November 2025
November is a month to give thanks. I am thankful for my family, vacations, and the unusually warm weather. It is finally starting to get cold here, but the mild fall has been very nice.
Before you get distracted:
Book Giveaway-
Send (text or email) me answers for any or all of the following to enter the December drawing:
- Do you most prefer ebooks, audiobooks, or hard copies when reading?
- What is your favorite book for young ladies (like Millie)?
- Which book are you most likely to gift for Christmas?
I’ll do the usual drawing and send the winner(s) the book of their choice.
Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Fiction Books
Transformation by Seth Ring (Battle Mage Farmer #5)
John Sutton has problems. There is a beast invasion coming. A weird group of mages is trying to enslave the humans in his world. And an evil space pirate army is on its way to his world to strip its resources and enslave the humans. To keep the world from ending, John must dismantle each threat. John starts by taking the inter-world portal to find his friend Katrine. He finds his way to a powerful wizard tower where he begins to research inter-world gates and picks up the trail of the mage who led Katrine into danger. On the higher worlds, John’s body soaks up more potent mana, and he learns he is capable of seventh and eighth-level spells. Eventually, John rescues Katrine and begins healing her. Next, John returns to his world, but he is forced to lock his mana away because it is too powerful for the lower world he lives in. He battles the dragon Farroutef, which has taken refuge in his soul and is trying to take over his body. The rest of the book is about John learning how to defeat the dragon so it won’t destroy him and the world, and Ferdie, John’s bull, getting into a tussle with the King of Beasts. The magic system in these books seems to be getting more complex as the books progress. I’m not sure I fully understand it. I’m also bummed that Audible pulled the rest of the books out of the “included” library. That slows me down considerably.
This is for gamers and adventurers.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, ebook, 420p.)
Always Remember: The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, The Horse, and the Storm by Charlie Mackey
Most of what makes storms easier to weather is the company you keep. It is not the storms themselves that make the relationships deep. It is the way you feel about the people who join you in the chaos. The people who show up to help make all the difference. The reassurance they provide is critical. This book is about the boy who stares into the wild. The mole, who is still obsessed with cake. The fox, who has been hurt by the world. The horse, who is big and strong, and stable. The crew weathers a big storm together. I love the whimsy and creativity of this book. I love the characters. I love the deep wisdom mixed into the art and story.
This is for everyone.
(Rated G, Score 9/10, Hardcover, 128p.)
My beautiful daughter recommended this book. She’s reading it for her class book bracket challenge. It’s not just a kid's book, though. It is filled with interesting interpersonal tension and drama. Chase Ambrose wakes up in the hospital. He fell off his roof on his shoulder and head. He has severe amnesia. He cannot remember anything before his accident. He doesn’t even remember his family. Chase is the star running back for the 8th-grade football team, but he has no idea what that means while he recovers. As the title suggests, Chase gets a complete restart. Except everyone else remembers the old Chase. The old Chase was a terror. He was a bully, a selfish jerk, and a thief. But the new Chase doesn’t know any of that. He gets the chance to be a new, better, kinder human. The story unfolds over the school year as Chase makes new friends in the video club, gets to know his old friends (who he doesn’t really like anymore), and uncovers his murky past. Chase gets to choose who he will be. His choices define the new Chase. I love the way the story shows how each choice determines who Chase is. He makes both good and bad choices. But he gets the chance to redeem himself. He gets the opportunity to write his own story. “To quote the great UCLA basketball coach, John Obiwan Gandalf, ‘It is our choices, Gentlemen, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.’”
This is a great book for anyone looking to adjust their trajectory or change their stars.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Jonathan Todd Ross, 6:51)
A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Perry
Swift is a wolf pup in a litter born in the mountains. This is his story. He grows up in a strong family. He learns to hunt as part of a pack from his father. He learns to avoid dangers like porcupines and skunks. A bigger, stronger pack takes over Swift’s hunting home-ground and scatters Swift’s family. Swift runs for his life. His speed saves him, but he is forced to abandon his family and wander the wilderness. A raven joins him, helping him to find food. Men and their black river change his course. Eventually, Swift finds a new hunting ground and a powerful mate. This is an interesting story based on a real wolf’s journey (OR-7). Jet and I were hoping one of the wolves would tangle with the skunk, but that part didn’t make it into the story.
This is for wandering wolves, orphans, and young readers.
(Rated G, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Kirby Heyborne, 3:54)
Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kristen Miller
This is a newer book about the power of books. This book touches on all sorts of dangerous subjects: racism, rape, suicide, homosexuality, and several others. What I like most about this book is that it is intended to teach us how to read books and live life with our brains on and our hearts open. You can’t believe everything you read. Not every book is for every reader. But, as one character says, the books are never the problem. The humans are. This is a story about a small town in Georgia, where Lula Dean begins a book-banning crusade. She demands that “dangerous” books be pulled off the shelves of the schools and public library. She sets up her own little purple library and fills it with “wholesome” books. A young lady, the daughter of Lula Dean’s enemy, pulls a wonderful prank. She takes a load of the banned books that were being stored in her mother’s basement and hides them in the dust jackets of the books in Lula Dean’s library. She swaps the covers, hiding the dangerous books in plain sight. The people in the town pull the dangerous books out of the little library, and each book has a powerful effect. The books force racism out into the open, uncover bigotry, give shy people courage, and help the town’s people empathize with each other. There is big tension, as the town learns about the ghosts of its past. It was interesting to read through those hard moments. This book could have quite easily been a horror book if the author had taken the plot to darker places. Instead, she wrote mostly about restoration, healing, sense, and redemption. This is a tough book. I’m not sure if I agree with all the conclusions it draws, but I love that it forces hard looks at beliefs, biases, and ideas. Thank you, Julie, for this recommendation.
