1. Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson. What a strange, fascinating book -- a mix of sci-fi and fantasy and myth and drama. Unlike anything I've read in awhile, and so well-written. 8/10.
2. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. This is a heartbreaking story. It's so beautifully written and captures the slow breakdown of the narrator's mental state through the horrors of war. It makes me really want to see the film adaptation, which I'd never been particularly interested in. 9/10.
3. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. This has become Jacob's favorite book series and he's been trying to get me to read it for forever, so I'm glad I got to it. And it's really interesting. It's got great worldbuilding and plot and is definitely interesting. I'm not sure I'm as sold on the characterization as he is, but, hey, I'm reading the next two books in the series, so we'll see if that changes! For now, 8/10.
4. Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. This is a great concept for a sci fi story that then becomes one of the most tedious books I've ever read. So very disappointing. 3/10.
5. Anathem by Neal Stephenson. Wow, this was... a verbose read. There are parts of this that I really loved. I liked that it's like half philosophy. I liked the world of the avout, shut away from the world. But the second half of the book takes a turn that doesn't quite work with me, and it is a dense book to read. Like, it takes a lot of work. I'd say like... 5/10.
6. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie. The sequel to #3 on this list, and another good one. But it does feel like what it is -- the middle book in a trilogy -- so it's strange to rank on its own. 7/10.
7. The Annotated Marx Brothers by Matthew Coniam. I'm a moderate Marx Brothers fan, and it was cool to get more info on the movies I knew as well as getting a better view of the scope of their full movie careers. It definitely made me interested in watching a few I hadn't seen yet as well. 7/10.
8. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. And I finished up the Imperial Radch trilogy. This is good stuff. Very creative and interesting, and it's an extremely satisfying finale. 8/10. Maybe 9/10 for the whole trilogy.
9. As You Wish by Cary Elwes. Just a moment-by-moment sharing of anecdotes of making The Princess Bride. This would not be nearly as interesting if I didn't enjoy the movie so much. I think the idea of including anecdotes from other people involved was also a very smart move and rounded out the story. 6/10.
10. The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn. What an interestingly-written book. These are compelling central characters, but there's so much of this story spent on characters I do not know or care enough about, and overall it kind of falls a little flat. 5/10.
Have you read any of these? What have you been reading lately?
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