Read 2024
Last year I found a few services that created appealing visuals as an overview of what books I read that year. This year nothing really caught my eye. So, I decided to start a small blog and write a post about my adventures! This lead me to discovering bearblog (a very cool project) to house said musings.
My reading list is a bit of a mixed bag, I must admit. There's a weighted dose of Sci-fi, some older titles (classics?), auto-biographical pieces, newly discovered indie authors and even a childhood series I always wanted to get lost in.
--Indie--
I'll start off with the indie side of things. 2024 is the year I came across Greg Leung (on Mastodon). Hailing from USA, he has instantly drawn me in with his Cyberpunk-esc tales. Cold Wind Blowing and its predecessor, Colossus, are both great tales and a stellar start to a bibliography that I hope to track for some time to come. While I enjoyed the tighter CyberPunk vision of Cold Wind Blowing more than the branch into magic of Colossus, both were really good with world building and stitching its characters into that universe with smooth narrative.
I'd be shamed if I didn't also mention Kelly Robson, a Canadian author who penned 'Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach' - a tale with such vivid visuals and a very unique setting and world; I burned through this title in no time and desperately wanted more. Sadly, her sci-fi work is extremely limited to a few offerings and there is no follow up to the above title. I will be following her works in hopes she does decide to explore this kind of content once more.
--Biography--
I also got to explore the lives of a few Authors/Celebs. Books by Bob Odenkirk (Mr.Show, Better Call Saul), Nancy Cartwright (Bart from The Simpsons) and Will Smith were interesting windows into the world and lives of those individuals, but those didn't quite compare to...
Serj Tankian's 'Down with the System'. This title being the most brilliant of the lot. Bringing the reader into the absolutely fascinating trip that is his life, endeavours, thoughts and the almost stumble into fame through System of a Down. Serj is a very cool guy; down to earth, caring, with multiple layers you wouldn't see unless you knew him. Outright inspiring is kind of what I left with, I couldn't have enjoyed it more. If you've got any interest in this man or projects he's been a part of, do yourself a favor and pick this up!
Delving into three separate books by and about Author/Chef/TV Personality Anthony Bourdain was an absolute treat. First with his two novels 'Kitchen Confidential' and 'Medium Raw' which really opens up the pages of his life and profession up until those points in his life where he decided to put them to paper,; most of which is quite an interesting read from a gifted author. Second, with Tom Vital's 'In the Weeds' which explores another side of Tony, as told by long time colleague and Friend before and after Tony's suicide detailing their adventures traveling the globe in an attempt to inform and entertain with food as their backdrop. I was already a fan of Tony and this trilogy was very much an emotional roller coaster, with insight to a lot of the highs and lows of Tony's life. Fascinating.
--Sparkling Gems--
A few Star Trek Voyager Novels (The Murdered Sun, Ghost of a Chance) made their way into my pile. I absolutely adore that universe, so every time I get to revisit it with a new tale is always a good time. Adrian Tchaicovski's 'Elder Race', 'Cage of Souls' and 'The Expert System's Brother' were all superb meals in of themselves. I absolutely adore his writing. I got to explore the entire set of books under the 'Chronicles of Narnia', which is a series I've always wanted to read though since being introduced to 'The Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe' in the third grade. A very interesting and imaginative title with a somewhat unexpected ending to it all. I consumed Neil Gaiman's 'Coraline' and Dennis Lehane's 'Shutter Island' and couldn't be happier with those works.
--Older Fiction--
Spending some of my time with older works is something I've found myself enjoying of late (Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, the Sherlock Holmes mysteries and titles by H.G Wells being some of my fav before this year). I really find it fascinating to read works that are considerably older in first print yet hit on point with topics and themes still relevant today. 'Chocky' and 'The Chrysalids' by John Wyndham fit this mold perfectly and offer superb writing, pace and worlds. Both of which got me exploring other titles by this author. Dashiell Hammett's 1930 released 'The Maltese Falcon' simply floored me. It's a superb story, very well written and seemingly the grand-pappy of Detective thrillers. Jules Verne's 'From the Earth to the Moon' wasn't really my cup of tea, but I can see the importance and influence it's had.
--Closing Thoughts--
There were a few lower scoring books in my pile for the year, but over all I felt very fortunate to explore so many great works, discover lots of great authors and have a hell of a time with my reading for the year. My to-be-read pile has grown considerably as I start to slot in work from newly discovered authors... which is a spectacular thing as it feels like there's a never ending collection of universes to get lost in... and that makes me smile.
While I prefer and where I can, I like to link to more open services like OpenLibrary, but when I can't find an entry, I'll link to sites like Goodreads.