Tag: Books

Here we have 10 Non-Fiction, 12 Fiction, and 4 Comic Book series this year. Comics have come a very long way recently. I was finally able to start and finish Tolkien. Too much singing for me but he wasn’t bothered by that. I also started a few more Non-Fiction books that I’ll almost certainly finish but those will go on the 2025 list.

1. The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien; A bunch of misfits—including a short guy with hairy feet, team up to chuck a dangerous ring into a volcano. Chaos, epic battles, and snacks ensue.
2. Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse; Siddhartha skips normal life to find enlightenment. He tries riches, love, and being a hermit before realizing life is the teacher.
3. Black Elk – Joe Jackson; Black Elk was a Lakota holy man who juggled visions, buffalo, and history’s unfair punches while trying to keep his people’s spirit alive.
4. The Bear – Andrew Krivak; A father and daughter rough it in a relatively peaceful apocalypse.
5. Wool – Hugh Howey; First book in the Silo Series. Once I watched the Apple TV Season 1 I was in. It’s also fun to read about life in a silo. Either way, it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially when stepping outside means instant death. One person dares to ask if maybe it’s all a lie.
6. Shift – Hugh Howey; Silo Book 2 tells us how humans ended up living in giant underground bunkers in the first place. This prequel explains all the politics, bad decisions, and shady planning.
7. Dust – Hugh Howey; Silo Book 3. The underground survivors finally figure out the big picture and it’s messy. Do they keep hiding or face the world above.
8. Sand – Hugh Howey; Technically a net new series, still being written. I’m not convinced it won’t converge at some point. At any rate, this book tells us just how tough life can be when you live in a desert buried under more desert. Treasure hunters dig for old tech, secrets, and a way out of this sandy mess.
9. Dark Matter – Blake Crouch; Another Apple TV series. What if your life went off the rails, but in every possible way? A regular guy hops between wild alternate realities to get his family and his sanity back.
10. Mindset – Carol Dweck; Turns out your brain is like a muscle. You can train it to get stronger, smarter, and way less whiny about failure.
11. Children of Dune – Frank Herbert; Back to fiction. Paul Atreides’ kids are stuck dealing with their dad’s galactic mess, trying to save Arrakis, while sandworms, politics, and crazy visions keep things spicy.
12. The Lost Year – Katherine Marsh; Historically based fiction. My son got to read this over the summer for 6th grade so I joined him. This is not a light story. A kid digs into a family secret tied to the Holodomor (look it up), proving that history class is way cooler when it’s personal and full of mystery.
13. Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yarros; Dragons, death matches, and drama. Our heroin Violet is trying not to get roasted, literally or figuratively, while proving she’s tougher than she looks.
14. Iron Flame – Rebecca Yarros; Violet’s back and things are somehow even more chaotic: wars, betrayal, dragons. Basically, everything’s on fire, including her love life. I’ll be ready when Book 3 comes out.
15. Lincoln on Leadership – Donald T. Phillips; Is Don the world’s bigger Lincoln fanboy? Yes. Probably. Abe Lincoln: part president, part management guru. Learn leadership tips from the guy who handled a civil war and still had time for dad jokes.
16. From Strength to Strength – Arthur C. Brooks; Getting older isn’t a crisis—it’s a rebrand! Brooks shows how to embrace life’s second half with purpose, wisdom, and way less stress.
17. 11 Rings – Phil Jackson; Second time reading this one. Basketball’s former Zen master spills the tea on winning 11 championships, wrangling egos, and the triangle offense.
18. Becoming – Michelle Obama; From South Side kid to FLOTUS, Michelle  shares her inspiring journey.
19. Co-Intelligence – Ethan Mollick; A must read for those dragging their feet on Generative AI. This one can sometimes feel like fiction but is good at explaining how humans and LLM can team up to solve problems and get stuff done.
20. The Creative Act – Rick Rubin; Creativity isn’t magic, it’s a vibe. Lean into the process, trust your gut, and make cool stuff.
21. Never Finished – David Goggins; The author is back to offer more no-nonsense advice: stop whining, start grinding, and keep pushing past your limits because excuses are for quitters. (I skipped his first book. Too many F-bombs was a distraction I was unable to overcome. To be fair, if you said “pizza” every 10th word, I’d also be out). 
22. Saga (Issues 1–66) – Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples; A wild, intergalactic soap opera about love, war, and raising a kid while dodging bounty hunters, winged warriors, and a TV-headed prince. Epic chaos guaranteed.
23. The Magic Order (Issues 1–6) – Mark Millar; Wizards in trench coats secretly keep the world safe while battling dark magic, dysfunctional families, and assassins with killer hats. Think Harry Potter meets The Sopranos.
24. Outcast (Issues 1–48) – Robert Kirkman; Demons, possessions, and one guy’s cursed knack for expelling them. A dark, broody tale about battling evil, fixing broken families, and avoiding casual exorcism chat.
25. The Chosen One (Trilogy) – Mark Millar; A reluctant hero with a messiah complex takes on destiny, shady villains, and existential crises in a biblical-style showdown for humanity. Divine drama ensues.
26. Living with a SEAL – Jesse Itzler; The author recounts his month with a Navy SEAL who flips his life upside down with grueling workouts, bizarre habits, and life lessons, all delivered with hilarity, grit, and the occasional absurdity. Not revealed at the time, turns out the SEAL is Goggins.

Owen