After college, I resolved to read one book a month. It can be fiction, non-fiction, technical, business-oriented, or whatever as the goal was to always be absorbing and digesting new ideas and information, even just for fun. For 2024, I had a more specific goal of 24 fiction and 12 non-fiction books. In 2024, I finished 36 books overall with 32 fiction and 4 non-fiction.
Here are my top four in order:
- The Dead Eye series from Jim Bernheimer
- The Olympian Affair from Jim Butcher
- Winged Hussars: Andromeda from Mark Wandrey
- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
And here are all 36 books, sorted by author or series:
Jim Bernheimer
I picked up Bernheimer originally in 2015 with this “D-List Superhero” series. It was fun so when I noticed this one, I picked it up recently. In this series, a combat vet accidentally gets the power to see ghosts and is introduced to a new (spiritual) world of conspiracies and chaos. Unfortunately, he was supposed to release the third book in 2018 and seems to have dropped off the internet. No clue what happened but the first two are self-contained so pick them up.
Jerry Bridges
This was a good dive into “what is Biblical humility?” We all have a lot of ideas of what humility is in general and even a surface level Biblical definition but the nuance and complexity of that one is interesting. It’s a good read and a better discussion but – not surprisingly – you should check your assumptions at the door.
Jim Butcher
This was a great followup to the Aeronaut’s Windlass that I read in 2022. It’s a world where everyone lives in giant spires and use airships to explore, trade, and conduct war while being afraid of the ground. It’s really a great series so far, I hope he continues with it.
- The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires Book 2)
Larry Correia
This book was set up for the finale to be released in a few months. Ashok survived, the band is back together, and the big bad is ready for the fight. There are still some potentially-aligned forces that have to join up but the direction is set. There’s another interesting question throughout the entire series though: What is the black steel and where did these tool/powers come from? I hope he goes there next.
- Graveyard of Demons (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior Book 5)
Vox Day
I read the first of these back in 2017 and this was a great followup. The opening scene is dark and twisted but frames the evil that is coming perfectly. My only real criticism of this one is that it was so long in between, there needs to be some sort of reminder of the key characters and where we left them.
- A Sea of Skulls (Arts of Dark and Light Book 2)
Nir Eyal
If you haven’t explored the psychological side of product development, this is a useful approach to understand the how/why people get fired up about products. Fundamentally, you have to give them a reason to come back regularly and the only legitimate reason is that you’re doing something valuable for them.
The Four Horseman Universe
In the 4HU, the Omega War upset the balance and revealed plans within plans and this series is dealing with the fallout. In the best of times, it’s getting a new merc company off the ground but in others, it’s learning who the real enemies are. There are a couple huge reveals in here, especially in Andromeda so get ready. If you’re looking to pick up this series, don’t start here. Check out the 4HU Reading Order.
- Companion to Darkness by Casey Moores (The Phoenix Initiative Book 5)
- The Phoenix Initiative: First Missions, anthology (The Phoenix Initiative Book 6)
- BRASS, Inc. by William S. Frisbee, Jr. (The Phoenix Initiative Book 7)
- Gunpowder Geisha by Carolyn Kay (The Phoenix Initiative Book 8)
- Winged Hussars: Andromeda by Mark Wandrey (The Phoenix Initiative Book 9)
- Thicker than Water by Michael Morton (The Phoenix Initiative Book 10)
- Foiled Ambitions by John M. Olsen (The Phoenix Initiative Book 11)
- Companions in Chains by Melissa Olthoff (The Phoenix Initiative Book 12)
- Bureau 42, anthology (The Phoenix Initiative Book 14)
William S. Frisbee, Jr.
I’m pretty deep into this series and it started strong but is fading. The premise – a bunch of Marines in statis for 200 years entering a new battlefield – is compelling but it’s feeling more episodic and less of a coherent storyline.
- Son of the Wolf (The Last Marines Book 7)
Marion G. Harmon
This is a spin off of the “Wearing the Cape” series I picked up way back in 2015. Unlike the main series – which is mostly team oriented – this tells the story of one guy trying to figure things out and make it on his own. You can pick this one up without reading the main series as there’s only one character and some concepts that cross over.
