Books I Read July 19th, 2026

Back on that reading train and we're steaming down the tracks. Before I write a negative review I go through this formula which looks basically like...

(How Much Do I Hate This Book – (How Likely is it the Author Will Ever See It + How Badly Would it Impact Their Day)) X How Much Energy Do I Really Want to Spend Writing Bad Things

And invariably that last factor is 0. I want to spend 0 amount of time writing bad things. Or thinking bad things for that matter.

Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste – A family tries to survive the collapse of the Ethiopian monarchy and the rise of the Derg regime.

Like a Hole in the Head by James Hadley Chase – A thriller.

The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson – Science-fiction.

The Crock of Gold by James Stephens – A bizarre comic-philosophical novel from early 20th century Eire, surreal, fairy-based impossible happenings interspersed with lengthy semi-ironic dialogues about knowledge and instinct, men and woman, hate and love, so on and so forth. Truly weird, lots of fun.

Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller – The author's upbringing in a family of itinerant White Africans surviving the unfortunate Rhodesia Experiment and moving up and down Central East Africa according to the vagaries of war, weather, misfortune and mental illness. Extremely readable, Fuller's life story is fascinating and compelling if often tragic and kind of horrifying.

Johnny Mad Dog by Emmanuel Dongala – A psychotic militiaman and a desperate young woman survive several days in the chaotic looting of an unnamed West African country in the midst of violent civil war. A little on the nose in parts but he has a keen grasp of the superficial brutality of violent and selfish men.