[How it Works](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/how-it-works/) [Bookshop](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/books/bindery/) [Publishing](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/publishing/) [Team](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/team/) [Contact](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/contact/) Log in or Sign up London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth Patrick Radden Keefe Save to Your Books [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/3857/9780385548533) 100% of affiliate revenue supports Casey the Reader From the bestselling, prize-winning author of _Say Nothing_ and _Empire of Pain_, a spellbinding account of a family devastated by the sudden death of their nineteen-year-old son, only to discover that he had created a secret life which drew him into the dangerous criminal underworld that lies beneath London’s glittering surface. In the early morning of November 29th, 2019, surveillance cameras at the headquarters of MI6, Britain’s spy agency, captured video of a young man pacing back and forth on a high balcony of Riverwalk, a luxury tower on the bank of the river Thames. At 2:24 a.m., he jumped into the river. In a quiet London neighborhood several miles away, Rachelle Brettler was worried about her son. Zac had told her that he had gone to stay with a friend, but then he did not come home. Days later, a police car pulled up and two officers relayed the dreadful news: her son was dead. **In their unbearable grief, Rachelle and her husband, Matthew, struggled to understand what had happened to Zac.** He had his troubles, but in no way seemed suicidal. As they would soon discover, however, there was a lot they did not know about their son. Only after his death did they learn that he had adopted a fictitious alter-ego: Zac Ismailov, son of a Russian oligarch and heir to a great fortune. Under this guise, Zac had become entangled with a slippery London businessman named Akbar Shamji, and a murderous gangster known as “Indian Dave.” **As the Brettlers set about investigating their son’s death, they were pulled into a different and more dangerous London than the one they’d always known,** and came to believe that something much more nefarious than a suicide had claimed Zac’s life. But to their immense frustration, Scotland Yard seemed unable—or unwilling—to bring the perpetrators to justice. **In a bravura feat of reporting and writing, Patrick Radden Keefe chronicles the Brettlers’ quest,** peeling back layers of mystery and exposing the seedy truths behind the glamorous London of posh mansions and private nightclubs, a city in which everything is for sale, and aspirational fantasies are underwritten by dirty money and corruption. _London Falling_ is a mesmerizing investigation of an inexplicable death and a powerful narrative driven by suspense and staggering revelations. But it is also an intimate and deeply poignant inquiry into the nature of parental love and the challenges of being a parent today, a portrait of a family trying to solve the riddle not just of how their son died, but of who he really was in life. Show more Get the Bindery app * * * Posts about this title from Casey the Reader [Casey the Reader\\ \\ Casey\\ \\ • Jul 6](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/) [Heyo, welcome back to Mini Review Monday! Here's what I read in the last week. Come on over to Discord and share what you read, too! Books marked with a \* were gifted to me and books marked with a ^ I was paid to read.\\ \\ **London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City, and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe\* -** All of PRK's books have totally engrossed me, but this one was a little different. While I was intrigued by the mystery, I found myself tuning out a bit when it came to the gangsters' backstories. Not that they weren't interesting people, but who was working with/for who kind of began to run together a bit after awhile.\\ \\ **Why Are People Into That?: A Cultural Investigation of Kink by Tina Horn -** This was my Spicy Book Club's June pick. I probably wouldn't have read it if not for the club so shout out to book clubs for broadening horizons. As an ace person who is not Into That, I found this fascinating. Ultimately, the "why" often boiled down to "lots of reasons," but it was still cool to get a glimpse into a world I'm not part of and to be reminded that life is a rich tapestry.