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Right, so, I only read 19 books for pleasure this year, the lowest count since I started tracking my reading more than twenty years ago. I edited 22 books, but that’s work reading, not pleasure reading. In my defense: I had to move, again, this time from Wisconsin to Minnesota. Moving is such a drain on time and energy. And here in Minnesota I don’t have a long country road to amble down with my dog, one of us listening to audiobooks, the other chasing deer. Also in my defense, after I moved to the Twin Cities, I took up dance as a hobby. When I say dance I mean burlesque and pole dance. In November I danced on a stage, taking my clothes off for money. Please note, my stage name is conveniently the same as my editing business: Blue Legend. Hire me for all your editing and/or erotic dance needs. Somehow, some way, I’m going to make more time for pleasure reading this year. Pleasure writing, too. I’m itching to write a book. I resolve to find time for editing books, reading books, writing books, and stripping my clothes off. Total books read: 19 Age levels: All adult. No YA or children’s books this year. Books that were published in 2024: The Hunter, by Tana French Total books read: Nonfiction: 4 Fiction: 15 Genres (as some books have more than one genre, total exceeds 19): Nonfiction
Annual Russian novel: The Death of Ivan Ilyich, by Leo Tolstoy K. J. Parker: Is he still the best? A thousand times yes. I love his writing so much. Normally, when I have a favorite writer, it’s because of their skill with character development and emotional resonance. With Parker, it’s a style thing. His prose is what I aspire to write. Re-reads: The Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova The Color of Magic, by Terry Pratchett Best book of the year (two-way tie):  The Daughters’ War, by Christopher Buehlman, a prequel to The Blacktongue Thief. Buehlman is my favorite contemporary horror writer, though I believe this title was marketed as fantasy. The goblins have come again. They’re calling this the daughters’ war, because most of the men were killed or maimed in the earlier war. We follow the story through the eyes of Galva, a noble daughter who has signed on with an experimental fighting unit that matches soldiers with giant war corvids. Buehlman’s prose craft is miles beyond most other writers. He’s got the world building, the character development, and the storytelling to keep you turning pages. Or to not hit pause on the audiobook. Narrator Nikki Garcia does a terrific job with the narration.  Rosewater, by Tade Thompson, a story of alien invasion in a future Nigeria. It’s science fiction plus thriller plus horror plus adventure. One scene features a carnivorous floating alien, and it was so terrifying I went back and listened again, immediately, something I have not done since reading the basement scene in The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Narrator Bayo Gbadamosi was a pleasure to listen to.
Best audiobook narrator: Christopher Buehlman. After reading The Daughters’ War, I headed immediately to reread its sequel, The Blacktongue Thief, both written and narrated by Buehlman. He was a stage performer for many years before shifting to writing, and his voice acting chops are superb. It’s unfair that one person can be so talented as a writer and actor too. All the books I read, sorted by genre: Nonfiction Feminism hooks, bell. Ain't I a Woman?, 1981 History Cronon, William. Changes in the Land, 1983 Katz, William Loren. Black Indians, 1986 Science Denworth, Lydia. Friendship, 2020 Fiction Crime French, Tana. The Hunter, 2024 Fantasy Buehlman, Christopher. The Daughters’ War, 2021 Buehlman, Christopher. The Blacktongue Thief, 2024 King, Stephen. Fairy Tale, 2002 Parker, K. J. A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, 2022 Pratchett, Terry. The Color of Magic, 1983 Horror Kostova, Elizabeth. The Historian, 2005 Literary fiction North, Claire. Ithaca, 2022 Saunders, George. Pastoralia, 2000 Tolstoy, Leo. The Death of Ivan Ilyich, 1886 Science fiction Butler, Octavia. Bloodchild and Other Stories, 1995 Klune, TJ. In the Lives of Puppets, 2023 Ravn, Olga. The Employees, 2022 Tchaikovsky, Adrian. Elder Race, 2021 Thompson, Tade. Rosewater, 2018
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In 2023, I went into business as a fulltime editor. I worked on two dissertations, three scholarly monographs, and thirteen novels, none of which I’ll be discussing here. This \ post is about books I chose to read, not books I got paid to read. One unforeseen drawback to editing professionally: I have less enthusiasm for pleasure reading in my off time. I’m more likely to reach for music than audiobooks these days. But I still managed more than one book per week, and I would like to take the opportunity—I would like to take every opportunity—to mention that one of those books was War and Peace. Total books read: 78. That’s 60 books I chose to read, plus another 18 I edited or indexed professionally. For the rest of this post, we’re just going to focus on those 60. Age levels:
Books that were published in 2023: 6
