joins animal community, raises a baby goose. delightful! Charming! Heartwarming! Loved it.
Glitches in the FBI by Amaris Feland Ketchum One of the great things about being an adult is that, sometimes, your friends write books and you get to read them.
A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear love a weird true story
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells murder mystery IN SPACE!!
Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman re-read
Razor's Edge by Martha Wells sometimes you just gotta Star Wars tie-in novel
Best American Science and Nature Writing 2020 really enjoyed the 2020 collection! Only one essay this year made me want to dropkick the writer into a solar flare.
Sandman: Doll's House by Neil Gaiman re-read
Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT BEING AN ADULT IS THAT, SOMETIMES, YOUR FRIENDS WRITE BOOKS AND YOU GET TO READ THEM
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher :)
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher excellent, scary
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix good, but not horror
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss Short, ominous, atmospheric.
In The Woods by Tana French sad and unsettling, but satisfying.
Finna by Nino Cipri
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir love some fun, science-saves-the-day SF
Fuzz by Mary Roach I'll read anything MR publishes
You Are Your Own by Jamie Lee Finch ouch, in a healing way.
Bad Astronomy by Phillip Plait old but good
The Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher delightful, as with all Kingfisher
Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher Kingfisher is so consistently delightful
Starting with Science: Strategies for Introducing Young Children to Inquiry by Marcia Talhelm Edson work read
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir This book messed me up something good, man.
(Last updated April 18, 2022.)
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