The reading project is going pretty well. About to finish book #8 for the year.
https://bloftin2sf.blog/read-in-2024/
Looking at more recent science fiction, it is nearly impossible to find a good standalone novel. Everything seems to be part of a massive series, or a trilogy of books that are all 600 pages long. There are a few that look good, but I can’t keep a whole bunch of series straight in my mind at the same time. So while some of the older standalone novels are a bit rough around the edges in a lot of ways, I think I’ll stick to them between reading the two series I’ve been working on.