A Review of 2019

2019 was literarily a good year.

The ten best books I read (in no particular order):

1. Recursion by Blake Crouch
2. Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
3. Cardinal Black by Robert McCammon
4. Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
5. They Thirst by Robert McCammon
6. Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams
7. The Hunger by Alma Katsu
8. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
9. Tigerman by Nick Harkaway
10. Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey

The worst book I read all year was Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk. If I were to provide Palahniuk with an award every time he's earned this distinction from me (4 times now), he'd be running out of shelf space to display them by now. He will not be in contention for any more of my shelf space and reading time going forward.

Number of books read: 52

Book signings attended:
Brandon Sanderson - Starsight (Although, technically, I didn't really attend the signing, since I didn't stick around for all the chaos. I just grabbed my book and bailed. But since I showed up and had to wait in multiple lines to get my book, I'm counting it.)

2020 books I'm looking forward to:
The Holdout by Graham Moore
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
Providence by Max Barry
The Last Emperox by John Scalzi
If it Bleeds by Stephen King
Shakespeare and Squirrels by Christopher Moore
Utopia Ave. by David Mitchell
Malorie by Josh Malerman
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

A Review of 2018

2018 is done. Here's how things went literarily for me.

The ten best books I read this year (in the order I read them):

1.  Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Owen King
2.  The Outsider by Stephen King
3.  The Listener by Robert McCammon
4.  Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
5.  Elevation by Stephen King
6.  Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
7.  A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
8.  Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
9.  The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
10. The Farm by Tom Rob Smith

The worst book I read this year was Doomed by Chuck Palahniuk (a repeat accomplishment for Chuck).

Number of books read: 53

Book signings attended:
Orson Scott Card - no particular book
Brandon Sanderson - Skyward

2019 books I'm looking forward to:
Crucible by James Rollins
The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man by Jonas Jonasson
A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery by Curtis Craddock
The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch
Dark Age by Pierce Brown
Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
The Malta Exchange by Steve Berry
Empire of Grass by Tad Williams
The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver
The Philosopher's War by Tom Miller
Fall, or Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson
That one book by that George RR Martin guy???!!!

A Review of 2017

Another year is in the books (ha!) and here's a summary of how things went literarily. 

Ten best books I read this year (in no particular order):

1. Lost Gods by Brom

2. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

3. Freedom of the Mask by Robert McCammon

4. Swan Song by Robert McCammon

5. The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith

6. Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith

7. The Black Widow by Daniel Silva

8. The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

9. Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane

10. The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

The ignominious honor of the worst book I read all year goes to David Sedaris's Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk.

Number of books read – 71.

Book signings attended: 

Dennis Lehane - Since We Fell

Dan Wells - Nothing Left to Lose 

Mary Roach - Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

David Sedaris - Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002

Tad Williams - The Witchwood Crown

Craig Johnson - The Western Star

A.J. Jacobs - It's All Relative

2018 books I’m looking forward to:

Iron Gold by Pierce Bronson

Omega Canyon by Dan Simmons

The Bishop’s Pawn by Steve Berry

The Cutting Edge by Jeffery Deaver

Head On by John Scalzi

Noir by Christopher Moore

The Saint of Wolves and Butchers by Alex Grecian

The Outsider by Stephen King

The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy

The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch (fingers crossed)

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin (fingers and toes crossed)

Legion: Lies of the Beholder by Brandon Sanderson

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

A Review of 2016

Each year I like to look back at the year just ended and reflect on the books I read (the good and the bad), as well as mention some books I'm looking forward to, which are scheduled to be published in the year ahead.

Ten best books read in 2016 (in the order read)

1. The Martian by Andy Weir
2. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
3. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
4. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
5. The Empathy Problem by Gavin Extence
6. The Fireman by Joe Hill
7. Summer of Night by Dan Simmons
8. Lost and Gone Forever by Alex Grecian
9. The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore
10. Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley

The award for the worst book I read all year goes to...The Glittering World by Robert Levy. It was original enough that I might give him a second chance when his second book comes out, but I'll have to wait and see what he does. 

Number of books read this year: 56

Signings attended during the year: Erik Larson--Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Stephen King--End of Watch (Let's pause for a minute and give that last item the respect it's due.)

2017 books I'm looking forward to:

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

Smells Like Finn Spirit by Randy Henderson

Alone by Scott Sigler

The Lost Order by Steve Berry

The Burial Hour by Jeffery Deaver

The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy

Bear Town by Fredrik Backman

The Thirst by Jo Nesbø
The Four Legendary Kingdoms by Matthew Reilly
Full Wolf Moon by Lincoln Child
Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
The Dinosaur Princess by Victor Milán
Origin by Dan Brown
The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch
The Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

A Review of 2015

2015 is in the books (ha!) and here's a summary of how the year of reading went for me, starting with my top ten list (in the order they were read):

1. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
2. The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
4. Under the Harrow by Mark Dunn
5. The Border by Robert McCammon
6. The Happiest People in the World by Brock Clarke
7. Finders Keepers by Stephen King
8. The Mirror World of Melody Black by Gavin Extence
9. Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman
10. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

The worst book I read all year was The Lost Island by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, which was very disappointing, since I'm such a big fan of theirs. 

Number of books read during the year--61.

Signings attended during the year: Brandon Sanderson--Firefight, Peter Orrulian--Trial of Intentions, Dan Wells--The Devil's Only Friend, Brian Selznick--The Marvels, Craig Johnson--Dry Bones.

