The List

Methodology:

I used a small Python script to download my books from 2015 via the Goodreads API.

I manually tagged the books into the following categories (which are not necessarily mutually exclusive), and also reevaluated the score that I originally gave when I saved the book in the Goodreads app.

For each book I have specified in brackets my original score followed by an updated score based upon my impressions 1-12 months after finishing.

In the case where I don’t remember much about the book (surprisingly often for the fiction books), I have left the score as the original. Also within the updated score I have included half points which are not currently allowed on Goodreads.

The numbers following the category titles are the average scores of my original reviews, followed by updated reviews.

Any thoughts or comments I think to be worth noting about a particular book are in italics.

Some observations:

• I was already sure I had a read a lot more non-fiction than fiction, but how much more actually surprised me a little (41 non-fiction vs 12 fiction)
• I hadn’t realized I had read so many biographies
• In general I remember a lot more about the non-fiction rather than fiction books
• Overall I think I was pretty consistent in my ratings between before and after - although I changed my rating for 25 books, this was mostly to be able to take advantage of half points (21 books)
• I only change my mind by 1 point on 4 books (all increases)

Maths, Computing, Technology: (3.7, 3.8)

1. Naked Statistics (4, 3.5)
2. The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood (4, 4) - very interesting overview but quite dense in parts
3. The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian  Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy (3, 4) - very detailed overview of Bayes; I still remember a lot of the detailed examples
4. The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets(3, 3)
5. A Mathematician's Apology (3, 3.5) - felt more like a book that I had to read rather than wanted to read
6. The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - But Some Don't (5, 5) - awesome, really enjoyable. Want to re-read.
7. How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking (4, 4) - one of the best popular maths books I have read in a while; want to re-read.
8. Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age (3, 4) - the maths is really fascinating; there are parts I want to look over in more detail
9. Probability: A Very Short Introduction (3, 3)
10. Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon (4, 4) - really interesting and eye opening
11. The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America (3, 3) - while it was full of interesting tidbits, I thought it could have been more
12. No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State (5, 4.5) - an absolute must read book
13. The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld (4, 4) - very interesting, sightly scary

Biographies: (4.2, 4.1)

1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (5, 5) - amazing story, highly recommeneded, so important to modern science and medicine
2. Alcatraz-1259 (4, 4) - true story of someone who was incarcerated in Alcatraz (I have a copy signed by the author)
3. Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant (4, 4.5) - I knew nothing about him beforehand; fascinating book
4. Not Much of an Engineer (3, 3) - Some very interesting stories and engineering, but I wasn’t a big fan of the writing
5. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time (5, 4.5) - Really good
6. Einstein: His Life and Universe (4, 3.5) - I was very glad to learn more about such an important and interesting figure, but was a bit long and hard going in places
7. Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal (5, 4.5) - Very cool story, and easy to read
8. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal (4, 4) - Very good
9. A Numerate Life: A Mathematician Explores the Vagaries of Life, His Own and Probably Yours (4, 3.5) - Mixed, good in parts

Historical: (3.4, 3.6)

1. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex (4, 4) - amazing and slightly harrowing story (and then I discovered they were making a film!)
2. Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory (4, 4) - Really well-written, gripping
3. Killing the  Bismarck: Destroying the Pride of Hitler's Fleet (3, 3.5)
4. The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The WWII Codebreaking Centre and the Men and Women Who Worked There (3, 4) - Really good overview of Blethley and the people who worked there
5. Tambora: The Eruption That Changed the World (3, 2.5) - I bought this book because of the story; didn’t live up to expectations

Other Science, Medical etc: (4.25, 4.5)

1. Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients (4, 4.5) - Very important book, should be mandatory reading in schools
2. What If? : Serious Scientific Answers to  Absurd Hypothetical Questions (5, 5) - I love XKCD, I loved this book
3. Thinking, Fast and Slow (3, 3.5) - the subject matter I found fascinating, but I have read better expositions
4. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (5, 5) - amazing and epic journey into ‘the war on Cancer’

Management: (4.3, 4.3)

1. The Halo Effect: How Managers let Themselves be Deceived (3, 3.5) - Some really interesting ideas
2. Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love (5, 5) - I loved this book and recommend it to nearly everyone I know. Maybe the best business of management book of all time
3. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right (5, 4.5) - Everyone needs checklists!

Other: (3.6, 3.6)

1. The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn't What It Used to Be (3, 2.5) - Sounded interesting but too dry and uninspired writing
2. The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking (4, 4)
3. Average Is Over: Powering America Beyond the Age of the Great Stagnation (3, 3.5)
4. Mornings in Mexico (3, 4)
5. The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes From a Small Island (4, 4) - Not his best work, but typically gentle and amusing stories
6. How to be a Husband (5, 4.5) - Very amusing
7. The House of Wigs (3, 3.5)

Fiction: (3.8, 4.0)

1. The Bone Clocks (4, 4)
2. The Temp (4, 4)
3. A Delicate Truth (4, 4) - solid le Carré
4. The Farm (4, 4)
5. Jane Eyre (4, 4.5) - really enjoyed
6. The State We're In (2, 2)
7. The Memory of Love (5, 5)
8. The Martian (4, 5) - loved the film, loved the book more
9. The Lathe of Heaven (4, 4)
10. Make Me (Jack Reacher #20) (3, 3.5) - once again, rescued me from a long flight
11. Binti (3, 3)
12. The Big Sleep (5, 5) - very evocative writing