2014 Reading Log

Sun, Jan 18, 2015

This wasn’t a great year for books – between a short commute and a new hobby, my reading habits kind of fell by the wayside. As a consequence, I didn’t really finish (or even start!) books that I didn’t love, and ended up getting through 27.

Also, as I discovered new authors or series, I binge-read my way through their catalog. There’s a lot of repeats, and a lot of discovery of classic science fiction authors. :)

This has some overlap with the last log I posted, since I’m trying to do a year’s retrospective.

Winter ‘14:

Like last winter, I visited Albany for Christmas. Unlike last Christmas, the weather was sunny and gorgeous. so I didn’t spend quite as much time reading.

• Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (loved)
  • Slightly cartoonish villians, but an amazing universe where fundamental physical constants (namely, the speed of light) differ throughout the universe.
• Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge (loved)
  • In comparison to Fire Upon the Deep, this has a bit of a claustrophobic feel, since its known universe is bound by the speed of light. The characters are more believable, and the tiny spider civilization is adorable.
• CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders (decent, but depressing)
  • Short story collection. Nearly every story ended with the protagonists’ suicide, and in nearly every case you understood the decision. Its commitment to resignation and recognition of futility is amazing, but wasn’t the right book for me at the time.
• Tenth of December, George Saunders (decent)
  • less terrifying than CivilWarLand!
• The Peripheral by William Gibson (good)
  • a little dorky (omg drones! gaming! virtual reality! extra-smartphones!), but great regardless.
• Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie (good)
  • The sequel to the fantastic Ancillary Justice from last year, this focuses on the spaceship protagonist in a social justice-y setting.

Fall ‘14:

• Copenhagen by Michael Frayn (loved)
  • A fantastic 2-act play, going over a meeting between Heisenberg (then leading the German nuclear bomb effort) and Bohr in 1941. The characters revisit the meeting several times. This is post-modern historical fiction about modern physics – perfect Kiran bait!
• Blindsight by Peter Watts (loved)
  • This was probably the standout book for this year for me. Written in something resembling English by someone resembling a human, Blindsight explores themes of consciousness, sentience, and intelligence. Has a tendency to go “OMG THEN HE REALIZED–,” without really revealing the final realization. I understand that he’s trying to not condescend, but it’s a little annoying after the 30th time.
• Echopraxia by Peter Watts (loved)
  • Sequel to Blindsight, above. Still AMAZING, but didn’t grab me as much as the original (which is a super high bar to meet). Similar crazy insights at the end, though.
• Glasshouse by Charles Stross (decent)
  • Exploring gender roles and peer pressure via science fiction. I didn’t love this as much as most people, but I can’t put my finger on why. Still a good read.
• The Giver by Lois Lowry (~fine)
  • I somehow missed this book in middle school.

Spring/Summer ‘14:

• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (great, but hard)
  • Rich characters; non-chronological stream-of-consciousness narrative hard to follow at times. Fascinating seeing a sympathetic Thomas Cromwell.
• Perdido Street Station by China Miéville (great world)
  • great world, very meh characters.
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (loved)
  • Great tale of the immigrant experience. I’ve experienced many of the anecdotes in the book. Only nitpick – for a story with such a fantastic protagonist, she seemed a little too defined by her romantic relationships.
• The Martian by Andy Weir (good)
  • Fun quick read. Explores how easily technology can be repurposed. Challenges were dealt in a little too pat of a manner – “oh no I have no food; here’s a potato I happened to bring to space”
• Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (???)
  • decent alternate history narrative. I’m still torn about how I feel about PKD’s stuff.

Early 2014 (repeated previously)

I went on a huge Ted Chiang kick here.

• Exhalation by Ted Chiang (good)
  • Not his best, but a fun exploration of alternative life systems.
• Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (decent)
• The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling by Ted Chiang (loved)
  • Now that I look back on it, I loved this story. Black Mirror tried doing something like this with “The Entire History of you,” but to much less effect. Available to read online.
• Wool by Hugh Howey (meh)
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (good for YA)

Stalled :(

• If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino
• Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
  • argh, such a hard (but good) read. I hear this goes faster than Wolf Hall, but I’m a little exhausted by that book.
• Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
• Capital by Thomas Picketty
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Started

• Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
• Pragmatic Programmer