Monthly Reading List
This page is a journal of my monthly reading habits. I aim to read about 10-15% of a book per day.
March 2024
Conan: Lord of the Mount
Awakening covered in blood, the sole survivor of a doomed raiding party, Conan sets out for the taverns, women, and ale of Trinnecerl. To reach the village, however, he must pass ruins scattered with the shattered helmets, broken blades, and bones of untold victims—as well as the hideous the creature that left them, the Lord of the Mount.
Conan: Black Starlight
Seeking to avoid the Stygian border guard and cross the River Styx, Conan, the sorceress Zelandra, her scribe Neesa, and bodyguard Heng Shih discover a town that seems to be deserted. To preserve his own life, the town’s lord had bargained with a demon that still lurks there. It wants Zelandra’s cache of Emerald Lotus and will kill anyone who tries to stop it. Conan and his allies must defeat the demon and its minions—human and inhuman—in order to survive.
Tarkin
He’s the scion of an honorable and revered family. A dedicated soldier and distinguished legislator. Loyal proponent of the Republic and trusted ally of the Jedi Order. Groomed by the ruthless politician and Sith Lord who would be Emperor, Governor Wilhuff Tarkin rises through the Imperial ranks, enforcing his authority ever more mercilessly … and zealously pursuing his destiny as the architect of absolute dominion.
February 2024
The Day of the Tempest
The great dragon overlords threaten to enslave Krynn. They’ve magically altered the land, sculpting domains to suit their foul moods, and now they have started to amass armies of dragons, humanoids, and spawn. Even the once-proud Knights of Takhisis are joining the ranks and preparing to strike against the citizens of Ansalon.
January 2024
December 2023
The Dawning of a New Age
The Summer of Chaos has ended. Ansalon’s nightmare has only just begun. The gods have departed the world, heralding a new Age of Mortals. But before the dust of war can settle, vast shadows cover the land. Dragons have come to Ansalon, larger and more powerful than any ever seen, and they will wreak havoc on nations still trembling from war.
November 2023
October 2023
Heir to the Empire
It is a time of renewal, five years after the destruction of the Death Star and the defeat of Darth Vader and the Empire.
But with the war seemingly won, strains are beginning to show in the Rebel Alliance. New challenges to galactic peace have arisen. And Luke Skywalker hears a voice from his past. A voice with a warning. Beware the dark side….
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
The Fellowship of the Ring
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him.
June 2023
The Song of Achilles
Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.
Tress of the Emerald Sea
The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea.
May 2023
Circe
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power: the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Fourth Wing
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
April 2023
March 2023
The Dragon Republic
In the aftermath of the Third Poppy War, shaman and warrior Rin is on the run: haunted by the atrocity she committed to end the war, addicted to opium, and hiding from the murderous commands of her vengeful god, the fiery Phoenix. Her only reason for living is to get revenge on the traitorous Empress who sold out Nikan to their enemies.
February 2023
January 2023
Barbarian Mine
The ice planet has given me a second lease on life, so I’m thrilled to be here. Sure, there’s no cheeseburgers, but I’m healthy and ready to be a productive member of the small tribe.
What I didn’t anticipate? That there’d be a savage stranger waiting nearby, watching me. And when he takes me captive, the unthinkable happens… I resonate to him.
December 2022
November 2022
Legends & Lattes
Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.
The Shadow of the Gods
After the gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrið.
Now a new world is rising, where power-hungry jarls feud and monsters stalk the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out.
October 2022
Promise of the Witch King
Human assassin Artemis Entreri and his dark elf companion Jarlaxle have come to the demon-haunted wastelands of the frozen north at the request of their dragon patron. It doesn’t take long for them to find themselves caught in the middle of a struggle between powerful forces that would like nothing more than to see them both dead — or worse.
Ice Planet Barbarians
You’d think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you’d be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they’ve left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet.
And the only native inhabitant I’ve met? He’s big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me…
September 2022
Fire & Blood
Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. ire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens.
