Ok - the best book was the Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow. After reading that book I had a little moment of despair that I will never be that good of a writer and storyteller.

I also read The Poppy War - the first of a trilogy by the same author as Babel. It is good, but not as good as Babel - she has grown as a writer. The Poppy War is interesting because it is sort of like a walk through Chinese history through the lens of magic and fantasy. I spent a semester in China and I recognized many of the references.

I also dabbled in non-fiction without finishing any of the books. One is called Indigenous Continent - and it sets the record straight on the actual power of Indigenous people in the early days of the Americas.