This is for readers needing a challenge.
(Rated PG-13, Score 10/10, audiobook read by January LaVoy, 10:13)
The Will of the Many by James Islington
If you took Maze Runner and mashed it up with Red Rising, you would get something like this book. Vis Telemus is the main character. He is an orphaned prince living in The Hierarchy. The Hierarchy is the government as well as the magic system in the book. There are eight layers in the pyramid structure, with each lower tier ceding will to those above them. Will is power or energy, or magic. There is heavy Roman influence in the book, from the language to the Senatorial arrangements. The Octavi cede their will to those above them in the pyramid without receiving anything in return. They are the slaves. They are the many. Vis is violently opposed to The Hierarchy. He is surviving apart from it for as long as he is allowed, but at some point, he will be forced to cede. Vis is discovered and adopted by Ulciscor Telemus, who trains him for the Academy. Vis is sent to the academy to spy on the head of the school and to investigate the death of his adopted father’s brother, who died at the school. Vis has to work his way up through the ranks at the school, balance weird relationships, and learn how to run the labyrinth. Vis is used to violence and danger, but it feels like the whole world is out to get him, except for a few key friends. The end of the school year brings the ludicium, which is the challenge designed to select the Domitor (top student). The challenge is designed to be brutal, cut-throat, and dangerous. It is the climax of the book. Book 2 just came out, so I’ll have to track it down and find out what happens next. I enjoyed the complexity and unique magic system woven through this book. There is a good blend of action, learning, and character development to complement the author’s world-building. This is the type of book that will keep you hooked, reading past your bedtime. Thank you, Connor, for the recommendation.
This is for street rats, howlers, and maze runners.
(Rated PG-13, Score 10/10, audiobook read by Euan Morton, 28:14)
The Boy with Video Game Powers by R. L Ullman
Milo is an average 12-year-old in the real world, but he is a gaming genius. His worlds collide when he wins an ultra-rare item in his game, Ranger Quest, that magically shows up on his finger in the real world. The Glitch Ring allows Milo to see everyone’s stats and to use items and armor in the real world as he would in Ranger Quest. When bad guys start spawning in Milo’s neighborhood, he goes to work, saving the world. Being a hero is risky. Heroes are often misunderstood. The media calls Milo “Pixel Man” and blames him for the damage caused to the city in his battles. The bad guys that are spawning get tougher and meaner. Milo also gets tougher and meaner as he defeats them. Can Milo figure out who is behind the monsters, the Glitch Ring, and protect his city?
This is for young gamers like my son Jet.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, ebook, 154p.)
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
I love this witch story. Millie and I listened to it. There are so many wonderful characters. The story is told in small chunks from differing perspectives. There is a town called the Protectorate, shrouded in sorrow. The people live in fear of the witch in the forest. There is a whimsical witch who lives in the forest named Xan. She is a healer and protector. She lives with a swamp monster named Glerk and a perfectly tiny dragon named Fyrian. The people of the Protectorate sacrifice one child each year to the witch. Little do they know that Xan rescues the child each year and carries it to the free cities beyond the forest, where they are adopted and thrive. There is a different witch who lives in a tower in the Protectorate. She eats the sorrow of the town. But the real joy of the story is Luna. Luna is one of the children sacrificed to the witch. When Xan rescues her from the forest, she falls in love with the little girl. When she accidentally feeds Luna moonlight, Luna becomes enmagicked. The stories of the Protectorate, Luna, and Xan are woven together as Luna grows and becomes more powerful. The plot brings everything to a climax when the volcano threatens the world, the Sorrow-Eater tries to kill Luna, and Xan runs out of magic. I do love it when an author properly wraps up all the odds and ends and resolves all the tension well in the end.
This is for young dreamers, grievers, and tiny dragons.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Christina Moore, 9:31)
Non-Fiction Books
The Unseen Realm by Michael S. Heiser
This book is like two semesters of Biblical studies worth of content. It is extremely academic, detailed, and thorough. The author unravels our modern perspectives on the Bible and weaves a tapestry of new ones through the lens of the ancient audience. The goal is to create a mosaic that shows the Bible as a whole- a beautiful mosaic telling a singular story from beginning to end. The author also attempts to correct common misinterpretations, explain difficult passages, and deepen the reader’s understanding of the spiritual realm as it collides with earth.
