ct smith

FICTION: Carl's Doomsday Scenario, Matt Dinniman
Listening on audiobook during chores. I binge-read the first book and picked this up almost immediately after haha.

NONFICTION: Learning the vi and Vim Editors (8th Edition), Arnold Robbins, Elbert Hannah, Linda Lamb
I have no idea what's gotten into me, but I figured out I don't hate vim like three days ago and now I'm obsessed.

NONFICTION: May It Be Blessed (transcribed from the homilies of Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos), Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos

FICTION: North Woods, Daniel Mason
Picked it up on the recommendation of a coworker.

The Baal Book, Fr. Stephen De Young - 3/5⭐
It was okay, I think I prefer Father Stephen's lectures. I've enjoyed his other books but I just don't think the Baal Cycle is interesting.

Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life, Rory Sutherland - 4.5/5⭐
I learned a ton from this. Very funny, very interesting, and opened my mind in several places.

The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver - 4.5/5⭐
I took emotional damage from this one. It was very good.

Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman - 4.25/5⭐
Read as a quick diversion from some of the heavier books I'm getting through. Fun, entertaining, super ridiculous.

Children of Time, Adrian Tchaikovsky - 4.25/5⭐
Listened on audiobook during chores. I really enjoyed this, I love jumping spiders.

Borne, Jeff VanderMeer - 3.5/5⭐
It was cute and weird and I was entertained.

Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConaghy - 5/5⭐
Another r/booksthatfeellikethis pick. Gutted me, cried a lot. Beautiful, enjoyed it tremendously.

There Is No Antimemetics Division, qntm - 4.5/5⭐
Grabbed it because SCP Foundation stuff is always a fun read for me. Solidly entertaining!

Absolution, Jeff VanderMeer - 3.75/5⭐
I liked parts of it better than other parts, it was entertaining enough.

The Hike, Drew Magary - 5/5⭐
Can't remember where I got the recommendation. Absolutely loved it. Will read again.

How to Make Sense of Any Mess: Information Architecture for Everybody, Abby Covert - 4/5⭐
Loved it! It was very approachable, and kinda poetic! It made me excited about IA again, which is a spark I haven't had in awhile. Probably not very informative for people who have been in the game a long time, but I would say this is a good beginner's intro, or a good refresher for people who have been away from IA for awhile.

Moon of the Crusted Snow, Waubgeshig Rice - 3/5⭐
Another r/booksthatfeellikethis pick. The story was good, but the writing was clunky and it felt rushed. It was interesting, at least.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King - 5/5⭐
I read it once 15 years ago. Re-read it because I have a goal to write more in 2026. Very fun read, lots of good advice, now I just need to be humble enough to take it.

Factotum, Charles Bukowski - 3/5⭐
Re-read. Of course the subject matter is off-putting, but I always feel like I come away with a new understanding of "shitbaggery" after reading Bukowski.

We Used To Live Here, Marcus Kliewer - 5/5⭐
Holy smokes, that made me feel like I was losing my grip on reality. Another book picked on vibes because of r/booksthatfeellikethis.

Piranesi, Susanna Clarke - 5/5⭐
Adored it. Accidentally read it in under 24 hours. Picked it up after seeing it recommended a bajillion times on r/booksthatfeellikethis.

Trying to Give Ease: Tommie Bass and the Story of Herbal Medicine, John K. Crellin, Jane Philpott - 5/5⭐
Very well researched, mostly fair and it didn't paint Southern Appalachians as anti-medicine hillbillies, which was refreshing. Other studies of Southern Appalachian plant medicine have been way less balanced and quite enraging. This was very good. Tommie Bass was a fascinating man.

The Germ in the Dairy Pail: The 200-Year War on the World's Most Amazing Food–Milk, Forrest Maready - 3/5⭐
Interesting, gave me a lot to think about -- and the historical context for the distrust of raw milk was neat to learn about. Parts were kind of redundant, it could probably have been 1/3 shorter, and parts felt like they veered toward conspiracy theories, but it was otherwise more balanced than I expected. I had a whole thing written out to defend my academic curiosity because raw milk is controversial, but I've decided that I don't want to defend my curiosity and that if people want to get upset about the books I'm reading, that's their problem and not mine. The world needs curious people who are willing to learn about things they may not agree with.

Roadside Picnic, Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky - 3/5⭐
Listened to this on audiobook during chores. It was entertaining, but I think I would have enjoyed it more as a physical book, not an audiobook.

I Blame Myself But Also You, Spencer Fleury - 4/5⭐
A book of stories written by an old coworker. I preordered it last year and finally read it. I thoroughly enjoyed most of the stories. Fully entertaining.

