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“To Laurie, I was essentially fatherless… If I had once been Billy Barber’s son, by the time I met Laurie I had long ceased to be, except in strict biological terms.” – William Landay, Defending Jacob I’ve been reading some top-quality novels as of late. The Correspondent and Broken Country deserve the praise they are… Continue reading

I decided to go back and make a list of my 15 favorite stand-alone books that I have reviewed on Reading Matters from 2015 – 2025. Each of these novels affected me deeply and I highly recommend all of them. In no particular order here are my favorites Life and Other Near Death Experiences by… Continue reading

I check into Booktok regularly where they have been giving high praise to Lotus Shoes (2025) by Jane Yang. And since I’ve been wanting to read a historical novel set in a country and a time period I know very little about, Lotus Shoes seemed like a good fit. And I am pleased to say… Continue reading

“I had a car, but on most days in that fall of 1973 I walked to Joyland from Mrs. Shoplaw’s Beachside Accommodations in the town of Heaven’s Bay …. That fall was the most beautiful of my life. Even forty years later I can say that. And I was never so unhappy, I can say… Continue reading

“Ike tried to remember a time when men with badges coming to his door early in the morning brought anything other than heartache and misery, but try as he might, nothing came to mind … He was fifteen years removed from Coldwater State Penitentiary … Not so much as a speeding ticket in all those… Continue reading

“I was going somewhere, I just didn’t know where.” – S.E. Hinton I always assumed that if I ever got around to reading S. E. Hinton I would begin with her classic novel, The Outsiders (1968). It’s a book I have been hearing about since high school. But last Thursday I was watching The Pitt… Continue reading

Over the years I have contemplated reading John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars. The novel published in 2012 continues to be a bestseller. However, the subject matter is grim, two dying teenagers who fall in love at a cancer support group, and so for now the book is not for me. But I did… Continue reading

Last year, I tried to read The Great Alone (2017) by Kristin Hannah. But about 80 pages in “the book wasn’t booking,” as they say on TikTok. However, I know what a popular and acclaimed author Kristin Hannah is, so this year I decided to give The Four Winds (2021) a try. ​And at first,… Continue reading

Normally I review books at this site but I just wanted to say a few words about the hot new medical drama The Pitt. What makes The Pitt must watch TV? The writing of course. It is being called the most accurate medical drama ever to appear on TV. Real life doctors, nurses, EMT workers… Continue reading

“Ironically… being locked up in prison is where I fully realized I had to change my life for the better… It is where I went from thinking about becoming a writer, to writing.”— Jack Gantos, Hole in My Life I was scrolling around for more memoirs to read and decided to ask ChatGPT for a… Continue reading