Sure, we may be a global tech company who spends our days on the front lines of helping our customers solve their toughest data storage challenges, but that doesn’t mean we don’t ever power down the devices and curl up with a good book. Welcome to the third annual Bookblaze, Backblaze’s much-anticipated book guide where our team shares the stories, insights, and adventures that shaped their reading year.
From thought-provoking nonfiction to immersive fiction and unexpected gems, these recommendations are curated by the people who read, think, and create here at Backblaze—offering you a cozy companion for winter nights, inspiration for your 2026 reading list, and maybe even the perfect gift idea along the way. Whether you’re reconnecting with old favorites or discovering your next great read, we hope this year’s picks spark joy, curiosity, and conversation.
Chris McGranahan, Director, Information Security Architecture
The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything, by Peter Brannen
It’s an exhaustive but entertaining explanation of how our world came to be the way it is, why CO2 is so important to it and how the path we’re currently on is likely to create a world that hasn’t existed in millions of years and never supported humans. And, if you want a fun fiction read, check out any of the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells.
Maddie Presland, Product Marketing Manager
Clytemnestra, by Costanza Casati
I love deeply flawed female protagonists. I also love the fact that myth retellings have been so popular for the last few years, and this year, I decided to tackle my hyper-specific TBR I was neglecting. (Editor’s note: For those of you not afflicted with chronic book collecting, TBR = to be read.)
Clytemnestra tells the story of one of the most reviled women in Greek mythology. She’s cunning, ruthless, and quite possibly the original champion of playing the long game to seek revenge, as a key player in the Trojan War you’ve probably never heard of. And yet, you can’t help but root for her. It’s shocking that this is a debut novel because, though it can be a slow burn in parts, the characterization and completely immersive writing provides a different perspective of how the Trojan War unfolded for those left at home.
Bala Krishna Gangisetty, Sr. Product Manager
Positive Intelligence, by Shirzad Chamine
I appreciate how Positive Intelligence translates mindset and emotional intelligence into practical exercises for building mental fitness. The Saboteur framework makes it easy to spot negative thinking and shift toward a more productive mindset. It’s a great balance of psychology, neuroscience, and real-world application that supports personal and professional growth.
AJ Sedlak, Director, GTM and Marketing Operations
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown
In work and in life, we often struggle with saying “no”, even to ourselves. We take on more than we can effectively manage and execute. As a result, we’re burned out—frustrated by our ever-growing to-do lists and disappointed in the quality of what we do get done. This book helped me understand why doing less actually results in accomplishing more and better things. In addition, it gave me a sense of how to make this case to others—whether it’s about prioritization of work projects or helping a loved one who’s feeling overwhelmed.
Amy Kunde, Sr. Executive Assistant
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, by Robert Dugoni
Although there were some dark moments in the book, in general it was a feel good book of a boy coming of age through adulthood, paying his dues and then paying it forward. The setting is right in the Backblaze neighborhood so it’s always interesting to picture the local intersections, and schools referenced in the novel.
Elisa Miller, Sr. Organizational Development Partner
Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler
Octavia Butler is a masterful sci fi writer who has woven a tale in the 1990s set to present time about a dystopian reality oddly similar to the one we are living/heading towards currently of lawlessness, greed, and the quest for survival. Focusing on the power of community, togetherness, and nature, this book was an epic (and scary) adventure into what happens when people gather together to fight the status quo while lifting one another up. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it really was a game changer for me to read, offering solutions beyond capitalism and towards empowerment of humanity, spirituality, and purpose.
Molly Clancy, Sr. Manager, Content & Creative
Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
It’s a buddy comedy, but also the fate of the human race is at stake. There’s lots of science to nerd out on if that’s your thing. And Andy Weir is a former software engineer, so you could kinda sorta say it’s “for work.”
Beth Grey, Sr. Risk & Regulatory Compliance Specialist
The Happy Sleeper: The Science-Backed Guide to Helping Your Baby Get a Good Night’s Sleep-Newborn to School Age, by Heather Turgeon, MFT, and Julie Wright, MFT
Sleep training my child without having to resort to too much crying seemed daunting, but this book helped inform our process with evidence based guidance. I am happy to report that I have a great little sleeper because of it. This book will help any parent gain the skills and confidence to effectively sleep train their child.
Yev Pusin, Head of Communications and Community
Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman
This book series is absolute insanity, and if you are able to get the audiobook, you will not regret it. I even got my sister’s mother-in-law to listen to it on audio and she loved it. The premise is that it’s the end of the world, and Carl is sucked into a dungeon to fight for the entertainment of the universe at large—plus there’s a talking cat! What’s not to like? It’s a genre known as LitRPG (editor’s note: Literary role-playing game) which follows Carl and his friends’ progression as they work through the dungeon and try to topple the powers that be.
Nicole Gale, Sr. Marketing Operations Manager
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins
The new “Hunger Games” book is the first prequel I’ve read in years that genuinely adds something meaningful to its original series. It pulled me right back into Panem, had me rewatching all the movies, and had me loving characters that I didn’t expect to get attached to. A fantastic return to a world I thought I already knew.
Stephanie Doyle, Writer and Content Operations Strategist
Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
This series reminds me of old-school science fiction in all the best ways. Without giving too much away, a terraforming project is sabotaged, leading to unexpected outcomes for the targeted planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the world ends, and a race begins for the remainder of humanity to find a new home. Tchaikovsky’s brilliance thrives in the details of understanding systems, people, biology, engineering, and science, and each new revelation about what’s happening—in this new world with a new sentient species, and with the humans on their ever-devolving arc ship—stems from each of those details showing up in ways that feel both expected and unexpected at the same time.