\\ \\ **The Quarter Queen by Kayla Hardy^ -** What a darkly beautiful book. The setting of pre-Civil War New Orleans was immersive, and using Voodoo vs alchemy vs the Catholic church to work through how Black folks opted to fight against enslavement was so good. I did get a little confused about who was working for who and toward what goals, but I think that's a me thing since I haven't seen any other reviews mentioning that.\\ \\ I also had one DNF this week, and that was **Love In A F\*cked Up World by Dean Spade**. Not because I hated it or anything, but because it just wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be about building relationships within activist groups (both platonic and romantic) and it was really more of a dating guide from a leftist queer perspective. It did have a lot of good stuff to say, but it's not what I was looking for. I DNF'd at about 50% when I found myself tuning out for long periods because there wasn't anything relevant to me.](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/item/gul7VCmtgzKypLjliwsv/) [Mini Review Monday - July 6, 2026](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/item/gul7VCmtgzKypLjliwsv/) * * * 4 books 2 [Casey the Reader\\ \\ Casey\\ \\ • Jul 3](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/) [Now that I'm doing weekly reading roundups on Mondays, it doesn't really make sense to do a fave of the week on Fridays. I don't know exactly what I'm gonna do yet (I KNOW it doesn't have to be the same every week. But my brain does not! It likes routines!), but today I've got my June wrap up and a look forward at some books I hope to pick up in July. (Books marked with a \* were gifted to me and books marked with a ^ I was paid to read.)\\ \\ For June reads, it's no surprise that all my faves (starred) were books I read for Pride Reading Bingo. Queer books forever!\\ \\ \\ \\ THE QUARTER QUEEN^\\ \\ WHY ARE PEOPLE INTO THAT?\\ \\ LONDON FALLING\*\\ \\ ⭐️ SEVEN DEVILS\\ \\ ESCALA'S WISH^\\ \\ ⭐️ THE MAIDENHEADS\*\\ \\ DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL (reread)\\ \\ ⭐️ SEASONS OF GLASS AND IRON\*\\ \\ DIVERGENT (reread)\\ \\ POOL HOUSE\*\\ \\ LOVE IS AN EX-COUNTRY\\ \\ RAISING ARTEMIS^\\ \\ THE FOREST ON THE EDGE OF TIME\*\\ \\ ⭐ ONE OF THE BOYS\*\\ \\ DEATH OF THE AUTHOR\*\\ \\ ⭐ SHAPES OF LOVE\*\\ \\ * * *\\ \\ Here's what's on deck for July. (Ish...you know how that mood reading life goes.)\\ \\ \\ \\ **MOSS'D IN SPACE\* - This is the July Found Family Book Club pick!**\\ \\ CHAOS\* - This space romance series is a fave of mine and I've been saving this latest installment for when I needed a treat.\\ \\ MAKE ME BETTER\* - Gailey is a fave author and normally I would have gobbled this up by now but for some reason I thought it was a fall release and therefore I didn't prioritize the ARC. Whoops!\\ \\ BLACK SALT QUEEN\* - I've been meaning to read this fantasy about royalty, romance, and betrayal for awhile and the sequel recently came out so I better get to it!\\ \\ I LOVE YOU DON'T DIE\* - I'd intended to read this for Pride Bingo and didn't get there. I adored Song's debut CHLORINE and am looking forward to more of that.\\ \\ THIS PRINCESS KILLS MONSTERS\* - Another Pride Bingo fail. I've been very into cozy, comedic fantasy lately so I'm ready to wrap myself up in this one.\\ \\ OUT OF STEP, INTO YOU\* - The last of my Pride Bingo intendeds. I thought Burch's debut YA novel a few years ago was seriously underrated, so watch out for me yelling about this one soon.\\ \\ **Books I'm carrying over from June:** My current reads are Love In A F-cked Up World by Dean Spade and Coldwire\* by Chloe Gong.\\ \\ **Other miscellaneous July reads:** I run an in-person book club that reads spicy books and I our July pick is The Pairing by Casey McQuiston, which will be a reread for me. I also read the first chapter of Murder In The Dressing Room\* by Holly Star yesterday. There will be other audiobooks because I can't commute without them, but I haven't picked any yet.