A reading log from Brooklyn — reviews, lists, and recommendations.https://saturdaysinabook.com/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/01/05/childhoods-end/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/01/05/childhoods-end/The alien overlords arrive, solve every human problem, and quietly strip us of purpose. A layered story about evolution, utopia, and what humanity is actually for. Essential for any sci-fi reader.Sat, 05 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMTArthur C. Clarkehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/01/11/educated/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/01/11/educated/One woman's escape from a violent, off-grid family is rare and humbling. It's painful to read and harder to put down, a story that leaves you grateful for whatever stability you were handed.Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMTTara Westoverhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/01/looking-for-alaska/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/01/looking-for-alaska/A group of restless teens chase big questions about the labyrinth of suffering and how we find our way out. Miles' fixation on last words stuck with me, and had me thinking about my own.Fri, 01 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTJohn Greenhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/01/15/the-library-at-mount-char/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/01/15/the-library-at-mount-char/Twelve adopted siblings with strange powers fight their way back to the mysterious Library and the Father who raised them. A gripping, original opening, even if the momentum fades before the end.Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMTScott Hawkinshttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/01/28/david-copperfield/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/01/28/david-copperfield/One of the few novels that feels truly complete. Dickens follows David from childhood trauma through friendship, love, and hard won perseverance, all in that rich Dickensian language.Mon, 28 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMTCharles Dickenshttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/05/madame-bovary/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/05/madame-bovary/Beneath its tale of romantic delusion lies something timeless. Emma Bovary's endless hunger for passion and status, and her refusal to blame herself, still mirrors how we chase what we desire.Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTGustave Flauberthttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/06/a-simple-heart/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/06/a-simple-heart/A short, quiet portrait of Félicité, a servant who pours unwavering devotion into a world that gives little back. Is she a fool or something closer to pure goodness? You'll wonder.Wed, 06 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTGustave Flauberthttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/09/flauberts-parrot/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/09/flauberts-parrot/A doctor's hunt for Flaubert's parrot turns into a witty study of the writer's life, where every triumph hides a private sorrow. You finish it wondering what makes a writer a writer.Sat, 09 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTJulian Barneshttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/21/the-goldfinch/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/21/the-goldfinch/An explosive opening that sends Theo on a long, art haunted journey through grief, mentors, and shady antiques. It sprawls and sags in places, but the beginning and payoff reward you.Thu, 21 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTDonna Tartthttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/12/the-courage-to-be-disliked-the-japanese-phenomenon-that-shows-you-how-to-change-your-life-and-achieve-real-happiness/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/12/the-courage-to-be-disliked-the-japanese-phenomenon-that-shows-you-how-to-change-your-life-and-achieve-real-happiness/A conversational take on Adlerian psychology, arguing our suffering comes from the meaning we attach to the past, not the past itself. Simple to read and the kind of book that reshapes how you think.Tue, 12 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTIchiro Kishimihttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/28/one-hundred-years-of-solitude/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/02/28/one-hundred-years-of-solitude/The essential magical realism novel. The Buendía family rises and falls in the village of Macondo, amid isolation, obsession, and the slow corruption of Western influence. A demanding read that casts a real spell.Thu, 28 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTGabriel García Márquezhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/10/good-omens/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/10/good-omens/A witty send-up of the apocalypse that pokes fun at religion and the whole idea of judgment day. Funny and clever throughout, even when the plot tangles itself up in its own complications.Sun, 10 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTTerry Pratchetthttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/05/la-b%C3%AAte-humaine/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/05/la-b%C3%AAte-humaine/A study of human 'beasts' set along a railway line, with the train as vivid as any character. Murder by calculation and by desire, rendered in dark, thrilling detail. For Crime and Punishment fans.Tue, 05 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTÉmile Zolahttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/11/the-einstein-intersection/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/11/the-einstein-intersection/A slim, strange, myth-tinged sci-fi novel that I read in a single sitting. Formless and odd in places, with layers of reference that probably reward a reader who comes in already knowing them.Mon, 11 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTSamuel R. Delanyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/22/stranger-in-a-strange-land/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/22/stranger-in-a-strange-land/Raised on Mars and returned to Earth, Valentine Michael Smith struggles to grok human language, culture, and religion, then transcends them. The novel is packed with wisdom and provocation. Can you grok it?Fri, 22 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTRobert A. Heinleinhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/23/the-test/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/23/the-test/Picture a citizenship test crossed with Black Mirror. This short, unsettling novella turns an ordinary exam into a nightmare, and a sharp commentary on immigration and how far a state will go.Sat, 23 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTSylvain Neuvelhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/01/the-dark-forest-remembrance-of-earths-past-2/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/01/the-dark-forest-remembrance-of-earths-past-2/A sequel that lays bare how vulnerable humanity is. How do you save a generation your descendants will never meet? Cryogenics, the dark forest theory, doom four centuries away, hope and despair by turns.Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTLiu Cixinhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/26/the-three-body-problem-remembrance-of-earths-past-1/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/03/26/the-three-body-problem-remembrance-of-earths-past-1/Grown-up, hard sci-fi that treats first contact with real scientific and political weight. Not Star Wars, but for anyone who sat in awe during physics class or loved the movie Contact. Genuinely mind-blowing.Tue, 26 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTLiu Cixinhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/10/turtles-all-the-way-down/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/10/turtles-all-the-way-down/Aza's struggle with intrusive thoughts and OCD is written with real tenderness, and the knack for quotable, existential lines is on full display. The plot runs thin, but Aza stays with you.Wed, 10 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTJohn Greenhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/07/deaths-end-remembrance-of-earths-past-3/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/07/deaths-end-remembrance-of-earths-past-3/The finale pushes into new universes, lightspeed manipulation, and physics itself as a weapon. Light on character, but staggering on ideas. A series unlike anything I'd read, and one that may inspire tomorrow's science.Sun, 07 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTLiu Cixinhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/14/the-promise-of-a-pencil-how-an-ordinary-person-can-create-extraordinary-change/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/14/the-promise-of-a-pencil-how-an-ordinary-person-can-create-extraordinary-change/The story of building Pencils of Promise, full of grounded, first-hand advice for anyone chasing a big goal. Warm and motivating, with small reframes that stick. A quick, encouraging read.Sun, 14 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTAdam Braunhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/18/elantris-elantris-1/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/18/elantris-elantris-1/A near-perfect entry point into the Cosmere. Rich worldbuilding, characters you quickly love, and a plot that escalates beautifully, with threads on politics, race, and class. The book that made me a fan.Thu, 18 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/19/the-emperors-soul-the-cosmere/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/04/19/the-emperors-soul-the-cosmere/A novella that follows Shai, a Forger imprisoned and forced to pull off the impossible. Short but rich, with a heroine proud of her craft even in captivity. Remarkable depth in so few pages.Fri, 19 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/05/14/blood-meridian-or-the-evening-redness-in-the-west/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/05/14/blood-meridian-or-the-evening-redness-in-the-west/The brutality of the West rendered in plain, masterful prose, setting unspeakable violence against beautiful americana. The Judge, sadistic and learned and almost supernatural, is one of fiction's great antagonists.Tue, 14 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTCormac McCarthyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/05/19/a-moveable-feast/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/05/19/a-moveable-feast/A memoir of lean, luminous years in 1920s Paris, with Fitzgerald along for the ride. Rosy and rueful at once. I read it in Paris myself, then walked to Shakespeare and Company.Sun, 19 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTErnest Hemingwayhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/05/skyward-skyward-1/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/05/skyward-skyward-1/A YA sci-fi adventure about Spensa, a fierce would-be pilot, and M-BOT, her snarky ship. Fast, fun, and exciting, with a real message about finding your own calling. The standard the genre deserves.Wed, 05 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/03/ficciones/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/03/ficciones/These short fictions bend time, perception, and reality until the world arrives back to you upside down. Not exactly light reading, but endlessly rewarding. For anyone who loves Black Mirror or the Twilight Zone.Mon, 03 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTJorge Luis Borgeshttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/06/the-ballad-of-black-tom/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/06/the-ballad-of-black-tom/A novella that reworks Lovecraft from a Black perspective in 1920s Harlem. Coming in without any Lovecraft background, I struggled to connect, and it didn't leave much of a mark on me.Thu, 06 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTVictor LaVallehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/11/a-place-for-us/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/11/a-place-for-us/An Indian Muslim American family strains across the fault lines of culture, faith, and generation. Amar, the least understood child, is its aching heart. The time-jumping structure tested my patience.Tue, 11 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTFatima Farheen Mirzahttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/13/jackson-pollock-an-american-saga/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/13/jackson-pollock-an-american-saga/One of the best biographies I've read. A Pulitzer-winning portrait of Pollock and the early New York art scene, richly researched and vivid about the forces, and the antics, that drove him over the edge.Thu, 13 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTGregory White Smith and Steven Naifehhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/17/how-to-be-both/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/17/how-to-be-both/Two stories, a grieving teenager and a Renaissance painter, braided into a playful meditation on art, history, and how we see. Inventive and challenging, with a mother whose lines quietly steal it.Mon, 17 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTAli Smithhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/22/112263/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/22/112263/Time travel, history, romance, and suspense collide as Jake Epping goes back to stop the Kennedy assassination. I tore through it in three days, undone by how deeply it writes love.Sat, 22 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTStephen Kinghttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/02/notes-from-underground/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/02/notes-from-underground/A