Category Archives: culture

Mid-Year Book List, 2026

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Hodges Figgis, Dublin, Ireland

Greetings from Ireland, friends! Delayed post due to travel!

Daughter is here for a five week archaeology/osteology course, on a dig in an old castle–how amazing is that? I took it as an excuse to ‘drop her off’ and spend a few days by myself, walking around looking for bookstores and coffee shops in Dublin. It is positively glorious.

In the past week I have finished about four audiobooks and started a new book in print. After walking over 12K steps the last two days, I think tomorrow I may feel okay about planting myself in the shops I found to just read and write the hours away. Afternoon tea and a hotel gym workout are my only plans. More gloriousness!

Since I have loved so many books this year already, I decided to post a mid-year list, so I can write a little something about some of my favorite ones, if they don’t already have a dedicated post. I feel my book consumption pattern changing a little again, leaning toward more complex stories in fiction/romance, and returning to my psychology interests again in non-fiction. AJ, Donna, and I will discuss The Deal by Elle Kennedy, then Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, and then Outlander by Diana Gabaldon in our next few gatherings.

The first 16 books on this year’s list are left over from prior years. It took me two years to finish listening to 1.The Fourth Turning, and I still want to read it, as the density made it hard to absorb everything audibly. But what a fascinating and prescient concept: the intersections of the four cyclic turnings of Western history (crisis, high, awakening, unraveling) and the four phases of a human lifespan (childhood, early adulthood, middle age, elderhood), how they influence our leadership and culture, and perpetuate the cycles!

I finally abandoned 2. Outlive after three years; got about 70% through, listening at 2x speed, before stopping. I found 71. Spring Chicken because I like Jeremy Arthur’s voice and narration style and I recommend both it and 36. The Cure for Everything! (also read by Arthur) before Outlive. Chicken was published in 2015, maybe at the beginning of our current obsession with longevity (subtitle “Stay Young Forever (Or Die Trying)”, and cites many of the same studies as Outlive, though much more concisely and with better storytelling. Cure was initially published in 2011, with updates in 2020 and 2023. Outlive came out in 2023. All three books essentially address the same question: What can we do to stay healthy for life? Timothy Caulfield, an academic and the author of Cure, queried his fellow academics in fitness, nutrition, genetics, and medicine, then followed and wrote about the effects of their evidence-based advice for healthy habits. Bill Gifford, writer and author of Chicken, likewise interviewed researchers in aging and medicine, and also applied credible recemmendations to his own life. In the end both authors conclude that living well and long is not rocket science: Don’t eat too much. Move a lot most days and lift heavy things often. Stay connected to people you care about and who care about you. Enjoy your life. Supplements, complex diagnostic tests, and the latest trends in biometric tracking move the needle very little if you’re already following these basic principles.

My two top priority non-fiction listens this summer are The Way of Excellence by Brad Stulberg (I still recommend Master of Change to patients every week) and Inside the Box by David Epstein (I also still recommend Range reguarly). What I love about these authors is their thoughtfulness, humility, and how they advocate for a mindset rather than a method. And all they’re selling is books, not overpriced products or exclusive, overindulgent services.

On the fiction side, I have already written about my very favorite novels of the year to date: The Crowns Trilogy by Nicola Tyche (29. North Queen, 26. Shadow Queen, and 27. War Queen–the last of which is essentially my comfort audio anymore) here, here, and here. I eagerly await the next two books in this saga, Blood King Parts I and II, which Zach Lazar Hoffman is currently recording. He reads live on TikTok sometimes; how fun to watch my favorite voice actors work! This series continues to make me both feel and think, every time I listen. Like 60. Never After and 74. Something Extraordinary by Alexis Hall, which I have also reviewed here this year, these stories remind me to always put our shared humanity in front when faced with disagreement or conflict. We are all here doing our best trying to get our most fundamental needs met, some more effectively than others. 30. Love Your Enemies by Arthur Brooks also centers on this point–another book I share often and posted about here.

