2019 reading list
Following on from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 although this year I won’t bother keeping track of how long I take to read each book - it’s not worth the effort.
The Cost column shows whether it’s available 
on Kindle Unlimited followed by how much you’d pay for the Kindle version and finally the cheapest physical version at time of writing 
Kindle Unlimited
We’ve really not been taking advantage of Kindle Unlimited this year. The books I’ve been reading aren’t available on it. The kids don’t ask for it. Nor does my wife. So I cancelled it on 24th November. Naturally this was two days after paying for the next month so we had it until 22nd December. When cancelling I got an offer of three months for the price of one which was only semi-tempting, only took a few seconds to decide not to take advantage of it.
Kindle Unlimited in 2019 saved us £16 but it’s cost £8/month - £88 spent in 2019 up to cancellation. Overall having it for the last three years has cost us £67 over just buying the books we read: 2017 saw £50 saved but 2018 cost £45 and this year cost £72.
Having a Kindle though is still worthwhile. Not only because it’s cheaper (~£40 saved in 2019 vs. physical books) but also doesn’t require me to store books I’ll probably never read again and is probably more eco-friendly. AND of course I can, signal notwithstanding, download books on the move - more useful for the commute than I’d envisaged. AND reading at night is less annoying for SWMBO.
The Books
| Book | Author | Thoughts | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Out of the Black, Warrior King, Odysseus Awakening, Odysseus Ascendant | Evan Currie | Continued from 2018. Ok enough to pass the commute time (hey, it's winter, I'll be back to cycling soon!). |
/ £4 * 4 / £5 * 4 |
| Accelerate | Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble and Gene Kim | If you're involved in IT, read it. Shows, using real world data, why some organisations release change orders of magnitude faster than others. |
 / £7 / £12 |
| Mortal Chaos | Matt Dickinson | I started this because my kids have read it and it was bedtime and I didn't want to read Accelerate. Mortal Chaos is a bit weird and somehow reminds me of Final Destination even though it's not the same storyline. |
/ £8 / £8 |
| Discworld! Guards! Guards!, Men At Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Lords & Ladies, Maskerade, Carpe Jugulum |
Terry Pratchett |
  I hadn't read any Discworld novels until this year. I can't really recall what made me start. But, as the old Mastermind phrase goes, I've started so I'll finish. Some parts are laugh-out-loud funny but not that many, it's more an occasional chuckle for me. But the books have given me a new understanding of certain folks I've met throughout my life - they've plainly been massively influenced by this series! The most extreme perhaps is the person who gave me the reading order I'm following - she apparently has a tattoo of one of the characters... |
/ £3-5 each / £6-9 each |
| The Quantum Magician | Derek Künsken |
I had a sample of this on my Kindle so started reading it when I came to the end of Soul Music and didn't have signal to download the next Discworld novel. I'm glad I did - it's an interesting read; I'm likely to go back to it once I've finished the Discworld series. Not soon then... |
/ £4 / £6 |
| Blue Moon | Lee Child | It's winter so I'm not cycling to work as often. And I started this on a Friday and finished it on Sunday... Formulaic but fun. I knew it would be so I put The Quantum Magician on a brief hold 
|
/ £10 / £10 |
Key
|
On Kindle Unlimited so free to those with a subscription |
|
Not on KU - you'll have to pay |
 |
I was bought this book as a present |
|
This book was a recommendation from a colleague / friend |
 |
My favourite book of the year |
 |
I didn't finish it... |
 |
Umm ... not my favourite book of the year |
|
Yep, I'm still cycling to work |