January 2017

1. Alone in Austria: A Solo Bike Trip Across Austria – As I think and plan some new adventures, big bike trips sound really fun :). Good read and cool to read about Austria from a long time ago :).

2. Empire of the Dead – Fantasy book and pretty good. A really unique world, but the characters were just a tad flat to me. Not sure if I will pick up the next one.

3. The Black Echo – Fantastic cop series. I love the Amazon tv show Bosch, so picked this up to dig into the books. Bought the next one and going to see how it goes. The only downside, I guessed the ending pretty quick by about 70% in.

4. This Is It – I love sailing books, and this was a solid travelogue about a couple on their 2nd big voyage. Entertaining :).

5. And A foolish voyage, another fun sailing one. Good read.

6. Blood for Blood – Book 2 in a book about shape shifting, Hitler, and a fight for the world. Seriously it is awesome. I liked the first one a little more, but this was super solid and a great end to the story.

February 2017

A quick shorty story by one of my favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson, called Snapshot.

I tried to read books 1, 2 and 3 of Traveler’s Gate, but it wasn’t very good and I gave up a few hundred pages in.

7. 8. 9. Books 1, 2 and 3 of the Embers of Illeniel series. The Mountains Rise, The Silent Tempest, and Betrayer’s Bane. These are short listed for some of the best fantasy I’ve read in the last 12 months. Not your typical hero, and pretty dark which was a nice change of past. It all takes place in the future, aliens on earth, but all so different than most books. Highly recommended, kinda like Conan meets Seven Eyes. The only complaint was the ending was good, but lacking something.

10. The Crimson Queen – Another FANTASTIC new fantasy series I grabbed, I can’t wait for the next one. A bit typical in story line but the author is a fantastic writer, and the characters just come alive.

11. U.S. Taxes for Worldly Americans: The Traveling Expat’s Guide to Living, Working, and Staying Tax Compliant Abroad – Well written and useful.

12. Book 2 of the Song of the Shattered Sands series, With Blood Upon the Sand. A fantastic followup to one of my favorite books from last year. It tells the story of a woman seeking revenge on immortal kings in a middle eastern feeling motif. Fantastic!

13. The Legacy – A darkness within novel, it was ok but just a bit cliche and didn’t love the characters. Not going to read the next one.

March 2017

14. The Sleeping God – This is book 4 of the Disinherited Prince series. A good book, probably aimed at a younger audience. I probably won’t read more after this as this one seemed a lot less cohesive.

15. Thomas – A fun book, typical fantasy and a good writer.

16. Child of the Daystar – An interesting book about a lizard man who is rescued by people, those people become his family, are killed, and then starts a long road to revenge. A good read, but just not for me, not going to read book 2.

17. Aye Robot is book 2 of Starship Grifters, a hilarious scfi comedy book. Love the characters and def made me laugh out loud a few times. Looking forward to a new one.

18. Dead Man’s Steel – Book 3 of the Grim Company. Fantastic book, great characters, and a good sequel. Looking forward to seeing it all tied up.

19. Capital without Borders – A really interesting read on how wealth managers operate as told by someone who joined their ranks for the reason of research. Fascinating read on a global group of people who do nothing but help the top 1% hang onto their money and keep it out of the hands of government and other entities. So weird.

20. Road Side MBA: Back Road Lessons for Entrepreneurs, Executives and Small Business Owners – Fun read from a few professors who went around the USA and used real world examples to illustrate different business strategies. Engaging book.

21. Brave or Stupid – Great book about 2 guys from sweden who decide to sell around the world and DO. Fun read.

April

22. Infusionsoft for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Automation and Building Your First Campaign – I am learning Infusionsoft and picked this up in addition to some heavier books. This is a good book for a SUPER beginner, but otherwise not too helpful. For a SMB owner this might be a great start, I just wish the guy writing it had written 2x as much and plugged his stuff 10x less. Not impressed.

23. The Iron Circlet – Book 4 for Chronicles of Black Gate – Solid series, hard to describe… But, basically, in this last one the humans and “trolls” are having to unite to fight a demon uprising. Crazy crazy world but fun.

24. Sins of Empire – I loved the powder mage trilogy, and this was almost a standalone with some of the same characters. Very entertaining cool world.

25. Jorundyr’s Path: Wolf of the North – Book 2 in an amazing series, I can’t wait for the next one!

May

26. Blackflame – This is book 3 in a fantastic fantasy series, one of the best books this year in fantasy. It is hard to describe but the magic system is very Buddhist / full metal alchemist. Very fun reads.