Here at the end of Pride Month, I highly recommend 75. Daughter of Tides by Kit Rocha. Another MMF romantasy I found through Shane East, the premise makes me think and imagine: How would Love incarnate manifest? Shane plays Aleksi, god of Love in human form, who falls in love himself with the sea god and water nymph he intends to matchmake, all while they three defend against unknown assassins in a world of post-war intrigue.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, narrated by the great David Morse, started out slow but interesting enough to keep me listening the whole thirteen hours. The premise of sitting down with strangers to get to know them, as the main character does with a widely disperate set of folks in a small Georgia town, intrigued and hooked me. The intertwined relationships and transformations that ensue, and the plot twist at the end, made the long, languid listen well worth the time spent, and I imagine this story will occur to and influence me often hereafter.

Finally, I hope to write here soon about Tea & Alchemy by Sharon Lynn Fisher. Another Shane East performance with Marisa Calin (they also narrate Kerri Maniscalco’s Prince of Sin series–“Think Bridgerton in Hell”–also among my favorites, see 31. Throne of Nighmares), this slow burn, low spice, heartwarming love story between a reclusive, benevolent ‘alchemist’ and a budding tea leaf reader points to all the ways we humans reject and harm one another by default, and how we can choose openness, generosity, kindness, and compassion to overcome those destructive tendencies and make a better world. I have connected with Sharon Lynn Fisher herself, and hope to interview her about the story’s inception and evolution, and what she wishes for the characters and us readers from it.

I don’t formally review all the books I love, much less all that I consume, but I’m happy to discuss any of them with anyone. Which titles interest you from the list below? Which have you read/listened to and what was their impact on you?

Oh, and I definitely recommend the movie Heart of Champions, starring Michael Shannon and Charles Melton. Son and I found it while scrolling our streaming platform and we both immediately jumped at it. Teamwork, leadership, integrity, and resilience: it’s all here, the models and the foils. Tragically evocative, thought provoking, and an excellent conversation starter.

What books and media have got your attention lately? What do you recommend?
Happy reading and listening, my friends.

Key:
Bold = favorite
[Open bracket = stopped but not yet abandoned
[Closed bracket = abandoned]
–Hypenated = repeat listen; plus –times repeated
ALC = Advance Listener Copy

Books & Media of 2026

  1. The Fourth Turning, William Strauss/Neil Howe
  2. [Outlive, Peter Attia]
  3. [The Art of Quiet Influence, Jocelyn Davis
  4. [Born Liars, Ian Leslie
  5. [Connie: A Memoir, Connie Chung
  6. [Want: Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous, Gillian Anderson
  7. [Possible, William Ury]
  8. [Lust for Life, Irving Stone]
  9. [The Biology of Desire, Marc Lewis
  10. [True Love, Robert Fulghum
  11. [Moral Ambition, Rutger Bregman]
  12. [The Well at the World’s End, AJ Mackinnon]
  13. [Existential Kink, Carolyn Elliott, PhD
  14. Romancing the Shadow, Dr. Connie Zweig & Dr. Steve Wolf
  15. Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams
  16. [Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, translation by MD Herter Norton
  17. Hathor and the Prince, JJ McAvoy
  18. The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes, Leonard Goldberg
  19. Between the Cracks, Helena Hunting
  20. Unwanted Love, L. Steele
  21. The Virgin’s Fake Fiancé, Kim Loraine
  22. A Study in Treason: A Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Leonard Goldberg
  23. Better Than a Box of Chocolates, Emily March
  24. The Keeper’s Legacy, Meg Anne
  25. The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth: A Daughter of S Holmes Mystery, L Goldberg
  26. –Shadow Queen, Nicola Tyche-4
  27. –War Queen, Nicola Tyche-6
  28. The Order of Time, Carlo Rovelli
  29. –North Queen, Nicola Tyche-2
  30. Love Your Enemies, Arthur C Brooks
  31. Throne of Nightmares, Kerri Maniscalco
  32. Viciously Yours, Jamie Applegate Hunter
  33. Watch Me: Private Listing, CS Berry
  34. –Priest, Sierra Simone
  35. –Midnight With the Devil, Emma Castle
  36. The Cure for Everything!, Timothy Caulfield
  37. Duke of Eccess, Mariah Stone
  38. Tea & Alchemy, Sharon Lynn Fisher
  39. Crescent Kingdom, Tessa Hale
  40. Mountain Fire, Donna Grant
  41. Hidden Potential, Adam Grant
  42. [What the F, Benjamin K Bergen
  43. [The Meaning of Your Life, Arthur Brooks
  44. –Never the Roses, Jennifer K Lambert
  45. American Queen, Sierra Simone
  46. –Sinner and Saint, Sierra Simone—exerpts only
  47. The Coffee Shop, Rosaline Jay
  48. Of Prophecies and Pomegranates, TC Kraven
  49. Of Death and Desires, TC Kraven
  50. –Two Pretty Lies, Kelleigh Claire–1
  51. Cross Me, Geneva Lee
  52. Prince of Seduction, Donna Grant
  53. Holy Hearts, Amanda Richardson
  54. Hollen the Soulless, Sven the Collector, Denali Day
  55. Erik the Tempered, Denali Day
  56. Ivan the Bold, Denali Day
  57. Seaside Serenade, Melissa Foster
  58. –Sanguine, Sierra Simone-4
  59. –The Lady’s Command, Stephanie Laurens
  60. Never After, Alexis Hall-2
  61. The Unwilling Love, L Steele
  62. The Correspondent, Virgina Evans
  63. One Summer Day in Rome, Mark Lamprell
  64. [West of Wicked, Nikky St. Crowe
  65. The Marriage Proposal, Kim Loraine
  66. –Big Deck Energy, Kim Loraine
  67. The Baby Proposition, Kim Loraine
  68. The Sideways Life of Denny Voss, Holly Kennedy
  69. Embracing Hope, Viktor Frankl
  70. [Handmade, Gary Rogowski
  71. Spring Chicken, Bill Gifford
  72. [The Boys in the Boat…, Daniel James Brown
  73. What If I Say Yes?, Harlow Scott, alpha reader copy
  74. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi
  75. Something Extraordinary, Alexis Hall
  76. Daughter of Tides, Kit Rocha
  77. The Good Witch’s Guide to Bad Choices, Sarah Piper, ALC
  78. One Hot Favor, Anna Durand
  79. [Hidden Treasures, Michelle Adams
  80. Messages From the Mafia Boss, Evie Rose
  81. The Skull and The Nightengale, Michael Irwin

