I had little motivation to read going into 2024. I set my Goodreads reading challenge at 12 books. I was not optimistic.

But then, a light. I remembered that Brandon Sanderson was set to release book 5 of The Stormlight Archive in December. I had to prepare.

Sure, that’s only 4 books, but the Stormlight books are huge. The shortest one is 1007 pages. Don’t forget the 2 Stormlight novellas. Oh, and since The Stormlight Archive is part of the larger Cosmere, I couldn’t not re-read most of the rest of the Cosmere books. It’d been over a decade since I’d read some of them.

With all of those Sanderson books plus a few more I managed to squeeze in, I blew past my initial goal of 12 books, landing at 23.

Here’s the list of books I read in 2024, organized by date read.

1. The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

2. Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5) by Brandon Sanderson

3. All Souls Lost by Dan Moren

4. Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3) by Brandon Sanderson

5. Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson

6. Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4) by Brandon Sanderson

7. The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

8. The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2) by Brandon Sanderson

9. The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3) by Brandon Sanderson

10. Sixth of the Dusk by Brandon Sanderson

11. Secret History (Mistborn, #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson

12. The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson

13. Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson

14. The Eleventh Metal by Brandon Sanderson

15. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

16. The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4) by Brandon Sanderson

17. Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5) by Brandon Sanderson

18. The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6) by Brandon Sanderson

19. The Lost Metal (Mistborn, #7) by Brandon Sanderson

20. The Staff Engineer’s Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change by Tanya Reilly

21. Engineering Management for the Rest of Us by Sarah Drasner

22. Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5) by Brandon Sanderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

23. Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track by Will Larson

I do realize I’m publishing this a full year late. Better late than never?

My reading goal for 2023 was 15 books, which I noted was optimistic when I set the goal. I got pretty close, coming in at 13 books.

Here’s the list of books I read in 2023, organized by date read.

1. The Lost Metal (Mistborn, #7) by Brandon Sanderson

2. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

3. The Nova Incident (The Galactic Cold War, #3) by Dan Moren

4. Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris

5. James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes by James Acaster

6. How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Michael Schur

7. James Acaster’s Guide to Quitting Social Media by James Acaster

8. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

9. Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel, #1) by Josiah Bancroft

10. Children of Memory (Children of Time, #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky

11. The Sunlit Man (The Stormlight Archive, #5.5) by Brandon Sanderson

12. Defiant (Skyward, #4) by Brandon Sanderson

13. The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

My goal for 2022 was to read 22 books. I only managed 9. Have you heard people say that having 3 kids is significantly more difficult than 2 kids? It’s 100% true. We’re out numbered. It didn’t help that the 3rd kid was sick a lot (4 ER visits plus a 6 nights in a hospital for COVID, RSV, and a Rhinovirus). I also started a new job in March.

So I’m shooting to read 15 books in 2023. It feels optimistic, but I need some optimism in my life.

Here’s the list of books I read in 2022, organized by date read.

1. Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman

2. The End of Everything by Katie Mack

3. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

4. Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

5. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak — I went into this thinking it was going to be real stories, sorta like David Sedaris novels. It was not.

6. Cosmos by Carl Sagan

7. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan

8. The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green — I loved this.

9. Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson

My goal for 2021 was to read 20 books. I read 24! I’m going for 22 in 2022.

Here’s the list of books I read in 2021, organized by date read.

1. A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

2. How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

3. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

4. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

5. A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost

6. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

7. Cibola Burn (The Expanse, #4) by James S.A. Corey. I started this series before watching the TV show adaptation The Expanse on Prime Video. The show has gone past what I’ve read so I’m now playing catch up. There are enough differences between the books and show to still make these a fun read.

8. Bridges: Ministering to Those Who Question by David B. Ostler. Highly recommended for members of the LDS (Mormon) church who want to understand and maintain relationships with those who question or even leave the church.

9. Abaddon’s Gate (The Expanse #3) by James S.A. Corey. Yes, I did accidentally read book four before book three. The TV show already covered both books so it wasn’t a big deal, thankfully.

10. Nemesis Games (The Expanse #5) by James S.A. Corey

11. Naked by David Sedaris

12. Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

13. Oh God Not Again! by Sarah1281

14. Babylon’s Ashes (The Expanse, #6) by James S.A. Corey

15. Lux (Texas Reckoners, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

16. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Excellent book.

17. Persepolis Rising (The Expanse, #7) by James S.A. Corey

18. Tiamat’s Wrath (The Expanse, #8) by James S.A. Corey

19. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

20. The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad by Mike Birbiglia

21. Children of Time (Children of Time, #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I absolutely loved this.

22. Cytonic (Skyward, #3) by Brandon Sanderson

23. Leviathan Falls (The Expanse, #9) by James S.A. Corey

24. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez. Wow. I thought I knew how big of a dumpster fire the world is for women, but it’s so much worse than I thought. Highly recommended.

These are the books I read during the untamed, rampant dumpster fire of a year that was 2020, organized by date read.

1. Starsight (Skyward #2) by Brandon Sanderson.

2. Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson. This is the first Star Wars book I’ve read/listened to. The audiobook had a bunch of sound effects which I found distracting.

3. Age of Death (The Legends of the First Empire, #5) by Michael J. Sullivan

4. Educated by Tara Westover

5. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons

6. Bossypants by Tina Fey

7. Yes Please! by Amy Poehler

8. Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan

9. Age of Empyre (The Legends of the First Empire #6) by Michael J. Sullivan

10. The Aleph Extraction (The Galactic Cold War, #2) by Dan Moren

11. Calypso by David Sedaris

12. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

13. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

14. I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels

15. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

16. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

17. Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture by Ken Jennings

18. Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4), by Brandon Sanderson

19. The Lost Sapphire of Azure Isle (Shadow Sovereign, #2), by Vona Stewart

20. Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #3), Jessica Townsend