Right, I'm a masochist neck-deep in figuring out who, what, and why. Except for Wings of Fire; that's my connection to my young'un.
Holy... you had a tough reading year.
Slaughterhouse Five, Flowers for Algernon, Starship Troopers, Catch-22, Infinite Jest, and Blood Meridian — in ONE year!?
Blood Meridian, alone, took me almost a year to read, toward the end of the Obama years. Flowers for Algernon I finished just before COVID. Slaughterhouse Five and Catch-22 I read in the 'aughts. I havent read Starship Troopers or Infinite Jest yet.
I tip my hat to you, friend. I wouldn't unread a word either.