Like, Follow, Subscribe

Like, Follow, Subscribe by Fortesa Latifi (2026), 288 pages

I was a new mom when Mom Bloggers became a thing in the early 2000s. As someone who didn't have close family by, it was a lifeline to connecting with people who were dealing with similar issues as myself. Unfortunately, it has been disheartening to see the long form blog and discussion about the parents' struggles become an almost exhibitionist dive into every aspect of a child's life. A child who does not have consent over what is shared and who might be viewing it. It is one thing to share about yourself, it is another to co-opt your child's story (especially for views). The author attempts to give a full perspective view of the phenomenon of family and child influencers - from it being a family bonding experience to a way for a single parent to stay home with their child while paying the bills. But, Latifi also delves into the dark side of the internet and the repercussions for the child and the family as the child ages. The book is worth a read, and reconfirmed my thoughts that this is never a good plan. 

POPS

 Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong y Terry Teachout, 496 pgs. ©2010

Birth of an American legend. I picked this book in part because I, like many others, wrongly believed Armstrong's birth to fall on the 4th of July--even Louis himself believed this was his birthday. But he was actually born on August 4th. Teachout does a great job dispelling some of the other myths that arose during Armstrong's meteoric rise to fame during the birth of the Jazz age (he also was not the first person to invent scatting). For many players and aficionados alike, he's largely credited with solidifying the genre in the public imagination and making it synonymous with baseball and apple pie and Teachout shows how close the country came to missing out entirely on Armstrong's work. Born in poverty in New Orleans, he was picked-up and thrown in jail as a youngster for firing a gun in the street. From there, he was sent to a orphanage where a teacher made him play cornet. He cut his teeth learning the ins and outs of blues and rags, playing in brothels and gentlemen clubs and became so in demand that he went north on the riverboats to play with small combos, eventually making his way to Chicago to play with his trumpeter hero, King Oliver. Teachout documents the recording sessions and other musicians that he spent time with, detailing his strained relationship with his white manager Joe Glaser, who may have been funneling some of his money to the mob. Armstrong survives the Great Depression to see younger players helm the birth of the Swing and Bebop eras, in which he had little respect. In fact, many younger black players accused Armstrong of being an Uncle Tom and playing only to white audiences. But the real truth is that Armstrong was a musician at heart--he didn't care who heard him, as long as he could play music. His style was revolutionary and his technical feats laid the groundworks for jazz legends to come. 

Joe the Pirate

 Joe the Pirate: The Life and Times of Marion Barbara Carstairs by Hubert and Virginie Ausustin (2026) 224 pages

"Joe was an adrenaline junkie who drove an ambulance in the First World War, piloted speedboats into history as 'the fastest woman on water,' flew an airplane through a hurricane, and battled crocodiles. Her love life was no less whirlwind." Virginie completed this posthumously for Hubert. I like the design of the book with art deco cover and chapter breaks. Joe is such a fascinating and complex individual. The life of a socialite with both their parents (and multiple stepfathers) regularly having affairs clearly affected Joe in constantly chasing each new paramour. This is for mature readers since it openly portrays Joe's many sexual conquests. "I came out of the womb queer." And yet, their mother and the press and even friend/lover Marlene Dietrich tried to force them into feminine roles. I love the art in this biography. The black and white can be realistic and dramatic. A couple pages are illustrated in color, perhaps pointing to the legend status of the story of Joe flying through a storm. I appreciated Kate Bugos' preface too. She writes about how discrimination and privilege were both part of Joe's life, and how their paternalistic leadership on Whale Cay came from their British upbringing.

Severance

Severance by Ling Ma (2018), 291 pages

The novel (written before COVID), follows Candance Chen, a millennial, dealing with the fallout of a mass pandemic. While some parts of the novel are eerily prescient and disturbing, it is overall quite boring. Chen is deeply uninteresting and despite going through some hard tragedies, doesn't particularly engage with her life. It is a bit maddening. She finally takes some initiative at the end, but even that is lowkey dull. This book could have been really interesting, but it is not.

The Russian Cage

 

The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris, 304 pages.

In this third installment of the Gunnie Rose series, Lizbeth is not on a job. Instead, she has to make her way to the Holy Russian Empire (made up mostly of what was once the West coast of the United States) after receiving a letter that says Eli is in jail. In San Diego, she reconnects with her sister Felicia, meets Eli Savarov's family, and gets way more involved in the politics of the royal family than she would like. 

This was probably the weakest book in the series to far. This is another fish-out-of-water story, much like A Longer Fall, and the actions that characters decide they need to take to kick off the climax make no sense, nor do their consequences (I will avoid being more specific for spoiler reasons). That being said, it was still very entertaining. The GraphicAudio version of the audiobook in particular is fun to have on in the background, and it's easy to get sucked into the story. I will probably continue listening to these. 

