If you are learning your first language in 2014 and are a beginner, Fluent Forever is super useful. In 2026, it is still pretty useful. Unfortunately, if you are looking for insights for advanced learners, you'll find only a little. Wondering how to keep multiple languages from getting confused in your head? Despite the author talking about how many languages he speaks, he doesn't shed any light on that at all.

The Soul of a New Machine starts out talking about a man going sailing. Then, it drifts on to some other stuff. Eventually, it starts talking about a team that is going to try to build a new computer. Because of the weird way the author went about telling the story, I was never entirely sure what the real topic of the book was, and that is - apparently - what the author was going for.

The Calamitous Bob is fantastic! The characterization! The clever use of a common plot! A main character who isn't a native English speaker!! Interestingly, this book doesn't move at breakneck speed, even though it is quite compelling. I think that's kind of unusual, especially for an action novel.

Beware of Chicken 2 is not surprisingly the sequel to Beware of Chicken, and just like the first installment, it is a wonderful story of people and animals learning about themselves and their world. It is absolutely worth reading.

The Nero Wolfe mysteries, at least the majority, are always really fun to read, and The Silent Speaker is no different with the same characters, who any longtime reader has grown to love.

Crocodile on the Sandbank is as much an enemies to lovers romance as it is a mystery, written - in my opinion - for domineering women to both laugh at and be pleased by themselves.

The War That Ended Peace is a very long book about the events that led up to World War 1, but that length doesn't keep it from being a compelling read that keeps the reader's interest.

The Automatic Detective is very much "a robot plays the role of a hard boiled detective". It is well done, except that so much time is spent on hitting all the points in the trope while also setting up the crazy city and Mack's personal situation, that very little time is spent on the characters he is supposed to rescue. While Mack seems to care about them more or less, the reader isn't invested at all.

Dead Beat is book seven of The Dresden Files, and it is definitely worth reading the previous six to get to this one.

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman is the second book in the series "The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club". It is quite long but stays exciting all the way through. The only thing that really bugged me was all the bickering.