Media Notes: Roundup for January 2026

 

  

 

Welcome to my somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during January 2026.

Movies and films (links to IMDB.com for basic information unless noted otherwise). Some of these I watched via TubiTv.com or other online source. The DVDs come from the public library (unless noted otherwise). In addition, I will try to add other trivia notes, such as when a film is based on a book adding the information about the book (at least the WorldCat record if available).

• Battle Royale (2000. Dystopian. Action. Thriller. Japanese). Plot description: "In a dystopian future, a group of students from a Japanese high school are forced by the government to compete in a battle, killing one another until only one is left standing." I have been meaning to watch this for a while now since I did read the manga. I finally decided to do it now. This particular edition has English dub. The movie is seriously intense in terms of the violence, but it is also a very good drama with suspense and action throughout. Once it gets started, you keep on watching until the very end. This is the classic story that other later dystopian works of fiction wish they could be or try to keep up with it. If you have not seen it, worth a watch. Sure, it takes some liberties from the novel, but still worth it. 5 out of 5 stars. Saw it on Tubi 1/3, but went on and got the DVD a bit later. 
• The film is based on the novel of the same title. The novel has also been serialized in a manga, and as noted I did I read the manga some time ago, which I highly recommend. I probably should reread it to review here on the blog down the road. 
• On actors you may have seen elsewhere, Takeshi Kitano, who portrays the teacher/host, is also the protagonist and director of the Outrage yakuza films, which I did watch and review in this blog. He is also the Takeshi of Takeshi's Castle the game show. You may have seen footage of that show in the American spoof game show Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, which I have also watched and commented on in the blog previously. 
• Speaking of similarities between this story and later works, in the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Running Man, the one with Arnold, Richard Dawson is the host. Both films basically employed an actor known as a game show host for their host roles. 
• Execution Squad (1972. Crime. Italian. Drama. Also known as La polizia ringrazia).  Plot description: "An inspector pursues a secret society of former police officers who go beyond the law by killing notorious criminals without trial." If I recall, I saw someone on social media mention this, and I got curious enough to go look. On first impression, it brought to mind Magnum Force, the Dirty Harry film where he has to go after a group of rogue cops who go vigilante and start killing criminals. Magnum Force was released a year later in 1973. The movie does take a bit to get to the main plot of the secret executioners. We get a picture of a corrupt city with rampant crime, the inspector under siege from criminals and a hostile press while investigating a homicide and trying to keep order. It is 40 minutes into the film when the first execution happens. So now, the inspector has to investigate this crime along with the other crimes. After the first execution, the pace picks up as the squad gets to work, so to speak. The inspector soon figures out what is happening but naturally his superiors don't believe, or want to believe, there is a vigilante group out there. The film is a fairly straightforward police drama, but it does have a twist at the end that I admit caught my attention fully as we see how deep the police corruption goes. Good performance from Enrico Maria Salerno as the honest inspector in a corrupt police department and by Mario Adorf as the shady assistant district attorney. Overall it is a pretty good drama that goes dark fast in the last act. I liked it so willing to give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Watched on TubiTv on 1/10. 
• Film is also listed in the Grindhouse Cinema Database.  
• Film is an example of the Poliziotesschi genre. This is the first film in this Italian genre I've seen, and based on it I am curious enough to seek out others. GCBD has a decent list of these films.
• Alienator (1990. Science Fiction. Action). Plot description: "Kol, an alien escapee, lands in American woods. The commander sends The Alienator to terminate him. Kol joins teens and Ward Armstrong, evading The Alienator's relentless hunt." For starters, it does open with a small scrolling text to set up context and somewhat cheesy musical score. Jan-Michael Vincent is in this one as the commander, and he hams it up as the sadistic executioner. Teagan Clive is the Alienator, and I'll say she is easy on the eyes. Sadly she does not get much to do other than walk around being fierce,  mostly silent, and shooting lasers. The alien has the bad luck after landing to get hit by Rick's family RV, and they end up in a ranger station. To be honest, the family are a fairly typical bunch of obnoxious people, the kind you would not mind if they get eliminated sooner rather than later. Overall, it is a somewhat cheesy science fiction movie. A bit slow in some spots, the acting is so so, and as I mentioned, some of the characters like Rick are seriously irritating. This could have been better. It is nowhere near great, but it is watchable. I've seen much worse. As it is it is mostly OK, so 2 out of 5 atars. Via TubiTv. Watched 1/10. 
• You may have seen Clive in films like Armed and Dangerous and Jumpin' Jack Flash.
• Rampant (2018. Horror. Action. Drama. South Korean film). Plot description: "Lee Chung is a Prince of Joseon, but he has been taken hostage to the Qing Dynasty. He enjoys boozing, womanizing and gambling. He is also an excellent swordsman. His older brother Lee Young will succeed to the throne and brings Lee Chung to Joseon. He returns after more than 10 years. Soon, Lee Chung faces monsters that run rampant in the night." A zombie invasion in the Korean feudal era. Just for that I decided to take a chance on this one. I tend to like Asian films, so this seemed a good bet. Film opening is simple yet horrifying as we see how the outbreak begins. If you are expecting a full blown zombie apocalypse style film, this is not quite it. While one of the village of Joseon has fallen to the zombie plague, in the royal palace conspiracies are happening to depose the king as well as get rid of Lee Chung, all the while the zombie danger grows but no one in the royal palace really wants to believe it nor worry about it. Much of the film is more a political intrigue and suspense film with the threat of the zombies hanging over their heads. Things then get complicated when an infected concubine bites the king, just before envoys of the Qing Emperor are due to arrive to collect tribute. Then the horror really breaks out. Overall, the movie is pretty good. It does have some slow moments, but the drama and action are pretty good, and it keeps you watching to the end. Pretty solid if you like a blend of political intrigue, plotting, and some zombies to complicate things. It certainly is better than a lot of the dreck Hollywood puts out these days. I really liked it despite a slow moment here or there.  I'd say 4 out of 5 stars. Watched 1/17. Via TubiTv.
• Some folks compare this to the South Korean film Train to Busan, so I need to check that out sooner rather than later.  