Good Luck, Babe!

 

Good Luck, Babe! by Erin Baldwin, 332 pages.

Noelle and Yumi have been best friends since they were kids, until an impulsive kiss the night they submit their application to the Adventureverse (an Amazing Race-type reality show) resulted in a year of no contact. But Noelle will do anything to get the money for her father's medical treatment, including fake-dating her former best friend for an all-couples season of reality TV. Now the girls are suddenly remembering what it's like to be each other's person, but it's hard to figure out feelings on national television, and even harder when everyone else has to believe you already have them figured out. How is a girl supposed to know what's real?

I think this book was made in a lab for me specifically. Much like Noelle, I grew up watching The Amazing Race with my family, and it's uncanny how exactly Baldwin nailed the tone, to the point where I definitely heard the clues in Phil Keoghan's voice, and could visualize the shots of the challenges. I thought the depiction of Noelle's ADHD and anxiety were very well done, and I loved the characters, both individually and as a unit. I would have liked to see a little bit more explicit clearing of the misunderstanding in the backstory, because the hardest thing I found to buy about the premise was that they misunderstood each other that badly for a year, after seeing how instinctively they seem to understand each other at literally every other point. Overall though, I think this novel did a great job balancing a fun, silly premise with a solid emotional heart, so it can be forgiven for making me hum Chappell Roan under my breath for days. I also NEED a director's cut for this book, because every cut for time scene that Baldwin describes in the author's note sounds delightful.

This book will be released 6/23/26 

The Bright Sword

The Bright Sword (2024) by Lev Grossman, 688 pages

After reading the reviews from Kara and Regan, I decided to give this book a go. I love Arthurian tales and this one did not disappoint. I particularly loved how it deals with what does a Knight of the Round Table do when their leader dies and spiritual quests dry up? Collum, a would-be knight, finds himself at the center of this conundrum and the reluctant problem solver. This is a meandering tale that frequently flashes back to the great Knights’ adventures. Grossman tackles everything from the Knights’ pettiness between each other, the lasting influence Roman occupation to the reluctant spread of Christianity. If you are looking for a quick read - this is not it. But, if you want to slow down and just enjoy a tale, this is your book. 

Emma

 

Emma by Jane Austen (1816) 484 pages

Until recently, the only book of Austen's which I had read was Pride and Prejudice, along with many take-offs using the Bennett family as a starting point. I have been thirsting for something substantial to read, something that would be a sure winner, and Emma was that sure winner.

Possibly everyone reading has long been aware of the plot of this novel: Emma is a twenty-one-year-old woman from a family of means, determined to care for her elderly father rather than to marry. She does relish the idea of trying to match up other available young people and she takes credit for the successful marriage of her former governess and a local widower. When Emma meets Harriet Smith, a young woman of unknown parentage, Emma is determined to keep her from marrying a farmer who has caught her eye, but instead wants to match her up with a man who is higher up in society. Things don't always work out the way she expects.

The reader meets all sorts of people in the small town of Highbury, some 16 miles outside of London, many of whom are just regular folks, and some who are more in the "gentleman's" class of people, such as her neighbor, Mr. Knightley, who is the brother of Emma's sister's husband. Sometimes Emma has a streak of classism and other times we see a more humanitarian side of her. Her inclinations evolve as time goes on and as she tries to assuage her father's negativity. This work is a fine, classic story.

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: a savage journey to the heart of the American dream by Hunter S. Thompson (1971) 204 pages 

Nothing beats an audiobook when doing mindless chores, so why not take a blast to the (mindless) past. Thompson was the outlaw journalist of the 1960s and this little book is a trip (in the vernacular of the time). If you ignore the absurd overdone shenanigans, Thompson is critiquing the social mores and the post-countercultural movement – albeit in Las Vegas circa 1971. Thompson, known for his over-the-top hyperbole does not disappoint – driving across the desert at 100 mph in a red convertible, gulping drugs, trashing hotel rooms, and nipping at norms on every page. Thompson, whose alter-ego goes by Raoul Duke in this mini-saga, is accompanied by his Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo, as they report on a desert road race and incidentally end up attending a law enforcement convention – a not-so-subtle irony. When published in Rolling Stone magazine this was radical; now it would be dismissed as another attention-seeking story. Thompson had a fascination with former President Nixon (he is mentioned a couple of times in the book) and in retrospect, Thompson foresaw the future of our political leadership. He would surely have a front row seat at the White House UFC cage fight. Alas, we no longer have curated satirists; perhaps we are all Thompson now. 