spiteful, self-loathing narrator opens his skull and dares you to disagree. Uncomfortable, because you catch your own mind nodding along. Cynical, brilliant, and rightly called required reading.Tue, 02 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTFyodor Dostoyevskyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/29/the-world-according-to-garp-a-novel-ballantine-readers-circle/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/06/29/the-world-according-to-garp-a-novel-ballantine-readers-circle/A funny, frank, sprawling novel about Garp and his fiercely independent mother Jenny, who becomes a feminist icon. Full of irony and sharp social commentary, the kind of book that rewards a second reading.Sat, 29 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMTJohn Irvinghttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/04/the-gambler/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/04/the-gambler/A quick, captivating dive into the compulsions of a gambler. Alexei runs the full range of cynicism, arrogance, and regret. Not a major work, but a sharp sliver the faithful will enjoy.Thu, 04 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTFyodor Dostoyevskyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/08/conversations-with-friends/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/08/conversations-with-friends/Four people, two best friends and an older married couple, tangle into a story of vulnerability and blurred lines. The characters feel painfully real. I admired the writing more than where it went.Mon, 08 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTSally Rooneyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/09/mary-ventura-and-the-ninth-kingdom/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/09/mary-ventura-and-the-ninth-kingdom/A short story that boards a train bound for the Ninth Kingdom, the realm of frozen will. Eerie and heavy with symbolism, it builds a dread you can't quite shake. A single unsettling sitting.Tue, 09 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTSylvia Plathhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/09/the-fire-next-time/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/09/the-fire-next-time/Two civil-rights-era essays that land with rare confidence and bravery, naming White America's fear plainly and refusing easy comfort. Written decades ago and, sadly, still essential. Read it, whoever you are.Tue, 09 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTJames Baldwinhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/17/blue-nights/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/17/blue-nights/A mother reflects on her late daughter, on aging, and on the way memory bends over time. Quieter and more inward than The Year of Magical Thinking, and it stays with you long after.Wed, 17 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTJoan Didionhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/13/normal-people/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/13/normal-people/Marianne and Connell, two mismatched people, keep circling back to each other despite the social pressures pulling them apart. Quietly observed, with characters that get under your skin.Sat, 13 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTSally Rooneyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/20/play-it-as-it-lays/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/20/play-it-as-it-lays/The glamour stripped from Hollywood through Maria, a woman adrift in the industry. Pointed in intent, but the characters stay deliberately hollow, and I finished it with little to hold onto.Sat, 20 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTJoan Didionhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/17/the-lucifer-effect-understanding-how-good-people-turn-evil/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/17/the-lucifer-effect-understanding-how-good-people-turn-evil/A deep dig into how ordinary people turn cruel, anchored by the Stanford Prison Experiment. The middle drowns in detail, but the lessons on power, dehumanization, and identity reward you. Skim it and you'll gain plenty.Sat, 17 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTPhilip G. Zimbardohttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/23/w-or-the-memory-of-childhood/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/23/w-or-the-memory-of-childhood/Two strands alternate: a fragmented memoir of a childhood in occupied France and a chilling fable about an island ruled by athletic obsession. The link is thin, but inventive and quietly haunting.Tue, 23 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTGeorges Perechttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/29/number-words-and-number-symbols-a-cultural-history-of-numbers/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/07/29/number-words-and-number-symbols-a-cultural-history-of-numbers/A history of how humanity invented counting, then symbols, then the language of numbers, from Rome and the Vikings to the Arab world and beyond. Dense but illuminating on how numbers and language grew up together.Mon, 29 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTKarl A. Menningerhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/07/man-against-himself/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/07/man-against-himself/An unflinching study of self-destruction, from suicide to self-mutilation to quieter forms we rarely name. Dark and hard to read, but genuinely eye-opening about why people turn against themselves.Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTKarl A. Menningerhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/19/nine-stories/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/19/nine-stories/A revelation beyond Catcher in the Rye. Nine subtle, quietly devastating stories about post-war America, trauma, and a country retelling itself. Small investment per story, and a large reward.Mon, 19 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTJ.D. Salingerhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/22/the-crying-of-lot-49/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/22/the-crying-of-lot-49/A playful romp that sends Oedipa Maas chasing a possible postal conspiracy, a sly satire on our hunger to connect dots. The writing sparkles, but the thin plot left me cold.Thu, 22 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTThomas Pynchonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/28/leonardo-da-vinci/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/28/leonardo-da-vinci/A readable life of Leonardo, the endlessly curious mind who cared more for the question than the finished work. Strong on his techniques, notebooks, and the Renaissance around him. A fine way to meet the man.Wed, 28 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTWalter Isaacsonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/31/where-the-crawdads-sing/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/08/31/where-the-crawdads-sing/The