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.
2022
- ⭐ The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Chaos in Moscow. Fun.
- The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow. On the origins of inequality. Iconoclastic, but I know the field so poorly that I’m not sure how much weight to give to it.
- The Truth by Terry Pratchett. Somebody invents a printing press.
- ⭐ Radalla by Iida Sofia Hirvonen. Moments in the life of a 30-something writer living in Helsinki. For people who have used Internet too much.
- ⭐ The Dispossessed Ursula K. Le Guin. A story about anarchists on the moon.
- Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett. Somebody steals a weapon; guards investigate.
- Sieppari ruispellossa by J. D. Salinger, translated by Pentti Saarikoski (original: The Catcher in the Rye). Man wanders in the streets, a bit like in Crime and Punishment, but different. Saarikoski’s translation gets bad rap, but I liked it.
- Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. Somebody summons a dragon; guards investigate.
- Viisi aihetta by Jorge Luis Borges (original: Borges oral). Borges waxes philosophical.
- Practical Doomsday by Michal Zalewski. Level-headed prepper advice.
- A Bond Undone by Jin Yong. More cheesy kung-fu.
Earlier: 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.
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