Fiction
I didn’t get through too many books this year, I’m afraid. Some combination of work, tennis, and too many video games ate into my reading time. I’ll try again next year!
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
I read the first two books of the Stormlight Archive: The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. This is currently a five book series with more on the way. Anyways, I’ve heard others claim that this is Sanderson’s best series, and I can see why. The books follow several characters, most notably Kaladin, Shallin, Dalinar, and Adolin, in war with a world with a mysterious history, and several factions aiming to gain advantage. This takes place in a setting containing advanced ancient weaponry, and a weakly understood magic system that a handful are able to wield. Really fun, page-turning fiction. Hoping to read more this year!
Non-fiction
Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
I enjoy these kind of pop-psych books that Gladwell writes. They’re fun to read, and I don’t always agree with the conclusions he draws, but there are always some interesting anecdotes and thought provoking stories.
Revenge of the Tipping Point by Alain Bertaud
The author chatted at Stripe earlier this year and was pretty interesting, so I picked up his book. Order without Design explores the intersection of market economics and urban planning. It’s a bit wonkish at times which made it difficult to read casually after a long work day. But, with some downtime around the holiday, I enjoyed spending several hours reading through it. The chapter on housing was particularly compelling.