A-Town's Bookshelf: The Year in Books, 2025

Greetings, greetings! The new year brings another handful of Year in Review posts, and the first of those much-anticipated posts is this one: A-Town's Bookshelf! Join me as I recap all of the books I read and listened to over the past year. Of course, as I've stated in the past, I understand that my total number of books will sound absurd to some of you and like a little drop in the bucket to others, but I've spent a lot of time with literature over the past 12 months and, taking advantage of paternity leave, have been able to put together a decent list of (mostly) good stuff.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank Audible and Libby, which, to date, have saved me (*checks notes*) an approximate amount of just under $2,900 on Audiobooks over the past three years. (That's about $900 higher than the total I mentioned in last year's post, which is crazy. Just insane.) I also couldn't have done this post without the services of Goodreads.com and the Fable mobile app, which I started using this year. Goodreads has been my go-to service for tracking my reading since 2023, and Fable was a fun new tool that encouraged me to read every day for 232 days and counting.

In 2025, I enjoyed lots of sci-fi (tons of Star Wars), ventured into some fantasy and (LitRPGs, as nerdy as that has been), listened to a handful of celebrity memoirs, bounced back to some murder mysteries and thrillers, and finished off the Harry Potter audiobooks with my wife (who had never read or listened beyond Prisoner of Azkaban before, so that was fun).

Thirteen books received a perfect five-star rating from me, and only one received a one-star review. There were maybe three or four books that I started but gave up on; those books will not be mentioned here.

With no further ado, let's jump in and break it all down!

Thanks for reading.

Books Read

Here is a list of all of the books I completed in 2025, along with my star rating:

1. Kill the Beast (Villains #11) by Serena Valentino, 3/5 stars
2. The Guest List by Lucy Foley, 2/5 stars
3. Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross #1) by James Patterson, 4/5 stars
4. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss, 2/5 stars
5. Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross #2) by James Patterson, 3/5 stars
6. Temptation of the Force (Star Wars: The High Republic #8) by Tessa Gratton, 2/5 stars (physical copy)
7. Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1) by Matt Dinniman, 3/5 stars
8. Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen, 3/5 stars
9. NPCs (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #1) by Drew Hayes, 3/5 stars
10. Split the Party (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #2) by Drew Hayes, 3/5 stars
11. Going Rogue (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #3) by Drew Hayes, 4/5 stars
12. Siege Tactics (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #4) by Drew Hayes, 2/5 stars
13. Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #5) by Suzanne Collins, 5/5 stars
14. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, 4/5 stars
15. 61 Hours (Jack Reacher #14) by Lee Child, 5/5 stars (physical copy)
16. Noble Roots (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #5) by Drew Hayes, 3/5 stars
17. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4) by J.K. Rowling, 5/5 stars
18. That's Not Right by Scott Meyer, 3/5 stars
19. Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson, 3/5 stars
20. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, 3/5 stars
21. Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig, 3/5 stars
22. Titanborn (Children of Titan #1) by Rhett C. Bruno, 4/5 stars
23. QB: My Life Behind the Spiral by Steve Young, 5/5 stars
24. A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost, 4/5 stars
25. An Unexpected Hero by Rhett C. Bruno, 3/5 stars
26. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, 4/5 stars
27. Killing Jesus: A History by Bill O'Reilly, 5/5 stars
28. The Bourne Identity (Jason Bourne #1) by Robert Ludlum, 1/5 stars
29. Colony One Mars (Colony Mars #1) by Gerald M. Kilby, 4/5 stars
30. Star Wars: The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed, 4/5 stars
31. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter #5) by J.K. Rowling, 4/5 stars
32. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes, 5/5 stars
33. Colony Two Mars (Colony Mars #2) by Gerald M. Kilby, 3/5 stars
34. Becky Lynch: The Man - Not Your Average Average Girl by Rebecca Quin, 3/5 stars
35. Colony Three Mars (Colony Mars #3) by Gerald M. Kilby, 2/5 stars
36. American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies by Michael W. Kauffman, 5/5 stars
37. My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner, 5/5 stars
38. Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind by Nate Bargatze, 4/5 stars
39. The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6) by Dan Brown, 4/5 stars
40. BioShock: Rapture by John Shirley, 5/5 stars
41. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6) by J.K. Rowling, 5/5 stars
42. Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox, 4/5 stars
43. The Running Man by Richard Bachman (Stephen King), 3/5 stars
44. Trials of the Jedi (Star Wars: The High Republic #9) by Charles Soule, 5/5 stars (physical copy)
45. Romney: A Reckoning by McKay Coppins, 4/5 stars
46. Star Wars: A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Cordova, 2/5 stars
47. Read Your Mind: Proven Habits for Success from the World's Greatest Mentalist by Oz Pearlman, 3/5 stars
48. Star Wars: Master of Evil by Adam Christopher, 3/5 stars
49. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7) by J.K. Rowling, 5/5 stars
50. The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark, 5/5 stars
51. CivCEO (The Accidental Champion #1) by Andrew Karevik, 4/5 stars
52. CivCEO 2 (The Accidental Champion #2) by Andrew Karevik, 3/5 stars
53. CivCEO 3 (The Accidental Champion #3) by Andrew Karevik, 2/5 stars
54. CivCEO 4 (The Accidental Champion #4) by Andrew Karevik, 3/5 stars
55. CivCEO 5 (The Accidental Champion #5) by Andrew Karevik, 3/5 stars
56. CivCEO 6 (The Accidental Champion #6) by Andrew Karevik, 4/5 stars
57. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham, 4/5 stars

