I do this every year, so you can step back for more than a decade should you so choose. Here's the link to 2024.
Hooray! I have beaten my yearly record (since records began around 2011) with 18 books read - which is one more than my record set last year! It's true - I did read a bunch of short older SFF books.
I've linked my Goodreads review for each book from its mention below.
The standout read, among many 5* books, was By Blood, By Salt, by J.L Odom (Book 2, A Haunt for Jackals, is similarly brilliant.
I read the following books from SPFBO contestants (former and present):
By Blood By Salt, by J.L Odom (SPFBO 2025 champion).
Mushroom Blues (SPFBO 2nd place finalist 2025), by Adrian Gibson.
The Drowned Kingdom (SPFBO semi-finalist), by P.L Stuart.
My most literary reads were (ordered by literary-ness):
100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margret Atwood.
And By Blood, By Salt very nearly qualifies as literary fiction as far as I'm concerned!
My non-fantasy reads were:
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margret Atwood.
The Stars, Like Dust, by Isaac Asimov -- Science Fiction.
The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi -- Science Fiction.
Ascension, by Nicholas Binge -- Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction.
Hostile, by Luke Scull -- Horror.
Other fantasy reads:
Conan the Triumphant, by Robert Jordan.
The Jewel in the Skull, by Michael Moorcock.
The Mad God's Amulet, by Michael Moorcock.
A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, by George RR Martin.
Daughter of the Otherworld, by Shauna Lawless.
A Haunt For Jackals, by J.L Odom
The Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny.
Between Two Fires, by Christopher Buehlman.
Sandman Slim, by Richard Kadrey..
