2022 Reading summary

[dagibbs]

After 2 pandemic years of just not reading very much (Yeah, pandemic close-in should have been great reading time, but I just didn't seem to have the focus for it. I ended up playing a bunch of computer games, e.g. Stelaris, Master of Orion (I & II), Master of Magic, and Europa Universalis 4, instead) where I finished 35 books in 2020 and 41 in 2021 (about half were in November and December of 2021), my reading revitalized at the end of 2021.

This year I completed 83 books, with a generally highly diverse authorship profile. (6 by cis-straight-white-males, though the books by James S. A. Corey are a bit tricky to categorize, as that is a pseudonym for two people.)

Some of the highlights of the year include: The Newsflesh trilogy by Seanan McGuire (as by Mira Grant), _Pet_ by Akwaeke Emezi, _Rosewater_ by Tade Thompson, _Return of the Trickster_ by Eden Robinson (the conclusion of the Trickster trilogy; I read the 2nd as well, but did not find it quite as strong as the 1st and 3rd), _Quarter Share_ by Nathan Lowell and _Legends and Lattes_ by Travis Baldree. The last two are just nice... full of good people do good things for other good people, and it turning out well.


Court of Lions - Somaiya Daud. Sequal to Mirage and conclusion. Still good, but not as good as Mirage.
Stormsong - C. L. Polk. Book 2, also very enjoyable.
Soulstar - C. L. Polk. Book 3, a fitting conclusion.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson. Clearly the middle book of a trilogy. Good enough. Also, body horror.
State Machine - K. B. Spangler. Enjoyable.

Brute Force - K. B. Spangler. Also enjoyable.
Spanish Mission - K. B. Spangler. Ok, I think I like the Rachel Peng books better than the Hope Blackwell books.
Burning Bridges - Laura Anne Gilman. Pretty good urban fantasy, though not my favourite in the series.
The Citadel of Weeping Pearls - Aliette de Bodard. Ebook novella; pretty good.
Jade Legacy - Fonda Lee. The massive (>700 pages), but satisfying, conclusion to the Jade trilogy.
10

Free Fall - Laura Anne Gilman. More enjoyable urban fantasy.
Valour's Choice - Tanya Huff. Enjoyable milsf with a strong female protagonist.
The Better Part of Valor - Tanya Huff. Not my favourite in the series, but readable.
The Tyrant Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson. NOT A TRILOGY! Beter than Monster. Also, really long.
The Heart of Valor - Tanya Huff. More enjoyable milsf.

Valor's Trial - Tany Huff. Guess what, more enjoyable milsf.
The Truth of Valor - Tany Huff. I think my least favourite of the series, but still decent.
Stoneskin - K. B. Spangler. Enjoyable SF. Prequel to a trilogy, worth getting the trilogy.
Feed - Seanan McGuire as by Mira Grant. Newsflesh #1. Good post-zombie apocalypse SF. Don't get attached to your protaganist(s).
Deadline - Seanan McGuire as by Mira Grant. Newsflesh #2. Good post-zombie apocalypse SF. Who are the good guys, anyway?
20

Blackout - Seanan McGuire as by Mira Grant. Newsflesh #3. Good post-zombie apocalypse SF. Conspiracies!
Storm of Locusts - Rebecca Roanhorse. Post-apocalyptic fantasy, Navaho-inspired, book 2 of trilogy -- not quite as good as book one, but worth finishing trilogy.
Life in the Vanishers Palace - Aliette de Bodard. ebook. Different; Vietnamese?-cultural influence, another post-apocalypse; about family and healing and consent.
Fearless - Sarah Tarkoff. I enjoyed Sinless, but this was, at best, meh. I have the third -- not sure I'll bother.
Unravelling - Karen Lord. Very good. Fantasy/SF overlaps, but hard to easily describe.

City of Bones - Martha Wells. Early Wells, not as strong as later stuff, but still enjoyable.
Pet - Akwaeke Emezi. YA novel. Very good. About hunting a monster in a post-monster world. Very non cis/straight/white.
Faerie Song: Ten Magical Tales - Anthea Sharp. Collection, fairy tales and retellings. Fine.
Rock Paper Sex - Kerri Cull. Non-fiction. Sex-work in St John's NFL. Nothing revelatory, at least to me.
Trickster Drift - Eden Robinson. In some ways, not my thing -- but good enough that well worth reading.
30

Binti, The Complete Trilogy - Nnedi Okorafor. I read the first novella in e-book, and was quite impressed. The rest is ok.
Chimes at Midnight - Seanan McGuire. October Daye #7. More enjoyable fey urban fantasy.
The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman. Secret society of inter-timeline librarians collect unique books. Hijinks ensue. Reminds me of the "Chronices of St Mary's" by Jodi Taylor (which is time-travel rather than inter-timeline), but better.
The Masked City - Genevieve Cogman. Book 2 - enjoyable adventure story.
The Winterlong - Seanan McGuire. October Daye #8. Continues to deliver as expected.

