Books I read in 2019. Had the goal of reading 20 throughout the year. Happy to say I made it to 21 
. My reviews are obviously not as in depth as our resident expert @kihei, but it is fun to look back at what I've read!
Dreadful Water by Thomas King - 7/10
The Red Power Murders by Thomas King - 6.5/10
- Books one and two of Thomas King's detective/mystery series. Fairly standard stuff with the fresh perspective of having an indigenous protagonist set in an indigenous community. Not sure quite how many of them there are, I know I've got another one on the shelf waiting to be read. I appreciate Thomas King quite a bit, this is far from his best work, but they are very readable.
No Exit by Taylor Adams 6.5/10
- One of those "thriller" page turners in a similar vein to Gillian Flynn. Deliberately violent, often grotesquely so. But a fun read.
Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink 7/10
- Very quirky horror novel from the guy who does the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. It starts strong and has a very interesting world of monsters and those trying to stop them. I would have rated it higher but it sort of unravels as the mysteries begin to get explained.
Touch by Claire North - 6/10
- Honestly I can't remember much about this one. Was enjoyable enough, but largely forgettable.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab 7/10
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab 7/10
A Conjouring of Light by V.E. Schwan 7/10
- I use to read a tonne of fantasy when I was a kid/teenager. It was a lot of fun to return to the genre. Set in a universe where there are multiple different London's on different worlds. Each one unique in its own way. The Grey London essentially our own. The Red London where magic is common place. White London where magic is running out and Black London where magic consumed the world.
Find You In The Dark 5/10
- Eh.... a thriller where the protagonist is obsessed with finding the long lost corpses of serial killer's victims. Eventually finds himself tangled up with an active serial killer. Like Touch mentioned above, largely forgettable.
Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman 4/10
- Malerman's earlier novel Birdbox was a fairly interesting thriller with a cool gimmick for the monsters. This one is a Western horror that honestly... just kind of sucks? I donno. I wouldn't recommend it!
Recursion by Blake Crouch 8/10
- Don't want to give away too much. People in the world are seemingly randomly finding themselves recovering "lost memories" to entire lives that never existed. Novel picks up from there. Very interesting read. Crouch's previous novel Dark Matter was one of my favourite novels of the previous few years. This one is good, but not quite as good.
The Enchanted by Rene Denfield 6/10
- Short novel about a women who works to try and free death row inmates from their executions. This one didn't quite hit the mark in being as emotional as I think it was hoping to be.
The Lost City of Z by David Grann - 7.5/10
- Non-fiction book about the life of Percy Fawcett. A British explorer (and WWI war veteran) who became famous exploring the Amazon in the early 1900s. He and his son disappear on their last expedition never to be seen from again. Part biography of Percy Fawcett, part history of colonialism in the area and part the authors attempts at discovering what happened to Fawcett on his fateful final excursion. A fairly interesting read but for my money if you want to read one adventure non fiction book about the unknown depths of the Amazon jungle I would recommend The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston. For my money a more interesting read.
The Hunger by Alma Katsu 7.5/10
- Historical fiction about the ill-fated Donner Party. A group of pioneers who try and make the long journey across America to California in the midst of winter. This one takes a horror angle introducing monsters to the fold. A fun and spooky read.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware 7.5/10
- Page turning "whodunnit." The protagonist is a journalist on the maiden voyage of an extremely exclusive Nordic cruise ship who discovers that someone may or may not have been murdered on board. Fun read as you try and unravel which of the 10 odd guests could be responsible for the crime. Like a lot of these stories, the payoff is rarely as good as the journey to get there. But I'm a sucker for this kind of a book.
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty 9.5/10
- For my money the best book I read all year. A non fiction read by a mortician traveling the world witnessing and being part of the various funerals/death rituals of different cultures. Truly a fascinating read and the author is able to write about death in a way that treats it with the utmost respect but also has a great knack for humour. Truly a fascinating read. A great exploration of death. Not for those who have died (although she explores different cultures beliefs in the afterlife) but for those who loved them and what we do and how we react when someone we care about passes away.
Highly recommended!
The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup 8/10
- Nordic crime thriller. Two detectives on the hunt for a serial killer who leaves little chestnut dolls at each of his gruesome murders. Violent, dark, gritty. A fun read.
