Recently Read
I used to own a social bookshelf webapp, but as of right now, I'm happy with this page. Taking it slowly, shall we? A lot of Murakami re-reading, as you can see.
2023
January
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- The Sunny Nihilist: A Declaration of the Pleasure of Pointlessness
- I felt old reading this. Like it wasn't for someone of my age. Some food for thought here and there.
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- The Whisper Man
- That was a powerful and haunting story. Another fantastic crime thriller from the author of The Shadows, but I like it more.
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- The Shadows
- Amazing thriller — frightfully atmospheric. Made me start the author's other book as soon as I finished it.
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- The Sorrows of Satan
- Faustian gothic tale. Couldn't finished, unfortunately. Not that fun.
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- The Dancers at the End of Time
- Head-tripping old-school scifi. Loved it
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2022
December
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- Borderless
- Boring.
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- Bandwidth
- Good but a slow burner.
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- Neon Fever Dream
- Nice novella in classic Eliot Peper style. Quick read.
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- Exit Strategy
- Last part of the Uncommon Series by Eliot Peper. Fun quick romp.
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- Power Play
- Direct continuation of Version 1.0. Read it in one seat, fun.
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- Version 1.0
- The first book I read by Eliot Peper. Fun. (Re-read)
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November
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- Cumulus
- Decided to read all books by Eliot. Cumulus is not as good as R3aper, but still good. (Re-read)
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- In the Miso Soup
- The other Murakami. Also terrific. (Re-read)
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- R3aper
- Best book by Eliot until now.
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- Devil House
- Amazingly written. The final chapters packs a punch.
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- Kismet: A Thriller
- Boring.
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- Kick the Latch
- Not the best book by Scalan, but fun anyway.
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- Lady Joker Volume 2
- Amazing ending to an amazing book. Loved it.
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- Lady Joker Volume 1
- Read it again to get prepared for volume 2.
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October
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- Terminal Boredom: Stories
- Boring. Expected more of this one.
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- The Double Star and Other Occult Fantasies
- Maddening, crazy and gothic. Very fun.
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September
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- Carnality
- Beautifully written. Almost dropped at the begin (its a slow-burn) but it wraps up well.
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- Aug 9 - Fog
- Minimal, but deeply poetic. Read it twice already
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- The Dominant Animal: Stories
- Short and raw stories, magnificently written
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- Annabel Scheme
- Very fun. Related to Books/Penumbraverse Tour
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- Ajax Penumbra 1969
- Lovely prequel to Penumbra's Bookstore. Makes you want more and more. Part of my Books/Penumbraverse Tour
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August
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- Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
- Re-reading it as part of my Books/Penumbraverse Tour
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- Lenormand Basics
- Dipping my toes on Lenormand
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- The Easy Life in Kamusari
- Really enjoyed this one. A classic Japanese books about nothing
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- Tokyo Vice
- Dropped in the middle. May revisit in the future
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July
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- Programming in Lua
- Always fun to get back to a language without arrays
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- The Ginza Ghost
- Read almost until the end, but got tired of it. Formulaic
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May
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- Dreaming Pachinko
- Lovely Billy Chaka book. Always a pleasure.
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- Last Night in Montreal
- This book is absolutely lovely. The characters are compelling even though they're not all likable.
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April
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- The Candy House
- Not as good as "A Visit from the Goon Squad".
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- A Visit from the Goon Squad
- Amazing. Loved this one so much. Engrossing characters, dark and funny at the same time. A favorite
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- Out There
- Black Mirror vibes. Loved it
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March
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- Urge: Our History of Addiction
- I dig it. Deep research mixed with the author's own recovery story
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- Devil House
- Dropped it. Not in the right mind-space, I think. May try again later
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- A Study in Scarlet
- A classic. Read it in the past and it's always a guilty pleasure
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- Binge
- Not that fun. Plowed through it quickly, left no mark
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February
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- The Inugami Curse
- A classic. Formulaic but good
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- Play Bigger
- Dropped it. Boring and too PR-ish
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- Deserter (Junji Ito)
- Amazing collection of early Ito works. Simpler stories, from a simpler time
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January
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- Frankenstein (Junji Ito)
- Not my favorite. Still good nonetheless
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2021
December
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- LaserWriter II
- Dropped. I wasn't in the proper mental state to read it, I think. Will try again as part of the Books/Penumbraverse Tour
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- The Tokyo Zodiac Murders
- Expected more from it. Well written, but not that good
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November
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- The Lady Killer
- This book has lots of twists and turns, and an improbable plot, but it is still interesting to read
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- Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination
- It has some of his best short stories, The Human Chair, The Caterpillar
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October
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- Fall or, Dodge in Hell
- Loved the first half, hated the rest. Classic Stephenson
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September
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- Malice
- Keigo Higashino never disappoints. Nice page turner
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- The Nakano Thrift Shop
- Loved it. Another amazing Japanese books about nothing
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August
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- How to Live
- It's simple. Derek writes, I read it
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- Six Four
- Feels like a lite version of Lady Joker. Quick fun japanese crime/mystery novel
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- Hokkaido Popsicle
- As good as Tokyo Suckerpunch, with the same manic energy and humor.
