BOOK REVIEWS
Being Ram Dass (by Ram Dass)
From Richard Alpert to Ram Dass, this memoir traces a life told from the mind to the heart, with more depth and humility than I expected.
For You and Only You (by Caroline Kepnes)
Joe Goldberg trades bookselling for writing and lands a spot in a Harvard fellowship, but old habits die hard. My review of For You and Only You, book four in Caroline Kepnes's You series.
The Clockmaker’s Daughter (by Kate Morton)
A beautiful house, a ghost worth staying for, and a novel that would not hold still. Kate Morton's The Clockmaker's Daughter is the one that finally wore me out.
Suttree (by Cormac McCarthy)
Beautiful writing, unforgettable characters, and one big question mark — my honest thoughts on Cormac McCarthy's Suttree, narrated by Richard Poe.
The Janitor (by Don Winslow)
A review of The Janitor, Don Winslow's new Audible Original novella starring a morally challenged lawyer-turned-fixer. An entertaining, quick crime listen with echoes of City of Dreams—plus an unexpected bonus for Dodgers fans.
This is Your Mind on Plants (by Michael Pollan)
I finally made time for Michael Pollan’s This Is Your Mind on Plants—opium, caffeine, and mescaline as case studies in how we decide what counts as a drug. His garden stories, his prison-era drug-war history, and the audiobook narration all landed close to home.
The Delivery (by Gregg Hurwitz)
I chose this novella through Amazon First Reads. A grieving couple and their neurodivergent daughter bring a humanoid AI, Mr. Man, into their home. At first he is a miracle. Then the neighborhood’s violent events start to look like wishes they never intended.
Lightning in a Mason Jar (by Catherine Mann)
I picked up Catherine Mann’s Lightning in a Mason Jar through Amazon First Reads and found a dual-timeline story handled with unusual care. Domestic abuse is a difficult subject, yet even the harrowing stretches felt soft and gentle.
The Talisman (by Stephen King and Peter Straub)
I first read The Talisman in 2018—and somehow remembered almost none of Jack Sawyer’s story. Rereading it now, ahead of the third book, I fell hard for this twelve-year-old on an impossible road, and even harder for Wolf. Not every mile of this long journey is equally alive, but the bond at the center of it stayed with me.
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