In all honesty, it had been years since I regularly read anything of note. An occasional audiobook (of while I have an intimidating collection of unread volumes. I've been collecting epub and pdf books from bundles and sales, etc.
2024 was the year of my dropping Twitter and (mostly) Facebook. It was also the year of stopping dropping most things Google and Reddit and other sites that encourage division. I deleted my podcast app, as nothing I was listening to was truly compelling or really even that interesting.
It's been a year now, in July 2025 and I've completed over 40 novels and novellas. Short story collections, poetry, etc. I have about six books on the go at any time, just like I used to do when I was a teenager. Instead of a stack of open books stacked up beside my bed, it's all on my phone and tablet.
As of this writing I have read 30 books of the 12 I thought I might finish in all of 2025. I think I might need to up my estimate a bit.
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Success! Richard M has read 61 of 12 books.
In the spring of 1980, an unlikely group of musical eccentrics -- Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill …
We still have time to change the world. From Greta Thunberg, the world's leading climate activist, comes the essential handbook …
We still have time to change the world. From Greta Thunberg, the world's leading climate …
I enjoyed the format, and how it was handled as an audio book. There were different voices with the essays, and Greta would read joining pieces.
I even played it at 1x speed. I hardly ever do that.
We still have time to change the world. From Greta Thunberg, the world's leading climate …
I enjoyed the format, and how it was handled as an audio book. There were different voices with the essays, and Greta would read joining pieces.
I even played it at 1x speed. I hardly ever do that.
"In the nineteenth century, English textile workers responded to the introduction of new technologies on the factory floor by smashing …
"In the nineteenth century, English textile workers responded to the introduction of new technologies on the factory floor by smashing …
"In the nineteenth century, English textile workers responded to the introduction of new technologies on …
I'd put this one down for a while, and came back to it just before the author ventured into discussion of modern luddish principles. The author casts something of a wide net, perhaps wider than I would. They do point to some obviously illegal things not done out of any real Luddite principles, though maybe there is an argument to be made.
I'd put this one down for a while, and came back to it just before the author ventured into discussion of modern luddish principles. The author casts something of a wide net, perhaps wider than I would. They do point to some obviously illegal things not done out of any real Luddite principles, though maybe there is an argument to be made.
A poignant, heartfelt, and funny memoir about how, in 1985, Michael J. Fox brought to …
I really enjoyed this audio book, but I feel like it's barely touching on the subject. I don't think there were many deep truths here that weren't already widely known to any child of the 80s. Throwing to sometimes lengthy clips from the film and interviews with people involved.
This was written and released on a relatively short schedule, as the first movie itself was. It was read by the author, which is always my preference. I was happy to hear MJF sounding good, and happy to talk about the subject.
It's worth a listen, but I would have liked just a bit more.
The epilogue was nice to hear, though.
I really enjoyed this audio book, but I feel like it's barely touching on the subject. I don't think there were many deep truths here that weren't already widely known to any child of the 80s. Throwing to sometimes lengthy clips from the film and interviews with people involved.
This was written and released on a relatively short schedule, as the first movie itself was. It was read by the author, which is always my preference. I was happy to hear MJF sounding good, and happy to talk about the subject.
It's worth a listen, but I would have liked just a bit more.
The epilogue was nice to hear, though.
A poignant, heartfelt, and funny memoir about how, in 1985, Michael J. Fox brought to life two iconic roles simultaneously—Alex …
A poignant, heartfelt, and funny memoir about how, in 1985, Michael J. Fox brought to life two iconic roles simultaneously—Alex …
The Plague (French: La Peste) is a novel by Albert Camus, published in 1947, that …
I started reading this nearly a year ago and it was just moving so slowly and perhaps was too reminiscent of real quarantines that we experienced just a couple years back.
This is one of the hardest books I've fought my way through in recent memory, but I think that's largely me, and covid that have made this difficult.
It's well written and definitely conveys much of the feel of a city shut down as happened in 2020, decades after it was written.
The characters are well described and motivations, such as they exist, are also outlined well. Some people break down, perhaps not just the weak. Situations like this where control is absent, the end is unpredictable for many.
Characters die, for no particular rhyme or reason, just as happens in life.
I'm not clear on why the narrator's voice was a big secret …
I started reading this nearly a year ago and it was just moving so slowly and perhaps was too reminiscent of real quarantines that we experienced just a couple years back.
This is one of the hardest books I've fought my way through in recent memory, but I think that's largely me, and covid that have made this difficult.
It's well written and definitely conveys much of the feel of a city shut down as happened in 2020, decades after it was written.
The characters are well described and motivations, such as they exist, are also outlined well. Some people break down, perhaps not just the weak. Situations like this where control is absent, the end is unpredictable for many.
Characters die, for no particular rhyme or reason, just as happens in life.
I'm not clear on why the narrator's voice was a big secret throughout. While I didn't guess, the answer makes sense, though any other surviving character would make sense as well.
The Plague (French: La Peste) is a novel by Albert Camus, published in 1947, that tells the story of a …
The Plague (French: La Peste) is a novel by Albert Camus, published in 1947, that …
I don't know what it is, but this is one of the books I've had to really work at to drag myself through. I've let it sit for months, reading a stack of other books that seemed to blaze past. Maybe it's that it feels all too non-fiction since 2020. Tonight I read two pages and then a couple of "important tasks" came to mind, so I went and did those instead.
There's nothing WRONG with the book, and I like it, but I'm just not connecting with these characters despite everything being set up perfectly for me. I'm trying to finish it before I open a new book, so if I can just focus tomorrow I might get this done.
I don't know what it is, but this is one of the books I've had to really work at to drag myself through. I've let it sit for months, reading a stack of other books that seemed to blaze past. Maybe it's that it feels all too non-fiction since 2020. Tonight I read two pages and then a couple of "important tasks" came to mind, so I went and did those instead.
There's nothing WRONG with the book, and I like it, but I'm just not connecting with these characters despite everything being set up perfectly for me. I'm trying to finish it before I open a new book, so if I can just focus tomorrow I might get this done.
A humorous collection of autobiographical essays from comedian and Somebody Somewhere actor Jeff Hiller, who shares his journey from growing …
