Books Read: December 2016

Now that another month has come and gone, let's take a look at the books I read last month.

1. The Rise of Io, by Wesley Chu
2. The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
3. Everything Belongs to the Future, by Laurie Penny
4.The Four Thousand, The Eight Hundred, by Greg Egan
5. News of the World, by Paulette Jiles
6. You'll Grow Out of It, by Jessie Klein
7. Barkskins, by Annie Proulx
8. Three Parts Dead, by Max Gladstone

9. Cold-Forged Flame, by Maria Brennan

10. Talking As Fast as I Can, by Lauren Graham

11. Today Will Be Different, by Maria Semple

12. After the Crown, by K.B. Wagers
13. Swing Time, by Zadie Smith
14. The Mothers, by Brit Bennett

Best Book of the Month: The Mothers is excellent. You probably come here for genre recommendations, but go read The Mothers. So good.

Disappointment of the Month: None, really.

Discovery of the Month: Whhhhhyyyyy have I never read Max Gladstone before. Three Parts Dead is his debut novel and it's fantastic. I love the setting, I love the characaters, I love how smart it is, and I can't wait to see how he grows as a writer.

Worth Noting: If you were concerned about how Wesley Chu would pull off a Tao-verse novel without actually featuring Tao and a Tan, rest assured that The Rise of Io is excellent.

Gender Breakdown: 10 out of the 14 books I read in December were written by women. This brings my final total for 2016 to 95 out of 169, or 56.21%. This is the second consecutive (and possibly second ever) year with at least half of the books I've read written by women.



Previous Reads
January
February 
March
April  
May 
June 
July
August
September 
October  
November

Books Read: November 2016

Now that another month has come and gone, let's take a look at the books I read last month.

1. City of Wolves, by Willow Palacek
2. Nightshades, by Melissa F. Olson
3. The Association of Small Bombs, by Karan Mahajan
4. Winter Tide, by Ruthanna Emrys
5. Ceteganda, by Lois McMaster Bujold
6. The Ghoul King, by Guy Haley
7. A City Dreaming, by Daniel Polansky
8. Passing Strange, by Ellen Klages
9. Binti: Home, by Nnedi Okorafor
10. The Fortress at the End of Time, by Joe M. McDermott
11. Elysium, by Jennifer Marie Brissett
12. Hammers on Bone, by Cassandra Khaw
13. Cold Counsel, by Chris Sharp
14. Another Brooklyn, by Jaqueline Woodson
15. Ethan of Athos, by Lois McMaster Bujold
16. Babylon's Ashes, by James S.A. Corey
17. Idle Ingredients, by Matt Wallace
18. Heroes of the Frontier, by Dave Eggers


Best Book of the Month: Any month I can read a Matt Wallace novella is a good month. I love his Sin du Jour and Wallace's forthcoming Idle Ingredients is one to wait for.

Disappointment of the Month: As much as I loved Daniel Polansky's novella The Builders, I hated his novel A City Dreaming. It was so disjointed and reminiscent in some ways of A Confederacy of Dunces - which many people would think is a complement, but I HATE A Confederacy of Dunces.

Discovery of the Month: So, I'm not a Lovecraft reader and generally don't care about anything that touches on Lovecraftian mythos - but Ruthanna Emrys' Winter Tide is a beautiful and wonderful and fantastic novel. Check it out this coming March.

Worth Noting: November was a very heavy month on Tor.com novellas. I don't know how many more months I expect to get through 18 books.

Gender Breakdown: 10 of the 18 books I read in November were written by women. This brings my total to 85 out of 155 and sneaks the percentage up to 54.83%. With one month left in the year I expect to end a second year with at least half the books I've read written by women.


Previous Reads
January
February 
March
April  
May 
June 
July
August
September 
October

Books Read: October 2016

Now that another month has come and gone, let's take a look at the books I read last month.

