I have long used a scalable and straightforward rating system for just about everything.
My view is that most things in life will be OK, some things will not be OK, and some things will be great. This is the bell curve of life.
| Rating | Comment | #Books |
| 1-2 | Terrible | 0 |
| 3-4 | Meh | 2 |
| 5-6 | OK | 5 |
| 7-8 | Good | 7 |
| 9 | Great | 2 |
| 10 | In my top 5 | 0 |
2025: Reading List
2026 (14)
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This (2025) by Omar El Akkad: 9/10
Small Things Like These (2024) by Claire Keegan: 9/10
Follow the Money: How Much Does Britain Cost? (2023) by Paul Johnson: 8/10
The Collector (1963) by John Fowles: 8/10
The Great Hunt (Book 2, 1990) by Robert Jordan: 8/10
Gardens of the Moon (Book 1, 1999) by Steven Erikson:7/10
My Friends (2025) by Fredrik Backman: 7/10
Stoner (1965) by John Williams: 7/10
How Children Fail (1982) by John Holt: 6/10
Patriot (2025) by Alexei Navalny: 6/10
Intermezzo (2024) by Sally Rooney: 6/10
Mindful Soldier (2026) by Ash Alexander-Cooper: 6/10
On the Calculation of Volume (2025) by Solvej Balle: 6/10
On Character (2025) by General Stanley McChrystal: 6/10
The War for Kindness (2019) by Jamil Zaki: 4/10
Beliefism (2025) by Paul Dolan: 4/10
Real Tigers (Book 3, 2016) by Mick Heron: TBC
American War (2017) by Omar El Akkad: TBC
Katabasis (2025) by R.F.Kuang: TBC
War From the Ground Up (2018) by Emile Simpson.
On the Stack
Katabasis by Rebecca Kuang
Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
The Stranger by Albert Camus
American War by Omar El Akkad
Serendipities 