The best book is A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. I liked the sequel A Desolation called Peace. My DIL who is from Hog Kong recommended it to me as a book that really gets the torn feelings of colonial subjects. I’ve spent enough time living for extended time in foreign countries to have lived much of what she is talking about as well. Beautiful writing. Beautiful world building. But not fast paced or funny like The Martian.
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I read “House” and “Soul of a New Machine” (also by Kidder) decades ago, when I was not reading many books. Excellent non-fiction books.
In retirement I read about 50 books/year, mostly fiction. So I was surprised to only have read 5 of the NYT list. There are probably more from the list on my wishlist/holds at the library, since I often use NYT annual list for ideas.
Thanks for the ride in the wayback machine, @Colorado_mom. Though I was on team (DEC) VAX in '81 while the engineers at Data General were building the Eclipse, we were all (so) young and eager in this new industry, working feverishly for the challenge of it and not for the money. We lived in the office; you had to tell us to go home (and shower), but we came right back. It was an amazing time. EVERYONE in the trenches read that book.
Later, another book that riveted our (UNIX) community was The Cuckoo’s Egg by Cliff Stoll, his first-person account of the hunt for a hacker who broke into a computer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. This was one of the first (if not the first) documented cases of a computer break-in and describes how he brilliantly tracked the hacker’s activities with the crude tools (terminals and 1200 baud modems) available in '89 and eventually trapped him. It starts out innocently, but ends up involving the FBI, CIA and OSI and leads to the KGB.
One day in 1986 his supervisor asked him to resolve an accounting error of 75 cents in the computer usage accounts. Stoll traced the error to an unauthorized user who had apparently used nine seconds of computer time and not paid for it. Stoll eventually realized that the unauthorized user was a hacker who had acquired superuser access to the LBNL system by exploiting a vulnerability…
You don’t have to be a cyber junkie to follow this engrossing story. I gave it to our son to read in high school. He devoured it and is now part of our national effort to track and thwart cyber criminals. The tools have improved a bit, though. 
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On a lighter note, what are your favorite laugh out loud rom coms? I really liked Mrs Nash’s Ashes. Abby Jimenez and Emily Henry both have a few good ones.
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For that genre, I sometimes take advantage of the Amazon monthly freebie ebook download. It’s nice to have a variety of choices in my Kindle.
For my recent trip to London, I searched for ebooks at my library. Wanted something light hearted, set in London. This one happened to be a murder mystery (with some good humor too, with romantic relationships good and bad), but wow… it fit the bill. When reading I’d tell my husband, “Oh, and for this chapter they are at London location _______” (all so familiar to us after 10 night stay). Finished it on the airplane on the way home.
https://www.amazon.com/Other-Half-Vassell-Charlotte/dp/0571374948
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Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting is a fun one set in London. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if not for my book club, but I really quite enjoyed it.
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Does sound fun, and was available in my library immediately. One huge advantage of kindle - I always used to end up in a bookstore and desperately try to remember what the name of the book I’d heard about was… now I just get it instantly!
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I second this suggestion - I also loved her newer one - How to Age Disgracefully. I recently recommended it to somebody and she came back saying it had her LOLing.
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All of Abby Waxman’s books, but read in print order because the characters overlap. Susan Elizabeth Phillips - some are stand-alone, others build on characters in a small town. Christina Lauren, actually two friends writing together.
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Lula Dean’s Little Library Of Banned Books is a fun read.
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Cassandra in Reverse — I think it’s set in London, definitely in the UK. A storyline is a neurodiverse woman time travels to make order and sense out of her world. Very engaging.
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I read Memory Called Empire a few months ago and am on the reserve list for the sequel. I had never heard of it but my niece’s DH recommended it and wow it is a great read. So different from anything else but never wanders off from the rules of that world. Blew me away.
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I forgot my mom recommended that to me.
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I was a Deccie in the 80’s and 90’s 
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Next on my list alongside All the Sinners Bleed!
Also found under the title People of Platform 5 and a bit cheaper on Kindle. 
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So (not on the NYT lists but made me check) there was a Kate Atkinson I hadn’t yet read - Transcription. I just finished it today and loved it.
On other books recommended above, my library only had the Cuckoo’s Egg on audio, so that’s playing in my car at the moment, and I just started (yes I know I just finished Transcription lol) The Other Half.
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I’m reading How to Age Disgracefully now and it’s such a feel-good and witty story so far. I can already tell that I’m going to miss the characters when I’m done!
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Oh that is going on the list! I love Clare Pooley and somehow missed that she had a recent book out!
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Finally got around to reading “Hello Beautiful”. The book was good, but I am not sure I enjoyed her writing style. Too much telling, rather than showing. I have her other book on hold - Dear Edward. Will see if that’s similar.
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Just finished The Bee Sting. That is some whopper of a book, both length, writing, plotting and ending.
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