August 2022
July 2022
Dune
Melange, or ‘spice’, is the most valuable - and rarest - element in the universe; a drug that does everything from increasing a person’s life-span to making intersteller travel possible. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world Arrakis. Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe.
Dune Messiah
Twelve years after his victory over House Harkonnen, Paul Atreides rules as emperor from the desert planet Arrakis - but his victory has had profound consequences. War has been brought to the entire known universe, and billions have already perished. Despite having become the most powerful emperor known to history, Paul is powerless to bring an end to the fighting.
June 2022
Song of the Saurials
When the Harpers judged the Nameless Bard responsible for the death of his apprentices, they sentenced him to exile and obscurity. Now the Harpers are reconsidering their decision, but with the arrival of the monster Grypht, Nameless’s new trial dissolves in a string of disappearances and murder.
May 2022
Microsoft Conversational AI Platform for Developers
Build a chatbot using the Microsoft Conversational AI platform. You will learn how to be proficient at every phase of development, from collaboration on a chatbot in an end-to-end scenario, to the first mock-up phase, and on through to the deployment and evaluation phases.
April 2022
Building Microservices
Author Sam Newman provides you with a firm grounding in the concepts while diving into the latest solutions for modeling, integrating, testing, deploying, and monitoring your own autonomous services. Through real-world examples, you’ll learn how organizations worldwide are getting the most out of these architectures.
March 2022
Kendermore
Before the War of the Lance, carefree kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot is enjoying the company of his friends at the Inn of the Last Home when a bounty hunter arrives and charges him with desertion for violating the kender laws of prearranged marriage. But Tasslehoff’s intended has pulled a disappearing act of her own. The race is on to see who gets dragged to the altar first in a tale of adventure replete with magic, monsters, and mayhem.
February 2022
Steel and Stone
The tempestuous affair of Kitiara Uth Matar and Tanis Half-Elven begins with the sword. Life isn’t simple for the hotheaded pair. They must contend with a carnivorous, two-headed troll; a deposed leader who believes Kitiara is the cause of the ruler’s troubles; a vindictive mage who seeks peculiar vengeance; and Kit’s hulking former lover.
The Last Wish
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin. And a cold-blooded killer. His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good… and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
January 2022
The Oath and the Measure
Although Raistlin and Caramon urge him not to go, Sturm Brightblade attends an annual Solamnic ceremony. Once he accepts a mysterious gauntlet, young Sturm must make a dangerous journey with some curious friends, rescue a fair if querulous maid, defeat a traitor knight, and learn the secret fate of his long-lost father.
Entity Framework Core in Action
Entity Framework Core in Action teaches you how to access and update relational data from .NET applications. Following the crystal-clear explanations, real-world examples, and around 100 diagrams, you’ll discover time-saving patterns and best practices for security, performance tuning, and unit testing.
December 2021
Kindred Spirits
When Flint Fireforge, dwarf and metalsmith, receives a wondrous summons from the Speaker of the Sun, he journeys to the fabled elven city of Qualinost. There he meets Tanis, a thoughtful youth born of a tragic union between elf and man. Tanis and Flint, each a misfit in his own way, find themselves unlikely friends.
Code like a Pro in C#
Critical business applications worldwide are written in the versatile C# language and the powerful .NET platform, running on desktops, cloud systems, and Windows or Linux servers. Code Like a Pro in C# makes it easy to turn your existing abilities in C# or another OO language (such as Java) into practical C# mastery.
November 2021
Sea of Swords
When the mark of Wulfgar’s legendary warhammer is found on the person of pirate Sheila Kree, Drizzt Do’Urden knows his friend is in dire need of his help. Thus, Drizzt, Catti-brie, Regis, and Bruenor spring into action, determined to save Wulfgar and recover Aegis-fang once and for all.
October 2021
The Spine of the World
Spending just one day in the torture chambers of the Abyss would be enough to break even the heartiest soul. Wulfgar of Icewind Dale was there for six miserable years. Though Wulfgar has since been freed, he is still haunted by the memories of the pain he endured at his captor Errtu’s hands.
