Tomlinson’s Wake – Randy Wayne WhiteAnother book from Steve Donoghue’s Best of ’25 lists. And another one that didn’t quite work for me. Apparently the main characters in this book have appeared in previous books by White, so perhaps not having a history with them affected my enjoyment. The opening pages felt a little Carl Hiaasen-ish, and while there were…

I read three-plus books on spring break. I also had three blurbs written up before break that I should have posted two weeks ago. Combine those and you get an extra large helping of my reading notes. Bright Lights Big City – Jay McInerney I never read this, as it came out just a couple years before I would have…

I forgot one book in last week’s entry, then another I’m saving because I have a similar book in my queue and I want to write about them together. I hope no one minds that these books are not in the exact order I read them in. The Anthony Bourdain Reader – Edited by Kimberly Witherspoon One down side to…

Such Great Heights – Chris DeVille My second book about modern rock of the year. This one, by one of Stereogum’s best writers, covers the indie rock of the past 25 years. From its rise out of the ashes of ’90s alternative rock to its embrace of hip hop, R&B, and traditional pop music in more recent years. And all…

With all this terrible weather,[1] I’ve been doing some of that reading shit. Hotel Ukraine – Martin Cruz Smith Smith died last summer. Over his long career he wrote over 30 books, most famously his Arkady Renko series, which began with Gorky Park. I never read any of his books, although my mom owned a paperback copy of Gorky Park.…

The Devils – Joe AbercrombieAnother book that appeared on multiple Best Of lists I scrolled through at the end of 2025. With good reason: it was one of the best books I’ve read in the past year or so. At its core this is your classic quest novel. A teenager is identified as the presumptive heir to a throne that…

I started 2026 with two books that were recommended from a couple sources I trust. With mixed results. American Sky – James Grady This novel landed on the best non-fiction list of Steve Donoghue, a poster of tremendous and voluminous year end lists. Thus I was really excited to get to it, described as a muscular, coming-of-age story. It left…

My final four books of 2025, which ended up being my most prolific reading year on record. Appropriately, and I’m not making this up, I read 67 books last year. Honest to God! SIX SEVEN!!!! Cross, Sanctuary, The Devil – Ken Bruen Three more entries in Bruen’s brilliant Jack Taylor series, read over roughly a week. Somehow they are getting…

Somehow I haven’t read a spy book since July. It was time to revert to the mean, so this entry features one proper spy story, one that brushes up against the genre, and a proper mystery. Sheepdog – Elliot Ackerman When I added this to my reading list, I noted that it was described as being for people who liked…

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins One of the great parenting gifts I’ve received recently is L re-discovering her love of reading over the past year. She started reading more in the spring while she was rehabbing. When summer rolled around she kept up with it. After she got a Kindle she really took off. She is…