Since one of my writing goals was to read more, I thought it would help to keep track of what I knocked off Mount Tsundoku. Here’s as good a place as any to post what I’ve read to keep me honest, and what I thought of each book immediately after finishing.

I’m changing how I build my to-read stacks in 2022. This year, each stack of five will have to include at least two books by women, one non-fiction book, one book by an author I know personally, and one anthology (I’m making a conscious effort to read more short stories this year). Previously my goal was for each to-read pile to contain at least one book by a BIPOC or LGBTQ2S+ author, one book by a woman, one non-fiction book, and one book by an author I know personally. Creating those piles from my own shelves was starting to get tricky after two years, and I still plan on trying to read through books I’ve already purchased as much as possible. I’m going to add at least one book from the library by a BIPOC or LGBTQ2S+ author for every stack I build to continue trying to diversify my reading.

The library has become my go-to for keeping up on what’s going in comics, so I’m sure there’ll be a number of graphic novels (and roleplaying games) that jump the queue and end up in the piles from time to time as well.

Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delany: A cozy mystery. I really didn’t like one of the main characters, the grandmother whose name amateur sleuth Lily was supposed to be clearing, which tainted the read for me a bit. Otherwise, not a bad mystery.

Sly Flourish’s Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master by Michael E. Shea: I’ve been watching a lot of Sly Flourish’s Lazy DM preparation videos on YouTube, so I thought I’d give the book a try. Not a lot of new information in here if you’ve been reading slyflourish.com or watching those campaign prep videos, but it is well organized with good examples. This book is more on the theory of running a game as a “lazy dungeon master” meaning minimal preparation before hand so doesn’t have random tables or the tools that might aid you in that (pretty sure you can find those in one of Shea’s other books though).

Star Wars Bounty Hunters Vol. 2: Target Valance by Ethan Sacks, Paolo Villanelli, Arif Prianto: I’m generally enjoying Marvel’s take on the Star Wars comics. The “scum and villainy” side of the galaxy far, far away has long been my favourite.

Aquaman Vol. 1: Unspoken Water by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Robson, Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Sunny Gho: Great intro to an interesting take on the character. I haven’t read Aquaman regularly since Tad Williams did his run, though I did tuck into the early days of Geoff Johns’ New 52 take on the character. Interesting mythology, not sure what happened before DeConnick took over the character to leave Aquaman as an amnesiac, but I’m intrigued to see where she takes the series.

Packing for Mars by Mary Roach: An fantastic read. Maybe my favourite of her books after Stiff, though I’ve by no means read everything. Informative and entertaining. Space is way grosser than I expected.

From Beer to Eternity by Sherry Harris: First book in the Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon cozy mystery series. I grabbed this one on a whim from the library when I was there to pick up some graphic novels. Glad I did! I’ll definitely read more of this one.

Star Wars Vol. 2: Operation Starlight by Charles Soule, Ramon Rosanas, Jan Bazaldua, Rachelle Rosenberg: The post-Empire Strikes Back storyline continues. Soule does a great job of evoking Star Wars feels, which is most of what I want out of the comics.

By Book or By Crook by Eva Gates: Eva Gates also writes as Vicki Delaney. This is the first book in Lighthouse Library cozy mystery series. I enjoyed this one more than Tea and Treachery. I think I might keep reading this series.

Dungeons & Dragons Call of the Netherdeep by Wizards of the Coast: Looks to be an excellent new campaign set in the Critical Role world of Exandria. The art is gorgeous, there’s some cool new monsters and items, and I really liked the concept of the rival adventuring party pursuing the same goal as the players. As with most D&D adventure modules, I doubt I’ll ever run it as is, but there’s definitely elements I’d poach for a home game.

Hellboy the Roleplaying Game: I backed this one on Kickstarter. The game uses a D&D Fifth Edition chassis, with some intriguing alterations, and, of course, since it’s full of Mike Mignola Hellboy art, the book is gorgeous.

Bitch Planet Book Two: President Bitch by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Valentine De Landro, Taki Soma, Kelly Fitzpatrick: A fantastic follow up to an intriguing opening to the series.

Aquaman Volume 2: Amnesty: By Kelly Sue DeConnick, Viktor Bogdanovic, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, Jonathan Glapion, Ryan Winn, Sunny Gho: Still not much of an Aquaman reader, but I continue enjoying the mythology that DeConnick is building.

Noir World by John Adamus: Another Kickstarter RPG reward. I’ve been waiting for this one for about five years. The game definitely took the long road to get to me, but I’m glad to see the creator was able to deliver. Noir World is a Powered by the Apocalypse game. I backed it to see how it would handle the promised no Game Master part of the system. I’m not entirely sure it’s going to be to the tastes of anyone I regularly game with, but it does have a lot of background information on the noir film era though.

Arcana edited by Rhonda Parrish: An anthology themed around the major arcana of the tarot. Full disclosure, I have a story in this one, and Rhonda has published a number of my stories in the past. I’m not a Tarot buff, but I’m intrigued to see what the other authors made of their chosen cards (I picked The Hanged Man). Also excellent illustrations accompany each tale (I liked the art for mine so much, I purchased it from the artist). Confession time: I didn’t reread my own story on this pass through the anthology. I know it well enough by now to have a sense of how it sits with the rest of the works.

Immortal Hulk Vol. 10: Of Hell and of Death by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Belardino Brabo, Paul Mounts: The conclusion to an epic run. So glad I stuck it through to the end.

Here’s what I read in January.

Here’s what I read in February.

Check out my roundup of my 2021 reading here.

Check out my roundup of my 2020 reading here.