27. Change Agent – One of the best thrillers I’ve read in a while from one of the best tech futurists out there. His first book Damon is a MUST READ. And, this was fascinating with magic leap style technology and crispr.

28. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival – Wow!!! A true story about a crazy tiger attack in Russia in the 1990s. Fascinating read.

29. The Collapsing Empire – Fantastic and fun science fiction by a famous artist, looking forward to the sequel. The pace was slow but always great and very well written.

30. Red Sister – This one took a while to get into but really good read. My only pause was the weird time jump between some chapters that did not fit. I am hoping the next book clears some of that up… 8 out of 10 for this one from a great author.

31. The Legacy – Book 1 – I just couldn’t get into this one despite the high reviews on Amazon. It was interesting but just didn’t flow great, not sure what to say but not getting the next one.

32. The Red Knight (The Traitor Son Cycle Book 1) – This is the BEST fantasy book I have read in some time, really great characters, great character development and a huge canvas of a world. It read more like a giant space opera but in a fantasy setting. I like that the magic system is a bit mysterious right now, and just fun writing. I stayed awake several nights because I could not put it down. I love the main character :). Reading the 2nd one now and looking forward to the 5 books in this series.

33. Iron Dragoons – Cool book but not for me, the characters were just pretty flat and a pretty boring/basic plot. Not enough for me to try the 2nd. Cool world though and I will def circle back to this author for his later works to see if they get more complex.

34. The Maid’s War (a Kingfountain prequel) – I read his other series and give it a B+. This was a good read but nothing spectacular for me. Solid B-. Follows Joan of Arc a bit.

35. Armor – I loved this book. A future scifi thriller about fighting in giant armor/mech suits. The plot was a bit light, but the character I found a bit fascinating and fun. Fun military thriller.

36. 37. Books 1 and 2 of the Bobiverse series, those being We Are Legion and For We Are Many. THESE BOOKS ARE AWESOME. Best science fiction I have read this year, and maybe last. I can’t wait for the next one and this is something I’ve talked to Lindsey about so many times, what a cool thing if it was possible. Basically, this guy signs up to be frozen, dies, wakes up in a computer and the future sends him out into the stars on a mission as a space ship. It is so freaking awesome :). Good writing, great characters, and funny as hell. LOVE it!

June 2017

38. 39. 40. The Traitor Son cycle, which is 5 books with 4 of them being out, those being The Red Knight, The Fell Sword, The Dread Wyrm, and The Plague of Swords. With book 5 due in October. These are hands down the best fantasy I’ve ready in a REALLY long time, up there almost with wheel of time and harry potter. Maybe even as good as wheel of time :). You fall in love with the characters, the details are amazing, and love the warfare and magic systems. So good!! (I already counted the red knight above).

41. Dark Territory is book 3 in a series I love. Solid Fantasy and well written :).

42. Off To Be The Wizard – An ok book, but 75% of the book is just explaining the core concept again and again and again. Some huge holes in it too. Then the last 25% is a really really simplistic plot, like from a 10 page kids book. I am hopeful that book 2 skips the origin story and has a plot, but going to skip it.

43. Treasure of Khan – I loved dirk pitt adventures as a kid and picked this one up for some fun summer reading. It was ok, but I forgot some of the simplicity and this one seemed overly formulaic. And, it didn’t dive into the history part as much IMO. Oh well.

44. Outland – Cool premise, but really unrealistic response by some college kids. I just couldn’t believe it.

45. The Ember War – Some good old space science fiction, but I was rather disappointed. The fighting scenes were hard to picture, and just a kinda silly plot with a few hints of something big. Going to skip any future ones.

46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. I love the new Amazon Bosch series, just awesome police / detective show. I picked up the first book and it was ok, but once I got into the 2nd book I could connect more as the author improved. Now I am working through all 22 of them :). I just finished: The Black Ice, Concrete Blonde, The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight, and A Darkness More Than Night. All fantastic mystery / detective books, great character.

52. 53. 53. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 9 more Hary Bosch books :). City of Bones, Lost Light, The Narrows, The Closers, Echo Park, The Overlook, The Brass Verdict, 9 Dragons, and The Reversal.

61. 62. 63. 64. 65. Finished the Bosch series and waiting for new ones :). The Drop, The Black Box, The Burning Room, The Crossing, and The Wrong Side of Goodbye. I can’t wait for book 22.