A Red-Rose Chain - Seanan McGuire. October Daye #9. Continues to deliver as expected.
Leviatham Wakes - James S. A. Corey. Expanse #1. Enjoyable space opera, worth ordering more.
Blood from Stone - Laura Anne Gilman. Enjoyable as expected. Might be last of series.
Not Your Villain - C. B. Lee. More queer YA superheros. Not as delightful as the first, but fine.
Null Set - S. L. Huang. Enjoyable (somewhat sfnal) thriller.
40

Critical Point - S. L. Huang. 3rd Cas Russell. More SF-thriller, better than Null Set.
Once Broken Faith - Seanan McGuire. October Daye #10. Seanan continues to deliver.
The Brightest Fell - Seanan McGuire. October Daye #11. Seanan continues to deliver.
Hard Magic - Laura Anne Gilman. More urban fantasy, look for further in series.
Night and Silence - Seanan McGuire. October Daye #12. Still enjoying them.

Bottoms Up A History of Alcohol in Newfoundland and Labrador - Sheilah Roberts Lukin. Non-fiction. Meh.
The Last Emperox - John Scalzi. Not his best effort, and weakest (I think) of the trilogy. Decidely meh.
Broken Shadow. (Shadowlands book 2, duology) - Jaine Fenn. Would be best read closer in time to first -- seems scattered, but pulled together well at the end.
Feedback - Seanan McGuire as by Mira Grant. Sequel to the Newsflesh trilogy. Good.
Caliban's War - James S. A. Corey. Expanse book 2. Enjoyable space opera.
50

Abaddon's Gate - James S. A. Corey. Expanse book 3. Not as good as 1 and 2, but not bad.
The Burning Page - Genevieve Cogman. Book 3. Continues adequately.
Rosewater - Tade Thompson. Interesting. Set in Africa, about biological subversion of the eco-system by extra-terrestrials.
Buried Deep - Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Retrieval artist #4. Good.
Paloma - Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Retrieval artist #5. SF CSI. Also good.

Hive Mind 4: Borderline - Janet Edwards. Another enjoyable (though essentially light) YAish novel.
Apocalypse Nyx - Kameron Hurley. Fix up. SF, war-adjacent, bit of body horror, but generally pretty good.
The City We Became - N. K. Jemison. Not my favourite Jemisin, but still good.
The Lost Plot - Genevieve Cogman. Book 4; continues to be enjoyable pulp.
The Mortal Word - ibid. Book 4; ibid.
60

Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse. First of a trilogy? Mesoamerican inspired epic fantasy. Pretty good, but not my favourite by her.
A Deadly Education - Namoi Novik. Enjoyable, first of trilogy/series. Worth getting more.
The Secret Chapter - Genevieve Cogman. Book 5. Continues to be enjoyable fun. (Buy more.)
Chilling Effect - Valerie Valdes. Meh. Reads like the novelization of somebody's SF RPG.
The Fated Sky - Mary Robinette Kowal. Lady Astronaut #2. Good. Modern alternate history of the space program.

The Relentless Moon - Mary Robinette Kowal. Lad Astronaut #3. Very good. More alternate history of the space program.
Rock Paper Sex, Volume 2 - Kerri Cull. Non-fiction. Meh+
The Rosewater Insurrection - Tade Thompson. Book 2 of 3 - not sure if book or me, but took a long time to get through. Ok.
Quarter Share - Nathan Lowell. Full of good people doing well. Not sure how I ended up with it, though. Maybe a freebie somewhere?
Return of the Trickster - Eden Robinson. Book3 of the Trickster trilogy. Good, a fitting conclusion to the trilogy.
70

The Chaos - Nalo Hopkinson. YA. I'm not, I think, the audience, but it was good.
Not Your Backup - C.B.Lee. YA superhero. A bit slow starting, but finished well. Still not as good as first. Get next?
The High Crusade - Poul Anderson. 1960. Holds up remarkably well. Perhaps I didn't read faster when I was young, just books were shorter.
Fledgling - Octavia E. Butler. Excellent, as expected from her.
The Unkindest Tide - Seanan McGuire. October Daye #12. Still enjoying them.

A Killing Frost - Seanan McGuire. October Daye #13. Still enjoyable.
Tiger Honor - Yoon Ha Lee. YA. Meh. Probably not worth getting any more Yoon Ha Lee YA.
Lightning Strikes - Laura Anne Gilman. Short stories in her Cosa Nostra setting. Ok, prefer novel length works from her.
When Sorrows Come - Seanan McGuire. October Daye #13. Still enjoyable.
Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree. Very enjoyable stand-alone fantasy full of good people.
80

Ninth House - Leight Bardugo. A bit slow starting, but very good after that. Look for sequels?
The Gate of Ivory - Doris Egan. Book one of Ivory trilogy. Enjoyable 90ish SF.
Minor Mage - Ursula Vernon as by T. Kingfisher. Novella/children's book? Not my favourite.