Brooms

 Brooms by Jasmine Walls with art by Teo Duvall (2023) 240 pages

"It's 1930s Mississippi. Magic is permitted only in certain circumstances, and by certain people. Unsanctioned broom racing is banned. But for those who need the money, or the thrills...it's there to be found." Practicing magic and racing on brooms is an allegory for the intersectionality of being queer and black or indigenous or asian. There is tons of diverse representation in this graphic novel. The first race that we, the reader, witness, which explains the mechanics of the game, establishes antagonists, but skips some steps before our central characters win the race. I wish it spent more time visually explaining the game. The characters have just a few defining traits, mostly centered around their identity, so I wish there was more depth to them too. However, it was still a fun read. I loved the post Bios scrapbook pages.

Capitalism: a global history

Capitalism: a global history by Sven Beckert (2025) 1325 pages

Full disclosure – I have not finished this yet.  Hardly anything makes me happier than a book with 200 pages of notes – unfortunately the font size for the note section is considerably smaller than the text, forcing me to use a magnifying glass as I flip to the notes. Humor aside, this book is a monumental achievement. Following in the footsteps of the incredibly detailed overview of the ubiquitous economic system published by Thomas Piketty -- Capital in the Twenty-First Century in 2014 which received tremendous attention for a book on economics, this tome takes a similar approach, using historical datasets and archives. Beckert, an acclaimed Harvard academic, is a gifted researcher and accomplished writer.  If you think of capitalism as water, you can trace the history from a droplet to a rivulet and on to the ocean -- many rivers to cross. And the waterways are worldwide, including the Tigris, Yangtze, Rhine rivers, the Caribbean and Red seas, a whole world of water – i.e. capitalism. Traditionally the origin of capitalism is attributed to Adam Smith circa 1700s, but the Beckert defines the economic model more broadly, extrapolating the role of traders – his first example in the port of Aden in Yemen circa 1100-1200 – as prototype capitalists. The traders acquired capital and worked to grow that capital by expanding trade networks, increasing their fleets, and delegating to subordinates. Beckert’s Capitalism is everywhere -- regardless of the ideology of the client state.  The epilogue is inconclusive; there is no way to predict the future of capitalism, but he does emphasize the lack of sustainability of the current pernicious manifestation of this economic system.

The Librarians

The Librarians (2025) by Sherry Thomas, 354 pgs. 

You often find a very interesting cast of characters working at your local library. This small branch in the suburbs of Austin, Texas is no different. Hazel, the newest clerk, just moved back to escape her mysterious past. Astrid, one of the librarians, keeps up a facade at work--hiding heartbreak and other secrets. Jonathan, a hulking ex-veteran and football player, is dealing with his own troubles of the heart. Even Sophie, the branch manager, has a secret which could completely destroy her life. When two patrons are found dead under suspicious circumstances after attending a library event, the librarians must come together to investigate. The staff members must let go of their secrets and their pasts in order to solve this case before any more patrons get hurt. 

A mystery about messy library workers? Sign me up! This is a pretty fun read, although some of the secrets are definitely more interesting and/or believable than others. I would say overall I liked the characters, but the plot was a little convoluted. Still, as far as library mysteries go, this is not a bad place to start.

Everybody's Perfect

 

Everybody's Perfect by Jo Walton, 272 pages.

The Serenissima is a world of mists and uncertainty, a mythical shadow of Venice and the crossroads of the nine worlds, and on a level of reality that is just a little less fixed than any of the worlds. Here anything can be true is people believe strongly enough that it is, and anything unobserved or believed in may disappear entirely.

It's hard to say exactly what this book is about. Structurally it passes from hand to hand through the peoples of the Serenissima, each story flowing smoothly into the next. It starts when Tiry dreams that the doge will marry the sea (which is strange because the Serenissima has never had a doge) and ends the next day when it comes to pass, but from one point to another it goes through many different lives, most of whom couldn't care less about the city having a doge.

This is a strange, dreamlike book that throws the reader into the deep end. For the first few chapters I had no real idea what was going on. However, as the world started to breathe (and I had enough context to understand anything), I found myself compelled. For a book that is less than 300 pages long, this is absolutely overflowing with ideas and contemplations on disease, perfection, faith, and love. I think this is a book that would have a lot to offer on a reread, and I could definitely see myself doing that in the future. 

This book is scheduled to be published 6/30/2026

How to Fake It in Society

 

 How to Fake It in Society by K.J. Charles, 320 pages.

 Titus Pilcrow didn't expect to marry the extremely old lady when he went to deliver her order of paints; but an unfortunate inheritance clause, a terrible nephew, and an unprosecutable murder nevertheless leave him a very wealthy widower. This attracts all sorts of hangers on, including the Comte de Valois de La Motte (Nico to his friends) who was planning to marry the old lady himself, and now hopes Titus is a rube who can help him out of an extremely sticky situation. However, when he finds Titus desperately in need of guidance to navigate society he hatches another plan, and has to hope that his growing feelings won't ruin the con, or maybe that the con won't ruin the feelings. 

