Books here are only listed if I’ve completed them; recommended titles are in bold.
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A Handful of Dust
Disney U
Exit Interview
Book Lovers
Boundless
The Measure
Endless Night
Parable of the Sower
The Woman in Me
Parable of the Talents
Fast Like a Girl
Stay True
Poverty, by America
Paved Paradise
The Consolation of Philosophy
How to Practise
FantasticLand
How We Live Now
The Poppy War
The Dragon Republic
Nature Noir
Fluke
To the Letter
The Snakehead
Dinner on Monster Island
To Paradise
Griffin & Sabine
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler (reread)
Nothing to Envy
The Long Walk
Dune
Compass
The Return of the King
Dune Messiah
The Surgeon (Rizzoli & Isles No. 1)
I Meant It Once
Anything You Want
Binocular Vision
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Apprentice (Rizzoli & Isles No. 2)
If I Were King of Singapore
Total: 41 books; 23 fiction
A more balanced reading habit this year – I usually have more non-fiction reads in a year.
The year started well: The Measure and the Octavia E Butler books were very good. The Parable series was so eerily realistic. And so was FantasticLand – I was in disbelief that it was fiction even though S, who recommended me the book, had made it very clear. My sister was a source of good books and I enjoyed RF Kuang quite a lot. The Handmaid’s Tale was also a gripping read, and I am glad my sister got me the book. If not, looking at my very-long to-read list, who knows when I will get to it. The Rizzoli & Isles series was a recommendation from a friend, and it reminded me of Criminal Minds. The writing can be better, but the plot moves along so well, we got hooked. Who knows why I picked up Dune and endured the made-up words but it was an eye-opener, and the second book was a breeze after the first.
And perhaps it is age but I have done my first re-read (that I can remember). I re-read Italo Calvino’s IOAWNAT and reminisced a little about the version of myself who first read the book 20 years ago. It was a gift from a supervisor. Perhaps this is the year of appreciating reading recommendations.