Recent reads: August 2025

I almost couldn’t believe I haven’t posted a reading update since the end of May, but when I look at how long this list of books is that I’ve read since then, I can believe it. Reading has been my refuge at times, my way to try and see how the world can be better and different. It also got me through 11.5 hours in the Denver airport and poetry has been a companion as I’ve journaled in the mornings. I’ve also found myself, much like in my making, going back to books I’ve read and reading bits and pieces here and there, some times even doing a complete reread, because it’s comforting.

Clouds of Witness

Continuing on my mystery reading, I read another Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey and I continue to enjoy the character and the mysteries. Wimsey is brought in to find out who murdered his sister’s fiancé and, as the title suggests, there are a lot of people who saw key moments. Wimsey works his way through all of them and, of course, unravels the mystery. Sayers is a great writer and it’s a good book.

The Innocence of Father Brown

I’ve watched the TV series based on Father Brown but had never read any of the books and decided to change that. Not gonna lie, this wasn’t a great read for me, it’s set up as a series of shorts, each chapter its own mystery. I was hoping for something more involved, but once I adjusted my expectations, I did end up finishing it. It may also be the way I moved towards reading more short stories.

The Phoenix Crown

This book will always remind me of being stuck in the Denver airport for almost 12 hours (long story), but I’m grateful the story sucked me in so well that I was able to while away the hours. A group of women are in San Francisco right before the big earthquake and they all become involved in some fashion with an incredibly rich man. Through all of this they meet each other and become good friends and help each other, in particular when the earthquake and fires hit. I really enjoyed this story and loved all the history that was worked into the various stories of the women.

Exhalation

My second read of this fantastic book of short stories and some of them hit differently, but it’s still a great book. Chiang’s thoughts on technology and humanity resonate all the more now that AI is constantly in my feed and the news.

You can read my original thoughts in the post from 2021. I don’t disagree with any of those, but I did come away this time thinking a lot about how we interact with technology, especially now that I’m using it more as part of my life and less as part of my work life.

Olive, Again

The second book of Strout’s to focus on Olive Kitteridge and I blew through this incredibly fast. I really like this character, she’s blunt and says what she thinks, but also in her own way very much helps the people around her. She’s clear eyed about her community and her own aging, while at the same time failing to understand her son or their relationships. She’s so human. This was an enjoyable trip back into her world. (The post with the review of Olive Kitteridge from 2020 can be found here.)

Selected Poems

I’ve been reading poetry many mornings as part of my time spent with my journal and the lastest was a compliation of the work of Denise Levertov. I really enjoyed these, she wrote about such a wide variety of subjects, from her faith to the every day to pieces inspired by other figures in history and writing. I found myself looking forward to opening it up and seeing what was in store, but I’ll admit, the every day was what I enjoyed the most as it made me slow down and notice more in my every day life.

Suspect

I was “shopping” in the library for my next read and realized I’d never read any of Scott Turow’s legal thrillers and picked this one up. The Chief of Police in Highland Isle is accused of trading sex for promotions and as the story continues, you realize there is a lot more going on here. I really liked the characters of Chief Gomez and Pinky, but the story ended incredibly abruptly with pretty much no falling action and I didn’t love that at all. Not sure I’ll read another of his books, but I’m glad I gave this one a go.

Spook Street

The fifth book in the Slough House series by Nick Herron did not disappoint. It moved quickly and was hard to put down, especially the last 100 pages or so. Herron has a way of moving the story back and forth in time in a way as that is amazing to me and also keeps me on the edge of my seat (figuratively) as I read on to find out what happens. This book finds River dealing with his aging grandfather, a former spy, and it’s really about what happens to those folks as they age and their mind starts to go. That whole premise set up for a terrific story and it’s something I’d never really thought about.

Tell Me Everything

Elizabeth Strout has such a way of taking the story of an ordinary life and showing how it’s really not that ordinary, in effect saying that there are no ordinary lives. It was great to read this on the heels of Olive, Again since Olive is once again in this book, but the main character is Bob Burgess, an aging lawyer who takes on a case to defend a local suspected of killing his mother. At the same time we see how Bob cares for so many around him. Stories like these are reminders of the importance of community and how we often care for each other without realizing it.

Sandwich

I tore through this book in less than 24 hours, honestly I couldn’t put it down. The main character and I are about the same age and while our life experiences are quite different, there was something so relatable to me about the way she talked about her marriage and what was going on with her body. Rocky is on vacation for a week with her grown children and her parents, the same place they’ve vacationed every year for a long time. The story isn’t just about that week, but also about some things in Rocky’s past and as you read you learn more and more about her. I loved it, fast moving and so very well written and all the characters are great.