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- Prosper's Demon
- Amazing novella. Would read more on this universe
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- Awaken Online: Dominion
- Repetitive. I like it as a quick escapism, like the others in the series
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- Four Thousand Weeks
- Burkeman writes amazingly well. Not a lot of new stuff here, but relates well to my values and perspectives
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- Tokyo Suckerpunch
- An explosive, out-of-control trip through the underbelly of Tokyo
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- Awaken Online: Apathy
- Fun and simple. Sadly the series is getting boring to me
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- The Price You Pay
- Amazing. I snorted this book in one sitting while on vacation
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July
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- A Wild Sheep Chase
- Murakami. Always. The Rat. Always
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- The Woman in the Dunes
- Amazingly written, makes you feel so desperate
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- The Vegetarian
- Disturbing and beautiful. I will read it again
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- The Importance of Living
- Good but not great. Part of The Garden's Library
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- The Factory
- A bit Murakami-sh, surreal and metodic
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- Number9Dream: A Novel
- Dropped at the begin. Couldn't get into it
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- Zen and the Forth Language
- A bit of a weird book. Dropped it in the middle
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- Pines
- Fun, but didn't liked the end
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- The Decagon House Murders
- Classic honkaku mystery. Very good
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- Awaken Online: Evolution
- Another simple and easy to read MMORPG romp
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- Awaken Online: Retribution
- Another simple and easy to read MMORPG romp
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June
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- Awaken Online: Precipice
- Another simple and easy to read MMORPG romp
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- Lazy Dungeon Master: Volume 1
- Not that fun
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- Housekeeping
- Didn't really pulled me in
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- The Hike
- Crazy and surreal. I dig it
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- Paper Towns
- No no no
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- Below
- One of the best dungeon crawling books I ever read
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- Lady Joker Volume 1
- So so so good. So Japanese. Can't wait to read it again when Volume 2 gets released.
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May
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- The Big Sleep
- Had fun with this one. Oldschool hardboiled fiction
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- The Stoic Body
- Meh.
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- Sweet Evil
- Trying to be a shocker, but in the end it's only a bore
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- Optionality: How to Survive and Thrive in a Volatile World
- Lovely. Really liked it
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- Double Whammy
- I like anything written by Carl Hiaasen. Always light and fun
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- First Person Singular: Stories
- Murakami, my favorite author — will read and re-read forever
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- An Abundance of Katherines Book
- John green is a book generator based in a single template
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- Summer Frost
- Simple novella with I Robot feels
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- The Great Passage
- Simple masterwork. Will read again
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April
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- Hideki's Flying Toilet Invention and Other Stories
- Crazy and forgetable
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- Low-Tech Magazine 2007-2012
- A bit of a bore. Good to unwind
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- The Virgin Suicides
- Amazing book. Felt a lot of different emotions through it, mostly of them unpleasant.
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- Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche
- Not ready for it. But always good
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- Death Dealers and Diabolists
- Not the best Sword And Sorcery Books
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- Jesus's Son
- Really fun and crazy
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- No One Is Talking About This: A Novel
- Too short. Really fun
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- Hell Yeah or No
- Derek is one of my favorite non-fiction authors. This one is a classic
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- Principes
- Good, but too repetitive. Read a summary.
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- The Elephant Vanishes
- More Murakami. Always good
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- Looking for Alaska
- John green is a book generator based in a single template
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March
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- The Godblade
- Boring. Not selected for Sword And Sorcery Books
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- A World Without Email
- I don't want a world without Email. I prefer to drop the Zoom calls
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- Do Nothing: Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving
- More of the same advice
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- The C Programming Language 2nd edition
- A classic. Rereading it
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- Busy Doing Nothing
- Lovely trip log. Good daily meditation.
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February
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- The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere
- More of the same advice
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- It doesn't have to be crazy at work
- Classic, very inspiring
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- Small pleasures (the school of life library)
- One of the best books of the year. Must re-read it often
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January
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- Necromancy in Nilztiria ‡
- One of the best Sword And Sorcery Books
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- The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking ‡ ∞
- Lovely addition to The Garden
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- Drinking to distraction
- Good quit-lit
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