66. The Legion of Flame – Some great fantasy and book 2 in a series about harvesting dragon blood for special magic powers.

July

67. Lincoln Lawyer – I watched the movie too and the book was better, the movie just pulled too much of the intrigue. Good book and fun read.

68. The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity. This book really illustrates what I think about taxes and the USA, well written and researched and a good read if you want a look at what the republican party has done to us since the 1980s. And, to a smaller degree, the Democrats have gone along with it, or been unable to stop it.

69. Galaxy Edge – A fantastic military sci fi book about some mech legionnaires in the middle of nowhere. I am looking forward to book 2 to see where it takes it.

70. Kings of the Wyld – What a hilarious fantastic book. Fantasy, but recast like 80s hair band where famous merc bands are like bands. The author is fantastic and paints a great world. Loved it!

71. Out of the Soylent Planet (A Rex Nihilo Adventure) (Starship Grifters Book 0) – Love this character, very funny space adventures. 1950s style but with a lot of modern references :).

72. Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built – Very good story. The more I see the more I believe succeeding with a business is like playing poker with a 500 card hand and 100,000 card deck. Skill + luck.

73. Star Wars: Thrawn – One of the most amazing characters I’ve ever read about. This is a follow-up to the orig star wars series about him, and an origin story. Fantastic and Timothy Zahn is such a great writer.

74. Secondborn – An awesome book, somewhat simplistic but good for beach and fun characters. Grabbing the next two. About a world where the first born kids rule, the second born are in the military, and noone is permitted to have more. Fun beach read.

75. Galactic Outlaws – I loved the first one, but this one was really hard to follow. And, it didn’t seem to really pick up after the 1st beyond connecting to a story. Pretty disappointed and won’t be grabbing the third.

76. House Of Spies – The newest Gabriel Allon book, and a fun beach read. Great writer :)

77. 78. 79. Cartwright’s Cavaliers, Asbaran Solutions, and Winged Hussars. Military fictions with a future where humans are mostly mercs out in space hired for war. Cool universe, books 1 and 3 were pretty good, but book 2 the plot just did not make sense. Different writers I guess. Overall fun reads.

80. 81. Dragon and Thief and Dragon and Soldier. Timothy Zahn is a great writer and I wanted to check out what he was doing for young people in the literary department. Good books but a bit young, cool concept though with a 2d/3d creature that has a symbiotic relationship with its host.

82. 83. 84. 85. Eye of the Tiger: A Paranormal Space Opera Adventure, Space Witch, Zeta Hack, and Binary Pair. Book 1 to 4 about a future where humans are fucking with DNA and we have a ex-marine who can turn into a giant intelligent human-tiger, a woman basically turned into a vampire, and a hacker. Fun adventure reads that are more like a classic western. Aliens, androids and other fun stuff. Fun beach stuff :).

86. The Blue Mage Raised by Dragons – This was a very WEIRD book, I do not even know how to describe it. It was like a long winding dream with not much of a plot or character developments. So weird. Well written, but not sure I would recommend it.

August

87. Afterlife – Wow, what a FANTASTIC book. I do not want to ruin it, so I won’t shrae the plot, but starts with the FBI looking for a sniper and going a lot deeper than that. The ending was a bit M Crichton, but otherwise great read.

88. Book 6 of the MHI Series, Monster Hunter Siege. Man I can’t wait for the next one, this was a bit of a tease in a good series!

89.Stiger’s Tigers – I LOVED this book, it is about the Roman legion and military fiction placed in a slight fantasy world. The author is a fantastic writer, crystal clear what is going on, and the military accuracy seems great. Just bought the next 3 in the series.

90. Bank of Dave: How I Took On the Banks – Fantastic, although sometimes simplistic, book about how this rich guy in the UK tried to start a bank that doesn’t F people in the ass. Good read and a good sense of humor. I was a little annoyed as he didn’t really start a bank…

91. The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy – Dense read but good, not a ton I haven’t seen before but if you are just getting into this it is a good intro. Well written and cited.

92. A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II – An AMAZING book about a pilot in the German air force in WW2 and an American bomber crew. This is one of the best nonfiction books I’ve read this year and incredibly moving / heart warming story about combat. Well written and can’t wait to read some of the authors’ other WW2 work.

93. Girl Jacked – Book 1 in a detective series, not a bad book but not sure I will get the 2nd. The weird sexual tensions was kinda annoying.