Movies
Heart of Champions, 2021

Love Is Love

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Something Extraordinary, Alexis Hall

Happy Pride Month, friends!

Sharing tonight my review of Something Extraordinary by Alexis Hall, because once again I sit both enthralled and hung over, re-listening to (reliving!) my favorite passages while marking up the hastily obtained print copy, playing or quoting lines to Daughter because I just cannot help myself, I love it so much.

Posted to Audible:
“Wild, hilarious, heartwarming ride of love in all its forms!
“Love is love and it SAVES US. Human connection in any context, often despite our most counter-connecting behaviors, is so much more possible than we think! Not with everybody, but with far more folks than we assume, if we only keep our hearts open and vulnerable enough to risk it. That is what this book reminds me.
I cannot count the number of times I went from brow-furrowingly sad empathy to laughing out loud to clipping a passage for further philosophical consideration, all in the space of a few minutes. Have already quoted, described, and recommended this story to anyone who crossed my path this week.
Ell Potter and Steve West perform all of the characters with distinction and grace, and their voices for the supporting characters even match, making the listening experience that much more delightful. I forwent sleep and life tasks for this audiobook, for the integrated marvel of this story brought forth by the author and voice actors. God bless ‘em.”

Shared on Instagram to both Shaneiaks and my personal account

This is the third book of Hall’s Something Fabulous series. I listened to a long preview of Book One, Something Fabulous, which I did not go on to finish, and I only read the overview of Book Two, Something Spectacular. I think they are not meant to be standalone novels, but I did not feel lost in the least picking up the series at the end. The main characters’ personalities and relationship are clearly established in advance, yet develop and deepen meaningfully throughout this story.

As in Never After, Hall explores sexuality and the social norms that constrain it with depth, compassion, and stark honesty about our capacity for both generous, loving acceptance and rigid, shaming rejection of our fellow humans. The characters’ clever banter, as well as their touching dialogues, both inner and exchanged, bring reader/listener to a much deeper level of empathy and tender, gentle human awareness than most romances I come across. The writing is both subtle and blatant in turn, and lyrical as ever (see below for some choice exerpts).

