I read across a pretty wide range — nonfiction, history, memoirs, science, and on the other end of the spectrum, science fiction. Space adventures, fantasy, magic. I go through phases.
Over the years I’ve accumulated thousands of books — boxes of hard copies and somewhere north of 1,200 titles in my Audible library alone. Most of what I listen to stays in the background. I go through a lot of books while doing other things, and most of them don’t make it onto these pages. Listing all of them would bury the ones worth talking about.
What you’ll find here are books I’ve read since building MY VIEW — with the occasional older title that earns its way back in. This section sits in the middle ground: books I got something out of, not quite a recommendation, but not something I’d steer anyone away from either. Some of them are genuinely exceptional works that the right reader would love. But as a blanket recommendation to everyone, I’d rather just put them here, let you read the synopsis, and let you decide for yourself.
It’ll start small — a dozen titles or so — and grow from there. If it gets unwieldy, I may simplify the whole thing. But I’ll give it a try and see how it goes.
Stoner
Read more: StonerBy John Williams Genre: Literary Fiction / Campus & Academic Novel / Existential Realism Audio Availability: Robin Field’s narration of Stoner is a solid, clean performance. Categories: The Human Condition & The Visual Palette 📖 The Blueprint (No-Spoiler Synopsis) Born to impoverished dirt farmers in rural Missouri at the close of the nineteenth century, William…
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Read more: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and RedemptionBy Bryan Stevenson Genre: Legal Non-Fiction / Memoir / Investigative Social Justice Audio Length: 11 hours, 10 minutes Narrated by: Bryan Stevenson himself (quiet, measured, profoundly dignified) Categories: The Ledger of Human Nature & The Mechanics of Morality 📖 The Blueprint (No-Spoiler Synopsis) In the early 1980s, a young Harvard Law graduate named Bryan Stevenson…
Looking After: A Son’s Memoir
Read more: Looking After: A Son’s MemoirBy John Daniel Genre: Memoir / Literary Non-Fiction Core Themes: Aging, Alzheimer’s/Dementia, Filial Duty, Memory, and the Oregon Landscape Categories: The Human Condition & The Burden of Observation 📖 No-Spoiler Synopsis Looking After documents the final years of John Daniel’s mother, Zay, as her mind gradually succumbs to the relentless progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Moving…
Villa Coco
Read more: Villa CocoBy Andrew Sean Greer Genre: Humorous Literary Fiction / Coming-of-Age (Bildungsroman) / Farce Audio Length: ~8–9 hours Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini (One of the industry’s top narrators, especially renowned for his flawless Italian accents and dry comedic pacing) 📖 No-Spoiler Synopsis Broke, directionless, and fresh out of an undistinguished undergraduate career, our unnamed young narrator…
Gifted a Novel
Read more: Gifted a NovelBy John Daniel Genre: Coming-of-Age / Environmental Fiction / Western Regional Literature Core Themes: Nature, Isolation, Family, and Human-Animal Affinity 📖 No-Spoiler Synopsis Set against the rugged, unforgiving backdrop of the rural American West, Gifted follows a young man named Micah Pruitt. Micah possesses a rare, almost spiritual affinity for wild creatures and the natural…
So, Anyway…
Read more: So, Anyway…By John Cleese Genre: Humorous Memoir / Autobiography Audio Length: ~9 hours Narrated by: John Cleese (Crucial for this specific title) 📖 No-Spoiler Synopsis Instead of focusing on the global mega-fame of Monty Python, Cleese takes a surprisingly deliberate, chronological approach to his early life. The book tracks his childhood as an awkward, unusually tall…
Galileo’s Daughter:
Read more: Galileo’s Daughter:A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love By Dava Sobel Genre: Biography / Science History / Narrative Non-Fiction Audio Length: 11 hours, 21 minutes Narrated by: George Guidall 📖 No-Spoiler Synopsis This is a dual biography that re-examines the life of the “Father of Modern Science,” Galileo Galilei, through the lens of his relationship…
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West
Read more: Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the WestBy Cormac McCarthy Moving from the moral evolution of Abraham Lincoln to Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian is a staggering shift. If Meacham’s Lincoln is about the “light” of the human conscience, McCarthy’s masterpiece is a dive into the absolute “redness” of human depravity. Be prepared: this is widely considered one of the most difficult, violent,…
Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung
Read more: Connie: A Memoir by Connie ChungNarrated by: Connie Chung Genre: Memoir / Autobiography / Journalism History Posted April 23, 2026 A Note on the Journey: This wasn’t an easy listen for me. About two-thirds of the way through, I hit a wall with the tone of the narrative. I had to stop and process whether the “pity party” I was…
The Widow by John Grisham
Read more: The Widow by John GrishamJohn Grisham is the acclaimed master of the legal thriller. Now, he’s back with his first-ever whodunit, even more suspenseful than his courtroom dramas, as a small-time lawyer accused of murder races to find the real killer to clear his name. Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his…
The Soul of America, The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham
Read more: The Soul of America, The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon MeachamThe Soul of America was recommended to me for the following reason. “You should read The Soul of America if you find yourself overwhelmed by the “partisan fury” of modern news and want a dose of evidence-based hope. Jon Meacham uses his expertise as a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer to show that while our current tensions…
ILLUSIONS – The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
Read more: ILLUSIONS – The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard BachSynopsis The story follows Richard, a barnstorming pilot who travels across the American Midwest giving $3 biplane rides. He encounters Donald Shimoda, a fellow pilot who is actually a former “Messiah” who quit his role after becoming frustrated with crowds that preferred being entertained by miracles rather than understanding his message. As the two travel…
HARVEY WASSERMAN’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES Introduction by Howard Zinn
Read more: HARVEY WASSERMAN’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES Introduction by Howard ZinnI was in my early twenties when I first read Harvey Wasserman’s History of the United States. I was not an attentive student throughout my primary and secondary education, especially before the 10th grade. I missed much that I regret, but I also think I missed a large amount of propaganda teachings, which I do…
The BICYCLE LOGS of WALTER ANDERSON By John G. Anderson Intro & Design by Anthony Thaxton
Read more: The BICYCLE LOGS of WALTER ANDERSON By John G. Anderson Intro & Design by Anthony ThaxtonWalter Anderdon – my introduction I started hearing stories about the Artist, the Hermit, Walter Anderson, one predawn morning while riding with Ray and Byron Ramsay. We were headed to launch Ray’s boat and fish off Marsh Point. Driving by the Walter Anderson Museum on Washington Street, Ray asked if I’d been to the museum.…
Jonathan Livingston Seagull a story By Richard Bach
Read more: Jonathan Livingston Seagull a story By Richard BachI do not remember a time when Jonathan Livingston Seagull did not have a say in my life. When I am anchored, when I am directionless, when I am unfocused, when I question myself or the cosmos, I talk to Jonathan Livingston Seagull; I always have and suppose I always will. Thank you, Richard Bach.…
