Golden in Death by JD Robb

Golden in Death

3/5. My last 2019 book.* Fiftieth mystery, not entirely the same as the first. This one touches on the destruction of families, leaving the protagonist to marvel at the strength and safety of hers. It's a nice beat to take so deep into this series which has moved a lot of people over a great deal of emotional territory.

*Technically not to be released until February 2020 but you know, things happen.

Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer

Catfishing on CatNet

3/5. YA near future thriller about a girl on the run for reasons her mother won't explain who happens to belong to a chat room of variously queer teens moderated by a secret AI.

Fun and charming, with just enough near future shenanigans to really work (sex-ed robot hacking, anyone?). On the most basic level, this is about young people (humans and an AI) learning to take action responsibly, and not always getting it right. The title is not great, though, and there are a few elements that seem pasted on, like the actual cat that wanders into the book and then literally disappears under a piece of furniture for a hundred pages.

Content notes: References to domestic violence, stalking.

2019 reading

I read, um. *counts on fingers*. 218 books in 2019 (counting novellas, not counting DNF's). This feat is not going to be repeated anytime soon as I am unlikely to have another year featuring a stressful and periodically complicated pregnancy followed by 3.5 months of sitting on the couch under a hungry baby. I said my goal for the year was to survive, though, and I did that. With, uh. A lot of books. A lot a lot. And only a quarter of them were by Nora roberts.

For 2020 I'm not resolving anything fancy like not reading men (though I will do that again soon). It's going to be another survival year. I do resolve to make a concerted effort to clear out some of the books that have been sitting on my device for years. Not putting any metrics on that because see above re survival.

Anyway, some highlights. The standout book of the year is nonfiction -- Between Silk and Cyanide. I had a good run of nonfiction in general, as I've started a new practice of having a nonfiction book going alongside a fiction book, which translates to a lot more nonfiction getting into the mix. Honorable mentions go to Age of Ambition and Delusions of Gender.

For science fiction, I have to call out the classic Mars Trilogy. And also the going-to-be-a-classic The Future of Another Timeline. And, like everyone, I loved A Memory Called Empire.

For YA, there's the whole A Corner of White trilogy, which brought me a new author I intend to follow for a long time.

I read a lot of novellas, and Passing Strange is the clear standout.

For collections, it has to be Chiang's Exhalation, but Jemisin's How Long 'Til Black Future Month was also great.

For romance, obviously Red, White, And Royal Blue

For fantasy, The Raven Tower absolutely knocked my socks off. The Divine Cities Trilogy is good in an entirely different way.