marsh is written so vividly it becomes the real main character. Kya, abandoned and self-reliant, grows up amid its light and creatures, with romance and a mystery threaded through. A lyrical, page-turning read.Sat, 31 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTDelia Owenshttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/05/rich-dad-poor-dad/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/05/rich-dad-poor-dad/This money classic won't hand you a formula, but its assets-versus-liabilities lens reframes how you see rent, cars, and luxuries. Come for the mindset shift, not the concrete steps.Thu, 05 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTRobert T. Kiyosakihttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/10/the-beauty-of-the-husband-a-fictional-essay-in-29-tangos/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/10/the-beauty-of-the-husband-a-fictional-essay-in-29-tangos/Twenty-nine 'tangos' trace a marriage dissolving, riffing on Keats and the old link between beauty and truth. The syntax takes patience, but settle in and it moves through love and betrayal. A masterclass.Tue, 10 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTAnne Carsonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/18/talking-to-strangers-what-we-should-know-about-the-people-we-dont-know/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/18/talking-to-strangers-what-we-should-know-about-the-people-we-dont-know/A string of famous cases linked by one idea: we're terrible at reading strangers, yet we default to trusting them. Eye-opening in the right context, though the book needed more of that context itself.Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTMalcolm Gladwellhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/09/the-mezzanine/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/09/the-mezzanine/A whole novel built from one office worker's escalator ride and the tiny, mundane thoughts we all have. Think Seinfeld in prose. A clever, funny little challenge, even if not much actually happens.Mon, 09 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTNicholson Bakerhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/11/meditations/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/11/meditations/Required reading. A Roman emperor's private stoic notes to himself, spare on the surface but startlingly human and endlessly quotable. I've reread it many times, and each pass gives up something new.Wed, 11 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarcus Aureliushttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/25/mistborn-the-final-empire-mistborn-1/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/25/mistborn-the-final-empire-mistborn-1/Fantasy at its most accessible. Immense worldbuilding, a magic system with real limits, terrifying villains, and a heist plot I called the Ocean's Eleven of the genre. One of the best fantasy books I've read.Wed, 25 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/28/the-well-of-ascension-mistborn-2/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/09/28/the-well-of-ascension-mistborn-2/The middle Mistborn book widens the world without over-complicating it. Kelsier's absence hangs heavy, and the politics of Luthadel take center stage. Slow, deep setup, but the payoff is absolutely worth it.Sat, 28 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/10/23/the-shining-the-shining-1/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/10/23/the-shining-the-shining-1/No book has made me feel so alone. It stacks isolation and dread until they settle into your bones. This is psychological horror, not gore, the kind that follows you out long after. Read it, whoever you are.Wed, 23 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMTStephen Kinghttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/10/01/the-hero-of-ages-mistborn-3/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/10/01/the-hero-of-ages-mistborn-3/The Mistborn trilogy lands with a conclusion that ties every thread together and feels planned from page one. Elend, Vin, and Sazed all come into their own. Satisfying, brilliant, and never rushed.Tue, 01 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/03/richard-ii/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/03/richard-ii/A reminder of how fun the history plays are. Richard II, an incapable king, grows more poetic as he loses control, set against Bolingbroke's plain, decisive speech. My first of the histories, and a witty surprise.Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTWilliam Shakespearehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/10/30/flights/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/10/30/flights/A roving collection of stories, essays, and travel musings, all circling one idea: things in motion are the most beautiful. There's real beauty here, but the constant restlessness and shifting tone kept throwing me off.Wed, 30 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMTOlga Tokarczukhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/04/trick-mirror-reflections-on-self-delusion/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/04/trick-mirror-reflections-on-self-delusion/Sharp essays on self-delusion in modern culture, from beauty and the workout-class boom to feminism read through literature. One reality-TV chapter drags, but the rest is timely, smart, and very much of the moment.Mon, 04 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTJia Tolentinohttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/05/henry-iv-part-1-the-pelican-shakespeare/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/05/henry-iv-part-1-the-pelican-shakespeare/Prince Hal wastes his youth in taverns with the incomparable Falstaff while rebellion brews around his father's crown. Livelier than Richard II, funny and sharp, with honor itself put on trial. The history plays at their best.Tue, 05 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTWilliam Shakespearehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/07/henry-iv-part-2/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/07/henry-iv-part-2/The quieter, slower half of Hal's story. With the rebellion crushed and the king dying, the prince turns serious and casts Falstaff aside. More extension than event, but it sets the stage for Henry V.Thu, 07 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTWilliam Shakespearehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/13/the-starless-sea/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/13/the-starless-sea/Gorgeous, dreamlike halls and secret libraries fill this one, and I wanted to love it after The Night Circus. But the plot is a lovely mess, hard to follow, and by the end it felt strangely empty.Wed, 13 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTErin Morgensternhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/09/henry-v-the-pelican-shakespeare/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/09/henry-v-the-pelican-shakespeare/The