 

Television and other series (basic show information links via Wikipedia unless noted otherwise). Some of these come in DVD from the public library. Others may be via YouTube, which, as noted before, I keep finding all sorts of other old shows in it, often full episodes:

• I finished my current rewatch of  Iron Chef (Japan. 1993-1999) this month and watched the 7th season via TubiTv.  As I have written before, this is a comfort watch for me I enjoy watching every so often. I've commented and reviewed the series previously on this blog.  
• Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (2004-2007. Reality. Cooking). I also did a rewatch of the original  British version of Gordon Ramsay's restaurant rescue show that ran before the U.S. version. Via TubiTv. I do like the original as it does not have the excessive drama the American version adds, and as I have commented before, I do enjoy seeing the different places he visits. 

 

My Top 7 nonfiction books read in 2025

I recently wrote and posted my full reading list for 2025. It was a lean year for me in terms of reading books, but I did manage to read some good books. In the next few weeks I will be writing out and posting my lists of top books I read in various categories. Let's start this week with my top seven in nonfiction. As I mentioned in my reading list, I read 37 nonfiction books, and today I am picking out my top seven. These are books that I rated 4 or 5 stars out of 5 stars, and they are books that stayed with me. This list is in no particular order. Links to my reviews are included. 

 

White Poverty

 

As I wrote in my review: The book "affirms something I believe strongly: if only we could unite against the oligarchs and robber barons, truly unite, we could truly change things." This book also made my list of "recent reads that I rated 5 stars" I wrote back in July of 2025, so even back then I knew this book would be one of my top books for the year. 

 

 

Bad Law

 This is a book I really liked and one that is necessary in the Hard Times we live in. 

 

The Internet Con

 

From my review: "In this small book, the author explains how major Internet companies became the monopolistic behemoths they are now. He also explains how these large companies manage to hold us hostage, making us stay with them even as we hate them and perhaps hate ourselves for staying." Doctorow then goes on to provide advice on how take back control. 

 

This Book is Yours and Free to Keep

 As I wrote in my review: This book is "a powerful document of the human spirit. It is also an important book about the [Appalachian] region and the impact of the prison industrial complex in the region."

 

Why I Love Horror

 From my review: "If you are a horror fan, this is a must-read book. If you are curious about horror, this is a good book to learn about the genre and what motivates some of its current writers to keep on writing it. The book is truly a great sampling of modern voices in contemporary horror." 

 

Burned by Billionaires

 

From my review: "If you want to learn more about how billionaires got where they are now, how they stay there, and what they do to keep their dynasties going, then you need to read this book." 

 

Hekate: Goddess of Witches

 As I note in my review: "If you feel the goddess may be calling you, if you are curious and interested, this can be a book for you." I will add this is a book that has stayed with me. 

 

And this is my nonfiction list. Have you read any of these? Do you have any top nonfiction works you recommend? What are you currently reading in nonfiction? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know. Next week I will be looking at the fiction I read in 2025. 

 

 

 

Reading List for 2025

Welcome to my end of year report and 2025 reading list. Before we get to the book list let me write down some end of year thoughts. 

2025 was a seriously hard year. It made 2024 look like a walk in the park, and 2024 was bad. Even before I did the tally of books read for the year, I already knew I read a lot less than previous years. In the big picture, the Pendejo In Chief and his Party of Stupid regime have been terrible for the United States to the point the rest of the world is basically staying away from this country. Closer to home, some stress from work and changes in the workplace. Last summer we also had to travel out of state for a funeral. Overall there is a constant tense energy in the air. Best I can do is take it a day at a time and make sure I do my best to care for myself and those close to me.  

On social media, these days my two primary places are Bluesky, which during 2025 starting taking some serious turns towards enshittification, and Mastodon; I am on the mas.to server, but you can connect with me there if you are on any of the many Mastodon servers. I am keeping my eye out for other social media options in part in case I need to leave Bluesky and in part because I do like trying out new sites. 

I still keep my presence on Facebook, mainly due to my library's FB page which I help maintain. I know my superiors are leaning to deleting it, but they also still use it for announcements and outreach, and despite low stats, anecdotally I know students still in FB do see our stuff. For now, I am hanging in there and only logging into Facebook when necessary. 

I do have a LinkedIn I have not used in years, but I am afraid I may need to start using it, in part because our college has gone all in on LinkedIn and their learning modules, so I may need to get more active on it in part to access the learning modules and show students how to use them. So far, I have not needed it. We'll see how that may go. 

Overall, I am keeping my social media relatively minimal, mainly Bluesky and Mastodon. Reminder you can always find me here on the blog, at least for now. 

On blogging, this blog remains my primary blog and site.Here you can find book reviews, cartomancy reviews, some book and reading related content, and a few miscellaneous posts. If interested, I usually post here on Fridays, but I may post other days as needed. 

My professional blog, Notes from a Simple Librarian, remains open, but I am not worrying about it much. I may do a post here or there if I find something in librarianship I want to write about or make a note on some LIS reading I may have done, but otherwise it's mostly dormant at this point. While I do continue reading the LIS literature, I don't always have the time to make notes and post them on the blog. I am not reading as much in the LIS literature as I could be reading, but it is what it is. I am doing the best I can in terms of keeping up with the profession. Overall, I've made peace with that. 

My second blogging focus is on Alchemical Thoughts, my cartomancy and commonplace book blog. I continue to enjoy writing about parts of my cartomancy and magic craft journey on the blog. Despite the clusterfuck that was 2025, I still managed to do some writing over there on my cartomancy and magical craft, doing and posting spreads, and other writing and commonplace notes. If interested, I tend to post to this blog on Wednesdays, other days as needed. 

