I Could Be Famous: Stories by Sydney Rende Review by Brian Tanguay Rende has a knack for conveying ribald humor. She writes her characters into uncomfortable and terribly awkward situations. calirb.com/i-could-be-f...

What Is Free Speech? The History Of A Dangerous Idea by Fara Dabhoiwala Review by Brian Tanguay "Dabhoiwala asserts that the incentives of private media ownership are never aligned with the public good." calirb.com/what-is-free...

I Found Myself… The Last Dreams by Naguib Mahfouz Review by David Starkey "The impossible happens matter-of-factly, mingling with the mundane." calirb.com/i-found-myse...

Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run by Peter Ames Carlin Review by David Starkey "The result was an album that rightly finds its place at or near the top of just about any Greatest Albums of All Time list." calirb.com/tonight-in-j...

The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins by Sonny Rollins, Edited by Sam V.H. Reese Review by Walter Cummins "He shares a belief in the inseparability of spirituality and music with John Coltrane..." calirb.com/the-notebook...

A Desert Between Two Seas by A. Muia Review by Paul Willis "It is the original sin of the stories that works its effects through generations for more than a century." calirb.com/a-desert-bet...

The Future of Truth by Werner Herzog Review by George Yatchisin "As a visionary it’s his job to show us the big T Truth, damn the nigglingly fact-checkers." calirb.com/the-future-o...

Hitler and My Mother-in-Law by Terese Svoboda Review by Walter Cummins "One that dominates is knowing the truth of what actually happened and what’s emerged from rumor, assumption, and claims by the subject." calirb.com/hitler-and-m...

Impasse: Climate Change and the Limits of Progress by Roy Scranton Review by Walter Cummins Roy Scranton declares that the big moral question for humanity is “how to live in a fragmenting, increasingly incomprehensible world of accelerating catastrophe.” calirb.com/impasse-clim...

Repetition: A Novel by Vigdis Hjorth, Translated by Charlotte Barslund Review By Brian Tanguay "Hjorth gives readers moments which are deep, complex, and infinite." calirb.com/repetition-a...

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar Review by Walter Cummins "Characters make mistakes with disorienting consequences, but while inconvenienced, nobody gets seriously hurt." calirb.com/a-guardian-a...

10 Best Books of 2025 The Editors "As always when creating year-end lists, we could have easily generated another one that included dozens of additional outstanding books." calirb.com/10-best-book...

Savings And Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank by Justene Hill Edwards Review by Brian Tanguay "If the historian happens to be a skilled writer and an adept storyteller, the end product is often revelatory." calirb.com/savings-and-...

The Best Poetry Books of 2025 Reviews by David Starkey "As always, my reviews are intentionally short. Ideally, each one contains just enough information–an appreciative observation, say, or a couple of striking quotations..." calirb.com/the-best-poe...

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai Review by Walter Cummins "The title characters are torn by the emptiness of depressing loneliness, but a version of loneliness haunts every major character." calirb.com/the-loneline...

“A Wooded Shore” by Thomas McGuane Review by David Starkey “...McGuane is more sympathetic to his characters, and he loves describing the details of whatever location they find themselves in, so the prose feels fuller, richer, more engaged.” calirb.com/a-wooded-sho...

“1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History – And How It Shattered a Nation” by Andrew Ross Sorkin Review by Mark Mansour “...“1929” delivers a highly readable experience—a history that resonates far beyond its era.” calirb.com/1929-inside-...

“Shadow Ticket” by Thomas Pynchon Review by Walter Cummins “Like the sentences, the novel offers an intense rhythm of revelation that is an end in itself, more important than plot.” calirb.com/shadow-ticke...

“The Hounding” by Xenobe Purvis Review by George Yatchisin “There’s a general air of seduction and the power of the unanswerable…” calirb.com/the-hounding...

“A Case of Life and Limb: The Trials of Gabriel Ward” by Sally Smith Review by Brian Tanguay “In the second installment of Sally Smith’s captivating series, The Trials of Gabriel Ward, Sir Gabriel Ward, King’s Counsel, is once again confronted with a grisly crime…” calirb.com/a-case-of-li...

“Front Street: Resistance and Rebirth in the Tent Cities of Techlandia” by Brian Barth Review by Brian Tanguay “...he alters the nature of the conversation.” calirb.com/front-street...

“Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity” by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson Review by Walter Cummins "Acemoglu and Johnson present plans to enable the benefits of new technologies to spread to all workers and improve their lives" calirb.com/power-and-pr...

“The Perfect Tuba: Forging Fulfillment from the Bass Horn, Band, and Hard Work” by Sam Quinones Review by Brian Tanguay “It’s not often I start a review with, “I loved this book,”... This story fascinated me from page one and never let up...” calirb.com/the-perfect-...

“Saving Ourselves From Big Car” by David Obst Review by Brian Tanguay “Obst writes clearly, conversationally, and passionately about his subject. Despite the uphill nature of the task, he remains reasonably optimistic that we can mitigate the damage...” calirb.com/saving-ourse...

“Without Precedent: How Chief Justice John Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights” by Lisa Graves Review by Brian Tanguay “...deserves to be widely read and discussed among citizens, political figures and policy makers.” calirb.com/without-prec...

“The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains” by Pria Anand Review by Walter Cummins “For Anand, storytelling is essential for considering the phenomena around us.” calirb.com/the-mind-ele...

“Playworld” by Adam Ross Review by Walter Cummins “Ross has written a unique bildungsroman of an appealing boy-young man involved in a variety of activities that he fails to understand.” calirb.com/playworld-by...

“Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival” by Stephen Greenblatt Review by David Starkey "...at times Dark Renaissance reads like a thoroughly researched historical novel with wonderfully over the top characters..” calirb.com/dark-renaiss...

“To Phrase a Prayer for Peace” by Donna Spruijt-Metz Review by Catherine Abbey Hodges “To Phrase a Prayer for Peace fixes a deeply human gaze on the unbearable dailiness and shocking monotony of war crimes.” calirb.com/to-phrase-a-...

“Fox” by Joyce Carol Oates Review by Walter Cummins “While her narrative is compelling in dramatizing the procedural steps... the real subject of the novel is an exploration of human evil and the failure to acknowledge it.” calirb.com/fox-by-joyce...

“The World After Gaza: A History” by Pankaj Mishra Review by Brian Tanguay “'In The World After Gaza' he situates the polarizing conflict in the Middle East in historical perspective... “ calirb.com/the-world-af...

“Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women Who Endured Repatriation” by Marla A. Ramirez Review by Brian Tanguay “Relying primarily on oral histories and family documents, Ramirez focuses on the women who bore the brunt of forced removal.” calirb.com/banished-cit...

“Gaza: The Story of a Genocide” Edited by Fatima Bhutto and Sonia Faleiro Review by Brian Tanguay “This anthology is unsettling and disturbing, and yet it’s nonetheless an important piece of remembrance.” calirb.com/gaza-the-sto...

“Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous, Scandalous Story of Aimee Semple McPherson” by Claire Hoffman Review by George Yatchisin “...Clarie Hoffman’s steady, insightful biography..., an examination of the fantastic and tragic life of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson.” calirb.com/sister-sinne...

“Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s Open AI” by Karen Hao Review by Walter Cummins “It’s clear that Karen Hao is skeptical about and even hostile to AI developments in light of the fallibilities of the highly compensated Silicon Valley leaders...” calirb.com/empire-of-ai...

“Memorial Days” by Geraldine Brooks Review by David Starkey “One of the book’s central arguments is that all the demands American society places on the bereaved... makes true grieving all but impossible.” calirb.com/memorial-day...

“The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life” by Sophia Rosenfeld Review by Walter Cummins “...Rosenfeld in this book shows why making a personal decision is much more complicated than we may think.” calirb.com/the-age-of-c...

“The Etruscan” by Linda Lappin Review by Walter Cummins “Lappin’s descriptions evoke the ominous power of place and character, and make it convincing.” calirb.com/the-etruscan...

“The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document that Fails Them” by Aziz Rana Review by Brian Tanguay “...Rana notes that our constitutional culture upholds an uneven playing field, blocking consideration of certain proposals and arguments..." calirb.com/the-constitu...

“Guest Privileges: Queer Lives and Finding Home in the Middle East” by Gaar Adams Review by Brian Tanguay “Writing with remarkable candor and honesty... Adams... introduces readers to a diverse cast who forge a relationship with a place that can never be theirs." calirb.com/guest-privil...

“The Vinegar Girl” by Anne Tyler Review by Linda Lappin “Tyler’s Vinegar Girl is a straightforward all-American success story about how what really matters is essence and not appearances." calirb.com/the-vinegar-...

“Thanks to Life: A Biography of Violeta Parra” by Ericka Verba Review by Brian Tanguay “What comes across so emphatically in this finely researched biography is Violeta Parra’s obsessive determination to live her life as a creative artist.” calirb.com/thanks-to-li...

“Insectopolis: A Natural History” by Peter Kuper Review by David Starkey “Insectopolis is a book for adults, not children, but I could certainly envision a bright pre-teen enjoying most of the panels. And what panels they are!” calirb.com/insectopolis...

“Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus” by Elaine Pagels Review by David Starkey “As a skeptic, unlikely to be offended by any theory Pagels has to offer, I found it all rather bracing, even inspiring.” calirb.com/miracles-and...

“Flashlight” by Susan Choi Review by Walter Cummins “Choi dramatizes the complex nuances of human interactions with a convincing originality. The unique worlds of her characters develop and deepen as they accumulate.” calirb.com/flashlight-b...

“Hating Jazz: A History of Its Disparagement, Mockery, and Other Forms of Abuse” by Andrew S. Berish Review by Nikolas Mavreas “...a pillar of the book’s thesis is not just that hating jazz goes beyond the music but that it starts there.” calirb.com/hating-jazz-...

“Coolest American Stories”, Edited by Mark Wish and Elizabeth Coffey Review by Jack Smith “The prose in this collection is consistently rich and riveting... in scenes driven by spirited dialogue, scenes that involve us deeply in the characters. calirb.com/coolest-amer...

“An Island to Myself: The Place of Solitude in an Active Life” by Michael N. McGregor Review by Linda Lappin “...luminous, evocative prose, reminds us why it’s worth our while to embrace the present and seize the day. Maybe even on the island of our choice.” calirb.com/an-island-to...

“Ocean: Earth’s Last Wilderness” by David Attenborough and Colin Butfield Review by Rasoul Sorkhabi “Despite the massive environmental stress exerted on the oceans, Attenborough and Butfield see some signs of hope.” calirb.com/ocean-earths...

Swerve by Laurie Blauner Review by Walter Cummins “Laurie Blauner’s unexpected metaphoric disruptions are... radical linkages that capture the crises of her life, her inability to stay on course and a struggle to cope with the unexpected and escape the impact.” calirb.com/swerve-by-la...