Update for...the year?

 This could become more involved than originally anticipated. Or not.

First off: lecithin. Not necessarily bad, not necessarily great. But its mechanism of action does make sense. It could help with decreasing liver fat, but then again, it could help with just decreasing fat across the board. So...the jury's out. In the meantime, I'll keep on taking it.

Second off, and the reason I came here to write: books! Substack is lousy right now with "The Best Books of 2025" and other such lists that are...well, usually I like listicles (aside from that cringeworthy name that is thisclose to male anatomy), but these are just overwhelming. I'd rather not read all of them. Besides, they may have to do with books that were only printed in 2025, in which case I'm not interested. And if they're not, I have enough books on my own list I don't need any more.

So...let's go over some books and see what I thought of them.

The Guncle and The Guncle Abroad, Steven Rowley — Yeah, we can group these together. I had to read these, for three reasons. First, I was recommended these by Mary from my mastermind group after I read The Editor, which I really enjoyed. Second, hello, I'm a guncle. And third, I live in Palm Springs, where Steven Rowley is pretty much literary royalty. I'll give him this: he is a good writer. Trouble is, his main character, who I suspect is a bit of a self-character study, is a bitchy queen, the likes of which annoy me to no end. I had to claw my way through both books because I found him insufferable, and the books are narrated from his perspective. His other characters are more relatable and more comfortable for me...partly because they react to this self-absorbed guncle. (Yes, self-absorbed. Even if he does take on the task of playing host to his niece and nephew for a summer in the first book and plays European tour guide in the second.) I wish I had enjoyed them as much as I had enjoyed The Editor, which had a brilliant conceit: what if you were a writer who happened to land upon having Jacqueline Kennedy as your editor? (In real life, JK was indeed an editor.)

The Moth and Moon, Glenn Quigley — Okay, this was an obvious one. Glenn is a burly British bear who has a lighthouse fetish (and no, I don't mean that figuratively). This, his first in a trilogy, was a fun book from the point of view of, again, a burly British bear who lived in a small English seafaring town around, say, the turn of the century, I think? (I had a tough workout today and my brain isn't braining, so please be indulgent with me.) Gay and all, so there's a bit of poetic license taken here with historical accuracy; the story concerns itself in large part with our hero trying to figure out his feelings toward other men, and it's endearing and compelling. Though it's been nearly a year since I finished the book and my memory of it is bleary, I did enjoy it and now wonder why I haven't continued with the rest of the trilogy. Maybe for 2026.

Flamer, Mike Curato — A graphic YA novel, short and adorable. The illustrations were wonderful and slapdash. A coming out/coming of age story that I finished in two days. I'd recommend it to any kid who's trying to figure themselves out and comfortable with the idea that they might just be gay.

Trouble Boys: The Story of the Replacements, Bob Mehr, narrated by Mary Lucia —Oof. This was a tough one. Exactly as advertised, and the Replacements had such a hard career. They chronically prevented their own success time and again, and they could have had it if they wanted. They just didn't. Or at least, if they wanted success, it had to be on their extremely difficult terms. So it was a no-go. The book is unsparing. The narration by Mary Lucia is raspy, full of mispronunciations, and utterly perfect. (She is Paul Westerberg's kid sister, so she knows this story cold. I don't know how she got through some of the tougher parts without breaking down.) The book actually turned me off of the Replacements for most of 2026 because it left me with such a bad impression of these guys. Unquestionably talented, but I wasn't sure I wanted to support such self-defeating impulses. Still, one of my favorite reads/listens of 2024–2025.

"Rappaccini's Daughter," Nathaniel Hawthorne — Never thought I'd regress back to high school and read something by one of my most hated authors. Even less did I think I'd actually enjoy it. I remember The Scarlet Letter as the best cure for insomnia I've ever read. But this short story is fascinating. So much so that I began to narrate it for fun. (I should have finished it, but drat.) I'm certain much of the enjoyment came from it not being attached to tests and grades. It inspired me to get a collection of Hawthorne short stories, too...and led to my current interest in Project Gutenberg, wherein I can get all sorts of free literature that's in public domain. But yeah, it was a fascinating story, an allegory of the fall of man (yes, I used that instead of humanity, given the context of the short story) and a heartbreaking tale.

"Macbeth," William Shakespeare — Does much need to be said about this? One of the Bard's best plays, about treachery, deceit, ambition, treason, and the use and abuse of power. I found it sadly timely for our country.

Sorcery and Small Magics, Maiga Doocy — Who knew I could enjoy fantasy as much as I did? I think part of it has to do with it being fairly witchy, including casting spells and such. The plot has to do with a blatant misuse of a magic spell, which causes the main character to gradually and irresistibly fall in love with a classmate for which there is some significant mutual enmity. It involves queer love only insofar as the two main characters are male, but there's not much in the way of romance, let alone sex (none at all). But the story is fascinating. Very well written and lots of fun. I look forward to more.

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen — What is it with reading things I did back in high school? I took an internal dare, that I would enjoy this better now than I did then. And whaddaya know? It paid off. Pride and Prejudice won't be my favorite book of all time, but I found it a great read. Even better when I read some difficult parts aloud to understand them better, which worked very well. And I rewarded myself along the way by watching the BBC version with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy...then got to tell my niece Chelsea about it, since she has major thoughts about this (namely, that Colin Firth is the ONLY Mr. Darcy, all others can pack it up and go home.)

"The Body," Stephen King/Richard Bachmann — The story that provided the basis for Stand By Me, the movie that rode the wave of 1950s nostalgia all the way to the bank. (To be fair, it's long been a favorite coming of age movie for me.) I should have probably expected that there was significantly more violence in the story that the movie deleted, particularly at the end. Stephen King doesn't shy away from difficult violence, regardless of whether the character is a beloved protagonist or a hated villain. I didn't expect the story of the pie-eating contest to be received with less enthusiasm by the boys, though, so that was a bummer. But a great story all the same.

"The Lottery," Shirley Jackson — And back to school a third time for a classic criticism of society rules and traditions. I remember seeing this movie in, like third or fourth grade. What a shocker of a movie this was, especially given the bloodshed at the end. But that's the point. I read this because Dennis had never read it before, and I felt compelled to at least have him read it. Maybe the movie have a more profound impact on him. At any rate, Tess annoyed me terribly in the movie (but less so in the story). I think that was by design.

Well, those are the highlights of my reading this past year. If we go by numbers, let's say this:

• Audiobooks: 1
• Books: 12
• Essays: 3
• Graphic novels: 1
• Plays: 1
• Poetry collections: 1
• Short stories: 5
• Entities in total: 24