2022: The Year in Books

This year I managed a whole bunch of new books, so re-reads were down, somewhat to my surprise. There was a fair bit of experimentation with new authors; I’m always on the look-out for an interesting new voice. As usual, re-reads are in italics – at least the ones I can remember. Previous years: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Vacation Reading, 2016 Vacation Reading, Vacation Reading 2015, Vacation Reading 2014, Vacation Reading 2013, Vacation Reading 2012, Vacation Reading 2011.

  1. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix [4/5] : January 03, 2022
  2. Magical Midlife Madness: Leveling Up by K.F. Breene [3/5] : January 05, 2022
  3. Witchcraft in the Western Tradition by Jennifer McNabb [3/5] : January 08, 2022
  4. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler [4/5] : January 10, 2022
  5. Death Wave: The Star Quest Trilogy, Book 1 by: Ben Bova [2/5] : January 14, 2022
  6. Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of ’70s and ’80s Horror Fiction by: Grady Hendrix [3/5] : January 18, 2022
  7. My Best Friend’s Exorcism: A Novel by: Grady Hendrix [4/5] : January 25, 2022
  8. The Story of Human Language by John McWhorter [2/5] : January 28, 2022 – sorely needs updating
  9. Warship: Black Fleet Trilogy, Book 1 by Joshua Dalzelle [4/5] : February 06, 2022
  10. Call to Arms: Black Fleet Trilogy, Book 2 by Joshua Dalzelle [4/5] : February 08, 2022
  11. Counterstrike: Black Fleet Trilogy, Book 3 by Joshua Dalzelle [3/5] : February 10, 2022
  12. The Berlin Wall: A World Divided by Hope M. Harrison [4/5] : February 14, 2022
  13. The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole [4/5]: February 15, 2022
  14. Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness [3/5] : February 17, 2022
  15. Seven Days: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel by G. Michael Hopf [2/5]: February 21, 2022
  16. Fall; or, Dodge in Hell: A Novel by Neal Stephenson [3/5] : February 23, 2022
  17. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins [4/5] : March 07, 2022
  18. Feedback by Dennis E. Taylor [4/5] : March 08, 2022
  19. Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield [3/5] : March 09
  20. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [3/5] : March 15, 2022
  21. Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy [4/5] : March 16, 2022
  22. Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller [4/5] : March 21, 2022
  23. 48 Hours by William R. Forstchen [3/5] : March 22, 2022
  24. The Science of Sci-Fi: From Warp Speed to Interstellar Travel by Erin Macdonald [3/5] : March 24, 2022
  25. The Iliad by Homer, translated by Richmond Lattimore [3/5] : March 26, 2022
  26. Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle [4/5] : April 03, 2022
  27. The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City by Jennifer Toth [3/5] : April 05, 2022
  28. Cursed by Neil Gaiman, Charlie Jane Ander, M. R. Carey, Christina Henry, & others [4/5] : April 07, 2022
  29. Medieval Myths & Mysteries by Dorsey Armstrong [4/5] : April 11, 2022
  30. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi [5/5] : April 12, 2022
  31. African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan by Thomas Lockley & Geoffrey Girard [3/5] : April 13, 2022
  32. Infinite by Jeremy Robinson [4/5] : April 15, 2022
  33. Infinite 2 by Jeremy Robinson [3/5] : April 17, 2022
  34. Anxiety as an Ally: How I Turned a Worried Mind into My Best Friend by Dan Ryckert [4/5] : April 20, 2022
  35. The Fifth Season: The Broken Earth, Book 1 by N. K. Jemisin [2/5] : April 21, 2022
  36. The Dinosaur Tourist by Caitlín R. Kiernan [4/5] : April 24, 2022
  37. The Einstein Theory of Relativity by H. A. Lorentz [4/5] : April 27, 2022
  38. The Science of Running: How to Find Your Limit and Train to Maximize Your Performance by Steve Magness : May 4, 2022
  39. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen : May 8, 2022
  40. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen : May 12, 2022
  41. Emma by Jane Austen : May 15, 2022
  42. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen : May 19, 2022
  43. Persuasion by Jane Austen : May 24, 2022
  44. Wolf’s Bane by Kelley Armstrong [3/5] : June 1, 2022
  45. The Chain by Adrian McKinty [4/5 ] : June 5, 2022
  46. Room by Emma Donoghue [4/5] : June 18, 2022
  47. Hawkmaiden: Spellmonger Cadet, Book 1, by Terry Mancour [4/5] : June 22, 2022
