Colonel Roosevelt

by Edmund Morris

Although I have the print version of this, I mostly listened to the audiobook. I can’t decide if that’s doing myself a disservice. I definitely got less out of the book, and the print volume has extensive photographs and notes that I barely looked at. On the other hand, I doubt I would have had time to read the book at all and may …

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October 23, 2025

Antigone

by Sophocles

Jonah read this for a class and recommended it. (He read a different translation, this one by Fitts & Fitzgerald. I read the one by Gibbons & Segal (from the library).

Wikipedia:

Antigone appears in the three 5th century BC tragic plays written by Sophocles, known collectively as the three Theban plays. (So this is kind of like reading the third …

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October 22, 2025

Moonbound

by Robin Sloan

A new book by the author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. I decided to read it after watching a short video that Sloan made called “I made a fantasy script in the tradition of Tolkien (and so can you) “.

He doesn’t take himself too seriously. After somewhat high language setting up the backstory (“The Anth mustered a …

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October 18, 2025

Culpability

by Bruce Holsinger

Mom loaned me this. A brief plot recap, absolutely packed with spoilers. Seriously, if you are reading this and have not read the book, you should STOP HERE. These notes are just for me.

Noah and Loralei are married with three kids, Charlie, Alice, and Izzy. They are in a bad car accident, and over the course of the book, various aspects of who …

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September 25, 2025

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

by George V. Higgins

I read this in two days. It was recommended as one of the great crime novels, and it reminds me of Elmore Leonard. Full of great dialog.

"How'd you find out?" the driver said.

"Well, one thing and another," the stocky man said. "You know how it is, you're talking to somebody and he says something and hte next fellow …

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September 21, 2025

Bea Wolf

by Zach Wienersmith and Boulet

A graphic novel adaptation of Beowolf for kids.

“Hwaet” = “Hey, wait!” I loved this.

Hrothgar is Roger, Heorot is Treeheart (the treehouse). All the heros in the story are little kids.

Hey, wait!

Listen to the lives of the long-ago kids, the world-fighters,

the parent-unminding kids, the improper, the …

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September 19, 2025

7 Steps to Midnight

by Richard Matheson

An interesting setup and a pretty dull book. The setup: Chris Barton, a mathematician working on an important government project, falls asleep at his desk. He wakes up around 3am, walks to the parking lot, and finds that his car is missing. He borrws a car from a security guard and heads home.

On the way, he sees an old man hitchhiking …

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September 16, 2025

Genesis and the Mystery Confucius Couldn't Solve

by Ethel R. Nelson and Richard E. Broadberry

Every year, the Chinese used to offer a “border sacrifice” to a god called ShangTi. This was held annually from 2205 BC (possibly earlier) to 1911 AD.

ShangTi = “the emperor above.” (20) In Cantonese (the oldest Chinese dialect), it’s pronounced …

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September 7, 2025

Beowulf

by J.R.R. Tolkien

The only other Beowulf translation I’ve read was Seamus Heaney’s (in 2013). It was great – epic and understandable. This one was harder to follow, at least in parts.

Hrothgar, son of Scyld Scefing (“Sheefing,” I think) becomes king of the Spear-Danes when his father dies. He builds a hall, Heorot.

The descendants of Cain …

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September 6, 2025

Gates of Fire

by Stephen Pressfield

I tried to read this a few years ago, got maybe 20 pages in, and thought it was boring. Recently, though, I’ve been more interested in the events of this time period, largely due to studying the book of Daniel. Here’s a little timeline:

  • 539 BC - The Persians under Cyrus conquer the city of Babylon (Daniel 5)
  • 492 BC - Persia …
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August 30, 2025