\\ \\ Is that a packed enough TBR for you or what!](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/item/RjgobKuiwId4ySBsPVwi/) [June Wrap Up + July Hopefuls](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/item/RjgobKuiwId4ySBsPVwi/) * * * 26 books 4 Posts about this book from across Bindery [Kist Reads\\ \\ Kist\\ \\ • Jul 16](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/) Join for free [![[EARLY ACCESS YOUTUBE] Ranking the 2026 History Sickos Book Club Reads (So Far)](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.googleapis.com%2Fbinderybooks-prime.appspot.com%2Fimages%2Fcontent-items%2F88jVuvftqnAvr8E7YKxW%2Fthumb&w=3840&q=75&dpl=dpl_F2Dnudkf9Z3ynkPuPUcvnQqipW1r)\\ \\ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/88jVuvftqnAvr8E7YKxW/) [\[EARLY ACCESS YOUTUBE\] Ranking the 2026 History Sickos Book Club Reads (So Far)](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/88jVuvftqnAvr8E7YKxW/) Just past the midway point of the year is a great time to check in on what we've been reading in the History Sickos Book Club! * * * 7 books 9 [9](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/88jVuvftqnAvr8E7YKxW/#comments) [Casey the Reader\\ \\ Casey\\ \\ • Jul 6](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/) [Mini Review Monday - July 6, 2026](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/item/gul7VCmtgzKypLjliwsv/) * * * 4 books 2 [Casey the Reader\\ \\ Casey\\ \\ • Jul 3](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/) [June Wrap Up + July Hopefuls](https://caseythereader.binderybooks.com/item/RjgobKuiwId4ySBsPVwi/) * * * 26 books 4 [Kist Reads\\ \\ Kist\\ \\ • May 18](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/) Join for free [Sickos! I'm back from BookNet Fest in Orlando and ready to give y'all the goods with this Monday Reading Update. Let me know what you've been reading and plan on reading this week in the comments and let's boogie!\\ \\ **READING**\\ \\ **_REVIEW_**\\ \\ **LONDON FALLING: A MYSTERIOUS DEATH IN A GILDED CITY & A FAMILY'S SEARCH FOR TRUTH by PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE** **(narrative historical nonfiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** Finished\\ \\ My opinion from last week still applies here as the second half didn't alter my view of it much. I still prefer the stakes/subject matter of **Empire of Pain** and **Say Nothing**, I still found the mystery bit to be a bit gimmicky but engaging (big true crime fans may feel differently), and it was still a solid, superbly researched and woven together read that I quite enjoyed. I did love the quote "three bullshit artists, selling air" and felt that could've been part of a great subtitle.\\ \\ The History Sickos loved this once based on the reviews I see in the Discord, and while I'm a touch lower than their consensus at 4.0 stars, PRK remains an auto-buy author.\\ \\ **WE DO NOT PART by HAN KANG** **(historical fiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** 237/256\\ \\ I went back and re-read the first two chapters of this one as I was surprised by how lyrical Kang went with the prose here. Maybe that's because I haven't read **The White Book**, which is supposed to be her most poetic. I'd wager We Do Not Part sits between The White Book and **Human Acts** re: lyrical prose and emotional, historical devastation, but instead of feeling like a mash-up, it's still very much doing its own thing. This really started to click for me in the second half and I feel much more connected to it all so I'm glad I stuck with it. So close to the end so you'll hear more about my experience with this next update!\\ \\ **CARTHAGE'S OTHER WARS: CARTHAGINIAN WARFARE OUTSIDE THE 'PUNIC WARS' AGAINST ROME by DEXTER HOYOS** **(academic historical nonfiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** 115/192\\ \\ Didn't make much progress on this but I am enjoying intentionally slowing things down for this academic style of book. It will likely be my priority while I'm lounging on the coach again now that I'm home from Orlando. While out of town though my go to earball listen was the **Fall of Civilizations episode on Carthage**. I'm getting re-obsessed with this topic and may make a YouTube video out of all the stuff floating around my brain ball about it.