On things I've mentioned previously: 

• My politics/social issues/activist stuff moratorium has softened quite a bit. Given the Hard Times, I feel I cannot completely tune out politics/social issues/activist stuff. I still try to keep tuning into that to a minimum, but I cannot completely tune it out. One way for me to do my part is to keep learning and educating myself, so I am reading more books in those areas. 
• My boycott against the publishers that sued Internet Archive, their imprints, and any other defending those publishers continues strong. I do not foresee ending it any time soon, and while I know I am only one librarian and reader, I am making my displeasure known. On a positive, as I mentioned last year, is that I have discovered many new to me independent publishers putting out some very nice work I want to read. I still have the intention of writing a bit more on how this boycott has worked for me. We'll see if I find the time. 
• A reminder: Want to see what movies and media I watched? Click on the blog tag for "Film and television."  I do brief reviews of movies and media I watch, mostly movies that are new to me, i.e. not brand new (think back list).  

As one year ends and a new one begins, I am grateful to my four readers who support me and keep coming back to read what I write and/or share it with others. Thank you, and I hope you keep coming back. If you can, feel free to bring a friend or two.  

 

So here is the 2025 list. If you see a book title with an asterisk (*), that is a book I reread. If I have written a review for a book, it is on this blog. 

 

January: 

 

• Graham McNeill, The Iron Warriors Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000).
• Elaine C. Kamarck, Lies that kill. 

 

February: 

• Peter Mohrbacher, Angelarium: Oracle of Emanations (kit with card deck and book).

 

March: 

• William J. Barber II, White Poverty.
• Leiji Matsumoto, Captain Harlock the Classic Collection, Volume 3. 
• Jackson Lanzig, Star Trek: Day of Blood.
• Simon Spurrier, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Volume 6: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon.
• Kieron Guillen, Star Wars, Volume 7: The Ashes of Jedha.
• Michele Santamaria and Nicole Pfannenstiel, Information Literacy and Social Media.
• Barbara Moore, Tarot Spreads. 
• Pamela Chen and Ashley Cassaday, Steampunk Faerie Tarot (kit with card deck and book).
• Alana Fairchild, Crystal Mandala Oracle (kit with card deck and book). 
• Charlie Claire Burgess, Radical Tarot.

 

April: 

• Bill J. Leonard, Appalachian Mountain Christianity.
• Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, Harley's Little Black Book. 
• Lawrence R. Samuel, Literacy in America. 
• Minerva Siegel, Tarot for Self-Care. 
• Mark Ryan, et.al., The Wildwood Tarot (kit with card deck and book).
• Archie Goodwin, et.al., Eerie Archives, Volume 3. 
• S.A. Barnes, Ghost Station. 

 

May: 

• Various authors, Honour Imperialis (Warhammer 40,000). 
• Aaron Sigmond, Cigars: a Biography.

 

June: 

• Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin, Easy Lenormand (kit with card deck and book).
• Colette Baron-Reid, The Enchanted Map Oracle (blue edition. Kit with card deck and book).
• Elie Mystal, Bad Law. 
• Dan Abnett, Prospero Burns (Horus Heresy, Book 15). 
• Christian Blauvelt, Be More Vader. 
• Cassandra Snow, ed., Tarot in Other Words. 
• Darkness Prevails with Carman Carrion, Appalachian Folklore Unveiled. 

 

July: 

• Cory Doctorow, The Internet Con.
• Alec Macgillis, Fulfillment. 

 

August: 

• Samantha Rose Hicks, Talking with the Tarot. 
• Jim Davis, Garfield Fat Cat 3-pack, Volume 14.*
• Connie Banta, et.al., This Book is Free and Yours to Keep. 
• Shaun Bythell, The Diary of a Bookseller.
• Randy Crutcher, Cosmic Cat Wisdom Cards (kit with card deck and book).
• Paul Kepple, Housewives Tarot (kit with card deck and book).
• Tom Gauld, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories. 

 

September: 

• Jack Chanek, Tarot for the Magically Inclined. 

 

October: 

• John O'Conner, The Secret History of Bigfoot. 
• Mara Einstein, Hoodwinked. 
• Becky Siegel Spratford, ed., Why I Love Horror. 

 

November:  

• Garry J. Shaw, Cryptic. 
• Laura and Sandra Caputo, Otherworld Oracle (kit with card deck and book). 
• Chuck Collins, Burned by Billionaires. 
• Adam Szetela, This Book is Dangerous! 
• Bill Parente, et.al., Eerie Archives, Volume 4. 

 

December: 

• Pietro Alligo, Joker Tarot (kit with card deck and book). 
• Courtney Weber, Hekate: Goddess of Witches. 
• Stephen Starring Grant, Mailman.  

 

 

Number of books read in 2025: 50, including 1 re-read.  

 

 

Number of books read in 2024: 83, including one re-read (the 2024 list).

Number of books read in 2023: 80, including 3 re-reads (the 2023 list). 

Number of books read in 2022:  82, including 5 re-reads (the 2022 list).

Number of books reading in 2021: 69, including 3 re-reads (the 2021 list).

Number of books read in 2020: 80, including 5 re-reads (the 2020 list).

Number of books read in 2019: 72   (the 2019 list).

Number of books read in 2018: 74, including 2 re-reads (the 2018 list).
Number of books read in 2017: 84 (the 2017 list).
Number of books read in 2016: 92, including re-reads (the 2016 list).
Number of books read in 2015: 123, including 2 re-reads (the 2015 list).
Number of books read in 2014: 152, including 2 re-reads (the 2014 list).
Number of books read in 2013: 173, including 2 re-reads (the 2013 list).
Number of books read in 2012: 117, with 6 re-reads (the 2012 list).
Number of books read in 2011: 119, with 3 re-reads (the 2011 list). 
Number of books read in 2010:  119, with 6 rereads (the 2010 list).
Number of books read in 2009: 98, with 5 rereads. I believe this is the first time I started to actively track rereads. (the 2009 list).
Number of books read in 2008: 111 (the 2008 list).
Number of books read in 2007: 85 (the 2007 list).
Number of books read in 2006: 106 (the 2006 list).
Number of books read in 2005: 73 

 

Commentary and thoughts on numbers:  

 

As I mentioned, I felt that I read less this year, and sure enough, I read quite a bit less in 2025. One reason is just have to look around at the current clusterfuck. I also did pick up a few omnibus editions and other long books that took me a long time to read. Heck, I am still slowly getting through Alhazred, which is seriously long. I am carrying that one into 2026, and with luck may finish it this year. Yet I've also just been tired between work and the world around me, so felt like reading less, or often just fell asleep at end of day after reading a page or two in a book. It was a rough year for reading, yet I am grateful I did still read the amount of books I did. We'll see how 2026 goes. At this point, I am not making predictions on how many books I may read in 2026. I will just keep reading, and we'll see at the end of 2026. Oh, a positive note: I did complete all of my reading challenges for 2025. As of this writing, I am still deciding which reading challenges, if any, I may do for 2026, so stay tuned. 

