Books
What I've been reading, tracked on Hardcover. Almost all of these were borrowed for free from Libby; if you haven't linked your library card to it yet, do yourself a favor and sign up (and if you live in California, you can get a library card from any library in the state, just by visiting in person; I have five different libraries I borrow from).
The reviews and ratings are mine (spoiler free). Four or more stars means I recommend it; two or fewer means you should probably not bother. If you feel like starting a series where every book is good, try the series page.
2026
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Red Rising
The author made sword fighting plausible in SciFi; what's not to love? Great characters, and a setup that I can't wait to see paid off in later books. Very excited to read the rest. Bookshop · Libby
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The Gone World
I love this book; I've read it twice now. A super interesting take on time travel, great characters who develop throughout the book, and a killer ending. Bookshop · Libby
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The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence Before It’s Too Late
I expected this to be more anti-AI, but he makes a compelling case for why it's good and how we need to ensure we're not on the wrong side of it. Bookshop · Libby
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The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Like her first book, but with more kids in it. A very cozy read with a good twist. Bookshop · Libby
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A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping
Didn't quite get up the level of Legends & Lattes, but close. Interesting magic system, great characters, and nailed the ending. Bookshop · Libby
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Change Agent
Great world-building, believable scifi premise, and action all the way through. Very impressed with this author recently. Bookshop · Libby
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The God Game
A great read in this time of AI development. The premise is basically, "What happens if a super-capable AI thinks it's god?", and then rewards / punishes it's followers. Bookshop · Libby
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The Faith of Beasts
Not as good as the first, but I'm still quite excited about this series. Bookshop · Libby
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Somewhere Beyond the Sea
Not quite as tight as the first one, but even better world-building. Great ending. Bookshop · Libby
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The House in the Cerulean Sea
A cozy read, subverting your expectations. Loved the characters. Bookshop · Libby
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The Mountain in the Sea
Intelligent cephalopods, hackers on the run, and androids questioning what it means to be alive? Yes please. Bookshop · Libby
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Red Storm Rising
A classic; my favorite Clancy. No main character, just a plausible WWIII and everything that comes after it. Bookshop · Libby
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Tusks of Extinction
Short but interesting. Worth the quick read. Bookshop · Libby
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The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story
A cool true-life story; makes me never, ever want to get leishmaniasis. Bookshop · Libby
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Extinction
I liked this more than I thought I would; de-extinction and crime solving go well together. I hope there's a sequel, as the main characters deserve another round. Bookshop · Libby
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Automatic Noodle
One of my favorite books of the year. Cozy scifi with great characters. Bookshop · Libby
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We Solve Murders
Like Thursday Murder Club, but able to go wilder and more global. Can't wait for the next. Bookshop · Libby
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Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It
Fantastic analysis of the motivations that make companies inevitably turn on their users. Bookshop · Libby
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The Colony
An interesting view on what a society could be like, writ small, and away from our civilizational baggage. The jumping between character, and past and present, is a bit jarring, so better to read this one without a lot of distractions. Bookshop · Libby
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The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a human-centered planet
Just what it says on the box; didn't love the format. Bookshop · Libby
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Saturation Point
Tchaikovsky doesn't miss. The wet-bulb temperature zone is one of my favorite environmental dangers in a book. Bookshop · Libby
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Extremophile
My favorite book in the last 12 months. Just about perfect: incredible characters in a great cyberpunk setting. I really hope more books are coming. Bookshop · Libby
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The Thursday Murder Club
Fantastic premise and characters. Love the whole series. Bookshop · Libby
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Never Let Me Go
Incredibly heart-breaking. What a book; highly recommended. Bookshop · Libby
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Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life
I love Radiolab, and wanted to like this more. It lost me in the middle. Bookshop · Libby
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2025
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Dragonfired
Sticks the landing, with almost all the characters along for the ride. Loved it. Bookshop · Libby
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The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
I didn't read this when it first came out, but I had heard pieces of the story in the news. It was great to get the whole picture, from the real-life people in it. Bookshop · Libby
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When the Moon Hits Your Eye
Intentionally silly premise, explored fully. It was fine. Bookshop · Libby
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Son of a Liche
I loved the first book, and was worried the second wouldn't hold up; I was dead wrong. Just as good as the first, with most of the same characters. Bookshop · Libby
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Antimatter Blues
Great follow-up to Mickey 7; still super snarky. Bookshop · Libby
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The Ministry of Time
I'm a sucker for time travel, and this book does it well. More character driven than most. Bookshop · Libby
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Fourth Wing
Incredible world-building, and the dragons are great characters. Plot gets better as the series goes on. Bookshop · Libby
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Dark Matter
Your own worst enemy is yourself, across realities. Bookshop · Libby
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Murder By Memory
Great cozy scifi murder mystery. Short read. Bookshop · Libby
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The Gunslinger
Way more interesting than I thought it was going to be. Haven't read the rest of the series yet (it didn't pull me in enough), but I expect I will one day. Bookshop · Libby
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Legends & Lattes
Loved this book so much: cozy fantasy about running a coffee shop. Great characters, great world building. Listen to the audiobook read by the author. Bookshop · Libby
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Ready Player One
Way better than the movie. I loved how this mystery unfolded. Bookshop · Libby
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Service Model