rebel prince is now a king leading outnumbered troops against France. From the Dauphin's mocking tennis balls to the St Crispin's Day speech at Agincourt, it's witty and gruesome. Hal's arc, finally at war.Sat, 09 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTWilliam Shakespearehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/20/little-women/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/20/little-women/The four March sisters chase their dreams and 'castles in the air' through the Civil War years. I felt like a fly on the wall of the family. Warm, memorable, still resonant, and it stays with you.Wed, 20 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTLouisa May Alcotthttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/26/the-black-swan-the-impact-of-the-highly-improbable-second-edition-with-a-new-section-on-robustness-and-fragility/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/26/the-black-swan-the-impact-of-the-highly-improbable-second-edition-with-a-new-section-on-robustness-and-fragility/A study of Black Swans, the rare, high-impact events we only explain after they happen. Prickly in tone, but genuinely mind-opening about how badly we predict and how easily we fool ourselves.Tue, 26 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTNassim Nicholas Talebhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/29/starsight-skyward-2/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/11/29/starsight-skyward-2/Spensa goes undercover among the aliens, and the galaxy fills with the most interesting species in ages. M-BOT and Doomslug shine, the espionage grips, and the worldbuilding leaps ahead. Hard to believe it's YA.Fri, 29 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/03/drive-your-plow-over-the-bones-of-the-dead/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/03/drive-your-plow-over-the-bones-of-the-dead/Far more cohesive than Flights. A snowbound mystery in remote Poland narrated by Janina, an eccentric astrologer railing against how we treat animals and the earth. Strange, funny, and genuinely engrossing.Tue, 03 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTOlga Tokarczukhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/08/the-paradox-of-choice-why-more-is-less/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/08/the-paradox-of-choice-why-more-is-less/The argument that more choice isn't better, and as a lifelong maximizer it hit home. It unpacks how we decide and why it drains us, then makes the case for becoming a satisficer. Relatable and genuinely useful.Sun, 08 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTBarry Schwartzhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/12/stiff/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/12/stiff/Mary Roach transforms the morbid topic of human cadavers into an entertaining and educational exploration of what happens after we die.Thu, 12 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTMary Roachhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/15/predictably-irrational/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/15/predictably-irrational/Dan Ariely uses clever experiments to reveal the hidden psychological forces that shape our supposedly rational choices.Sun, 15 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTDan Arielyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/23/the-forty-rules-of-love/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/23/the-forty-rules-of-love/A modern love story braided with the tale of Rumi and the dervish Shams, whose forty rules thread through both. Endlessly quotable, it challenges how you think about faith and love. I'll return to it.Mon, 23 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTElif Shafakhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/17/if-beale-street-could-talk/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/17/if-beale-street-could-talk/Injustice turned intimate: the heartbreak of one family torn apart by a wrongful arrest. A story of love, family, and anger with no easy ending. Written about the 70s, and painfully still relevant.Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTJames Baldwinhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/24/the-last-wish-the-witcher-05/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2019/12/24/the-last-wish-the-witcher-05/Played the games, never read the books, and wow, the writing holds up. Each story reworks a fairy tale in Geralt's world, where nothing is what it seems. Sharp, twist-filled, and well-paced. I'll happily read on.Tue, 24 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTAndrzej Sapkowskihttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2021/03/08/klara-and-the-sun/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2021/03/08/klara-and-the-sun/A book where the main character and perspective is an AI Robot. Kazuo Ishiguro explores a world where we get to ask ourselves questions like: Can we become friends with an artificial friend / robot? How does an artificial friend think and act? What happens to these artificial friends once their usefuless is past?Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTKazuo Ishigurohttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2022/01/10/the-anthropocene-reviewed-essays-on-a-human-centered-planet/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2022/01/10/the-anthropocene-reviewed-essays-on-a-human-centered-planet/John Green conveys his thoughts on the world and takes a look into all of our souls.Mon, 10 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMTJohn Greenhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2022/03/02/ring-shout/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2022/03/02/ring-shout/Clark imagines the Klan as literal demon-summoning monsters, with the fierce Sadie hunting them. The premise is a blast and the horror imagery is vivid,.Wed, 02 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMTP. Djèlí Clarkhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2022/06/23/the-djinn-in-the-nightingales-eye-five-fairy-stories/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2022/06/23/the-djinn-in-the-nightingales-eye-five-fairy-stories/A scholar of fairy tales and mythology accidentally stumbles upon a genie and handles them smartly to avoid the classic genie wish trope.Thu, 23 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMTA.S. Byatthttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2020/01/03/bird-by-bird/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2020/01/03/bird-by-bird/More than a writing manual. A warm pep talk about truth, perfectionism, and taking things one small assignment at a time, and it left me more confident in my own writing. Useful for anyone who writes.Fri, 03 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTAnne Lamotthttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2020/01/14/van-gogh-the-life/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2020/01/14/van-gogh-the-life/The