The Guide, Peter Heller - 5/5⭐
Very entertaining. Read it all in one go on a Saturday night. Grabbed from the library after loving The Dog Stars. I like Peter Heller because I like this prose, but I'm not at all familiar with the Western US, ranch life, or fishing, and it seems he writes about that often. So, it's almost like visiting an alien planet for me.

I Who Have Never Known Men, Jacqueline Harpman - 4/5⭐
Can't remember how it ended up on my radar. Loved it after the first few parts.

Nutrition for Women, Ray Peat, PhD - 2/5⭐
IDK why or how this book showed up at my house but I read it. It's a book of essays and articles, I'm not a doctor and much of it was boring, I don't really know what to think about it. I might read more about progesterone.

The Wall, Marlene Haushofer - 5/5⭐
I enjoyed it tremendously. I borrowed my copy from the library, and will buy a copy if I ever seen one secondhanrd.

The Dog Stars, Peter Heller - 5/5⭐
Grabbed this from the libary. I didn't know what to expect. I absolutely loved it, it was heartbreaking and beautiful. I loved the way Heller handles the dialogue, it made it hard to tell what was thoughts and what was said. Very appropriate for the book. Wow. I'm going to buy my own copy to have.

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI, Ethan Mollick - 4/5⭐
Enjoyed it very much. Super approachable without a lot of jargon. Feels practical. Listened to this for Tom Johnson's Human in the loop book club.

The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story, Olga Tokarczuk - 3.5/5⭐
I felt it was very slow at first, and I don't enjoy historical stuff much, but it picked up rapidly for me toward the end. The prose was beautiful, I enjoyed it. I was thinking I'd rate it a 2, until I got close to the end. The last quarter of the book made it a worthwhile read and redeemed the experience for me. Picked this up after absolutely loving Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. Both books had the same translator.

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir - 5/5⭐
Picked this up on a whim at Sam's Club. I ABSOLUTLEY LOVED THIS and would read an entire series of books about the characters.

Progressive Delivery: Build the Right Thing for the Right People at the Right Time, James Governor, Kimberly Harrison, Heidi Waterhouse, and Adam Zimman - 4/5⭐
Won an audiobook copy in a giveaway on LinkedIn -- the parts that were relevant to my work were super interesting. Some of it not directly relevant to my role, but the case studies really helped me understand how progressive delivery can be applied in different contexts.

Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg - 4/5⭐
Time to gain bene gesserit witch-like communication powers, or something. This was really good, and I ended up texting several friends to apologize for my communication missteps after reading it.

Hell Divers, Nicholas Sansbury Smith - 3/5⭐
Listening on audiobook during road trips and chores. I found it entertaining and liked that there wasn't explicit content or gratuitous gore. It was really tense the entire time and never let up. I liked the voice actor reading it.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk - 5/5⭐
I really enjoyed this book. I love the Slavic wordiness. I was hooked from the first sentence. I have to return this copy to the library, but will be buying my own copy to read again and annotate.

Lost Souls Meet under a Full Moon, Mizuki Tsujimura - 3/5⭐
Entertaining but it's not really my sort of book. I did like how neatly everything was arranged, though, and there were a few moments that made me feel emotional. Only bought it because the nerdy gal who doesn't make eye contact suggested this while I was checking out at B&N and she's so visibly shy that it must have taken great courage for her to do that and I couldn't say no.

Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton - 5/5⭐
5/5 for page-turningness entertainment value alone. Binge-read in under 24 hours cause it was quite the page-turner! It's even more terrifying now, having worked in tech with various "visionaries" who may or may not remind me of John Hammond.

Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver - 5/5⭐
POTENTIAL SPOILERS. Read like my own memoir, my own voice. I am afflicted. I've never felt so understood but also so many of those feelings I want to ball up and wrap my whole body around and keep them quiet cause there's no way to explain them to folks who ain't lived it. This is the best book I've ever read and it's one of the only things that's ever truly moved me. It wasn't just me. I ended up sob-laughing and reading the last page over and over again cause I can't believe my own good fortune.

Authority, Jeff VanderMeer - 2/5⭐
I found it boring but read it as a means to an end.

Acceptance, Jeff VanderMeer - 3/5⭐
I thought the ending was weak but then I learned he wrote an additional installment 10 years later so I might revise this.

Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer - 4/5⭐
I was entertained and it gave me weird thoughts. I don't read fiction typically, but this short book hooked me. This was part of an actual effort on my part to expand into reading fiction, despite my discomfort.

DOCS AS TESTS, Manny Silva
I preordered it and binged it the day after it released. Great information that I'm still trying to figure out how to apply to my own docsets.

Payments Systems in the US,
Read it for work.

True to Form, Eric Goodman
Read it to rehab an old injury.

Shillelagh: The Irish Fighting Stick, John W. Hurley
Read it out of curiosity.