1. Heartless, by Gail Carriger
2. The Jewel and Her Lapidary, by Fran Wilde
3. Lions, by Bonnie Nadzam
4. The Maze Runner, by James Dashner
5. Girls of Fire, by Robin Wasserman
6. The Wolf Road, by Beth Lewis
7. The Vegetarian, by Han Kang
8. The Vor Game, by Lois McMaster Bujold
9. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin
10. Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett
11. A Thousand Words for Stranger, by Julie Czerneda
12. Infomocracy, by Malka Older
13. Spiderlight, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
14. Signs Preceding the End of the World, by Yuri Herrera

Best Book of the Month: One of my most anticipated novels of the year was Malka Older's Infomocracy and I am happy to report that it did not disappoint. I don't think it was quite was I expected, not that I'm at all sure what I did expect, but I couldn't stop thinking about Infomocracy any time I had to put the book down. It's also interesting reading the book during the closing days of this election cycle in the United States, but Older's look at how information and elections are traded at manipulated at both a global and a micro scale is friggin fascinating and intense. More, please.

Disappointment of the Month: Having heard such good things about Fran Wilde's Updraft, I was looking forward to reading this novella of hers - and somehow, I didn't care. I don't know that there was anything particularly wrong with it, but somehow it didn't grab me. I've noticed that other people who loved Updraft didn't connect with the Jewel and her Lapidary, so I'll still give Updraft a shot one day. It's just farther down my to-read list now.

Discovery of the Month: I've somehow never read Adrian Tchaivosky before despite having a few of his novels (Shadows of the Apt) on my bookshelf for years as review copies. Tor.com Publishing's release of Spiderlight was a more bite sized opportunity to jump into a standalone and - it's compelling with a cast of really distasteful characters, the heroes I mean. It's very Tolkien-esque / standard epic fantasy feeling as the core of the novel, with heroes of the Light questing out to serve a prophecy and defeat the Dark Lord - except the heroes are collectively all assholes and not in the charming asshole sort of way. They're pretty shitty people. Despite that, Thchaivoksy's storytelling is compelling.

Worth Noting: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was a complete charmer. My wife read it, immediately handed it to me and I read the first chapter. I didn't want to put the book down. I'm not sure what, specifically, I loved about it so much that I could put into words, but it was a friggin delightful book.

Gender Breakdown: 11 of the 14 books I read in October were written by women, which is likely my strongest month of the year. This brings my total to 75 out of 137 and increases the percentage to 54.74%. With two months left in the year, I feel good about ending the year with at least half the books I've read being written by women.



Previous Reads
January
February 
March
April  
May 
June 
July
August
September

Books Read: September 2016

Now that another month has come and gone (and we're halfway through yet another), let's take a look at the books I read last month.

1. Everything's Eventual, by Stephen King
2. The Best Team Money Can Buy, by Molly Knight
3. The Lost Child of Lychford, by Paul Cornell
4. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, by Seanan McGuire
5. Tripwire, by Lee Child
6. Behind the Throne, by K.B. Wagers
7. The Girls, by Emma Cline
8. Poisoned Blade, by Kate Elliott
9. Sweetbitter, by Stephanie Danler
10. The Obelisk Gate, by N.K. Jemisin
11. War Porn, by Roy Scranton
12. Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff
13. Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch
14. Pieces of Hate, by Tim Lebbon
15. The Turner House, by Angela Flournoy

Best Book of the Month: The review is pending, but The Obelisk Gate is the best book I've read so far this year, let alone this month.

Disappointment of the Month: Depends how you want to look at this. As a whole, I've thoroughly enjoyed the Tor.com Novella line, so finding even one that doesn't quite hit is a disappointment (most recently Pieces of Hate), but I think the real disappointment has to be Roy Scranton's War Porn - a novel which was very well received on publication and I found it too disjointed to actually tell a coherent story. As three discrete novellas, I think I would have appreciated the novel far more. Perhaps the overlap of the stories was meant to be more to show the shape of the war and how people back home / soldiers / Iraqis interacted and dealt with the war, but Scranton's novel never quite came together for me.

Discovery of the Month: I expect to read much more from K.B. Wagers. I didn't review Behind the Throne because one of our other Nerds of a Feather reviewers already took the novel on. I found that I would have given the same exact score (7/10), but the review would have read much more positively. I thought Behind the Throne was delightful and fast paced and an overall kick ass novel. Loved the setting, loved the voice, loved Hail as a lead character and a source of introduction to that world - I want to see more. Good thing, there's going to be at least one more book.

