It was 13 years ago today that I first posted something to The Irresponsible Reader. I still can’t believe that I’ve stuck with it that long (I mentioned it to my wife the other day and it set her back a step)—even more improbable is that you, reader, are here. Whether you’ve been around for a few weeks or some years—my mind is boggled by it. Thanks for that, truly.
Last year, I commemorated the day by combining all my “Favorite Reads from Genre X” from Januarys past into one MEGA-LIST, which I’ve dutifully updated to include 2025 reads.
So MEGA that I truly don’t have a count. So MEGA I had to put a “Read More” link in it so it didn’t bog down the main page. Also so large, that I’m doing annoying things like overusing all caps and the word “mega.”
(a retread of last year’s joke, but I like it, so expect it to repeat for at least another couple of years.
It is a very strange list—authors that have no business next to each other, strange genre leaps, and a couple of books I’d largely forgotten about. Still, these are books that I’ve shouted about before and that I really want to draw your attention to—go read some of these!
This is definitely a work in progress. I’m going to continue to refine this list a bit in the future (not changing any selections—although I might add some from the year or two I didn’t post a “best of”/”favorite” list), just refining it—making it look better, polish some of the comments (I’ve done some of that this year), and that kind of thing. My goal is to have this in a format I like by the 15th Anniversary—assuming anyone’s actually still reading me then.
A
by Ben Aaronovitch
My original post
Any installment in this series is a strong contender for a favorite of the year even before I open it, and this one is a great example of why. While telling a pretty strong story, Aaronovitch expands this world and the reader’s understanding of it, a whole new magic system, and seemingly introduces the next major story arc for the series. We get to see almost every major (and more than a few minor) characters, too. For a fan, this book was a heckuva treat.
by Ben Aaronovitch
My original post
After wrapping up the overarching plotline from books 1-7, what do you do for book 8? Something completely different. If you were to draw a Venn diagram with circles for Charles Babbage/Ada Lovelace, Artificial General Intelligence, and Wizardry—the overlap is where you’d False Value. Who wants more? The mix of contemporary cutting-edge technologies and Newtonian magic is just fantastic.
Throw in more Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy references than is healthy and you’ve got yourself a winner.
by Ben Aaronovitch
My original post
I’ve read all the comics (at least collected in paperback), listened to all the audiobooks, read the books at least once . . . I’m a Rivers of London/Peter Grant fan. Period. Which means two things—1. I’m in the bag already for this series and 2. When I say that this is the best of the bunch, I know what I’m talking about. Aaronovitch writes fantastic Urban Fantasy and this is his best yet. The series has been building to this for a while, and I honestly don’t know what to expect next. Great fight/action scenes, some genuine laughs, some solid emotional moments . . . this has it all. Everything you’ve come to expect and more.
by Katherine Addison
To say I was daunted by the incredibly detailed pronunciation guide and information about names before the novel is to put it mildly, but that went away almost immediately. This is a wonderful work–such an intricate web of courtly manners and rules (written and unwritten), a murder plot, a coup or two, and some geeky engineers. Okay, that’s a bad way to try to describe this. I read this a couple of months ago, and already want to re-read it. Once I got into this novel I didn’t want to leave.
by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
My original post
If there’s a book I’ve recommended more frequently this year, I can’t think of it. I’ve also bought more copies of it to give away than any other. At the core, this is a satire and critique of the American culture–particularly as it relates to sports, mass entertainment, and (most importantly) the carceral system. Pitting convicted felons against each other in gladiatorial fights-to-death, selling merch featuring them, turning them into Reality TV personalities between bouts…Adjei-Brenyah holds up the worst of the US to look at.
It’s a book about death—violent death at the hands of violent people who only hope to go on so they can kill again—However, in a serious way the book is really about life. It’s a celebration of life, a call to protect it, a call to see it for what it is. It’s a reminder that “where life is precious, life is precious.” It’s impossible to read this without being moved–perhaps to action. But it’s also a visceral and exciting read that can entertain you without forcing you to think deeply about what it wants you to.
by Wajahat Ali
My original post
I’m just going to remix some of what I said originally, this book was a great mix of memoir, social commentary, and satire—with a little sprinkling of a more general humor thrown in. The way he shifted between the genres was fairly seamless and quite effective—his own story (and that of his parents) were good illustrations of the societal ills he wanted to point to. Ali’s story is the kind that Americans love to tell and hear about success—even if his telling points to many of the flaws in our society. Through grit, determination, perseverance, and endurance, Ali pushes through all sorts of cultural, societal, legal, medical, and circumstantial challenges to arrive where he is. Because he believes in what we can be as a people, based on our (incredibly inconsistently applied and demonstrated) ideals and aspirations. It’s the kind of story we need to see, hear, and read more of.
by Adam Aleksic
My original post
Language in general—but English particularly—is a constantly-changing thing, and these changes are happening faster and faster all the time. Algospeak is a great look at the hows and whys of a lot of the current evolutionary processes. It is about more than language—it’s also about how the Internet changes the way we think and express ourselves in general. And therefore, how society changes (which leads to Internet changes, and other circle-of-life things).
Aleksic has obvious expertise and passion for the subject (look at just one of his videos). He’s also active in these areas. It’s a great read, informative and entertaining. Hard to ask for more.
by B. B. Alston
My original post
I’m a tiny bit worried that recency bias got this one on the list. But, I’m not going to lose sleep over it.
This is a delightful story about a young girl from the “wrong” part of Atlanta being recruited by her missing/presumed dead brother into a Hogwarts/MIB mashup, overcoming odds, making friends, saving the day by doing all the sorts of things that young teen protagonists have to do (with a little support from the grown-ups who are supposed to be stopping her), but mostly through grit. The book is written with a sense of joy and hope, while never losing sight of what Amari has to overcome in terms of her own circumstances as well as the specific villainy.
Also, and I can’t stress this enough, there’s a weredragon. What more do you need?
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