  48. The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey [4/5] : July 3, 2022
  49. Still Alive: A Wild Life of Rediscovery by: Forrest Galante [4/5] : July 20, 2022
  50. What I Talk about When I Talk about Running by Haruki Murakami [5/5] : July 24, 2022
  51. Objections: The Ultimate Guide for Mastering the Art and Science of Getting past No by Jeb Blount [2/5] : July 25, 2022
  52. Resilience Is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde by Julie S. Lalonde [4/5] : July 28, 2022
  53. Shallow Waters: A Novel by Anita Kopacz [4/5] : August 01, 2022
  54. Termination Shock: A Novel by Neal Stephenson [3/5] : August 02, 2022
  55. Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle [4/5] : August 17, 2022
  56. Heads Will Roll by Kate McKinnon & Emily Lynne [4/5] : August 20, 2022
  57. JPod by Douglas Coupland [3/5] : August 21, 2022
  58. The Reading List: A Novel by Sara Nisha Adams [5/5] : August 22, 2022
  59. Cosmic Horror Monthly Magazine Feb 2022 issue [4/5] : August 22, 2022
  60. Cosmic Horror Monthly Magazine July 2022 issue [4/5] : August 22, 2022
  61. We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1 by Dennis E. Taylor [4/5] : August 23,2022
  62. For We Are Many: Bobiverse, Book 2 by Dennis E. Taylor [4/5] : August 24,2022
  63. All These Worlds: Bobiverse, Book 3 by Dennis E. Taylor [4/5] : August 25,2022
  64. Heaven’s River: Bobiverse, Book 4 by Dennis E. Taylor [4/5] : August 25,2022
  65. Black Girls Must Die Exhausted: A Novel by Jayne Allen [4/5] : August 27, 2022
  66. All the Names by José Saramago (translated by Margaret Jull Costa) [4/5] : September 20, 2022
  67. Roadkill by Dennis E. Taylor [4/5] : September 23, 2022
  68. An Introduction to Infectious Diseases by Barry C. Fox [3/5] : September 25, 2022
  69. Annihilation: The Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 1 by Jeff VanderMeer [3/5] : September 28, 2022
  70. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain : September 29, 2022
  71. The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie [3/5] : October 3, 2022
  72. Stop People Pleasing: Be Assertive, Stop Caring What Others Think, Beat Your Guilt, & Stop Being a Pushover by Patrick King [3/5] : October 09, 2022
  73. The Life and Death of Stars by Keivan G. Stassun [3/5] : October 11, 2022
  74. Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed by Ben R. Rich , Leo Janos [4/5] : October 14, 2022
  75. Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe by Jeffrey C. Grossman [3/5] : October 17, 2022
  76. The complete book of Scriptwriting by J. Michael Straczynski [3/5] : October 23, 2022
  77. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman by Richard P. Feynman : October 24, 2022
  78. Algonquin Park Through Time and Space : The history and ecology of Algonquin Park Told with satellite imagery and computer graphics by Frank Ahern [4/5] October 25, 2022
  79. Time’s Eye: A Time Odyssey, Book 1 by Stephen Baxter & Arthur C. Clarke [3/5] : October 26, 2022
  80. Shuttle, Houston: My Life in the Center Seat of Mission Control by Paul Dye [4/5] : November 01, 2022
  81. Night Shift Dragons: Detroit Free Zone, Book 3 by Rachel Aaron [4/5] : November 04, 2022
  82. The Road by Cormac McCarthy [4/5] : November 08, 2022
  83. The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights by James Knowles [3/5] : November 09, 2022
  84. Atomic Adventures: Secret Islands, Forgotten N-Rays, and Isotopic Murder – A Journey into the Wild World of Nuclear Science by:James Mahaffey [3/5] : November 14, 2022
  85. Fool’s Errand: Tawny Man, Book 1 by Robin Hobb [3/5] : November 18, 2022
  86. The Wolves of Algonquin Park: A 12 Year Ecological Study by John B. Theberge and Mary T. Theberge [4/5] : November 24, 2022
  87. The World Set Free by H. G. Wells [3/5] : November 28, 2022
  88. The Science of Self-Discipline: The Willpower, Mental Toughness, and Self-Control to Resist Temptation and Achieve Your Goals by Peter Hollins [3/5] : November 30, 2022
  89. Medical School for Everyone: Grand Rounds Cases by: Roy Benaroch [2/5] : December 5, 2022
  90. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley by Malcolm X & Alex Haley [4/5] : December 5, 2022
  91. The Singularity Trap by Dennis E. Taylor [4/5] : December 10, 2022
  92. Thunder Below!: The USS Barb Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II by Eugene B. Fluckey [4/5] : December 13, 2022
  93. The Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary Edition by Richard Rhodes [5/5] : December 14, 2022

