Hello, readers! It’s been a while. In this edition of the newsletter, I’m giving you quick hits about what I’ve read in the last 5-6 weeks and which hasn’t already been featured. Let’s get right to it!

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—FICTION—

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Most of the women I know have read some Taylor Jenkins Reid books; most of the men I know have not. Well, let me say to those men: read her books! Taylor is a damn good storyteller. I started with Atmosphere simply because I can’t resist a NASA story, especially on the heels of the wildly successful and inspiring Artemis II mission. Atmosphere has tense space action, a touching romance story, and a lot of great relational psychology. Loved it.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

I’m not generally into “cozy” sci-fi or fantasy — nice stories with low stakes — but the heart of this novella by Becky Chambers gets into themes that I can’t resist: What is it that makes us human, what is it that gives life meaning and fulfillment, and how should we spend our days in light of those answers? Through conversations between a tea-slinging monk and a friendly robot, Chambers guides readers into a gentle fable that explores these ideas. A lovely, life-affirming story all around.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

I’ve long been a fan of the Green brothers, but until this month I hadn’t read any of Hank’s books. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing has a fairly silly premise: a young tech employee, memorably named April May, makes a video about the sudden appearance of a statue in New York City. Turns out, similar statues popped up all around the world and they have physical properties that should not be possible. Alien contact, online life, the perils of fame and wealth, deep friendship — the stakes are both high and low, and Hank balances humor with earnestness in a very satisfying way. Excellent book!

A Simple Plan by Scott Smith

I only recently learned that A Simple Plan, the fantastic 1998 movie, was actually adapted from a 1993 novel of the same name. I’ve come to really like rural thrillers, so I decided to give this one a listen — and I thoroughly enjoyed it. First-person narration always works well on audio, and it’s a classic story about greed and how the best laid plans can quickly crumble. There were some pretty ridiculous plot points, but I never struggled to keep going. If you want a slippery slope of a thriller, this is a good one.

Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn

Star Wars fan boys tend to loooove Timothy Zahn’s dozen or so books featuring Thrawn — a blue-skinned Imperial admiral who routinely outsmarts his opponents. While the original trilogy from the 90s gets more adoration, I started with a newer trilogy, published between 2017 and 2019. They were . . . fine. As a character, I actually found Thrawn rather one-dimensional, and the plots were a bit convoluted for me. By the end of the trilogy, I found it to be a bit of a slog to finish.

—NON-FICTION—

Ordinary Time by Annie Jones

This was a really nice little book, mostly chronicling Annie’s experience as a bookshop owner in the small southern locale of Thomasville, Georgia. It’s also about small town living, what it means to be rooted, and the joys of ordinary life. Ordinary Time wasn’t a life-changing read, but I rather enjoyed it — it would pair especially well with a nice cup of coffee on the porch.

This Vast Enterprise by Craig Fehrman

I *loved* Craig’s 2020 book, Author in Chief, so when I found out he had a new one coming about Lewis and Clark, I knew I had to get my hands on it ASAP. Given how impactful Lewis and Clark’s explorations were to the field of American history and science, there are surprisingly few books about their long expedition. Stephen Ambrose’s page-turning Undaunted Courage graced many a dad’s bookshelf in the 90s and 00s; This Vast Enterprise is just as compelling and does a much better job covering the context and scope of their journey, particularly in regards to the numerous other people who played a major part in their story. A must-read for any fan of American history.

The Way of Excellence by Brad Stulberg

Brad Stulberg has become one of my go-to authors and recommendations in the field of psychology and self-improvement. It’s a genre I tend to avoid, honestly, but his stuff cuts through the clutter and, mercifully, avoids the bloated page counts you often find when authors wax on and on about the same things. This book offers a fresh take on the idea of excellence; Stulberg’s best moments are when he encourages a strong self-examination about “shitty flow” (losing time and attention in the algorithm) and when he talks about the power of earnest enjoyment.

Thanks for reading and be good to each other. Until next time,

Jeremy

Happy Friday, readers!

This week I’m (metaphorically) visiting Los Angeles — a city I’ve never actually been to in person. I know plenty of people who love the place, but honestly I don’t even have a desire to visit. Based on what I’ve read about LA, it’s mostly a seedy, murdery place full of awful, fake people (I’m joking, of course (sort of…)). Regardless of your feelings re: the City of Angels, the books featured today are great.

Before we jump in, be sure to subscribe to a newsletter that I’ve recently taken up co-writing with my best pal Jonny: The Dad of All Trades.

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Every other week we bring you a short essay and a handful of interesting links. And that’s about it! It’s free and you’ll never be sold anything. You probably don’t have extra room in your inbox, but if you do, we (maybe) won’t let you down.

To the books!

A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper

The cast: A concierge of illegal goods and services for the ultra wealthy. A defense lawyer who works with some less-than-savory characters. A live-streamer who hunts down the most sordid scenes he can find in LA’s dark underbelly.

The crimes: a powerful Hollywood producer is exposed as a pedophile, women start turning up brutally murdered, and some very powerful people are sure their wealth will protect them.

These threads are separate at the start — first, we have to get to know the characters and understand the foundation of the plot. With fast-paced, sometimes even staccato sentences, Harper quickly gets us up to speed. In addition to the humans, the city of LA itself becomes a starring player too. In any dark noir, the setting has to feel real and gritty; Harper knocks it out of the park on that front.

Working from three perspectives is not easy, especially when they don’t obviously connect right away. But Harper astutely manages these different voices and weaves them together at just the right time. It makes for the kind of satisfying result that makes you go, “Ah, that’s how this all fits together.”

The title of this book is certainly accurate: there’s a lot of hard-to-stomach violence in these pages. But it all serves the larger purpose of the story — and for what it’s worth, I think it’s better to consume this kind of content in book form vs. in a visual format on a screen.

Harper is definitely working in the vein of violent but wildly compelling authors like S. A. Cosby and James Ellroy — both of whom showed up in the acknowledgements. There was also a lot of Thomas Harris’s influence to be found in this story. Jordan Harper had been on my to-read list for a long time and I’m glad I finally dove in with A Violent Masterpiece. I’ll certainly be reading more of him.

Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn

Note: This slightly edited review was originally published in 2022.