Pulitzer-winning duo behind the Pollock biography turn to Van Gogh, and to his brother Theo. Stunningly detailed on a restless, isolated, misunderstood life. You'll see Starry Night differently.Tue, 14 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTGregory White Smith and Steven Naifehhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2020/01/19/1984/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2020/01/19/1984/Orwell's dystopia isn't really about plot or character. It's a warning. Read it for the situation around increased state surveillance, history being rewritten, unchecked power, and the parallels you'll keep drawing to your own world.Sun, 19 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTGeorge Orwellhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2020/01/19/no-one-is-too-small-to-make-a-difference/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2020/01/19/no-one-is-too-small-to-make-a-difference/Greta Thunberg's collected climate speeches, more inspiring than literary. They sketch the scale of the crisis and left me wanting to do more.Sun, 19 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTGreta Thunberghttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/01/07/the-inferno/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/01/07/the-inferno/Finally took the time to descend into hell with Dante and VirgilSun, 07 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMTDante Alighierihttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/01/22/death-and-the-dervish/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/01/22/death-and-the-dervish/A descent into Ottoman bureaucracy, moral paralysis, and the cost of detachmentMon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMTMeša Selimovićhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/02/12/dionysiaca-books-1-15-loeb-classical-library-344/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/02/12/dionysiaca-books-1-15-loeb-classical-library-344/The longest Greek epic you've never heard of. Dionysus conquers India with wine, madness, and a pinecone staff. 48 books of baroque excess that rewrites what an epic can be.Wed, 12 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTNonnushttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/05/08/the-way-of-kings-the-stormlight-archive-1/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/05/08/the-way-of-kings-the-stormlight-archive-1/A masterclass in character development, worldbuilding, and earned progression that justifies every one of its 1,000+ pages.Wed, 08 May 2024 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/05/21/kojiki/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/05/21/kojiki/Everything you ever wanted to know about the Japan mythology, perhaps just read the parts about the myths and skip the record of genealogies. You'll read about the various dieties and how they were formed and how they formed more dieties, the prized emperor treasures, the underworld, and heroic figures such as Yamato Takeru.Tue, 21 May 2024 00:00:00 GMTŌ no Yasumarohttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/06/19/shogun-asian-saga/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/06/19/shogun-asian-saga/An epic historical novel immerses readers in feudal Japan through masterful political maneuvering and cultural exploration.Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMTJames Clavellhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/06/30/the-origin-of-consciousness-in-the-breakdown-of-the-bicameral-mind/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/06/30/the-origin-of-consciousness-in-the-breakdown-of-the-bicameral-mind/An astonishing theory of how we developed our consciousness and how it worksSun, 30 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMTJulian Jayneshttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/07/12/words-of-radiance-the-stormlight-archive-2/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/07/12/words-of-radiance-the-stormlight-archive-2/If you thought Way of Kings was epic, then sit tight for the follow up: Words of Radiance. We get to see the characters start to meet and more of the lore of Roshar opens up to the reader. This one is a delightful follow up, a sequel nailed right.Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/07/28/oathbringer-the-stormlight-archive-3/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/07/28/oathbringer-the-stormlight-archive-3/The third installment of The Stormlive Archive has a focus on Dalinar's past as the brutal warlord known Blackthorne and his transformation into his present day self. Oathbringer explores more behind the curtains of the cosmic entities at play on Roshar and a major confrontation with Odium, the embodiment of Passion, and how power can be seducing.Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMTBrandon Sandersonhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/08/27/the-bright-sword/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/08/27/the-bright-sword/A brilliant take on Arthurian legend exploring the aftermath of Arthur's death and the cost of heroism.Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMTLev Grossmanhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/10/13/an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/10/13/an-immense-world-how-animal-senses-reveal-the-hidden-realms-around-us/The extraordinary sensory worlds of animals, a transformative book that changes how you see every living creature.Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTEd Yonghttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/11/02/dungeon-crawler-carl-dungeon-crawler-carl-1/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2024/11/02/dungeon-crawler-carl-dungeon-crawler-carl-1/Aliens turn Earth into an intergalactic survival gameshow, and Carl and his talking cat Donut have to level up through the dungeon to survive. Think Survivor with Final Fantasy mechanics. Not a masterpiece, but a blast.Sat, 02 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTMatt Dinnimanhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/02/03/the-guns-of-navarone/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/02/03/the-guns-of-navarone/A five man commando team takes on an impossible mission during WW2. Scale a mighty German cliff fortress and destroy the mounted naval guns.Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTAlistair MacLeanhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/02/25/taiwan-travelogue/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/02/25/taiwan-travelogue/A Japanese author's translated food travelogue of Taiwan, from the subtle gaze of a Japanese colonizer who believe they are progressiveTue, 25 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTYáng Shuāng-zǐhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/01/05/top-books-i-read-in-2024/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/01/05/top-books-i-read-in-2024/A list of my favorite books from 2024Sun, 05 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTSabtainhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/01/20/a-companion-to-the-iliad-based-on-the-translation-by-richmond-lattimore/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/01/20/a-companion-to-the-iliad-based-on-the-translation-by-richmond-lattimore/If you are reading the Iliad, then you should read the companion novel. There are so many references and points that give more context to the poem and its story. Its so rich given the additional commentary.Mon, 20 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTMalcolm M. Willcockhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/03/01/mr-president-penguin-classics/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/03/01/mr-president-penguin-classics/The foundational Latin American malevolent dictatorship novel, establishing the genre and heavily influencing authors even to this daySat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTMiguel Ángel Asturiashttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/01/26/the-coin/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/01/26/the-coin/A wealthy Palestinian woman that reminds me of Holly Golightly, unraveling in New York City.Sun, 26 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTYasmin Zaherhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/03/04/chess-little-clothbound-classics/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/03/04/chess-little-clothbound-classics/A short story about Tue, 04 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTStefan Zweighttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/03/26/jason-and-the-argonauts-penguin-classics/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/03/26/jason-and-the-argonauts-penguin-classics/An epic where the hero is outshone by his crew and paramourWed, 26 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTApollonius of Rhodeshttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/04/04/pale-fire/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/04/04/pale-fire/A 999 line poem, wrapped in an absurd foreword and commentary. Metafiction at its finest.Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTVladimir Nabokovhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/04/18/gliff/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/04/18/gliff/In near future Britain, you don't exist unless the state can verify you. A fragmented, language focused dystopia where doubelspeak and workplay tell many stories.Fri, 18 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTAli Smithhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/05/30/suite-for-barbara-loden/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/05/30/suite-for-barbara-loden/Léger sets out to write a simple encyclopedia entry on the film Wanda and spirals into a strange, metafictional meditation on the impossibility of capturing another woman's life. Short, odd, and quietly rewarding.Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTNathalie Légerhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/06/14/the-posthumous-memoirs-of-br%C3%A1s-cubas/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/06/14/the-posthumous-memoirs-of-br%C3%A1s-cubas/A dead aristocrat writes his memoirs from beyond the grave in this 1881 masterclass of metafiction and dark humor that still feels shockingly modernSat, 14 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTMachado de Assishttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/07/04/the-devils-the-devils-1/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/07/04/the-devils-the-devils-1/A supernatural cast of characters go on a quest in a medieval setting where monsters, vampires, the undead and more are among the group and among their enemiesFri, 04 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMTJoe Abercrombiehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/08/10/hadji-murat/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/08/10/hadji-murat/During the Caucas wars of the 1850s, all know of the living legend Hadji Murat and his exploits in battleSun, 10 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMTLeo Tolstoyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/09/04/the-greek-alexander-romance/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/09/04/the-greek-alexander-romance/A cross cultural set of tales, myths, and legends of the historical figure Alexandros the Great.Thu, 04 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTRichard Stonemanhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/11/01/empire-of-silence/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/11/01/empire-of-silence/The beginning of an epic space opera saga following Hadrian, meant to be heir to his Father's planetary rule, but sold off to the inquisition like religious order called the Chantry. Hadrian's journey with contacting the alien Cielcin race and seek peace begins here. Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTChristopher Ruocchiohttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/10/11/salt-a-world-history/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/10/11/salt-a-world-history/This book will make you take salt less for granted. An amazing history of how much impact the use of salt has had in our world and every day lives from preserving meat, language and moreSat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTMark Kurlanskyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/10/11/say-nothing-a-true-story-of-murder-and-memory-in-northern-ireland/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/10/11/say-nothing-a-true-story-of-murder-and-memory-in-northern-ireland/A deeply researched exposé of a murder during the Irish Troubles that unfolds into story of how the motivations and decisions of ordinary people were made to fight for their belief of a united IrelandSat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTPatrick Radden Keefehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/12/14/2666/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/12/14/2666/An uncanny novel that is split in 5 parts, telling loosely collected stories of people pulled into a vortex of murder and crime in Santa TeresaSun, 14 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTRoberto Bolañohttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/10/26/the-melancholy-of-resistance/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2025/10/26/the-melancholy-of-resistance/A town in hungary descends into dread, riot and chaos. Meanwhile, several forces take advantage of the chaos to consolidate their own power.Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTLászló Krasznahorkaihttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/02/08/top-books-i-read-in-2025/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/02/08/top-books-i-read-in-2025/I read over 40 books in this year, but people love a curated list so here are a select few I think are worth everyone's time.Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTSabtainhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/02/18/soldier-of-the-mist/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/02/18/soldier-of-the-mist/Latro wakes up every day without his memory and must read in his scroll to understand what he needs to do, due to a curse put upon him by the Earth Mother. He meets friends, Greek gods, and more on his quest to regain his memory. A truly unique and interesting novel that I highly recommend, especially for lovers of Ancient Greece.Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTGene Wolfehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/05/the-sword-of-the-lictor/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/05/the-sword-of-the-lictor/Now the Lictor of Thrax, Severian leaves the city to encounter more mysteries of Urth on his path to return the claw to the Pelerine order. On this stretch of the journey, Severian encounters monsters and beings that come with more revelations about the dying Urth.Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTGene Wolfehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/12/the-citadel-of-the-autarch/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/12/the-citadel-of-the-autarch/The war in the north and the secrets of Urth and the Autarch. Severian's long road finally arrives at the New Sun the whole series has been circling.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTGene Wolfehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/23/ten-books-publishing-in-2026-im-looking-forward-to/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/23/ten-books-publishing-in-2026-im-looking-forward-to/Ten 2026 releases I'm most excited about from Min Jin Lee (the author of Pachinko) to Emily St. John Mandel (author of Station Eleven).Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTSabtainhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/05/08/mr-salary/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/05/08/mr-salary/A short story you can read and enjoy over a cup of coffee, maybe even before the coffee finishes. A woman visits her father and an old relationship of conveniences and dwells on what could have been.Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTSally Rooneyhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/05/25/the-claw-of-the-conciliator/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/05/25/the-claw-of-the-conciliator/After the events of Shadow of the Claw, we continue to follow Severian on his journey to Thrax in exile. Along the way with Jonas his new friend, confront foes and creatures, and we get to confront more of the dying world Gene Wolfe has placed us on and possibly a connection to outer space.Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTGene Wolfehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/05/18/the-shadow-of-the-torturer/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/05/18/the-shadow-of-the-torturer/Severian, part of a guild of torturers, lives on an Urth set millions of years in the future. After being exiled from the guild for showing mercy to someone he loved, he goes out into the world and relates us to his strange encounters on a barely recognizeable EarthMon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTGene Wolfehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/22/london-falling/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/22/london-falling/A boy falls into the Thames and his two parents in England on a search for answers to their sons death. They encounter his ties to Russian oligarchs and london gangsters along the way.Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTPatrick Radden Keefehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/27/the-awakening/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/06/27/the-awakening/This book was censored in 1899 for its challening notion of what a woman's path and duty in life should be, and the idea that a woman can have her own independent path.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTKate Chopinhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/01/suspicion/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/01/suspicion/A car plunges into the sea and a woman with a shady history escapes from the scene. Accused of murder for an insurance payout by the media, this book explores sensational media, bias, and general conjecture play into how the truth can get manipulated and assumed.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTSeichō Matsumotohttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/15/the-frolic-of-the-beasts/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/15/the-frolic-of-the-beasts/An act of violence rearranges the dynamics of the three lives in a Japanese love triangle forming a strange relationship and cold setting.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTYukio Mishimahttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/08/yesteryear/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/08/yesteryear/An absolute killer hook buried under lazy execution, this review breaks down why the high-concept tradwife thriller Yesteryear prioritizes structural tricks over actual narrative weight.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTCaro Claire Burkehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2016/06/30/the-murder-of-roger-ackroyd/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2016/06/30/the-murder-of-roger-ackroyd/A murder in a quiet English village pulls detective Hercule Poirot out of retirement, piecing together the truth from small village politics, gossip and lies. You will never solve this one.Thu, 30 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMTAgatha Christiehttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/16/ways-of-seeing/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/16/ways-of-seeing/My review of Ways of Seeing by John Berger.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTJohn Bergerhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/21/the-passion-according-to-gh/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/21/the-passion-according-to-gh/An immersive stream of thought of a wealthy Rio de Janeiro sculpture artist, prompted by the grotesque sight of a cockroach. Witness the unraveling and ascension of her self as she reflects on her status and life.Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTClarice Lispectorhttps://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/28/how-to-get-out-of-a-reading-slump/https://saturdaysinabook.com/blog/2026/07/28/how-to-get-out-of-a-reading-slump/A reading slump isn't a reason to stop reading, it just means you need to pick up the right book. Mystery novels turn you into the detective collecting the facts, piecing the clues together and trying to solve the mystery. It's hard to put down because you want to solve it!Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTSabtain