I like to read books!
Recently Finished:
Some spoilers ahead, read at your own risk!

• The Animorphs by K.A. Applegate
  These books are wonderful, a series of like 60 shorter novels. While they are written at a more middle-school level, I think the themes and writing holds up very well. The struggles the characters go through, including worries about the appropiate level of violence to an invading force, worries about identity and belonging, and how to hold on to those we love during and after a crisis, all show incredible maturity, and are things we could all do more thinking about. That being said, these books are also fun, with as much levity and joy as seriousness. I would highly reccomend reading these, especially as the full list of pdf's are available online, and each book is generally about 75 pages.
  10 andalite princes out of 10
• Dune by Frank Herbert
  Dune is, and continues to be, one of my favorite books of all time, with the next two in the series coming closely after. Following young Paul Atreides, Dune takes place on the planet Arrakis, a desert planet inhabited by giant worms and the Fremen. The themes of colonialism and ecological responsibility are ever-present, clearly things Herbert cares about. Paul also fills the role of a white savior, coming to Arrakis to rescue the Fremen from their oppressors, which is a theme that is touched on much less, especially in the first book. I really love the way that Herbert wrote about the desert, especially the worms, and I especially love how the universe continues to grow through and after Paul's reign as emperor.
  9 desert rats out of 10
• Tress of the Emerald Seas by Brandon Sanderson:
  Brandon Sanderson's secret books have a strong start here, with an incredible story of a young woman venturing out into the world to save her love from an evil witch. With Sanderson's usual wit, plus a good bit of levity, she sails across multiple seas of spores, through storms and dragons to get to him. This was really a great book, both as it flipped the usual 'prince rescues princess' and because of the wonderful cast of characters present throughout.
  9 Daves out of 10
• Memoirs of a Spacewoman by Naomi Mitchison:
  This was a fun one about a woman who travels the galaxy as a 'communicator', meeting and talking to aliens. The variety of aliens and worlds is really cool, from giant centipedes to caterpillars and butterflies, up to entire planets or as simple as goo that grows off a body. It was a pretty light read, but I really enjoyed it. Written in 1962, this book does show its age in some ways, but I think it more than makes up for it.
  6 haploids out of 10.
• Will Save the Galaxy for Food by Yahtzee Croshaw:
  Our hero is an out of work, or mostly out of work, space pilot, reliving the former glories of captaining and saving planets from evil. He manages to score a job with an incredibly wealthy businessman from the insular, sealed off Earth, but all is not as it seems! Through a series of mishaps, daring escapes, bold rescues, and dumb luck he manages to get out from under the thumb of the dastardly earth man, and make a fortune in the process. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, from the sarcastic wit to the bold memories of the golden age of space flight, it manages to remind me of the old pulpies while still being fresh.
  7 zoobs out of 10.