I've finished both October book club picks and am starting some new stuff, so I'll tell ya all about that and as always let me know what you plan on reading this week in the comments!

READING

REVIEW

THE SECRET HISTORY by DONNA TARTT (literary thriller)

Progress: Finished

I developed so many competing interpretations of The Secret History that I'm still not sure how to rate it, much less who I'd recommend it to. It reminded me of Crime & Punishment in some ways, but I don't know if it achieves the same resonance. Tartt does so much exceptionally well to pull you into this story, but I'm not sure it all adds up to anything particularly profound.

Revealing the murder from the outset is a great device that adds another dimension to nearly every interaction and watching these characters gradually disintegrate is compelling, but I'm still wrestling with whether that disintegration = a meaningful arc or simply reveals who these people were all along. If it's the latter (and that very well may be the point), what does that revelation actually leave us with?

Basically, I was absorbed by this book and it's super engaging. I just finished it wondering what it had all been in service of. So I'm gonna have to think on it some more and see how my feelings about it develop with some distance. And then I'll post a review about how stupid I am because I haven't figured it out yet and get roasted online by people that (like a certain character) have dreams about Dante Alighieri. Hell yeah!

CARTHAGE MUST BE DESTROYED: THE RISE AND FALL OF AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION by RICHARD MILES (ancient history)

Progress: Finished

Boy, did I love being back with this one. I've read several books on Carthage since my first time through, and revisiting it made me appreciate just how much attention Miles gives to some of the lesser-explored aspects of its history. One of my favorites is Hannibal's propaganda campaign, particularly his efforts to associate himself with Hercules/Heracles and the role that played in his struggle against Rome. I'm developing a video around that bit of history, along with another exploring whether Rome's greatest victory ultimately sowed the seeds of its own catastrophe. Keep an eye out for those!

THREE ASSASSINS by KOTARO ISAKA (dark thriller)

Progress: 56/254

This is my li'l snack before I jump into something heavier. Whacky assassins and a civilian out for revenge but up shit creek without a paddle seems like a good way to smack the reset button on the ol' brain. Both interesting and a little too quirky for its own good at times so far.

20TH CENTURY BOYS by NAOKI URASAWA [The Perfect Edition Vol. 3] (manga/seinen thriller)

Progress: Chapter 18 of 22

Whenever I mention Manga, somebody recommends this and, I'm here to tell ya, it rocks hard butt. The only gripe I have so far is some reveals are teased and then pulled back simply to keep the suspense for them going, and this can happen with an abrupt time jump that leads us down an entirely path, but it always ends up being killer shit anyway so whatever y'know? The last chapter I read was one of those moments where in you're head you're like, "tell me it's... it's gotta be... YES!" I've been told Monster by Urasawa is also a banger so I'm gonna have to pick those up too.

PREVIEW

It's time to finally put down the beefy chonky thicc boi that is A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• Publication News: I emailed our two winners for the A Complement of Scoundrels Spotify audiobook code giveaway, so congrats to comrades Adam and Heather! I'll be giving away one more code on IG soon!

• Game of the Week: I'm gonna actually do the tutorial for Crusader Kings III because during my first playthrough I was dizzier than a cricket in a hubcap. This Thursday is another test stream for the group I'll be gaming with on Twitch so follow me there.

• Show of the Week: I'm over halfway through S3 of Slow Horses, it still bangs.

• Movie of the Week: I'll use this space to shout out all the folk who joined us for our Discord watchalong of Con-Air, which, was indeed a movie.

This pick is brought to you by Marcus Parks, host of both Last Podcast on the Left and No Dogs In Space!

Eagan pulled off something incredible with this book: she set her novel in real music scenes like the Seventies punk scene in San Francisco and made them feel real. The story jumps from character to character, creating a web of social and professional interactions that shows how truly complicated, funny, and flawed the people in the music business can be. If you've ever looked at everyone at a concert instead of the person on stage and wondered what all of those people's lives are like - the staff, the crowd, the sound guy, the managers, the agents, the opening band - then this is the book for you.