_The Executioner’s Song_ by Norman Mailer, 1979

Winner of the Pulitizer Prize, this book has been on my TBR pile for quite some time. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed a couple other Norman Mailer works for his modern post WWII style. Mailer is gritty and extreme. His works are often detailed and meticulous, but the depth of insight he achieves into the

_Happy-Go-Lucky_ by David Sedaris, 2022

I surely would’ve read this sooner, had I realized that it was out! David Sedaris remains my all time favorite humorist. His writing and prose is witty with a cynical gaze that points out the crazy social world we live in. No one is safe from his analysis, not even himself or his family who

_My Heart is a Chainsaw_ by Stephen Graham Jones, 2021

I read The Only Good Indian a year or so ago and was surprised at how much of it stayed with me. Stephen Graham Jones is one of the more interesting developments in the genre of Horror in the last few years. His perspective and characters are uniquely native American which is a complex realm

_The Field of Blood_ by Joanne B. Freeman, 2018

As it often happens the spring has been a super busy time for me, so while I continue to read regularly I am a little behind on blog posts. Here’s a quick weekly recommendation with more to come in the coming weeks! Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War is

2 Quick Apocalytic Highlights!

_The End is Always Near_ by Dan Carlin, 2019 Dan Carlin is the creator and voice of the podcast Hardcore History where he does entertaining deep dives into various major historical events from WWI to atomic bombs to public executions or even the violence of the reformation. This book is a broad evaluation of history

_A Master of Djinn_ by P. Djèlí Clark, 2021

Winner of the 2022 Nebula Award, P. Djèlí Clark’s A Master of Djinn is an original take on the genre of Steampunk. Clark is the pen name for Dexter Gabriel a professor at the University of Connecticut, who needed something to differentiate his fictional work from professional publications. (Best excuse for a pen name I’ve

_The Wager_ by David Grann, 2023

For lovers of nautical lore and from the critically acclaimed author of Killers of the Flower Moon, comes a gripping historical account of the HMS Wager and her crew ship wrecked off the coast of South America in the year 1714. It is a story of death and human nature as the sailors are faced

_Nettle & Bone_ by T. Kingfisher, 2023

Winner of this years’ Hugo Award for best novel, Nettle & Bone is a dark fairy tale with some modern themes. The story follows Princess Marra, who is confined to a nunnery in order to save her virtue as her sisters are wed to an evil northern prince in a political alliance. She fears that

_Being Henry: The Fonz… and Beyond_ by Henry Wrinkler, 2023

Henry Wrinkler seems like a really nice guy. It would be just a pleasure to meet him in real life. If you are someone who wants to be an actor or just a huge Fonz fan then this book is a great read for you! As a book… It’s just okay. The content is fan

_Beautiful World, Where Are You_ by Sally Rooney, 2021

So… This delightful novel was a recommendation from The Ezra Klein Show a podcast that I frequent. Sally Rooney is an Irish writer whose work has been recommended to me a few times, because she does a wonderful job of capturing dynamics of modern day living. Her focus seems to be in capturing the essence