I have a pair of gorgeous bookshelves — bespoke, hand-made for me, one of a kind. They beautifully display my books … and puzzles. This is the best photo I have of them even if they are have empty. Bookshelf review done.
Okay, now for the real review.
I had this plan at the beginning of the year, where I’d update a note with the books I read. Yeah, that didn’t happen. But I have a horrible memory so I want to find a way to keep track - maybe I’ll try a running post next year.
I usually do an end of the year wrap-up including highlights of books read … well, usually might be overstating it. Either way, I thought I’d do it earlier this year in case you need inspiration for a gift to give a reader … or maybe you need a book to escape into (maybe I’m projecting).
This isn’t an exhaustive — it’s what I can remember reading (see comment about about memory like a sieve) and that I’d recommend.
I thoroughly enjoyed Space Opera (the book) by Catherynne M. Valente. It was gloriously, indulgently camp but I also like the universe the author created and the set up of an intergalactic Eurovision with the stakes upped just a teensy bit. I see there’s a book 2. That’ll be on the 2024 list.
Next up is Station Eleven. This was not all happy fun times but it did have a sense of quiet optimism. Which I like optimism right now.
That’s followed by Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty … though I might have read that in 2022. This is why I need a list. Regardless, whatever year I read it, I recommend it. I love the Sundry. And it wins for best cover. This also has a book 2 which is on 2024’s list.
I’m going to lump Eating to Extinction with Dinner on Mars and The Lost Supper. Eating to Extinction was my favourite of the three, and is the one that led to the others. It’s focused on foods we might lose, either because of extinction of the plant or animal or extinction of knowledge. And I’m a believer in climate change, and that variety helps with resiliency.
I might have started An Immense World in 2022, then the library took the ebook back, and every time they delivered it again, I was reading something else. Then the stars aligned this summer. If you’re intrigued by the natural world and how animals might experience it in ways that are radically different from us, get this book. I might have to buy a print copy just to have it to reference. It’s written in a super accessible way - I am not a scientist and delighted in the things I learned. Mantis shrimp are frikken phenomenal (The Oatmeal agrees).
If you stick around long enough, you’ll probably learn that I love octopuses. They’re fantastic, maybe even more than mantis shrimp. A Mountain in the Sea wasn’t what I expected but it was interested — both the imagining of super octopus intelligence and the vision of the future world were intriguing.
A Desolation Called Peace is the follow-up to A Memory Called Empire. I love that the author, Arkady Martine, brings her bona fides as a student of Byzantine history to her writing, though in my mind’s eye, the Teixcalaan universe is more Mesoamerican than Byzantine. Have you read it? What do you think?
Last on the list (but not in my heart) is a purely fun pick. I picked up Adventures of a Vegan Vamp for free as part of some promotion. I admit is sat on my kobo for months, unopened and unacknowledged. But once I did start reading it … well, I’ve now read the next four books in the series — I expect to finish the last two by the end of the year and then I’ll be sad.
Do you have any books on your 2024 TBR list yet? Any you’d recommend for mine?
Happy reading!
— CR
Where to find my books
If you’d like to read any of my scifi or urban fantasy books, you can find them at your favourite online retailers. Or you can buy them direct from me on the Armchair Alien store.
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