My January and February in reading

Normally I read tons of books at the beginning of the year. But 2025 has been busy thanks to book edits of my own, houseguests, and copious February birthdays. I only have seven to review so far—but seven (mostly) good ones.

The Revolution of 1936-1939 in Palestine: Background, Details, and Analysis by Ghassan Kanafani

I picked this up at Skunk Cabbage Books in Chicago, hoping to learn more about the origins of the current conflict in Gaza. As its title suggests, this slim volume was extraordinarily detailed—but as someone with only the broadest historical knowledge of the region, it might have been helpful to read a more comprehensive background first rather than reading about this specific revolution in the 1930s. But I did learn a lot!

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist (narrated by Carlotta Brentan)

A modern, queer, anticapitalist gothic novel involving poisonous plants? What’s not to love? The ending, actually—but I know from experience how difficult it is to write endings, so I can’t fault Mayquist too much for that. In Tripping Arcadia, our narrator Lena—recently returned from studying plants with her aunt in Italy to help care for her working class family after her dad loses his job—weasels her way into a physician’s assistant position with the ultra-wealthy Verdeaus. While attending to the sickly but compelling son, Jonathan, and mooning over the worldly daughter, Audrey, Lena has to contend with the family’s cruel patriarch and his outrageous parties. As it turns out, her knowledge of unusual plants might come in handy. While I didn’t love the ending, I thought this was a fun read overall. Perfect for the drive from Chicago to Louisville.

Dayspring by Anthony Oliveira

Easily my favorite book I’ve read in 2025 so far. This sometimes-in-verse novel is narrated from the perspective of Jesus’ disciple John, who is having a gay love affair with the son of God. Most of it takes place in ancient Judea, but small portions take place in modern Canada. The text is interspersed with excerpts from the writings of various saints and poets—shout out to John Donne’s “Batter my heart, three-person’d God”! One of my favs! The book is both intellectually stimulating and extremely horny. I loved it. I read the physical book, but for what it’s worth, I’ve heard the audiobook is also excellent.

The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic by Mike Duncan (narrated by the author)

While I’m a huge fan of Duncan’s Revolutions podcast, I’ve always struggled with his earlier History of Rome podcast. I simply don’t find ancient Roman history that compelling. It’s mostly military history, and I prefer social history. But given my support for Duncan overall and the current political climate, I figured I’d give his book The Storm Before the Storm a shot. And I did like it better than trying to listen to the entirety of History of Rome, that’s for sure. But as far as I can tell, the Roman Republic was ended by a bunch of dudes with extremely similar names engaging in toxic masculinity. That’s what I took away from this text. Hope that’s what Duncan was going for.

Afterlives: The Year’s Best Death Fiction 2023 curated by Vajra Chandrasekera

I grabbed this speculative fiction anthology about death and grief because a) death is my whole brand now and b) I loved reading Vajra Chandrasekera’s novel The Saint of Bright Doors last year, and I figured he’d pick good stories. And I was right! Normally anthologies are hit or miss for me, but I enjoyed every story in this book, from Isabel J. Kim’s sci-fi “Day Ten Thousand,” which kicks off the collection, to Eugenia Triantafyllou’s devilish “Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge,” and more. I’m delighted to hear they’re releasing a 2024 edition.

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

Because I enjoyed the AMC show so much, I’ve been trying to read Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series—but I just can’t do it anymore. This book was terrible. I am all for an arrogant rockstar vampire in the 1980s. Please, give me that novel. I would love to read it. Instead, I got backstory on backstory on backstory on backstory until I nearly forgot the 1980s present existed. It was so dull. I respect my time and energy too much to continue with the books—but I will absolutely be tuning into the next season of the show.

Do the Work: A Guide to Understanding Power and Creating Change by Megan Pillow & Roxane Gay

Full disclosure: I’m friends with Meg Pillow. And I’m so proud of her for co-writing this necessary text with the legendary Roxane Gay. Seriously—if you’re worried about the current state of the U.S., this is the book you need to read. The authors do an excellent job explaining various academic and philosophical concepts in a simple way, and each chapter ends with a workbook section so you can examine your own biases and understandings to better prepare yourself to fight back against the current administration and build a more equitable world.