Blog

In which I briefly comment on the books I read each month, so a few years from now when I’m trying to remember one of them, I’ll be able to find it here. Since I’m a media omnivore, it also includes games, movies, and any other media of note that I engaged with.

Do we have similar tastes, or will you be questioning how we ever got connected? Let’s find out!

Books

Frank Miller’s Ronin by Frank Miller

Interesting as an influential historical artifact and notable highlight of Miller’s early career, but its ambitiously messy narrative made it a much rougher read in 2025 than I remembered from back in the mid-80s when I originally read it. The whole is less than the sum of its parts, some of which were more compelling and fleshed out than others, and it muted my curiosity about his sequel, which appears to have launched with a whimper last Fall despite a bit of pre-publication hype.

The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe, et al

I randomly picked this up looking for something cyberpunk-ish one day and got something very different instead! Each vignette gives just a slightly different angle on Monae’s dystopian setting, which made it take a while for most of them to click for me. The focus instead is on the people, who were almost always interesting enough to make it worth the wait as their stories developed. My favorite was “Nevermind,” about found family and TERFs, which expands on the setting without filling in too many blanks; Blushounds is one of the most interesting concepts I’ve ever read. Overall, it left me intrigued and wanting a full-length novel set in New Dawn.

Games

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (Steam)

180 hours later, I finally finished what it is now my favorite CPRG ever! The overall story was deceptively sprawling, and its full scale didn’t fully hit me until the ending revealed all of the consequences of the various decisions I made throughout the game, big and small. Overall, my Iconoclast approach played out in satisfyingly interesting ways — some more surprising than others. I’m ready for another playthrough with a different approach, but I’m going to take a break until the new DLC comes out later this year.

Movies & TV

Sinners (IMAX)

It takes a lot to get me out to a theater these days, especially when I know a movie will be coming to one of the streaming services I subscribe to within a few months, but my son insisted this one was worth it. I caught it on an IMAX screen and appreciated the few moments that were specifically designed for that experience, but more importantly, it’s just a really good horror movie. I knew music played a key role and vaguely knew about a specific scene, but it still mesmerized me when it happened, not once but twice. Coogler pulls off something special that’s greater than the sum of its parts, which is saying a lot because all of its parts are pretty impressive, too.

Mickey 17 (MAX)

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, and I’m not a big fan of Pattinson, so I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining it was. Ruffalo’s precisely calibrated performance is particularly impressive when you realize it was mostly shot in late-2022, landing like perfectly timed satire in 2025. It’s the kind of movie that usually can’t stick the landing, but the ending was very satisfying.

Yellowjackets S3 (Paramount Plus)

I refuse to believe that killing off adult Natalie at the end of Season 2 was always part of the plan, especially with the way Season 3 awkwardly weaves to its cliffhanger ending. The adult relationships make less sense the more we learn about what happened to them in the wilderness, and the adult characters become less interesting as a result, especially Shauna. It’s still possible a S4 trailer will hook me back in, but for now, I think I’m done.

NY Mets (SNY)

What a month April was for the Mets! That’s it; that’s the note.

Your Notes?

If you’ve engaged with any of these, let me know what you thought. And if you have any related recommendations, drop ’em in the comments or on the socials! Some of you prefer email, which is cool, too. You do you!