Jeff Guinn is one of my favorite non-fiction writers. Within the first dozen pages of any of his books, you can tell he’s a master storyteller. In Manson, he shares the story and cultural context of how Charles Manson became a household name in 1969.

Guinn covers Manson’s life in its entirety: his rocky childhood and shockingly early entry into a life of crime, his multiple lengthy stays in correctional facilities, his foolhardy dreams of becoming a famous musician, and, of course, his descent into murderous cult leader.

And, as the subtitle promises, Guinn covers the “Times” too: What was it about the America of the 1960s that allowed all the players in this story — from the murderers and victims alike — to end up where they did on August 9th and 10th, 1969?

All of Guinn’s books have been 5-star reads for me and this one was no different. It’s a must-read if you’re at all interested in true crime or the cultural history of the ‘60s.

Unlike the characters in this week’s books, please be good to each other.

-Jeremy

It’s time, once again, to chat about our favorite reads of the previous month.

JEREMY: Brian Jay Jones’ biography of George Lucas is sticking with me; beyond the Star Wars origin story, there’s a lot about Hollywood history, creativity, and the business + art of making movies. (Read my review here.) Jane and I both really enjoyed Heartwood on the fiction side. It’s fast-paced, but not at the expense of well-developed characters. Great stuff. (Read my review here.)

JANE: Given that she’s a physical therapist at a sports-focused clinic here in Duluth, I was not surprised that Jane enjoyed Casey Johnston’s A Physical Education. This memoir / manifesto pushes against diet culture, embraces strength training, and offers a balanced approach to modern health and fitness.

GRAHAM (10.5 years old): I read The Tale of Despereaux aloud to the older kids and we all really enjoyed it. Kate DiCamillo combines clever writing, a unique story, and unforgettable characters. A modern classic for a reason.

WILLA (8 years old): The middle kiddo is blasting through the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park. Her favorite this month was First Grader (at last!). The stories have held up well in the last decade or two.

BO (5 years old): As we do every handful of months, we’ve cycled back into some Pete the Cat books. His Four Groovy Buttons is among the least offensive in the series, thankfully.

Your turn! What was your favorite March read?

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I’ve been a fan of Star Wars ever since I first saw the Tantive IV fly across the movie theater screen in the ‘90s, when I was about 10 years old and the original trilogy was back in theaters before the prequels came out. As a kid, I had all the movies on DVD and regularly re-watched them over holiday and summer breaks.

As an adult, I haven’t kept up as well with the Star Wars universe, but I’ve made up for lost time in the last few months. I’ve not only caught up on most of the new TV shows, but I’ve also become fully immersed in the wide world of Star Wars books. So far this year I’ve read nearly a dozen of ‘em.

(I have to think that Disney isn’t doing a great job marketing them, because I never really even knew they existed before my pal Jonny urged me to read a few.)

Books that are set in the Star Wars universe started appearing almost simultaneously with the release of the original movies and continue to this day with a handful of new books publishing each year (along with dozens of comics). There are hundreds of Star Wars books to read, if one so desires.

What makes Star Wars books so unique and interesting is that they tell totally new stories from a wide range of authors. The vast majority of fictional worlds (understandably) rely on a single author, which naturally limits how much of those worlds readers can ultimately explore. With Star Wars, creator George Lucas gave authors a pretty free reign to take his universe and run with it. This gives the books a surprising diversity of styles, characters, and settings — some are character studies while others fall into the classic space opera realm; some are set on a single planet while others span the galaxy.

Here’s where to start if you’ve never read a Star Wars book. It can seem intimidating, but I promise it’s not; you can really just grab a book — pretty much any book! — and start reading.

Legends vs. Canon

The first thing to know is the distinction between the Legends and Canon books. When Disney purchased the Star Wars brand and intellectual property in 2014, it basically said that all previous books would be considered Legends, while all books moving forward would have the clear continuity of being considered Canon. While the Legends books do have some continuity, you will find some wild and unrecognizable plot points if you’re only familiar with the movies and shows. Canon titles, meanwhile, offer a largely recognizable universe of even casual fans, making it the more approachable place to start, in my opinion.

Here’s a list of Legends titles.

Here’s a list of Canon titles.

(There are a lot of kids books listed in both, just FYI.)

Where to Start

Bloodline by Claudia Gray

Set in the years after Return of the Jedi movie, Bloodline is all about power and governance after you’ve won the war. This one centers on familiar faces from the films, but tells a story that feels surprisingly fresh and grounded. It explores the political landscape of the New Republic in a way that feels very Star Wars, while adding depth to characters you already know. If you want something that bridges the gap between the original trilogy and the sequel era, this is a great place to start. Gray is easily one of the best writers in the Star Wars universe.

Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

Technically a YA novel, but don’t let that scare you off — Lost Stars was one of the best reading experiences I’ve had all year. It follows two original characters who both begin their careers in the Empire before their paths gradually diverge. You get a unique, ground-level view of the major events from the original trilogy, all through the lens of a deeply personal and moving story. It’s accessible, fast-moving, and surprisingly emotional. I’m already excited to read this one again in the near future.

Alphabet Squadron trilogy by Alexander Freed

This trilogy leans more literary than you might expect from Star Wars. At its core is a former Imperial TIE fighter pilot who defects to the Rebellion, and the series really digs into the moral complexity of that shift. It’s less about big set pieces and more about character — identity, guilt, loyalty, and what it actually means to switch sides. The tone is earnest and often introspective, making it feel more like a character study than a traditional space opera.

—————

There are so many options when it comes to Star Wars books. I think the ones featured here are a great place to start, but you can jump in just about anywhere and get hooked. Head to your local bookstore and library, see what’s available on the shelves, and start reading.

Thanks for reading and be good to each other,

-Jeremy

Happy Friday, readers!

Spring officially arrives today! Even though we still have about a foot of snow on the ground here in Northern Minnesota, the air has a hint of warmth, the ice is disappearing from the lakes, and most importantly, the birds are coming back.

Though I was able to spy on a few pileated woodpeckers and bald eagles this winter, along with uncountable numbers of crows and ravens, I look forward to getting our region’s huge variety of spring and summer birds back. In that vein, today’s newsletter features two excellent books that are all about feathers.

P.S. Don’t miss my recent Art of Manliness article on birding.