Worth Noting: It won't be published until January, but keep an eye out for Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day from Seanan McGuire. It's really friggin good.

Gender Breakdown: 9 of the 15 books I read in August were written by women, which brings my total to 64 out of 123. The percentage continues to climb back to 52.03% through nine months.



Previous Reads
January
February 
March
April  
May 
June 
July
August

Books Read: August 2016

Now that another month has come and gone (and we're halfway through yet another), let's take a look at the books I read last month.

1. Pride's Spell, by Matt Wallace
2. Borderline, by Mishell Baker
3. Hamilton: A Revolution, by Lin Manuel Miranda & Jeremy McCarter
4. The Heart, by Maylis de Kerangal
5. Deep South, by Nevada Barr
6. The Core of the Sun, by Johanna Sinisalo
7. A Darker Shade of Magic, by V.E. Schwab
8. A Taste of Honey, by Kai Ashante Wilson
9. The Race, by Nina Allan
10. The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo, by Amy Schumer

Best Book of the Month: I don't know how to write about this novel featuring chili peppers as a controlled narcotic in a intensely policed Sweden, but The Core of the Sun was amazing.

Disappointment of the Month: None.

Discovery of the Month: After not really appreciating Kai Ashante Wilson's Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, I very much enjoyed his A Taste of Honey, a story which is so much more a tighter romance than the swords and sorcery of the previous novella.

Worth Noting: You're all reading Matt Wallace's Sin du Jour novellas from Tor.com, right? They are so freaking good and Pride's Spell is no exception.

Gender Breakdown: 7 of the 10 books I read in August were written by women, which brings my total to 55 out of 108 for the year. The percentage has now pushed back over 50% to 50.92% through eight months.





Previous Reads
January
February 
March
April  
May 
June 
July

Books Read: July 2016

Wow, folks, I'm really late on this. But - Now that another month has come and gone, let's take a look at the books I read last month.


1. The Complete Peanuts: 1999-2000, by Charles M. Schulz
2. Flesh and Wires, by Jackie Hatton
3. Consequence, by Eric Fair
4. A Time of Exile, by Katharine Kerr
5. The Sorcerer's Daughter, by Terry Brooks
6. Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
7. Hit, by Delilah S. Dawson
8. Blameless, by Gail Carriger
9. The Operators, by Michael Hastings
10. Dark Run, by Mike Brooks
11. Storm Front, by Jim Butcher
12. Roses and Rot, by Kat Howard

Best Book of the Month: Flesh and Wires. I could read another hundred pages of this and only hope that Jackie Hatton plans to write more - whether in this particular setting or elsewhere.

Disappointment of the Month: None

Discovery of the Month: The only previous Dresden Files novel I had read was last year's Hugo nominated Skin Job. Since I enjoyed that book, I decided to go back and start the series from the beginning. I had heard the first several novels were noticeably weaker, but I did very much enjoy Storm Front, though there was a bit of an odd quiet sexism running through Harry Dresden that I didn't remember from book 15 in the series.

Worth Noting: I don't remember a time in my life when I wasn't reading Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic strips. Fantagraphics have collected the full 50 year run of Peanuts and have been releasing them in volumes collecting two years at a time, two volumes per year. So, I've been re-reading (and discovering strips I had never seen before) these collections for the last 13 years. And now...I'm done. Charles Schulz passed away in early 2000, so there haven't been any new strips for the last 16 years, but now there is also no more new Peanuts for me to discover either. Once again, I am sad.

Gender Breakdown: 5 of the 12 books I read in July were written by women, which brings my total to 48 out of 98 for the year. That's 48.98% and is down from the perfect 50% the first six months of the year brought me. If I keep bouncing on either side of the 50/50 line, I'll be content, but I'll be happiest if I land on the 50%+ side.


Previous Reads
January
February 
March
April  
May 
June

Books Read: June 2016

Now that another month has come and gone, let's take a look at the books I read last month.

