From animation to alcohol, these books have a lot to offer — As I get older and keep reading and exploring the world, I’m always shocked by how little history I actually learned in school. There’s so much more to history than what happens in one single place, time period, or to one specific group of people. I find this exciting, because…

And the rest of the family will love them, too! — Now that I have an 8-month-old, I’ve entered the exciting, exasperating, terrifying, but necessary phase of introducing solid foods. We’re going for a Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) approach with our daughter, which basically means we’re skipping purées and going straight to gummable finger foods, like strips of omelet, soft noodles, roasted…

These books really are winners — Surely I’m not alone in thinking that just because a book won a prize, that doesn’t make it a great book. For starters, there are so many things that can make a book great — the writing, the format, the characters, the plot, the cultural moment it captures, the subject…

‘The Bachelor’ has become an unsatisfying anachronism — I wouldn’t call myself a diehard member of Bachelor Nation, but I do enjoy watching the show. Before my friend got me hooked on it in 2016, I thought The Bachelor was, in a word, stupid. I thought it was trashy, cheesy, and uninteresting. Well, I was right — at…

Say ‘hello’ to detectives who can give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money — There’s nothing quite like the thrill of solving a crime through the eyes of a detective — following their investigation, leafing through their clues, trying to get to the right answer before they do. Whether that detective is idiosyncratic, crotchety, mysterious, brilliant, bumbling, or brutal, there’s just something about a…

These true stories are even stranger than fiction — Lately, I’ve found myself craving a true story I can really dig my teeth into. Especially when I’m listening to audiobooks, only non-fiction can really keep my attention. Non-fiction, though, is tricky. Coming from an academic background, I can tell you that non-fiction can be very difficult to write, and…

Give these weirdos a chance — Every now and then, I come across a book that can only be described as ‘weird’ — but in the best possible way. Some books have stories that are straight-up weird; others are weird due to how the story is presented or told, other elements included in the story such…

Fascinating tales you won’t hear about in the tabloids — When I first set out to write this article, I considered including books like Greenlights (Matthew McConaughey), The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls), Educated (Tara Westover), Hillbilly Elegy (J.D. Vance), and On Writing (Stephen King). These are all excellent books that are absolutely worth reading, but I didn’t want to extol…

These stories are even more impactful in audio form — Since having my daughter, I’ve been walking more than ever; riding around in the stroller almost always gets her to sleep, and we both enjoy the fresh air. …