 

The numbers: 

 

 

 

Annual reading report elements: 

 

Numbers: 

 

Re-reads: 1, the Garfield book, which was a comfort read. 

 

Best reading month: March with 10 books. 

Worst reading month:  A tie between February and September with 1 book each. September makes sense as it is very busy season in an academic library. February was just not that good last year. and it is also somewhat busy time at work. 

 

Books read in print: 37

E-books reading (includes galleys): 13

Read in audio: 0. 

 

I prefer print, and that preference remained strong in 2025.  

 

Graphic novels (includes comics): 8

Manga: 1

 

I usually read a few more graphic novels, comics, and/or manga, so that is another small sign of how bad 2025 was for the reading mood.  

 

Fiction (not including manga nor graphic novels): 4

Nonfiction:  37

 

I am more a nonfiction reader than fiction, and this year is no exception. For me, I can pick up nonfiction a bit easier because it feels like I can drop it and pick it up again easier if I get interrupted. Fiction tends to require more concentration to follow a plot. However, fiction tends to work better for me when I need some serious escapism. At least two of the fiction books I read were omnibus editions that contain more than one novel, so technically if I had picked up the individual works, my fiction number could've been higher, but that is a small detail. Lately, I've been trying to read short stories to see if I can get into fiction a bit more. So far, not too successful as I pick up a short fiction collection, read a story or two, then can't seem to get back to it. It feels like a symptom of the malaise of the Hard Times. However, I am not ready to give up yet. One bit of fiction I do enjoy is Warhammer 40,000; I tend to stick with those, so there is that. I will just keep trying other fiction a bit at a time. As for nonfiction, I have plenty of choices to read. 

 

Library books: 

 

• Berea branch, Madison County Public Library:1
• Eastside branch, Lexington Public Library: 11
• Hutchins Library, Berea College: 12
• Interlibrary Loan: 0.  

The Lexington Public Library tends to have a larger selection of comics and graphic novels. However, their key feature for me is that they offer unlimited renewals. As long as no one else recalls a book or puts it on hold, I can keep renewing it. As a slow reader I find that feature very helpful. Madison County Public Library needs to get with the program; they still restrict loans to two renewals. For me, even though it is a bit of a drive, it is easier to make the trip to the Eastside branch once a month or so while I also go do the monthly Costco run. I can just stock up on a few books out of Eastside which can last me for a while and not worry about having to rush them back. In addition, in 2025 I started making more of an effort to read some of the books my library gets. Those are more academic, so I balance those with what I borrow from the public library. In addition, reading books from my library allows me to get a better sense of what is coming into the collection, and once in a while it is useful for research consultations when I can recommend to a student a book on their research topic that I have actually read. 

 

In terms of e-book options, I have access to Madison County Public and Lexington Public holdings through Libby. In addition, Madison County Public also has Hoopla. However, I have not felt a need to use Libby nor Hoopla as much given I can find plenty to read in print. So most of my e-book reading is either galleys or a book or two I may own. 

 

Books I own: see my list of reading challenges for 2025. I read 24 books I own last year, which is pretty darn good for me.  

 

Books borrowed from anyone (not family) or recommended by others: 0.

 

Other numbers of interest to me:

 

• Erotica: 0. The Hard Times are just awful when it comes to reading erotica. I may have read a short fiction piece here or there, but nothing worth mentioning. As I wrote at the start of 2025, I have a feeling 2026 will not be better in terms of improving the mood to read erotica. Having said that, an observation, it seems some erotica writing has declined, at least the publishing of anthologies and collections. I am sure plenty of it is being written in forums, Literotica, and similar places but I am just not seeing actual more traditional publications in erotica as I used to see a few years ago. I may out of curiosity look into that, but it is not a priority at this moment. 
• LIS and reference: 3. One of them is an LIS book. The other two are not technically LIS, but their topics are relevant to the field, so they get included here. 
• Tarot and Oracle (includes deck companion books): 16. 
• Other esoterica/pagan/spirituality: 1.
• Netgalley: 2. Netgalley this year implemented Thorium and the associated DRM that goes with it. I tried it out, and to put it charitably, it is a pain in the ass to use. It's so bad I have decided I am no longer requesting anything new out of Netgalley. I will post reviews for some older items, that I may have a copy via a library, but otherwise Netgalley is pretty much dead to me. 
• Edelweiss Plus: 8. This has become the reliable way to get e-book galleys for review. Their system, Adobe, works. I am not a fan of Adobe's DRM, but compared to the clusterfuck that is Netgalley's new system, it works. I pray to the Cosmic Joker Edelweiss does not follow Netgalley's way because at that point they'll be dead to me too. While I enjoy reading newer works as ARCs, it is not an essential thing for me, and I have plenty of books I can borrow to keep reading and doing reviews.   
• On a side note, EBSCO, one of the big library database vendors, just went with Thorium for their e-book DRM. I usually don't read e-books from my library because they are on EBSCO, J-Stor, or some academic publisher, and they are all a pain in the ass to download and read when compared to the ease of using Libby. My electronic resources librarian tells me that very few patrons actually download a full e-book from our holdings. Mostly our patrons may download a chapter here or there for research, but no one is really reading whole e-books from our collection. But that is another story for another day. 
• Other books offered for review, i.e. not Netgalley nor Edelweiss Plus. These books come from a publisher, author, editor, etc. that offered me a book or that I requested. Once in a while a book comes in unsolicited, so I may be on someone's list, which is fine: 1, and it was a duplicate since I got it via Edelweiss Plus for review. Happens sometimes.  
• Books in Spanish: 0. This was not even on my radar in 2025; that's how bad the year was. 
• True crime: 0. This was not on the radar much either. In addition, it seems a good amount of books in this genre are published by publishers on my boycott plan, so they tend to be a bit harder to find for me. 
• Food and drink: 0. Also not on the radar. 
• Poetry: 0. Not even a priority at this point, and to be honest, not sure if I will pick up any poetry in 2026.
• Appalachian and regional: 3. I am adding this category this year. This is not an area that is within my reading profile, but I do make a small effort to read a bit in this area given my place of work and our student population. Three for the year is pretty good. 
• Books that broke the politics/social issues/activist moratorium: 10. As I mentioned above, the moratorium is softening, and I am gradually stepping away from it. In the Hard Times, I do need to be informed, and I need to be able to share what I learn with others.   