1. The Unlicensed Magician, by Kelly Barnhill
2. Child of Flame, by Kate Elliott
3. A Song for No Man's Land, by Andy Remic
4. In the Hand of the Goddess, by Tamora Pierce
5. Penric's Demon, by Lois McMaster Bujold
6. There Will Be War: Volume X, by Jerry Pournelle (editor)
7. Zero K, by Don DeLillo
8. East Side Stories, by Joseph Rodriguez
9. The Emperor's Railroad, by Guy Haley
10. The Fireman, by Joe Hill
11. I Know What I'm Doing, by Jen Kirkman
12. End of Watch, by Stephen King
13. Rise of the Rocket Girls, by Nathalia Holt

Best Book of the Month: Have you read the new Joe Hill novel? I didn't want The Fireman to end.

Disappointment of the Month: I've generally been a huge fan of Tor.com Publishing's novella line, and even the misses were solid efforts, but I just could not get into A Song for No Man's Land. WWI set trench warfare with werewolves should be something I'd dig into, but not this one. Despite my desire to read the entire line, I might be passing on Remic's forthcoming sequels.

Discovery of the Month: Nathalia Holt's look at the women who were doing the work of computers before there were actually computers at Jet Propulsion Labs before NASA was even a glimmer and rocketry was almost fringe science is something I want more of. I loved reading the stories of these women who helped build the space program through their work.

Worth Noting: Though he is noted for finishing otherwise great novels with endings that sort of fizzle out, Stephen King nailed a fairly note perfect conclusion to both End of Watch the novel as well as the overall Bill Hodges trilogy.

Gender Breakdown:  6 of the 13 books I read in June were written by women, which brings me to a perfectly even 43 out of 86 for the year. That sticks me right at 50%, which is a nice percentage to have. Since the only real goal that I have is to keep the number near a 50/50 split, I have finished the first six months of the year holding that line.


Previous Reads
January
February 
March
April  
May

Books Read: May 2016

Now that another month has come and gone, let's take a look at the books I read last month.


1. The Art of Rube Goldberg, by Jessica George
2. The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson
3. Camber the Heretic, by Katherine Kurtz
4. Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire
5. This Is Mars, by Xavier Barral
6. The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle
7. Playground, by James Mollison
8. Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning, by Elizabeth Partridge
9. The Devil You Know, by K.J. Parker
10. A Criminal Magic, by Lee Kelly
11. An Apprentice to Elves, by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
12. Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand
13. Changeless, by Gail Carriger
14. Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, by Joby Warrick
15. 1634: The Ram Rebellion, by Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce (editors)
16. The Aeronaut's Windlass, by Jim Butcher
17. Then Will the Great Ocean Wash Deep Above, by Ian Sales


Best Book of the Month: Every Heart a Doorway is everything I didn't know I wanted from a book. Read it. Then, read it again.

Disappointment of the Month: I've enjoyed all of Eric Flint's 1632 universe novels / stories I've read so far, but 1634: The Ram Rebellion was a bit of a slog. It's not a proper novel, but it is also not quite an anthology. It's more like a mosaic novel (like George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards series), where there is mostly a single storyline running through (the titular rebellion) - but the writing is generally weaker and the stories are much less interesting than anything that has come before.

Discovery of the Month: We're probably all familiar with Dorothea Lange's famous Migrant Mother photograph, but Patridge's part biography / part photo collection is an essential look at both the life and life work of a excellent and important photographer.

Worth Noting: Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City is every bit as good as everyone has said it was, and I really should have read it years ago. But, at least I did read it just in time to visit Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend and sort of recognize a couple of locations mentioned in the book.

Gender Breakdown: After the relative paucity of April reading, I somehow exploded with a 17 book month in May. 9 of those were written by women, which brings my total to 37 / 73 for the year, or just a smidge over 50% (50.68%). Since the only real goal that I have is to keep the number near a 50/50 split, I am so far on track to accomplish that.



Previous Reads
January
February 
March
April

Books Read: April 2016

Now that another month has come, let's take a look at the books I read last month.

1. Runtime, by SB Divya
2. The Tempering of Men, by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
3. Central Sation, by Lavie Tidhar
4. The Crimson Campaign, by Brian McClellan
5. Nemesis Games, by James S.A. Corey



Best Book of the Month: Because I take so long in between reading each volume, I forget just how good The Expanse is - both as a series and as individual volumes. Despite separating the crew of the Rocinate, Nemesis Games holds together and feels both broad and tight. And wonderful.

