“The Trump years amazed a certain kind of white person; they had no reference for national vulgarity, for such broad corruption and venality, until it was too late. The least reflective of them say, “This is not America.” But some of them suspect that it is America, and there is great pain in understanding that,…
2026 Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag
My reading slump from last year has never really lifted. So I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to do this tag, but I think I would feel weird because I’ve done it almost every year since I started. Anyways, here’s what is going on with me. Best Books I’ve Read: It’s been pretty slim…
Africa: A Biography of the Continent by John Reader
“Were it not for the importunities of Europe, Africa might have enlarged upon its indigenous talents and found an independent route to the present – one that was inspired by resolutions from within rather than examples from without. The moment passed, however, during the fifteenth century and cannot be retrieved. Since then the history of…
Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire
“Doors are magical things. Always. It doesn’t matter whether they connect two familiar, well-known rooms or two entirely undiscovered spaces: to travel from one distinct location into another simply by passing through a portal, whether bound in wood or carved from stone, is a magical act.” After Nancy was cast out of the Halls of…
Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang
“You have the strength of the earth in you,” she used to tell her daughters. “The rains can come and the ploughs can carve through you and still you will remain.” The fiercely independent nation of Quanbao is isolated, reclusive, and something of a mystery to the rest of the world. It is rumored that…
The Golden Road by William Dalrymple
“The Golden Road aims to highlight India’s often forgotten position as a crucial economic fulcrum, and civilization engine, at the heart of the ancient and early medieval worlds and as one of the main motors of global trade and cultural transmission in early world history, fully on par with and equal to China.” For most…
Honey Lemon Soda, Vol. 1 by Mayu Murata
“You don’t have to be bound to the old you. Even if you’re a rock… You’re a gemstone. Be greedier. Move forward with enough determination to look down on all the jerks who’ve ever messed with you. Your happiness has already begun.” Uka Ishimori has one dream in life: to have fun in high school!…
Pucking Around by Emily Rath
“Three platonic fuck buddies and a hyperactive dog. What could possibly go wrong?” When an ambitious sports medicine practitioner scores her dream job working for Jacksonville’s hottest NHL team, she knows the last thing she should do is get tangled up with a player. After all, how could she choose just one? My name is…
Platform Decay by Martha Wells
“It was fine. I had dealt with Combat SecUnits before. Not, like, successfully, or anything, but still.” After volunteering to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realizes that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn’t know. Including human children. Ugh. This may well call for… eye contact! I know…
A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek
“She had a warmth, a light, that drew me into her orbit—I was a moth and she a flame, I the tides and she the moon. Whatever we were, she was always, always the light, and I the thing skulking in the dark.” Raised by a sorcerer, Odile has spent years preparing for the heist…
The Great Book Wyrm 