All Better Now by Neal Shusterman

I am not sure how I first learned about this book, but I really liked the author’s Arc of a Scythe series. The premise of this one sounded intriguing when I was deciding what to read next, so I picked it out of my to read pile.

Published in 2025, it takes place after the COVIC-19 pandemic during a new and unusual worldwide virus scare. This new virus, called Crown Royale, is virulent and deadly. But those who survive find they have a very unusual side effect—preternatural kindness and happiness. In fact, many people who are not among the recovered feel that the recovered are no longer themselves. There arise two perspectives among individuals. One, avoid the virus at all costs as it will change you. Two, seek out the virus for the happiness that follows recovering. This is the crux of the novel as it follows those on both sides of the issue.

The writing is very engaging and easy to follow. The author delves into both perspectives in a way that makes both seem understandable even while some of the actions taken on both sides are exceptionally questionable. I very much enjoyed the book but found the end extremely unsatisfying. Without any spoilers, there is no real resolution. I am okay with ambiguous endings. In fact I often really like a story that doesn’t spoon feed me what I should think about it. Here, though, there is no resolution at all. I have no indication whatsoever of how things go. It feels like the story just ends. Some may appreciate that, but I found it extremely disappointing.

My rating: 3.5/5

It by Stephen King

Two weekends ago I was preparing to drive from my home in the mountains of western NC to a soccer tournament near Sarasota, FL, where I was refereeing. It is about a ten hour drive, so I was searching my library for an audiobook or two to listen to on the drive. I was struggling to find one that I wanted to listen to. I came across It by Stephen King. It’s on my reading list but it was almost forty-five hours long! I skipped past it and kept looking. Eventually I came back and borrowed it. By the time I got home I was only half done. I continued listening over the last week and only just finished it. What a ride!

It is the story of seven kids in Derry, Maine, who confront an unspeakable evil in 1958 only to return to the town to kill it once and for all twenty-seven years later. It is an incredibly emotional novel. Frightening and ghoulish, yes. But also poignant and touching. It is entirely too long yet kept me wanting to find out what happened to this band of childhood friends. The writing is deeply evocative, reaching into your soul and tugging on your very being, asking questions that don’t even have answers. And yet, it is also a good old-fashioned American horror story.

As I said, much too long. But I don’t know what I would take out. Perhaps it is best to think of it as a television series. Each part of the book is its own season. In some ways, this novel reminds me of the recently concluded Netflix series Stranger Things. I suspect It was a heavy inspiration for the Duffer brothers. But where the TV show was nostalgic, this novel was contemporary when it was published.

The performance of the text by Steven Weber was simply incredible. He is a one-man show that doesn’t let up for the entire book. He brings it all to life vividly. In the end, I can only say that if you have the inclination, this book is definitely worth your time. It was certainly worth mine.

My rating: 4/5

My 2026 Reading Goals

Traditionally, I set a goal each January for how many books I want to read in the year. About halfway through 2025, I rededicated myself to reading more short fiction. Taking that into account, I have not set a goal for how many books I want to read this year. My reading goals are a little more complicated.

This year I plan to have three reading tracks this year. One is to be reading a book, either a novel or nonfiction. At the same time I will be reading short fiction from one of the short fiction magazines I subscribe to and from a collection or anthology. And instead of a goal of books to read, I have set a goal of reading 400 short fiction stories this year. That is a little more than one a day.

So far this year, I am on track having read twenty-one stories so far. You can keep track of what I read on my Short Fiction page. I will continue to share reviews here of each book I read this year. I have also toying with the idea of at least occasional reviews of some of the short fiction I read. But that will depend on other things in my life.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

I remember when the movie based on this book came out back in 1993. It is hard to put into words how amazing and realistic the dinosaurs were. I am sure today they don’t hold the same awe for viewers as they did then. When I recently heard a podcaster raving about this novel, it sparked an urge in me to read the original material. Being in the mood for a quick read, I picked up this old school thriller.

Everyone pretty much knows the story. A billionaire clones dinosaurs on an island off the coast of Costa Rica with the plan of opening a family friendly theme park. Some of his investors are a little concerned and convince him to host a lawyer representing the investors, two paleontologists, and a critical mathematician to evaluate the park and island. They land. Chaos ensues.

What most impressed me about this novel was the critique of scientific hubris. The mathematician is the mouthpiece for this in the book. At one point he says that scientist never ask if they should do something. It is only enough if they can. They justify it by saying if they don’t, someone else will. Though based in science and technology, this book is very humanist. The emotions (particularly fear) are front and center. I felt like I was really there. It was a fantastic combination of excellent storytelling and examination of the science and thinking of its time.

My rating: 4/5

True Grit by Charles Portis

For our meeting coming up in January, my Theme Team book club decided to read a western. In this club, we all choose our own book to read on the theme then share our experience with it at our meeting. I don’t generally read westerns. After doing some research, I landed on this as my book.