\\ \\ **_PREVIEW_**\\ \\ Haven't budged much on the next reads since last week, so **Parable of the Talents** will definitely be up next, **The Roman Empire in Crisis** will be the next academic historical nonfiction, and I'm feeling the urge to re-read the excellent **Carthage Must Be Destroyed** but I may throw that in the next History Sickos vote to see if y'all wanna do that with me.\\ \\ **PUBLISHING IMPRINT NEWS**\\ \\ Any minute now I'm hoping that an email hits that gives me the final green light on our second acquisition. I'll have some cool stuff for **A Complement of Scoundrels** posted here and on social media on Thursday, but also we are currently doing bundle giveaways for ACoS, those **details are here**.\\ \\ **EVERYTHING ELSE**\\ \\ Today is the last day to enter the **giveaway for The Devils by Joe Abercrombie**!\\ \\ **Beaking Bad** is still my go to re-watch right now because old dog new tricks and all, we're up to S4E6. I've also been catching up on **Daredevil** with the eldest. Last night we watched a couple episodes that we're pretty damn good plus the **Punisher** special which was insanely bonkers.\\ \\ As I mentioned, I was in Orlando this past Friday/Saturday for BookNet Fest, which was an absolutely blast. I felt I did well on my three panels, game night was a hoot, and the send-off party was all good vibes. Can't wait to go back next year.\\ \\ While I was in Orlando I snuck off for a quick climbing session and lemme tell ya, I feel good about the grading at my home gym because this one felt much more commercial and soft. I was flashing V4's no problem followed by fighting for my life on V4's this morning at my local (sent 'em tho!).\\ \\ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/jz0dRi1HTO9mFxNkQGew/) [Weekly Review/Preview - What I'm Reading/Watching/Playing/Doing!](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/jz0dRi1HTO9mFxNkQGew/) * * * 8 books 9 [10](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/jz0dRi1HTO9mFxNkQGew/#comments) [Kist Reads\\ \\ Kist\\ \\ • May 11](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/) Join for free [Sickos! Monday's are for updates so let me know what book cheeks you're spreading this week (or what you finished last week) in the comments and let's get to what I've been up to..\\ \\ **READING**\\ \\ **_REVIEW_**\\ \\ **PARABLE OF THE SOWER - \[Parable #1\] by OCTAVIA E. BUTLER** **(dystopian speculative fiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** Finished\\ \\ I picked up **Parable of the Talents** last week while finishing this, so that should tell you how much I loved our Fiction Sickos pick for this month. This is a grimdark, dystopian fan's dream, and the Discord forum was full of people commenting on how it just continues to get more dark and bleak. It's unrelenting; at no point does anything feel safe. I gotta write up my full review (I may do it w/Talents included) but yeah, this was exactly what I'd hoped it would be and I'm jazzed for Talents (which I heard is, somehow, darker).\\ \\ **LONDON FALLING: A MYSTERIOUS DEATH IN A GILDED CITY & A FAMILY'S SEARCH FOR TRUTH by PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE** **(narrative historical nonfiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** 168/331\\ \\ PRK just has a knack for weaving together multiple angles of a story and making it all work and flow. While I think I prefer stakes and subject matter of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing at this point (I'm not sure I care yet why a narcissistic, pathological liar ate it in the Thames), it's still fun watching PRK lay out this web of deception and everything around it. I do feel like PRK is leaning into the mystery bit of it with the way he's slow dripping info that could've been revealed earlier. Either way it's still a very solid read at this point and the final half may change my mind on the stated issues.\\ \\ **CARTHAGE'S OTHER WARS: CARTHAGINIAN WARFARE OUTSIDE THE 'PUNIC WARS' AGAINST ROME by DEXTER HOYOS** **(academic historical nonfiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** 93/192\\ \\ The Punic Wars are an obsession of mine but how Carthage became a superpower in the Western Mediterranean leading up to that often gets breezed through. Just finished their near 40 years of jockeying and warfare in Sicily with the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse (what a scamp). Despite several dramatic swings, it amounted to not much changing in re: territory. Ultimately though Carthage achieved its main goal of maintaining the east/west divide in Sicily, preventing Dionysius from dominating it. The next section covers their conflict with the fratricidal, tyrant-slayer Timoleon of Corinth who, IIRC, hail mary ass pounds all of Sicily.