No Coincidences

Tag: JK Rowling

  • Books 2024

    Books 2024

    Since my 2023 list came out so late and I had a hard time remembering the books, I decided to get a jump start on 2024.

    Here is my list in order of favorite/most enjoyable reads of 2024 down to the least enjoyable yet still rewarding.

    1. Earth in the Beginning by Eric N. Skousen
      • The fact that I’ve given copies of this book to two people already should indicate that I enjoyed this book. My favorite books are those that expand my mind and make me think of something I’d never before considered. This book did that many times.
    2. Hugh Nibley’s semester two on the Book of Mormon
      • Speaking of “books” (this is more a lecture) that expand my mind, that is the perfect description of all things Hugh Nibley for me. Semester one was #7 in 2023’s list. I love getting a look into Hugh Nibley’s mind. If I could have dinner with one historical figure, Hugh Nibley might make my top 10 list.
    3. 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
      • I’m currently reading this book again in 2025. Enough said.
    4. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
      • I read this alongside the next book on this list. It was a rare time that I was reading two fictional books concurrently. As I thought back on reading this alongside The City, I realized there were ebbs and flows where I liked one above the other. The tie-breaker? J.K. Rowling (the greatest author of our generation, duh).
    5. The City by Dean Koontz
      • Reading one Dean Koontz book a year is the perfect amount. If you read too many they all start to blur together. This was a fantastic book with a surprisingly powerful message. Very much enjoyed it.
    6. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi
      • This book was recommended by a friend. It was the story of a man who converted from Islam to Christianity, a truly life threatening choice. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One of my favorite topics is how people find faith in one way or another. This was an interesting story about this man’s journey through a shift in rethinking everything he thought he knew about the world.
    7. The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible by John Geiger
      • This book was recommended by Beth. It includes true stories of people experiencing what has been called “The Third Man.” Beth thought I would enjoy it because of my love of all things spiritual and especially near-death experiences. She was right. I believe there is something real and misunderstood about this “third man” concept. Great read.
    8. #Positivity: You are always in the right place at the right time by Phil Helmuth
      • Another very short book. I took a lot from this book and quite enjoyed it. All about the power of positive thinking and making the most of your talents. Intriguing coming from one of the most successful poker players ever.
    9. Hugh Nibley’s semester three on the Book of Mormon
      • At this point in the “class” Hugh started to repeat a lot of themes and information, so I felt like I’d read some of it before and the new insights started to come much less often. It was still informative and I still loved reading his words.
    10. The Fall of Adam, the Atonement of Christ, and Organic Evolution by Reid E. Bankhead
      • There is a somewhat random process to my selection of books and the fact that this one came up right after the first book on this list was interesting to me. This was basically a short collection of quotes from church leaders about evolution.
    11. Revelations of the Restoration by Ostler and McConkie
      • This was the second straight year I started the year with a huge church history book (#13 from 2023). This one was longer but less dry than the previous year’s. This one was a little more palatable and easier to read.
    12. Hell House by Richard Matheson
      • It’s so hard to rate these books. How do you put Hell House amidst Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, and Revelations of the Restoration? It felt strange putting it above those. It also felt strange putting it behind because this book was an extreme page turner. I had an incredibly hard time putting it down. I think I read it in a few days. It was perfectly spooky and scary without being too obscene. I really liked this book. First scary book I’ve read in a while and I’m glad I did.
    13. Anything you want by Derek Sivers
      • I was somewhat disappointed in this book. I’d heard so much about it so probably more an issue with expectations. Derek Sivers’s story was really interesting to me. He sold his company CD baby for a large amount of money. But the book wasn’t super memorable.
    14. The Lost Road and Other Writings (Book 5 Book of Lost Tales set) by Christopher Tolkien
      • A book can’t be rated too highly if I wasn’t too disappointed to be done with it. See #17 2022, #16 2022, #15 2023, and #17 2023 for more information on the series. That said, now that I’m done with these “Lost Tales” books, I do look forward to re-reading Lord of the Rings to see what more I pick up on, one day.
    15. The Works of Edgar Allen Poe Raven Edition
      • Edgar Allen Poe joins the ranks of The Outsiders (#13 2021) and Catcher in the Rye (#30 2021) – classics that I just don’t get. These short stories from Edgar Allen Poe were perplexing. Most of the time I didn’t understand what was happening. Maybe I’m not sophisticated enough.
  • Books in 2023

    Books in 2023

    My books read have an inverse correlation to how many children I have. 58 in 2020, 45 in 2021, 26 in 2022, 21 in 2023, and in 2024 I’m on pace to finish 15. I miss reading 50 books in a year, but I have the best distractions.

    This is the third year I’ve made a list of all the books I read. Click to see lists for 2021 and 2022.