Human relationships are messy and complex in any context. Holding, honoring, and then navigating the consequences of natural yet unconventional preferences and desires in the face of punishing social pressures is something many of us may not live first hand. Hall’s books generously, humorously, and lovingly provide us with a window into that experience, inviting us all to open our minds and hearts to our shared humanity no matter who we are and how we identify. The story reads deliciously long and languid, topsy turvy, hilarious and tearful, and leaves us wishing all our fellow humans to find love that provides safety, uplift, and peace. Witty, sparkling dialogue and an utterly whimsical plot hooked and enchanted me throughout. But the deeply humane, gentle yet assertive explorations of love, faith, world view, and reconciliation will keep me reflecting and seeking conversation with friends for weeks to come.

Please find my favorite quotes below, and beware the possiblitity of spoilers. I will enjoy these sections for a while yet, and dive deeper yet into Alexis Hall’s other worlds. I bet you’ll see more of their work shared here shortly.
Wishing all a lovely week ahead!

Audible review: 5 stars overall and for performance and story

“…He had wanted from her what he always wanted… what he had spent so many years hopelessly seeking in the bodies of strangers.
“Once upon a time, he would have called it love and asked no questions. But the word seemed bigger and smaller than he remembered–differently shaped and less perfectly fitting. No wonder, then, he thought ruefully, that he had been unable to find what he was looking for, if he hadn’t understood what it was. Perhaps that was why he’d always clung to those who did not want him–willing to do almost anything to ensure they didn’t become someone else who wouldn’t stay–when he should have paid more attention to those he’d let go.”

“There was something strange happening to Rufus’s heart. He normally conceived it as hard and gnarled, like a peach pit. Now it was as soft as the peach itself. ‘I… I’m flattered, Bellflower. I do not think anyone has ever felt jealous over me in my entire life.'”

[Belle] “…’If it is not acceptable for ladies to be coerced into sexual encounters, then it should not be acceptable for gentelmen, either.’
[Sir Horley/Rufus] “‘I don’t mind.’
“‘Don’t overwhelm me with your ardour or anything,’ muttered the highwaryman.
“Rufus glanced at him. ‘I’m sorry. Take me now, you scurrilous devil. Is that better?’
“‘A bit. But could you put more feeling into it?’

“… Strange how quickly you could grow accustomed to things. Even relatively inconsequential ones like sharing space. One would have thought, after long days in a carriage with Belle, he would want distance, not increased closeness. But she had awoken some brutal, terrifying hunger in him, and now he missed the certainty of her body tucked behind him…He missed being held… The cold feet she would plunge mercilessly between his knees as though she had the absolute right to his body heat.
“Since Belle had been shot, he had been clinging to anger like driftwood… until all that remained was fear.
“Particularly useless fear, even by the standards of that specific emotion, because it couldn’t change anything. It could only strike out of nowhere like a snake and fill him full of poison, for he could so easily have lost Belle today… Now, though, it just made him feel a kind of pre-emptive grief. For the possibility of a life he could still not truly picture, and would never have chosen, but which nevertheless gleamed richly with the promise of unimagined, undared contentment.”

[Discussing Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland, a real novel from 1749]
[Belle] “‘Why was it banned, then?’
[Gil, the highwayman] “‘For the same reason most things are: fear and ignorance. In this case, I suspect it has something to do with the fact the book takes as axiomatic that women can be creatures of pleasure just as men can.’
[Belle] “‘And yet,’ she asked, ‘it is not worth reading?’
[Gil] “‘You may if you wish. It’s not really my place to decide for you. Though try not to, you know, fold the pages back or spill beans over it. Very few copies of this book are still in circulation.’
“‘Surely it will be unbanned sometime soon?’
“‘Surely,’ echoed Gil, though he did not sound very convinced on the matter.
“‘Well, the idea of a woman liking sex can’t remain so very shocking, can it? I expect we can figure that out in, say, less than a hundred and fifty years.’
“‘Oh please,’ Rufus swiped his had disdainfully through the air, as though dismissing the decades to come. ‘A hundred and fifty years to concede women are people? Give us two hundred and ten, and we will probably still be banning books and hating each other.’
[Gil] “‘I fear his cynicism is not wholly without merit. But… I shall nevertheless join you in hoping for better from posterity.'”

Embracing Our Discomfort

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“How are you, my friend?”

Do you find yourself asking your people this more often lately?
It’s a heavier question today than in times past, no?
What are we really asking? What do we want to know (or not)?
I opened last week’s post by asking, and again today; the redundance feels important and necessary.