The book is organized into eight parts:
Part 1: First Things
Part 2: The Households of God
Part 3: Divine Transgressions
Part 4: Yahweh and His Portion
Part 5: Conquest and Failure
Part 6: Thus Says the Lord
Part 7: The Kingdom Already
Part 8: The Kingdom Not Yet
The author gets deep into the original Hebrew and Greek languages to debate different interpretations of difficult passages. He also includes extensive notes and references. He challenges modern interpretations when he sees the text differently.
The biggest idea is the concept of a Divine Council. Modern Bible readers often assume that there is only one god in the spiritual realm, which leads to confusion when they read about God talking to and about his divine council. The concept of a divine council explains some of the more confusing passages from Job, Deuteronomy, Genesis, and Revelation. It would be nice to have an org chart.
This book is fascinating to me. I could see how many readers would see the new information and perspectives as a threat. Some would armor up, throw rocks, and quit as soon as their comfortable paradigms were challenged. This is the same problem the author is calling out in Lula Dean above. I like to see how new information fits into my existing paradigms. I like to ponder new ideas and set them against my old ones. Then I try to keep all the ones that make sense. The idea of a divine council is very valuable because it solves many problems without destroying or challenging the core concepts of the Bible. I love books that stretch my brain like this.
This is a tough book. The author has a book called Supernatural, which is a condensed version of the same content and might be more suitable for readers who don’t need as much academic rigor.
This is for a serious seeker.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Gordon Greenhill, 15:43)
Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green
Everything is tuberculosis (TB), and tuberculosis is everything. The disease is much more prevalent than I understood. Something like one quarter of all humans are infected with it. But I am insulated from it because I live in a rich country with a modern medical system. In this book, the author discusses the history of the disease and how it is a sordid story of injustice, racism, poverty, and so much death. The disease is woven into our history, contributing to the start of World War I, helping New Mexico become a state, and killing the poor and the wealthy alike (before modern medicine). Today, TB is pretty rare in the US and other rich countries. It is curable. The tragedy is that the cure is not widely available, especially not in poor countries. We could eliminate TB with wider detection, cheaper drugs, and better prevention, but we (royal we) have not decided to do any of these things aggressively enough, and so the disease persists, killing over a million people each year. This is obviously not a very cheerful book, but it does have a reasonable balance of hard facts and hope. TB is brutal. We can defeat it. Can we come together to do more? Thank you, Abbey, for the recommendation.
This is for anyone needing a better view of the world.
(Rated PG-13, Score 8/10, audiobook read by the author, 5:35)
My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner
It’s hard to kill an avenger, but not impossible. On New Year's Day 2023, Jeremy Renner suffered a terrible accident while he was clearing snow from his home in Nevada. His Snow Cat tried to crush him to death. He suffered at least 38 broken bones from his face to his foot. His eye was crushed out of its socket, but doctors were able to squish it back into place without any permanent vision problems; in fact, he says it helped him see better. His nephew and two neighbors helped him breathe for nearly an hour while rescue workers made their way to the scene and helped to stabilize him and remove him by helicopter. This is the book he didn’t want to write. It’s his story about how he will never have a bad day again, because he’s already had the worst day. Everything else should be easy. This was a tough story to hear. The hardest part to hear was right after the accident, when they inserted audio from the 911 call, and you can listen to Jeremy struggling to breathe in the background. I am amazed that he didn’t pass out. I’m pretty sure he would have been gone forever if he had lost consciousness. After a helicopter evacuation and emergency surgeries to reestablish his rib cage and repair his bones, Hawkeye became the worst patient ever. I could empathize with a lot of the emotions of his recovery process, having gone through most of them during my recovery. Recovery is a slog. Recovery is humbling. Recovery is softening. Having to rely on others forces you to be more connected. Recovery makes you say all the bad words. Recovery is physical, mental, and emotional. It takes forever. I’m still processing this memoir. It was full of weird California lingo, of course, coming from a Hollywood star, but it is also authentic, gritty, and raw.
This is for survivors and anyone wanting to know the whole story.
(Rated R, Score 7/10, audiobook read by the author, 6:35)
Preview/Currently Reading-
This is Marketing by Seth Godin
A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. It might help manage your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
I got to go elk hunting with my dad, my brothers, my uncle, and his girlfriend at Valles Caldera in NM. They didn’t tell me we were going to be getting up at 2:30 AM each day to get into position to shoot at elk before the sun comes up. I’m not sure it would have helped, but it might have given me a chance to try to prepare. We hiked over 30 miles in the three days I was with them. I was worried about my knee. It did great. I learned that it has about a 4-mile range before it needs a break and a snack.
I learned so much:
~Sidearms are heavy. Rifles are heavier.
~Don’t leave water in your Camelbak hose if it’s freezing out.
~Be quiet. Be still.
~Nap when the animals nap.
~Elk are dang hard to find (except in the No Hunting area).
~You can do everything right, and still have to rely on luck.
~Family is everything.
~Being out of cell range in the wilderness is deeply healing.
~Doing hard stuff makes it easier to do more harder stuff.
I’m so thankful to have been a part of the hunting adventure.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
PS. I’m looking to grow and improve this little experiment. If you have benefited from it and would like to support my ability to buy better books or run with some other ideas I have been working on, here is your opportunity. You could think of it as an investment or buying me a coffee.