\\ \\ I shared a snippet with in the history/nonfic Discord channel yesterday as I thought this Nicomo Cosca-coded moment was humorous:\\ \\ \\ \\ **WE DO NOT PART by HAN KANG** **(historical fiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** 43/256\\ \\ Super early doors but I'm not surprised to already feel like I'm in a fever dream with a Kang book (see: **The Vegetarian**). This ties into the Jeju Massacre where the South Korean government, along with support from the U.S. military, violently suppressed an uprising. So I expect it to also feel somewhat like **Human Acts** (which was about the later **Gwangju Uprising**) too as we get further in while still having this eerie, poetic quality to it.\\ \\ **_PREVIEW_**\\ \\ I haven't given much thought to what's next other than Butler's Talents but I have sampled some of **The Roman Empire in Crisis** and may make that my next nonfiction read. I'm curious how Mike Duncan will be able to mold this same period into something for a general audience because there's so many challenges around writing a complete narrative around it. I trust 'em though.\\ \\ **PUBLISHING IMPRINT NEWS**\\ \\ Getting close to knowing more about a second potential book acquisition, should know how it's trending sometime this week.\\ \\ **_UPDATE:_** As soon as I published this, I checked my email, and OUR SECOND BOOK IS A GO! Final terms are agreed upon but the contract is still being finalized so I have to keep all the details confidential, but still, HUZZAH! Can't wait to share everything about this one with y'all!\\ \\ Also, have you pre-ordered **A Complement of Scoundrels** yet?! And if you missed it, yes, the audiobook is in development!\\ \\ **EVERYTHING ELSE**\\ \\ I put on **Breaking Bad** in the background as I started reading the Carthage book and now I'm already at S3E3. So, I guess we're doing a second re-watch. It's one of those shows, like Mad Men or Game of Thrones, that I can randomly put on and gobble through it. **Game of Thrones** is kind of on hold as I usually watch it at night (don't need the wee emperor seeing all the floppy dong and breasts flapping about every 5 minutes) and despite my Flyers predictably getting bounced by the Hurricanes, I'm still all in on hockey playoffs.\\ \\ Hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day! Me and the boys got a Switch 2 for my wife so she's now hooked on that, and I may sneak in some game time on it this week.\\ \\ Got my ass kicked two sessions in a row at the climbing gym but my finger tendons are recovered and I'll hopefully be back to projecting more V4/V5 later this week.\\ \\ FINAL REMINDER that I'll be at **BookNet Fest** in Orlando, May 15-16! Get your tickets and swing through!\\ \\ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/e2E89dCsZaJwz4b4STRN/) [Weekly Review/Preview - What I'm Reading/Watching/Playing/Doing!](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/e2E89dCsZaJwz4b4STRN/) * * * 9 books 10 [7](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/e2E89dCsZaJwz4b4STRN/#comments) [Kist Reads\\ \\ Kist\\ \\ • May 4](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/) Join for free [Hey hey Sickos, it's Monday update time! Let me know what you plan on reading this week (or what you just finished) in the comments and let's boogie.\\ \\ **READING**\\ \\ **_REVIEW_**\\ \\ **WAR AGAINST ALL PUERTO RICANS by NELSON A. DENIS** **(narrative historical nonfiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** Finished\\ \\ Ripped through this entire puppy over the weekend and it was damn good! It's about a 1950 event where a nationalist uprising was brutally suppressed, marking the first time the US bombed its own citizens. Especially chilling was the details of what prisoners went through at La Princesa, including all manner of torture, squalid conditions, and possibly even human radiation experiments (on top of other confirmed, nefarious experiments). It also gives a brisk overview of the events leading up to this and an examination of how things like "Operation Bootstrap" only succeeded in transferring wealth and infrastructure to US corporations. Would recommend at 4.5 stars.