Abolish ICE. Prosecute the persecutors. Keep every decision maker accountable for allowing this to happen.
Ibáñez is a weird signing for the Dodgers. They already have a right-handed backup infielder in Rojas, and Ibáñez is out of options.
The Catch (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
This is a 128-page Slough House novella. Milkman-to-spies John Bachelor is tasked with hunting down an AWOL client who possesses incriminating photos of a member of the royal family. Herron avoids mentioning him by name, but this story is clearly inspired by Prince Andrew’s illicit deeds. It’s a good novella. The story never goes where you’re expecting.
Death by Lightning (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Title: Death by Lightning (2025)
Show runner: Mike Makowsky
Starring: Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Shannon, Nick Offerman
IMDB rating: 7.7
My rating: 4 out of 5
My thoughts: It’s a charming miniseries based on the Candace Millard book Destiny of the Republic. Much like his roles in Succession and Stonehouse, Macfadyen stars as an ambitious idiot, however the actor is a touch too charming and makes the assassin Guiteau appear far too sympathetic. The series took a little too much artistic license in my opinion. Arthur was neither a thug nor a drunk. Likewise, Guiteau didn’t have all of those encounters with the major players.
📚 Best Books of 2025
After reading several best-of-2025 book lists, I decided to make a list of titles that caught my eye. So now I am sharing that list here. I’m not including descriptions because there are too many books, all of which are nonfiction. These titles mostly come from four lists: New York Public Library, Kings County Public Library, NPR, and Five Books. Here are the books:
- Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia by Sam Dalrymple
- We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution by Jill Lepore
- A History of the World in Six Plagues by Edna Bonhomme
- Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman by Patrick Hutchinson
- King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson
- An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Civilization to Independence by Zeinab Badawi
- The Beast in the Clouds: The Roosevelt Brothers’ Deadly Quest to Find the Mythical Giant Panda by Nathalia Holt
- The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland by Michelle Young
- One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
- Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing by Lili Taylor
- The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 by Rick Atkinson
- The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery by Siddharth Kara
- The Killing Fields of East New York: The First Subprime Mortgage Scandal, a White-Collar Crime Spree, and the Collapse of an American Neighborhood by Stacy Horn
- The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple
- Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America by Bridget Read
- Recipes from the American South by Michael W. Twitty
- Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service edited by Michael Lewis
- American Grammar: Race, Education, and the Building of a Nation by Jarvis R. Givens
- The Place of Tides by James Rebanks
- Strata: Stories from Deep Time by Laura Poppick
- Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare by Edward Fishman
- Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life by Maggie Smith
- Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane
- Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America by Jane Borden
- Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World by Justin Marozzi
- Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations by Alton Brown
- Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. Ewing
- The Burning Earth: A History by Sunil Amrith
- Africonomics: A History of Western Ignorance by Bronwen Everill
- Your Life Is Manufactured: How We Make Things, Why It Matters and How We Can Do It Better by Tim Minshall
For more suggestions, Book Riot has compiled a comprehensive list of best-of-2025 book lists. I hope you found something to add to your book pile! Happy reading!
Donald Trump is a horrible human being. I know this isn’t a new development, but it can’t be said enough.
All of these relievers in their mid-thirties getting three-year deals must make the Dodgers feel thrilled they signed the best reliever on the market for just three years. I’m still not happy about losing the draft picks though.
Task (⭐⭐⭐)
Title: Task (2025–)
Show runner: Brad Ingelsby
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Emilia Jones, Fabien Frankel
IMDB rating: 8.0
My rating: 3 out of 5
My thoughts: I wanted to like this more than I did. The acting and production is excellent. Plotting, not so great. It seems like they had a bunch of plot points they wanted to hit, but couldn’t connect those plot points in a way that made sense. Tom is a terrible FBI agent. He openly divulges case details to the Dark Hearts, gets thrown down stairs by a burglar, taken hostage by a suspect, etc. Just totally incompetent.
The Chair Company (⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2)
Title: The Chair Company (2025–)
Show runner: Tim Robinson, Zach Kanin
Starring: Tim Robinson, Lake Bell, Sophia Lillis
IMDB rating: 7.5
My rating: 4.5 out of 5
My thoughts: A crazy show that goes to places I didn’t know shows were allowed to go. It’s so ridiculous and I loved every moment of every episode. In the end, many questions are left unanswered, questions I’m not sure will ever be answered, and I’m surprisingly okay with that. If you love Tim Robinson and I Think You Should Leave, you will love The Chair Company.
Diaz is outstanding, and three years isn’t too bad, but I’m not a fan of signing relievers to record-setting deals (plus the qualifying offer penalty). I would have preferred Devin Williams at the price he got from the Mets.
