My 2018...2017...and 2016 Booklist

I checked last years January entries to make sure I formatted my reading list for 2018 correctly...only to realize I haven't published one of these lists in three years. Over those last three years, I've gone through the usual reading peaks and valleys...as in, sometimes I'm a bookaholic, and sometimes my page flippin' jones is nowhere to be found. My professors would be simultaneously bummed and overjoyed...well, not simultaneously...chronologically. Speaking of chronologically, here's a chronological list of the books I've read over the last...jeez, three years, with commentary on select titles.

2016
A Grief Observed -- Lewis (I cried almost the entire time. It's like seeing one of your heroes completely broken. When he first starts to put it back together, it hurts even more. Then you start hearing this beautiful music in the last section. Even though he first published it under a pseudonym, A Grief Observed might be my favorite work of his I've read, even over TLTWATW or The Screwtape Letters. It's certainly the most powerful.)
The Wise Man's Fear -- Rothfuss (Remember that first book in this apparent Kingkiller Chronicles fantasy trilogy, and how it was so focused and full of world-building inherent in the story-telling? This second book doesn't, and is more concerned with making the protagonist god-tier at anything he attempts, while wandering off on hundreds of page-long side-quests that lead nowhere, and are low on adventure. Hope the author can get it on track with the next one, but with how little actual happens in this bloated second book, Rothfuss has a lot of ground to cover. Considering it's been eight years, with no sign of the third book coming, this might be it.)
Born to Run -- McDougall
Console Wars -- Harris (Inspired me to buy a Sega CD. Such a fun book. Not that I don't like the present day video game environment (there're awesome games galore!), but there will never be a situation quite like the Nintendo Vs Sega battle in the early-to-mid-90's! What a fun time!)
Billy Budd and Other Stories -- Melville
Masters of Doom -- Kushner

2017
Les Misérables -- Hugo (Taught me that my understanding of empathy needs to be expanded)
Nintendo 64 Anthology -- Math Manet (Such a cool book! A must have for any Nintendo 64 collector, with a section in the back dedicated to every single individual game ever released for the console.)
The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia -- Kawa, Aonuma, Miyamoto
The Gospel and Personal Evangelism -- Dever
The Reason for God -- Keller
It -- King (Staggering in its breadth. Almost more of a regional portrait than a horror novel, though it is scary. The town is the true central character here. Makes the recent film look like a lousy episode of Teletubbies.)
How to Love Your Wife -- Buri
The Gospel-Centered Community -- Thune and Walker
Intimacy: A 100-Day Guide to Lasting Relationships -- Weiss

2018
A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America -- Cannon (I've been saying this stuff for years. Brilliant book. Those confused about the current political climate need to dive into this.)
Wild at Heart -- Eldridge
WTF?: What's the Future and Why It's Up to Us -- Tim O'Reilly (This dude seems more interested in touting his accomplishments and skills of prognostication than actually talking about the future)
Codependent No More -- Beattie (Maybe the most important book I've read. Have to focus on killing those tendencies daily.)
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S Grant -- Grant
The Samurai -- Shusaku Endo
Pet Sematary -- King
The Case of the Missing Men -- Bertin and Forbes (So weird! It's like a graphic novel version of an absurdly disturbing Nancy Drew story)
The Bell Jar -- Plath
The Sound & the Fury -- Faulkner
The Sandman: Overture -- Gaiman w/art by Williams III and Stewart (I've had a tattoo of a Sandman panel since Bush II was still in office. Why'd it take me so long to get to this? It's vital!)