What are the best books you've read in 2024?

Good try.

Sam Whited

2024-12-14 13:15:47 UTC

Post by Steve Hayes
What are the best books you've read in 2024?

Oh fun! I'm tentatively dipping my toes back into usenet after many
years away (last time it was just too unmoderated, but I haven't posted
in this group before I don't think, so we'll see!), so I'll play! No
ratings on mine, but here are my favorite 10 books from this year in no
particular order:

- "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" / "A Prayer for the Crown-Shy" by Becky
Chambers (these are novellas in a series of two, so we'll just call them
one book since they're short and the second picks up right where the
first left off)
- "The Player of Games" by Ian M. Banks
- "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- "Record of a Spaceborn Few" by Becky Chambers"
- "Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride
- "Bicycling with Butterflies" by Sara Dykman
- "Blood in the Machine" by Brian Merchant
- "The Terraformers" by Annalee Newitz
- "The Light Pirate" by Lily Brooks-Dalton
- "The Lost Cause" by Cory Doctorow

Steve Hayes

2024-12-14 17:44:00 UTC

Post by Sam Whited
- "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" / "A Prayer for the Crown-Shy" by Becky
Chambers (these are novellas in a series of two, so we'll just call them
one book since they're short and the second picks up right where the
first left off)
- "The Player of Games" by Ian M. Banks
- "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- "Record of a Spaceborn Few" by Becky Chambers"
- "Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride
- "Bicycling with Butterflies" by Sara Dykman
- "Blood in the Machine" by Brian Merchant
- "The Terraformers" by Annalee Newitz
- "The Light Pirate" by Lily Brooks-Dalton
- "The Lost Cause" by Cory Doctorow

I haven't read any of those.

I don't think Ive even heard of any of the authors, with the exception
of Cory Doctorow.

Mark Carroll

2024-12-24 16:52:04 UTC

Post by Steve Hayes
What are the best books you've read in 2024?

Absolutely. Lovely to see some actual content.

I've been rather poor at reading much in recent years but perhaps I can
be inspired to read more. What I do read, usually I forget its title and
author. I've a soft spot for science fiction and tried Julie Czerneda's
"Beholder's Eye" which is easy-going but entertaining enough and
attempts to show an alien's-eye view, which I always like. However, the
library didn't have any of the follow-ups (Glasgow's library system has
a surprisingly poor selection) and I didn't like it enough to
immediately seek it out regardless.

(snip)

Post by Sam Whited
- "The Player of Games" by Ian M. Banks

This is one of my favorites among his science-fiction novels, though I
recall it's also one that divides readers: people tend to rather like it
or not. It's an interesting premise that he just about pulls off.

Post by Sam Whited
- "Record of a Spaceborn Few" by Becky Chambers"

Hmmm, I've got the first of the series on my library reserve list, the
only copies are either missing or overdue so goodness knows if any will
ever turn up.

-- Mark

Sam Whited

2024-12-26 11:44:41 UTC

Post by Sam Whited
- "The Player of Games" by Ian M. Banks

Interesting, I was under the impression that this was the most widely
acclaimed! You may be thinking of the first one, "Consider Phlebas",
which I know some people recommend skipping and reading later on, but
personally I loved that one too and thought it was a great introduction
to the series. Or I could just be wrong. After the first two, I could
take them or leave them, but these two I found extremely compelling!

Post by Sam Whited
- "Record of a Spaceborn Few" by Becky Chambers"

Hmmm, I've got the first of the series on my library reserve list, the
only copies are either missing or overdue so goodness knows if any will
ever turn up.

If you can get a copy of these, I definitely recommend it! All four
books were absolutely fantastic. The first one, "The Long Way to a Small
Angry Planet" is her first novel, but when I first read it it didn't
feel like a first book to me. That is, until I read the others, it's
fantastic to see her coming into her own as a novelist throughout the
series; if anything they get better and better! You can read these in
any order too and it likely won't impact anything much, they may mention
a character or two from a previous book, but other than that the stories
aren't connected at all. The last one is a little bit more slow and
reflective than the others, so depending on your style that may or may
not be a good one to start with, otherwise I'd say "start anywhere" with
these.

Despite "Player of Games" and "Record of a Spaceborn Few" being two of
my favorite books in general, I'm not normally all that into the "space
opera" style of grand sci-fi narrative. If you want something a little
more cozy and self-contained, try "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" which is
also on my list (and is by the same author as "Spaceborn", Becky
Chambers). It's a *very* different experience, but is quite possibly my
favorite book, and doesn't fit quite as neatly into the sci-fi genre as
these two do.

—Sam

Mark Carroll

2025-01-03 06:20:49 UTC

Post by Sam Whited
- "The Player of Games" by Ian M. Banks

Thank you - ha, then I don't know which of us is right about which
divides fans more. I should reread "Consider Phlebas" and "Look to
Windward", it's been too long. "The Player of Games" I'd suggest is at
least a little unusual among Banks' SF in its single focus on a not-SC
protagonist on a specific SC mission, with the typical novel tending to
be spread across a rather wider theater with characters acting more
within their experience. For instance, I rather like "Use of Weapons"
which is more of that ilk.

Post by Sam Whited
- "Record of a Spaceborn Few" by Becky Chambers"

Hmmm, I've got the first of the series on my library reserve list, the
only copies are either missing or overdue so goodness knows if any will
ever turn up.