Disappointment of the Month: Despite reading the praise for years, I've not read Lavie Tidhar's work before. I had reasonably high expectations and despite the praise this particular book is receiving, I bounced off of Central Station. I expect this is a case of wrong book / wrong reader. Or right book, / wrong reader. Whichever is most appropriate for the situation.

Discovery of the Month: None. Having only read five books this month, it is difficult to discover much.

Worth Noting: In terms of reading, this was a very down month. Due to a temporary change in my work schedule, I didn't have my usual lunchtime reading hour. To add to that, we were doing some work to the family room, so I lost some time in the evenings after we put the kid to bed where I might be able to do some additional reading. I hope / expect that I'll get more done in May. Five books just seems extra disappointing.

Gender Breakdown: With such a small volume of books read, it is difficult to analyze much of what happened except to say that 2 out of the 5 books were written by women. This brings my total to 28 / 56, or an even 50%. Since the only real goal that I have is to keep the number near a 50/50 split, I am so far on track to accomplish that.



Previous Reads
January
February 
March

Books Read: March 2016

Now that we're done with March, let's take a look at the books I read last month.

1. Bands of Mourning, by Brandon Sanderson
2. The Story of My Teeth, by Valeria Luiselli
3. The Warrior's Apprentice, by Lois McMaster Bujold
4. Bats of the Republic, by Zachary Thomas Dodson
5. Wings of Sorrow and Bone, by Beth Cato
6. Envy of Angels, by Matt Wallace
7. Domnall and the Borrowed Child, by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
8. Patchwerk, by David Tallerman
9. Ban en Banlieue, by Bhanu Kapil
10. Of Sorrow and Such, by Angela Slatter
11. The Last Witness, by KJ Parker
12. Perfect State, by Brandon Sanderson
13. The Sellout, by Paul Beatty (unfinished)
14. The Absconded Ambassador, by Michael R. Underwood
15. Lustlocked, by Matt Wallace
16. All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders
17. Meeting Infinity, by Jonathan Strahan (editor)
18. Forest of Memory, by Mary Robinette Kowal
19. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, by Lois McMaster Bujold


Best Book of the Month: Even though I did not read the reviews, I could not avoid seeing the massive hype for Charlie Jane Anders' debut novel All the Birds in the Sky. I was convinced there was no way it could live up to that hype. The deeper I read into the novel, the more impressed I was and the more I wanted to see how Anders could possibly wrap it up. She stuck the landing.

Disappointment of the Month: My disappointment is for the collective of this year's Tournament of Books. While I've enjoyed reading the various judgments and playing along at home with my wife, there have been far fewer books this year which I've enjoyed or even appreciated.

Discovery of the Month: Matt Wallace's novellas are batshit insane and absolutely fantastic. Everyone should be reading his Sin du Jour. Start with Envy of Angels, then don't stop.

Worth Noting: This month's count is bolstered by a whole lot of novellas. If you're wondering how I count books, if it is published as an independent volume, I count it as a book I've read (see, Tor.com Publishing's novella line or Brandon Sanderson's Perfect State). However, if it is only available as part of a collection or in a magazine, it doesn't count as a distinct book even if the page count is just as long as those published on its own. I have to draw the line somewhere.

Gender Breakdown: March was a reasonably strong month, with 9 out of 19 books written by women. This brings my total to 26 / 51, or 50.98%.  It's a small drop, but it's also a small sample amount. The numbers should solidify in the coming months. While I do not a have specific goal this year to read more books written by women than those written by men, I would like to at least keep the breakdown near a 50/50 split. Thus far I am on track to accomplish that.



Previous Reads
January
February 

Books Read: February 2016

With February having come to a close, let's take a look at the books I read last month.

