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A running ranking of the year's best books


Fifty Beasts To Break Your Heart: And Other Stories
★☆☆☆☆ By the author of the excellent Thistlefoot, a collection of short stories written six years ago that should have remained unpublished.

Greg Barlin
Feb 16, 20244 min read


The Best Books of 2023
A running tally of my "Best Books of 2023", updated each time I finish a book throughout the year.

Greg Barlin
Dec 23, 202314 min read


Fourth Wing (#6 of 2023)
★★★★★ Perhaps the most-hyped book of 2023 lives up to it, as we follow the journey of a young girl as she attempts to become a dragon rider.

Greg Barlin
Dec 17, 20234 min read


Starling House (#8 of 2023)
★★★★★ Harrow returns to top form with a genre-blending story of a young woman trying to scrape by in a town haunted by its past and secrets.

Greg Barlin
Dec 15, 20235 min read


The Battle Drum
★★★★★ El-Arifi builds on her stellar debut The Final Strife (my #3 book of 2022), and does so both ambitiously and successfully.

Greg Barlin
Aug 18, 20234 min read


In the Lives of Puppets
★★★★★ A sometimes dark exploration of a world where humans and sentient machines coexist, balanced by Klune's trademark humor and heart.

Greg Barlin
May 31, 20233 min read


The Lost Metal
★★★★★ A fitting and satisfying conclusion to what author Sanderson refers to as "Era Two" of his outstanding Mistborn series.

Greg Barlin
Feb 17, 20232 min read


The Best Books of 2022 (#20-#11), plus the "Naughty List" of books to avoid
Happy New Year! It’s time once again for what has become an annual tradition, my Books of the Year list. 2022 was a busy year of reading,...

Greg Barlin
Jan 1, 20234 min read


The #10 Best Book of 2021: The Blacktongue Thief
★★★★☆ A thief with a wry sense of humor is reluctantly paired up with a badass female knight on a quest to save the knight's queen.

Greg Barlin
Jan 3, 20221 min read


The #3 Best Book of 2020: Race the Sands
★★★★★ Part Seabiscuit, part palace politics, part commentary on societal boundaries and castes -- this novel was great on multiple levels.

Greg Barlin
Jan 13, 20211 min read


The #6 Best Book of 2020: Things in Jars
★★★★★ A private investigator in 1860s London looks into the disappearance of a young girl who may have special (and dangerous) powers.

Greg Barlin
Jan 10, 20211 min read


The Best Books of 2019 (plus the "Naughty List" of books to avoid)
2019 was a solid year of reading with some true standouts that created some amazing literary experiences.

Greg Barlin
Jan 1, 20208 min read
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