Fast and Loose (2017) is one of the better books in the long Stone Barrington series.

Stone’s yacht collides with something bigger — and sinks.

Dr. Paul Carlsson and his daughter, Marisa, save him

His rescuers are owner-founders of the world-famous Carlsson Clinic, with a reputation akin to the Mayo Clinic.

Inevitably, Stone and Marisa hook up.

In a related story, St. Clair Enterprises has suffered the loss of its CEO and owner, Christian St. Clair, to a bomb blast. 

His successor, Erik Macher, is, surprisingly, given St. Clair Enterprises in the CEO’s will.

Mocher is the bad guy. Jake his henchman.

Stone Barrington finds himself in the middle after an old friend, Ed Rauls, drags hime in.

I’m making it sound too complicated. These books are fast-paced, easy to read.

I’m a huge fan of author Ken Follett‘s historical fiction. Especially his Kingsbridge series, starting with The Pillars of the Earth (1989).

I was excited to see he published a 2025 book set in the Neolithic period when the Stonehenge was created.

Circle of Days is set in prehistory 2500 BCE, where people are divided into tribes, their names in accordance to their roles such as miners, herders, woodlanders, and farmers.

The people meet each season at the wooden Monument for religious rites and festivities, led by priestesses.

The technology behind Stonehenge is fascinating.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Follett is a terrific storyteller. Good v Evil. Characters whom you can cheer and despise.

It’s worth reading, for sure.

BUT I can’t call this book the equal of any of his his Kingsbridge series.

I was somewhat disappointed. There’s no need for him to write a sequel.

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I’ve been a big Reese Witherspoon fan since Legally Blonde (2001).

(She keeps me watching The Morning Show, for example.)

In 2017, Witherspoon started Reese’s Book Club. Quite influential.

When she finally got around to writing her own novel, she reached out first to Harlan Coben (not James Patterson 😀).

A good call. Coben is a master of the plot twist.

Gone Before Goodbye (2025) is best on audio as Reese is the voice of Army combat surgeon Maggie McCabe.

Upside down after a devastating series of tragedies leads to her medical license being revoked, Maggie has lost her purpose, but not her nerve or her passion.

At her lowest point, she is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague, an elite plastic surgeon whose anonymous clientele demand the best care money can buy, as well as absolute discretion. …

Needing the money, she reluctantly flies to Russia to do plastic surgery on a reclusive Oligarch.

It’s a fast paced thriller.

Try not to pay too much attention to the plot. 😀

Porkchop is easily the most interesting character.

I did find the emerging medical technology and technical details of trauma surgery quite interesting. They certainly had good researchers.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Terry O’Reilly is one of the most beloved radio personalities on CBC, host of the CBC Radio One series O’Reilly on Advertising, The Age of Persuasion and Under the Influence, which examine the cultural and sociological impact of advertising and marketing on modern life.

He has a few books.

I read Against the Grain: Defiant Giants Who Changed the World (2025) and was much impressed. It’s non-fiction.

… mavericks who go “against the grain” in their work …

People who chose to ignore conventional wisdom, found or invented a better way, questioned the status quo at great sacrifice and pushed for change against all odds.

Some were drummed out of their careers for it but in the end were proven right (Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis).

Some were celebrated but had to fight every inch of the way (Norman Lear).

Some re-invented their industry but preferred to stay an outsider (Tom Laughlin—aka Billy Jack).

Some confounded their competitors with ingenious strategies (NHL coach Roger Neilson).

One even saved millions of people around the world, but was humiliated, demoted, and dismissed for her entire career (Dr. Katalin Karikó—co-creator of the COVID vaccine).

I don’t normally enjoy fantasy — but there was something about this book that kept me going.

The pace at the beginning was encouragingly quick.

It’s set currently with mobile phones and apps. Less world building than typical for the genre.

Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain.

Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild.

Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. …

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone…and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping (2025) by Sangu Mandanna

Very original. A terrific plot.

Kate Wilhelm is the author of the Hugo Award–winning Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. Excellent.

Welcome, Chaos (1983) is the second of her books I’ve read.

Though it’s a bit dated, I found the story intriguing.

Disillusioned and sorrowful history professor Lyle Taney retreats to the Oregon mountains to study eagles but becomes entangled with her neighbors, kindly polymath Saul Werther and his assistant Carmen, and a manipulative CIA agent, Lasater.

She discovers Werther and Carmen are part of a secret organization guarding a dangerous immortality serum from Nazi Germany. A serum that grants immortality but can also kill half its recipients and cause infertility.

When Russia independently obtains the serum and unleashes it as a flu epidemic, Lyle must choose sides in a struggle that could lead to global destruction or the start of a new civilization

AI summary

Sure you can argue the writing is not great.

BUT the 4 main characters are really well developed.

It’s a thought provoking read.