Assata an Autobiography by Assata Shakur 7/10
- Autobiography about the life of Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member/leader Assata Shakur. All the way from her childhood up to her arrest and conviction for the murder of a New Jersey State police officer and her eventual escape from prison. Clearly a very complex woman who played a big part in a very complex and troubling time in America. Honestly not a subject I know a tonne about, but it was certainly an fascinating read. If I have a criticism to lay at the feet of the author is that perhaps she is not quite as forthcoming about her involvement in some of the crimes she was accused for as I would have liked. Either way, it was a worthwhile read about a very complex and interesting person in American history.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown 8/10
Golden Son by Pierce Brown 8.5/10
Morning Star by Pierce Brown 8.5/10
- The Red Rising trilogy. Set ~900 years in the future where humanity has colonized the solar system and people have been divided into a caste system with the Golds on top as almost mythical super humans down to the Reds who exist solely to work beneath the surface of mars to mine valuable Helium 3 which will help to terraform mars to make the surface livable. The protagonist is a Red who begins to see the injustices occurring around him and is determined to change it all. These are action packed sci fi/fantasy reads. The first one feels somewhat like a Hunger Games or Battle Royale type novel, but the second and third really expand beyond that with some damn fine action sequences written frequently throughout.
So far in 2020 (upping the goal to 25 for the year):
The Red Tent by Anita Diament 6.5/10
A novel written from the perspective of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob from the Book of Genesis. An attempt to expand the stories of Dinah, her mothers and motherhood in this biblical setting. Honestly, the first 100 pages or so nearly lost me. I'll be perfectly upfront, the only time I'm not an atheist is when I'm watching a good exorcist movie. So that portion of the novel just really didn't do much for me. I've never read the Book of Genesis and have no intention of doing so. It wasn't until the protagonist is actually born in the 2nd part of the book and is able to provide a set of eyes to look at the world through that I was able to begin to get into the novel. The exploration of womanhood, motherhood and the roles that women played in these cultures was interesting. By the end I was fully on board. Almost got a tear out of me...
Which is another goal along with my 25 books for the year. So if anyone has any suggestions for some good cathartic crying, I'm all ears! I'm happy to branch out into different genres
. My reviews are obviously not as in depth as our resident expert @kihei, but it is fun to look back at what I've read!Dreadful Water by Thomas King - 7/10
The Red Power Murders by Thomas King - 6.5/10
- Books one and two of Thomas King's detective/mystery series. Fairly standard stuff with the fresh perspective of having an indigenous protagonist set in an indigenous community. Not sure quite how many of them there are, I know I've got another one on the shelf waiting to be read. I appreciate Thomas King quite a bit, this is far from his best work, but they are very readable.
No Exit by Taylor Adams 6.5/10
- One of those "thriller" page turners in a similar vein to Gillian Flynn. Deliberately violent, often grotesquely so. But a fun read.
Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink 7/10
- Very quirky horror novel from the guy who does the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. It starts strong and has a very interesting world of monsters and those trying to stop them. I would have rated it higher but it sort of unravels as the mysteries begin to get explained.
Touch by Claire North - 6/10
- Honestly I can't remember much about this one. Was enjoyable enough, but largely forgettable.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab 7/10
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab 7/10
A Conjouring of Light by V.E. Schwan 7/10
- I use to read a tonne of fantasy when I was a kid/teenager. It was a lot of fun to return to the genre. Set in a universe where there are multiple different London's on different worlds. Each one unique in its own way. The Grey London essentially our own. The Red London where magic is common place. White London where magic is running out and Black London where magic consumed the world.
Find You In The Dark 5/10
- Eh.... a thriller where the protagonist is obsessed with finding the long lost corpses of serial killer's victims. Eventually finds himself tangled up with an active serial killer. Like Touch mentioned above, largely forgettable.
Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman 4/10
- Malerman's earlier novel Birdbox was a fairly interesting thriller with a cool gimmick for the monsters. This one is a Western horror that honestly... just kind of sucks? I donno. I wouldn't recommend it!
Recursion by Blake Crouch 8/10
- Don't want to give away too much. People in the world are seemingly randomly finding themselves recovering "lost memories" to entire lives that never existed. Novel picks up from there. Very interesting read. Crouch's previous novel Dark Matter was one of my favourite novels of the previous few years. This one is good, but not quite as good.
