“May I read to you the wisdom of a Nobel laureate?”—Me before I read Beckett aloud to my family

Most impressively, Weinman chronicles the path of destruction Edgar Smith left in his wake. His wives and girlfriends, his victims and their families, his own family, his friends—few who Smith knew entirely escaped.

Glad to have finally read Sarah Weinman’s terrific SCOUNDREL, which tells the story of Edgar Smith, a murderer and abuser who conned William F. Buckley, Jr. into leading an effort to spring him from death row, only to wind up back in prison after nearly killing another woman.

I’m (finally) reading Sarah Weinman’s SCOUNDREL, her account of William F. Buckley’s crusade to free convicted murderer Edgar Smith, and ran across a fascinating tangent: WFB helped launch the career of science writer and Bozeman resident David Quammen.

Watch complete conversation with former President Obama tonight at 8pm ET on C-SPAN2.

From 2016, Robert Redford receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. "His art and activism continue to shape our Nation's cultural heritage, inspiring millions to laugh, cry, think, and change." Find more of his C-SPAN appearances here: https://t.co/DLDEAgs4NP RIP.

#BREAKING: C-SPAN is coming to @YouTube and @Hulu this fall! Press Release: https://t.co/DFF98957nt Press Release: https://t.co/MV5elS64EC

Finally, You Dreamed of Empires (2024) by Álvaro Enrigue (trans. Natasha Wimmer) is as grimy, funny, and fascinating a book as I’ve read in a long time. It deserves all the accolades.

Oakley Hall’s Ambrose Bierce & the Queen of Spades (1998) Is highly recommended if you’re into historical mysteries in which the setting is the star, such as Caleb Carr’s The Alienist or Joe Gores’s Hammett.

Two childhood friends—now a writer and a gangster—reunite at a bar frequented by miners, intellectuals, thugs, and prostitutes in an unnamed African city. Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s prose in Tram 83 (2014) echoes the jazz reverberating through the club.

In Ghosts of Iron Mountain (2025), Phil Tinline finds the roots of some modern right-wing conspiracies in a ‘60s lefty satire. It’s a fascinating exploration of how ideas disseminate among fringe ideologies.

Earl Lovelace’s long, energetic sentences bring Port of Spain’s Calvary Hill neighborhood to life in The Dragon Can’t Dance (1979).

I resisted picking up James (2024) by Percival Everett. While I’d loved most his earlier work I’d read, everyone’s raves for The Trees, which left me cold, had me skeptical. Glad I relented—only God’s Country eclipses James for me.

Ficciones (1944) by Jorge Luis Borges turned my brain inside out. Stories like “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote,” “The Garden of Forking Paths,” and “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” delighted, astonished and, occasionally, perplexed me in wonderful ways.

Ben Peek’s outstanding novella The Red Labyrinth (2025) is a masterclass in economy, conveying a richly imagined setting and vivid, complex characters that rival those found in a good doorstop fantasy novel.

Shannon Chakraborty’s historical pirate fantasy The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (2023) is the most “fun” book I’ve read, so far.

I’ve read some remarkable older SFF this year: Keith Robert’s Pavane D. G. Compton’s The Steel Crocodile Kate Wilhelm’s Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang Barry Malzberg’s Chorale Lisa Goldstein’s The Red Magician But Walter Tevis’s slim, episodic Mockingbird (1980) stood out.

These are the 10 books I’ve most enjoyed six months into 2025… 🧵

For decades, C-SPAN has let Americans see their government in action. At a time when trust in institutions matters more than ever, I’m working to ensure major streaming services carry C-SPAN. https://t.co/aBlwnKZvZA

"No Kings" Rally in Philadelphia, PA - LIVE at 1pm ET on C-SPAN