Total: 83 (CSWM: 6)
2021 Total: 41 (CSWM: 5)

Comments

[dagibbs]

Also, 5 online (posted) short stories:

S.L. Huang - Rio Adopts a Puppy. Need to have read the Cas Russel stories. Ok. - https://www.slhuang.com/rio-adopts-a-puppy/
S.L. Huang - Ladies Day Out. Need to have read the Cas Russel stories. Pretty good. https://www.slhuang.com/ladies-day-out/
Seanan McGuire - Skeleton Song. Wayward Children, but almost stand-alone. Good. https://www.tor.com/2022/10/26/skeleton-song-seanan-mcguire/
Rich Larson - Quandary Aminu vs The Butterfly Man. Stand-alone post-apoc cyberpunk. Good. https://www.tor.com/2022/09/21/quandary-aminu-vs-the-butterfly-rich-larson-man
John Scalzi - END OF THE YEAR PR MISSIVES FROM SCROOGE & MARLEY. Meh. https://whatever.scalzi.com/2022/12/22/a-holiday-gift-for-you-end-of-the-year-pr-missives-from-scrooge-marley/

[sabotabby]

Unsurprisingly, we have a lot of overlap.

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson. NOT A TRILOGY! Beter than Monster. Also, really long.

Wait what? I haven't read it yet. There's a 4th?

Return of the Trickster - Eden Robinson. Book3 of the Trickster trilogy. Good, a fitting conclusion to the trilogy.

Loved the first two, did not love this. The ending chapter bothered me a lot.

The Chaos - Nalo Hopkinson. YA. I'm not, I think, the audience, but it was good.

I found this fascinating because one of the things that I love best about Hopkinson is that she tosses you into her world and expects you to catch up. But either she or her editor decided to explain things for a YA audience, and this made the book less good than it could have been. I will still die mad about the "this is how you talk to someone in a wheelchair" scene.

Pet - Akwaeke Emezi. YA novel. Very good. About hunting a monster in a post-monster world. Very non cis/straight/white.

Whereas this was a book that treated its YA audience like young adults.

[dagibbs]

Unsurprisingly, we have a lot of overlap.

Especially as I occasionally pull from your posts onto my to-be-bought/read list. :)

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson. NOT A TRILOGY! Beter than Monster. Also, really long.

Wait what? I haven't read it yet. There's a 4th?

Not yet, as I understand it, but supposed to be. The Acknowledgements in _Tyrant_ say, "I cannot promise when the next and final one will be ready."

Return of the Trickster - Eden Robinson. Book3 of the Trickster trilogy. Good, a fitting conclusion to the trilogy.

Loved the first two, did not love this. The ending chapter bothered me a lot.

Do you mean chapter 32? Or "Epilogue-ish"?

But either she or her editor decided to explain things for a YA audience, and this made the book less good than it could have been.

Maybe that's why I felt I was not the audience, whereas I generally do enjoy YA material, e.g. _Pet_.

[sabotabby]

Do you mean chapter 32? Or "Epilogue-ish"?

The Epilogue-ish. I know she was going through a major depressive episode, but I wish they'd let her get through it and delayed releasing the book, because it felt like I was reading someone's notes, not even a rough draft.

Maybe that's why I felt I was not the audience, whereas I generally do enjoy YA material, e.g. _Pet_.

I don't like it when books condescend to the reader, which is why as a teenager I didn't enjoy most YA. There's the odd one; this one wasn't it. And given how passionately I love her adult work, I think the pressure might have come from the publisher's end.

[deakat]

Looks like I've read quite a few of the books in your list, but there are some others that look intriguing, so I'll add them to my Storygraph "To Read" list. Mostly audiobooks for me these days, what with still trying to get my house in order two years past the move.

I started the Laundry Files (Charles Stross) series recently, so I'll be powering through those for a bit, now that they've added the next batch of books to Scribd. My favourite recent read, though, has to be Babel (R.F. Kuang). I switched back and forth between the audiobook and digital, as time allowed, but I'll be going back to that in my very own hardcover copy when I have time to savour it.

Belated birthday greetings to you!

[dagibbs]

I've read some R.F. Kuang, but not _Babel_. I think I've seen it mentioned a couple places, may have to add it to my list.

[dagibbs]

Yeah, the Epilogue-ish was in such completely different style from the rest of the book and series.

But, I've seen that sort of thing elsewhere... "and where are they now" type epilogue. I don't think it bothered me as much as it bothers you, but I can completely understand why it bothered you.

And, yeah, I don't like when books (or people, for that matter) condescend to me.

[ironphoenix]

Some interesting stuff in there... are any of these available to borrow?

[dagibbs]

Almost all of it is available to borrow. The trickier would be any that I've got in ebook, rather than paper.

[ironphoenix]

Awesome, thanks! At some point, I'd like to borrow:
Unravelling - Karen Lord
Pet - Akwaeke Emezi
The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
Quarter Share - Nathan Lowell
Fledgling - Octavia E. Butler
Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree
the delightful first book you refer to in saying "Not Your Villain - C. B. Lee. More queer YA superheros. Not as delightful as the first, but fine."
A good book by Rebecca Roanhorse (since Black Sun isn't as strong as some of her others and she's new to me)

[dagibbs]

All are doable. C.B. Lee - Not Your Sidekick would be the first in the series.

For Roanhorse, _Trail of Lightning_

I have all of them in paper.