Other Stats

The A-Town Awards

Best Book of the Year: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Honorable Mention: My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner; Killing Jesus: A History by Bill O'Reilly

Worst Book of the Year: The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

Honorable Mention: The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

Best Audiobook Narration: Jim Dale (Harry Potter series)

Honorable Mention: Colin Jost (A Very Punchable Face); Cary Elwes (As You Wish...)

Yearly Comparison

2025: 57 books read, 3.6 average rating

2024: 68 books read, 3.4 average rating

2023: 48 books read

*****

And there we have it: another year of reading and listening! I'd love to hear what you enjoyed last year; I'm always open to recommendations! Did you read anything on my list? Do you agree with my ratings? Leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter (here and here), or feel free to reach out on Facebook.

Until next time!

A-Town's Bookshelf: The Year in Books, 2024

We've reached a new year, and with it another annual recap of books read and listened to (but mostly listened to). As I mentioned last year, I'm well aware that my measly little statistics are nothing compared to those who (allegedly) read (but probably listen to - on 2x speed) over a hundred books a year without breaking a sweat. I'm not here to compare. In fact, I know that probably less than a dozen people will ever even look at this post. So I'm mainly just posting this as a way to track my reading habits, year over year. With this being the second year of my annual "A-Town's Bookshelf" recap, we'll start to see a bit more clearly whether I'm actually doing anything impressive or not.

I somehow made it through 68 books this year, which is insane. That's probably about how many books I had completed in my entire life, prior to, like, 2015. As I looked back on this list over the past few days, I was shocked to see and remember some of the stuff I'd finished. Overall, I'd say that most of it was pretty good stuff. From science fiction and fantasy to celebrity memoirs and the rabbit hole of American history, I listened to (and occasionally physically read) some pretty fun literature during 2024.

One fun thing that I've been doing as I've been crushing audiobooks since the birth of my second son in 2023 is keeping track of how much money I'm saving by using Libby and maintaining an Audible subscription, as opposed to buying books or audiobooks at full price. I thought I could crack it by New Year's Eve (and probably could have - I've got two unused credits on Audible right now), but I'm sitting about $100 short of the $2,000 mark, which is absolutely crazy. Two thousand dollars in books?? Sheesh.

I do have to give a few shoutouts quickly, before I get going - because I'm going to try not to ramble on too much, once we get into the actual statistics of it all.

If you're kind of a nerd and into pop culture like me, I would highly, highly recommend the "Magic 2.0" series by Scott Meyer. These were my favorite books of the year. I wouldn't say they were the best books of the year, necessarily, because there were some really, really good books out there, but this was definitely the most fun I had, and I do occasionally look back and miss the series. It's just so silly and fun and doesn't have a lot of swearing, which was really nice. If you're down for a laugh about a bunch of computer nerds who decide to become wizards in the Dark Ages, you've got to check these books out. The audiobook narration was tremendous, as well, and I was constantly cracking up at some of the voices of the characters. Cannot suggest these books to you more highly.

I finally took the plunge into Bill O'Reilly's "Killing" series, which I had seen on bookshelves but had always kind of scared me because of titles like, say, "Killing Jesus" (which I haven't listened to yet, but want to). I know that O'Reilly is a bit of a star in the conservative political sphere, but I try not to get myself too involved in that stuff, so I didn't really have any preconceived notions about his work. Surprisingly, the books stay almost completely apolitical, so he pretty much just presents the facts without giving his opinion on anything, which I appreciated. His books gave me a great look into the lives of Elvis, John Lennon, Muhammad Ali, John F. Kennedy and even the Salem witches, and I was so fascinated the entire time. If you're wanting to delve into the depths of American history, these books were great.

