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Reading

A log of my recent reads, with a fairly arbitrary star rating for each.

  • Book cover for Going Postal

    Going Postal

    Terry Pratchett

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in August 2023

    Moist Von Lipwig’s debut is a Discworld series highlight, and the Industrial Revolution subseries as a whole has been great so far. In Going Postal I particularly enjoyed the cameo from an X-Files-esque trio of hackers 👨‍💻

    A man is not dead while his name is still spoken

  • Book cover for The Hero of Ages

    The Hero of Ages

    Brandon Sanderson

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in August 2023

    An incredibly satisfying end to the Mistborn trilogy; there were several moments I had to put the book down and stare vacantly out the window while I processed the story’s latest turn 🤯

    In The Hero of Ages Sanderson continues to build and expand upon the world and systems set up in the previous 2 books, before pulling everything together and fully resolving every thread. I’ve really enjoyed Mistborn, and I’ll delve in to another Sanderson series when my head stops spinning.

    There’s always another secret.

  • Book cover for The Art of Leadership

    The Art of Leadership

    Michael Lopp

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in July 2023

    Insightful anecdotes and valuable tips from three distinct stages of a career in technical leadership - manager, director, and executive.

  • Book cover for The Thursday Murder Club

    The Thursday Murder Club

    Richard Osman

    ⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in July 2023

    One of those books that seems to get recommended all the time, The Thursday Murder Club was entertaining and kept me guessing.

  • Book cover for The Well of Ascension

    The Well of Ascension

    Brandon Sanderson

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in June 2023

    A bit of a slower burn than The Final Empire, until it suddenly isn’t. If this series is ever made in to a TV show, I hope the characters “raise an eyebrow” every 20 seconds or so to remain true to the books 🙃

  • Book cover for A Hat Full of Sky

    A Hat Full of Sky

    Terry Pratchett

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in May 2023

    The second book of the Tiffany Aching Discworld subseries, which is fast becoming a contender for my favourite! Pratchett explores the power of stories, belief, and community, in another “young adult” novel that refuses to talk down to younger readers.

    Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours. And the people there see you differently too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.

  • Book cover for The Final Empire

    The Final Empire

    Brandon Sanderson

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in April 2023

    I hadn’t read Brandon Sanderson before, and The Way of Kings looked a bit long for a new-to-me author at ~1,000 pages. Instead I chose The Final Empire, the first book in the Mistborn trilogy, which turned out to be nearly 800 pages so I really didn’t save much reading! Fortunately it was a great read. Sanderson’s world-building is excellent, and the magic system - Allomancy - was well thought out and made for some incredible action scenes. I’ll continue the trilogy after dipping back in to Discworld for a bit.

  • Book cover for Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager

    Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager

    James Stanier

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in April 2023

    An excellent resource for new engineering managers, and probably those that have been doing the job for a while too. I picked up a few tips from this book that I use daily.

  • Book cover for The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

    The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

    Dave Grohl

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in April 2023

    Lives up to the title; Dave Grohl tells great stories! Every page overflows with passion for the things that matter most to him in life - family, friends, and music.

  • Book cover for The Amber Spyglass

    The Amber Spyglass

    Philip Pullman

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in March 2023

    The worlds of His Dark Materials are well-built and incredibly imaginitive. I found some of the character development in this last book puzzling; Lyra and Mrs Coulter in particular seemed to undergo quite sudden and drastic personality changes. That aside, The Amber Spyglass was an extraordinary end to a series I really enjoyed.

  • Book cover for The Subtle Knife

    The Subtle Knife

    Philip Pullman

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in March 2023

    I felt the story was slowing down a bit as I reached the middle of the book, but it soon shifted back up a gear and I found myself hooked again. On to The Amber Spyglass!

  • Book cover for Northern Lights

    Northern Lights

    Philip Pullman

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in February 2023

    I’d been aware of His Dark Materials for a while, but hadn’t gotten round to checking out the series until a couple of colleagues recommended the first book. I’m glad they did - I loved the intricately detailed world, and appreciated the rapid pace of the story in this first volume. I’m looking forward to continuing the series.

  • Book cover for Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes: The Official Biography

    Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes: The Official Biography

    Rob Wilkins

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in February 2023

    As a lifelong Discworld fan this was an absolute must-read. Anecdotes and memories shared by a man who was by Terry’s side through the good times and the hard ones, right up to the end that came too soon. A joyful read that became a very difficult one as I neared the conclusion of the book, and finishing it felt like losing Terry all over again.

    GNU Terry Pratchett

  • Book cover for Spare

    Spare

    Prince Harry

    ⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in January 2023

    Interesting, sometimes amusing, occasionally eyeroll-inducing during sections casually recounting a breathtakingly privileged life with barely an acknowledgment of it. Perhaps to be expected of an actual prince, though. I thought spoken dialogue was handled a little weirdly - always in italics.

  • Book cover for Monstrous Regiment

    Monstrous Regiment

    Terry Pratchett

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in December 2022

    A Discworldly take on the military, gender roles, and sexism. It took me longer than I’d care to admit to spot some of the character… developments, let’s call them 🙈

  • Book cover for The Wee Free Men

    The Wee Free Men

    Terry Pratchett

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    📆 Read in November 2022

    I have found the book I’ll use to introduce my daughter to the Discworld. Tiffany Aching is a wonderful role model for little girls everywhere and, frankly, everyone else too. Top-tier Pratchett!

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