- Rising Tides (Capes Book 1)
J.R. Grey
Like Bernheimer’s “D-List Superhero” series, this is the story of an extremely capable engineer in the world of superheroes taking a bad career path. In no time at all, he ends up being a key player in all the super-gang violence and it escalates from there. This had some good moments but was pretty mid overall. The overarching world had some compelling hooks. Effectively, when powers manifested, warlords rose up and shattered the US. Unfortunately, the author only touched on that.
Will Jordan
If you’re looking for a generic “spy guy goes hunting bad guys” this is a reasonable choice. It doesn’t stand out from Grey Man or most of those other series but could be the groundwork for something compelling. I picked it up because Will Jordan is the one and only Critical Drinker and gave it a shot.
- Redemption (Ryan Drake: book 1)
Franz Kafka
This book drove me insane.. or more insaner. It comes down someone being accused of a crime and trying to clear their name. What crime? You already know, I shouldn’t say. How do you clear your name? It depends. Who was the victim? Well, you’re not allowed to know that. Read it and join me in the insanity.
Jane McGonigal
I picked up this one after catching McGonigal at SXSW ~10 years ago and only read it now. I enjoyed it but I’m of two minds on the book. First, she talks about what we learn and practice by playing games. It was great and I’ve seen it first hand. Then she backed up her points with discussions of various games (circa 2011) and almost all of them are long gone. That makes me reconsider if games are the right way to deliver these lessons and if they really have staying power.
J.K. Rowling
In preparation for a family vacation to London, I introduced my kids to Harry Potter. Each night, I’d read a chapter out loud to them – yes, I do voices – and once we were done, we’d watch the movie. The stories still hold together well and it was great seeing them through new eyes. And yes, we visited Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Brandon Sanderson
After reading the Mistborn and Wax & Wayne series last year, I dove into Stormlight this year. Whoa. Unlike most authors, Sanderson jumps right into his world with its concepts, traditions, and even animals without much explanation. It was intense but within a couple chapters, you realize how well it holds together.
- The Way of Kings: Book One of the Stormlight Archive
- Words of Radiance: Book Two of the Stormlight Archive
- Oathbringer: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive
- Rhythm of War: Book Four of the Stormlight Archive
- Dawnshard: From the Stormlight Archive
Note: Based on early feedback of Book Five of the Stormlight Archive, I’m probably done with this series.
For the love of all that is holy, I hated this book. The lead character is basically the ultimate 110 IQ pedantic – you know the guy saying “well, acktually” and “citation needed” on everything – but dropped into a medieval world. The world itself and how it came about is interesting but the character was unbearable.
- The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (Secret Projects 2)
Scott Sigler
I originally picked up Earthcore years ago because Scott Sigler – the author and reader of the 7th Son Podcast way back in the day – had an excellent, compelling storytelling style. Rereading it years later, it still lands as a compelling story of a bunch of people with various motivations being briefly aligned and how they’re pulled together. The sequel takes a different form with different motivations and it ends in an odd place. You can skip the second.
- Earthcore (The Sun Symbol Series Book 1)
- Mount Fitz Roy (The Sun Symbol Series Book 2)
J.R.R. Tolkien
The man, the myth, the legend. This is another one I read aloud to the kids doing voices and it is still great. Specifically, I read my original copy I’ve had since 1990 or so. Aftwards, we watched the fan edit of the “trilogy” and it matched nicely. Definitely still a great read after many many decades.
John C. Wright
I sincerely enjoy Wright’s works, even those that aren’t strictly fiction. In this one, he analyzes how different scifi authors approach their worlds and writing based on their philosophical and moral foundations. His thesis is that once you understand their world view, you understand their world creation and how heroism, good/evil, and more will be approached in their worlds. It’s fascinating and impossible to unsee.
Did I miss any great books you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments or via Twitter.
All links above are Amazon affiliate links.