Ryan Martinsen

Books I read in 2025

2026-01-06T10:00:00Z

My reading goal for 2025 was 15 books and I read 15 books. Yes, just over half of them are re-reads. They still count.

Here’s the list of books I read in 2025, organized by date read.

The Armageddon Protocol (The Galactic Cold War, #4) by Dan Moren
An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management by Will Larson
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by Bell Hooks
The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2) by Brandon Sanderson
Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3) by Brandon Sanderson
Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4) by Brandon Sanderson
Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5) by Brandon Sanderson
Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company by Patrick McGee
Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson
Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations, #1-2) by Michael J. Sullivan
Rise of Empire (The Riyria Revelations, #3-4) by Michael J. Sullivan
Heir of Novron (The Riyria Revelations, #5-6) by Michael J. Sullivan
Drumindor (The Riyria Chronicles, #5) by Michael J. Sullivan
Tailored Realities by Brandon Sanderson

Books I read in 2024

2025-01-01T23:52:00Z

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.

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5) by Brandon Sanderson
All Souls Lost by Dan Moren
Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3) by Brandon Sanderson
Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson
Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4) by Brandon Sanderson
The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) by Brandon Sanderson
The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2) by Brandon Sanderson
The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3) by Brandon Sanderson
Sixth of the Dusk by Brandon Sanderson
Secret History (Mistborn, #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson
The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
The Eleventh Metal by Brandon Sanderson
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4) by Brandon Sanderson
Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5) by Brandon Sanderson
The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6) by Brandon Sanderson
The Lost Metal (Mistborn, #7) by Brandon Sanderson
The Staff Engineer’s Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change by Tanya Reilly
Engineering Management for the Rest of Us by Sarah Drasner
Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5) by Brandon Sanderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track by Will Larson

Books I read in 2023

2025-01-01T22:36:00Z

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.

The Lost Metal (Mistborn, #7) by Brandon Sanderson
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
The Nova Incident (The Galactic Cold War, #3) by Dan Moren
Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris
James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes by James Acaster
How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Michael Schur
James Acaster’s Guide to Quitting Social Media by James Acaster
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel, #1) by Josiah Bancroft
Children of Memory (Children of Time, #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Sunlit Man (The Stormlight Archive, #5.5) by Brandon Sanderson
Defiant (Skyward, #4) by Brandon Sanderson
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

Books I read in 2022

2023-01-01T11:30:00Z

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.

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman
The End of Everything by Katie Mack
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
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.
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green — I loved this.
Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson

Books I read in 2021

2022-01-07T11:30:00Z

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.

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
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.
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.
Nemesis Games (The Expanse #5) by James S.A. Corey
Naked by David Sedaris
Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
Oh God Not Again! by Sarah1281
Babylon’s Ashes (The Expanse, #6) by James S.A. Corey
Lux (Texas Reckoners, #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Excellent book.
Persepolis Rising (The Expanse, #7) by James S.A. Corey
Tiamat’s Wrath (The Expanse, #8) by James S.A. Corey
Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad by Mike Birbiglia
Children of Time (Children of Time, #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I absolutely loved this.
Cytonic (Skyward, #3) by Brandon Sanderson
Leviathan Falls (The Expanse, #9) by James S.A. Corey
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.

Books I read in 2020

2021-01-02T02:30:00Z

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

Starsight (Skyward #2) by Brandon Sanderson.
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.
Age of Death (The Legends of the First Empire, #5) by Michael J. Sullivan
Educated by Tara Westover
Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Yes Please! by Amy Poehler
Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan
Age of Empyre (The Legends of the First Empire #6) by Michael J. Sullivan
The Aleph Extraction (The Galactic Cold War, #2) by Dan Moren
Calypso by David Sedaris
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture by Ken Jennings
Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4), by Brandon Sanderson
The Lost Sapphire of Azure Isle (Shadow Sovereign, #2), by Vona Stewart
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #3), Jessica Townsend

30 minute toast

2020-03-09T10:00:00Z

One day over a decade ago I was working from a friend’s house. He got up off his computer proclaiming, “I’m going to go make toast.” He returned 30 minutes later, having made toast and eaten it. Plain toast. Not fancy avocado toast. Just plain toasted bread with butter.

30 minutes.

Toast has a half life of about 10 seconds¹. You gotta grab it directly out of a hot toaster and butter it quickly. The hotter the better. If you’re not risking your life by grabbing the toast then you’re waiting too long. Wait too long and you’re going to be eating hard bread with cold butter on it.

How was my friend’s toast even edible? Did he bake the bread first? Was the bread frozen and he thawed it out by holding the entire loaf over an air conditioning vent? Did he think toast meant leaving bread out until it gets stale?

These questions have plagued me for the last decade.

This is why it’s impossible to get good toast at a restaurant.

↩︎

Parenting lots of kids

2020-03-08T04:00:00Z

Ever notice that people with 20 children are like, “after the 3rd kid I stopped noticing any additional work! it totally gets easier. ha ha ha ha”

I think they’re all completely broken inside.

Books I read in 2019

2020-01-03T02:30:00Z

My goal for 2019 was to read 12 books. I re-read 12 books and read 6 new ones for a total of 18. I’m including all the books I re-read in my list here this year.

I’m going for 15 in 2020.

Here’s the list of books I read in 2019, organized by date read.

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. This book is different from his usual books in that its a sci-fi book instead of fantasy. Turns out, he can do sci-fi extremely well.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. I re-read these every few years.
The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth, #2) by N.K. Jemisin. These books are incredibly well written and excellent, but I’m not sure I can continue the series. It’s weird: I like the story, but it takes too much mental effort for me to keep up.
Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #2) by Jessica Townsend. Wonderfully magical series.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling.
Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds by Brandon Sanderson.
The Bayern Agenda by Dan Moren.
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.
Age of Legend (The Legends of the First Empire, #4) by Michael J. Sullivan. Solid installment in a very good series.
Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations, #1-2) by Michael J. Sullivan. First time re-reading this series. Just as good the second time through it.
Rise of Empire (The Riyria Revelations, #3-4) by Michael J. Sullivan.
Heir of Novron (The Riyria Revelations, #5-6) by Michael J. Sullivan.
The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles, #1) by Michael J. Sullivan. This is a prequel to the Riyria Revelations, but if you do read the series read this one after the Revelations series.

Rejected Medical Definitions

2019-09-23T17:50:00Z

blister | ˈblistər |
noun

painful bubble
ouchy

zit | zit |
noun informal

embarassing bubble
mount faceuvius

canker | ˈkaNGkər |
noun

a rift in time and space

ingrown toenail | ˈinɡrōn ˈtōˌnāl |
noun

satan’s revenge

hemorrhoid | ˈhem(ə)ˌroid | (British haemorrhoid)
noun

the Spanish word for “gross”

diarrhea | ˌdīəˈrēə | (British diarrhoea)
noun

a real bummer