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The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne by Chris Sweeney

One of the coolest things I’ve learned this year: the Smithsonian Institution employs a small team dedicated entirely to feather forensics. Most of their work tackles aircraft bird strikes (small feathers get analyzed to determine species/size), but the team also handles smuggling, poaching, and even murder cases.

That team can trace its history back to one pioneering woman who made a lasting mark on the field of ornithology: Roxie Laybourne.

Roxie was a go-getter from the second she arrived in this world. Along with most women growing up in the early 20th century, she wasn’t exactly encouraged to have a mind or career of her own. But Roxie had a deep passion for birds and for aviation that she couldn’t shake.

Author Chris Sweeney tells Roxie’s story from start to finish, while also giving great background and context on the science of avian forensics — particularly in the realm aircraft bird strikes. Birds have causes thousands of deaths since the invention of airplanes and to this day still cost airlines (and their insurers) millions of dollars annually.

This may be one of those subjects you don’t think you’re at all interested in, but I’d encourage you to give it a shot. Between all the bird stuff, there are some great insights on passion, craft, and doing something well over the long haul. I loved The Feather Detective.

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson

This review was originally published in February 2023.

Fly tying, for the uninitiated, is the craft of making “flies” — or lures — for fly fishing. What’s interesting about this community is that the elite fly tyers don’t even necessarily fish. They’re in it to make the most beautiful flies with the rarest materials — which often means the feathers of endangered or even extinct birds.

This is the world that Kirk Wallace Johnson dives into for the sake of solving the 2009 mystery of hundreds of dead birds stolen from a famed natural history museum on the outskirts of London.

I loved Johnson’s storytelling from the first page. He explores the odd history of rare ornithological specimens, how the fly tying community became such an obsessive lot, and why a young man decided he needed to steal suitcases worth of birds from a poorly secured English institution.

Books about obsession are like catnip for me. What’s fun about this one is that the author gets as infatuated with his investigation as the fly tyers are about their feathers.

The Feather Thief is a quick, engrossing read about something you never thought you could possibly care about. I love it when that happens.

Thanks for reading and be good to each other,

-Jeremy

Happy Friday, readers!

Next week I’ll finally review a couple of the Star Wars novels I’ve been inhaling this year (the number is already in double digits), but for this week I’m reviewing a Star Wars-adjacent biography I really enjoyed as well as an outdoorsy mystery.

Let’s get right to it.

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George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones

In the midst of my Star Wars year, there’s no way I could leave out this biography of George Lucas. Though it was close to 500 pages, I never lost interest and was always excited to pick it up — Jones writes an engaging and easy-reading narrative that perfectly balances detail with big-picture context.

There was so much here I loved that I needed to drill it down into bullet points, or I’d go on for too long. A few of the most interesting themes:

• Lucas’s artsy origins and tendencies — and how that somehow turned into both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

• His fiery independent streak, and how he came to self-finance almost all of his projects. He bet on himself a lot.

• How Lucas nearly single-handedly revolutionized the film industry in regards to special effects, especially with digital technology starting in the 90s; I had no idea Pixar started as a division of Lucasfilm.

• The playfulness of Star Wars — while fans have always made it overly serious, Lucas always maintained a playful and even irreverent tone.

• The merchandising! Lucas was (and is) a wildly savvy businessman who turned millions into billions through toys, licensing rights, and physical media (VHS, DVDs, etc.).

Above all that, though, it was just a treat to hear about the origins, evolution, and lore behind the Star Wars universe, which understandably takes up the bulk of the book.

Even if you’re not a fan of Star Wars, you may be interested in Lucas’s creative process and business drive — that narrative arc of poor ‘70s film student to billionaire household name is fascinating regardless of your interest in his work. This may end up in my year-end favorites list.

Heartwood by Amity Gaige

I’m always a sucker for an outdoorsy mystery or thriller. The God of the Woods. The River. In the Lake of the Woods. (I just now realized those titles look kinda funny being right next to each other.) Give me a crime set among lakes, mountains, and/or forests, and I can almost guarantee I’ll be hooked.

Amity Gaige’s Heartwood gives us a lost hiker on the Appalachian Trail. We get multiple POVs — the hiker, the search and rescue lead, and even an old lady Redditor — that all work in concert and only fully come together near the end. The writing is lyrical but not florid, the story clips along at a good pace, the characters were well-developed, and nature itself took a starring role at times (which I always love).

There were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, but it wasn’t overdone, and I genuinely didn’t know what was going to happen at the end. (That’s part of the beauty of a one-off story versus an ongoing series where certain characters pretty much have to live on.)

It wasn’t my very favorite novel of the year, but Heartwood was quite enjoyable overall and I have no real complaints. I’d certainly recommend it for a wide variety of readers and it sits somewhere between 4 and 4.5 stars for me.

That’s it for me this week. Be good to each other and thanks for reading.

-Jeremy

Hi there, readers!

This week we experienced a totally new-to-us weather phenomenon: freezing fog. Chilly, moist air blew off of Lake Superior, coating the town in a thin, clear layer of ice. ‘Twas a bit of an ice rink around here while the rest of the state was basking in sunny 50s. We’ve heard spring is the worst time to be a Duluthian and it seems we’re getting an early taste of that. Thank goodness for the sauna in our basement!

Anyways, I’ve read some great stuff lately. Here’s just a small taste.

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Crux by Gabriel Tallent

“Will we make it? . . . There was no answer to that question, except in the terrifying, day-in, day-out work of the attempt. The doubt and suffering and pain—all that was the point. Without the doubt and suffering and pain, the tops were nothing.”

Dan and Tamma are two high school rock climbers of the dirtbag variety — they don’t have gear and they’re not on a team. They’re just poor kids going out in the wilds to see what they can “send.”

As real life quickly approaches, they have to decide between college, family obligations, or that dirtbag dream of living the van life in Utah’s canyon lands. It’s a coming-of-age story about making big choices while being too young to do so.

The style is unique and, I imagine, even off-putting to some readers. There’s a lot of technical climbing language — which I certainly didn’t understand but found myself immersed in anyways. There’s also just a lot of teenage dialogue, including sarcasm, raunchy jokes, and “like” galore. I’d normally be bothered by it, but since the characters are teenagers, it perfectly fit the narrative, and the rest of the prose was not in that same vein.