If you can get a copy of these, I definitely recommend it! All four
books were absolutely fantastic.

(snip)

Thank you again, good to know! I'll make more of an effort then, worst
case I end up picking up a cheap used copy from eBay or wherever; in
similar fashion I just paid a princely £4 for a used copy of Zebrowski's
"Macrolife" (also new to me) so I'll probably get there in the end.

(snip)

Post by Sam Whited
Despite "Player of Games" and "Record of a Spaceborn Few" being two of
my favorite books in general, I'm not normally all that into the "space
opera" style of grand sci-fi narrative. If you want something a little
more cozy and self-contained, try "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" which is
also on my list (and is by the same author as "Spaceborn", Becky
Chambers).

(snip)

Haha, it looks as if Glasgow's library system will fail me there too but
I'll give it a chance. I like to imagine that they have some means of
noticing when a practically unavailable book is accumulating unfulfilled
reservations so that they can think about buying another.

Veering away from SF, two other of Iain Banks' books I rather like are
"The Wasp Factory" and "Whit", I suppose both deal with a young person
finding their way in the strange environment they grew up in. I'm not
the best reader for his work, he'll do things like slip in puns that I
don't notice because I engage more with what's literally in my face, I
race along past the subtleties.

-- Mark

Mark Carroll

2025-01-29 15:36:19 UTC

(snip)

Post by Sam Whited
- "Record of a Spaceborn Few" by Becky Chambers"

Hmmm, I've got the first of the series on my library reserve list, the
only copies are either missing or overdue so goodness knows if any will
ever turn up.

If you can get a copy of these, I definitely recommend it! All four
books were absolutely fantastic.

(snip)

Post by Sam Whited
opera" style of grand sci-fi narrative. If you want something a little
more cozy and self-contained, try "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" which is
also on my list (and is by the same author as "Spaceborn", Becky
Chambers).

(snip)

Post by Mark Carroll
Haha, it looks as if Glasgow's library system will fail me there too but
I'll give it a chance.

(snip)

It turned out that I was too pessimistic, perhaps unfairly: they
delivered on both counts and now I have the sequels to each reserved.

The latter's indeed rather cozy, a warm, quiet, gentle kind of story,
and short enough to fit a lazy day. There certainly appears to be rather
more meat in Chambers' "Wayfarers" series. Both have plenty of
worldbuilding, imagination, and kinds of characters; I appreciate the
efforts toward showing very different perspectives. The stories don't
much challenge us on the science side but they make for good
entertainment. In a sense, they're very human: it's the people who
matter.

A couple of things I appreciate based on what I'm personally enjoying
right now: what sex there is fits the story and has the right amount
described: we get enough of an idea without needing graphic detail.
And, overall, there isn't much unpleasantness, a nice contrast to, say,
Russell's "The Sparrow". At the moment, I could do with agreeable
reading and there's even some light humor that doesn't fall flat.

So, thank you indeed for the recommendation, my reading list had been
running somewhat short.

-- Mark

Mark Carroll

2025-02-18 13:12:52 UTC

On 03 Jan 2025, Mark Carroll wrote:
(snip)

Post by Mark Carroll
I just paid a princely £4 for a used copy of Zebrowski's
"Macrolife" (also new to me)

(snip)

This turned out to be engaging enough to keep me reading, and the
premise that the author's exploring is interesting (large space habitats
that are self-sufficient and able to reproduce), it's decent for ideas.
I wouldn't say the characters are strong and, goodness, the narrative's
a bit heavy at times: there are long passages in which characters
expound on or read about theoretical musings on this and that, basically
explaining things to each other in detail rather than simply letting the
story show us things. So, it needs a bit of forgiveness (or a good
editor!) but I'm glad I bothered anyway. It reminds me of later in War
and Peace when Tolstoy takes an occasional break from narrative to muse
about, er, war or somesuch. I can't help but think Zebrowski a bit
optimistic about advanced human society.

Currently I am enjoying Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Alien Clay" which is
engaging, agreeable, and rather less long and more easygoing. It also
feels appropriately cynical in a way that the above didn't.

-- Mark

Bozo User

2025-01-16 18:58:05 UTC

Post by Steve Hayes
What are the best books you've read in 2024?
87 Lewis, C.S. 1973. Prince Caspian.
87 Towles, Amor. 2017. A Gentleman in Moscow.
86 Poland, Marguerite. 2019. A Sin of Omission.
85 Williams, Pip. 2022. The Dictionary of Lost Words.
84 Holland, Tom. 2019. Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind.
83 Jewell, Lisa. 2019. The Family Upstairs.
82 de la Motte, Anders. 2020. Rites of Spring.
82 Glyn, Patricia. 2006. Footing with Sir Richard's Ghost.
81 King, Stephen. 2011. 11.22.63.
81 Wain, John. 1974. A Winter in the Hills.
Scores out of 100, so those over 80 got 5 stars on GoodReads
Telmarines: the ultimate whenwes
<https://methodius.blogspot.com/2024/09/telmarines-ultimate-whenwes.html>
A Gentleman in Moscow -- the mind and face of Bolshevism
<https://methodius.blogspot.com/2024/07/a-gentleman-in-moscow-mind-and-face-of.html>

Colourless Tsukuru, Haruku Murakami, 2013. Well, it actually was my second read,
as it's a book with several metaphors.

--
Excuse my English, I am not a native speaker. Thanks.

x51

2025-01-17 13:36:15 UTC