Reader’s Notebook, 12/11/25

The Poet’s Game – Paul Vidich
Vidich’s books have been hit-and-miss with me, perhaps because they lean more towards proper literature than pulpy, exciting spy works. There’s a dryness and darkness to them that feels very Russian, and for me difficult to connect with.

Honestly I could flip a coin on this one to determine whether it was a hit or a miss. Like his other books, it lacks that crackling energy I want from the genre. However, as this book largely takes place in Russia – a former CIA agent attempts to help his former source inside the Russian government escape without damaging the ex-agent’s business interests in Moscow – and has a big, dark twist to it, that tone fit.

Vidich writes good, complex stories. I just wish they had a little more excitement to them and less brooding protagonists who sigh a lot.

Turkey Trot Murder – Leslie Meier
I was cleaning up my library holds in mid-November and saw a section of books about Thanksgiving. It seemed like the perfect time to read a light, possibly silly book centered on the season, so I grabbed this one.

It was exactly what I expected. Overly broad, stereotypical characters. Silly, but not in a funny way. A mystery that wasn’t super mysterious. Worse, it really wasn’t all that Thanksgiving-centered. I don’t mean to act like my tastes are super sophisticated, but this book was the opposite of sophisticated. Which, to be fair, was exactly what I was looking for.

The World’s Greatest Detective And Her Just Okay Assistant – Liza Tully
As the title suggests, “the world’s greatest detective,” not sure exactly how that was determined, has a new assistant who is younger, much less experienced, and constantly disappoints her boss. They take on a case of an alleged suicide of an heiress that some of her family believe to actually be a murder. While the inscrutable detective goes about her affairs in her own peculiar way, she leaves her assistant to stumble along on her own, performing the grunt work of the investigation and ripping her each time she makes a mistake.

They solve the case – It was murder! And there were two more related to it! – but the path to get there is more formulaic than satisfying.

A Christmas Story – Jean Shepherd
You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out: Life Lessons From The Movie A Christmas Story – Quentin Schultze
First, the 18th consecutive year I’ve read Shepherd’s basis for the classic movie.
Second, I read this newish, semi-companion piece by a friend of Shepherd. Schultze means well but I think he really stretched things suggesting that there are 20 deep life lessons you can take from the movie A Christmas Story. And that’s coming from someone who loves the movie and has long believed there is more to it than the simple, childish humor you think of first when you consider it.