This was a fun book! There was a little less con-artistry and hijinks than I was expecting, but I did still enjoy it. I really liked both Titus and Nico as characters, and found the writing pretty solid. I will say it is quickly fading from my memory about a week from when I finished it, so maybe not the most impactful, but a nice casual book.

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands

 Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole, 304 pages 

 

Originally published in 1857, this is the true story of a mixed-race Jamaican woman who travels around the Caribbean, Central and North America, and eventually to the Crimean Peninsula. Fans of Mark Twain, especially his classic travel stories in Following the Equator, A Tramp Abroad, and The Innocents Abroad will appreciate Mrs. Seacole’s writing style.        The best part of this book is that you really feel like you’ve gotten to know the author, which doesn’t always happen with older works.  At times she is terribly funny, and at others incredibly moving when she recounts caring for cholera patients.        As with any work from that time, readers should be prepared to encounter language about race that reflects contemporary attitudes.

Nine Goblins

 

 Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher, 160 pages.

Goblin troops aren't exactly elite, to put things mildly. They're smelly, rude, cowardly, and lack any intelligence to speak of. But when a troop of nine of them end up deep behind enemy lines after an unfortunate encounter with an enemy wizard, it's up to sergeant Nessilka to get her troops home safely. But despite its calm appearance, the forest they find themselves in is somehow even more dangerous than the battlefield they left, and Nessilka will need help if she wants to get anyone out of this alive.

This was a disappointingly unoriginal take on goblins from Kingfisher, who I expected something really interesting from. I was unsurprised to learn when I read the author's note that this was a reprint of her first book, which was originally self-published. It is still a fun, if fairly basic plot, but the amount of disbelief I had to suspend that the goblins hadn't driven themselves to extinction yet was a little hard to scrounge up. I would recommend reading any other Kingfisher.  

A Longer Fall

 

A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris, 291 pages.

After the dramatic events of An Easy Death Lizbeth Rose has signed up with a new gun crew for what she hopes is a pretty straightforward job guarding a crate into the neighboring nation of Dixie. Unfortunately, no such luck. A disaster leaves Lizbeth stuck in Dixie, whose conservative norms make it the last place she wants to be, trying to track down her cargo again. When Eli shows up she can't decide if it is a good sign or bad, she is happy to see him again despite herself, but it's also obvious he is hiding things from her. 

This was a fun book, quick and easy to read. I'm enjoying seeing a little more of this post-fractured United States setting. I do think that the plot was weaker in this book than the first one, and the pacing of the climax was a little strange, but I still enjoyed it. I actually listened to the GraphicAudio version of this audiobook on Hoopla, which made it even easier to consume, and I found myself sucked in. I expect to be listening to more of this series soon. 

The Summer Share

The Summer Share by Jenn McKinlay, 368 pages

When travel influencer Hannah stops at her late grandfather's vacation home on the Outer Banks, she assumes her inheritance will be a bit of a fixer upper, but home nonetheless. However, when she arrives, she learns that her grandpa only owned half the house, and the other half has been willed to Simon O'Malley, the grandson of her grandfather's co-owner. The pair of them must live there for two months, and then decide jointly to keep or sell the house, which seems to be a big problem as Hannah's determined to keep the house while Simon is dead set on selling it.

This was an OK romance novel, with a pretty standard setup for an uncomfortable shared space forcing the romance to the surface, and a ridiculously fantastic dog. My main quibbles are that the two main characters' voices don't change much chapter to chapter, which makes it hard to tell whose chapter I was reading at a given time (this is not helped by the characters' tendency to refer to each other by surnames). Also, there's a brief conversation about the viral "man vs. bear" question, which felt really out of place and came to some disturbingly bad conclusions (They agree that only women who have been traumatized by men would choose the bear? Seriously?? I'll happily rant about this to you IRL, if you want.) It was a small bit, but it distracted me SO MUCH from the rest of the book, that it's the main thing I'll remember. Well, that and the dog.

The Hospital at the End of the World

The Hospital at the End of the World by Justin C. Key, 400 pages

Pok is at the head of his class, with a bright future in medical school ahead of him. Or so he thinks, until he learns that none of the 12 biggest medical schools — all affiliated with the global AI-based corporation Shepherd Organization — have accepted him, and the only one that has is the AI-averse Hippocrates. A deft coder, Pok pokes around in the Shepherd application files to discover that his files have been tampered with and tries to fix the issues. His anti-AI dad and fellow doctor is convinced that Hippocrates is the right move for Pok, but after Pok's dad dies under mysterious circumstances, Pok realizes that he must flee to Hippocrates. And somehow he must avoid all technological tracking until he gets there if he wants to survive.