I didn't know anything about "Project Hail Mary," other than that they're making a movie with Ryan Gosling and that it was written by the same guy who did "The Martian." With that little context heading in, I absolutely loved the book. I gifted it to my wife for Christmas, and she's right in the middle of it as we speak. Recommend.

And finally, my wife and I started listening to the "Harry Potter" series again in 2024. We started Book 4 on New Year's Day, so we're still chugging along, but man, what I wouldn't give to be able to go back and read this series for the first time. I don't think we had any idea how world-changing that little wizard boy was going to become. Great, great books, no matter your stance on public restrooms.

Also, ENORMOUS thanks to Goodreads, the site that made this entire post possible.

All right, here you go. Take a gander at which books I finished in 2024. Maybe you'll find something that you're curious about. I'd love to chat with you about any of these books or any recommendations you have for me!

Thanks for reading.

Books Read

Here is a list of all of the books I completed in 2024, along with my star rating:

1. Firefight (The Reckoners #2) by Brandon Sanderson, 4/5 stars
2. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, 5/5 stars
3. Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono, 4/5 stars
4. Starter Villain by John Scalzi, 3/5 stars
5. The Mark of Zorro (Zorro # 1) by Johnston McCulley, 4/5 stars
6. None of This is True by Lisa Jewell, 5/5 stars
7. The Giver (The Giver # 1) by Lois Lowry, 4/5 stars
8. I Found You by Lisa Jewell, 3/5 stars
9. Gathering Blue (The Giver # 2) by Lois Lowry, 2/5 stars
10. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, 3/5 stars
11. A Deadly Education (The Scholomance # 1) by Naomi Novik, 1/5 stars
12. Atlantis (Jack Howard # 1) by David Gibbins, 3/5 stars
13. Making It So by Patrick Stewart, 4/5 stars
14. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians # 1) by Rick Riordan, 3/5 stars
15. Star Wars: Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson, 3/5 stars
16. Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life by Arnold Schwarzenneger, 3/5 stars
17. Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0 # 1) by Scott Meyer, 4/5 stars
18. When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown by Kenan Thompson, 4/5 stars
19. The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer, 3/5 stars
20. Marvel's Midnight Suns: Infernal Rising by S.D. Perry, 2/5 stars
21. Star Wars: The Eye of Darkness by George Mann, 4/5 stars
22. Spell or High Water (Magic 2.0 #2) by Scott Meyer, 4/5 stars
23. The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia # 5) by C.S. Lewis, 2/5 stars
24. The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings # 3) by J.R.R. Tolkien, 4/5 stars
25. Recursion by Blake Crouch, 5/5 stars
26. Calamity (The Reckoners, # 3) by Brandon Sanderson, 2/5 stars
27. An Unwelcome Quest (Magic 2.0 # 3) by Scott Meyer, 3/5 stars
28. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, 3/5 stars
29. Dune (Dune # 1) by Frank Herbert, 3/5 stars
30. Fight and Flight (Magic 2.0 # 4) by Scott Meyer, 4/5 stars
31. The Singularity Trap by Dennis E. Taylor, 3/5 stars
32. Star Wars: Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs, 1/5 stars
33. Out of Spite, Out of Mind (Magic 2.0 #5) by Scott Meyer, 3/5 stars
34. The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson, 3/5 stars
35. Killing the Legends: The Lethal Danger of Celebrity by Bill O'Reilly, 5/5 stars
36. The Vexed Generation (Magic 2.0 #6) by Scott Meyer, 4/5 stars
37. And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle by Jon Meacham, 5/5 stars
38. Star Wars: Defy the Storm by Tessa Gratton, 2/5 stars
39. Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger, 3/5 stars
40. Will Save the Galaxy for Food (Jacques McKeown # 1) by Yahtzee Crowshaw, 3/5 stars
41. The Chase (Isaac Bell # 1) by Clive Cussler, 5/5 stars
42. House of Blades (Traveler's Gate # 1) by Will Wight, 3/5 stars
43. Star Wars: The Living Force by John Jackson Miller, 3/5 stars
44. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy # 1) by Douglas Adams, 2/5 stars
45. The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks, 3/5 stars
46. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, 5/5 stars
47. The Magician’s Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia # 6) by C.S. Lewis, 4/5 stars
48. Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts by Bill O'Reilly, 4/5 stars
49. The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia # 7) by C.S. Lewis, 4/5 stars
50. The Chronicles of Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia # 1-7) by C.S. Lewis, 4/5 stars
51. Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids by Hunter Clarke-Fields, 3/5 stars
52. The Wrecker (Isaac Bell # 2) by Clive Cussler, 3/5 stars
53. Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner, 2/5 stars
54. The Last Outlaws: The Desperate Final Days of the Dalton Gang by Tom Clavin, 3/5 stars
55. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter # 1) by J.K. Rowling, 5/5 stars
56. The Crimson Vault (Traveler's Gate # 2) by Will Wight, 2/5 stars
57. The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill, 3/5 stars
58. Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal, 5/5 stars
59. City of Light (Traveler's Gate # 3) by Will Wight, 2/5 stars
60. Casino Royale (James Bond # 1) by Ian Fleming, 4/5 stars
61. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, 3/5 stars
62. Outland (Quantum Earth # 1) by Dennis E. Taylor, 3/5 stars
63. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter # 2) by J.K. Rowling, 5/5 stars
64. The Search for WondLa (The Search for WondLa # 1) by Tony DiTerlizzi, 4/5 stars
65. Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Reilly, 5/5 stars
66. Ready Player One (Ready Player One # 1) by Ernest Cline, 4/5 stars
67. A Hero for WondLa (The Search for WondLa # 2) by Tony DiTerlizzi, 3/5 stars
68. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter # 3) by J.K. Rowling, 4/5 stars

