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
- No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. A combo of poasting on Twitter (funny) and a family tragedy (sad).
- Sensein salkku by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Raisa Porrasmaa (English title: The Briefcase). Calm romance about an eccentric woman and here even more eccentric former teacher. The book just a hint of magical realism.
- Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Humanity tries to find a new home. Seveneves vibes.
- All Systems Red and Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells. Murderbot just wants to brood but ends up saving the day. Entertaining.
- Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. I can’t believe they all survived the polar expedition.
- Translation State by Ann Leckie. Non-normie characters are at it again.
- Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott. On authoritarian high modernism.
- Maailmanloppu ja ihmemaa by Haruki Murakami, translated by Raisa Porrasmaa (English title: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World). A basic Murakami novel. Such male gaze.
- Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. On the attention crisis. I appreciate the societal perspective, but the use of evidence seems poor.
- 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