I’m going to delay the weekend notes until tomorrow since we have a rather important event tonight. Fortunately I have two books that I need to share some thoughts about. Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! – David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker Truly one of the most fun books I’ve read in a long time.…

I’ve fallen behind again and I just started a book that’s going to take a week or so to get through, so some quick-ish book notes. Charlesgate Confidential – Scott Von Doviak A fun, pulpy novel that takes place over three different timelines in Boston, centered on an old building that has a complex (and haunted?) history. It begins with…

I read two-and-a-half books while on break. I admit I had to go back and read a summary of one of them. That’s what happens when you read most of it in small doses on the beach, I guess. The Seventh Floor – David McCloskey The latest entry from the former CIA analyst and host of The Rest Is Classified…

I just read a remarkable book that demands its own post. The Real Hoosiers – Jack McCallum McCallum, the longtime NBA writer for Sports Illustrated, dove into the history of the Indianapolis Crispus Attucks high school basketball teams of the mid–1950s, when Oscar Robertson starred there. Famously, Attucks lost to Milan in the first game of the State Finals in…

Beirut Station – Paul Vidich I’ve read a couple of Vidich’s books and was luke warm on both, so had largely written his work off. His spy stories seemed reserved, dry, and emotionally complex in a way that I did not connect with. But I heard him on a podcast where his personality seemed the opposite of that, and read…

  Alias Emma – Ava Glass To start, a crackling British spy caper. Emma, a young agent in a secret department within the British secret service, is tasked with guiding the adult son of a former Russian agent to safety before a Russian death squad can liquidate him. The catch is the Russians have tapped into London’s security network and…

Once again I am behind on these, so let’s get caught up with my last four reads. The Miracle of St. Anthony – Adrian Wojnarowski What a book! Future NBA scoops guru Woj spent the 2004–04 season embedded with the basketball team at St. Anthony High School of Jersey City. The program was famously coached by Bob Hurley for 45…

There’s Always This Year – Hanif Abdurraqib I started the year with this wonderful book. It is a multi-layered examination of the places we call home and how we relate to them as we age, all set against a backdrop of basketball. For the most part, Abdurraqib’s tale follows the career of LeBron James, from high school phenom to his…

I completed my final book of 2024 late Saturday/early Sunday as I was battling some insomnia. It was my 62nd book of the year, making 2024 one of my best reading years ever.[1] I read seven books in two different months, six books in three separate months, and never fewer than three books in a 30/31-day stretch. Pretty good work.…

A Spy Like Me – Kim Sherwood The second installment in Sherwood’s planned 007 trilogy, it continues to tread ground that is very unlike anything ever written for the Bond franchise. James Bond himself remains absent (mostly), as the rest of the Double-Os attempt to unravel a network that finances terror attacks before it can strike again. They’re also searching…