🎅 2025 Holiday Gift Guide
This is my fifth year making a holiday gift guide. I’ve scoured the internet to find a bunch of stuff I find interesting. No affiliate links were used in the making of this post, and I try not to link to Amazon. Like every year, I’m grouping items into categories.
Tech
Tech doesn’t have to be a distraction. The Busy Bar is a focus timer meant to keep you on task. Likewise, the Minimal Phone is a simplified, distraction-free smartphone. Speaking of phones, convert an Apple Watch into a handheld phone with this case from Elrow. This tiny ereader magnetizes to the back of any phone, making it the most portable handheld reading device. If you like bicycles, Clip turns any regular bike into an ebike. For safer riding, check out the world’s loudest cycle horn. I have two subscription recommendations. The first is to The Verge for all your technology news. The second is for Kagi, a search engine for the small web.
Cooking
Every year, a plethora of good cookbooks are published. 2025 was no different. Scandanavia: Recipes and Ingredients, Homemade Ramen, and What Goes With What all caught my eye. For the bread baker, King Arthur sells a useful little sourdough crock. Milk Street sells a knife designed to be the perfect vegetable prep tool. Toiro Kitchen makes a gorgeous double-lidded rice cooker. To add authentic Japanese flavors to your cooking, check out the Cabi Trio sold by Big Night. The kit includes sweet yuzu vinegar, dashi soy sauce, and sansho peppercorn miso.
Fun and Games
Tesa Collective is a worker owned tabletop game publisher of titles such as Space Cats Fight Fascism and STRIKE! The Game of Worker Rebellion. I, like many people, play a slate of daily mini-games. Now, many of those games come in book form. Tom Scott published a book of lateral thinking puzzles that can be enjoyed with friends. Host of Jeopardy Ken Jennings published the complete collection of Kennections puzzles. The New York Times published a book called Puzzle Mania! featuring mini-games like Wordle and Connections. My last fun suggestion is a subscription to America’s finest journalistic institution, The Onion.
Kids
Little explorers will love these Daniel Tiger patches to celebrate outdoor achievements. Maker Girl and Professor Smarts is a graphic novel full of STEM projects for kids to complete at home. Take building blocks to the next level with Blockitecture architectural building sets. Play Tab is a sensory toy made from magnetic tiles that can be swapped out and around for each other. Explore Science is a new release from DK Publishing. The book is full of maps, diagrams, and information designed to explain the world through science. Tattly makes temporary tattoos for everyone, including these tattoos inspired by Richary Scarry illustrations.
Art and Creativity
For the burgeoning artist, JetPens put together a sketch starter kit which includes a notebook, pens, pencils, and pencil accessories. For those who prefer writing to drawing, check out these oddly-shaped notebooks sure to inspire. Or maybe you want something a little more structured, like the Inventor’s Logbook from the Los Angeles Public Library. Art fans rejoice, the Art Institute of Chicago sells a wicked shirt of Munch’s The Scream. Bauhaus fans will enjoy this Anni Albers rug. Speaking of rugs, here’s a startup from Afghanistan that allows you to design your own hand-knotted rug. Interested in art history but don’t know where to start? Check out the book Great Art Explained. Any cinephiles in your life? AMC sells a monthly movie theater membership. For the arthouse lover, Mubi curates a carefully crafted collection of auteur-created films.
Pittsburgh
I can’t forget about my fellow Yinzers. The Heinz History Center has a fantastic store where you can buy this Pittsburgh-themed tea towel, a bus sinkhole magnet, pickle earrings, and much more. Commemorate the Riverhounds’ amazing season by purchasing a USL Championship hat. Or support Pittsburgh’s newest sports team with Riveters merch. Anyone can track their visits to PA state parks and forests with this 135-page passport book. Support our libraries with Free to the People merch. Pittsburgh is a city full of character. Part of that character comes from the massive public stairway network explored in this book.
And there you have it! If you want more, remember to check out previous years’ guides. Or check out this list of gift guides from thoughtful internet people. Thanks for reading!
Now that Devin Williams is off the table, I think the Dodgers should look into Tyler Rogers. The org typically prefers strikeout pitchers, but we do have the Farhan connection.
Joe Country (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Title: Joe Country
Author: Mick Herron
Genre: fiction, thriller
Length: 337 pages
Format: ebook
Rating: 4 out of 5
My thoughts: For someone who is supposed to be all about protecting his joes, Jackson Lamb sure does get them killed a lot. The Slough House series is a little like the Red Rising series in that any character can get killed, but don’t worry, there is a new character of a similar profile ready to take their place.
*Warning! Spoilers below.*
.
.
.
.
.
.
Spoilers: One character I like and one I dislike get killed (Coe and Flynt, respectively), so I guess that’s a wash. Killing a big bad off page is no fun and I don’t trust the veracity.
Tag cloud: