John Banville is an exceptional writer. The Drowned is a dark and moody tale set in 1950s Ireland. A loner comes across an abandoned car (still running and with the driver door wide open). Against his better judgment, he has a closer look. What unfolds is a troubled story of a missing woman, presumed drowned, and the deviant nature of her husband and the people he turns to for help.
Called in from Dublin to investigate is Detective Inspector Strafford, and through him we are introduced to pathologist Quirke, Chief Hackett, and Quirke’s daughter Phoebe. Their stories, running in parallel to the mysterious disappearance of the woman, are all about the secrets we hide, and the complicated ways that justice is served.
If you like John Banville, this read is top drawer. Similar writers would be Claire Keegan (Small Things Like These) or Anne Enright (The Green Road).
This isn’t your typical front-to-back read. Brianna Wiest’s 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think is a curated collection of reflections on purpose, emotion, identity, and intentional living. Each essay offers a sharp, sometimes spiritual, sometimes psychological nudge toward greater self-awareness. While the essays are standalone, a rhythm emerges—one that pulses with practical insight for anyone navigating adulthood, burnout, relationships, or meaning-making.
Published in 2016, this is an oldie but a goodie. I enjoyed all the essays, even the ones not directly applicable to this stage of my life. There are tons of mantras, lists, and thoughtful, grounded, and resilient approaches to common life scenarios. And yes, there is repetition in the essays but, as I mentioned, this is a pick-it-up and flip-it-open anywhere type of read.
Here are a few of the recurring life lessons:
Understand your emotions, don’t suppress them. Emotions are data, not directives. Learn to hear the lesson the emotion is conveying. And it is good to self-regulate but terrible to suppress. (Watch the Disney film Inside Out.)
Habits shape your identity. Change comes from what you do every day. Structure actually creates the freedom. (read Leah Goard on time management or Atomic Habits by James Clear)
Let go of who you should be. A lot of suffering comes from our assumptions or the perceived expectations of others. (check out Mel Robbins and the Let Them Theory)
Discomfort is a signal, not a stop sign. Growth is not comfortable. Don’t wait for certainty. (be like a hermit crab, get out of a tight space by growing and moving to something bigger than you)
You are not your thoughts. Cognitive distortions (like catastrophizing or black-and-white thinking) can quietly sabotage your well-being. (Write down your negative thoughts. This separates them from you. It’s quite freeing. Or, give your brain a name and talk to it. “Get it together Nicky.”)
Relationships are mirrors. What you dislike in others is often what you dislike or fear about yourself. (Judging others? Reflect on your own unresolved stuff. Learn from it. Check out Marcus Aurelius on judging others)
Stillness is not laziness. A life well lived is not measured by output alone. It’s a chaotic world, leave room for creativity, day-dreaming, and stepping back to see the larger picture. (Read some Stoic philosophy)
Your perception of reality is created by the focus of your attention. (Stop body scanning for anxiety or pain. Consider the stories you tell yourself about how an event is going or whether you like your job. Practice gratitude, hold on to happiness longer.)
Boundaries are acts of love. (Check out Dr. Becky on boundaries. They are something you set and maintain, they are about your actions not someone else’s.)
101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think is best read with a pencil in hand and space to pause. It’s not a book to race through; it’s a resource you return to. There’s repetition, yes, but also reinforcement—and in that, a kind of recalibration. If you’ve ever journaled your way out of a rut, or needed a mental reset without a full life upheaval, Wiest’s collection is a reliable reference for a life well lived.
You’ll like this read if you like Brianna Wiest’s other books (The Mountain Is You), or people like Ryan Holiday (The Obstacle Is the Way), James Clear (Atomic Habits), Mel Robbins (The Let Them Theory), Brené Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection)—all share a focus on personal growth, resilience, and achieving one’s potential, often exploring themes of overcoming challenges, building better habits, and navigating emotional experiences.
Butter is a an international bestselling novel that follows a Toyko journalist trying to get an exclusive interview with a female gourmet cook accused of serial murder.
Manako Kajii is awaiting her retrial in the Tokyo Detention House. She is charged with the murders of three businessmen with whom she was engaged to be married. Kajii refuses to speak to the press or entertain visitors but journalist Rika Machida, who knows nothing about cooking, gets a tip from her best friend about how she might infiltrate: Rika asks Kajii for her beef stew recipes. Will Kajii soften like butter and reveal all to Rika? Or will Rika just be another victim who falls prey to Kajii’s manipulations?
Yes, the novel is inspired by the real case of a convicted con woman and serial killer (the Konkatsu Killer), but Butter is more an exploration of misogynistic attitudes and diet culture. There are several female journalists who are treated differently in the office and by sources. There’s the toxic fat shaming Kajii endures from the press and from readers; and as Rika explores the rich meals Kajii loves, she too is shamed by peers and colleagues for her weight gain.
Butter is the story of a tenacious journalist who is committed to uncovering the nature of an accused killer. In the process she discovers more about herself, her family, her values, and her friends. It’s social commentary, personal journey, and a bit of gawker culture. It is not a fast-paced, true crime read but it is worthwhile.
If you like books where a culture and cuisine are highlighted, then this is for you. Or if you like social commentary with wit or some twist, then give this a try. I don’t have a lot of comparable reads but Kazou Ishiguro, Paul Lynch, and Jason Mott come to mind.
The False Prince (The Ascendance series, Book 1) was introduced to me by my tween son. I love discovering books that I wouldn’t otherwise encounter, and this was a good find. I have since read the second book in the series, The Runaway King.
The False Prince opens with Sage, an orphan, being captured/bought by a noble named Bevin Conner. Sage isn’t the only orphan, there are four of them, and they soon find out that they have been selected due to their passing resemblance to the kingdom’s Prince Jaron, who hasn’t been seen for years and is believed to be dead at the hands of pirates. The rub is that the King, Queen, and the eldest son and heir to the throne have just died by poison. Conner believes that he can disguise and train one of the orphans to be the prince, and once the puppet prince on the throne then they will delegate Conner as steward and basically leader. Foolproof, right?
There are many plot twists in this novel and I do not want to give away too much of the story. What I can say is that only one orphan will make it to the throne and the others will be killed. The pressure is on for the boys to form alliances as a safety net yet they are still orphans used to fighting for their place so rivalries abound.
The Runaway King (Book 2) opens with the real Prince Jaron, recently crowned King, fighting off an assassination attempt. Apparently the pirates are not happy that they didn’t kill him the first time around. Jaron recklessly decides to infiltrate the pirates in order to suss out the traitor in his court.
The trilogy now has 5 books in this series.
My son is a fan of the Percy Jackson series, Harry Potter, and Keeper of the Lost Cities. The Ascendance series doesn’t have the fantasy and magic but it is otherwise a classic adventure with a strong, determined hero who faces physical and mental challenges, often aided by friends who he initially mistrusts. If you like a classic hero’s journey with rising tension and plot twists then this is for you.
Grounded in reality. Rooted in culture. The Firekeeper’s Daughter is a thrilling debut set in the heart of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
In The Firekeeper’s Daughter, Angeline Boulley introduces us to Daunis Fontaine—a bright, science-minded Ojibwe teen navigating the fault lines of identity, family, and community.
Daunis is barely recovered from her uncle’s overdose death when tragedy strikes again. This time her best friend is killed by an estranged boyfriend. Are the two deaths linked? What’s the deal with the new hockey kid who Daunis has been showing around town? Is he involved? Who else is? Daunis suddenly finds herself connected to an undercover FBI investigation into a new, lethal drug that is threatening her community. Daunis must use her wits, her cultural teachings, and her fierce loyalty to protect what matters most. What follows is a suspenseful, emotionally rich journey of self-discovery, betrayal, and ultimately, belonging.
Most of my favourite passages include the French or Ojibwe words Boulley includes in the story. But there are also lessons in Indigenous medicine and healing. In one passage, Daunis reflect on love and control, “real love honours your spirit. If you need a medicine to create or keep it, that’s possession an control. Not love.” There is so much in this story about love and how relationships an be manipulated or used as a form of control. But there’s also a lot about how love can inform our actions.
Boulley opens the story with a gripping scene that sets the stage for Daunis’ complex, brave, and deeply rooted relationship to her family and her community. She struggles to be formally recognized by her father’s Indigenous community while also struggling with her connection to her mother’s prominent white family. There’s a ton of nuance to the story’s larger theme, which I see as the gap between how we’re seen and who we truly are.
The Ojibwe language and cultural references are expertly infused into the story, giving readers a better understanding of Anishinaabe traditions, values, and community structures. For example, in Ojibwe tradition, a Firekeeper tends the ceremonial fire that honours the dead and holds space for ritual. By the novel’s end, Daunis has claimed that role. She is her father’s daughter. She belongs. It’s a powerful reclaiming of heritage and agency.
The Firekeeper’s Daughter is a fierce, moving, and suspenseful coming-of-age thriller that challenges stereotypes and reinforces pride of place and identity. If you crave strong, justice-driven protagonists, this one belongs on your shelf.
Case Histories is the first Jackson Brodie novel by Kate Atkinson, author of Shrines of Gaiety, Transcription, and Life After Life. She’s a marvellous writer but I have only read some standalone titles, not any of her series. In Case Histories, we are introduced to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, who is following three 30-year-old cold cases, each unconnected but set in Cambridge.
In the first case, we read of a little girl Olivia who disappears in the night. In the second, a young office worker Laura falls victim to a maniac’s knife attack. And in the third, a new mother Michelle is overcome by anger and postpartum depression and brutally kills her husband with an axe.
Jackson attempts to unravel these unusual cases but as he pulls one thread, he realizes there is a great web at work. Olivia grew up in a house that shares a back lane with a current client, Binky Rain. Olivia and her sisters thought of Binky Rain as the witch. Are her missing cats linked to missing girls? Laura’s father Theo was the intended target of the attack, or was he? When Theo ends up having an asthma attack in a park, it is Olivia’s sisters who save him and call for the ambulance. In the same hospital, but in the ICU department, works Michelle’s younger sister Shirley, who has also come to Jackson for help. It’s an strange set of cases, not linked in the past, but with connections in the present.
