Shockingly, it’s already been a quarter century since the world ended with Y2K, and we’re halfway through the Roaring-ish 20s. It’s been an eventful year: my wife and I got a dog who is just great (after being just awful for the first couple weeks); I didn’t get fired from my big boy job (miraculously); My parents went to Vietnam to get away from their annoying children, and only get back in 2026 (with the unfortunate side effect that they will miss their grandchildren, the only good thing any of their children have ever done); and I read one more book this year than I did last year (take that, Past Me). That means it’s time for me to once again prattle, prate, and wax verbose about the books I’ve read. Welcome to the 5th Annual Book Awards.

Awards

Best Sci-Fi: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
One of my favorite tropes in science fiction is when the science isn’t just physics and engineering, but life sciences as well (and not just “wow cyborgs and artificial intelligence!”), and this book really delivered there. It was almost entirely based in biological and evolutionary science, and the author did a stellar job with his world- and society-building in that light, balancing realism and pragmatism with creativity and imagination. It got a little slow sometimes, mainly when focusing on the human characters, but it still has one of the more original premises I’ve seen in sci-fi, and I loved it. 9/10

Most Disappointing: Eruption by Michael Crichton and James Patterson
Now I will complain too much. Michael Crichton will always be one of my favorite authors, and I’ll probably never tire of reading/re-reading some of his books (like Jurassic Park, which I read again this year). Unfortunately, Eruption is not one of those books. The initial premise is great: “apocalyptic volcano” is an easy hook for me, and I was ready for some classic action: racing against lava flows and dodging fire and brimstone falling from the sky. In reality, most of the book was spent driving back and forth around Hawaii talking about volcanos, with occasional teasers about what was coming (“it’s gonna be a big one!”). When it did finally get to the eruption, the narcissistic, irresponsible billionaires (required by law in every Crichton story) didn’t even get a satisfying “on-screen” death, while several innocent people got boiled alive, burned alive, etc. It perhaps wasn’t as bad as I’m making it out to be, and it still had some fun moments, but it was just not what I wanted from a new Crichton book. And the ending was just the worst. 5/10

Runner-up: I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong
This award might be a little harsh for this book, but because Ed Yong also wrote An Immense World (one of my favorite books ever), I had very high hopes. It was still a good book, with a lot of interesting information about microbes (like how some squids purposely cultivate certain bioluminescent bacteria for use in their camouflage, or how certain parasitoid wasps have viral DNA that they use to dampen the immune systems of caterpillars), but it was a bit unfocused at times, while, paradoxically, also being too narrow in scope. A worthwhile read, but one that pales in comparison to his masterpiece. 8/10

Nerdiest: How Charts Lie by Alberto Cairo
I like charts, and graphs, and infographics, and all other kinds of data visualizations, so naturally this book caught my eye. It was an engaging, though not laborious, read about all the ways data visualizations can be (and have been) manipulated to serve a particular narrative, ideology, or position. Each of the myriad examples used was taken from an actual publication, showing that data manipulation is not a theoretical exercise, but a constant reality in nearly everything we consume. It really was fascinating. My one gripe is that it felt as though Cairo cut each section too short, showing precisely how and why a chart or set of charts was deceptive, but not correcting the deception itself. Still though, a great book. 9/10

Dark Horse: Crossings by Ben Goldfarb
As suggested by the award title, I really did not expect to like this book as much as I did, but it was fabulous. It’s all about roads and how they affect life, from the biggest mammals to the smallest insects. It’s one of those things that is so mundane you don’t register its impact until someone points it out to you. Goldfarb did just that, and he did a great job, making it an engaging read with emotional stakes, arguing the need for change and improvement while still acknowledging the importance and necessity of roads in general. 9.5/10

Best History: The Wager by David Grann
This one took a little while to get into, but after the character introductions and the setting of the stage, it took off. The shipwreck and subsequent isolation and survival was riveting, and the escape and rescue were equally mind-boggling. It’s hard to really imagine what it’s like to be in that situation, but Grann’s portrayal was effective and seemed quite balanced, given the later conflicting accounts that would be given of these events. It was also interesting seeing the ways this story influenced future works, like Lord of the Flies and Herman Melville’s stories. Overall, a great read. 9/10

Runner-up Tie: Carthage Must be Destroyed by Richard Miles and Empires of the Sea by Roger Crowley
Both of these books were quite fascinating, with Carthage focusing, weirdly, on Carthage and Empires focusing on the mediterranean world during the height-ish of the Ottoman empire. I wasn’t super familiar with either of these topics very much, but I love Roman history and I love the early/middle Middle Ages, so both books taught me a lot that my formal education seemed to have missed (my favorite type of history book). Carthage was a bit long sometimes, and Empires was a bit map-less and limited in scope, but they were still great and I’m glad I read them. 8.5/10

Best “It’s About Time I Read This Book”: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
I’ve had a couple false starts with this before, not because it was bad, but because I was a little intimidated and unmotivated. But this year I decided to finally sit down and get through it, after years of hearing how great it is if you like Tolkien. And I liked it! It is difficult if you’re expecting a fully narrative experience, but I was ready for more of a mythology/history and that’s just what it is. Tolkien’s world really is amazing, and I enjoyed finally understanding all the history of Middle Earth before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. My favorite story was that of Beren and Luthien, but they were all pretty great. 9/10