Other Stats

The A-Town Awards

Best Book of the Year: Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer

Honorable Mention: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir; Killing the Legends by Bill O'Reilly; Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly; Recursion by Blake Crouch

Worst Book of the Year: Star Wars: Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs

Honorable Mention: Marvel's Midnight Suns: Infernal Rising by S.D. Perry; A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Best Audiobook Narration: Luke Daniels (Magic 2.0 series)

Honorable Mention: Ray Porter (Project Hail Mary, several others)

Yearly Comparison

2024: 68 books read

2023: 48 books read

*****

There you go! Did you discover anything new? Find anything you want to check out? Do you either strongly agree or disagree with me about anything? Do you have a book in mind that you think I'd love? I'm always down for suggestions. Let me know in the comments below, on Twitter (here and here) or on Facebook.

Until next time.

A-Town's Bookshelf: The Year in Books, 2023

I hated reading when I was younger. I think it was because, during my school years, the only stuff I ever read was forced upon me. This is not to say that those books were always bad. I just didn't love that I had no choice in the matter. I discovered the joy of "reading for fun" after I graduated college. I mostly attribute this to Dan Brown's books - several of which I read quickly and surprisingly enjoyed, due to their short chapter lengths and constant cliffhangers. I would not refer to myself as an avid reader or bookwork, but I have gone proactively out of my way to read a handful of books each year over the past decade or so. But nothing can hold a candle to what happened this year.

Early in 2023, I made the very adult decision to renew my library card, mainly so I could read a Star Wars book that I didn't want to spend actual money on. It was a good book. That was a good decision. For a few years, I've heard people talking about the "Libby" app - a mobile app that allows librarygoers to listen to audiobooks - which I never quite comprehended. Plus, I have never been a big audiobook guy. I just have a hard time paying attention if I'm doing literally anything else. However, in the midst of my paternity leave this summer, I figured I'd try it out, just to see what it was all about.

Here I am, at the end of 2023, to tell you that Libby and its paid alternative Audible, were basically best friends to me this year. I absolutely CRUSHED some audiobooks this year. During my second stint of paternity leave, there were many, many, many days when I would just watch my boys and play "NBA 2K23" with an audiobook going. Crushed it. I listened to so many books. Understand this: I was listening basically all day long and was finishing new audiobooks every 2-3 days. It was not normal behavior. (Now, before some of you come at me with the old "I read 96 books last month" comments, let me just say that the number of books that I completed was a staggering amount for me. I am sure I barely scratch the surface of what some of you have been able to do in your lives, but for me, this was insane.

Also, let me say something that these 96-Books-Per-Month people will never admit: when I'm listening to an audiobook, there is no way that I retain and comprehend 100% of everything that's going on. For some of the books I cruised through, maybe 70% would be a good guess. And not all of the books that I finished were good. In fact, I suffered through a couple of them, and even cranked up the listening speed on a few, just so I could cross the finish line and move on.

Some books, on the other hand, were really, really good, and I stumbled across some great stuff this year, for which I am grateful.