Overall, I loved the unique writing and the memorable, easy-to-root-for characters, who were earnest in their dreams (despite all the sarcasm). I finished Crux a few weeks ago and can’t stop thinking about it. Passages like this are going to stick with me for a long time:

“I’m going to go out into the dangerous, beautiful, empty places of the world and make of that wasteland a church and a home. And maybe, possibly, have a shot at being that hard-sending chick on the poster in the bedroom of every little girl in the world. But only that: a shot. I will consider it my very great privilege to make the attempt.”

It’s certainly not always a happy book, but I enjoyed it from start to finish.

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Comics Corner: Rough Riders by Adam Glass

We all know that Theodore Roosevelt was our most badass president. He rode a moose; he got shot in the chest during a speech and finished the speech; he swam in the Potomac in the buff. The guy was a certified legend.

In Rough Riders, Adam Glass (writer) and Patrick Olliffe (artist) imagine what would happen if a steampunk version of TR teamed up with other badasses of his era — Thomas Edison, Annie Oakley, Houdini, and boxer Jack Johnson — to fight aliens. The premise is just so frickin fun.

In this first volume, Glass rewrites our textbooks so that the Spanish-American War was actually started by non-humans and the famed Rough Riders actually had a rather different and top secret mission than what you’ve read about in history books.

Rough Riders is basically the comic version of Aliens vs. Cowboys (the 2011 movie). If that’s not an endorsement, nothing is. There are three paperback volumes of this comic run; I’ve only read the first but enjoyed it enough to definitely read the others.

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Be good to each other,

-Jeremy

Once again, it’s time to chat about our favorite reads of the previous month. My reading in February once again leaned heavily towards the Star Wars universe, which I’ll write about soon. For now, I’ll share a couple others, as well as the family’s favorites for the month.

JEREMY: I enjoyed Gabriel Tallent’s Crux way more than I thought I would. The style was memorable (not everyone will love it) and the story was fantastic; it’s all about dreams vs. reality and what brings true fulfillment. I also quite enjoyed Evan Hughes’ Pain Hustlers, which I reviewed earlier in the week.

JANE: The long library wait for Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent was well worth it for Jane. She doesn’t always enjoy the epistolary format, but Evans did it in a very unique and compelling way, including letters to famous authors about their famous books.

GRAHAM (10.5 years old): Our oldest has started venturing into YA territory rather than middle grade, which makes sense given his reading abilities. The kid did love Hunger Games and Scythe, after all. Anyways, this month is enjoyed Off Menu by Oliver Gerlach, which is described as a cozy story about a group of friends working at a restaurant.

WILLA (8 years old): Willa’s 2nd grade teacher is still reading Roald Dahl books aloud to the class and The BFG was a big hit. It’s a great book and entertaining for adults too!

BO (5 years old): The littlest discovered B.J. Novak’s bestseller through school as well. The Book With No Pictures is wildly creative and really fun for kiddos and their adult readers alike.

Your turn! What was your favorite February read?

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Hi there, readers!

This is just my third book review newsletter of the year and I’m very happy to say that I’ll be coming to you more regularly from now on. All the major edits for my book manuscript were turned in last week and while there’s still plenty of work to be done, it’s a little more spread out from this point on. (It won’t hit store bookshelves for another 18 months, so don’t worry if you don’t hear about it much just yet!)

Today I’m covering a novel, a true crime book, and a comic I rather enjoyed — I’ll write more about it at some point, but for now I’ll just say that I’ve had a blast getting into comics and graphic novels here in 2026.

As always, I’d love to know what you’re reading and enjoying lately!

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I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney

The premise of this book hooked me from the get-go: Bud Stanley, an obit writer, gets canned for accidentally publishing his own falsified obituary after a few too many drinks. During his time off, Bud ends up going to strangers’ funerals with a couple of friends in a quest to figure out the point of it all — “it” being life.

Kenney, an author I wasn’t previously familiar with, writes with an incredibly readable and believable style. There was a lot of wry humor, which is hard to pull off without being annoying, and the dialogue always felt genuine. What I perhaps most appreciated was Kenney’s beautiful depiction of male friendship; Bud and wheelchair-using Tim are the heart and soul of this novel. Their relationship is full of sarcasm and ribbing, but also deep love and earnest appreciation for each other.

There are times where the writing veers into being moralizing or overly sentimental, but I’m not a reader who minds that. I think humans are inherently forgetful creatures and sometimes we need these kinds of smack-you-in-the-face reminders of what’s really important in life. (Plus, the lessons don’t quite manifest in the way you’d expect them to.)

I loved this story from start to finish and actually wished it had been longer so that I could spend more time with these characters. I See You’ve Called in Dead is a lovely and life-affirming novel that I can heartily recommend to nearly every type of reader — which is a rare thing indeed. Nice work, Mr. Kenney!

Pain Hustlers by Evan Hughes

I first encountered this story in movie form — Pain Hustlers, starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans, was an enjoyable and well-done crime drama. I only recently discovered that it started as a book, and boy am I glad I found it. Opioids, shady investment money, sexy pharma salespeople, and oodles of prescription fraud make for an irresistible true crime tale.

A pharmaceutical startup called Insys, founded by Indian-American entrepreneur John Kapoor, created and manufactured a fentanyl spray called Subsys. It had a much narrower use than the more well-known OxyContin — theoretically, it was only to be used for intense pain caused by cancer. Executives and reps soon began hawking it for all kinds of pain relief, though, which soon enough led to a number of big problems.

There are plenty of books about the Big Pharma side of the opioid crisis, but this one is unique for its more obvious criminal element, its startup vibes, and the company’s relatively quick downfall. Turns out when you have just a handful of docs responsible for the large majority of prescriptions, it quickly became obvious that patient care was not the primary motivation for doling out Subsys.

Pain Hustlers was a great read overall and Hughes did a bang-up job putting this story into the larger context of America’s opioid tragedy.

COMICS CORNER: Absolute Martian Manhunter, written by Deniz Camp and drawn by Javier Rodriguez

I didn’t know diddly squat about DC Comics’ “Absolute” line or the Martian Manhunter character before diving into this comic book on my buddy Jonny’s highest recommendation.

I was so blown away by the wildly creative art, the unique story, and the moving writing that I read it twice in the span of a week.

