Books I Read April 28th, 2026

Fell down on my reading a bit the last few weeks, but I've been busy with different projects, not to mention the extraordinary beauty of the spring flowers which are everywhere in bloom here in LA, such that the air is always thick with rose and jasmine, and you can walk across the city and never lose sight of some or other prismatic bouquet.

Biafra: A Military History by Roy Doron – According to Goodreads I'm the first person to have ever read this book, which I suppose suggests there were not that many other people hoping for a close account of Nigeria's Civil War (1967-1970). So I suppose it's up to me to personally thank Mr. Doron for this well-researched, seemingly balanced, and certainly thoughtful account of a one of Africa's many misunderstood post-Colonial conflicts. In truth, almost any post-Colonial history of Africa is difficult to find, and I commend him for filling in a small gap in the literature.

Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud – The first in a stack of old favorites that I want to re-read. This remains fascinating and batshit.

The Black Cloth by Bernard Binlin Dadie – Re-tellings of African folk stories. Admirably weird.

God's Country by Percival Everett – The first and best of Everett's exercises in revisionist genre fiction, twisting the conventions of the western through an African-American perspective. I still find Everett really funny line to line, he reminds me a lot of Charles Portis. But this also functions effectively (if a bit obviously) as a meta-critique of the genre and America's deeply racist past.

All Shot Up by Chester Himes – Also still excellent. Himes did something really unique with his decalogue of noir, exploring the vices and hypocrisy of post-War Harlem through his violent anti-heroes, agents of the powers-that-be barely staying ahead of the corruption endemic in their role. Left me wanting to read another.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson – I still appreciate Ms. Robinson enormously, and this is as effective an advertisement for Christianity as you'll find short of being healed by a statue of the Virgin Mary.