Books I'm looking forward to that will be published in 2016:

Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

Bluescreen by Dan Wells

Alight by Scott Sigler

Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbø

The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie

Lost and Gone Forever by Alex Grecian

The Fireman by Joe Hill

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin

End of Watch by Stephen King

Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley

Freedom of the Mask by Robert McCammon

The Last Train from Perdition by Robert McCammon

Alone by Scott Sigler

A Review of 2014

At the end of every year I like to look back and call out some literary highlights and "lowlights" of the previous year. To start with, I like to list the ten best books I read during the year. That's proved to be a little difficult for 2014 because while I rated three books as 5 stars, there were 22 that I rated as 4 stars. Some of them I had to cut from the list. Here it is:

1.  Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
2.  Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
3.  The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
4.  The Abominable by Dan Simmons
5.  A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
6.  The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
7.  Lock In by John Scalzi
8.  The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
10. The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman

The worst book I read in 2014 - Innocence by Dean Koontz. I had stopped reading Koontz's books years ago and apparently had forgotten why. Innocence reminded me why.

Number of books read during the year - 51

Signings attended - The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore, Beautiful You by Chuck Palahniuk

Books I'm looking forward to that will be published in 2015:

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
The Martini Shot by George Pelecanos
The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith
The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly
The Tournament by Matthew Reilly
Funny Girl by Nick Hornby
I Am Radar by Reif Larsen
Inspector of the Dead by David Morrell
World Gone By by Dennis Lehane
The Patriot Threat by Steve Berry
The Border by Robert McCammon
Last Train from Perdition by Robert McCammon
The Devil's Only Friend by Dan Wells
Finders Keepers by Stephen King
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King
The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins
The Map of Chaos by Felix J. Palma

A Review of 2013

2013's done, and there were a lot of good books that moved from my to-be-read pile to my read-it pile. I've narrowed the list down to my top ten for the year, but there were several that would be on an honorable mention list if I chose to assemble one. Here are the top 10 (in no particular order) along with a few other book-related bits of information.

American Decameron by Mark Dunn
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
Winter of the World by Ken Follett
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Phases of Gravity by Dan Simmons
To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson by Heidi Swinton
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

For the second time in three years the author of the worst book I read this year was Chuck Palahniuk. This year it was Pygmy that I couldn't wait to finish.

Number of books read this year - 60

Booksignings attended this year - Craig Johnson A Serpent's Tooth, John Stockton Assisted

Books I'm looking forward to that are scheduled for 2014:
Pandemic by Scott Sigler
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
Revival by Stephen King
The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore
The Revolutions by Felix Gilman
The Son by Jo Nesbø
The Devil's Workshop by Alex Grecian
Robogenesis by Daniel H. Wilson
The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman
Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett

A Review of 2012

Another year has come and gone, so here's my Top 10 List (in no particular order) for the books read this year, along with a few other book-related bits of information.

11/22/1963 by Stephen King
A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
The Map of the Sky by Felix Palma
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon
Sacré Bleu by Christopher Moore
Krampus by Brom
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
Live by Night by Dennis Lehane
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The worst book I read this year was Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

Number of books read this year - 52

Booksignings attended this year - Robert McCammon, Steve Berry - The Columbus Affair, Brandon Sanderson - The Emperor's Soul

Books I'm looking forward to that are coming in 2013:
Insane City by Dave Barry (1/13)
Fragments by Dan Wells (2/13)
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill (4/13)
A Serpent's Tooth by Craig Johnson (4/13)
The King's Deception by Steve Berry (5/13)
The Kill Room by Jeffery Deaver (6/13)
Lexicon by Max Barry (6/13)
The Eye of God by James Rollins (6/13)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (6/13)
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (9/13)
You by Austin Grossman (??)

What are the best books you read this year?

A Review of 2011

Another year has come and gone, so here's my Top 10 List for the books read this year along with a few other book-related bits of information.

1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
2. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
3. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
4. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
5. The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma
6. I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells
7. The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips
8. The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall
9. The Five by Robert McCammon
10. Exley by Brock Clarke

The worst book I read this year was Tell-All by Chuck Palahniuk
Number of books read this year - 65
Booksignings attended this year - Sammy Hagar
Books I'm looking forward to that are coming in 2012:

1. Lunatics by Dave Barry & Alan Zweibel (1/3)
2. Raylan by Elmore Leonard (1/31)
3. Wild Thing by Josh Bazell (2/12)
4. The Technologist by Matthew Pearl (2/21)
5. Nocturnal by Scott Sigler (4/3)
6. Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore (4/3)
7. Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs (4/10)
8. The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King (4/24)
9. They Eat Puppies, Don't They? by Christopher Buckley (5/8)
10. Railsea by China Mieville (5/15)
11. The Map of Sky by Felix J. Palma (9/4)

What are the best books you read this year?

A Review of 2010

At the end of each year I like to look back and identify the best books I either read or listened to during the year. This year there were many books that I really enjoyed but I've narrowed it down to the following as my Top Ten List:

1. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
2. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
3. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
5. The Terror by Dan Simmons
6. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
7. Kraken by China Mieville
8. Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon
9. The Passage by Justin Cronin
10. The Alchemaster's Apprentice by Walter Moers

**Worst book read - The Scorpio Illusion by Robert Ludlum

Number of books read or listened to this year - 76
Booksignings attended this year - Douglas Preston, Daniel Silva, Brandon Sanderson, & Jeffery Deaver