 

This time last year I was reading the following books. Links go to the reviews: 

• William J. Barber II with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, White Poverty. (As you can see, I started the year breaking moratorium here).
  
• Various authors, Honour Imperialis (Warhammer 40,000. This is an omnibus edition of three novels by different authors plus a few short stories). 
• Xueting Christine Ni, ed., Sinophagia: a Celebration of Chinese Horror. I ended up dropping this one, but I am still keeping it in the TBR list to try again later. 
• Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, Harley's Little Black Book. 
• Barbara Moore, Tarot Spreads. 

 

As we start 2026, I am reading the following books: 

 

• Ellen Datlow, ed., Christmas and Other Horrors: a Winter Solstice Anthology.
• Danie Ware, The Rose at War (Warhammer 40,000. An omnibus with some short stories and novellas featuring the Adepta Sororitas). 
• Hu Anyan, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing. 
• Soma Chaudhuri and Jane Ward, eds., The Witch Studies Reader.  
• Donald Tyson, Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon. This is a carry over from last year, and I hope I can finish it in 2026.  

 

Finally to wrap up, here are a few bloggers I have found who do end of year reading lists and surveys: 

 

• Counter Craft offers their best books they read in 2025, that were NOT published in 2025.
• Feed Your Fiction Addiction has their end of year book survey. Sadly, they just announced they are closing down their blog after 2025.  
• Based on a True Story has their wrap up. 
• Jessamyn West has her 2025 reading list and commentary. 
• Literary Saloon points out to a few people who still do end of year reading posts.  

 

As I have mentioned before, finding other bloggers doing this is challenging given there are few active blogs out there that provide good writing consistently. It seems every year one or two blogs I follow go extinct. As for me, I will keep on blogging as long as I can. 

If you made it this far, thank you for reading and stopping by. I wish you all a safe, happy, and prosperous 2026, and may you find many good books to read. 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Diary of a Bookseller

Shaun Bythell, The Diary of a Bookseller. Brooklyn, NY: Melville House, 2018.  ISBN: 9781612197241. 

Genre: diaries, memoirs

Subgenre: bookstores, antiquarian, business, Scotland

Format: hardcover

Source: Eastside Branch, Lexington (KY) Public Library 

 

This book is the diary of a bookshop owner and book trader in a small out of the way Scottish village. The author writes a diary for a year in 2014 where he looks at his business, his customers in person and online, and life in the village of Wigtown. 

The author writes about the business, trips to estates in search of books, his eccentric patrons, and his own quirks. There is at times a charm about small towns and bookstores, and the author captures that well. He also captures the trials and tribulations of running a book business in a small town, a business threatened by the growing online trade and the Amazon behemoth. 

Though some blurbs describe this as outright laugh-out-loud funny, I would not go that far. Is the book amusing? At times it can be amusing and has funny moments, but much of it is just daily routine and even dreariness at times. The book also has some moving moments and descriptions of places that draw you in. The diary as a whole is a very humane experience where we see the ups and downs, the joys and frustrations of the bookseller. If you are expecting a hilarious comedy as some blurbs suggest, you might be disappointed. If you enjoy memoirs and slice of life reading, and you like reading about books and book traders, this may be for you. 

The book is a diary, and the entries are arranged by month from February to February. At the start of each month, the author opens with a quote from George Orwell's "Bookshop Memories" to give a bit of context along with some opening thoughts. The author then writes a commentary to introduce the month and adds any extra thoughts. After that we get the diary entries, which can vary in length. 

The characters we meet vary in attitudes and temperaments. To be honest, I would have fired Nicky, his book shop assistant who more often than not chooses not to follow directions and does what she wants. I am guessing either the worker pool in Wigtown is too bad to replace her, or he is just a wuss. Then there is Mr. Deacon, the regular patron who every so often comes in to order a book. Could he order it online? Yes, but he chooses to to go the store. Then there is the rest of the cast. 

If you enjoy reading about the used book trade, you may like this book. His outings to visit estates, auctions, and other places where old books may be found are interesting. We learn a bit about what books are valuable and which are just good enough for recycling. We also see him struggle with Amazon. On the one hand, he uses the "Fulfilled by Amazon" (FBA) service for some of his business in order to sell books online.  Also, like many antiquarian booksellers, he also uses ABE Books to sell online, which by that time had been bought by Amazon. So he does realize the threat Amazon represents to his business long term, yet to keep his business up, and for customers' convenience, he has to deal with Amazon. The Amazon issue caught my attention after recently reading Fulfillment (link to my review). If you've read that book or you just pay attention to what is going on you know the odds are not in the small business's favor. 

Overall, I liked the book, but it is not a big deal. It is amusing and heartwarming in moments, but it is also slow and a bit dreary at times. Like real life, it is not hilarious all the time, contrary to what some blurb writers claim. This is one to borrow and return. Yet at times it makes you wish you could visit the place. It does have a strong sense of place. 

3 out of 5 stars. 

