Back with more book recs!
This newsletter actually started with book reviews. I still believe there’s a demand for it. People want to read but, like picking out a restaurant in a new city, sometimes it’s hard to know where to go.
These are books that I have read or currently reading. Books I believe you’ll enjoy.
Also, you will notice that the comment section is open. Believe it or not, a lot of people subscribe to this newsletter. Feel free to write your own recommendations in the comment section. We want to hear from you!
Let’s do this!
I made a goal to read more fiction this year. At first, I thought that meant the classics like Fitzgerald, Hemmingway, or Jane Austen, but then someone gave me the offhand comment, “Why can’t you just read for fun?”
It’s a good point! Why don’t I read for fun?
Well, that’s going to change too. A bunch of people recommended Fourth Wing. I’m sure you’ve seen it at airports and bookstores. It’s a dragon fantasy. Not my typical genre, but guess what? I loved it!
It’s Top Gun but with terrifying dragons instead of fighter jets. A story about sexy people competing (to the death) for higher positions at a military academy. I couldn’t get enough of it, and I’m excited to read the sequel and watch the TV show that’s supposed to come out on Amazon Prime.
And yes. I had fun reading it!
Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome’s Greatest Politician by Anthony Everitt
“How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” That’s the running joke on the internet. Whether it’s all the time or not at all, the fact that it’s even a joke tells us ancient Rome is still relevant.
But why?
Who knows? I think it’s because ancient Rome feels oddly familiar. In the world Cicero lived in, senators were endlessly filibustering legislation and exposing one another’s sexual escapades to discredit them. There was also a strange desire to chase the “Roman Dream” — of a small plot of line with a fence. Where have we heard this?
We like learning about Roman military conquests and gladiator fights, but its real legacy was left on the Senate floor, where Cicero ruled. He mobilized words, and his philosophies influenced the people who shaped the modern world, including John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and even Winston Churchill.
“All ages of the world have not produced a greater statesman and philosopher combined.” Wrote John Adams.
It’s a fast and intriguing book. I recommend it to anyone who thinks about the Roman Empire, even if just a little.
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Gramm
I’m only 30 pages in, but I can tell it will be a horrifying and spicey drama.
The author of Killers of The Flower Moon brings to life another true crime story, this time taking us back to 1740 Britain. The king commissions a vessel called the HMS Wager to search for a Spanish ship rumored to carry a boatload of gold. The Wager disappears, and the government declares the crew lost to the sea.
Then things get weird.
A small makeshift craft returns with survivors. Six months later, another more decrepit craft with survivors returns. Stories escalate over what actually happened. Stories of murder, anarchy, and mutiny make their way to the press, and a court martial turns into a public trial that uncovers the truth.
Be prepared to get wet.
Thank you for reading. OK, now let’s hear from you!