The Enchanted by Rene Denfield 6/10
- Short novel about a women who works to try and free death row inmates from their executions. This one didn't quite hit the mark in being as emotional as I think it was hoping to be.
The Lost City of Z by David Grann - 7.5/10
- Non-fiction book about the life of Percy Fawcett. A British explorer (and WWI war veteran) who became famous exploring the Amazon in the early 1900s. He and his son disappear on their last expedition never to be seen from again. Part biography of Percy Fawcett, part history of colonialism in the area and part the authors attempts at discovering what happened to Fawcett on his fateful final excursion. A fairly interesting read but for my money if you want to read one adventure non fiction book about the unknown depths of the Amazon jungle I would recommend The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston. For my money a more interesting read.
The Hunger by Alma Katsu 7.5/10
- Historical fiction about the ill-fated Donner Party. A group of pioneers who try and make the long journey across America to California in the midst of winter. This one takes a horror angle introducing monsters to the fold. A fun and spooky read.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware 7.5/10
- Page turning "whodunnit." The protagonist is a journalist on the maiden voyage of an extremely exclusive Nordic cruise ship who discovers that someone may or may not have been murdered on board. Fun read as you try and unravel which of the 10 odd guests could be responsible for the crime. Like a lot of these stories, the payoff is rarely as good as the journey to get there. But I'm a sucker for this kind of a book.
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty 9.5/10
- For my money the best book I read all year. A non fiction read by a mortician traveling the world witnessing and being part of the various funerals/death rituals of different cultures. Truly a fascinating read and the author is able to write about death in a way that treats it with the utmost respect but also has a great knack for humour. Truly a fascinating read. A great exploration of death. Not for those who have died (although she explores different cultures beliefs in the afterlife) but for those who loved them and what we do and how we react when someone we care about passes away.
Highly recommended!
The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup 8/10
- Nordic crime thriller. Two detectives on the hunt for a serial killer who leaves little chestnut dolls at each of his gruesome murders. Violent, dark, gritty. A fun read.
Assata an Autobiography by Assata Shakur 7/10
- Autobiography about the life of Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member/leader Assata Shakur. All the way from her childhood up to her arrest and conviction for the murder of a New Jersey State police officer and her eventual escape from prison. Clearly a very complex woman who played a big part in a very complex and troubling time in America. Honestly not a subject I know a tonne about, but it was certainly an fascinating read. If I have a criticism to lay at the feet of the author is that perhaps she is not quite as forthcoming about her involvement in some of the crimes she was accused for as I would have liked. Either way, it was a worthwhile read about a very complex and interesting person in American history.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown 8/10
Golden Son by Pierce Brown 8.5/10
Morning Star by Pierce Brown 8.5/10
- The Red Rising trilogy. Set ~900 years in the future where humanity has colonized the solar system and people have been divided into a caste system with the Golds on top as almost mythical super humans down to the Reds who exist solely to work beneath the surface of mars to mine valuable Helium 3 which will help to terraform mars to make the surface livable. The protagonist is a Red who begins to see the injustices occurring around him and is determined to change it all. These are action packed sci fi/fantasy reads. The first one feels somewhat like a Hunger Games or Battle Royale type novel, but the second and third really expand beyond that with some damn fine action sequences written frequently throughout.
So far in 2020 (upping the goal to 25 for the year):
The Red Tent by Anita Diament 6.5/10
A novel written from the perspective of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob from the Book of Genesis. An attempt to expand the stories of Dinah, her mothers and motherhood in this biblical setting. Honestly, the first 100 pages or so nearly lost me. I'll be perfectly upfront, the only time I'm not an atheist is when I'm watching a good exorcist movie. So that portion of the novel just really didn't do much for me. I've never read the Book of Genesis and have no intention of doing so. It wasn't until the protagonist is actually born in the 2nd part of the book and is able to provide a set of eyes to look at the world through that I was able to begin to get into the novel. The exploration of womanhood, motherhood and the roles that women played in these cultures was interesting. By the end I was fully on board. Almost got a tear out of me...
Which is another goal along with my 25 books for the year. So if anyone has any suggestions for some good cathartic crying, I'm all ears! I'm happy to branch out into different genres
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