Books I read in June 2026
From a Booker winner to a nineteenth-century vision of a future socialist utopia, here's a roundup of the books I read this month.
A Biography of Tadeo Isidoro Cruz: Borges Marathon, Part 31
Are our lives really defined by a single moment? And what happens when that moment involves seeing yourself in someone else? Borges answers these questions while telling the story of an outlaw turned lawman.
Natives of My Person by George Lamming
My review of Barbadian novelist George Lamming's complex allegory of colonial psychology.
Books I read in May 2026
From contemporary fiction to a classic search for human meaning, here are the books I read and enjoyed in May.
Story of the Warrior and the Captive Maiden: Borges Marathon, Part 30
Like most Borges stories, this one isn't quite what you might expect. Here's what it means to me.
The Theologians: Borges Marathon, Part 29
Jorge Luis Borges uses a debate between two medieval theologians to explore themes of infinity, orthodoxy, and personal identity.
The Dead Man: Borges Marathon, Part 28
Borges takes us to the vast plains of the Brazilian frontier for an epic battle of wills between a grizzled gang leader and an ambitious pretender.
Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim
What would life be like if you left a version of yourself behind when you migrated? This thoughtful sci-fi novel introduces "instancing" as a powerful metaphor for the rupture of migration.
The Immortal: Borges Marathon, Part 27
What would immortality feel like? Jorge Luis Borges takes us beyond the quest for eternal life to see what happens to someone who achieves it.