2024 reading

[dagibbs]

For a number of years now I've been targeting a reading rate of (an average if) 1 book a week over the year, and recording what I read.

This year (2024), I read 55 books, which sounds like nicely exceeding my goal, until I compare to last year's 87 books.

Still mostly not Cis/Straigh/Whilte/Male authors.

List in first reply...

Comments

[dagibbs]

Foundryside - Robert Jackson Bennett. Enjoyable and different fantasy. Buy the rest of the trilogy.
Chaos Choreography - Seanan McGuire. Incryptid #5. I liked this one better than some of the others. Perhaps because there was a lot of ballroom dance involved. [ebook]
Recovery Man - Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Retrieval artist #6. Enjoyable.
The Recovery Man's Bargain - Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Retrieval artist #6.5. Novella? Meh, about 60% copy of Recovery Man.
Our Lady of the Mysterious Ailments - T. L. Huchu. Edinburgh Nights #2 (of 3)., continues enjoyable, grab 3rd.

Magic for Nothing - Seanan McGuire. Incryptid #6. Ok. [ebook]
Tricks for Free - Seanan McGuire. Incryptid #7. Pretty good. [ebook]
The Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi. I can understand why it won the Hugo and Nebula as it is a powerfully written novel of people struggling to survive during an apocalypse, but I find I can't comfortably give it a solid recommendation due to the amount of rape.
That Ain't Witchcraft - Seanan McGuire. Incryptid #8. Very readable. Not deep/heavy like the Bacigalupi, but readable. [ebook]
*** February ***
Imaginary Numbers - Seanan McGuire. Incryptid #9. Continues readable. [ebook]
10

Calculated Risks - Seanan McGuire. Incryptid #10. Continues readable. [ebook]
Babel - R. F. Kuang. Long, readable, but overall fell a bit flat for me. Interesting idea for a magic system, though.
To Shape a Dragon's Breath - Monigquill Blackgoose. Very enjoyable. Buy the rest of the trilogy.
Assassin of Reality - Marina & Sergey Dyachenko. While I found Vita Nostra wonderful, I found this sequel ok. I can best say that while vita Nostra was about people being turned into words, and I cared about the people being transformed, here everyone was words, objects, not people, I found myself not caring about the characters.
*** March ***
Locklands - Robert Jackson Bennet. Accidentally read book 3 of the trilogy before book two. Oops. Shall have to go back and read 2. Three was a fitting finish.

Transition - Vonda N. McIntire. Book 2 of the starfarers quartet. Continues interesting. [ebook]
A Fire Born of Exile - Aliette de Bodard. Enjoyable -- I like her Xuya universe stories, generally.
Tiamat's Wrath - James S.A. Corey. Expanse #8. A large volume of space opera. Readable.
Leviathan Falls - James S.A. Corey. Expanse #9 and final. Done. Fine. Interesting contrast to Locklands for what is the solution/problem: both see a human hivemind, one embraces it, the other rejects it. Difference, though, would be choice.
Where Peace is Lost - Valerie Valdes. Enjoyable -- much better than her (earlier, I think) _Chilling Effect_.
20

the Library of Broken Worlds -Alaya Dawn Johnson. Strange, but powerful. Very good.
A Snake Fall to Earth- Darcie Little Badger. Enjoyable.
The Cold Eye - Larua Anne Gilman. Devil's west #2. Enjoyable fantasy-western. Continue buying.
Metaphase - Vonda N. McIntire. Book 3 of the starfarers quartet. Continues interesting. [ebook]
Karen Memory - Elizabeth Bear. Enjoyable steam-punk mad-science western adventure. [Mike]

Nautilus - Vonda N. McIntire. Book 4 of the starfarers quartet. Satisfying conclusion. Whole series has non-traditional relationships. [ebook]
Daughter of the Blood - Anne Bishop. Black Jewels Trilogy #1. Good fantasy, but lots of rape, but its both MF and FM, so that's better I guess?[Mike]
*** May ***
Heir to the Shadows- Anne Bishop. Black Jewels Trilogy #2. Continues as before.
Queen of the Darkness - Anne Bishop. #3. Good conclusion, far less rape.
From Whence You Came - Laura Anne Gilman. Short novel? Novella? Meh. Probably not bother with the series that follows this.
30

Shorefall- Robert Jackson Bennett. 2 of 3. Enjoyable, even after accidentally reading book 3 of the trilogy before this one.
The Sun Etherium - L. Rowyn. Enjoyable sequel to The Moon Etherium; but fantasy romance where the other was more adventure. Very LGBTQ. [ebook]
*** June ***
Survival - Julie E. Czerneda. Species Imperative book 1 (of 3). Good. [Mike]
Migration - Julie E. Czerneda. 2/3. Still good.
Regeneration - Julie E. Czerneda. 3/3. Finishes good.

The Witness for the Dead - Katherine Addison. Sequel to The Goblin Emperor. Good low-fantasy mystery. [Mike]
*** July ***
Bone Swans - C.S.E. Cooney. Short story collection, most pretty good, some fairy-tale retellings. [Mike]
Africa Risen - Thomas, Ekpeki, and Knight (eds). Short story collection, varying from excellent to not. [Mike]
Desdemona and the Deep - C.S.E. Cooney. An enjoyable novella. [Mike]
*** August ***
Prophecies, Libels, and Dreams: Stories of Califa - Ysabeau S. Wilce. Short story collection, with fantasy historical analysis. Interesting and odd. [Mike]
40

The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017 Edition (The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy #9) - Rich Horton (ed). Large collection of f&sf from 2017. Varying quality, tending towards good, with a few excellent.
Translation State - Ann Leckie. Good.
Killing the Angel of Death - Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Novella? Good. [ebook]
The Water Outlaws - S.L. Huang. Very enjoyable gender-spun reimagining of the classic novel Water Margin, set near the end of the Northern Song dynasty.
Love and Other Poisons - Silvia Morena-Garcia. Short story collection. Some quite good, many not my thing, and too close to horror. [ebook]

Red Shirts - John Scalzi. Readable, but a bit meta. [ebook]
Cults of Runequest (Mythology) - Stafford, Richard, Muzy, Pitie & Cogswell. Game supplement in PDF.
Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire. Reread, but enjoyable.
A Local Habitation - Seanan McGuire. Reread. I had forgotten how much the early ones were also murder mysteries.
An Artificial Night - Seanan McGuire. Reread October Daye #3. Less mystery, more heroing.
50

Dracula - Bram Stoker. Meh. Interesting to see where so many of the vampire tropes originated, though. [ebook]
The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, 2015 edition - Rich Horton. A large, very mixed, bag of SF&F. [ebook]
Late Eclipses - Seanan McGuire. Reread.
One Salt Sea - Seanan McGuire. Reread.
Ashes of Honor - Seanan McGuire. Reread.
55


(2023 Total: 87)

[ironphoenix]

Some of those are long... I think you've mentioned that the average book length has increased.

I'd like to borrow a few:
A Fire Born of Exile - Aliette de Bodard
Where Peace is Lost - Valerie Valdes
the Library of Broken Worlds -Alaya Dawn Johnson
A Snake Fall to Earth- Darcie Little Badger

There was also a substantial series that we had discussed me borrowing after I finished the Invisible Library series last year.

[dagibbs]

Was it the Nathan Lowell series starting with _Quarter_Share_ that I probably described as something like "good things happen to good people" sf?

And I need to get some books back to you, as well.

[ironphoenix]

Yep, that's the one. And yes, that too.