94. Ship of Magic – Liveship Traders Book 1 – At 832 pages this is a bit of a beast and it does a nice job of painting a very dense picture of a new world. That said I was a little annoyed as not a ton happens in this first book, more it paints a really big stage. The writer is super clear and the characters intriguing. I am going to try book 2 as well as this author has a great rep.

95. 96. 97. 98. Stiger’s Tigers, The Tiger, and The Tiger’s Fate – Wow these are FANTASTIC books and in the running for best of the year. Some of the best military fiction I’ve read in a long time. This is all in a world with the Roman legion offering and a great plot. I can’t wait for the 4th one. The military actions are described in very clear details, and the writer is great. Highly recommended! And, there is a prequel you can read about the main character which is as good, it is called Stiger: Tales of the Seventh.

99. Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement – I always found Tony Robbins a bit worrisome given the salesman / cult persona, and was hesistent to read it as generally those things seem like scams. My brother gave me one of his books a few years back on money and it was fantastic, so I picked this up to take a look. This was a fun book and I enjoyed it, just don’t get sucked in like this is a cure for your life. It is just a framework on how to look at things, process things etc. Def some stuff in here that made me go WTF, and some that were super valuable. Interesting guy, I still don’t think the seminars look like anything but a scam though.

100. 101. 102. Forgotten Soldiers, Wayward Soldiers, and Resurrected Soldiers. A series by an author I really like. This one did not click as well as his Roman military strategy series, but it is still quite good. I am going to read the 4th and final book in the series shortly.

103. All These Worlds – Book 3 in the bobiverse series which is hilarious and about a guy who has his body frozen upon death only to wake up implemented in a spaceship. Awesome book and I’d love to see them make this into a movie.

104. Golden Horde – This is book 4 in the human mercs series called the Revelations Cycle. Best one yet!

105. 106. 107. 108. The Expeditionary Force series… Columbus Day, SpecOps, Paradise, and Black Ops. I can’t wait for the next one so I can find out what happened to Skippy. So the brief summary is our planet gets invaded by aliens, then other aliens come and beat those aliens, and force us to fight for them. At which point it goes crazy with a hilarious beer can AI that helps us. Laugh out loud funny at times :).

September

109. Burning Bright – Book 5 in a crazy human/tiger werewolf thing with a pretty cool plot that is too weird to describe. This booked seemed a bit rushed than the other ones. The ending was a cliff hanger which is frustrating. I am not sure if I will read more of these.

110. Prime Valkyrie – Michael is getting even better and the book was hard to put down. I just wish he could write them every 2 weeks :). As now I have to wait a while to read more. Good book about a human who can change into a tiger and his possee of lionneesses who are fighting vampires. Ya it is fucking out there but super fun/hilarious/awesome.

111. Legend – A fantasy book with some good characters and a good read. That said it just wasn’t deep enough for me, the characters were a little flat. I can’t decide if I will try another one or not.

112. 113. 114. 115. The Destroyer which is currently up to 4 books and waiting on a new one. The only frustrating thing is that book 4 isn’t a conclusion, whereas the site implies it is. Anyway, a fantastic and fun read about slavery and revolt. Really digging the author and reading all his books.

116. Space Knight. With a title like that it is bad ass. Fun beach read and can’t wait for a new one.

117. Legends of Ahn – Book 3 of the dark tidings series, which I love. Although this one just didn’t click as much as the others and felt a bit lost. I can’t wait for the next one though and hopefully it wraps this one up.

118. Peacemaker – Book 6 of the Revelations series, this author was awesome and very well written. Looking forward to more inside this universe (see above for breakdown on first 5).

119. Forever Soldier series book 4. Low energy books but still very good, this one brought a soldier dealing with PTSD as well as an end to the series. Good reads and somewhat darker stories than I am used too.

October

120. The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor: Powerful techniques anyone can use to deduct more, invest smarter, and pay far less to the IRS. – I’ve always been interested in real estate since I was a kid, and picked this up to learn some stuff. That said I try to stay away from real estate at this point, too much of a headache.

121. 122. 123. 124. 125. Books 1 through 5 of the Blood on the Stars series. I loved this series, great characters and the battle scenes are vivid as is the overarching plot. I can’t wait for #6 which is due out in Jan 2018.

126. 127. Pandemic and Genome. Fun thrillers about an ancient group of scientist who are about to alter humanities existance. Sometimes a little out there, but the ending was PERFECT.

