Books Read, 2021

As I do every year, I'm going to list the books I finished during the year. 

It does lean heavily toward libertarian-themed science fiction, as I am a judge for the Prometheus Award, but I would claim that I read pretty widely. Some of these are re-reads. 

Pretty much all of the nonfiction I read in 2021 was at least pretty good.  I liked the Znore so well, I bought another copy and gave it to a friend. 

I strongly recommend four novels, some old, some new: Situation Normal, Leonard Richardson, a new science fiction novel by an author I really like. I think at least some RAW fans might like it, please see my review. Customs Violation, Janice Weber, literary fiction by another favorite writer, she is always funny and she always writes well about sex and classical music; Citizen of the Galaxy, Robert A. Heinlein, which I somehow missed until now, could this be Heinlein's greatest juvenile? Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro, my first by the Nobel-winning writer, but it won't be my last. 

A lot of the fiction I had to read for the Prometheus Award was mediocre, although I liked some of it. Most of the nominees really worth reading are covered in the link to my Situation Normal review. 

1. Death Sweat of the Cluster: Selected Essays from Groupname for Grapejuice, Znore.
2. Braintrust: Requiem, Marc Stiegler.
3. The Pursuit of the Pankera, Robert A. Heinlein.
4. Situation Normal, Leonard Richardson.
5. Storm Between the Stars, Karl Gallagher.
6. Ready Player Two, Ernest Cline.
7. The War Whisperer: Book Five: The Hook, Barry Longyear.
8. The Age of the Infovore, Tyler Cowen.
9. Cosmic Trigger 2: Down to Earth, Robert Anton Wilson.
10. Who Can Own the Stars?, Mackey Chandler.
11. Heaven's River, Dennis E. Taylor.
12. S.S.O.T.B.M.E. Revised: An Essay on Magic, Ramsey Dukes.
13. The Byzantine World War, N.J. Holmes.
14. Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, Scott Horton.
15. Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade,  Anthony Kaldellis. 
16. Eight Perfect Murders, Peter Swanson.
17. Cosmic Trigger the Play, Daisy Eris Campbell.
18. Customs Violation, Janice Weber.
19. Roger Zelazny (Modern Masters of Science Fiction), F. Brett Cox.
20. Memory Layne, Bob Adamov.
21. Sex, Drugs and Magick, Robert Anton Wilson.
22. Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, Avi Loeb.
23. The Probability Broach, L. Neil Smith.
24. Mozart: The Reign of Love, Jan Swafford.
25. Drug Use for Grown-Ups, Carl Hart.
26. A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine.
27. War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War, John Dower.
28. The Little Book of Cannabis: How Marijuana Can Improve Your Life, Amanda Siebert.
29. The Hilaritas Press 'Natural Law' book, mostly never collected "new" material,  the manuscript of which I helped proofread. Edited by Chad Nelson. I'll let Hilaritas announce the final title, but it's a great book.
30. Scratch One Flattop: The First Carrier Air Campaign and the Battle of the Coral Sea, Robert Stern.
31. Revolver: How the Beatles Reimagined Rock and Roll, Robert Rodriguez.
32. 2050: Psycho Island, Phil M. Williams.
33. Citizen of the Galaxy, Robert A. Heinlein.
34. Bewilderment, Richard Powers.
35. Epicurus and the Pleasant Life, Haris Dimitriadis.
36. The Book of Dreams, Nina George.
37. Epicurus and His Philosophy, Norman Wentworth DeWitt.
38. Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro.
39. A Night in the Lonesome October, Roger Zelazny.
40. The Age of Caesar: Five Roman Lives, Plutarch.
41. Epicureanism: A Very Short Introduction, Catherine Wilson.
42. The Ruins of Ambrai, Melanie Rawn.
43. The Last Assassin: The Hunt for the Killers of Julius Caesar, Peter Stothard.
44. 1942: The Year That Tried Men's Souls, Winston Groom.
45. The Carols of Christmas, Andrew Gant.
46. Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration, Bryan Caplan.
47. Triple Cross, Marc Stiegler.