The gist is that FBI detective John Jones receives a form of superhuman empathy after being injured in an explosion at a coffee shop — deemed to be a random act of violence. Jones is dazed and haunted by the stories around him as he tries to solve a strange series of violent crimes and keep his own family together at the same time.

The central questions that run through the story are incredible powerful: Why do we do the things we do? How can we come to understand people’s actions and is it even worth doing so? What keeps us from opening up to those we love? Why do I do the things I do?

Martian Manhunter is a little out there at times (in a neon ‘80s-inpsired way), but I really enjoyed its creativity and moving story. It felt like something AI could never possibly come up with — part of why I’m enjoying comics lately, actually. If you’re a fan of comics, it’s a must-read; if you’re not into that format, it’s probably not your best entry point, but ya never know. What’s great about comics is that they don’t take much time investment compared to books.

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Be good to each other,

-Jeremy

I didn’t expect 2026 to be the year that I got into graphic novels and comics. But here we are. My buddy Jonny has gotten me to read a few over the years, including Mister Miracle, The Sheriff of Babylon, and V for Vendetta. I enjoyed them all but never really had a yearning for more. I don’t quite know what happened, but after recently reading a couple of Star Wars comics from the library, I went to the local bookstore and, for the first time ever, purchased a couple comics for my own library (Adam Glass’s Rough Riders and Frank Miller’s famed Batman: The Dark Knight Returns).

Sure, comics are damn entertaining and offer a nice escape from an unending and heavy news cycle — but they’re not just lightweight reading material. If the world needs anything right now, it’s a bunch of heroes with a real sense of right and wrong.

I’d love to explore this genre even more, which means I need your best recommendations for comics and graphic novels of any kind. Let’s hear it.

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Once again, it’s time to chat about our favorite reads of the previous month. My reading in January leaned heavily towards the Star Wars universe, which you’ll hear about soon enough. For now, I’ll share a couple others, as well as the family’s favorites for the month.

JEREMY: I already wrote about ’s It’s Better to Be Feared, which you can check out here. I’m no Pats fan, but Seth did an incredible job telling the story of their two-decade dynasty. It’s a must-read for sports fans, as far as I’m concerned.

JANE: On the fiction side, Jane and I shared a favorite read in January: John Kenney’s I See You’ve Called in Dead. My full review is coming this week, but we both appreciated this book’s funny, life-affirming, and tenderhearted story.

GRAHAM (10.5 years old): Katherine Applegate’s Wishtree earned a ton of accolades when it came out in 2017. The oldest kiddo wholeheartedly agreed with all those positive reviews and really enjoyed the book — enough so to turn the wish tree into a school project for a creative tissue holder.

WILLA (almost 8 years old): Graham went through a major “Who Was?” book series phase, reading dozens of these kid-sized biographies and histories. Now it’s Willa’s turn. Her favorite in January was Who Was Helen Keller? Expect to see more from this series in the months to come.

BO (5 years old): January and February mark sled dog race season here in the Northland. The Beargrease is a well-known race in northern Minnesota and our youngest kiddo had fun learning all about it at school with Fearless John by Kelly Emerling Rauzi.

Your turn! What was your favorite January read?

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But as a kid and through my mid-20s, I was an obsessive Minnesota Vikings fan with a splash of Broncos thrown in when we moved to Denver. (It proved much easier to be a Broncos fan; Peyton Manning won a championship for ‘em early in our time there.) Like every proper Vikes fan, I remember crying in 1998 when Gary Anderson missed wide left, costing our purple and gold their rightful spot in the Super Bowl. What followed — and what Vikings fans have known from Day One — was decades of playoff heartbreak. We always had a competent team, but never quite good enough to actually win it all.

The book I’m recommending today is about a team that’s pretty much the opposite of that: the New England Patriots. I hated the Patriots during their two-decade run of six Super Bowls (I still do — nobody deserves that much winning), but I loved Seth Wickersham’s It’s Better to Be Feared.

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It’s Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness by Seth Wickersham

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more and more impressed with athletes who can maintain greatness into their late 30s and even early 40s. Lebron James, Serena Williams, and of course, Tom Brady. I can’t stand the guy, but being at the top of your game for so long is just damn remarkable to witness.

As Wickersham notes in his 2021 debut, though, that kind of sustained greatness requires an obscene level of obsession and sacrifice — not to mention a hefty portion of natural talent. Wickersham spends 450 wildly compelling pages profiling Brady and the other two leaders of the Patriots organization in those years: head coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft.

Each of those three men brought a unique mix of personality and energy to the team, ultimately coalescing into an unmatched group that every team in the league feared, despised, and begrudgingly respected.

Most great sports books peak at the point of its main character winning a title at the apex of their career — but when that team/person wins six championships, how do you structure the narrative in a way that remains exciting?

This is where Wickersham excelled and where the book rose above its peers in the genre. He created a story arc that moved from the electric and surprising first three titles, to a nearly decade-long drought, to the final three titles that were much harder to come by (and ultimately led to the end of that tripartite relationship). In between the titles were personal ups and downs, cheating scandals, league changes, and up-and-coming players like Patrick Mahomes who wanted to rip the torch from the Pats’ hands.

It’s Better to Be Feared is longer than most sports books, but I was never bored and never felt the narrative slowing down. No matter your fandom, these pages offer plenty to love and hate about the Pats dynasty; and for those who aren’t sports fans, there’s as much relational drama as any reality show. Tucked into all that are a bevy of lessons about leadership and greatness, particularly when that greatness comes early and sustains for years on end. I highly recommend this book.

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Be good to each other, and as always, I’d love to hear what you’re reading and enjoying.

-Jeremy

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The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen

Friendship, mental illness, Wall Street riches, murder . . . The Best Minds immediately has all the ingredients for a page-turning true crime thriller.

But author Jonathan Rosen does much more than just crank out an airport bestseller. With a compelling mixture of introspective vulnerability (the murderer was his childhood friend), sociological/psychological insight, and compassionate storytelling, The Best Minds becomes something closer to a literary heavyweight.

Rosen tells the story of Michael Laudor, a gifted but deeply troubled man who ultimately killed his girlfriend after years of struggling with schizophrenia. The author traces the slow, often imperceptible ways that mental illness creeps into one’s life — those small moments that only look inevitable in hindsight. Laudor isn’t presented as a monster or a medical case study, but as a person shaped and misshaped by the institutions, expectations, and relationships around him.

