I don’t know if roaring is the word I would use for the last 6 years, but there has definitely been some screaming. AI is one step closer to becoming our global overlord; It can be difficult talking about frozen water in America without causing some confusion about immigration (and vice versa); Greenland and Canada are a little more frosty towards the U.S. (with good reason); And here, among the other things that always seem to be happening, are the 6th Annual Book Awards.
Awards
Best Fiction: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
While Brando-Sando’s books haven’t historically made the same impression on me as they have on some of his more dedicated fans, I must give credit where it’s due and say he knocked it out of the park with this one. Inspired by The Princess Bride and written in a voice reminiscent of Discworld, it’s easily one of my favorite books. I loved the story and the setting; I loved the characters; I loved the humor; I really just had a great time and would very much recommend it. My singular gripe is that I wish the arc of one of the minor villains wrapped up in a more satisfying way. Otherwise, just fabulous. 10/10
Runner-up: The Will of the Many by James Islington
Another great book, though quite different from Tress. This was more reminiscent of the Red Rising series, with an underdog protagonist fighting against an oppressive regime of elites from the inside. There are kids vying for power and prestige in an island competition of wit and skill and cunning; there’s brutality and betrayal and triumphing against the odds; There’s intrigue and mystery surrounding ancient civilizations and technologies. It’s got it all, and it was very well done. The second book recently came out and it’s definitely on the reading list for this year. 9.5/10
Most Disappointing: I Heard There Was a Secret Chord by Daniel Levitin
With the book marketed as an exploration of the psychology and neuroscience of music and how it affects human health, I was jazzed to dive in. Unfortunately, Levitin was a little more concerned about how many names he could drop than about making a coherent, accurate, readable account. The narrative is all over the place, jumping from one anecdote to another with no warning, and with no regard for the title of the chapter. Many of the claims he makes are questionable at best, and some blatantly contradict earlier statements, really eroding his credibility. Among all the bragging there are some interesting tidbits, and he does do a good job of balancing scientific rigor with the emotional, magical feeling that music can produce. Overall, however, it just isn’t a good book, and I’ve avoided any others by him, no matter how enticing the titles. 4/10
Runner-up: Our Moon by Rebecca Boyle
I admittedly don’t know that much about the moon, physically, culturally, mythologically, historically, etc. And while Boyle seems to know quite a bit about the moon itself, it seems she doesn’t know as much as she thinks she does about things related to the moon. I found the beginning of the book very interesting, learning about the Metonic cycle, or how the moon has affected and does affect life. After the first few chapters, though, it went downhill. It started when she made claims about the moon and women’s menstrual cycles that are largely unsupported by science, continued through a number of historically inaccurate statements and gross mis-quotes or misattributions, and ended with a clear bias against religion and the Medieval period. 5/10
Contrary to what the title suggests, this book is not about an over-dramatic teenage girl who has to decide between two over-dramatic teenage boys. It’s about triangles, and why we should love them, mathematically speaking. It wasn’t a perfect love letter to triangles, with much of the book straying from triangles into more general geometry, and with a disappointing insufficiency of visuals, but it was still interesting and fun to learn about geometric applications in the real world. 8/10
This trilogy/series/world is often mentioned as one of the greatest fantasies ever written, so when I was looking for more fiction to read I landed rather naturally here (this is the first book of a trilogy, which itself is contained in a world with something like 16 books total). It was intriguing and well-written, if sometimes quite slow. The books are certainly more character-driven than plot-driven, which isn’t really my normal fare, but I got through it and enjoyed my time with it. 9/10
Unfortunately, when I dived into the second book (Royal Assassin) the weaknesses of the first were only amplified and I very quickly found it a slog to get through. It felt as though the main character learned nothing from his previous (mis)adventures, and the story itself was full of misery and suffering, causing my reading experience to be the same. I don’t know if I’ll ever attempt the third book. 5/10
Best Star Wars: Dark Force Rising by Timthoy Zahn
This is the second book of a trilogy written back in the 90s, and while the first book was still quite good, it acted more to set up the story, letting this book shine. Thrawn, the main antagonist, is one of my favorite Star Wars characters, and has been adapted into canon in recent works based on his first appearance in these books. He’s cunning and intelligent and ruthless, and it was awesome seeing him pitted against the main protagonists of the original movies. It was also awesome seeing those protagonists again, especially Luke Skywalker as a more fully realized Jedi. It did have some pacing issues, especially with the secondary protagonist who I didn’t like at all, but I still had a great time reading it. 9/10
Another slam dunk by Oliver Burkeman. I previously read his book Time Management for Mortals, which I also found very insightful, so I knew I’d have to read this next book, and it didn’t disappoint! It’s well organized: each chapter is short enough to be read quickly, but digested over a day, and it has good flow between chapters. The content itself resonated strongly with me, such as the idea that we will never achieve full control of life, or that life will never be free from problems, but we can work so that our problems are “more interesting and absorbing”. I could go on, but suffice it to say I think this book is excellent and highly recommend it. 10/10
Runner-up: Sacred Struggle by Melissa Inouye
