4/5 stars Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks , by Patrick Radden Keefe (2022) I read Keefe's Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder & Memory in Northern Ireland   in 2020 for my book club, and really enjoyed his long-form journalism. Coming from someone who, at the time anyway, had read very little non-fiction, Keefe combines insightful and well-researched story-telling with a writing style that is compelling and narrative. In Rogues , Keefe has curated 12 articles...

4/5 stars Guilty by Definition , by Susie Dent (2019) Martha is the newly appointed senior editor of the Clarendon English Dictionary in Oxford, England, working with fellow lexicographers Alex, Safi, and Simon. When they start receiving cryptic letters in the mail, at first they don't think much of it. But as they look closer and start to decipher some of the clues, it becomes apparent that the writer, who calls him or herself "Chorus," is dropping hints about the mysterious disappearance...

4/5 stars 1984 , by George Orwell (1949) I know I'm late to the game on this one. Most folks have already read this, I bet! In this post-apocalyptic future set in what may be 1984 (no one is really sure of the date anymore): Big Brother is always watching. War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. ... That last one, in particular, really got me, given the times we're living in now, and the way we, as a country, reward stupidity. The world is divided into three totalitarian...