Mar 11, 2026Memoirs of Hadrian
By Marguerite YourcenarThere are basically two things about this book. On one hand: it is extremely well-researched, well-written, taken from decades of notes used to construct a book of a level of depth and richness which feels like it might be unparalleled in historical fiction. Maybe I don't read too much historical fiction (or for that matter non-fiction of this time), and Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy does maybe come close here, but it immediately captured and engaged me and felt overwhelmingly authentically about 2nd century Rome, and as if it were written by an elderly emperor & statesman. The story of a man, the story of a country, the story of a world that I do not know, just wonderfully portrayed.
Mar 7, 2026Two Serpents Rise
By Max GladstoneI might be out of practice/calibration with the star rating here, it was a good book with a fun worldbuilding premise: demonologists, but Wall St., or Wall St. but demonology. Ultimately I wasn't all that compelled, I think the plot effectively flowed from the world and the characters from the plot, the prose was mundane, the word palimpsest showed up (which I always hold against authors), and there wasn't that much that I found surprising or interesting. Engaging enough, I suppose, I may continue down the Craft Sequence, we'll see
Feb 18, 2026Planetfall
By Emma NewmanCool world-building, wild alien biology, and simultaneously one of the better representations of crippling anxieties out there, which makes it a bit of a tougher read at times. I picked this up because the podcast the author does with Adrian Tchaikovsky is an excellent forum of discussion on science-fiction books and media, and I'm glad I did. I consumed the following books in the series quite quickly (After Atlas, Before Mars, and Atlas Alone), and I thought they were all interesting evolutions, never sharing characters but always building on different aspects of leaving, loss, and distressing loss of agency (and of course Capitalism Being Bad).
Feb 9, 2026Legends & Lattes
By Travis BaldreeCalm, cozy, not really what I'm looking for in a Good Book but also we don't always need a Good Book, sometimes calm and cozy is needed. Same applies to the sequel Bookshops & Bonedust, and I'll get the third when it comes out.