Nonfiction: 20 Fiction: 40. That feels about right, a two-to-one fiction-to-nonfiction ratio. Genres: (as some books have more than one genre, total exceeds 60)
Fiction:
Miscellaneous:
Best books of the year:  A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders This is a collection of Russian short stories and literary criticism. Do you understand how hard it is for me to get people to read this book? It is so good though. So good. It is the all the joy of studying writers and stories with none of the Foucault.  The Address Book, Deirdre Mask
Here’s another hard sell: a nonfiction book about street addresses! It is captivating, though. Truly. I’ve never thought so much about street names or numbers or how that influences our lives. This is sociology + data nerdery. Also, important thing to note, people in England use filthy names for their streets. They just do not care. Best audiobook narrators: Roger Clark, The Searcher (Tana French). Tana French remains my favorite contemporary crime writer. This was my first time enjoying one of her novels as an audiobook. Clark does authentic Irish and American accents throughout. Frazer Douglas, Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller). The sensuality of this man’s voice needs a warning label. Various: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (George Saunders). Saunders narrates the literary criticism part of this book, but the stories themselves are read by various actors:
Themes:
K. J. Parker: Is he still the best? I will never stop banging this drum. Tom Holt is always terrific and so is his pseudonym, K. J. Parker. Honorable mentions:
All the books I read, sorted by genre: Nonfiction Business Cather, Karin and Dick Margulis. The Paper It's Written On, 2018 Fishman, Stephen. Deduct It! Lower Your Small Business Taxes, 2023 Pakroo, Peri H. The Small Business Start-Up Kit, 2018 Grammar and editing Dreyer, Benjamin. Dreyer's English, 2019 Harnby, Louise. Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers, 2013 Saller, Carol Fisher. The Subversive Copyeditor, 2016 Health and wellness Albright, Mary Beth. Eat and Flourish, 2022 Murthy, Vivek. Together, 2020 History Burton-Hill, Clemency. Year of Wonder, 2017 Cleves, Rachel Hope. Charity and Sylvia, 2014 De Madariaga, Isabel. Politics and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Russia, 1998 Figes, Orlando. The Story of Russia, 2022 Hartnett, Lynne Ann. Understanding Russia, 2018 Kytle, Ethan J. and Blain Roberts. Denmark Vesey's Garden, 2018 Rosslyn, Wendy. Women and Gender in 18th-Century Russia, 2003 Sexton, Jared Yates. The Midnight Kingdom, 2023 Twitty, Michael W. The Cooking Gene, 2018 Literary criticism Saunders, George. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, 2021 Meditation Nhất Hạnh, Thích. The Miracle of Mindfulness, 1975 Selassie, Sebene. You Belong, 2020 Social science Gottschall, Jonathan. The Storytelling Animal, 2012 Mask, Deirdre. The Address Book, 2020 Perry, Benjamin. Cry, Baby, 2023 Fiction Crime Braithwaite, Oyinkan. My Sister, the Serial Killer, 2018 Christie, Agatha. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, 1926 French, Tana. The Searcher, 2020 Todd, Charles. A Test of Wills, 1996 Tudor, C. J. The Chalk Man, 2018 Winters, Ben H. The Last Policeman, 2012 Fantasy Abercrombie, Joe. Half a King, 2014 Abercrombie, Joe. Half a War, 2015 Abercrombie, Joe. Half a World, 2015 Klune, T. J. Under the Whispering Door, 2021 Lee, Thomas D. Perilous Times, 2023 Nix, Garth. Sabriel, 1994 Vo, Nghi. The Empress of Salt and Fortune, 2020 Vo, Nghi. Into the Riverlands, 2022 Vo, Nghi. Mammoths at the Gates, 2023 Vo, Nghi. When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, 2020 Weeks, Brent. Beyond the Shadows, 2008 Weeks, Brent. Shadow's Edge, 2008 Weeks, Brent. The Way of Shadows, 2008 Folk tales Afanasyev, Alexander Nikolaievitch. Russian Folk Tales, 1980 Horror Barron, Laird. The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All, 2018 Bradbury, Ray. The Halloween Tree, 1972 Literary fiction Backman, Fredrik. A Man Called Ove, 2019 Capote, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1958 Coupland, Douglas. Life After God, 1994 Dickens, Charles. The Pickwick Papers, 1836 Haynes, Natalie. Stone Blind, 2022 Miller, Madeline. Song of Achilles, 2011 Tolstoy, Lev. War and Peace, 1867 Science fiction Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 1979 Banks, Iain M. Consider Phlebas, 1987 Delaney, Samuel R. Babel-17, 1966 Holt, Tom. When It's a Jar, 2013 Le Guin, Ursula K. The Lathe of Heaven, 1971 North, Claire. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, 2014 O'Brien, Robert C. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, 1971 Wells, Martha. System Collapse, 2023 |
Book talks
When Covid first hit, I started doing book talks on social media as a way to keep in touch with people. I never got out of the habit. I don't discuss books by my clients, and if I don't like a book, I won't discuss it at all. While I will sometimes focus on craft or offer gentle critical perspectives, as a matter of professional courtesy, I don't trash writers. Unless they're dead. Then the gloves come off. Archives
January 2025
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