*Reccies are at the bottom if that's what you're after.*

I'm a big reader.

Especially science fiction/cyberpunk, especially queer themes, especially stuff that's a bit weird.

Before I go any further I want to give a huge shoutout to [@shmouflon](https://twitter.com/shmouflon), my great friend and co-CEO at [ScorpInc](https://scorpinc.solutions/). She got me back into reading when we first started chatting about 7 years ago. I'd been a voracious reader as a kid but it dropped off after high school. Since then, we have an informal competition each year where we compete to read the most books and I always try and push myself in new genres, new authors, and new sets of cat poems.

This year, I set myself two goals:

1. Read 52 books, averaging one book each week.
2. Read more than my previous best of 59 books.

I'd have been absolutely chuffed to hit the first goal, but I managed to even smash the second goal and currently stand at 61 books finished this year (with a total page count over 21,900).

An unexpected benefit was I spent a lot less time doomscrolling social media (particularly [Twitter](https://twitter.com/judges119)). I'd spend more time sitting on the couch enjoying amazing novels instead of being glued to a mystical object dealing me intense psychic damage and for that I felt mentally healthier, even during some really rough months. Being able to switch to something easy, pulpy, and fun when I was having some brain and body issues really helped me pass the time and realign myself.

The main drawback was feeling pressured. There were a few times during the year where I felt I *had* to read, even to the detriment of projects I wanted to work on, other activities, and even some chores. I felt like I needed to be a solid few books ahead so that if I hit a reading drought or was rendered unconcious for three weeks I wouldn't fall behind. I'd partially prepared for this, so having the smaller goal of 52 books did ease some of the anxiety, but I know a few times in the year I felt like my reading didn't have the healthiest grip on me.

## Recommendations

There were a bunch of stellar books this year, so it's only fair to share the love, broken down into a few categories.

### Shorter Reads

* [Defekt](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53261640-defekt) by Nino Cipri. Beautiful, queer, anticapitalist adventure in a future multiverse Ikea.
* [To Be Taught, If Fortunate](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43190272-to-be-taught-if-fortunate) by Becky Chambers. Space exploration and science with a loving found family.
* [The Hereafter Bytes](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54353023-the-hereafter-bytes) by Vincent Scott. Ace representation and a hilarious cyberpunk/futuristic romp.

### Playing With Form

* [Radiance](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18490533-radiance) by Catherynne M. Valente. Beautiful, strange, and unsetlling exploration of art and intergenerational trauma in an Art Deco future based on the golden age of film.
* [House Of Leaves](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24800.House_of_Leaves) by Mark Z. Danielewski. A re-read and an absolutely smashing one. Psychological horror, beautiful use of narrative form as art.

### SFF

* [Record Of A Spaceborn Few](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32802595-record-of-a-spaceborn-few) by Becky Chambers. Sweet, beautiful, heartwrenching, and heartwarming look at an anarchocommunist society in space.
* [Iron Widow](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52459864-iron-widow) by Xiran Jay Zhao. Hella cool feminist mecha tale based on Chinese mythology and legend.
* [Beyond The Farthest Suns](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26711282-beyond-the-farthest-suns) by Greg Bear. A series of short tales that explores the strangest potential futures.
* [Dreaming Metal](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/635735.Dreaming_Metal) by Melissa Scott. A follow up to [Dreamships](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/836601.Dreamships) and a look into how we react to terrorism in our art, in our communities.
* [The Black Coast](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52758545-the-black-coast) and [The Splinter King](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58094312-the-splinter-king) by Mike Brooks. Amazing fantasy with excellent LGBTQIA inclusion and the intermingling of vastly different cultures.
* [Renegades: Harrowmaster](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/63123245) by Mike Brooks. Warhammer 40k Alpha Legion filled with plots and plans and double crosses.

### LGBTQIA+ (but make it SFF)

* [Winter's Orbit](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693520-winter-s-orbit) by Everina Maxwell. Slow burn M/M scifi romance.
* The [Asteriant](https://www.goodreads.com/series/62432-astreiant) series by Melissa Scott. M/M fantasy romance with some of the best worldbuilding I've seen.
* [The Space Between Worlds](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/43301353) by Micaiah Johnson. Race, sexuality, and imperialism.
* [It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56652022-it-gets-even-better) edited by Isabela Oliveria and Jed Sabin, by various authors. Hopeful, optimistic queer scifi and fantasy.

## What's Next?

I think next year I'll set 24 books as the main goal. I still get a lot of reading time on my daily commutes, lunches, and lounges in the bath, but next year I want to try and spend more time tackling my "pile of shame" of unplayed games and exploring more of what that medium has to offer.

For the books I do read, I want to try a few non-fiction works related to my work and craft, a few TTRPG books I've picked up (including [Lancer](https://massif-press.itch.io/corebook-pdf-free) and [Wanderhome](https://possumcreekgames.com/pages/wanderhome)), and some fun and engaging fiction, including hopefully:
* [The Godbreaker](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58938271-the-godbreaker) by Mike Brooks to round out The God-King Chronicles.
* [Finna](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44081573-finna) by Nino Cipro to round out the Littenverse.
* More of the books sitting on my TBR shelf and on my e-reader.

*Update 2023-01-03: I ended up hitting 64 books and 22,848 pages this year, you can [check out my Goodreads Year In Review](https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2022/53984550). Also added some new recommendations.