What I Read (2025)

 BOOK LOG 2025

1 January 2025: Avatar by John Passarella.  “Angel novel.  Solid, could pass as an ep.”

6 January 2025: Worlds Without End by Caroline Spector.  “Shadowrun novel.  Ancient elf tries to stop return of mysterious evil.  Very different than one would expect of the setting, but not bad.”

9 January 2025: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.  “Norton Critical Edition.  Interesting how much early interpretation differed from later.”

11 January 2025: The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins. “Ok murder-thriller, but predictable.”

15 January 2025: The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith.  “Strike novel.  Very enjoyable.”

28 January 2025: Two Faces of Liberalism by John Gray. « Excellent defense of minimal ‘modus vivendi’ liberalism. »

18 February 2025: Collapse by Jared Diamond. “Workmanlike writing, but impressive coverage.”

22 February 2025: Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff.  “Genuine surprises with a hard edge, a real page turner.”

15 March 2025: Initiation by Carla Jablonski.  “First book in Timothy Hunter series.  Liked Trench-Coat Brigade.”

8 April 2025: The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith.  “Strike book about a cult.  A bit over-complicated but still good.”

9 April 2025: Showdown at Centerpoint by Roger Macbride Allen.  “Last in the Corellian Trilogy.  Average.”

18 April 2025: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. « Features the most insipid protagonist ever. »

9 May 2025: In Good Company by Gary McKay.  “Story of an Aussie platoon commander during Vietnam.  Interesting how little has changed tactically in many ways.”

9 May 2025: The Outsider by Albert Camus. “I need to think about this one.”

15 May 2025: The Walrus & The Warwolf by Hugh Cook. “Ridiculous but fun and different style of fantasy.”

18 May 2025: Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell.  “Infuriating fan fiction that tries to ‘fix’ everything ‘wrong’ with Jessica by making her a bland #mumlife carbon copy vision of ‘stable’ and ‘happy’”

22 May 2025: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu.  « Starts off amazing, but then gets really silly. »

1 June 2025: If This Book Exists, You’re in the Wrong Universe by Jason Pargin.  “Hilarious and awesome; have to get the others.”

1 June 2025: Gerald’s Game by Stephen King.  “Overlong epilogue, but good.”

23 June 2025: Newton by I Bernard Cohen and Richard S Westfall (eds).  “Norton edition.  Good coverage of many topics.”

30 June 2025: X-Men: Watcher on the Walls by Christopher L Bennett.  « Post 9-11 security state theme, handled well. »

30 June 2025: No Bikinis on the Front Yard: My Lighthearted Stories in the Army by Larry Patrick.  « Very funny and I learned a lot.  Proud of my dad! »

9 July 2025: Silver Linings by Katrina Nannestad.  « Well-written. »

20 July 2025: Spirit of the Crocodile by Aaron Fa’aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker.  “Great YA book about Torres Strait islanders.”

29 July 2025: Delores Claiborne by Stephen Kingston.  « Draws you in immediately! »

10 August 2025: The Surface Trials by HM Waugh. « Surprisingly good. »

23 August 2025: Middle English Lyrics edited by Maxwell S Luria and Richard L Hoffman. “Hard to read—literally!”

4 September 2025: Westfallen, Book 1 by Ann and Ben Brashares.  “Solid YA time slip novel.”

14 September 2025: The Hall-Marked Man by Richard Galbraith. « Latest Strike novel.  Excellent. »

15 September 2025: Oak-Leaf Bearers by John Flanagan. « Fourth Ranger’s Apprentice book.  Exciting large scale battle scenes! »

27 September 2025: A Slowly Dying Cause by Elizabeth George. « New Lynley novel.  Disappointing flat mystery, though some good Havers bits. »

5 October 2025.  Muhammad: Biography of a Prophet by Karen Armstrong. « Hagiographic and relentlessly apologetic. »

6 October 2025: The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan.  « Elliptical story about cycle of terrorist bombings in India.  Ok. »

8 October 2025: They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran.  « Interesting spin on Black Lagoon-type horror tales. »

9 October 2025: Frog: The Secret Diary of a Paramedic by Sally Gould.  “Readable and heartfelt.”

12 October 2025: The Koran trans. by N.J. Dawood.  “Boring and repetitive.”

18 October 2025: Stop Screaming, I’m Scared Too by Rod Henderson.  « Well-written and heartfelt account of an Army aviator’s time in and after service. »

14 November 2025: Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress.  “Re-read of one of my all-time favourites.  Remains thought-provoking and resonant, now more than ever.”

24 November 2025: Inversions by Iain M Banks.  “Clever tale told in two different settings with subtle links between them.”

3 December 2025: Descent of Angels by Mitchel Scanlon. “Tells origins of Luther, Zahariel, and Lion, but doesn’t appreciably tie into Horus Heresy.”

11 December 2025: A Study in Ashes by Emma Jane Holloway.  “Third book in The Basketville Affair.   Good but overlong.”

14 December 2025: Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by Jason Pargin.  “Fun and clever.”

17 December 2025: Dark Mirror by Craig Shaw Gardner.  “Angel novel.  Good characters, but pedestrian plot.”

20 December 2025: House of Secrets by Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini.  “Enjoyable, fast-paced kids’ adventure book.”

22 December 2025: The Ghost Machine by James Lovegrove.  « Firefly novel.  Ok, but afraid to push storytelling beyond established boundaries. »

25 December 2025: The Christmas Market Murder by Peter Boland.  « Really satisfying classic locked-room mystery. »

27 December 2025: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  « Fantastic story and love poem to the 1980s geek culture. »

29 December 2025: Lair of the Crystal Fang by S.A. Sidor.  “Really strong Arkham Horror novel.  Makes we want to check out more.”