I’ve long had an interest in reading about the science and experiences of severe mental illness. My grandmother, who passed away last spring, had schizophrenia; I have no memories of her living independently or being a “normal” grandma. Being a grandchild, though, gave me enough remove from the daily reality of her diagnosis that I can read about schizophrenia with interest and sympathy rather than the raw emotional and physical burden of it. It’s certainly true that the texture of our lives gives shape to our reading tastes.

The Best Minds sometimes felt a little long and sometimes veered a bit too literary for my tastes, but overall I enjoyed the experience and found it to be a revealing and thought-provoking narrative of illness, society, and the meaning of friendship amidst tragic circumstances.

Related Reads

• Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

  • Read my review here

• Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

  • Read my review here

• Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly

  • Read my review here

• Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan

Be good to each other, and as always, I’d love to hear what you’re reading and enjoying.

-Jeremy

Once again, it’s time to chat about our favorite reads of the previous month. The combination of bookish gifts and extra time off work and school always makes December a great reading month. Here’s what our family most enjoyed in the final weeks of 2025:

JEREMY: I loved ’s Metallic Realms. A sci-fi novel that’s not really actually sci-fi and is more about friends, books, and fandom. On the non-fiction side, I was riveted by Jake Tapper’s Original Sin. It’s a truly Shakespearean story of failed leadership with the highest of stakes. Full reviews of both books are coming in January!

JANE: Braiding Sweetgrass was a 2025 favorite for both Jane and me, so it’s not too surprising that Robin Wall Kimmerer’s The Serviceberry is also a hit in our household. (I’m almost done and have quite enjoyed it.) It’s a quick and powerful read largely focused on the ideas of gifts, reciprocity, and moving away from a culture of individualistic consumerism.

GRAHAM (10 years old): Dusti Bowling’s Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus was an easy choice for Graham this month. This sweet story about a girl born without arms is well-deserving of all its accolades. Plus, it’s the first in a trilogy, which leaves Graham with plenty more reading material.

WILLA (almost 8 years old): Gareth Hinds’ illustrated adaptation of Romeo and Juliet was a surprising hit when I read it aloud to the older two kids. Hinds maintained much of the original language and none of the art was too graphic — and of course the kids’ minds were blown when the main characters actually died at the end. (They’re used to Disney endings, ha!) Another winner from Hinds.

BO (almost 5 years old): Bo is back to volcanoes, meaning Gail Gibbons’ Volcanoes was his favorite this month. I read it to his preschool class in mid-December and the whole group loved it. They picked out their favorite volcanoes and had a grand old time.

Your turn! What was your favorite December read?

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My picks this year are organized into four categories:

• Contemporary Fiction

• Classic Fiction

• General Non-Fiction

• Biography & History

Without further ado!

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Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

From my original review in October:

“Much like the [Vietnam] War itself, there’s not a lot of forward progress in the novel. There are times where it reads like Catch-22 in its bureaucratic nightmare and times where it reads like Band of Brothers in its depiction of martial brotherhood. In being able to combine those themes, Matterhorn stands a cut above. It’s over 650 pages long, but it’s a masterpiece.”

The best war novel I’ve read. Period.

Beartooth by Callan Wink

Brothers Thad and Hazen live in a remote area near Yellowstone and things are not looking good for them — bills are piling up, the car’s breaking down, and they’re getting desperate. An offer from a nefarious stranger becomes too good to pass up, and soon enough the brothers are plotting crimes on federal lands. So many of this novel’s elements are catnip for me: it’s gritty, tender, wise, earnest, and page-turning. All of that is layered on top of a beautifully atmospheric and outdoorsy setting that I can’t resist. If you like Peter Heller, you’ll enjoy Callan Wink.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

This is one of those novels that I have a hard time articulating my love for. It’s Patchett at her best — lyrical and moving writing without a ton of plot. Read the blurb if ya want, but ultimately it’s a beautiful meditation on what it means to remember the past, finding what you really want in life, parents connecting with children (and vice versa), and the things we keep to ourselves. I’ve read the paper version as well as listened to Meryl Streep’s excellent narration. I think it’s my favorite of hers.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

From my original review in July:

“Unlike Tom Sawyer, which is largely a lighthearted boy’s adventure tale, Huck Finn tackles rather adult themes in a style that deftly mixes satire with earnestness. Finn is a son to an abusive father who makes an escape with a runaway slave named Jim. You may or may not know that broad outline of the story; what you should know is that Twain gives us one of the great coming-of-age tales in our nation’s history. Huck comes to grips with Jim’s forced servitude as well as his humanity; he comes to understand that freedom of thought and human compassion are more important than anything else, even at the expense of status.”

If it’s been a while (or forever) since you’ve read Huck Finn, it’s high time to crack it open.

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

This summer I re-read Salinger’s hotly debated classic and ended up totally changing my mind about it. Most readers today talk about how annoying Holden Caufield is — and in my 20s, I definitely agreed. But I’m in my late 30s and this time around I really felt for the kid. He’s full of grief and loneliness and doesn’t want to grow up to be a boring, phony adult. I get it!

This book is definitely worth reading and fully deserves it’s place as an American classic. I’ll be doing my best to revive its reputation here in the 2020s.

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Moby-Dick is surely among the most recognized book titles in the world; it is also one of the most abandoned by readers who start it. There’s no denying that it’s not easy to get through. The language is dense and even biblical, and the numerous digressions can be head-scratching to say the least. It took me two readings to really appreciate it — I first read it in 2019 — and I sure don’t fault anyone for not getting very far.

That said, Moby-Dick offers some of the most profound explorations of humanity and the human psyche that I’ve ever encountered. I’m quite glad I gave it another shot.

The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko

From my original review in June:

“Our final book club gathering before leaving Denver was spent discussing Kevin Fedarko’s fantastic The Emerald Mile.

While seemingly about rebel boatman Kenton Grua’s famed speed ride through the Grand Canyon, the most interesting parts of the book detail the 1983 flood and the broader water management issues of the Southwest. There is a lot of engineer-speak in the narrative and Fedarko manages to make it utterly riveting.”