With so many technological advancements happening in medicine today, including the integration of some AI elements, this near-future tale functions as a giant flashing, honking warning of the problems that may be on our horizon. It's an interesting, though also terrifying, idea to ponder in this book, especially as Pok begins his classes at Hippocrates and learns how far behind he is by relying on technology to do the heavy lifting of medical care. I'd recommend this for fans of Cory Doctorow and others who amplify the technological issues of today in fiction.

The Sea Child

The Sea Child by Linda Wilgus, 304 pages

When Isabel was a young girl, she washed ashore in a small Cornish town, apparently orphaned by a shipwreck. A naval officer and his wife soon adopted her and raised her to become the wife of another wealthy up-and-coming officer. But after the Napoleonic wars soon made her a widow, and her discovery of her husband's poor financial choices left her penniless, Isabel moved back to that Cornish town to make a home for herself and possibly learn a bit more about where she came from. What she didn't expect was to get involved in piracy and be the source of local superstition that she's the child of a sea god.

What a captivating historical adventure! Filled with smuggling, espionage, and piracy, this novel encapsulates the word "swashbuckling" to a T. I enjoyed seeing Isabel's transformation from coddled to scrappy, and the antics at sea kept the plot moving. A good summer read for someone who always wanted to be Keira Knightley's character in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

The Monsters We Defy

 The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope (2022) 349 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Libby narrated by Shayna Small. This is historical fiction with fantasy mixed in. The setting is 1925 in Washington D.C.'s "Black Broadway" neighborhood, a place and time where Langston Hughes and W. E. B. Du Bois make cameos. Even the main character Clara Johnson is based on a real person. She can see through the veil that separates our world from the spirit world. Her grandmother's ghost stays nearby to give her advice. Clara knows the rules surrounding different types of spirits making deals with humans. Like jinn, Enigmas can grant wishes or special abilities, but there is always a trick, a cost that most would see as a curse. Poor African Americans around D.C. are going missing. With information from contacts in the spirit world Clara learns she needs to recover a magic ring from an opera diva with bootleg liquor gang ties in Black Broadway. Clara will need a team to pull off this heist and stop the nefarious plot. Her ragtag crew are all very interesting characters. Most have skills from deals they've made with Enigmas. Her roommate Zelda grew up in the circus and picked up many random skills that are not magical, but very helpful. Clara also falls in love with the jazz musician, Israel Lee, on her team. It was an enjoyable adventure.

Think Twice (Myron Bolitar #12)

Think Twice by Harlan Coben (2024), 368 pages 

Again, I have fallen into a book that I did not realize was a whole series. My father often gives me boxes of books when he is finished with them and this was included. I think if I had read the previous novels, this one would have been more impactful. It was a fine read. Coben is always a master of a twisty tale and this is no exception. Was it believable - no. Was the ending a bit of a stretch - yes. So, if you are a fan of the Bolitar series, give it a go. I think you will find it entertaining. If you are jumping into it like me, you might want to reconsider and start with book one. 

The Left and the Lucky

The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin, 256 pages

Housepainter Eddie has a solid business as a subcontractor for bigger construction and remodeling projects. Mostly, though, he's trying to keep his primary employee, Houston, on the straight and narrow, away from his many addictions. Then his 8-year-old neighbor Russell starts hanging around Eddie's place, attempting to escape from his abusive older brother and neglectful mother. Soon, Russell is spending more time helping Eddie clean paint brushes and take care of the dog than he ever spends in his own home.

This book doesn't necessarily have a strong plot, but it does have strong characters and a profound sense of the way friendship, even between an unlikely pair, can help people in the most downtrodden of situations. The story is told with care for all of the characters (even Russell's horrible brother), and a sense of realism that makes the reader feel like we can just look out the window and see Eddie and Russell hanging out with the dog. It's hopeful, but only in the most realistic and slightest sense of the word. A quiet story with a strong impact.

May Totals

 

Annie: 4 books, 1059 pages

Byron: 10 books, 2486 pages

Jan: 3 books, 1030 pages

Kara: 8 books, 2494 pages

Kevin: 5 books, 1360 pages

Regan: 9 books, 3003 pages

Tracey: 8 books, 2804 pages 

Totals:  47 books and 14,236 pages

Lucky Day

Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle (2025) 228 pages

Vera just received her advanced degree in statistics and probability, and has gathered with her mother and her friends to celebrate at a restaurant when a low-probability event occurs. This may sound innocuous, but what occurred in Chicago, where they were, was a horrible series of disasters, which ended up killing and horribly injuring scads of people. Vera's mother and a good friend died. World-wide, almost 8 million people died on this one day.

Vera flees to her mother's home in Wisconsin and does very little besides lie on the couch for four years. One day a man knocks at her door, whom she ignores, but he walks in anyway, trying to get her, with her statistical knowledge, to help solve the problem with these low-probablity events, which are apparently ongoing, although not at the scale as that one day. The man, Special Agent Layne, indicates that a casino in Nevada, might be involved somehow. Vera is well aware of the casino's reputation and knew their stats.

