Category: Books I read

Books I’ve recently read and/or liked. I only link to a book or author if they have their own webpage and never link to Amazon or Goodreads. Buy your books directly from the author or from independent bookstores if you can.

There’s also a more complete OPML file that is both human and machine readable, that you can check out: my booklists

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Since the start of last year I have not been spending any money at Amazon. I’ve been happily buying my reading elsewhere.
Today for the first time I ran into a genuine bump. I noticed that Canadian SF author Dennis E. Taylor released a fifth book in his fun and entertaining Bobiverse series last year, and that a 6th and final title in the series is planned for this year. There seemed to be none of his books available other than at Amazon, and the FAQ on his site explains why: he is signed up with Kindle Unlimited, but that comes with exclusivity on his work for Amazon. When he signed up his revenue from outside the Amazon silo was negligible (and now will stay that way, obviously), and his Amazon revenue jumped by 20% at the time.

The German translations are available as epubs through Kobo, and there’s the paper editions in the local bookstore. Not sure yet if I’ll read the German ebook version, as I don’t know if Taylor’s subtle ironic style translates well into German. More likely I’ll visit the local bookstore.

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This 2025 novel by German author Tim Staffel centers on the geopolitical and commercial exploitation of water, in times where fresh water is getting scarce as climate changes, glaciers melt, and aquifers get depleted. The protagonist, who has a fear of water, is a world wide activist on the human right to potable water, exposing the machinations of those who see profit in gatekeeping water. The German village he was born in and left to never return becomes the center of the mechanisms of oppression and water poverty. So he does return. Wasserspiel means water game. I came across this book when browsing the Dussmann bookstore in Berlin last October.

While interesting and entertaining, the story never really sucked me in. I kept reading while hovering above it.

Read through the Kobo plus subscription.

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Came across this 2025 book in a Bregenz book store, Brunner, last summer while visiting the Austrian alps, and later looked for it online.

Set in an ancient convent in a small deserted Italian village, and narrated by what appears to be a renaissance literary style all knowing voice. After a few chapters it becomes more apparent who the narrator is. Took me a bit to get into, because of that narrator, but then enjoyed it. Some nice ideas, funny at times, and entertaining.
Horváth is an Austrian writer, and this seems to be his third novel.

Read in German through the Kobo plus subscription.

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Enjoyable and whimsical fantasy story set in Japan by Phillipines based author Samantha Sotto Yambao.

A young woman runs a pawnshop for choices people regret with her father in Japan. One day her father disappears and a young man, seemingly by mistake, ends up in her pawnshop and helps her solve the mystery. Beautiful, light read. Many fun ideas, such as people who are waiting on a train, but those trains may take generations to arrive.

Bought on the Kobo platform.

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Loved this. Nicely interwoven stories, and the book title triggered all the right associations. We follow a budding and then successful SF author, as well as a near future robot Bildungs-novel, the two stories increasingly interwoven into a nice twist.
Previously read the Binti (in 2017/2018) and Akata series (in 2021/2022), as well as a few other works by Nnedi Okorafor.