\\ \\ **WE ARE LEGION (WE ARE BOB) - \[Bobiverse #1\] - by DENNIS E. TAYLOR** **(space science fiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** Finished\\ \\ Will stick with my previous sentiment that this is perfect for **Project Hail Mary** fans. The next time I need a lighthearted chaser I'll continue the series. 4 stars, solid!\\ \\ **PARABLE OF THE SOWER - \[Parable #1\] by OCTAVIA E. BUTLER** **(dystopian speculative fiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** 196/329\\ \\ I find it so easy to get hooked early in Butler's books. In the Discord Monthly Wrap video call we were discussing how wild it was that in 1993 Butler featured man-made climate change as a major factor in this. Her depiction of 21st century politics is also unsettling in its accuracy. We were talking about potential comparisons and while I was reading it today I think I landed on The Road by Cormac McCarthy, especially with the desolate, dog-eat-dog setting and vibe. The Road is my favorite book of all time and Butler is, so far, doing just as much to capture my attention.\\ \\ **_PREVIEW_**\\ \\ It's time for me to spread the book cheeks of the History Sickos book club winner for May, **London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe**. Pretty sure I'll be picking up **We Do Not Part by Han Kang** for my next fiction read after having it on deck for a while. I'm also itching to continue on with **Berserk**, where I'll be onto **volume 22** (or **volume 8 of the Deluxe edition**).\\ \\ **PUBLISHING IMPRINT NEWS**\\ \\ We have a contract/offer out for our second acquisition! There's the usual negotiating to do and they have time to mull it over but I believe it's looking strong. Will update when there is more news there.\\ \\ I'm pleased to announce that our audiobook deal for **A Complement of Scoundrels by S.V. Lockwood** is signed, sealed, and delivered. We put the **details of that up on Instagram today**. Tantor Media is legit as hell and I'm hyped to have them producing the audiobook!\\ \\ **EVERYTHING ELSE**\\ \\ I finished the **Hulk Hogan: Real American** documentary on Netflix. It's more surface-level nostalgia than anything and it does get into some of the controversies in the later episodes, but it left a good amount of meat on the bone there (which is to be expected as this was co-produced by WWE). Not the best wrestling documentary but I've seen worse.\\ \\ If you want a cuckoo bonkers documentary, check out **Should I Marry a Murderer?** on Netflix, where "a fiancée becomes a key witness after staying engaged to a man accused of murder to gather evidence against him..."\\ \\ I'll probably pick back up the **Game of Thrones** re-watch with season five and I may start the second season of **Your Friends & Neighbors**.\\ \\ I climbed my third V4 last week and I’m projecting a V5 now. I’m starting to feel more stable and technically sound on the wall, but my finger tendons are definitely catching up to the increased difficulty, as those adapt significantly slower than muscles. So I'll be icing the hell out of my fingies this week while hoping it doesn't limit me to light sessions of high volume V3's. On the plus side I stopped skipping leg days and that has translated tremendously to bouldering since so much of it is about utilizing your lower body.\\ \\ Speaking of climbing, the last episode of **The Dark Wizard** on HBO drops Tuesday, which is about legendary/controversial climber, base jumper and highline walker Dean Potter. It's been excellent so far!\\ \\ I've come to peace with the fact that I'll have to be content with the Flyers knocking out the Penguins as the Hurricanes look scary as hell. But I'll still be watching **NHL Playoffs** every night. At least I know some good Gritty content will come of it.\\ \\ I don't think I'll have time to play any video games this week. Womp womp.\\ \\ Yet another reminder that I'll be at **BookNet Fest** in Orlando, May 15-16!