Book Lists 2024 • Page 2

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I've been wanting to use this more because Goodreads sucks but has the advantage of a much bigger user base

I just went to get the link to my Goodreads profile and the app is so bad there's not even a way to do that

 

Amazon bought GoodReads and kept it in Internet 2.0, that's for sure. Which is a shame, because I kinda hate StoryGraph from what I've seen of it.

 

It’s definitely not quite as user friendly

 

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I don't think Storygraph is for me. I'm not a fan of the UI at all :(

 

Fell off quite a bit last year and want to get back on the horse. My goal is to read 10 this year, but I think I can beat that.

Starting off with All the Pieces Matter, then on to Geoff Rickly's book, and Bret Easton Ellis' latest The Shards, and then back to my King read through. Not sure if I want to start The Dark Tower series, or just go chronologically through the ones I haven't read.

 

January done. Pretty good month for me

 

My January reading month. Pretty good. Some of these are backlogs and some are books i've always wanted to read. I'm really liking this mood reading!

 

January update

Crook Manifesto was a worthy sequel to Harlem Shuffle even if it didn't hit quite the same highs.

Where Are Your Boys Tonight? is a fastball down the middle for me. I could read the full, unedited transcript of every interview Chris Payne did for this. The assembly can be a little stilted at times, but that's just how oral histories go. One thing I've been thinking about since finishing it: I wonder if he tried to interview Jack Antonoff, considering that he's the direct line from Drive-Thru Records to Taylor Swift.

 

Finished All the Pieces Matter and Someone Who Isn't Me, thought both were fantastic. Was really surprised at how good of a writer Geoff Rickly is, very curious to see if he continues.

About 150 pages into The Shards and you probably couldn't get more in my wheelhouse than this. I'm a sucker for anything set in LA, on top of the '80s time period, the coming of ageness, and adding on a horror/serial killer aspect to it all, this rules very hard.

 

Dungeon Crawler Carl is the absolute best. Loving every book and each is getting better. Currently a little over halfway through book 5 and it's keeping the trend going. I just got to a part that has fucking vampire dinosaurs, so yeah, it kinda has to be incredible.

Echoes of the Fall is probably Tchaikovsky's most traditional fantasy series. It's a trilogy with a fairly simple set up, but Tchaikovskys master world building is on full display, and made for a tremendous series. It's lower on the Tchaikovsky scale...but still great. Would be a good starting point for his fantasy, if you didn't feel like starting with his more obvious Sci Fi hits.

Saxon Stories was great. I think I'm gonna dig this series. As I mentioned in the fantasy thread I absolutely adore the tv show, so I'm guessing I'll find a lot to love here. I am kinda dying to blast through it though so I have a reason to watch the show again.

And the big stand out of this month (besides DCC, but that's ongoing) is RF Kuang's Yellowface. HOLY fuck does this book pull no punches. An absolute onslaught of horrible justifications and twisted manipulations. We all know Kuang can write excellent fantasy, but she's just as good at loneliness/anxiety driven horror/dark comedy. Not an easy read, but well worth it.

 

When I tell you guys that I spend a lot of time running… this should explain it when you see the audiobook markers, haha. I’ve become absolutely swamped at work due to things out of my control, which came with a lot of tasks that allow for me to listen, so I had a bit of a wild month. Especially throwing in the day I shoveled snow for 7 hours.

Running With Sherman is my favorite read of the month. Perfect narrative nonfiction blending a lot of my passions.

Bookshops and Bonedust kept up the cozy fantasy vibes that feel like a hug.

Riordan’s a master for a reason, but this quintet isn’t hitting as hard as the previous two. Hopefully the fifth book becomes available from the library soon.

 

Pretty strong start to the year for me. I'm thinking that's indicative of the rest of 2024—I'm working through my TBR lists almost exclusively this year, so it should be a string of hits.

As ever, I want more people to read both Brian Staveley and Tim Akers—two fantastic current fantasy writers. Bradley P. Beaulieu is another instant favorite; Deepwood Fen was a phenomenal start to a new series, and I'm glad I've got a bunch of his other books to dive into while I wait for the next installment. The Dragonbone Chair was, of course, the standout of this month's reads; this is a book I should have read decades ago, because I would have spent the intervening years absolutely absorbed in this world. I loved, loved, loved it. Cannot wait to continue.

