
Reading the World’s Greatest Stories
Book reviews and analyses of literature from around the world, from the most ancient classics to the newest releases
February 2026 Reading Wrap-Up Hello and welcome to my February 2026 reading wrap-up! Thanks to a number of shorter books that I read for the Olympicsathon (readathon hosted by YouTube’s ClumsyCharlott during every Olympics), I managed to complete 15 books during the shortest month of the year. I also had a couple of DNF’s, both…
Dead in the Water by John Marrs: REVIEW Goodreads Blurb When Damon survives a near-drowning, his life flashes before his eyes. Every memory is crystal clear—except one. A dead boy. A face he can’t place. A moment he doesn’t remember living. At first he tells himself it’s a trick of the mind. But everything else…
January 2026 Reading Wrap-Up Hello! Welcome to my January 2026 reading wrap-up. I completed 10 books in January, but I also read half of another and had 4 DNFs (did not finish) and a soft DNF (didn’t finish for now, but will return to it). I thought I’d do something a little different this month…
The Award by Matthew Pearl: REVIEW Goodreads Blurb David Trent is an aspiring novelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts trying to navigate his ambitions in a place that has writers around every corner. He lives in an apartment above Silas Hale, a famous author who, beneath his celebrated image, is a bombastic, vindictive monster. Silas refuses to…
Canada Reads 2026 Shortlist: My Thoughts The Canada Reads 2026 shortlist was announced this morning, so let’s talk about it. The Shortlist and Debaters Filmmaker and actor Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers champions A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt “A Minor Chorus is a novel that follows an unnamed narrator who abandons his thesis and goes back to his…
Eight Million Ways to Happiness by Hiroko Yoda: REVIEW Synopsis Japanese cultural historian Hiroko Yoda explains the Japanese mindset to Westerners by sharing her own journey with Japanese ritual and spirituality after the deaths of her parents. My Review As the author points out, the Western world often has a hard time understanding Japanese culture.…
December 2025 Reading Wrap-Up Hello! Welcome to my December 2025 Reading Wrap-Up. I finished reading 15 books in December, which is a bit higher than my average. That’s partly due to reading a few smaller books over Christmas, but also partly because we’re having renovations done, so I spent most of the month trying to…