1. The Survivor, by Vince Flynn and Kyle Mills
2. Black Wolves, by Kate Elliott
3. The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
4. Hunter's Oath, by Michelle West
5. 1634: The Baltic War, by David Weber and Eric Flint
6. This Census-Taker, by China Mieville (unfinished)
7. The Force Awakens, by Alan Dean Foster
8. The New World, by Chris Adrian and Eli Horowitz
9. Grantville Gazette: Volume I, by Eric Flint (editor)
10. Step Aside, Pops, by Kate Beaton
11. Oreo, by Fran Ross (unfinished)
12. The Book of Aron, by Jim Shepard (unfinished)
13. The Drowning Eyes, by Emily Foster
14. City of Blades, by Robert Jackson Bennett
15. Lightless, by C.A. Higgins

Best Book of the Month: Black Wolves was a standout. See the review over at Nerds of a Feather. This is also a virtual tie with City of Blades as to which book was the best I read in February.

Disappointment of the Month: I always count the unfinished books in my tally because I still want a record of what I've attempted, even if I elected to not finish the book. This was a rare month when I decided I didn't want to finish three books. Some years I don't hit three, but I attempted the Ross and Shepard because I'm trying to read my way through the Tournament of Books and sometimes that means I hit books I just bounce off of and probably wouldn't have read otherwise. I bounced off of Oreo and The Book of Aron for very different reasons, but bounce I did. As well as with the Mieville.

Discovery of the Month: Emily Foster's The Drowning Eyes was amazingly good. I must read more from Foster, in that particular setting if possible. So, so good. 

Worth Noting: I loved City of Stairs. City of Blades was even better.

Gender Breakdown: My gender breakdown for February was a bit weaker, with only 6 out of 15 books this month being written by women. This drops my overall percentage down to 53.12%. While I do not a have specific goal this year to read more books written by women than those written by men, I would like to at least keep the breakdown near a 50/50 split. Thus far I am on track to accomplish that.




Previous Reads
January

Books Read: January 2016

Now that we've completed the first month of the year, we can take a look at the books I read during January. It's a doozy, even by my standards.


1. Chimera, by Mira Grant
2. The Dragon Revenant, by Katharine Kerr
3. The Fifth Season, by N. K. Jemisin
4. Rules of Conflict, by Kristine Smith
5. Son of the Black Sword, by Larry Correia
6. Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History, by Michael Klastorin
7. Going Dark, by Linda Nagata
8. Future Visions, by Jennifer Henshaw and Allison Linn (editors)
9. The Shootout Solution, by Michael R. Underwood
10. The Invaders, by Karolina Waclawiak
11. The Complete Peanuts: 1997-1998, by Charles M. Schulz
12. Saint Camber, by Katherine Kurtz
13. Our Souls at Night, by Kent Haruf
14. A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler (unfinished)
15. The Whites, by Harry Brandt
16. Planetfall, by Emma Newman
17. Court of Fives, by Kate Elliott


Best Book of the Month: The Fifth Season. This book is so good I am actually mad I haven't read any of Jemisin's other novels and it moves The Obelisk Gate to my #1 must read novel of 2016, no matter what else comes out (and yes, this includes *that* book)

Disappointment of the Month: While I mostly read science fiction and fantasy, I'm following along with the short list for the Tournament of Books and will try to read as much of that as I can before the tournament begins in March. I wouldn't say that A Spool of Blue Thread is bad, and I will still read at least one more Anne Tyler novel (the Pulitzer Prize winning Breathing Lessons), but I was disinterested. So, why continue if I don't care?

Discovery of the Month: Planetfall. This could well have been The Fifth Season, because I have no idea how I've gotten by in life without having read Nora Jemisin's novels. But - The Fifth Season was also the best book of the month by a solid margin and I don't like to double up here. Emma Newman's Planetfall is likewise one of the top novels of the month and of 2015 and I wish I had read it last year.

Worth Noting: I'd have to do some digging, but I feel that 17 books in January my strongest month of reading in a long time. I'm not quite sure how that happened.

Gender Breakdown: Having finished 17 books this month, I'm happy to report that 11 of them were written by women. My year in reading opens with a 64.70% percentage. While I do not a have specific goal this year to read more books written by women than those written by men, I would like to at least keep the breakdown near a 50/50 split.

