The Books of 2026: 15-17

 Here I go again, on my own...at least, I hope so.

15. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood. Novel. Audiobook. Based on an actual murder case in 19th century Canada. This is now my favorite Atwood novel.

16. Bloody Crimes - James L. Swanson. Nonfiction. Audiobook. A study of two presidents: Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Deals simultaneously with Lincoln's assassination and the circus that was his corpse's lengthy train trip to his final resting place, and Davis, fleeing the defeated Confederacy to save his life. Swanson compares and contrasts the two men, who were almost exact contemporaries. Richard Thomas narrated the audiobook, and did a masterful job.

17. Anxietyland - Gemma Correll. Graphic Memoir. Gemma Correll has had anxiety since she was very young, and dealt with it in all its guises. In this memoir, she likens the disorder to being in an amusement park. I found myself nodding in recognition at several intervals. I love her artwork.

A.I. has just reared its ugly head. This summing-up is going to take longer than I thought, but I'm not sticking around to play and possibly lose the post. So I'll stop here.