What follows is their trip to Nevada to the casino and their quest to put an end to what is making these low-probability events continue. The story reminds me a bit of Grady Henderson's works, quick and action packed, with a bit of mental chess going on.

Boys in the Trees

 

Boys in the Trees by Carly Simon (2015) 376 pages

A deep dive into the life of Carly Simon reveals a non-idyllic life for a girl who felt that something was wrong with her because her father didn't like her, a girl who constantly compared herself to her beautiful older sisters. She indicates that she was sexually abused by a neighbor during the summers when her family would stay at their second home in Connecticut. She began to stutter, and felt ridiculed at school, but her mother suggested that she try to sing rather than say what she wanted to convey.

The Simon family also spent a few weeks per year on Martha's Vinyard, which is where Simon first met James Taylor when they were still young

The Simon family dynamics became quite strange when their mother moved a young man into their home, a college football player half her age who was intended to be a role model for Simon's younger brother Peter, but who apparently became their mother's lover. Simon wonders why her father didn't send the guy packing, comparing this issue to her own, when she and James Taylor were married and their relationship was stalled (or worse).

This memoir is filled with names; so many famous people get to know each other when recording with each other or opening shows for each other. It's a compelling read, and shows that in spite of Simon's early advantages regarding her family's resources, that doesn't mean that she was always in a place where she could enjoy storybook outcomes.

Our Cut of Salt

Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm, 288 pages.

When Nuhad was a girl, she was forced out of her ancestral home by massacre. She named her daughter Haifa, to never forget the home she would never see again. But her home remembers her too, and it's grief and rage has twisted it into something dangerous, the kind of house that people cross the street to avoid and the unwary disappear from. After her grandmother's death, Marina visits Palestine to try to connect with the family history that has been kept from, but Haifa has enough secrets and tragedies to drown in. 

This was a powerful book that wasn't at all what I expected it to be. Although marketed as a haunted house book, the murderous house is realistically one of the less disturbing things in this book. This book is not remotely subtle. Colonialism is frequently the true horror, but that is usually more subtext than laid out directly on the page. That being said, I don't know that this book needs to be subtle. Helm lays out the horrors of living under occupation unflinchingly, and while the unrelenting tragedy is sometimes hard to read, it is also emotionally effective. I would have liked to see the house used a little more effectively, and it wouldn't have hurt her to let at least a few metaphors go unexplained, but this is still definitely a very strong debut from an under-represented population. 

This book will be published September 22, 2026 

The Sirens' Call

 

The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource by Chris Hayes, 336 pages.

Hayes makes the argument that we live not in the Information Age, as many people claim, but rather in the Attention Age; as information is theoretically infinite, but attention is an increasingly scarce (and therefore valuable) resource. In the last couple of decades there has been a breakneck shift in the amount of attention extracted from pretty much everyone, a trend that is having a profound effect on human psyches, in a trajectory that is not remotely sustainable. 

Chris Hayes crafts a well-constructed argument, and he lays it out in a way that is easy to follow an entertaining. He pulls in quite a lot of sources, and does a good job examining problems from all angles. I listened to the audiobook, which was read by the author and was very well done. This felt a little surface level, but it is a bold claim well-supported, and it gave me a lot to think about.  

Nash Falls

Nash Falls (Walter Nash #1) by David Baldacci (2025), 438 pages

I am hit and miss with Baldacci books. I sporadically read them, so I don't consider myself to be a die-hard fan, but I do enjoy them on occasion. I am going to point out some big plot issues (to me), but weirdly, I still liked the book and will definitely read the next one in this two-part series. 

First issue is the age of Nash and that of his father. He continually notes that his father served in Vietnam, but Nash is only 40-41. Was his dad a super old dad? It felt like the timeline wasn't quite jiving with their ages. Maybe if Baldacci used the first Gulf War as the reference, it wouldn't have felt off. 

Second issue is Nash's wife. It feels like Baldacci isn't 100% sure what to do with her. She needs to be in the story, but feels secondary. Also - I don't know of any mother who is cool with her child disappearing and just accepting it. 

Third issue is that Nash spends a YEAR bulking up and preparing for his revenge. What dad waits a year before he looks for his kidnapped daughter?! This is crazy and such a distraction that it is hard to continue.  

I did continue, though, and am reluctantly invested into seeing how this all plays out. 

