- 10 Dec, 2025 *
I’m going through some of the media I consumed this year and taking some time to write about some of my favorites. This isn’t an exhaustive list, nor is it things that were released this year (though some is), rather it’s a list of what I consumed in 2025 that stuck with me for some time. First are the books.
I love the Marx Brothers. I’ve been watching them most of my life and I don’t hesitate to read any new book about them that comes out, and there have been some good ones recently! However I still n…
- 10 Dec, 2025 *
I’m going through some of the media I consumed this year and taking some time to write about some of my favorites. This isn’t an exhaustive list, nor is it things that were released this year (though some is), rather it’s a list of what I consumed in 2025 that stuck with me for some time. First are the books.
I love the Marx Brothers. I’ve been watching them most of my life and I don’t hesitate to read any new book about them that comes out, and there have been some good ones recently! However I still needed to go back and read some of the books that I missed, starting with the Louvish biography from the late-90s. It’s a quick and easy read that still taught me a lot about the brothers. If you’re a fan definitely check it out.
I’ve written about this before, but it’s still sticking with me. One of my complaints is that it drags a bit in the middle, but I guess most vampire stories do. The narrator is fantastic and the the tension is high. This is worth a read for any horror fan.
Flash Omnibus - Manapul and Buccellato
I read this as it came out but wanted the entire run in one collection so I picked this up. It’s some of the most beautiful art ever put into comics, especially the title pages, and the plots are strong too. This series represented the best of the hit-or-miss New 52 and when you’re done check out their work in Detective Comics.
Good Game, No Rematch - Drucker
I love a good personal history, especially when video games take such a forefront in the story. This is very well written and gets into older video games without being nostalgia poisoned.
The older I get the more interested I am in revisiting things from my youth. QBasic was the first programming language I experimented with and I’ve been a bit nostalgic about it recently. This short book (less than 200 pages) has a lot of information on the history of the language. It’s a quick read but I still learned a lot.
This is a fascinating scholarly book about Kaiju movies. It goes beyond just Godzilla (but he’s the best) and gets as modern as Pacific Rim. There is an excellent discussion about how the films represent atomic anxiety (of course) but also how they represent frustrations about the economy and government as well. The genre is a lot of fun, but it also has a lot to say and this book does a good job capturing a lot of it.
The first book I read that really captured how modern society is designed to keep women working behind the scenes and the impact that has on all of us. Without the invisible work we’d collapse. I reference it a lot in my economics course.
The premiere book on computer logic and languages. It starts very simply and gets more complex, but never confusing. I use it a lot with my FRC robotics students.
When does a war end? With a banner on an aircraft carrier? When the last troops leave? The end of the Civil War has been debated by historians for a while, and this book adds a lot to that argument, as well as some fascinating stories that I’ve never heard before. It’s well written and researched, but it’s dense.
When Southern Women Cook - Cook’s Country
This is a great combination of recipe collection and essays. If you enjoy cookbooks and food writing, check this one out.
I’ve also written about this one before, but I’m still enamored by it. It’s hard being a wrestling fan in 2025. There are a lot of great things happening in the sport, but there’s still an incredible amount of baggage. This book is a great history of McMahaon and the end of the territories and why it’s ok to not support WWE anymore.
What a hard read. The news is bad and this book, a political history of the 90s, shows how things have been building a while. It can be a lot to deal with, especially if you’re staying current with the news today, but if you’re curious how we got to where we are today there isn’t a better book out there.
A history of the suburbs. The book was written in the late 80s but it’s still relevant today. The history starts in the late 1800s and goes for a century and a lot of the issues from then are still with us today. Like the previous book, it explains why we are the way we are today.
More old computer history! There’s definitely a theme to the books this year. I really enjoyed learning about how Davis made a lot of his games and it was a good trip down memory lane for me. It’s also fascinating seeing how different the video game industry was int he 80s, and how some things haven’t changed.
A deep dive into the history of the 1941 Disney strike. The US was just entering WW2 and unions were growing around the country. What happens when one of the largest companies in the world tries to stop a union from forming? Well, there’s a giant strike.