 

Additional reading notes:  

The author early on mentions the book Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell. I thought I had read it, but I don't have any notes on it in the blog, so I may need to look it up to read down the road. I may be able to get it via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

 

On clearing the books from a deceased's estate. In this case, a deceased couple without children; a nephew was clearing the house, and the author was there to see what books he could buy: 

"Dismantling such a book collection seems to be the ultimate act of destruction of their character-- you are responsible for erasing the last piece of evidence of who they were. This woman's book collection was a record of her character: her interests, as close as anything she left to some kind of genetic inheritance. Perhaps that's why her nephew waited so long before asking us to look at the books, in the same way that people who lose a child often can't bear to remove anything from their bedroom for years" (31).

A moving passage. Personally makes me think about the fate of my personal book collection, which will likely be dispersed as I doubt our daughter would keep it intact or at all. I've pondered here or there how my books reflect my character. I probably should write about that down the road. To contrast, in my work I am used to weeding book collections. It makes a difference whether your books are your own or not. 

 

Book mentioned in the book I am listing for possible TBR:  The Intimate Thoughts of John Baxter, Bookseller (1942). This one may be hard to find as it appears to be an antiquarian item. I hope I can find it via ILL. 

 

On why it can be difficult for secondhand traders to buy erotica (as in serious erotica, not the shady guy crap): 

"It is difficult buying erotica, as very little can be sold on Amazon or eBay because they violate the puritanical sensibilities of the prudes in charge of both organizations" (174).

 

And speaking of the shady guy stuff, on why you need to verify details when acquiring a book: 

"While I was repairing a broken shelf in the crime section, I overheard an elderly customer confusing E.L. James and M.R. James while discussing horror fiction with her friend. She is either going to be pleasantly surprised or deeply shocked when she gets home the copy of Fifty Shades of Grey she bought" (191). 

 

Another book mentioned: Jen Campbell's The Bookshop Book. This one I did read and review. 

 

 

 

Holiday Post 2025: What the heck happened?

Welcome to the fourth and last post in the 2025 holiday posts series. For me, being Puerto Rican, I am still in the holidays spirit well into January. In fact, as I am typing this,  Tuesday was Dia de Reyes (Three Kings Day) in Puerto Rico and much of the Hispanic world. In Puerto Rico we keep going with  "las octavitas." So still plenty of holiday cheer to go around. The weather has been between seriously cold and unseasonably warm this winter season so far. I do appreciate the warm days as it makes it easier for me to do my morning runs, but I am also aware it may be a sign of climate change getting worse. Best I can do is take it a day at a time. 

In this post, I take a look at what happened in 2025. Boy, I thought 2024 was a pain in the ass, but damn, 2025 is a year I am definitely glad is gone.  2025 was a year I made sure to stay up to midnight not to celebrate but to make sure it got the fuck out of here. Not that 2026 is looking any better given that I woke up on Sunday, January 4th, 2026, logged into social media only to see people ranting about the Pendejo In Chief invading Venezuela (story via CBC) and kidnapping President Maduro. This will most likely make it to the top events list when I write the "what the heck happened?" post for 2026 next year. To be honest, as I am looking over the articles I am compiling for this year's summary, and I look back at the 2024 post, heck, 2024 is starting to look like a picnic compared to the hellscape of 2025, and sadly, it is not going to get better anytime soon.  

 

Top news events of the year

•  Once again, the year that was is on track to be among the hottest on record. Al Jazeera reported 2025 was on track to tie for the second hottest year on record. 
• Truthout also covers the story of the 2025 top rank as one of the hottest years.  
• Time Magazine named the "architects," also known as the rich tech bros who threw money in, of artificial intelligence, better known as AI Slop, as their "person of the year."  Story via BBC, but it has been covered in a few places. 2025 certainly feels as the year when those assholes really put in the effort to shove AI Slop into anything and everything. Sadly a lot of people, including some who should know better, keep falling for their scam machines.
• For Counterpunch, 2025 was the year the U.S. stopped giving a fuck about democracy. From what I have read and learned, I think the U.S. never gave a fuck about it, or gave it lip service at most, but last year the American Empire did go into full overdrive.  

 

What the heck happened? 

(Big news overviews) 

 

 

For 2025, I did not find much in terms of the usual big news summaries, like CNN for instance, or I did not find them as interesting, pretty much the same. What I did find was a variety of smaller and niche summaries of the year looking at a variety of topics, so here is a selection of what I found to help us recall what was going on, especially besides the usual. 

• In technology, 
• As if AI Slop was not bad enough, there are also hackers and cyberattacks. The Street looks some of the cyberattacks of 2025. It is the sort of stuff that makes you wish you could just go off the grid. 
• The Verge offers their tech year in review, and of course, AI Slop figures prominently. This is a podcast episode you can listen to.
• Truthdig notes that 2025 was the year that tech bent the knee to Trump. I think they did more than just bend the knee. If you have not figured it out by now, the article explains how Big Tech was never liberal; they just kept a good mask on until now where we all can see them for the predatory assholes they really are.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) presents The Breachies, the worst data breaches of the year.  
• EFF also has their 2025 in review feature. 
• In climate and environmental news, Grist notes that 2025 was the year the U.S. said fuck it on any efforts to address climate change while the rest of the world steps up as they see they need to do without the United States. 
• Despite all the awful stuff of 2025, the United Nations points out we did have some good health advances in 2025.  
• Type Investigations highlights their 5 must-read stories of the year.
• Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has their most read posts of the year. Their summary: "The rise of authoritarianism was the big story of 2025, and the censorship that goes along with it. The resistance to the dismantling of democracy continues to be underreported. The power of tech bros looms. And Israel/Palestine continues to be the greatest international concern." 
• Pro Publica offers their most read stories of the year and their 25 investigations you may have missed. Some good stuff here.  
• Dissent Magazine also lists their most read stories. 
• Mother Jones offers their list of heroes and monsters of 2025, and boy did we have quite a few monsters this year.
• Speaking of monsters, Counterpunch looks at the year that was 2025 in ICE abductions and abuses. Please note the story came out before ICE killed that woman up in Minnesota at the start of 2026.
• Despite that, Counterpunch somehow managed to find 10 good things that happened in 2025. 
• FactCheck.org looks at the "Whoppers of 2025." No, these are not burgers. These are the big lies of the year, in other words, a sampling of politicians talking.   
• Open Secrets has a wrap up for 2025, and if you are interesting in topics like following the money this may be for you.  
• The Daily Yonder has their rural year in review.  
• Washington Blade has their top 10 LGBTQ+ national news stories.  
• In libraries and library science, LIS News has their 10 stories that shaped 2025. Yes, AI Slop made this list too. 
• In higher education. 
• Inside Higher Ed has a list of 16 nonprofit colleges that closed or died off in 2025.
• Impact of Social Sciences looks at the culture of academic publishing in 2025 and they look at research in the age of AI. 
• In science.
• Knowable Magazine offers their top science stories of the year.
• Brujula Verde (Spanish language source) offers their 24 extraordinary archeological discoveries that amazed us.
•  Finally, here is what I often consider the best end of year wrap up, and that is the Rude Pundit's annual haiku end of year event. He has people submit a haiku over a few days, and he publishes them on his blog. The haikus are great brief summaries of what happened in the year and how people respond. I always enjoy reading these. 
•  One haiku after another.
• Wake up haiku man. 
• No other haiku. 
• House of Haiku. 