2021: Putting one foot in front of another.

Twenty-twenty-one was another raging dumpster fire of a year has come and gone.  Even though I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I’m a runner now (see The Serendipitous Runner for details on the beginning of this journey), even after running literally thousands of kilometres,  I don’t feel like a “real runner”.  

I know that’s a ridiculous thing to type, honest. I’m not really sure what would make me feel like a “real runner” either.  

It’s possibly because I run in somewhat of a vacuum – no real conversations with other regular runners to help provide any context.  I’m not particularly interested in joining the various large-scale run events – I do not like crowds, and the idea of being surrounded by tonnes of people all breathing heavily close to me while I’m doing the same is not particularly appealing.  And small-scale running groups are nearly as hard as I suddenly have to interact with “new people” which for me is very difficult.

Perhaps my “not a real runner” is because my mental image of “real runners” has been poisoned by various running accounts I follow on social media where nearly every post is someone who looks “perfect”.  Body image is a strange creature I’ve waged an ongoing battle with most of my life – I can sometimes still see who I refer to as “Fat Tom” when I look in the mirror – back when I was nearly 122 KG (270 pounds for the Americans reading this).  Again, I know that’s not me now, but the brain is a wacky glob of jello-noodles. 

When I mentioned this to Tracey earlier, she said the obvious; it doesn’t matter if you don’t feel like a runner; just keep being you.   I can do that.  I sure married the right person.

I can be me.

All of that aside, I learned a lot about running and myself in 2021, even if I didn’t manage to crack one of my goals; a sub-two hour half-marathon – I got so frustratingly close (~2:04).  So many things had to be right to be able to get that close; my energy level, weather, and a bunch of other factors. 

I fell twice, the second time seriously after tripping on something and landing so hard on my ribs that I was sore for weeks afterwards, which was an excellent reminder to pay closer attention when running on uneven ground.

There’s a serenity to running long distances (by which I mean 15km or more), to the rhythm of putting one foot in front of the other, over and over and over.  “Just keep running” has been a mantra whenever I was struggling with pain/exhaustion/heat/etc. 

Conditions on a run can have huge effects too; in 2021, I ran in temperatures ranging from +34°C to -31°C (averaging out to +3.3°C), including humidex and wind chill (both of which are *really* relevant when you’re running for long periods) .  

There is a degree amount of self-satisfaction I feel for  running no matter what the conditions are like and to date, I haven’t had to skip running due to weather.  

Some of the more challenging conditions are are after a few CMs of snow – enough to make ice hard to spot with the added difficulty of being similar to running on dry sand.  

The worst, I think, is cold rain (~4°C / 39°F) which can be really miserable to run in, followed by high-temperature days are most likely to make that happen as I really start to suffer after 25°C (~77 °F).

That said, temperatures between -10°C (14°F) and +10°C (50°F) seem to be my preferred range.

In April I hatched the idea that I could try running a 50+ KM every two weeks – which I managed for six times before scheduling and injury prevented me from trying to keep it up – and then it got hot out.  

