• Book title: The Book of Lost Hours
• Author: Hayley Gelfuso
• Rating: 4/5

Halfway through, I thought I had this book figured out, but then the book was all like "no, no, no". Quite an enjoyable read.

Where to buy The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso:

• Bookshop

• Book title: Red Rising
• Author: Pierce Brown
• Rating: 4/5

Because I like making my life complicated, I started another series, because reading Brando Sando clearly wasn't enough. Pacing was a bit all over the place with this book (especially in the beginning), but the setting is fantastic. The other series I plan to go through in 2026.

Where to buy Red Rising by Pierce Brown:

• Bookshop

• Book title: Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)
• Author: Jesse Q Sutanto
• Rating: 5/5

This is the first time reading a book that made me laugh so hard I started to cry. I love Auntie Vera.

Where to buy Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q Sutanto:

• Bookshop

• Book title: Mistborn: Secret History
• Author: Brandon Sanderson
• Rating: 5/5

The absolute mindfuck. Also, more Kelsier. More Kelsier is always great!

Where to buy Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson:

• Bookshop

• Book title: The Eleventh Metal
• Author: Brandon Sanderson
• Rating: 4/5

A cute short story. You want to get Arcanum Unbounded to read the story.

• Book title: The Hero of Ages
• Author: Brandon Sanderson
• Rating: 6/5

What a fantastic ending to a great trilogy. I completely understand the Sanderson hype now and have planned to read all his books in 2026.

Where to buy The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson:

• Bookshop

• Book title: The Age of Caesar
• Author: Plutarch
• Rating: 4.5/5

How often do you think of the Roman Empire?

Where to buy The Age of Caesar by Plutarch:

• Bookshop

• Book title: Wisdom Takes Work
• Author: Ryan Holiday
• Rating: 5/5

This is the best book in the Virtues series. It's the one that honestly makes the most sense right now.

Notes & Highlights

“A writer—and I believe, generally all persons,” Borges reminds us, “must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.”

Where to buy Wisdom Takes Work by Ryan Holiday:

• Bookshop

• Book title: The Art of Spending Money
• Author: Morgan Housel
• Rating: 4.5/5

I like Housel's writing, so I had to read this, and I was not disappointed. The ideas in it are not new to me, but still a good reminder. It might be a book I have to recommend to other people.

Where to buy The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel:

• Bookshop

• Book title: Enshittification
• Author: Cory Doctorow
• Rating: 4/5

One issue I had with this book is the amount of repetition it had. I wonder if that comes from the fact that Doctorow is primarily a blogger, and somehow tried to bring linking to a book? The insights are great, but that just felt weird.

Where to buy Enshittification by Cory Doctorow:

• Bookshop