Harry
I didn’t read, or really pay any attention to, the Harry Potter books or watch movies when they were first coming out. Sure, I was aware of the phenomenon. I knew what Hogwarts was. I knew that adults seemed to enjoy the stories as much as young adults. But they came along at a point in my life where I…
October Books
I’m woefully behind on sharing my most recent reads. As that has been my habit, I’m thinking about changing how I do my book summaries. I may go back to doing an individual post for each book. I’m getting ready to dive into the Harry Potter series, so doing the individual book posts may have to wait until 2017. For…
September Books
A pretty solid month of reading in September keeps me right on 52-book pace for the year. Palace of Treason – Jason Matthews. I read Matthews’ excellent Red Sparrow three or four years ago. Turns out Matthews enjoyed those characters and settings so much, he’s decided to turn it into a trilogy. Volume two just hit the shelves in June.…
August Books
Before the Fall – Noah Hawley. As soon as I saw this on a list of recommended books to read this summer, I knew I had to read it. Hawley, who has worked in TV for years, is the main creative force behind the FX show Fargo. I’ve still only watched season two of the show, but you may recall…
July Books
A quick run through the books I read last month. Arcadia – Lauren Groff. I really wanted to like this book. It received great acclaim in 2012 when it was published, so it’s been on my To Read list for ages. Unfortunately, Groff’s writing style just didn’t connect with me. The book mostly takes place on a hippie commune in…
June Books
June Books Time for our mid-month review of last month’s books. Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me – Steven Hyden. I’ve been waiting for this one for quite awhile. Hyden has been my favorite music writer for some time now, going back to when he wrote for the AV Club and Pitchfork. His Grantland profile of The War on Drugs…
May Books
It’s becoming habit that I wait well into the new month before I share the list of books I read the previous month. Which, as I always say, makes it hard to write about the books I read six weeks earlier. I’ve been doing this over 10 years, and I still always put off writing my summaries until well after…
April Books
Yikes, I forgot to share my April books. Which is kind of understandable, as it was just a two-book month. A beast followed by a palate cleanser. My Struggle, Book 2: A Man In Love – Karl Ove Knausgaard. My feelings about this mirror my feelings about Book 1: I keep wondering why I’m enjoying it so much. Why am…
March Books
I’m getting a little behind on my reading. I did knock out four books last night – that includes a photography book not listed below – but we’re halfway into April and I’m only halfway through my current book, with about 300 pages to go. Spring break, kid sports, watching baseball most evenings, and a huge book have ground things…
On Witches and Wizards
For several years I’ve been trying to get M to read the Harry Potter series. She loves reading to begin with, and is especially fond of lengthy series, so it seemed like a perfect match. However, each time I recommended the books to her, she said she wasn’t interested. I would point out other kids her age, or even younger,…