\\ \\ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/EIX5lq1A1mQulCGfbHua/) [Weekly Review/Preview - What I'm Reading/Watching/Playing/Doing!](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/EIX5lq1A1mQulCGfbHua/) * * * 7 books 8 [7](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/EIX5lq1A1mQulCGfbHua/#comments) [Kist Reads\\ \\ Kist\\ \\ • Apr 27](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/) Join for free [SICKOS, it's Monday, and that means I wanna know what you're reading this week in the comments while I update you on what I got done last week and plan on working on this week!\\ \\ **READING**\\ \\ **_REVIEW_**\\ \\ **DAISY JONES & THE SIX by TAYLOR JENKINS REID** **(oral history fiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** Finished\\ \\ After very much enjoying **Atmosphere**, this makes TJR 2-for-2. I dug the interview style that bopped around multiple POVs, highlighting how the same interactions and stories can be told so many different ways, and the overall vibe of the music industry and the personal struggles that come with it. Only took a small tick off the rating for the ending, which mostly boils down to my personal preference, but ultimately this falls in the 4.5-plus star range and I've already got **The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo** and **Malibu Rising** on the way via Pango.\\ \\ **WE ARE LEGION (WE ARE BOB) - \[Bobiverse #1\] - by DENNIS E. TAYLOR** **(space science fiction)**\\ \\ **_Progress:_** 208/302\\ \\ I took this on as a lighter read and while it has a reputation for being humorous, that's more so in the way that **Project Hail Mary** has elements of lightheartedness, which I prefer because it's not desperately trying to land joke after joke. I started this on audiobook (also, like PHM, narrated by Ray Porter) on the way to a book festival and independent bookstore hopping on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to get into despite some early hard science. It's not totally mind blowing or emotional yet but it's still a damn good time so far.\\ \\ **_PREVIEW_**\\ \\ I got zero nonfiction done last week but I do still plan on taking down **War Against All Puerto Ricans** this week before transitioning to the History Sickos book club winner for May, **London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe**. Speaking of book clubs, the Fiction Sickos book club will be reading **Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler** which I'll probably get to after my current read.\\ \\ **PUBLISHING IMPRINT NEWS**\\ \\ Still working on acquiring our second title for Kist Reads and we should have an official audiobook announcement for **A Complement of Scoundrels by SV Lockwood** up this week.\\ \\ **EVERYTHING ELSE**\\ \\ Getting reacclimated to climbing and hockey playoffs took up the majority of my free time last week, so I didn't make much progress into an series.\\ \\ I did start the **adaptation for Daisy Jones & the Six** to see how it stacked up against the book. Early doors but the book felt much more confident in the quiet moments and leaving things left unsaid whereas the show is amping up the drama a touch in every scenario. That's more of an observation than a criticism as that's probably a better fit for the medium and I'm still invested enough to throw that in the rotation.\\ \\ I'm pumped for the recently announced **Assassins Creed: Black Flag Resynced**, which will release on July 9th of this year so that may put a nail in my Valhalla playthrough.\\ \\ Another reminder that I'll be at **BookNet Fest** in Orlando, May 15-16 as a panelist and hotel bar fly. Get your tickets and swing through!](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/AoNIRNlK5fjmAAmN1hNW/) [Weekly Review/Preview - What I'm Reading/Watching/Playing/Doing!](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/AoNIRNlK5fjmAAmN1hNW/) * * * 6 books 15 [9](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/AoNIRNlK5fjmAAmN1hNW/#comments) [Kist Reads\\ \\ Kist\\ \\ • Apr 21](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/) Join for free [(VIDEO) May Book Club Options - Fiction/History Sickos](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/XdM9pJQtnEroCKAZtxy2/) * * * 8 books 5 [Tongue in Cheek\\ \\ Carter\\ \\ • Dec 16 2025](https://tongue-in-cheek.binderybooks.com/) Join for free [I Have Two Things on the Agenda... (☕️ Chat)](https://tongue-in-cheek.binderybooks.com/item/e3zPeJofXj947rdAOH6R/) * * * 2 books 5