The Rolling Stones

 The Rolling Stones: The Biography, by Bob Spitz, 704 pgs. © 2026

It's an old question--Beatles or Stones? Not that anyone probably cares anymore, both groups have certainly aged out of creating anything new with any cultural significance. But Spitz's book makes a compelling case for the Stones as the greatest rock band in the world. At first, the band gave themselves that title but soon it started to stick and followed them wherever they went. This is a mighty tome filled with basically everything that happened to the group from their auspicious start to playing a sold-out in St. Louis in 2021 (I was there!), just after they lost drummer Charlie Watts to cancer. If nothing else, the Stones might just be the greatest band in the world because--unlike their contemporaries and sometimes nemeses, the Beatles--the Stones stuck together through it all--drugs, infidelity, bad shows, lost band members, more drugs, new band members, bad reviews, even more drugs, etc. It's insane the number of times Keith and Mick stood in front of a judge and faced the prospect of doing serious hard time for drug possession--and somehow got lucky each time and managed to sidestep prison in order to keep rockin'. While I appreciated Spitz's researched approach, he's clearly a superfan and there's little deep reflection here about many of the Stones' must challenging days. Sometimes it almost reads like a laundry list, with lots of events happening in quick succession--there's only one chapter devoted to the mysterious death of Brian Jones, for example. And only one covering the disaster at Altamont. And there's no mention of Chuck Berry decking Keith Richards during the filming of concert documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll. Still, this is a fantastic read for anyone interested in the overall life and times of one of the most iconic rock bands in human history. Recommended for adults. 

Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die For

 

Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die For by Leonie Swann (2026) 340 pages

Agnes Sharp, a retired policewoman, owns a house which she shares with other octogenarians. When one of them, Agnes's good friend Bernadette, decides to marry a former hitman, Agnes is upset that the household's composition will change when they move out. Later, when a note comes to Bernadette that indicates bad things will occur if the marriage happens, Agnes and the other household members keep it from Bernadette. They continue to plan the wedding. They spend an inordinate amount of time trying to add to the guest list to get to twenty, as required by the venue, including going online to find dates and paying some people to attend as well.

Meanwhile, when bad things DO start to happen, Agnes and her friends tamper with the evidence because they don't want Bernadette to worry. It feels like a Keystone Kops kind of scenario. One resident likes to pretend she's dead. She also has a snake and a turtle. (By the way, the reader is privvy to the animals' thoughts.) Another resident has a video channel. Agnes finds herself engaged to marry another resident, but is not sharing that information. These eighty-year-olds sometimes seem like children. The blurb on the book's cover indicates that readers of the Thursday Murder Club series (by Richard Osman) will find something to like: Not really. If I enjoyed slapstick, maybe. And the ending? Not at all what I foresaw. But maybe you'll like it?

Canto Volumes 1-5

Canto: If I Only Had a Heart by David M. Booher with art by Drew Zucker (2020) 152 pages 

This series is clearly inspired by The Wizard of Oz, which is why I picked it up. The artist is also bringing the style of Jim Henson's Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal to the visuals, which I honestly find a bit ugly. But hey, it's dark fantasy with a bit of steampunk. The writer has also borrowed some ingredients from Dante's levels in The Divine Comedy. There is a Tin Man, a lion-like creature, and an elfish Dorothy with a small pet dragon. There is an alternative Wizard conjuring fantastic, frightening, but false, sights. There is a quest on a yellow brick road to an emerald tower. There is the story of a traditional hero's journey that ironically leads to the villainous overlord in the tower. There is tons of action centered around our tiny hero Canto. The action and close-up detail frames are not as crisp and clear as I would like. Overall, I'm liking the writing, but not entirely loving the art.

Canto: The Hollow Men by Booher with art by Zucker (2021) 168 pages

I liked the introduction of a half mechanical witch that reminded me slightly of Mombi from Oz. I liked a little more character development for three of Canto's tin knight friends. Scarecrows appear and bat things stand in for winged monkeys, but they feel extraneous. The fight with the furies is exciting. Again the dark fantasy story and themes are enjoyable, while the art is of mixed quality.

Canto: Tales of the Unnamed World by Booher with art by various artists (2024) 128 pages

I liked this volume more overall. The giants are not my favorite characters from the first two volumes, but the first three issues of this book spin a fun quest in the giants' city of Brob. I like that the new artist brings more light to his panels. The second half of this book involves a storytelling challenge. I like the other artists who get to contribute their different styles. The Bard character who is blocking the bridge is a wonderful mix of the Patchwork Girl from Oz, the Cheshire Cat from Wonderland, and Anansi from West African folklore.

Canto: Lionhearted by Booher with art by Zucker (2024) 152 pages

This leads up to many double page battle scenes. I still think the art isn't as clear as it could be with so many tangled bodies and limbs making the action confusing. This book leans more into Dante's Divine Comedy and that is not as exciting for me. We do get a little backstory on a couple supporting characters.

