32. This Summer
The New Year is upon us and summer is in full swing. Here’s my handsome line-up of books for the occasion.
Bobby Jamieson, Everything Is Never Enough (2025). This exploration of Ecclesiastes has been a terrific read so far. Beautifully written and culturally alert in its application of Ecclesiastes to modern life.
Robert Caro, Working (2019). I absolutely love the Caro documentary Turn Every Page even though, I confess, I have yet to read a single page of Caro’s work. The Power Broker (1975) stands dauntingly on my shelf, but I’m not planning on cracking it open any time soon. Instead, I’m going to do things backwards and start off with this book on Caro’s research/writing method, promising to see that method unfold in his biographies some day.
Warren Ellis, Nina Simone’s Gum (2021). I came across this title while scouring other people’s end-of-year book lists. It sounded like a fun read, so I’ll be picking it up from the library next week.
Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood (2024). My first shot at New Zealand novelist Eleanor Catton, and the first of what I hope will be many novels this year. The premise is interesting: a guerrilla gardening collective that plants crops wherever no one will notice crosses paths with an American billionaire in what looks to be a clash of ideologies and personalities.
