2023 Book Review and 2024 Plans

My reading plan from last year worked out well. I finished the last book in early December, so it must have been just right. 

Here's the rundown...

Fiction--

• The Blazing World and Other Writings by Margaret Cavendish--reviewed here.
• The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones--reviewed here.
• A bunch of books from A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast
• Saint Thomas Aquinas by G. K. Chesterton--reviewed here. (Not fiction)
• The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells--reviewed here.
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde--reviewed here.
• Bearing False Witness by Rodney Stark--reviewed here. (Not fiction)

History--

• The Complete Writings of Thucydides--I gave this 40 pages and gave up, it just was not interesting enough.
• The Shadow of His Wings by Gereon Goldmann--reviewed here.
• The Pope and the Holocaust by Michael Hessmann--reviewed here.

Theology--

• The Sword of the Spirit by Msgr. John Steinmueller--reviewed here.
  
• Vibrant Paradoxes by Robert Barron--reviewed here.
• Selected Commentaries on the New Testament by Thomas Aquinas--reviewed here.

Philosophy--

• The 4 Dimensions of Philosophy by Mortimer J. Adler--reviewed here.
• The Republic of Plato translated by Allan Bloom--reviewed here.
• Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume--reviewed here.
• On Liberty by John Stuart Mill--reviewed here.

Folklore/Mythology

• Northumberland Folk Tales by Rosalind Kerven--reviewed here.
• Scottish Folk Tales by various authors--reviewed here.
• Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston--reviewed here.
• The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton--Reviewed here.
• The Great Book of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by John Matthews--reviewed here.

Self-Improvement

• MicroShifts by Gary Jansen--reviewed here.
• Bringing Up Geeks by Marybeth Hicks--reviewed here.
• Get-It-Done Guy's 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More by Stever Robbins--reviewed here.
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey--reviewed here.

I have been getting a lot of graphic novels on Hoopla through my local library and some actual books from the library (and the occasional present or purchase). Here's this year's reads...

1. Hellboy: The Silver Lantern Club--reviewed here.
2. Giraffes on Horseback Salad--reviewed here.
3. One-Punch Man Volume 5--reviewed here.
4. One-Punch Man Volume 6--reviewed here.
5. Abe Sapien Volume 9--reviewed here.
6. Fantastic Four Masterworks Volume 2--reviewed here.
7. Hellboy: The Bones of Giants--reviewed here.
8. One-Punch Man Volume 7--reviewed here.
9. One-Punch Man Volume 8--reviewed here.
10. Batman: Gates of Gotham--reviewed here.
11. Daredevil: Born Again--reviewed here.
12. Ghost/Hellboy Special--reviewed here.
13. Uncanny X-Men: House of M--reviewed here.
14. One-Punch Man Volume 9--reviewed here.
15. One-Punch Man Volume 10--reviewed here.
16. Buffy '97--reviewed here.
17. B.P.R.D. Omnibus Volume 1--reviewed here.
18. Shuna's Journey--reviewed here.
19. One-Punch Man volume 11--reviewed here.
20. Hellboy and the B. P. R.D.: The Return of Effie Kolb and Others--reviewed here.
21. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Volume 1--reviewed here.
22. Hellboy: Weird Tales--reviewed here.
23. The Librarian of Auschwitz--reviewed here.
24. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Volume 2--reviewed here.
25. Spy x Family Volume 9--reviewed here.
26. Planet Hulk--reviewed here.
27. Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider-ham--reviewed here.
28. Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham--reviewed here.
29. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Volume 3--reviewed here.
30. Slam Dunk Volume 9--reviewed here.
31. Slam Dunk Volume 10--reviewed here.
32. Incorruptible Volume 1--reviewed here.
33. World War Hulk--reviewed here.
34. B.P.R.D. Ominbus Volume 2--reviewed here.
35. Batman Adventures: Batgirl In a League of Her Own--reviewed here.
36. A First Time For Everything--reviewed here.
37. Incorruptible Volume 2--reviewed here.
38. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Lost and Found--reviewed here.
39. B.P.R.D. Omnibus Volume 3--reviewed here.
40. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Volume 4--reviewed here.
41. Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story--reviewed here.
42. Incorruptible Volume 3--reviewed here.
43. Tombs--reviewed here.
44. B.P.R.D. Omnibus Volume 4--reviewed here.
45. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Volume 5--reviewed here.
46. Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler--reviewed here.
47. Incorruptible Volume 4--reviewed here.
48. B.P.R.D. Omnibus Volume 5--reviewed here.
49. Incorruptible Volume 5--reviewed here.
50. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Volume 6--reviewed here.
51. Batman: One Bad Day: Catwoman--reviewed here.
52. Incorruptible Volume 6--reviewed here.
53. British Paranormal Society: Time Out of Mind--reviewed here.
54. Batman: One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze--reviewed here.
55. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Volume 7--reviewed here.
56. Incorruptible Volume 7--reviewed here.
57. Frankenstein: New World--reviewed here.
58. Batman Adventures: Cat Got Your Tongue?--reviewed here. 
59. Big Bangs and Black Holes--reviewed here.
60. Geiger--reviewed here.
61. Messenger: The Legend of Muhammad Ali--reviewed here.

I plan to get some more books off the shelf of opportunity in the new year. Here is the categorical breakdown...

Fiction--

• The Strain Volume 1 by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hagan
• The Strain Volume 2 by Guilermo del Toro and Chuck Hagan
• Star Trek: The New Voyages edited by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath
• Jennifer the Damned by Karen Ullo
• The Fall by Albert Camus (maybe this goes under philosophy?)
• Probably another bunch of books from A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast 

History--

• Failure Is Not an Option by Gene Kranz
• A History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland by William Cobbett
• How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods, Jr. 
• Lincoln's Battle With God by Stephen Mansfield
• Reformation Myths by Rodney Stark

Theology--

• The Witness of Early Christian Women by Mike Aquilina
• Women of Hope: Doctors of the Church by Terry Polakovic
• Dark Passages of the Bible: Engaging Scripture with Benedict XVI and Thomas Aquinas by Matthew J. Ramage
• God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith with Nicolas Diat by Robert Cardinal Sarah
• I saw Satan Fall Like Lightning by Rene Gerard
• Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture Volume VII: Psalms 1-50

Philosophy--

• Pensees by Blaise Pascal
• Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Philosophy of Democratic Government by Yves Simon
• Hooked on Philosophy: Thomas Aquinas Made Easy by Robert A. ODonnell
• How to Destroy Western Civilization and Other Ideas from the Cultural Abyss by Peter Kreeft
• Socrates' Children by Peter Kreeft

Folklore/Mythology

• Le Morte de Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory
• Mythology by Edith Hamilton

I will still read a lot of graphic novels available on Hoopla and through my local library. And the handful that I buy or are given as gifts!