Canto: A Place Like Home by Booher with art by Zucker (2025) 160 pages 

Nice wrap up of Canto's themes, loss and hope. Here's an inspirational quote from one page, "For our days that have passed! For our friends who are gone! For the hearts we possess! Our life is our own." The Shrouded Man is a threat right out of Dante's Inferno. Aulaura the elf's home life brings good emotional beats to the story, but was introduced a bit too late. Several battle scenes still have the same art issues that I explained in previous volumes.

The Bright Sword

 

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman, 688 pages.

Collum arrives at Camelot desperate to prove himself and earn a place on the round table. Unfortunately, when he arrives he finds only the D-listers of the round table, the last surviving knights after King Arthur and most of the truly great knight died two weeks before at the Battle of Camlann. But, worthy or not, they are pretty much the last traces of the old government, and so must desperately scramble for any sort of quest or sign to find a new king of Britain, and determine the future of the land. 

This book is great for fans of Arthurian legend. It is told in alternating snippets of plot and legends, which all come together to make it really feel like Arthuriana. It also makes for a nearly 700 page book with almost zero momentum, which isn't everyone's thing. I found myself really enjoying this book every time I picked it up, but I also didn't find myself reaching for it with any urgency. The prose is very good, and the characters are interesting, so if plot isn't a major concern I can definitely recommend this novel. Also a must read for die-hard fans of Arthurian legend. 

King Cheer

 

King Cheer by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm, and Jamie Green, 160 pages.

This comic retelling of King Lear takes place at the same high school as the first book in the series, 12th Grade Night. Leah steps down from the cheer captaincy that was her life after a college disappointment, and the competition to take over as captain shatters the team and opens deep rifts among friends. 

I wasn't sure that a tragedy would work as well in a high school setting as a comedy, but I was really impressed by how thoughtfully this was written. It is true that it's more funny than sad, and the ending definitely isn't a tragedy, but I do feel like it meaningful engaged with the themes of the original. This is a really cool graphic novel, and I'm looking forward to more being published in the series. 

The Keeper

The Keeper (Cal Hooper #3) by Tana French (2026), 496 pages 

The Keeper concludes French's Cal Hooper series. I will miss Cal, a retired Chicago police detective, and his struggles to feel at home in the entrenched Irish village of Ardnakelty. I really enjoyed the first installment of the series, The Searcher, and mainly continued on as I like Cal's character. I just did not enjoy #2 and #3 as much. French is VERY wordy. While she does a fantastic job of evoking the essence of Ardnakelty and its people, the story gets bogged down with the minutia. Unlike #2 (The Hunter), though, you actually get to the mystery in the first third of the book! yay! I appreciate French bringing topical issues to her novels and The Keeper brings home issues of change vs. tradition that many communities are facing. What I did not care for was the ending. I do not want to give spoilers, but I don't believe the character would do what the character did. 

After the Fall

After the Fall by Edward Ashton, 277 pages

More than a century after the fall of human civilization and the appearance of aliens on Earth, humans have lost autonomy and are owned by the grays who invaded. Born and bred to serve grays, John belongs to Martok, a gray who floats from one low-paying job to another, often without a place to live and barely enough to feed both of them. But Martok is a constant optimist, and when he leverages John's bond to start a business serving grays in need of rest and relaxation (even though grays are definitely not into that), John is understandably concerned. Especially when he learns that Martok has just 60 days until the first payment before John's bond is transferred to a gray that's likely to murder him just for fun. He'll have to figure out something to make this new business work, ideally something that won't end in death.

This is an interesting take on post-contact dystopia, in that the story is human-centric, even if the world isn't. I appreciated the way that the author makes us consider how exactly we define humanity, intelligence, and autonomy, but without sacrificing the plot and with a solid helping of dry humor. The relationship between John and his fellow bondsperson Six is both relatable and fresh, and nothing is ever quite as it seems in this book. A quick and thought-provoking read.

The Obake Code

The Obake Code by Makana Yamamoto, 352 pages

Three years after her "last heist," hacker Malia is getting bored with fixing cyber fights and living off the spoils. Convenient, then, that gangsters catch her redhanded and force her to help take down a crooked politician by stealing and decrypting some incriminating documents. However, after getting her crew together, Malia gains the attention of Maddox, a man who performed illegal experiments on her as a child. Yes, those experiments made her the best hacker around, but they also caused a world of mental, physical, and emotional trauma. So Maddox's arrival as right-hand man to the politician astronomically complicates the heist.

This was billed as a standalone novel in the world of Hammajang Luck (Yamamoto's first novel), and while you can read it without reading that first book, I don't really think you should. There are lots of references to the first book, and since I hadn't read it, I was left feeling like I was missing something. The vibes of the criminal crew skew toward The Fast & the Furious (especially with the prevalence of cruising and car thefts going on in the story), and honestly, the drama with Maddox overwhelmed the plot to the point where I forgot what they were meant to be stealing by the time they got there. So cool vibes and a decent found family, but maybe not the best heist novel out there.