Most people are at least familiar with the John Wayne film based on this novel or the more recent remake staring Jeff Bridges. It is the story of Maddie Ross, a fourteen-year-old girl from rural Arkansas, told in the first person long after the events have taken place. After her father is murdered by a drunken hired hand on a trip to Fort Smith, AR, Maddie arrives there to claim her father’s body. While there, she hires US Marshall Rooster Cogburn to help her find the murderer, Tom Chaney, who has escaped to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). She is very stubborn, insisting that she accompany Rooster in his pursuit. She chose Cogburn because, in her opinion, he has “true grit”. She wasn’t interested in “the best”. She wanted the man who would stick with it until the job was done.

Many have ranked this as one of the best books they’ve read. It is a rip-roaring tale that doesn’t let up for a moment. It is filled with realistic characters doing realistic things. It is emotional without becoming maudlin. I can see why two movies have been made of it and why so many people still read it. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, but for me it didn’t rank in the category of superlatives. Definitely read it, especially if you are a fan of westerns.

My rating: 4/5

The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry

My book club previously read Lonesome Dove by the same author. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. So when one of our members suggested this book for December, it won our vote. I finished reading it a couple weeks ago.

It is the story of three teenagers in rural Texas: Sonny, his best friend Duane, and Duane’s girlfriend Jacy, who Sonny has a crush on. They are all graduating high school and trying to figure out what to do with their lives. As the book opens, Sonny breaks up with his girlfriend. Without giving any spoilers, the three teens spend the rest of the book struggling to figure out relationships in general and their own with each other and the rest of the town.

This is not a cheery book with what anyone would call a happy ending. Some may call the harsh glimpse it gives “real”. For me, I think it is a little over the top, even soap opera-like. At least one of the characters is downright stupid and unlikable, at least for me. However, the writing is excellent and the emotions are spot on. It is a well structured, well written novel. I am just not sure it was meant for me. I prefer my novels to address whatever issues they bring up and show some ways to deal with them. There was a little of that. Don’t get me wrong. I like a cautionary tale, but this one somehow left me wondering what all the fuss was about this book.

My rating: 3/5

Enshittification by Cory Doctorow

I subscribe to and read Cory Doctorow’s blog at pluralistic.net. He publishes there regularly, discussing his ideas on the intersection of technology and politics. When he recently published a book in a similar vein discussing the concept and word he coined back in 2022, I immediately purchased it. I finally got around to actually reading it this month.

Doctorow explained enshittification in a January 2023 article in Wired magazine:

Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die. I call this enshittification….

Part 1 of the book shows how this happened with four platforms (Facebook, Amazon, iPhone, and Twitter). Part 2 is a short chapter how we got on the path to platform decay. Part 3 is a detailed review of what previously prevented enshittification and how those stopgaps were eroded. Finally, in Part 4 the author lays out a plan for overcoming the issues he laid out in the previous three parts of the book.

The book is engaging and informative. The writing is conversational and lays out technical ideas in everyday language that anyone can understand. This is a primer for our times on how the internet has become the cesspool that it is and how to get back to what Doctorow calls “an old, good internet.” It is an excellent, if not essential, read for everyone with one exception. If you regularly read his blog, none of this is new. It is, however, an excellent and concise explanation of the author’s technology philosophy. I highly recommend it.

My rating: 4/5

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Each November, my book club reads indigenous fiction or history. This month, we chose to read this book. It was an excellent choice.

Daunis is an eighteen-year-old Chippewa living near the Ojibwe reservation in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. She feels like she doesn’t fit in either the while world or the native world despite belonging to both. She used to play on the high school hockey team and her half-brother is the captain of the local club team. When handsome newcomer Jamie joins the team and befriends her brother, he asks her to be his ambassador. As she gets closer to Jamie she finds out more than she expected and her world turns upside down.

This is a wonderful coming-of-age novel that explores all the feelings and issues without getting too sappy and deals with them realistically. I loved how immersed it is in Ojibwe culture and language. And it is so well-written. Hard to believe it is a debut novel!

My rating: 5/5

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

My book club selected this book as our read in October for horror/fantasy.

It is the story of a young girl (January) who struggles to be good in the eyes of her guardian while her father is out gathering objects for him. She finds a book that tells the story of a woman told by her husband. It tells of doorways to other worlds. January longs to find such doors through which she can escape.

I found the writing in this book beautiful without getting in the way of the storytelling. It was easy to read and touched on topics that mean a lot to me: feminism, misogyny, and self-determination. Highly recommended.

My rating: 4/5

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan

This was another thriller that my partner and I listened to on a recent road trip. We didn’t quite finish it by the time we got home. I finished it on my way to work the next day.

Lydia Smith works at a bookstore. Late one night at closing, I regular is discovered having hanged himself in the store. Lydia was close to this patron and finds that his effects have been left to her. In her effort to understand why she begins to uncover things in her past that she thought she left behind.

This was both a thriller and an exploration of relationships and dealing with the past. Better than most but nothing spectacular. A solid choice for a road trip.

My rating: 3/5