September 2021
The Legacy
Life is good for Drizzt Do’Urden, better than it ever has been for the beleaguered dark elf. His dearest friend, the dwarf Bruenor, has reclaimed his throne, and his adventuring companions, Wulfgar and Catti-brie, are to be wed in the spring. Even the halfling Regis has returned. All the friends are united in the safety and prosperity of Mithril Hall, where streams of silver mithril run deep and dwarven hammers bang out the solemn rhythms of ancient and unending songs
Starless Night
To protect his friends from harm, Drizzt Do’Urden returns to the city he left behind long ago—the City of Spiders
Though Drizzt is still reeling from the death of his barbarian friend, he is allowed little time to grieve. Dark elves are gathering in the caverns deep under Mithral Hall, hell-bent on destruction. To keep his adopted home and family safe, Drizzt must now return to the dreadful drow city of his birth.
Siege of Darkness
The conflict between the drow of the Underdark and the dwarves of Mithral Hall comes to a head
While Mithral Hall teems with whispers of the war to come, chaos erupts both above and below ground. On the surface of Faerûn, the first signs of the Time of Troubles make themselves known, forcing deities to assume their mortal forms. Beneath them in the Underdark, all but one drow house has lost their magical powers, and Lolth has handed the reins of leadership over to the demon Errtu.
Passage to Dawn
It has been six years since the fateful Battle of Mithral Hall; six long years during which Drizzt Do’Urden and Catti-brie have been away from the only place they ever truly felt at home. The pain of a lost companion still weighs heavily on their strong shoulders, but chasing pirates aboard Captain Deudermont’s Sea Sprite has been enough to draw their attention away from their grief.
August 2021
Streams of Silver
Drizzt Do’Urden still struggles with his own inner voices, voices that call him back to the pitless depths of the Underdark. But louder still are the voices of his newfound friends Bruenor, Wulfgar, and Regis—and the call of a dream that, at long last, Bruenor has decided to fulfill.
The Halfling’s Gem
Regis has fallen into the hands of the assassin Artmis Entreri, who is taking him to Calimport to deliver him into the clutches of the vile Pasha Pook. But Drizzt and Wulfgar are close on their heels, determined to save Regis from his own folly as much as from his powerful enemies.
Homeland
Drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden, first introduced in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, quickly became one of the fantasy genre’s standout characters. But Homeland first reveals the startling tale of how this one lone drow walked out of the shadowy depths of the Underdark, leaving behind a society of evil and a family who want him dead. It is here that the story of this amazing dark elf truly began.
July 2021
Crystal Shard
Akar Kessel, weak-willed apprentice mage, starts events that find a magical device, the crystal shard. Dwarf Bruenor rescues barbarian Wulfgar from the ruins of Ten-Towns, for 5 years of service - and friendship. With help from renegade dark elf Drizzt, Wulfgar becomes a warrior with brawn and brains. Can the trio stave off the crystal shard forces?
Legend
He is DRUSS the Legend. His skill in battle has earned him a fearsome reputation throughout the world and the stories of his life are told everywhere. But the grizzled veteran has spurned a life of fame and fortune and has retreated to the solitude of his mountain lair to await his old enemy, Death.
Knight of the Black Rose
On the fabled world of Krynn, Lord Soth finally learns that there is a price to pay for his long history of evil deeds, a price even an undead warrior might find horrifying. Dark powers transport Soth to Barovia, and there the death knight must face the dread minions of Count Strahn Von Zarovich, the vampire lord of the nightmare land. But with only a captive Vistani woman and an untrustworthy ghost for allies, Lord Soth soon discovers that he may have to join forces with the powerful vampire if he is ever to escape the realm of terror.
June 2021
Vampire of the Mists
Jander Sunstar is a gold elf, a native of magical Evermeet in the Forgotten Realms. He is also a five-hundred-year-old vampire.
Torn by rage and grief, Jander is transported into the nightmare realm of Ravenloft, where he gains the attention of the demiplane’s master, Count Strahd Von Zarovich. But can Jander trust this elegant fellow vampire once he discovers that his own quest for revenge is linked to the dark heritage of the count’s domain?
