Beyond Reality discussion

I know it's a few days early, but let's see your lists! Here's my favorites, in no particular order:

SF/F:
Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey (but don't read it if you haven't read the Kushiel trilogy first)
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
The Scarab Path by Adrian Tchaikovsky (representing the whole of the Shadows of the Apt series, which I haven't quite finished yet but this was my favorite volume so far).
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey (loved it but probably for longtime Valdemar fans only)
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
Lock In and Head On by John Scalzi
The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp

Mysteries:
The Hunter by Tana French
A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas (Lady Sherlock book 7)
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Nonfiction:
Strong Female Character by Fern Brady (listened to this one on audio)
Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne
Fixing My Gaze: A Scientist's Journey into Seeing in Three Dimensions by Susan R. Barry
The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean

Most of the books I read this year were rated 4 stars, which tells me that I made some good choices this year. :)

My favorites:

SF/F
The Road to Roswell
Passage
Nettle & Bone
Starter Villain

Horror
The September House
How to Sell a Haunted House

Short Story
Walking to Aldebaran

Hmm, I liked about half the books I read this year, I might have to choose better in 2025.

My favourites are:

SF/F
The Cloud Roads
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn
The Tainted Cup
Uprooted
Spinning Silver
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory

Non-Fiction
Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
The Path to Longevity: How to Reach 100 With the Health and Stamina of a 40-Year-Old

Canadian Literature
What I Know About You
Hotline
Curiosities
Held

My 2024 reading goal was to read 100 books and I surpassed that, reading 109. My average rating on a 10 point scale was 7.4, compared to last year’s 7.9. Either I’m rating books more harshly or I’m choosing more books I didn’t like very well.

However, 10 books earned a top rating of 10: Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler, The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi, All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay, Pride of Kings by Judith Tarr, A Conjuring of Light by Victoria E. Schwab, Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune, Salute the Dark and The Scarab Path, both by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Voices by Ursula K. Le Guin, and The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks. Another 15 books earned a rating of 9.0-9.5.

My lowest rankings this year were 2.0-2.5, “earned” by a couple short stories/novellas: The Garden by Tomi Adeyemi and The Candles Are Burning by Veronica G. Henry. Both were part of an Amazon Originals Collection called Into Shadow.

Fasntasy & science fiction comprised most of my reading in 2024, as they do most every year, but I also read a number of historical mysteries and a variety of books from other genres.

My goal for 2025 is 75 books, a decrease from this year because I will be traveling more this year and likely also listening to longer audiobooks when I walk rather than novellas.