A mixture of classic fiction, modern soon-to-be-TV novels, end of the world warnings, guides, modern history and parenting books. Some old and some new, all worth a perusal.

Aesthetic Deviations: A Critical View of American Shot-on-Video Horror, 1984-1994 by Vincent A. Albarano (2023)

I already wrote up eight of favorite books read this year, but one that just missed the cut was Aesthetic Deviations: A Critical View of American Shot-on-Video Horror, 1984-1994 by Vincent A. Albarano, a survey of some truly strange movies and moviemakers that goes deep on one of the most important decades in outsider filmmaking. Amateurish and full of tasteless gore, nudity, and other objectionable content, the SOV horror world is full of boundary pushing movies that exist on the margins of a genre that already has a reputation for sleaze. -Matt Byrne

AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference by Arvind Narayanan, Sayash Kapoor (2025)

The title gives it away but it’s still worth the read. It’s not nearly as down on AI as the title would you have believe. Really. -Brandon Wetherbee

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1952)

The fastest I’ve ever consumed a long book. Some of the best and most devastating character descriptions I’ve ever read. -Tyler Snodgrass

It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken (2024)

In what may be the most brilliant, weirdest post-apocalyptic zombie novel in literary history, an anonymous narrator pursues memories of a lost love who once kept her company on some unusually romantic dunes. Although the zombies can’t effectively communicate with each other, don’t worry; she has a crow inside her body that speaks to her in snarky, cryptic aphorisms and pop quizzes, so that’s good. The writing is gloriously poetic, stubbornly paradoxical, and wildly inventive. The dialogue, sometimes opaque, sometimes tragically raw and revealing, often both, is frequently worthy of Beckett. Presenting the pictures, sounds, and feelings of grief in a unique and fascinating register, it explores corporal reality in eternal debate with its various simulacra, all under the rule of modern atomization, isolation, and hypernormalization. It Lasts Forever is an unforgettable rollercoaster ride through a condemned and boarded-up theme park that serves as humanity’s prison, wholly of our own construction. -Emerson Dameron 

The March Trilogy by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell (2013, 2015, 2016)

As an English teacher, I had seen this book on plenty of lists for best graphic novels to teach. I thought it would be good, but I had no idea it would be this good! Lewis’s narrative is so powerful and gripping, and Powell’s illustrations have a style and flow that shows he’s a true master of the form. -Tyler Snodgrass

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley (2024)

I am becoming engrossed by the Lucy Foley literature universe. It’s only a matter of time before all her works are adapted for prestige television. -Brandon Wetherbee 

Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman (2025)

A more thoughtful version of Minor Threat’s “In My Eyes,” but about your career instead of cool shit, like drinking and smoking.  -Brandon Wetherbee 

Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Fox (2023)

Crypto was a bubble that burst that got a second life with a little less than three years left. There will be a sequel to this nonfiction book in a few years. -Brandon Wetherbee

Raising Mentally Strong Kids by Daniel G Amen and Charles Fay (2024)

I want to be a good parent. I’ve read roughly 100 books about parenting/childbirth in the last 7 years. I was one of those people that thought they wouldn’t have the tools to be a good father because I didn’t have X, Y or Z growing up. Since reading has literally never done me wrong, I figured it would be good to take in as many viewpoints as possible. So far, I think it has been positive. 

But the vast majority of what I’ve consumed is not worth your time. This book is. It’s full of common sense parenting tidbits backed by science. You probably already know all of the big takeaways (be firm and kind, make the kids wear a helmet/don’t let them play football, empathy is incredibly important, let them make mistakes when the stakes are low so they learn lessons before it really matters/no bailouts from consequences, etc.), but it’s good to be reminded to not be a dick to some of the most important people in your orbit. 

To the chagrin of a lot of fellow parents, I often say the reasoning behind raising kids is easy, or at least simple. And it is if you want it to be. You’re going to do so much of the same necessary stuff (make meals, wash clothes, read them books, wipe butts, etc.), so why question every single thing if you know what you’re doing is as ‘correct’ as possible? This doesn’t make raising a kid easy, but the reasons why you should behave in certain ways should be easy. 

I’ll keep reading every parenting book recommended to me, especially if it’s from a friend. There’s nothing wrong with relearning the same lessons via a book. -Brandon Wetherbee 

Vineland by Thomas Pynchon (1990)

I listened to Vineland on audiobook while driving through Humboldt County. I began to see The Pattern.  -Tony Beasley

Feature photo by MIKE STOLL on Unsplash

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