Runner-up: Snuff by Terry Pratchett
One of the last Discworld books Pratchett wrote before passing away, Snuff was a fitting conclusion to some of the main story threads woven through the Discworld setting, and I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t immediately taken by it, I think because I wasn’t quite in the mood when I started, but after I was able to focus, I really got going. Sam Vimes is one of my favorite characters in fiction, with a great portrayal of both the light and the darkness in people, and how we choose which side we give into. The ending was a bit long and untidy, but I liked everything that happened, so I won’t complain too much. 8.5/10

Most Eye-Opening: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
I am not an avid follower of famed comedian Trevor Noah, nor do I know much about Apartheid or other South African culture and history, so this book was astounding. Noah did a great job striking a balance between his own experiences with Apartheid and racism, and its general effects on the people of South Africa as a whole. He is a great storyteller, simultaneously keeping things light and humorous while also not shying away from the malevolence and brutality he and others feared and experienced. Truly a great book. 9.5/10

I Disappoint My Wife: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
My wife is a big Maas-head and has read all her books so far (I think). She really thought I would like Throne of Glass, so I caved and read it this year because I’m a good husband. Unfortunately, to my wife’s chagrin, I was very underwhelmed. It has a promising premise, with an almost Battle Royale-type competition taking place over a few weeks to see who will become the king’s assassin, but the majority of the book is spent skipping over most of the competitive events in favor of furtive glances, people quivering, and non-fatal heart palpitations. There was some good mystery and action, but the ending was almost literally Deus ex Machina. My wife assures me the series gets better after the 3rd book, but that’s a lot to get through before getting good, so we’ll see if I come back to it. Fortunately, she’s used to disappointment. 6.5/10

I Disappoint My Coworker: Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
This is the start of the legendary, critically acclaimed Expanse series, and the inspiration for the critically acclaimed Expanse TV series, and boy did it just not deliver. I’d seen these books recommended up and down the internet, and my coworker loves these books and urged me to read them, so I gave it a shot. Half of the characters were interesting, and I enjoyed when the story was told from their perspective, but when it switched to the other main character it was a slog. When the two perspectives finally merged, the slog won out and I trudged through to the ending. When I finished, I just googled the plot for the rest of the series because I really didn’t want to keep reading it. 6/10

Best New Author: Natalie Haynes
Haynes is a lover and purveyor of classical mythology, which immediately caught my attention. Her books are mostly explorations or retellings of myths with a focus on the women involved. I read Pandora’s Jar – Women in Greek Myth and Divine Might – Goddesses in Greek Myth, both non-fiction discussions of women who are often sidelined, vilified, or demonized (sometimes literally) in favor of the big strong men. I really liked both of them, and I appreciated the new perspective, including the idea that sometimes the myths were only twisted later by pearl-clutching Victorian men who couldn’t stand to see positive examples of powerful women. There were some assertions that I found difficult to believe, but Haynes did a good job in both books of explaining and distinguishing her own theories, feelings, and opinions from those of other experts in the field.

Least Best New Author: Alistaire Reynolds
Reynolds was mentioned in many of the discussions I’d seen concerning great Sci-fi authors, so I decided to try him out, reading both Pushing Ice and House of Suns (apparently two of his best, most accessible books). Pushing Ice was definitely the better of the two, with a great set-up that included mysterious ancient alien technology, but both books suffered from blasé characters and an extremely unsatisfying 3rd act. Reynolds seems to love the idea of relativistic travel, time dilation, and galactic time scales, which did lead to some astonishing twists and turns, but he relied too heavily on those mechanics, and in the end they couldn’t make up for his lack of real plot and characters. They were so close to greatness that every time I see his books in the library I almost get excited to read another one before I remember how little return there is after hundreds of pages of investment.

Best Shakespeare: The Tempest
A surprisingly easy-to-understand Shakespeare read, which made it even more enjoyable than it already was. While it is technically a comedy, it had a greater range of emotion than some of Shakespeare’s other works; there was plenty of humor, but also sadness, regret, anger, etc. all woven really well together. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can easily see myself re-reading it soon. 9.5/10

Runner-up: King Lear
I actually didn’t know much about this play before I read it, and even though it’s one of Shakespeare’s big tragedies, it always seemed overshadowed by the likes of Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. Which is a shame, because I really liked this one. The Fool was my favorite character, and I loved the way madness and wisdom were woven throughout the story through different characters. It was a bit harder to understand than The Tempest, but there were a lot of fabulous lines and speeches. Overall, an excellent play. 9/10

Bonus Round: Books I DNF:
– The Passion Paradox by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness – Ended up not being in the mood apparently, but I’m willing to revisit it in the future.
– What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman – Too much talking about how they study owls and not enough about owls.
– The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan – Not in the mood at the time for a long history book, but I’m willing to revisit it.
– How not to be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg – After a great start, it got a bit dense and repetitive, especially since I’m not as much of a math guy as I used to be, no matter how much I think I am.
– Ancillary justice by Ann Lecke – Extremely, disappointingly boring; almost nothing happened in the 250-ish pages I read. Somehow it won almost every sci-fi award though, so maybe it’s just me.
– Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller – Another in which I disappoint my wife; she loves this book. To me it was a bland and unnecessary backstory meant to make an already-interesting story more interesting.

And that’s another Book Awards for the… books…. As always, let me know your thoughts on my thoughts, or any of these books, or anything at all. I’m trying to read more recommended books this year, so if there are any you think I would like, please throw them my way! (figuratively, not literally)

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