Starting in 2016, I want to write at least a short blurb about every book that I write. I’ve always kept track of the titles of the books that I read, but it is easy to forget what you read, and how much you liked or disliked it.
- Sycamore Row – John Grisham
Like all Grisham, I enjoyed this. - The Shining Girls – Lauren Beukes
A time traveling serial killer being pursued. Interesting concept, but I was a little disappointed by what I felt was a lack of explanation. - What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions – Randall Munroe
The XKCD guy. This was a fun read. - Everything is Bullshit: The greatest scams on Earth revealed – Priceonomics
This has a lot of their blog posts. Some of it was interesting. - Wool Omnibus (basically first 5 books) – Hugh Howey
Fun post-apocalyptic concept where people live in silos. Some excellent characters, especially Juliette. Look forward to seeing the movie someday. - Yes Please – Amy Poehler
As a fan of Saturday Night Live, and Parks & Recreation, I enjoyed reading various anecdotes that Amy shared. - I Only Roast the Ones I love: How to Bust Balls Without Burning Bridges – Jeffrey Ross
This was entertaining, and gives some insight into delivering scathing remarks. - So You’ve been Publicly Shamed – Jon Ronson
This book discusses online lynch mobs, a scary, and very real thing today. You’re pretty much screwed if you were to become the target. - The Circle – Dave Eggers
Fun short book about a company like Google/Facebook where your social media interactions are all that ultimately matter, and you eventually lose all privacy. - The Flinch – Julien Smith
- Silver Screen Fiend – Patton Oswalt
Patton watched a lot of classics. It became a problem. Book was kinda dull. - Linchpin – Seth Godin
Same ol’ Seth Godin. Can’t really remember this one. - The Damage Done: Twelve Years of Hell in a Bangkok Prison – Warren Fellows
The experience that this author went through was absolutely brutal. Also some of the things he described are really, really disgusting. - Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End – Atul Gawande
- The Most Dangerous Animal – Gary L. Stewart
This author is convinced that his father was the Zodiac Killer. He presents an interesting case, and story for it. Fun read. There is a lot about the book that you can find online, but I would suggest checking it out, after you read the book. - Armada – Ernest Cline
I’m a huge fan of Ernest’s first book, Ready Player One, so I read this as soon as it came out. The plot and premise was very exciting, but the overall story felt condensed. The book was too short. It could have easily been two or three books, and developed a lot better. Armada felt like reading a book on fast-forward. - Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead – Neil Strauss
Bunch of random, mostly interesting celebrity anecdotes. - Wolf in White Van – John Darnielle
This was creative, and I enjoyed it a lot. Well written, and especially impressive because it is the writer’s first book. - The Martian – Andy Weir
I was blown away by the movie, so I had to read the book. The book is great, although the dialogue and character development is a little weak. Still a very entertaining read. - Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology – Leah Remini
I was a fan of her on King of Queens, but not a fan of her being a Scientologist. I was very interested in hearing about her experiences in Scientology. There was some wacky stuff that went down. I recommend this if you’d like to read some insider Scientology stuff (such as Tom Cruise’s wedding). - The Racketeer – John Grisham
This book has a fun plot, and I couldn’t put it down. - Gold of the Gods – Erich Von Daniken
This book is supposed to be nonfiction, but the author has been completely discredited. Still an entertaining read. He is supposedly led through tunnels in Ecuador where there is gold, statues and even a library with metal tablets. Of course, he believes that this was all aliens. He later admitted that he never went to this cave, and it was all made up. - Steal Like an Artist – Austin Kleon
Short, motivational book. I’d recommend to anybody looking for a boost to their creativity. - Seveneves – Neal Stephenson
This book, like everything that Neal writes is dense and long. But it’s a fun read. From Wikipedia: “The story tells of the efforts to preserve human society in the wake of apocalyptic events on Earth, following the disintegration of the Moon.” I didn’t quite finish it in 2015, but including it on this list.
There are more books that I haven’t included in my list for whatever reason.
Also I just realized that every single of these books, I read as an ebook.
photo credit: bookself via photopin (license) (removed until I can make this theme handle images better)