It’s Pride Month, and I’m seeing a lot less of the “Wishing all the homophobes a super uncomfortable month” memes now compared to last year, which I’m glad about. I thought about updating my dissent post today, but I think it still stands strong on its own:
“…The best intention of this message, I think, is solidarity and allyship. The impact may be very different. I can imagine someone who feels uncomfortable, for whatever reason, with non-cis/het identity feeling rejected, shamed, and even hated by this message. What response is this likely to engender? How does that make anything better for anyone? How does it advance the cause?
“…If we were all better at embracing our various discomforts (healthy eating, exercising more, being more honest with ourselves and others, having the hard conversations, etc.), at making it safe for one another to engage with and overcome them, how would that feel? How would our relationships and communities be? Right now we make it safe to respond to our discomforts with rage, blame, and dehumanizing. When I see people wishing discomfort on others, I’m disappointed.
“We can do better.”

A friend and I have exchanged messages about the value of discomfort, how it makes us stop and take perspective, how it shapes us and can make us better.

“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” –unattributed

I still never wish discomfort on anyone. But I’m happy to encourage folks to embrace its inevitability and possibility for growth through it. Let us seek and engage with the worthy discomforts–those which move us through our stagnant assumptions and mental rigidities toward creativity, discovery, and deeper connection. And let’s do it together–mutually supportive and loving, striving always for better understanding, acceptance, and community through the joys and challenges of diversity and inclusion.

Embracing our discomfort often means acknowledging and facing our fears.
Fear is a legitimate and important emotion, required for survival throughout our evolution. Besides pain, is there a more uncomfortable sensation than threat and fear?
Can we recognize when our anger, righteousness, arrogance, disengagement, and even hatred are all founded on unacknowledged, limbic, or even existential fear?
Can we kindly, patiently, curiously, and humbly help one another explore and unpack it all?

How comfortable are any of us with any of this?
How much easier is it to declare categorical truths with certainty and authority, dismissing nuance and complexity, suppressing doubt, and rejecting earnest discussion and debate?

We each get to choose how we show up to our fears, how we cope with discomfort.
Sometimes all we can do is turn around and run the other way. We can deflect or armor up. They’re called ‘defense mechanisms’ for good reason, and the older I get the more I see and accept that we all have them. Each of us comes by our own honestly, and judging one another for them rarely makes anything better. Discomfort makes us squirelly at best, destructive at worst.

What if we shared our comfort with one another?

I messaged a friend last weekend:
“Reconnected with (a guy friend) recently, who is now a transitioning woman and agreed to take me to my first silent book club at a lesbian speakeasy this month! [Mentioned here last week–I’m very excited about this.]
“Omg dear one, our world is so chaotic and uncertain, and yet there is still SO MUCH GOOD in the day to day, face to face, in person connections of love and shared humanity. I hope you feel as surrounded by it as I do.”
Clearly, I feel very comfortable with gender transition.

But I know people for whom transgenderism is extremely uncomfortable, an unfathomable and existential threat to their core values and beliefs about humanity. I sense their acute distress, their stuckness, their utter helplessness to understand or accept the concept and get to peace with it–especially when a loved one discloses and transitions. I wish I could take away their sorrow and anguish. I know it’s not because they ‘hate’ transgender people or wish for anyone to repress their authentic selves. Their discomfort is not rooted in malice. And their experience far and away exceeds ‘discomfort,’ but I use this example to remind myself that humans come to any given issue or idea with a vast variety and complexity of attitudes, histories, and comfort levels.

The better we can tolerate, embrace, and process our discomfort, the stronger and more resilient we can be in the face of adversity and true threats to our survival, I think. And I wish for no one to have to do this alone.
Genuine human connection mitigates pain, suffering, and the extreme discomforts of fear, grief, and uncertainty. It is the most effective balm for what ails our hearts.

So this Pride Month and beyond, when we feel uncomfortable about something, anything, may we reach out with vulnerability and courage ahead of anger and antagonism. May our first instincts be to connect more than to judge. May we meet others’ discomfort with empathy, compassion, understanding, and patience. We can do this even in the smallest encounter, with few or even no words, with the most fleeting of looks. It takes practice. Thankfully, life presents us with the opportunity every time we meet another human.