Over the summer I’ve cemented myself as an audiobook listener.

It’s just so damn convenient, and it also serves to attach some positive anticipation to a whole lot of jobs that would otherwise be boring and monotonous. There is a part of me that feels ever-so-slightly bad about it. Like I’ve betrayed my first love of the written page? But I can’t read when I’m bush-hogging, and if I wait for an opportunity to read, I find I get maybe a chapter into anything and then…I’m asleep.

So, here are all the books I “read” this summer, and it’s a damn good list, with barely a dud in the batch, imho.

Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown (Very fun addition to the Red Rising stories)

The Lost Fleet: Dauntless, by Jack Campbell (Not bad, but I didn’t bother to listen to the rest of the series, though, by all accounts, it’s very popular)

The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig (Enjoyable)

Dark Age, by Pierce Brown (Lot of people poo-poo’d it, but I liked it. Maybe I’m just a sucker for the universe)

The Book of Koli, by M.R. Carey (Weird, but I loved it)

The Trials of Koli, by M.R. Carey (Even weirder, but still liked it)

The Fall of Koli, by M.R. Carey (Stretching my suspension of disbelief, but I still found it enjoyable—also, great narrators)

Beyond Redemption, by Michael R. Fletcher (Writing is a little rough, but I thought the concept was fascinating)

Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius (Worth a listen, if you’re into philosophy or stoicism—no, I don’t consider myself a stoic, but there’s interesting lessons to be learned)

House of Earth and Blood, by Sarah J. Maas (Um…I really tried to like it. But…no. T’was not for me)

He Who Fights with Monsters, by Shirtaloon, AKA Travis Deverell (I expected so little and was blown away. Loved it, as evidenced by…)

He Who Fights with Monsters 2, by Shirtaloon, AKA Travis Deverell

He Who Fights with Monsters 3, by Shirtaloon, AKA Travis Deverell

He Who Fights with Monsters 4, by Shirtaloon, AKA Travis Deverell

He Who Fights with Monsters 5, by Shirtaloon, AKA Travis Deverell

12 Rules for Life, by Jordan B. Peterson (So, while he sounds a bit like a cross between Kermit the Frog and Saul Goodman, he’s got a lot of interesting things to say that are worth pondering)

Scythe, by Neal Shusterman (Really good YA that doesn’t feel like YA, with a very interesting premise)

Thunderhead, by Neal Shusterman (I haven’t finished it yet, but with 2 hours left, I’m liking it even more than Scythe)

I’ll likely continue reading the Arc of a Scythe series, as there are a few more books in there, and unless he takes a crazy nosedive, I’m liking where the author is going. So, that’s my summer reading round-up, and I have to give the biggest nod to Travis Deverell. Not only did he take me into a genre I never thought I would enjoy (or even understand), but he’s also an indie author, though nothing in his writing gives him away.