The Siege of Mt. Nevermind
A miraculous machine … and a nightmare! Innova, a young gnomish recluse finds himself in a terrible situation. Tried in a gnomish court for an unfortunate accident and sentenced to spend months at the bottom of Mt. Nevermind tuning gnomeflingers, young Innova makes an incredible discovery. The whole gnomish society is changed by one machine that, unlike any other gnomish invention, makes the entire mountain run like clockwork.
Tears of the Night Sky
Crysania, high priestess of the Temple of Paladine, is blind to the beauty of the world but not to the joy of her faith. Lately, though, her communion with the god of light has become distant. Now a mysterious stone has come into her possession. Its power compels her to undertake a merilous quest, accompanied by a strange band of companions.
Reavers of the Blood Sea
During the hottest summer in memory, minotaurs fight against the Knights of Takhisis, into whose hands their god Sargonnas has delivered them. In the midst of the conflict, the armies of Chaos plunge into the heart of Ansalon.
Now the minotaur warrior Aryx must unite his people and their enemy, the knights, against the monstrous servants of Chaos. If he succeeds, the two sides may forge a bond that will change Krynn for all time.
May 2021
The Puppet King
Torn asunder by the nightmares of a mad king, the elven realm of Silvanesti has nearly been restored to its former grandeur. But the elf Porthios, returning to his homeland, launches a rebellion against young Gilthias, his own nephew.Gilthias’s troubles are multiplied by threats from green dragons and from the Knights of Takhisis. Now, with Porthios at his throat, Gilthias must choose between blood and honor.
The Last Thane
For generations the baser clans of Thorbardin have raged against Hylar, ancestral rulers of the vast underground realm. Now, the finest Hylar army has marched away to face the Knights of Takhisis - and the dark dwarves see their opportunity. Besieged in the Life Tree that is their fortress city, the Hylar struggle to survive. Magic and madness threaten from all sides as Theiwar, Daergar and Klar press the onslaught with bloodthirsty frenzy.
April 2021
Machine Learning in Action
Machine Learning in Action is a unique book that blends the foundational theories of machine learning with the practical realities of building tools for everyday data analysis. In it, the author uses the flexible Python programming language to show how to build programs that implement algorithms for data classification, forecasting, recommendations, and higher-level features like summarization and simplification.
Draconian Measures
The regiment of draconian engineers featured in “The Doom Brigade” seek a safe haven for their precious cargo of young draconians. All they have to do is stay alive. Surely that shouldn’t be too hard. But Commander Kang puzzles over a sinister mystery. Why are some of his men vanishing? Kang will have to use draconian measures to defeat his foes and save his race. They’d better be enough — the fate of his entire race hangs in the balance.
March 2021
The Second Generation
Years have passed since the end of the War of the Lance. Peace on Krynn comes at a price. The forces of darkness are ever vigilant, searching for ways to erode the balance of power and take control. When subtle changes begin to permeate the fragile peace, new lives are drawn into the web of fate woven around all the races. The time has come to pass the sword — or the staff — to the children of the Lance. They are the Second Generation.
The Doom Brigade
The fearless draconians of the War of the Lance have retired from the field of battle to a pleasant valley in the Kharolis Mountains. Well, it would be pleasant, if it weren’t for some dwarves, whose irritating feuding prevents the draconians from realizing their greatest hope — the ability to continue their doomed race. When the dwarves discover a map leading to a fortune buried in the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin, the draconians are swept up in a feverish race for treasure. Little do both sides realize that they are part of the strange and terrible destiny descending upon Krynn during the Summer of Flame.
February 2021
The Gates of Thorbardin
Legends tell that beneath the mountain fortress of Skullcap lie the remains of the dark wizard Fistandantilus and the path to the gates of the ancient dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin. Buried somewhere along that perilous path is the magical helm of Grallen, son of King Duncan, tragic hero of the Dwarfgate War. Finding Grallen’s helm, it is prophesied, will herald the return of a united Thorbardin—but it will also open the gates of the realm to fresh horror and chaos.
January 2021