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

From my original review in March:

“I deeply appreciated Kimmerer’s spiritual and emotional reflections on the natural world. Most environmental/climate books I’ve read are very science-heavy, pulling all emotion out of it. They describe what’s happening in the world and the practical reasons we should care about the environment. But my own relationship to nature is incredibly personal and emotional. Being in the mountains, being near water, being in the trees — these are things that restore my soul. My love for nature is far more spiritual than practical, and I really enjoyed seeing that reflected in Braiding Sweetgrass.”

The Extinction of Experience by Christine Rosen

From my original review in July:

“Perhaps the most nefarious effect of smartphones on our society is that they remove us from the present moment — our devices not only interrupt real-life experiences, but even keep us from having them in the first place.

Though author Christine Rosen weaves plenty of reasoning and science into her arguments, more potent for me were actually the emotional and tactile appeals to relying less on our devices and simply being more here.”

Realm of Ice and Sky by Buddy Levy

From my original review in February:

“I’ve read a lot of polar stories, but Realm of Ice and Sky was unique. [Roald] Amundsen, in particular, is an eminently compelling character and any story featuring his Nordic stoicism is worth reading.

A book like this could easily have felt somewhat disconnected, but Levy did a fantastic job weaving the stories together and making it a cohesive narrative. I was always eager to pick it back up and flew through the pages in a matter of days. Levy remains a foremost chronicler of arctic expedition stories and I can’t wait to see whatever it is he decides to write next.”

The Gales of November by John Bacon

From my original review in October:

“In his new and fantastic book, John Bacon peels back the mystery and gives readers the story of not only the ship itself, but also the 29 men who lost their lives 50 years ago. While he doesn’t put forth a definitive answer — something we’ll never have — Bacon does present a couple compelling hypotheses. I also really appreciate that he spent some time talking about the lasting impact of the Fitzgerald’s sinking, particularly for the Great Lakes, even giving us a deep dive on Gordon Lightfoot’s melancholy hit song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

As someone who’s newly local to Lake Superior’s shores, this book shined a light on the character and history of this area. But it also went much further than that, telling a moving story of hard work, passion, and compassion in the midst of a mysterious and watery disaster.”

In the Arena by David Brown

There are a lot of books about our energetic cannonball of a president, but David Brown’s In the Arena stands out for humanizing Theodore Roosevelt. TR has become almost a caricature of a heroic, hyper-productive human who helped shepherd the country into its era of industrialization. While I certainly don’t mind a mythological framing now and then, I really appreciate Brown’s ability to make Roosevelt a relatable, awkward, and less-than-perfect individual. In the Arena is less about critiquing than simply re-framing TR as a person rather than a cartoon. If you have an interest in U.S. history, this efficient biography — just over 400 pages — should be on your list (even if you’ve read about Roosevelt before).

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Thanks so much for another great year at Read More Books. I’ll send a couple other issues before the year is out and then 2026 will bring something slightly different to the newsletter. Happy holidays, folks!

-Jeremy

It’s time again for my favorite discussion thread of the year:

What were the best books you read in 2025?

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Regardless of when they were published, I want to hear about the books that grabbed your attention, emotions, and thoughts.

-Jeremy

Back in high school, I wasn’t much interested in reading classics. When those books were assigned, more often than not I just outright skipped the reading. I was not a literature major in college; though I took a couple of English classes, my majors were journalism and religious studies. When I got to my mid-twenties, I was approximately zero percent familiar with the classics. I was a prolific reader but at that point in my life my shelves were mostly filled with thrillers and popular history books.

Then I started working at Art of Manliness, got acquainted with their excellent list of “100 Books Every Man Should Read,” and dove in. I started with The Great Gatsby, moved to The Catcher in the Rye, devoured Frankenstein . . . I was stunned by the timelessness and beauty of these books and I’ve been reading classics pretty regularly for the last dozen years or so.

All in all, I’ve given myself a pretty darn good English Lit self-education. One of my primary weak points, though, is ancient literature. Prior to this fall, I hadn’t read much in the way of those epics and Greek tragedies. But I recently had a couple of great reading experiences and quickly realized these tales truly are the foundation for all the stories that came after them.

I’m certainly not a pro, but here are a few ancient stories I can recommend and a couple of tips for getting through them.

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The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving written story we have, going back ~4,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia. What makes it tricky for translators is that it’s been unearthed in a series of tablets that aren’t exactly marked by page numbers. But, scholars have nonetheless given modern readers an incredibly compelling version of it that is less about the prose than the story itself.

And what a story! There are two main characters, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, who are both superhuman, heroic types. The two fight over women, become as close as brothers, battle some monsters, and then go off in search of immortality. Within its pages are copious amounts of blood and guts and sex. Beyond that, though, The Epic of Gilgamesh does go deeper into those evergreen human themes of friendship, grief, and the futility of trying to escape death.

It may be the oldest story we have, but it holds up and is well worth your time. I listened to Stephen Mitchell’s translation, which turned out to be the perfect format for this action-packed story. The whole time I was listening I thought, “This is the original ‘80s action flick and it’s awesome.”

The Aeneid by Virgil, translated by Scott McGill and Susannah Wright

Getting a new translation sent to me was just the kick I needed to read Virgil. He comes up a lot in old novels as well as plenty of modern histories and biographies, primarily as someone who great leaders like Lincoln and Churchill have turned to time and again. The Aeneid certainly has a lot to offer:

• Rome’s origin story and founding myth

• A tragic love story

• One of antiquity’s great Underworld scenes

• A Roman retelling of the Trojan War (including the famed Trojan Horse story)

• A creative reinterpretation of Homer’s great works

• Big themes: fate vs free will, empire, loss, sacrifice, duty

There was a lot to like, but as a genre, I don’t find these ancient epic poems to be easy reading. (Perhaps I should’ve listened to it, as with Gilgamesh.) Following the narrative and simply trying to understand the names/contexts of things was tough and I leaned on a lot of Google + ChatGPT searches.

On my first reading of it, it felt like I just had to get the foundation set — figure out the story and get through the thing. That said, I rather enjoyed The Aeneid overall; it’s just one of those books that requires a re-read or two in order to get the most out of it. I won’t be doing that right away, but I’ll certainly revisit it someday.