    2023’s book list comes with even more of a disclaimer than usual. You may have noticed I’m posting 2023’s list at the end of 2024. It’s been at least a year since I’ve read most of these books. This made it difficult to remember the finer details of the individual books. Add the fact that I packed all these books away so I can’t review my highlights, and I struggled a bit remembering each individual book.

    Still, it might mean the list even better represents what books I liked because the list will partially indicate the most memorable books from last year.

    So, here is the order of my most enjoyable reads from 2023.

    1. Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
      • The fifth book in the Dune series, I must show respect for what Frank Herbert created in the Dune universe by ranking this book this high. I love this series. I loved this book. I love his universe. I love his writing. Best series I’ve read since Harry Potter, hands down.
    2. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)
      • I loved this book, the second book in the Strike detective novel series. JK Rowling is the greatest author of our generation. This list doesn’t even have a Harry Potter book on it and yet Harry Potter was mentioned in the top two books. Anyways…
    3. Mandy’s Promise by Frank Leach
      • This book has a special place in my heart as it was written by my grandpa. Re-reading the synopsis of the book gave me chills because it really was a great story. I loved this book.
    4. The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz by Denis Avey
      • This was a phenomenal book. I just read the Wikipedia page on it and learned some of the story might have been embellished. Well, yeah, welcome to story-telling. It’s an extraordinary tale of a man who tried to get into Auschwitz and eventually survived being an Allied prisoner of the Second World War.
    5. Ancient America and the Book of Mormon by Thomas Stuart Ferguson and Milton R Hunter
    6. Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
      • This book was great, really made me think about how our situations and often some luck impact our potential growth and abilities. Must read for someone wanting to understand the outliers or overperformers in our society.
    7. Hugh Nibley’s semester one on the Book of Mormon
      • This is a transcription of all lectures from a Book of Mormon class Hugh Nibley taught from 1988-1990 at BYU. Don’t ask me how I found it, but I did, and I immediately downloaded and saved all of them. These are insightful, his understanding of history is off the charts, so many extraordinary insights that grew my testimony in the Book of Mormon and God’s hand in the history of all things. If you want a copy, let me know and I’ll send it to you. Invaluable.
    8. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
      • Book three of the Strike detective series. This book is ranked a little lower than Silkworm because it dragged a little more with a lot more developing characters and drawn-out suspicion. The end was well-worth the wait though.
    9. Songs of the Morning Stars by Sarah Hinze
      • This is a collection of stories about children visiting their families before they were born. Legend has it my dad dreamt of all of us before we came. He knew all our genders. So this one hits close to home.
    10. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
      • This book was about how our minds work and about our fast or slow reactions or decisions. It explores thinking and ways to improve our decision-making.
    11. Go Forward with Faith by Sheri L. Dew
    12. Room by Emma Donoghue
      • I actually started this book once years ago and never finished it. That was back when I sometimes didn’t finish books. I enjoyed it this time. This is the story of a young boy born in captivity. Fascinating thought experiment about life, freedom, and experience. Also became a movie.
    13. Doctrine and Covenants Commentary by Hyrum M Smith and Janne M Sjodahl
      • This book was a 1200-page church history grind, but extremely rewarding to finish.
    14. Malachi and the Great and Dreadful Day by Mark E. Petersen
      • Malachi is a lesser-known prophet which means there is less content for the author to provide but also more I didn’t know about Malachi to be learned. I enjoyed this book. Other books I’ve read in the series included Moses (#24 from 2021) and Joshua (#22 from 2022).
    15. Book of Lost Tales Vol 3 Lays of Beleriand by J.R.R. Tolkien
      • By book three it felt like I was reading the same legends over again, with extra commentary about where words came from that didn’t super interest me. I still love reading Tolkien’s tales but didn’t love these as much.
    16. Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark. R. Levin
      • Without revealing too much about my political beliefs, I enjoyed this book.
    17. The Shaping of Middle-Earth (Vol 4) by Christopher Tolkien
      • See above commentary on Vol 3, lots of repetition, still fun to read Tolkien’s legend.
    18. Way to Be by Gordon B. Hinckley
      • Gordon B. Hinckley had a way of speaking and it comes out in this book. It was full of witty and funny stories amidst spiritual guidance and advice from a prophet of God.
    19. Gospel Symbolism by Joseph Fielding McConkie
      • I don’t remember this book super well, but it was all about the significance of symbolism in the scriptures and in the temple.
    20. Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu
      • “The Way.” This book was like reading Proverbs from the Bible: insightful but dry. Most interesting thought I got from this book was to make me consider the strength of babies.
    21. Mormonism and the Negro by John J. Stewart
      • This book was full of outdated and inaccurate information.