I used the "Goodreads" app (which is a bit confusing and, at times, difficult to use) to keep track of all of the books I finished this year, and I rated all of them on a five-star scale, not only because I'm a weirdo that loves stats and rating things, but also to help fellow readers have a better idea of whether or not a book is any good. I just wish that I could have given half-stars in my ratings because sometimes "4 stars" doesn't quite accurately reflect how close I would have come to giving some books (like Jurassic Park) a five-star rating.

Anyway, with all of that information in mind, I thought it would be fun to start another Year in Review blog, as a way for me (and probably only me) to look back and reflect on the books I've read from year to year. I was very excited when Goodreads sent me a yearly recap of my reading journey, which should make this blog much simpler for me to write.

But first, a meme:

Now, let us begin.

Books Read

Here is a list of all of the books I completed in 2023, along with my star rating:

1. Star Wars: The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray, 3/5 stars
2. No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox, 3/5 stars
3. Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher # 13) by Lee Child, 3/5 stars
4. Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton, 4/5 stars
5. Star Wars: Convergence by Zoraida Cordova, 4/5 stars
6. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, 4/5 stars
7. The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger, 5/5 stars
8. The Last Human by Zack Jordan, 1/5 stars
9. Without Remorse by Tom Clancy, 3/5 stars
10. Red Rising by Pierce Brown, 3/5 stars
11. Deception Point by Dan Brown, 5/5 stars
12. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks, 2/5 stars
13. The Lost World by Michael Crichton, 2/5 stars
14. Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn, 2/5 stars
15. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, 4/5 stars
16. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis, 4/5 stars
17. How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie, 4/5 stars
18. Fairest of All (Villains # 1) by Serena Valentino, 5/5 stars
19. Poor Unfortunate Soul (Villains # 2) by Serena Valentino, 3/5 stars
20. The Beast Within (Villains # 3) by Serena Valentino, 3/5 stars
21. Unbirthday by Liz Braswell, 2/5 stars
22. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, 3/5 stars
23. Mistress of All Evil (Villains # 4) by Serena Valentino, 4/5 stars
24. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolien, 4/5 stars
25. Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: And Other Lessons in Life by Michael Caine, 4/5 stars
26. Mother Knows Best (Villains # 5) by Serena Valentino, 3/5 stars
27. The Odd Sisters (Villains # 6) by Serena Valentino, 2/5 stars
28. Evil Thing (Villains # 7) by Serena Valentino, 5/5 stars
29. Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman, 3/5 stars
30. Cold Hearted (Villains # 8) by Serena Valentino, 3/5 stars
31. Radical Love: Learning to Accept Yourself and Others by Zachary Levi, 4/5 stars
32. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, 2/5 stars
33. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien, 5/5 stars
34. The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs, 2/5 stars
35. Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn, 5/5 stars
36. If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos, 3/5 stars
37. Star Wars: Cataclysm by Lydia Kang, 5/5 stars
38. Being Henry: The Fonz... and Beyond by Henry Winkler, 3/5 stars
39. Steelheart (The Reckoners # 1) by Brandon Sanderson, 5/5 stars
40. Never, Never (Villains # 9) by Serena Valentino, 2/5 stars
41. Mitosis (The Reckoners # 1.5) by Brandon Sanderson, 3/5 stars
42. Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber, 4/5 stars
43. Fire & Fate (Villains # 10) by Serena Valentino, 4/5 stars
44. No Is a Four-Letter Word: How I Failed Spelling but Succeeded in Life by Chris Jericho, 4/5 stars
45. The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton, 3/5 stars
46. Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon by Delilah S. Dawson, 2/5 stars
47. Star Wars: Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray, 4/5 stars
48. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler, 4/5 stars

Other Stats

The A-Town Awards

Best Book of the Year: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Honorable Mention: Deception Point by Dan Brown

Worst Book of the Year: The Last Human by Zack Jordan

Honorable Mention: Unbirthday by Liz Braswell

Best Audiobook Narration: Andy Serkis (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien)

Honorable Mention: Susanne Blakeslee (Evil Thing by Serena Valentino)

 

*****

There you have it! My first-ever Year in Review blog about books! Do any of the titles I read spark your interest? Do you have any recommendations for me?... because I absolutely live for book recommendations these days. Please, let me know what I should read next. Leave a note in the comments section, follow me on Twitter (here and here), find me on Facebook or, heck, even look me up on Goodreads, if you're into such things.

May the new year be full of even more literary adventures.

Until next time.