 

 

A bit from around the world  

 

• From Latin America: 
• Task Force on the Americas has their 2025 in review. 
• From Puerto Rico, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo has their list, in English, of their most read investigations for 2025.  A lot of local corruption along with abuses from the gringo colonial overlords went on.
• From Puerto Rico, La Perla del Sur reports that 2025 ended on the island with 426 homicides based on police reports.  
• Across the pond in the United Kingdom, Freedom News (UK) reports that "2025: A gilded year for the right, hubris fulfilled on the left."  
• Washington Blade lists their top 10 LGBTQ+ international stories.  
• The Walrus (Canada) has their 2025 year in review from around the world.  They also report on the year in business, or as they say, a year without money (well, for the rest of us), and they managed to find some things to bring us joy. 

 

 

Film, music, and television

 

 

While I do enjoy media, I am not obsessive about keeping up with the newest and latest. I will add that these days a lot of media comes out of the paid streamers, and since I do not subscribe to any of those, I just go on blissfully with my life. Usually I know enough of what is in film, music, and television to be aware. Like yes, I am aware such a show exists, but that may be about it. So looking over these lists helps me see in a quick glance what has been coming out and making waves for some people over the year. If any of you is a fan of anything that came out or was chosen this year, let me know. Maybe I will check it out. 

• Movies and film. 
• Here is Rolling Stone's list of best 25 movies. From the list, the new at this time Frankenstein and Weapons are the only ones I've heard about. I'd heard of Eddington only because I've seen it featured on some YouTube folks' worst films of the year list. 
• Rolling Stone also ranked their best horror films. Naturally, Frankenstein and Weapons made this list too. Sinners is the one I keep hearing about; I am a bit skeptical as I am not a fan of the "one actor playing twins" gimmick, but a vampire film does make me curious enough to seek it out down the road. 
• Out Magazine offers a list of 11 top LGBTQ+ films of the year.  Only film I heard about from the list was the Wicked sequel, and probably because it is mainstream enough many, including me, would not have thought of it as an LGBTQ+ film. I also learned there is another remake of Kiss of the Spider Woman. 
• The Detroit Metro Times just lumped their lists of best films and television together, so here ya go.
• And we need to have at least one worst movies list, and UPI delivers it. Aside from the Minecraft Movie, which has gotten panned in other places, the rest of the list items I had not heard about until now.
•  Television.
• Here is Rolling Stone's best television list.  Most of the stuff is from streamers because to be honest legacy television ain't putting out much worth a damn. From the list I've heard of Andor, mainly because Star Wars in social media often won't shut up about it. The other show on this list I've heard about is The Pitt, again, because folks on social media keep yapping about it. At times this is a reason I don't feel much of a need to seek out articles on a movie or show. Social media folks, if it is a big deal to them, will keep talking it up. If it sounds good, I look it up and add it to my list of things to watch. If it does not interest me, I had the title to the filter list on social media to not see it again. 
• Variety also has their best TV shows list.  There is a bit of overlap with the previous list, but not much. 
• Out Magazine has their list of best LGBTQ+ shows for the year.  
• If reality TV is your thing, Reality Blurred has their list of the best reality TV for the year. They provide a small overview of the year, and the author notes the list is from shows they actually watched. To be honest, aside from a cooking show here or there, reality TV is just not my thing, and most of these again are on streamers. But feel free to comment and make a case why I should watch one of these shows or not. 
• Music.
• The Guardian lists 50 best albums.   
• Variety has their list of best albums too.    
• Rolling Stone has a list of best Latin and Spanish language albums. 
• Out Magazine has their list of best LGBTQ+ albums and their list of best songs. 
• Louisville Public Media offers a list of 10 best classical music albums.  

 

 

Books and reading 

I already did a holiday post on books and reading, so this covers some lists I found interesting that I may have missed and/or came after that post, plus some trivia about books and reading. On a side note, let me mention that I will be writing and posting my end of year reading list and report later this month on this blog, so stay tuned to see what I read in 2025.

•  Literary Hub presents the 29 best (old) books they read in the year. Everyone always does the best books they read in the year, and they are usually books published in that same year. This is a nice idea for a change. There are a few really old books here and some interesting choices. 
• Inquest has their year in books. From this list, I have read This Book is Free and Yours to Keep (link to review). 
• Gizmodo had 20 authors pick out their favorite books of the year in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. 
• The Comics Beat has their list of best comics of the year.  
•  Not every book is great or good, and Steve Donoghue lists his worst fiction of 2025. Do you agree? Have you read any of these? Feel free to comment. 
• Literary Hub also has a list of the most scathing reviews of 2025. 
• Claridad (Puerto Rico, Spanish language) looks at the vices and virtues of end of year book lists. They also list some books in Puerto Rican history and culture. 

