The year isn’t over, but I’ve been reflecting on books that I’ve read this year. I recently started in book two of the Hyllis Family series, Teleporter, after having finished the inaugural book, “Telekinetic”. It’s an odd little book with an interesting premise, about a family with subtle/small psychic talents in the midst of a post-apocalyptic return-to-pre-industry Earth setting. I enjoyed it and I’m anxious to see where the story that focuses on the main character’s sister goes.

I pulled together a list of books that I remember (whether vaguely or not) read this year, including some books that I’ve re-read, like Seveneves and The Three-Body Problem. There were a few in this list that I re-read because the kids were interested in something new and I was wondering if they’d be interested. There are also a handful of books in this list that I know I read but I have no memory of beyond the book flap. Pretty weird.

Just before this Hyllis Family book, I had read through the four-book series starting with Jumper, by Steven Gould. I should read some of his other stuff to see if it’s good, but none of the title struck me when I was flipping through them. Exo, the fourth book in that series, was somewhat different from the first three, in my opinion. A lot more industrious and inventive. Worth reading, but it seemed less about avoiding the bad guys from the prior three books, and more about space.

I feel the same way about finding some other titles by Adrian Tchaikovsky, who lured me in with Service Model, but did not wow me with Saturation Point. He’s probably worth another go, possibly via his “Children of…” series. He’s touted in some places as the UK’s version of Michael Crichton, which is kind of interesting.

There were some books in this list I did not like. In Our Likeness was pretty crap, IMO. I forget which of the many romance titles in my list is the one that borders on the female protagonist being dangerously submissive, but that one was pretty bad.

Of the romances, I think I enjoyed Honeymoon for One and The Love Hypothesis the best. The former because it’s emblematic of Portia Macintosh’s silly British romantic comedy, with all sorts of unlikely things happening that you can see unfolding in your head. I really liked the characters in The Love Hypothesis, and Ali Hazelwood can write a (singular per novel) smoking hot sex scene – yikes.

I don’t know what I’ll venture into next. I think there are several books left in this current series. I’ll likely read the latest Dungeon Crawler Carl book before the year is out, even though it’s almost not worth it if Jeff Hayes isn’t narrating it. Maybe I’ll pick up something out of the ordinary before the end of the year, too. Hopefully something inspirational!

AJ Lancaster:

  • The Court of Mortals
  • The King of Faerie
  • The Lord of Stariel
  • The Prince of Secrets

Adrian Tchaikovsky:

  • Saturation Point
  • Service Model

AG Riddle:

  • Quantum Radio

Ali Hazelwood:

  • Love Theoretically
  • The Love Hypothesis
  • Two Can Play

Brandon Sanderson:

  • Defiant

Bryan VanDyke:

  • In Our Likeness

Brynn Kelly:

  • A Murder to Remember

Cara Bastone:

  • Call Me Maybe
  • Seatmate
  • Sweet Talk

Charles Duhigg:

  • Supercommunicators

China Miéville & Keanu Reeves:

  • The Book of Elsewhere

Chris Fenning:

  • How to Start Conversations That Get Results

Cixin Liu:

  • The Three-Body Problem

D. Rus:

  • AlterWorld

Daniel O’Malley:

  • The Rook

Dennis E. Taylor:

  • Not Till We Are Lost

Gene Wolfe:

  • The Claw of the Conciliator
  • The Shadow of the Torturer

Gina Damico:

  • Croak
  • Rogue
  • Scorch

Ginny Hogan:

  • The Great Indoors

Holly Black:

  • Book of Night

James S.A. Corey:

  • Livesuit
  • The Mercy of Gods

JR Mathews:

  • Jake’s Magical Market
  • Jake’s Magical Market 2

Laurence E Dahners:

  • Telekinetic
  • Teleporter

Lily Chu:

  • Drop Dead

Kyle Kirrin:

  • Emperor’s End

Martha Carr & Michael Anderle:

  • Waking Magic

Matt Dinniman:

  • The Butcher’s Masquerade

Maxx Barry:

  • Syrup

Melanie La’Brooy:

  • Serendipity

Nancy Springer:

  • The Case of the Left-Handed Lady

Neal Gaiman & Terry Pratchett:

  • Good Omens

Neal Stephenson:

  • Seveneyes

Peter Clines:

  • Dead Moon

Portia MacIntosh:

  • Honeymoon for One
  • Long Time No Sea
  • The Accidental Honeymoon
  • Trouble in Paradise

Richard Rumelt:

  • Good Strategy/Bad Strategy

Rob Dircks:

  • You’re Going to Mars!

Sarah J. Maas:

  • Throne of Glass

Sarah Rees Brennan:

  • Long Live Evil

Scott Meyer:

  • Brute Force
  • The Authorities

Shanna Swendson:

  • Damsel Under Stress
  • Don’t Hex with Texas
  • Enchanted Ever After
  • Frogs and Kisses
  • Kiss and Spell
  • Much Ado About Magic
  • No Quest for the Wicked

Shirtaloon :

  • He Who Fights with Monsters 10
  • He Who Fights with Monsters 11: A LitRPG Adventure

Steven Gould:

  • Exo
  • Impulse
  • Jumper
  • Reflex

TheFirstDefier:

  • Defiance of the Fall 11