Loved this book. The main character is really unique, as is the world they wander in. Bookshop · Libby
2024
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The Barsoom Project
Fun, pulpy scifi. Niven and Barnes collabs are almost always worth reading. Bookshop · Libby
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In Ascension
Such a beautiful book. As a long-time scifi reader, I was always looking for the twist or the plot resolution (they don't exist). This is more about being with the characters than some cool premise. Really well written. Bookshop · Libby
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Titanium Noir
Detective noir in the future? With a plot that just pulls you deeper in every page? Yes please. Can't wait for the next one. Bookshop · Libby
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Alas, Babylon
My favorite of the "surviving the apocalypse" genre; it's the most hopeful. Bookshop · Libby
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All Systems Red
Love the Murderbot series; quick reads. snarky main character, interesting over-arching plot. Bookshop · Libby
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American Gods
Fantastic world building and characters. I wanted this book to be twice as long. Bookshop · Libby
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Anathem
One of my all-time favorite books. I didn't love it the first time I read it; it's dense, and benefits from doing some research as you read, which feels like work. But the second read-through just clicked for me, and now I've read it six times. Incredible plot and world building, fantastic characters, and the ability of Fraa Jad is one of my favorite in any book. Highly recommend. Bookshop · Libby
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Autonomous
I enjoyed it. Great premise and characters. Bookshop · Libby
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Blindsight
Totally lives up to the hype; one hell of a book. Bookshop · Libby
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Bookshops & Bonedust
Super enjoyable; I'm really glad we're getting more in this series. Like the first, listen to the author-read audiobook. Bookshop · Libby
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Brigands & Breadknives
Love this world. Fern is a great main character. Bookshop · Libby
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Children of Time
This whole series is great, but the first book is the best. I can't tell you how much I love the spider civilization. Bookshop · Libby
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Consider Phlebas
I love the entire Culture series, though this one isn't my favorite, mostly because it features so little of The Culture (you can start anywhere, so no need to start here). Bookshop · Libby
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A Court of Thorns and Roses
I liked Fourth Wing better. Later books have more interesting plots and characters. Bookshop · Libby
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Cryptonomicon
A top 10 book for me. Super interesting crypto background, explained as the book goes on, and both timelines are interesting, with great characters. The ending was better in a pre-Bitcoin world, but still holds up. Bookshop · Libby
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Death of Grass
It's a bit hard to get a copy of this one, but totally worth it. Grasses around the world start dying, and food becomes impossible to find. This follows a family in England as society collapses around them, much quicker than they thought possible.
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The Diamond Age
I re-read this one every few years; so good. I love the world building and the idea of the primer. Bookshop · Libby
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Elder Race
Tchaikovsky nailed it again. Advanced technology appears as magic; this shows the story through both of those viewpoints. Great ending. Bookshop · Libby
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Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
Simultaneously fascinating and heart-wrenching. You really do see everything through the lens of this disease. Bookshop · Libby
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A Fire Upon the Deep
I love this series. Really good premise and great writing. Bookshop · Libby
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The Future of Another Timeline
Amazing book; different take on time travel than I've ever seen, and I loved the premise. Great ending. Bookshop · Libby
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The Gripping Hand
Fantastic follow-up: Explores another part of the Motie system, with a new set of characters. Bookshop
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The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
The best Middle Earth book, because it's less epic and more approachable (not despite it). Bookshop
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The Kaiju Preservation Society
Turns Kaiju on their heads; heros, not villains. Quick, fun read. Bookshop · Libby
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The Left Hand of Darkness
The best scifi examines the present world through the lens of another. This one bowled me over. Bookshop · Libby
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The Light Brigade
Fantastic time-traveling action, with a great ending and a main character I loved. Highly recommend. Bookshop · Libby
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Lucifer's Hammer
Not my favorite apocalypse book (that would be Alas, Babylon), but still super interesting. Bookshop
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The Moon is Down
My favorite Steinbeck, by far. It shows the absurdity of fascism, and what resistance looks like. Bookshop · Libby
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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
My favorite Heinlein; Mike is such a great character. I love the moon culture too. Suffers from the usual problems with his books, but are most easily to overlook here. Bookshop · Libby
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The Mote in God's Eye
One of my favorites from the old-school scifi classics. Their FTL system still requires a lot of flying around the system, and it makes for great chases. Bookshop
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Neuromancer
The original. Incredible style and world building, incredible characters, and solid follow-ups too. Bookshop · Libby
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Orconomics
Loved this whole series. Great characters, well-written, good twists, and every book is good. Bookshop · Libby
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Project Hail Mary
Feel-good scifi. The movie is great, the book is better. Bookshop · Libby
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Snow Crash
Action scifi at it's best. A believable, corporate-driven world, fantastic characters with great motivations, and I love the tech. Great ending. Bookshop · Libby
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Starter Villain
Super fun, easy read. Silly premise, but great book in the end. Bookshop · Libby
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Termination Shock
Good action, some interesting ideas. Not his best, not his worst. Bookshop · Libby
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The Terraformers
Plot wanders a bit, but I love that moose. Any book that pulls off a society where humans, robots, and sentient animals live in harmony (mostly) is okay by me. Bookshop · Libby
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This Is How You Lose the Time War
Could not put this down; crazy premise, and a bit confusing at first, but absolutely killer at the end. Bookshop · Libby
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The Word for World Is Forest
My favorite book from Ursula K. Le Guin (and that's saying something). It's short; just read it. Bookshop · Libby
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