 

 

Adult and risque 

 

 

If this is not your thing or interest, you can just scroll down to the final category.  I do enjoy some adult entertainment, and I find the trivia around it interesting, so here are some stories from the adult entertainment and porn world. 

•  Pornhub released their annual trends report, which among other things reveals details like top online searches on various topics. Unfortunate for me, Kentucky is one of those retrograde states pushing for privacy violating age verification, which I am not doing, but if you live in a better state you can see the report. Highlights from the report can be found at Pride.com, at AVN, and XBiz. 
• For gay folks, someone sorted out their top 5 gay sex positions.  Via Pride.com.
• Clips4Sale gets a bit into the "word of the year" with their fetish of the year, which was gooning. You can read more about it and see their list of other growing fetishes for the year on their blog.  Hat tip to AVN. 
• In awards, via AVN.
• The 2025 Adult Empire Awards announced  “which honor the best and most popular stars and movies on the award-winning platform within a given year."
• The 2025 Femdom Awards announced.

  

 

Miscellaneous

 These are stories that did not fit any of the categories above and/or just random trivia.

• Contenders for "word of the year."
• Dictionary.com named "67" (whatever the hell that was) as their word of the year. Story via ABC (US).  
•  Macquarie Dictionary went with "AI Slop" for their choice. Story via ABC (Australia). 
• Merriam Webster kept it short and chose "slop" as their word of the year (story via NBC).  
• The venerable Oxford Dictionary decided on "rage bait."  Given how angry the year was I would say this is a pretty good choice.
• The Conversation has an overview of words of the year, highlighting some of the above a few others. A common theme they saw is digital disillusionment.  
• Best video games. I suppose I could have put these up with the other media, but they did not quite fit for me. Video and computer games are not an area I really keep up with. I do enjoy a game here or there, but I am pretty much seriously casual in my video and computer gaming, so these stories help bring me up to speed on the topic. 
• Here is Rolling Stone's list of best video games for 2025. Apparently this was a pretty good year given there were a lot of releases. They list 25 games. A few are sequels of classics, but to be honest most of these I did not hear about until I read the article. 
• The Toronto Sun has a list of 10. At least three titles here overlap. 
• Maxim offers a list of their top 20.
• In photography, My Modern Met offers 45 photos from around the world.
• In liquor and booze: 
• Maxim has their list of  "The Best American Single Malt Whiskeys Of 2025."
• Drinkhacker offers "The Top 20 Whiskeys of 2025."
• The Drinks Business looks at  "The biggest drinks acquisitions of 2025."
• Marion Nestle has a food politics roundup for the year.
• The Pen Addict shares "Stationery Things I Learned In 2025." 
• Teen Vogue sums up the "11 Biggest Celebrity Breakups of 2025."  
• Quartz highlights a report on  "The 8 richest families in the world." You know, the rich assholes making life hard for the rest of us. 
• Some anarchist reading.
• Top posts from Polar Blast.
• Top posts from The Slow Burning Fuse.   
• Deaths of the year.
• The Toronto Sun's In Memoriam. (video segment) From this list, for many I am sure Pope Francis passing was the highlight of the year. There are a few folks I missed that said to myself omg they died this past year. Ozzie Osbourne was a hard one for me this year. For me, Dick Cheney and Charlie Kirk fall into the good riddance category. 
• Out Magazine has a list of  "16 LGBTQ+ celebs who passed away in 2025." 
• Literary Hub lists "Notable Literary Deaths in 2025."

 

Predictions for 2026

 

A fluffy cat with a cloth on head, necklace, and crystal ball. Text: Let me check my crystal ball.

 

 

Predictions was a new category I added to this in 2023. People love to make all kinds of predictions about new year, and I found quite a few. This year I am breaking this down into trends, you know the pundits, experts, and gurus who tell us what to expect, and into esoterica where we look at things like astrology, Tarot, and other esoteric ways to predict what will happen. 

Trends:

• Metro (UK) has a list of predictions (slide show) based on Old Moore's Almanac. Extreme weather will continue in 2026 is one of their predictions. That seems straightforward enough. 
• Quartz predicts prices will keep rising as they look at what is likely to cost more in 2026.  To be honest, this one is not predicting much that we do not know already like rising grocery and utilities pricing. 
• Fitch Ratings expects higher education to keep deteriorating. Story via Higher Ed Dive. This is another prediction that seems more like it's already happening.
• Al Jazeera looks at "all the big elections to look out for in 2026" including the 2026 midterm elections in the United States, where we will see if gringos finally get their fucking act together or if they keep going down the abyss.
• Not quite a trend, but maybe we can make it a trend and care for our mental health in 2026. The San Juan Daily Star has a list of  "9 ways to take care of your mental health in 2026."   

Predictions and looking at the future: 

• On an interesting note, Metro (UK) went back to see if their resident soothsayer, dubbed "The New Nostradamus," got their predictions right or not from 2025. For 2026, he is predicting the Ukraine and Russia war will end. He also predicts the AI bubble will burst. I admit I can see that bubble bursting, but not quite sure yet if 2026 will be the year for it, so we will see.
• From Om Times.
• Their 2026 Tarotscope forecast. I read my sign, and it looks pretty good. 
• Their 2026 astrological overview.  It foresees a rise of spiritual warriors, and given the Hard Times I can certainly hope. 
• Lisa Eddy of Angelorum offers "2026 Astrology: Complete Horoscopes for All 12 Zodiac Signs." 
• From Theresa Reed, the Tarot Lady.
• She has her ultra-deluxe superfly astrology guide for 2026.  
• She also figures out the Tarot card for the year.  This is a universal card, but you can also figure out your own individual card; this is usually based on your birth date. I probably should check mine for this year, but I digress. 
•  Collective World has "What Each Zodiac Sign Should Be Excited About Going Into 2026."
•  Teen Vogue has "2026 Astrology Guide: Retrogrades, Eclipses, and Tarot Card Pulls for Your Zodiac Sign."
• Finally, I did a small Tarot spread for 2026. It is not predictive, but more a bit of advice and lessons to keep in mind in 2026.