-
Monthly Reading Roundup: May 2026
Between some unexpected duds and a vacation on which I didn’t get a lot of reading done, May was probably my weakest reading month in the past few years. But there were still some notable reads along the way. Here are some of the highlights, and one notable low-light. Nine Eight Raves Son of Nobody,…
-
Bookish Hall of Fame 2026: A Shakeup on Olympus
When I designed my Hall of Fame, I wanted to reserve a special place for the best of the best. And so I took the idea of a bookish Olympus, a dwelling place of my twelve literary gods. While there has been a bit of tweaking here and there over the years, for the most…
-
Bookish Hall of Fame 2026: Biggest Rises and Falls
One of my favourite things about my Hall of Fame project is seeing how different books jump or stumble in my estimation from year to year. Here’s a list of the five biggest rises and the five deepest falls this year. (Note on ‘relative’ increases and decreases: The overall change is about the number in…
-
Monthly Reading Roundup: April 2026
April ended up being a pretty good reading month for me, even with a few misses along the way. Here are some of the highlights, and one notable low-light. Nine Raves The Gospel according to Lazarus (aka The Lost Gospel of Lazarus), by Richard Zimler (2019) [RE-READ] Premise: After his being raised from the dead…
-
The 2010s in Music: Decade Overview
I often say that there’s nothing less cool than what was popular ten years ago, and nothing cooler than what was popular twenty years ago. And because the 2010s, peak of Millennial culture that they were, are squarely in that ten-year window now, it’s easy to make fun of them and point out their foibles…
-
Bookish Hall of Fame 2026: New Additions and Emeritus Titles
Every year when the dust settles and I take the time to update my bookish Hall of Fame, it’s always interesting to see which books from the previous year made the cut and slipped into my favourite 100 novels of all time. But that means I also have to say goodbye to the books that…
-
2019 in Music
[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction After a 2018 without a lot of standout music from massive artists, 2019 was a return to form, with…
-
Monthly Reading Roundup: March 2026
March was a decent reading month, but I struggled to find books that really captivated me. I finished a lot of great books, but also didn’t make it past page 15 of a lot too. Nine Raves Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, by Elizabeth Taylor (1971) Premise: An aging woman moves into a London hotel…
-
2018 in Music
[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction My best of the year lists always include a couple out-of-left-field albums and songs. And that’s what makes it…
-
2017 in Music
[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction Usually when I’m writing up these summaries, there’s a big theme or narrative I can latch on to. 2017…
Matt's Books and Music
So many books, so many songs
Matt's Books and Music 