Ben Saufley - Reading

Books I've Rated 3 / 5

Ratings Breakdown

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

144

3.5

4

192

4.5

5

Vox

by Christina Dalcher

Finished 2018-12-02

I listened to this on audible and it ended … very suddenly? I’m going to have to search out if I missed some … very crucial stuff. But I don’t feel like I did? I was really enjoying this, and then it just ended.
The Last Colony

by John Scalzi

Finished 2018-11-27
The Grace of Kings

by Ken Liu

Finished 2018-11-04

I loved The Paper Menagerie—one of my favorite books in recent years. It was full of life and really fascinating ideas and characters. I didn’t feel the same about The Grace of Kings, which felt, for large swaths, like a summary. I only really settled into an understanding of the main characters and the thrust of the novel in probably the second half of the book, and even then many new chapters started by introducing characters, spending a while telling their back story, and then having them pop into the “present” timeline just to vanish for one reason or another. By the end of the book, it had established a rhythm and had focused more on the lives and stories of a few primary characters, and I enjoyed that. But I’m giving it a 3 because much of the book was spent summarizing great historical events and jumping around a bit confusingly in time, and not focusing on the human elements of the story.
The First Book of Swords

by Fred Saberhagen

Finished 2018-10-18
Lethal White

by Robert Galbraith, Robert Glenister

Finished 2018-10-11

Note: please see my 2025 blog post re: Rowling
The Obelisk Gate

by N.K. Jemisin

Finished 2018-09-21
The Fifth Season

by N.K. Jemisin

Finished 2018-09-07
Seraphina

by Rachel Hartman

Finished 2018-08-07

Really middle of the road for me. Decently-written, moderately interesting/original world while still being familiar enough to hit that fantasy itch, but never really hooked me. Kind of curious to see how the stuff set up in this book plays out, so I may pick up the next one, but not right away.
Lincoln in the Bardo

by George Saunders

Finished 2018-08-02
No Second Chance

by Harlan Coben

Finished 2018-07-22
Age of Myth

by Michael J. Sullivan

Finished 2018-07-19

Entertaining and competently written. Hugely formulaic, built on tons of familiar tropes, beginning to end, but well-enough put together. I might listen to more. Early on, the freed slave gives this small out-of-nowhere Ayn Rand rant about the value of struggling to survive that almost made me put down the book. But in the end I didn’t get a ton of that—in fact I got some stuff that was at times quite contrary to it—so I’m happy to have finished it. I might read the next one.
An American Marriage

by Tayari Jones

Finished 2018-07-13
FactfulnessTen Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

by Hans Rosling

Finished 2018-05-17
Sharp Objects

by Gillian Flynn

Finished 2018-05-17
Everfair

by Nisi Shawl

Finished 2018-05-10

◂◂◂ Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next ▸▸▸

Books I've Rated 3 / 5

Ratings Breakdown

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Vox

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Last Colony

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Grace of Kings

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The First Book of Swords

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Lethal White

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Obelisk Gate

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Fifth Season

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Seraphina

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Lincoln in the Bardo

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } No Second Chance

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Age of Myth

An American Marriage

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } FactfulnessTen Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Sharp Objects

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Everfair

Vox

The Last Colony

The Grace of Kings

The First Book of Swords

Lethal White

The Obelisk Gate

The Fifth Season

Seraphina

Lincoln in the Bardo

No Second Chance

Age of Myth

FactfulnessTen Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

Sharp Objects

Everfair