Not far behind Meditations, this book was insightful largely because the author had such different experiences than I, and lived such a different life. I loved learning about her experiences in different countries and different cultures, and how the same religion can be practiced so differently while still maintaining its core identity. I also really appreciated her perspective as an Asian woman with cancer, and how she has experienced the same culture in the same country differently than myself, who is neither a woman nor Asian. There were certainly some opinions I don’t share, but I liked the way she explained and elaborated her beliefs, and the interesting insights those still brought. Overall, a great book. 9/10
Most Educational: Factfulness by Hans Rosling (and his kids)
This is one of those books that reveals a world different than that depicted in media, and that challenges preconceptions at every turn. His starting premise is that the world is doing much better generally than we tend to think, and that when people are given a quiz about the global state of such things as women’s education, extreme poverty, and infant vaccination rates, the strong majority believe the opposite of what is true. He never discounts the negative things that are happening in the world, but he does interrogate the many ways we are prone to misinterpret the data we see and the pictures we are presented. The book really resonated with me, and I feel he did an excellent job with his examples and presentation. 10/10
Runner-up: How to Survive History
One of the more fun and light-hearted books I read this year! Each chapter takes a disaster from history (or pre-history) and explores how one might be able to survive. Highlights include outrunning a T-Rex, the geophysics of the Chicxulub impact (the one that killed the dinosaurs), and pirate organization and government. It was less overtly funny than I expected, relying more on subtle humor, and more heavily researched than I expected (not that I expected no research), but it struck a nice balance between informative and engaging. A great read if you’re into this sort of thing. 9.5/10
I Didn’t Disappoint My Wife This Time: Circe by Madeline Miller
I previously tried reading The Song of Achilles, also by Madeline Miller and also recommended by my wife, but I didn’t even get halfway before bouncing off, much to my wife’s chagrin. This book, however, was excellent. I think it helped that I knew less about Circe’s mythical origins than Achilles’s, but I think I also just liked this story better. Miller’s prose is also beautiful and poetic, which matches nicely with the setting and subjects. The plot itself started slowly, meandering through Circe’s childhood and upbringing, but it quickly gained momentum and I enjoyed it more and more the further I read. It finished strong with a very satisfying, very well-earned ending. 9/10
I read two of her books this year: The Left Hand of Darkness and A Wizard of Earthsea, which are often touted as two of her very best (and two of the very best), and while I liked them both well enough, neither made much of an impact on me. The reason she’s so intriguing though, is the effect her writing has on me: the stories are fine, and the characters are adequate, but something in the words, or the way she weaves them, just grabs me and I find myself pulled further and further into a story I don’t care much about. It’s a strange phenomenon that I haven’t really experienced before.
This book was part bestiary, part memoir, relating the lives of various sea creatures to the author’s own. It was well-written, with beautiful prose and insightful connections, and I enjoyed it even though I didn’t always necessarily agree with what the author was saying or the connections they were making. The author is also non-binary, so it was interesting seeing a perspective and experience so different from my own. 8/10
Runner-up: Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz
This one wins runner-up not necessarily because it was a good book, but because the other animal books I read were so bad. To be fair, I did still like this one just fine, but it was a bit boring and some of the information seemed out-of-date (it was written in 2009, and the author was feeding her dog grapes and raisins as she wrote it, which is a big no-no now). But it was better than Pests by Bethany Brookshire and Vanishing Treasures by Katherine Rundell. 7/10
Bonus Round: Books I DNF:
– How Birds Fly by Peter Cavanagh – I loved this book, because I like birds and the science of flight. Unfortunately, it’s just long and not conducive to long bouts of focused reading (at least for me), so it was due back at the library before I could finish it. I’m definitely interested in getting it again though.
– The Horse by Timothy Winegard – This was supposed to be a book about how horses have affected history through the years, and I was quite excited after reading the first chapter. It turns out that first chapter was the high point, only to be followed by chapter after chapter of tangentially-related things (e.g. groceries), but not about horses themselves and their role in history. It also has a very dubious notes/references section, with poor organization and a troubling reluctance to link specific claims to specific sources. It also also continually references/recommends the book Sapiens, which I cannot abide.
– Eve by Cat Bohannon – I hesitate to include this one, because I’m not sure I gave it enough of a fair shake. It started with some questionable claims and statements about evolution that turned me off of it pretty quickly, but I think I already had one foot out the door.
– Metaphors we live by by George Lakoff – Another book that was fascinating, describing and giving examples of how metaphor is not just a literary device we sometimes choose to use when writing, but a core aspect of language itself, used constantly and subconsciously. Unfortunately it, too, is dense and not conducive to long bouts of focused reading, and came due before I could finish it. I am also very interested in getting this one again.
And there you have it, more ramblings about books I’ve read (or not read, as the case may be). As always, please send me your recommendations for books I should read, especially this year as I try to branch out a little more and try books /i wouldn’t normally pick for myself.
According to my Kyleculations 