What to Read Next: February 28, 2025

Issue #368, featuring a Pulitzer-winning historical novel

Grandmother visits the people by Hillary Kempenich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa in North Dakota

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Happy Friday readers,

Don’t believe anything you hear in viral videos about February being the worst month. Today is not only my daughter’s 7th birthday, it’s also my 37th! (In non-leap years I celebrate on February 28.) Despite the short month, I got a lot of great reading done between a vacation and multiple kids’ sports to sit through on a weekly basis. So let’s jump in.

Here’s what is on tap this week:

• A review of Louise Erdrich’s fantastic Pulitzer winner

• Vaccine lessons from 75 years ago

• My February reading recap

• 5 Things: Links and Opinions

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The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

Louise Erdrich had been on my reading list for a long time, but I didn’t take the plunge until devouring The Night Watchman over the long President’s Day weekend. The TL;DR is that I immediately understood all the acclaim and am eager to pick up more of her work.

This novel is set in 1950s North Dakota and Minnesota, as the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa fought against an actual House bill that terminated the relationship between the federal government and Native American tribes. Thomas Wazhashk, a night watchman at a jewel bearing plant, takes the lead in getting petition signatures, studies, and drafts of what to say in front of Congress. Can he actually make a difference, though? Will it even matter in the end?

That’s not the entirety of the story though — Erdrich weaves in a number of threads that speak to the history of Native American life in the Upper Midwest, from assimilation to sex trafficking to simply getting by day-to-day.

The book features a lot of characters, some timeline jumping, and a number of stylistically unique chapters — but Erdrich’s writing and characterization were so good that all of it worked exactly how she intended. The way the story and characters came together was beautifully executed.

The Night Watchman was really everything I wanted out of a historical novel — I learned a lot (and was inspired to add some history books to my TBR), I wanted to spend time with the characters, and the writing was the perfect mix of lyrical and readable.

I highly recommend this Pulitzer-winning book and I can’t wait to read more Louise Erdrich.

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In the News: Vaccines

This section offers a book recommendation based on recent headlines, to help you make sense of the world with a bit more depth and context rather than just clickbait.

Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky

Between RFK and the first U.S. measles death in a decade, vaccines have been a hot topic this year. Polio, a 2005 Pulitzer-winning history, offers a compelling (and relatively concise) look at the disease that Americans feared most in the mid-20th century. There were two elements most interesting to me: 1) how non-profits mobilized to change the nature of fundraising and 2) how incredible vaccine science really is. Polio is accessible even for non-sciencey people like me and I came away even more amazed by how much vaccines have changed the world.

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February Round-Up

Short takes on other books I read this month. I went hard on non-fiction and Pulitzer titles this month. This list does not include books that I’ve given a full review in the newsletter.

• Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo. This short history looks at the lives of William and Ellen Craft, a couple who escaped slavery in 1848 and became ardent abolitionists. The story itself is great, but I found the pacing of the book itself to be a little off.

• Somewhere Toward Freedom by Bennett Parten. A new, fascinating reassessment of Sherman’s March to the Sea, through the lens of emancipation. It’s probably only of interest to Civil War nerds, but if you’re in that camp it’s a must-read.

• His Name Is George Floyd by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa. A powerful biography of ordinary American Black man who became the spark of a national movement. I mostly enjoyed it, but there were moments the authors veered into the subjective — not always a bad thing, but it didn’t land as well for me in this particular book.

• All About Love by bell hooks. Our February non-fiction selection for the Big Read wasn’t always what I expected (it has a real ‘90 self-help vibe), but I liked it overall. An earnest plea for more love in the world is a good thing.

• The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. This classic 1930s Pulitzer winner often felt rather dated, but the characters and relationships were so well done that I had a hard time putting it down. I can’t quite broadly recommend it, but if you’re into classic lit, this is definitely one to have on your lifetime list.

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5 Things: Links and Opinions

1. 🎵 I don’t remember how it started, but for the last handful of weeks, the kids and I have been watching a music video as part of the bedtime routine. From ‘90s classics (“MMMBop”) to new stuff that they like (“Apt” — this weird little song is growing on me!), we’ve covered a lot of ground. It’s fun and random and has been a nice reminder to just slow down, chill out, and enjoy these fleeting childhood moments.

2. 🍻 “Want a better social life? Try these easy habits.” I enjoyed this digestible and actionable piece from Vox. One of the most common threads I encounter among fellow Millennial parents is that we all desire more social time.

3. 📝 As I usually do, I liked this blog post from Cal Newport about Brandon Sanderson’s writing habits — and how his company is built around the idea of letting him do his best work. Find more ways to “let yourself cook”!

4. 🏀 For fellow basketball fans out there, The Mismatch is my must-listen go-to podcast. Chris Vernon is everything I want in a sports podcast host. The only way I’ve been getting myself to workout lately is by listening to the show while lifting.

5. 🏋️ Speaking of which, I’m back on Apple Fitness+ for my workouts. I took a break after last fall, but after trying some YouTube workouts, I came back to Jenn. She offers a great balance of intensity and doability.

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Thanks so much for reading. Be good to each other.

-Jeremy