Beyond fantasy, Light From Uncommon Stars was a Christmas gift and I ended up quite enjoying it; it was a pretty cozy, homey tale (though with plenty of gripping interactions and real stakes) and it made me think a lot of new things. Reminded me a bit of Robin Sloan's work. Brian Lumley never disappoints, and this first book in the Primal Lands series was pitch perfect—a collection of short stories with inspirations ranging from John Carter to Conan to Edgar Allan Poe to Lovecraft. Loved it. Finally, Invader was pretty interesting and kept me guessing after every chapter about what the big reveals would be. That was a fun journey.

For comics, Harrow County is starting to get good for me, Reckless is maintaining its greatness, and Bone Orchard is, of course, tremendously satisfying and weird and scary and evocative. I wish Cryptocracy had been about 10x the length and then had continued with multiple sequels, because the worldbuilding and story were great but so condensed; this needed a lot more room to breathe and I'm sad we don't have more to read in that world.

Overall: excellent start to the year.

 

Love that everyone seems to be starting strong with going through the TBR and wondering if this will continue !

 

When you finish Harrow County, you need to check out Regression. It's my favorite of Bunn's work, which is pretty much universally good.

 

Have you read any of his Superhero/Marvel stuff?

 

Looking at the list more than I thought, there's Venom, Ultimate Wolverine, Superman/Batman, Sinestro, Earth 2, Aquaman, Green Lantern: Lost Army and Trinity. Some of those are pretty short runs though. He's always been a horror guy in my mind though just because they're all such bangers.

 

February

1. Nirvana: The True Story (True, 2006)

March

2. Where Are Your Boys Tonight? (Payne, 2023)

April

3. Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana (Azzerad, 1994)
4. Elevation (King, 2018)
5. So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (Ronson, 2015)

May

6. Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain (Goldberg, 2018)

June

7. A Movie Making Nerd (Rolfe, 2022)

July

8. Cobain Unseen (Cross, 2008)

September

9. The Stand (King, 1980)

October

10. ‘Salem’s Lot (King, 1975)

November

11. The Storyteller (Grohl, 2023)

 

The two entries for Stephen King are novellas in the If It Bleeds collection. I am counting them separately because I read the other two novellas in the collection last year.

I also started A Storm of Swords by GRRM and am halfway through. If you wanted to be pedantic you could say I read 0 books this month

 

Updated. Pace slowed down a bit due to starting to do my weekend long runs with a buddy so losing a fair amount of "reading" time while running.

 

Not trying hard enough!

 

Just messing with ya. I applaud your dedication to running, truly! Wish I had it in me to do something similar

 

Monthly update. Very solid month for reading.

Hyperthief and Long Chills were both fun, quick reads. I enjoyed them both. (Going to keep riding last year's Sanderson extravaganza with Sunlit Man, Yumi, and Stormlight 5 this year, as well as maybe some rereads.)

The Princess & The Goblin was charmingly wonderful. The influence on Tolkien and subsequent fantasy is clear. I loved it. Definitely going to be reading more George MacDonald.

Speaking of Tolkien: Into the Forge was precisely what I want from McKiernan. Like coming home after a long trip. I'll be finishing out the duology soon. Love his language and environment.

The Tainted Cup was incredible. Can't believe I've been sleeping on RJB. I hope he writes 20 more.

A Pear-Shaped Funeral was fun, quirky. I wish we had more in this world, too: the proper novel is excellent and was one of my favorites last year.

Walk the Wild with Me was kinda like a fever dream about love and mythology and faeries. I liked it and I'll read the sequel because I like the vibe she's going for, though I'll admit there are about a dozen different ways to do a Robin Hood + magic + Green Man + Queen Mab + Christianity story that would be more interesting.

Finally, Brian Lumely is at his height in the Primal Land stories. I don't know if I like these more than Titus Crow, but probably just as much. A ripping good time.

And Ghosted and Postal were both solid, looking forward to continuing both series.

 

Feb was an okay reading month. I don't think anything will top The Silverblood Promise though. Absolutely amazing read.