Here’s a list of some of the books I’ve read recently. I’ve starred the ones that I especially liked or that were otherwise special.
2023
- The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin. A bildungsroman. Enjoyable seafaring in the archipelago.
- ⭐ Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton. A memoir about working in an environment with very few women.
- ⭐ The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin. A bildungsroman. I read this as teenager and felt it was difficult and long. Now it was a page-turner. (reread)
- ⭐ Supersalanen tyttöpäiväkirja by Veera Milja. Poems about being a teen girl.
- Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. A space opera/adventure. Leckie has a knack for writing cozy post-human beings.
- Ensimmäinen persoona by Haruki Murakami, translated by Antti Valkama (English title: First Person Singular). Autofiction short stories steeped in nostalgia. Only for Murakami fans.
- ⭐ Uraanilamppu ja muita novelleja by Harry Salmenniemi. Short stories.
Earlier: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018
All-time favorite fiction
I rarely re-read books, but there are some books I keep thinking about.
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
- Historias de cronopios y famas by Julio Cortázar.
- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.
I look at this list and I realize I must have incredibly ordinary taste. Still, they’re good books.
In April 2020, I filled a social-media bingo card about my favorite books. I’m not sure if they’re my eternal favorites, but they felt like good books at the time. Ask me again in the future.
My reading projects
Lists of books read by other people
I’ve found the following lists especially interesting:
- Alvaro Videla’s Some Books For You Consideration
- Venkatesh Rao’s Now Reading page
- David R. MacIver’s three-book sets and book pairings
- Further reading for Meaningness