Ben Saufley - Reading

Books I've Rated 4.5 / 5

Ratings Breakdown

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

143

3.5

4

183

4.5

5

Black PillHow I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics

by Elle Reeve

Finished 2025-05-31
SemiosisA novel of first contact

by Sue Burke

Finished 2025-03-16
Impossible Creatures

by Katherine Rundell

Finished 2025-02-14

This has been getting major marketing and though the cover had me interested right away I was a bit skeptical for that reason (that and it was presented in one store very closely connected to the now-poisoned HP franchise). But boy, I really enjoyed it. It’s comfortable and built on a lot of tropes, but in a really nice way. The world felt distinct, and the characters were charming. The writing is smart and not at all cynical, and it’s hard to write without cynicism and not come off as saccharine. Definitely recommend.
How Civil Wars StartAnd How to Stop Them

by Barbara F. Walter

Finished 2025-01-23
The Book That Wouldn't Burn

by Mark Lawrence

Finished 2024-11-09
Children of Memory

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Finished 2024-09-06
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

by Gabrielle Zevin

Finished 2024-05-09
End of Story

by A.J. Finn

Finished 2024-03-26

Honestly the mystery wrapped up really nicely with nothing coming out of thin air and yet I didn’t figure basically any of it out. A very satisfying mystery with what I think is a well-handled “trans!” twist that doesn’t belittle the character, reduce her to the twist, or treat her as abnormal. But I’m an outsider there as a cis dude so maybe I’m off base.
The Golden Enclaves

by Naomi Novik

Finished 2024-03-20

I really enjoyed the first two books but this one took it to a whole new level and I loved it. A great end to the trilogy.
The Lies of Locke Lamora

by Scott Lynch

Finished 2024-02-16

Picked up this book at a friend’s recommendation years ago but put it down because it seemed grimdark. It isn’t! It’s not always totally light but it’s a lot more intrigue and adventure and heist kind of stuff once you get past the intro. Great fun overall. Did not know where the book was taking me until it was over, but in this case that wasn’t a bad thing. It wrapped up (mostly) well.
The Burning God

by R. F. Kuang

Finished 2023-10-10
CribsheetA Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool

by Emily Oster

Finished 2023-07-22

Oster’s stance on COVID matters has been disappointing to uncover after making it most of the way through this book; but the book in general is a pretty level-headed and un-opinionated overview of data that I found helpful. I’m not taking anything in it as gospel, but it was at least a good high-level overview of a lot of topics, including some I didn’t know I needed to know about.
Morning Star

by Pierce Brown

Finished 2023-07-03

Really enjoyed this. Resolved the series well. Found that I had grown really attached to the characters by the end.

two spoiler things: First, dunno if it was this book or the last, but I wasn’t up for the redemption of Tactus the rapist. I did not feel sad when he got his comeuppance. And second, I feel like the twist near the end here could easily have come off as Deus Ex Machina but I believe it was pretty well-executed. My only gripe is that at no point in the trilogy before that point had we seen such an unreliable narrator. Yes, Sevrus had swooped in a few times without warning, but it seemed like we saw real emotion from the protagonist when he “died,” which is more than withholding information. But still, even with that, I liked it. It was set up well and was a big moment of joy when it was revealed.
The Dragon Republic

by R. F. Kuang

Finished 2023-01-21
Constance

by Matthew FitzSimmons

Finished 2022-12-08

I think the resolution wasn’t as strong as the setup but it was still very interesting. Really enjoyed the book overall. A lot of fascinating philosophical questions wrapped up in a sci-fi thriller. Good stuff.

Books I've Rated 4.5 / 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%); } Black PillHow I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics

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

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

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } How Civil Wars StartAnd How to Stop Them

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Book That Wouldn't Burn

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

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

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

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

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

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

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } CribsheetA Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool

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

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

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

Black PillHow I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics

SemiosisA novel of first contact

Impossible Creatures

How Civil Wars StartAnd How to Stop Them

The Book That Wouldn't Burn

Children of Memory

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

End of Story

The Golden Enclaves

The Lies of Locke Lamora

The Burning God

CribsheetA Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool

Morning Star

The Dragon Republic

Constance