The Odyssey by Homer, abridged and illustrated by Gareth Hinds

I read The Iliad a number of years ago and enjoyed it, but never ventured into Homer’s other great epic, The Odyssey. It’s another story that comes up over and over in other works of literature and is worth knowing for the cultural capital alone.

Rather than reading the full-size adult version though, I read an abridged graphic version with the 10-year-old. And it was really good! Telemachus’s search for answers, Odysseus’s fight to get home, Penelope’s strategic wiles . . . it really is an incredible, timeless story.

I think this approach of reading an abridged and/or graphic version is actually a great way to get introduced to a classic story without the intimidation factor. Now that I know the outline of the narrative, I’ll be much more confident when I tackle the real thing — which will have to be next year before the Nolan adaptation comes out next year:

Thanks so much for reading,

Jeremy

Once again, it’s time to chat about our favorite reads of the previous month. Here’s what our family most enjoyed in November:

JEREMY: I was surprised and delighted by how much I enjoyed Gilgamesh, which is the world’s oldest surviving written story. It’s like an ‘80’s action flick, in the best way. Joby Warrick’s Pulitzer-winning Black Flags was easily my favorite non-fic read of the month; his work is right up there with Lawrence Wright and Steve Coll when it comes to must-reads regarding the U.S. and terrorism.

JANE: Lily King’s Heart the Lover has been all over the bookish web since being published two months ago. Jane read a few good books in November and said this is the one that’ll stay with her; it combines a great story with just the right amount of literary flair.

GRAHAM (10 years old): The eldest kid has really been into mysteries this fall. His favorite in November was Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game. Graham read it in school and didn’t realize it was nearly 50 years old. Must be pretty good!

WILLA (7 years old): The Roald Dahl streak continues. I read Matilda aloud to the big kids and we all really enjoyed the unexpected story and memorable characters — twas my first time through it as well.

BO (4 years old): After mostly sitting on the shelf for a few years, I was thrilled to see Beekle make a return back into our reading rotation. Dan Santat’s whimsical story hits all the right notes for a picture book.

Your turn! What was your favorite November read?

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“Why are we so good at accumulating information and power, but far less successful at acquiring wisdom?” —Yuval Noah Harari, Nexus

One of the things I try to do with almost every book I read is zoom out of the information on the page and dig a little deeper to figure out the bigger theme at play. I fight the impulse to merely accumulate information by reflecting on things like:

• What big question is this trying to answer?

• How does this particular story fit into the larger human story?

• What does it have to say about human nature?

• Is there wisdom to be found within these pages (rather than just info)?

Almost every book, even fluffy novels, can speak to one of these, especially if you go looking for it.

When reading becomes especially interesting (and fun) is when you start connecting seemingly disparate dots. While society has changed plenty in the last 10,000 years or so, human nature has, in many ways, remained shockingly consistent. It’s why ancient books like Homer’s epics, Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, and religious texts can so profoundly speak to us today.

Most of the stories found in books — fiction and non-fiction alike — can be distilled into a few basic themes and ideas that are repeated over and over again: relationships, conflict, love, death, and how to live in a complicated world. If you reflect on these broader ideas, you’ll inevitably start to notice how books and authors from different genres and time periods can talk to each other. Literature nerds call this “the Great Conversation.”

At its core, this idea says that all work is built upon, and in conversation with, the work that has come before it. It’s perhaps an obvious idea, but one that’s utterly fascinating when found in your actual reading life.

This week, I was especially struck by the way that three very different books were talking to each other in my head. (This is also a benefit, I suppose, of reading more than one book at a time.)

Gone With the Wind1, Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 epic about Civil War-era life in the Confederacy, is a Southern origin story. With both irony and unsettling earnestness, depending on where you’re at in the story, it depicts life in the South as a romantic, virtuous existence far more in tune with human flourishing than those damn Yankees.

Winston Churchill’s The Gathering Storm is volume one of his six-volume World War II memoirs. Amidst the rest of his resume, it’s easy to forget that Churchill won a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. The guy could write the hell out of a history or biography, deploying confident, stirring prose that simply leaves you in awe every once in a while.

Joby Warrick’s Black Flags2 is much newer than the previous two books. Published in 2015, it details the origins of ISIS — its founders, its conflict with Al-Qaeda, its relationship to the US’s ill-fated conflict in Iraq, its brutality for brutality’s sake, and much more. Unsurprisingly, there was much more to the unconscionable group’s story than what we saw in headlines and hot takes.

An epic romance, a political memoir, a terrorist origin story. The more I read and think about these three books — I’ve been reading bits of each most days — the more connected they’ve become. At their core, these books are about war and mythology: the Civil War and the mythology of the Lost Cause, World War II and the mythology of Good vs. Evil, the War on Terror and the mythology of religious utopia. And there are even more mythologies at play within each of these.

To distill even further, we could say that these are stories centered in belief and conflict: what we believe, how we’ve come to believe it, and how we respond when we encounter folks who believe different things.

These are ideas that are fundamental to the human experience. They always have been and they always will be.

When you take the time and energy to reflect on what you read, you’ll start to see that everything connects. Books and ideas talk to each other in a great conversation; that conversation can speak to us about what matters and how to live. Listen in!

-Jeremy

Once again, it’s time to chat about our favorite reads of the previous month. Here’s what our family most enjoyed in October:

JEREMY: I knew I’d enjoy The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and it lived up to my high expectations. On the non-fiction side, David O. Stewart’s George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father was a revelatory and engaging look at our first president — one of my favorite POTUS-related reads of the year.

JANE: The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali stood out for Jane this month. Set in 1950s Iran, this book is a mix of Kite Runner and My Brilliant Friend, blending social/cultural commentary with a compelling story of friendship at its heart.

GRAHAM (10 years old): Our eldest has been in a heavy re-reading phase lately, but one of the new (to him) titles he enjoyed was Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein. It kicks off a fun series that I’m sure you’ll hear more about in the coming months.

WILLA (7 years old): For our evening read-aloud book, the kids have been very into Roald Dahl (again). Appropriately, we re-read The Witches in October and everyone loved it, despite it actually being a somewhat terrifying story. We’re now knee deep into Matilda.

BO (4 years old): The little one is back into his Spidey realms. A Trip to the Museum has been in our rotation most nights for a few weeks. I don’t love it, but it could be much worse.

Your turn! What was your favorite October read?

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