This year my highlight was "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang.

It is a collection of (not so) short stories. I didn't like every one, but those I liked were absolutely brilliant. The title story, "Exhalation", was one of those. I wanted to read something by Ted Chiang specifically because I adore the movie "Arrival" (2016), and found out it was based on one of his stories (not in "Exhalation").

Btw. I liked "Project Hail Mary" too, read it last year.