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Including my first read of this year, The Widow by John Grisham, since there was a bit of chatter about it in December's post.

The A-list

The Cider House Rules by John Irving (Reread) A

My first Irving back in 2009, and he later became my fave author. I wanted to re-read this as a character from this one returns in his latest novel “Queen Esther”. It’s about the life of an orphan who was returned several times to an orphanage led by an ether-addicted doctor, and is probably on several book ban lists. I am glad I re-read it as my mind mixed a lot of this one with my second Irving read, A Prayer for Owen Meany.

The Unlikely Through Hiker by Derick Lugo (A-). Lugo writes about his experiences on the Appalachian trail. I always love reading about thru hiking experiences.

That’s Not How It Happened by Craig Thomas A-. Thomas was one of the producers of How I Met Your Mother (the book is better, don’t worry!). It’s about a family whose son has Down syndrome, and the mother wrote a book about it, and the father becomes the screenwriter for the movie adaptation, and the sister just wants to be heard. I’m sure it’ll be adapted itself by a streamer.

The B-List

The Widow by John Grisham B+ First read of 2026, but including it in this post. It’s Grisham’s best since probably The Rooster Bar, but (MILD SPOILER) the ending was as random as (spoiler here) Heather Webber being the Hook Killer on GH..some parts were rushed while others dragged, but I enjoyed it. A Jimmy McGillesque lawyer finds himself writing the will of a 80-something year old woman who says she has $20 million, and he turns into Saul Goodman while writing it and later becomes the main suspect in the widow’s murder. (Yes I just finished watching Better Call Saul last week and only pictured Bob Obdinkirk lol)

Infinite Drift by Brent Hartinger B+: An anxious teen tries a sensory deprivation tank, yet when he gets out, he’s in an alternate dimension. Every time he returns, he awakes to a new reality. Not my fave genre, but it was decently written.

The Pledge by Cale Dietrich B+ I read a lot of Dietrich this month/in 2025 (all his works), and this is one of his better ones, about a fraternity pledge who survived his boyfriend being killed by a Scream/Friday the 13th type psycho just to find his new fraternity brothers being offed one by one.

The Running Man by Richard Bachman (Reread) B. I haven’t seen either film, for the record, but it was interesting to see what an imaginary 2025 from the early 1980s or late 1970s. A man goes on a reality show and every day he evades capture (and being murdered in the capture) by police, his family gets more money. Stephen King, I mean “Richard Bachman” of course, predicted the rise of these reality show competitions somehow!

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham (Reread) B I hadn’t read this one since before the 2004 movie Christmas with the Kranks, and this is better, but still incredibly dated only 20 years later. A family decides to skip Christmas when her daughter joins the Peace Corps and won’t be home and then have to frantically plan one when she decides to come home. Conform or pay the price!

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett B I think after loving “The Patron Saint of Liars” so much back in August I had my hopes up too high, and it wasn’t bad…just not as good nor easy to get into. A hostage situation in a South American country and Stockholm syndrome.

The Guncle and The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley (both B) A capricious actor bonds with his nephews after his BFF/sister-in-law dies and he takes care of their kids (he’s their guncle, or gay uncle) as his brother hits rehab in the first one, and in the second one, he attends his brother’s Italian wedding and takes his niece and nephew through Europe before the wedding. They’re written well, but kind of Hallmarky.

If This Gets Out by Cale Dietrich & Sophie Gonzales B-. Dietrich and Gonzales write about two boy band members who fall in love. Their writing talents were mismatched…

The C-List

Future Boy by Michael J. Fox C+. I thought this would be more a memoir of his life, but it was focused on the filming of the first Back to the Future…which I’ve only seen once about 15 years ago (I liked it though!), so it might work better for others.

My Roommate from Hell by Cale Dietrich C+. The protagonist’s new college roommate is from a hell dimension, and he falls in love with the demon prince during the fake dating trope, despite the fact the demon prince is a horrible roommate and, well, a demon.

Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham C Spoiler: Dog attack, but the dog lives. But I lowered it a letter for the poor dog being attacked. Theo’s town wants to build a useless bypass that would destroy lots of land, and he becomes involved with the resistance.