The Man Who Saw in Seconds is an absolute thrill ride. The first hundred pages read like the single, continuous long shot opening of a Jason Bourne film. The novel is also packed with physics, philosophy, and intel on military and police procedures.
If you liked “The Queen’s Gambit,” this novel has a bit of chess in it and a lot of human dynamics, mastermind thinking, and an anti-hero prodigy. If you liked, the British science fiction mystery thriller miniseries “Bodies,” featuring detectives from different eras investigating the same murder, then you’ll appreciate that time is not absolute. Our main character Preble Jefferson, can see 5 seconds into the future. To paraphrase Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the past, present, and future is a stubbornly persistent illusion.
Preble finds himself in a Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare when his snarky comments to New York police officer in a subway car has him running through a hail of bullets to escape custody. Things escalate from there (truly possible). Preble, with the help of his paranoid, anarchist, Hungarian friend (and lawyer) named Fish, turns himself into police, which makes matters worse (truly possible).
Political thriller, spy novel, science fiction time travel, philosophy of time, police satire, revolutionary drama—this book is exciting.
Michael Crummey is shortlisted for the 2025 Dublin Literary Award and this submissions is a stellar read. The Adversary has hints of Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell (The Wolf Hall trilogy) in the character of Mr Clinch (also known as The Beadle). The Beadle’s formidable opponent is the Widow Caines and his charge, boss, and godson Abe Strapp is a thorn in the side of all concerned.
The Beadle effectively runs the show in his isolated corner of Newfoundland’s northern coast (Mockbeggar). He is second in command to Cornelius Strapp and after Cornelius’ death, then to his son Abe Strapp). The Beadle is a meddler and plots Abe’s marriage to a young woman who stands to inherit one of Mockbeggar’s largest mercantile firm. It’s a marriage to bring together two of the shore’s largest mercantile firms vs. one of love. And the wedding is sabotaged by the Widow Caines who is equally conniving (and the owner of Mockbeggar’s next largest firm). The Widow Caines is also the sister of Abe Strapp. What follows is a story of lies and betrayal, petty grievances, community gossip, and all the animosity, vendettas and violence you can imagine in a mid-18th century Newfoundland outport.
If you enjoy Michael Crummey novels, then The Adversary has the dark, quirky setting and superbly crafted characters you have grown to love from Crummey. I was a huge fan of River Thieves and The Wreckage. The Adversary picks up from some of the characters in The Innocents, and it’s a top-notch read.
James by Percival Everett is a rewriting of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this time told from Jim’s point of view. The story follows the same general path as Twain’s book. But the central figure is Huck’s enslaved companion, Jim. The novel offers an unsettling reflection on race, freedom, and identity, while still paying homage to Twain’s classic work.
As the story unfolds, we learn that Jim has a wife and child. He is intelligent and perceptive, but also deeply aware of the dangerous absurdities of the world around him. Jim is not just intelligent, he is literate and secretly teaches his friends philosophy and grammar, as well as the accepted (by whites) slave speech.
When Jim learns he is about to be sold and separated from his family, he goes on the run. Jim is hoping to free himself and his family but a slave on the run does not have a lot of options. He has to work within the system in order to get out of it, but systemic racism has a way of being … systemic.
Travelling the Mississippi River with Huck brings its own challenges. The dynamics between the duo are heartily explored. Huck looks up to Jim. But he also knows he has to pretend to own Jim. Likewise Jim wants to protect Huck but not the world Huck represents. The depth of the dilemma is often encapsulated in Jim’s hallucinatory conversations with Voltaire and John Locke where Jim argues against oppression and slavery.
Everett’s writing is subversive and funny. Jim is not a caricature as he is in Twain’s novel, but instead is a blend of satire and social critique wrapped up in a man who has to act without dignity to get through the day safely.
The story is full of moral complexities. It’s a journey to the heart of darkness.
James is a great read with a notable nod to its predecessor. If you enjoy reimagined classics then this is for you. Or if you enjoyed Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, then give this a read.
Breath follows James Nestor’s journey to understand his own obstructed airways and how it is that humans evolved from having perfect breathing and straight teeth to being chronic mouth breathers with crooked teeth and sufferers of snoring, sleep apnea, asthma and other illnesses. The answer I took away was that soft foods (cooked and processed) had a negative impact on chewing and jaw development, which affected the shape of our palette and airways. Stress, along with these evolutionary changes, affects our ability to have deep nasal breaths, and we have developed patterns that have us involuntarily holding our breath or breathing too fast or too often.
Nestor outlines the connection between breathing and health as he takes readers on his own journey of breath research.
My two takeaways: 1) chew more and more often, 2) breathe 5 1/2 seconds in and then 5 1/2 seconds out as an optimal breathing pattern.
And apparently, the left nostril is your parasympathetic nervous system and the right is the sympathetic nervous system. You can mindfully trigger fight-or-flight as a way to warm up your body (plug the left and breath through the right). Or you can mindfully trigger a calm state by using the left only.
James Nestor has a number of resources on his website and youtube.
If you liked Outlive or Good Energy, this is another great addition to that library of health titles worth reading.