I’ve been tracking weight/fluid loss on runs for a while now, and once I have enough data points (closing in on 600 runs) I’ll see about posting that once I figure out some of the statistical analysis bits I will want to run on that.

Another thing I’ve been working on, thanks to some of the podcasts and articles I’ve been come across to is increasing the amount and consistency of sleep I get.  

Most of my life I’ve been a night owl; regularly going to bed between 3 AM and 6 AM, and waking up around 10 AM., no matter when I went to bed.  Clearly, not enough sleep, even before factoring the high level of daily activity I do.

Since roughly mid-2020, I started to shift my sleep habit around. Now, most nights I’m in bed by a bit after 10PM and wake up at 5:45 AM, with very little variability, even on weekends.  My watch and phone give me a reminder to “wind things down” about 30 minutes beforehand, and I start the process of getting ready for bed.  It’s worked wonders, to be honest.  

One of the harder things I learned is that it turns out that the notion of sleeping in on weekends ends up causing you jet-lag on Monday, depending how much you do it, so I typically keep it to an hour or less of extra slumber.

Lastly, the numbers that I know you all came here for:

2021 Runs:

174 × 10-20 KM
146 x 21-29 KM
6 x 30-35 KM
5 x 50 KM
1 x 66 KM
976 hours of recorded activity,
9.8 million steps,
3,367 fights of stairs

Totals:

6,119 KM run
2,237 KM walked
8,356 KM Total

2021 Reading List

A slight decline in reading (largely audiobooks, with a few dead-tree and digital books thrown in for measure) due to some changes in my podcast load and increased time simply listening to music — or nothing at all. Another year of a number of re-reads, seeking some comfort in the familiar and excursions into unfamiliar literary territory including my yearly attempt at something Russian — Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy was a real slog for me to get through, but I did finish it.

  1. The Pragmatic Programmer: 20th Anniversary Edition: Your Journey to Mastery by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt : January 01, 2021
  2. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer : January 05, 2021
  3. In the Black: My Life by B. Denham Jolly : January 08, 2021
  4. Chernobyl 01:23:40: The Incredible True Story of the World’s Worst Nuclear Disaster by Andrew Leatherbarrow : January 12, 2021
  5. The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis : January 16, 2021
  6. The Dark Forest (The Three-Body Problem Series, Book 2) by Cixin Liu
  7. Seven Truths by Tanya Talaga : February 01, 2021
  8. Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime by Benjamin Schumacher : February 03, 2021
  9. They Call Me George: The Untold Story of Black Train Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada by Cecil Foster : February 08, 2021
  10. Death’s End (The Three-Body Problem Series, Book 3) by Cixin Liu : February 15, 2021
  11. Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas by John Scalzi : February 27, 2021
  12. The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai : March 01, 2021
  13. All These Worlds: Bobiverse, Book 3 by Dennis E. Taylor : March 4, 2021
  14. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly : March 6, 2021
  15. Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer : March 18, 2021
  16. The Invincible by Stanislaw Lem : March 22, 2021
  17. Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy : March 27, 2021
  18. A Beginner’s Guide to the Stock Market: Everything You Need to Start Making Money Today by Matthew R. Kratter : April 04, 2021
  19. NPC by Jeremy Robinson : April 04, 2021
  20. Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison : April 07, 2021
  21. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green : April 12, 2021
  22. The Introvert’s Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone by Matthew Pollard : April 14, 2021
  23. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher & William Ury : April 15, 2021
  24. Your Inner Critic Is a Big Jerk: And Other Truths About Being Creative by Danielle Krysa : April 19, 2021
  25. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks : April 20, 2021
  26. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks : April 24, 2021
  27. Without Remorse by Tom Clancy : April 25, 2021
  28. Juno Beach: Canada’s D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944 by Mark Zuehlke : May 01, 2021
  29. How to Be an Imperfectionist: The New Way to Self-Acceptance, Fearless Living, and Freedom from Perfectionism by Stephen Guise : May 06, 2021
  30. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir : May 09, 2021
  31. The Art of War by Sun Tzu : May 10, 2021
  32. The Assault on Reason: Our Information Ecosystem, from the Age of Print to the Age of Trump – 2017 Edition by Al Gore : May 11, 2021
  33. It by Stephen King : May 15, 2021
  34. The Martian by Andy Weir : May 28, 2021
  35. Artemis by Andy Weir : May 29, 2021
  36. My Mother Was Nuts, A Memoir by Penny Marshall : May 30, 2021
  37. At The Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft : June 2, 2021
  38. Of Dice And Men, The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt : June 11, 2021
  39. The Collapsing Empire: The Interdependency, Book 1 by John Scalzi : June 21, 2021
  40. The Consuming Fire: The Interdependency, Book 2 by John Scalzi : June 23, 2021
  41. The Last Emperox: The Interdependency, Book 3 by John Scalzi : June 24, 2021
  42. Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer : June 25, 2021
  43. The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson : June 26, 2021
  44. Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland : June 28, 2021
  45. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman : June 30, 2021
  46. The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker : July 5, 2021
  47. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov : July 6, 2021
  48. The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov : July 10, 2021
  49. The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov : July 12, 2021
  50. Infinite by Jeremy Robinson : July 16, 2021
  51. The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov ; July 19, 2021
  52. Devolution : A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks : July 23, 2021
  53. All Gifts, Bestowed by by Joshua Gayou : July 26, 2021
  54. Provenance by Ann Leckie : August 2, 2021
  55. Planetfall by Emma Newman : August 7, 2021
  56. Cosmos : Possible Worlds by Ann Druyan : August 10, 2021
  57. Dune by Frank Herbert : August 20, 2021
  58. Click Here to Kill Everybody by Bruce Schneier : August 23, 2021
  59. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible by Brandon J. O’Brien & E. Randolph Richards : August 31, 2021
  60. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (introductions & narration by Stephen Fry) : September 4, 2021
  61. Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee’s Wisdom for Daily Living by Bruce Lee : September 29, 2021
  62. Robopocalypse: A Novel by Daniel H. Wilson : October 5, 2021
  63. The Stand-In by Lily Chu : October 10, 2021
  64. Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson : October 12, 2021
  65. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy : October 18
  66. Letters to My Lover From Behind Asylum Walls by Robin Sinclair : October 19, 2021
  67. The Cave by Ksenia Murray : October 21, 2021
  68. Command Line Kung Fu by Jason Cannon : October 24, 2021
  69. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir : November 15, 2021
  70. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García & Francesc Miralles : November 16
  71. We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1 by Dennis E. Taylor : November 18, 2021
  72. The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: The Tell-it-Like-it-is Guide to Cleaning Up in Business, Even if You Are at the End of Your Roll by Mike Michalowicz : November 19, 2021
  73. The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway: The History of the Captain Who Went Further Than Any Had Before by Una McCormack : November 21, 2021
  74. The Peloponnesian War by Kenneth W. Harl : November 22, 2021
  75. Wolves and Werewolves in History and Popular Culture by Shannon Scott : November 29, 2021
  76. Zero Day Code: End of Days, Book 1 by John Birmingham : November 30, 2021
  77. Shell Scripting by Jason Cannon : December 4, 2021
  78. For We Are Many: Bobiverse, Book 2 by Dennis E. Taylor : December 5, 2021
  79. All These Worlds: Bobiverse, Book 3 by Dennis E. Taylor : December 6, 2021
  80. Heaven’s River: Bobiverse, Book 4 by Dennis E. Taylor : December 7, 2021
  81. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix : December 8, 2021
  82. Anathem by Neal Stephenson : December 15, 2021
  83. Python Programming for Beginners by Jason Cannon : December 25, 2021
  84. A Change of Plans: A Short Story by Dennis E. Taylor : December 29, 2021
  85. The Guilty by James Patterson & Duane Swierczynski : December 30, 2021
Close

Ad-blocker not detected

Consider installing a browser extension that blocks ads and other malicious scripts in your browser to protect your privacy and security. Learn more.