29 Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2016

Let's start the year off right, shall we?  I gave a quick look through the LocusForthcoming List as well as a nice list from Barnes and Nobles, did a quick search on stuff I have saved on Goodreads, and voila! We have list!   

As such, this isn’t exhaustive or authoritative.  While this list is far larger than any I've put out in the past, this is still just a list of 29 books, in presumed publication followed by alphabetical order, that I’d like to read this year.  I’m sure I missed something awesome.  Maybe many somethings awesome. I probably did.

January (4): This is an exciting month. City of Stairs was my top read of 2015, a new China Mieville demands to be read, of course I'm going to read new Sanderson, and I've been excited to read Charlie Jane Anders' debut since discovering her short fiction.

All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders
City of Blades, by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Census Taker, by China Mieville
Bands of Mourning, by Brandon Sanderson

February (2): I am so behind on Bujold, but this is a Cordelia story and the two Bujold's I've read have focused on Cordelia. A Criminal Magic imagines a Roaring Twenties where Prohibition passed, but the Prohibition was on magic. Bootlegging sorcerers! Count me in!

Gentleman Jolie and the Red Queen, by Lois McMaster Bujold
A Criminal Magic, by Lee Kelly

March (1): Quiet month, I think, but we've got an MRK novella from Tor.com Publishing.

Forest of Memory, by Mary Robinette Kowal

April (2): A Joe Abercombie First Law short story collection AND Valentine's sequel to Persona. Have I mentioned that I'm a big fan of Valentine's fiction?

Sharp Ends, by Joe Abercrombie
Icon, by Genevieve Valentine

May (2): A new Joe Hill novel should be considered an event. He's one hell of a writer. While the last two books from Terry Brooks have taken a step back (after the improved Dark Legacy trilogy), I don't think I can step away from Brooks at this point. I've been reading him for far too long.

The Sorcerer's Daughter, by Terry Brooks
The Fireman, by Joe Hill

June (5): The biggest month of the year. New King, new Expanse. Exciting debuts from Yoon Ha Lee and Malka Older, and a new Strahan anthology. Can't miss this month!

Babylon's Ashes, by James S. A. Corey
End of Watch, by Stephen King
Ninefox Gambit, by Yoon Ha Lee
Infomacracy, by Malka Older
Drowned Worlds, by Jonathan Strahan

July (3): I have a copy of Chu's Time Salvager sitting at home. I loved his Tao novels, so I really should pick read Time Salvager so I'm ready for Time Siege. Likewise, I've had Republic of Thieves sitting on my shelf for at least a year. At this point, do I re-read the first two books or just jump right in with The Thorn of Emberlain dropping this year? Ghost Talkers is the first in a new series from MRK.

Time Siege, by Wesley Chu
Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Thorn of Emberlain, by Scott Lynch

August (3): It's like this: I assume I'm going to love the first books in the respective series from Elliott and Jemisin. If so, I will jump right in to the next.

Poisoned Blade, by Kate Elliott
The Obelisk Gate, by N. K. Jemisin
The Last Days of New Paris, by China Mieville

September (1): KKR brings us an anthology of classic science fiction stories written by women. Here's a chance to dip into some of the fiction that helped shape the genre.

Women of Futures Past, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

October (2): By now, you all know how much I love the White Trash Zombie series, so the announced publication of a new volume is a cause for joy and celebration. As is the second novel from Sylvia Moreno-Garcia (Signal to Noise was her excellent debut).

Certain Dark Things, by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
White Trash Zombie Unchained, by Diana Rowland

Unknown (4): The trouble with doing this list at the beginning of the year is that except for the hugely major releases, we don't have many announced publication dates for late in the year and the farther away we are from publication, the greater the chance that dates will shift. So, I know that the Hurley, Bear, and Hobb are tentatively scheduled for 2016. I hope to see them. George R. R. Martin will always be on this list, even without announcing that the book is finished. The publisher will probably be insanely happy to rush the production schedule if he finishes early enough in the year. I could probably put another half dozen books in this section of the list, but I think there is enough uncertainty on those books being finished.

The Winds of Winter, by George R. R. Martin
The Stars are Legion, by Kameron Hurley
Ancestral Night, by Elizabeth Bear
Assassin's Fate, by Robin Hobb