128. The last book in the Wolf of the north series, Blood Debt. A good ending, but it kinda petered off on the last few books. Good conclusion though. I was surprised how small the focus was in some ways.

129. Lost Legio IX: The Karus Saga – This is by one of my fav authors lately, amazing roman military history combined with some fantasy. This book was awesome and I can’t wait for the next one in this series and the other he does.

130. Revenant Winds (The Tainted Cabal Book 1) – A fantastic fantasy book, well written, interesting characters, and cool world. I am looking forward to the next one and highly recommend it.

131. CRY HAVOC (Jack Frey Book 1) – A really unique and fun book about a world where an island nation is the last left after something that sounds similar to vampires conquers the rest of the world and enslaves humanity. Good read and looking forward to the next one.

132. The Second Adventure of Sir Errol Hyde: The Case of The Oxford Rasputin – A fantastic mystery with a lead detective who is very unique and in the same period as Sherlock Holmes. Fun read and good twist :). Plus he likes the kush.

133. Book 7 of the Star Justice series. Just think dude that can shapeshift into a super tiger, just super fun reads and hilarious.

November

134. 135. 136. The Red, The Trials, and Going Dark. This is an amazing military series about small unit combat in the future, and an emergent AI inteligience. The characters are fantastic and the writing clear and compelling. The scene it sets is based on a lot of the tech advances happening today. Great reads.

137. The Last Good Man – From the author of The Red is a single book on futuristic military operations using drones. Compelling story and great glimpse at what combat might become.

138. Space Knight Book 2 – LOVE IT! Can’t wait for more. Just a fun read that almost reads like a video game :)

139. The White Song – The 5th and final book in a series I adore, just epic fantasy and an absolute STUNNING ending. I highly recommend this as an amazing series.

140. Being in China, I decided to read The Chinese Dream: The Rise of the World’s Largest Middle Class and What It Means to You. It was a fantastic book and the author has a great story about her own life stradling China and the USA. The stories in the book and the big narrative it weaves together paint a really interesting picture. I love her overall message that China’s growth is not a zero sum game, and together with the USA and other western countries the two can work together to build a better earth.

141. 142. No Honor in Death and The Path of Duty. Fun books about a starship captain in a big war, and her path through it. Both were good reads, but I am not sure I’ll pick up the next one.

143. Book 5 of the Expeditionary Force: Zero Hour. I love this series, it is hilarious and a cool universe. Good read but I am a little frustrated with how little happened. I’d like book 6 to wrap this series up…

144. 145. 146. 147. Books 1 thorugh 4 of the Spiral Wars series.Renegade, Drysine Legacy, Kantovan Vault, and Defiance. Great space opera type books. I loved them and can’t wait for the next one. Imagine a future where we have emerged into the milky way and are competing with other species, great reads!

148. Book 2 of the Front Line Series: Departure. I read book 1 but didn’t like it but seeing so many good reviews I tried again. It still was not good, my biggest frustration is NOTHING HAPPENS in this book. So frustrating….

149. Infinity Born – A fantastic read on AI and just super fun. Highly recommended!

150. The last book in the Traitor son cycle: Fall of Dragons. This is one of my favorite all time fantasy series and it was a hard read to say goodbye to so many great characters. Great ending. Loved it and highly recommend it.

151. Start, Love, Repeat: How to Stay in Love with Your Entrepreneur in a Crazy Start-up World – A fantastic book, and the best one I’ve read so far inside this niche segment. Super helpful advice and waiting for Lindsey to read it.

December

152. The Never Hero – Cool book, interesting premise, but a little slow for my tastes and seems like the author isn’t going to wrap up the series anytime soon so skipping. The plot is basically a normal guy gets implanted with some tech to allow him to defend earth against all comers.

153. Two Kinds of Truth – The new Harry Bosch novel, fantastic as always :). Noir detective, and just very fun/solid. Like a good law and order episode.

154. Shadow Eagle book 8 in a crazy series I am reading, quick fun books about vampires, shape-shifting men/tigers, and so on. Insanity and awesome.

155. Fort Covenant: Tales of the Seventh – Another in a series about my fav roman legion general…

156. Empty Horizon – Book 4 of a fantasy series that I am really digging, more on that above so just a solid sequel and can’t wait for the next one.

157. Semper Fi (The Corps series Book 1) – A fictional account of the history of the Marine Corps, really cool character and good read. I am going to try the 2nd one and see how it stacks up as this one ended with pearl harbor…