The year 2017 marks when I caved and got a smartphone. Nevertheless, I still found time to read ordinary books.
My favorite from the year is Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny (1969), a science fiction novel about planetary colonists who possess god-like technological capabilities and literally turn themselves into gods to be worshiped by people lacking those technologies. However, my one-sentence synopsis fails to capture the poetic beauty of the writing. That said, this book is not for everyone.
A more general recommendation is City of Thieves, by David Benioff (2008). It's about two young men in Stalingrad during the siege of World War 2 and their mission to procure a dozen eggs for a wedding cake for a Russian general's daughter.
Lastly, I'll point out that every book I read in 2017 was by an author I had never read before. This wasn't my original intention, but by summer it had become a thing and I kept the streak going. Towards the end of the year, I scoured my file of reading suggestions to find new authors, leading me to read a romance novel (!) set in pre-revolution eighteenth century France (These Old Shades, by Georgette Heyer (1926)) and Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852)—both of which were great reads.
Daniel Suarez†
Daemon (2009)Roger Zelazny†
Lord of Light (1967)Malcolm Gladwell†
Outliers (2008)Anthony Williams†
C++ Concurrency in Action (2012)Charles C. Mann†
1941: New Relelations of the Americas Before Columbus (2005)David Benioff†
City of Thieves (2008)Michael Lewis†
The Undoing Project (2016)Mary Shelley†
Frankenstein (1818)James M. Cain†
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)Robert Montgomery†
Sheppard Lee (1836)Dashiell Hammett†
Red Harvest (1929)Georgette Heyer†
These Old Shades (1926)Harriet Beecher Stowe†
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)
| † | First time to read author |
