- A Spectre, Haunting – China Mieville*
- Love n a F*cked-Up World – Dean Spade*
- Death Metal – T Coles
- The Quiet Damage – Jesselyn Cook*
- Anarchy in the Big Easy – Max Cafard & Vulpes
- Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism – George Monbiot & Peter Hutchison***
- Chaos Comes Calling – Sasha Abramsky
- Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology: A Graphic Novel Adaptation – Claire Alet & Benjamin Adam
- Navigate Your Stars – Jesmyn Ward & Gina Triplett
- The Labyrinth: An Existential Odyssey with Jean-Paul Sartre – Ben Aragon**
- Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza – Peter Beinart***
- The Jellyfish – Boum
- Burma Chronicles – Guy Delisle
- The Wild Shore – Kim Stanley Robinson
- The Keeper – Tanarive Due & Steven Barnes
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet – Becky Chambers**
- Cosmoknights: Book One* – Hannah Templer
- Radicalized* – Cory Doctorow
- Fallout* – Jordan Rosenfeld
- No Ivy League – Hazel Newlevant
- A Closed and Common Orbit – Becky Chambers*
- The Other History of the DC Universe- John Ridley, et al*
- Under the Skin- Michael Faber*
- Shy – Max Porter*
- The Violent Take It By Force – Matthew Taylor***
- Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins
- The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien – John Hendrix
- Mutual Aid – Dean Spade*
- The Drums – Mike Joyce
- Failure to Launch – Kel McDonald, editor
- Why We Did It-Tim Miller**
- The Absence: Memoirs of a Banshee Drummer – Budgie**
- The Same Man – Bobby Elliott**
OVERVIEW
Overall Completion Rate – I’m up a few titles from 2024, when I finished 31 books. Something I’ve noticed over the past few years is that I really have gone down in my overall reading, and/or completion rate for books (some of past annual booklists have been in the 50-60 range, and in 2023 my total was 49). I think that between COVID lockdown time and grad school, my attention span and overall leisure habits have shifted, with my listening to podcasts and watching TV more often than in the past. I’m looking to set aside more specific reading time in 2026, and slowly diminishing TV, podcasts, or movies.
I’ve also gotten into a pattern of starting but not finishing books in a timely manner (at least not the same year), resulting in a lot of reading time that doesn’t really count towards a given annual booklist. It’s probably about a dozen or so books this year.
The above list includes graphic novels, which I include as books when they are singular narrative works. Trade paperback collections of serial issues of a comic book are counted separately below.
The titles marked with asterisks are the titles I enjoyed the most, which made the most powerful impression on me, or both.
GENDER BREAKDOWN
The gender breakdown across books is 14 by female and/or nonbinary/trans authors (about 42%), and 19 by cis male authors (about 58%). This essentially flipped last year’s gender breakdown (roughly 58% and 42% in those categories, respectively).
SPECIFIC REVIEWS
I read a lot of really great books this year (indicated above by the asterisks), so choosing which ones to write specific reviews for was hard. But here goes…
Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism – George Monbiot & Peter Hutchison
This is a fascinating overview of what exactly is meant by the term neoliberalism, how prominent political actors and elites have carefully developed and integrated it into different spheres of society for the past four decades, and how the assertion of it as the only reasonable and practical political ideology by most centrist (including the corporate Democratic establishment here in the US) or even some center-left politicians and thinkers has stymied political imagination and consciousness that could lead to more radical, transformative, human political and social outcomes. I frequently reference neoliberalism when criticizing corporate Democratic politicians, most nonprofits and universities (I’ve worked at several, so feel pretty entitled to do so) and government agencies (such as the one I currently work for) and their adherence to pro-capitalist, pro-corporate logics and principles, over those of more mutualistic, anti-capitalist visions of society critical of such logics and principles. While the term itself is kind of jargony, its influence is everywhere, and understanding its assumptions and underpinnings is crucial towards critiquing even seemingly progressive policies that rely on market forces, public-private partnerships, and other pseudo- or just straight-up capitalist solutions to problems frequently caused by capitalism itself. The book not only lays out the intellectual terrain of the struggle against neoliberalism, but offers some alternatives, to help disrupt its hegemonic power, its (very artificially constructed) status as “common sense” or the more reasonable alternative to more craven and callous forms of market fundamentalism.
Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza – Peter Beinart
This book is an incredibly useful and necessary intervention by a prominent Jewish political thinker and commentator, one with deep roots and connection to his own Jewish history and culture who has championed Zionism in the past. I heard an interview in which Beinart said his choice to name this book this, as opposed to “Being Jewish after October 7th” was because while he has been fairly solid in his support for the state of Israel for most of his life, he simply couldn’t accept the scorched-earth and genocidal (my word, not his) actions which led to Gaza’s devastation. He decided this moment required a reckoning – for himself, and other Jews that have and continue to unconditionally support Israel at the expense of Palestinian humanity and lives – and thus, began digging into the history of Zionism and the state of Israel. The result is an excavation of the various ways in which Israeli Jewish vs. Palestinian indigeneity — and thus, legitimacy as inhabitants to the lands making up Israel and Palestine — has been crafted and framed over time, as well as the shifts that have occurred to keep the ideological project of Zionism on track. For example, prior to the founding of the state of Israel, Zionism was very much asserted by its proponents as a settler project, whereas after its founding, speaking of it as such has been increasingly framed as anti-Israeli (and thus, anti-Jewish/anti-Semitic). Another example is the collusion of Christian Zionist organizations with the state of Israel to fund archaeological projects centered around biblically-resonant sites, which are used as pretext for seizures of Palestinian-occupied land. An essential read for anyone who cares about Palestine and Israel.
The Absence: Memoirs of a Banshee Drummer – Budgie
This memoir is by Peter Clarke, better known as Budgie, the long-time drummer for the bands Siouxsie and the Banshees and its offshoot, the Creatures. As a musician myself, and fan of post-punk and musical memoirs, I was excited for this book when I first heard about it, and was really shaken by the depth of vulnerability and honesty Budgie brought to his narrative. He starts with the tragic death of his young mother when he was still a young child, then moves on through this childhood, his young adulthood, and growth into an artist and musician, taking on a new persona named for the birds (budgies) he raised and sold when still a child. However, throughout his creative journey, his exploits as a member of one of the most popular English bands of the 1980s, and his relationship with Siouxsie, the fundamental wound left by his mother’s loss – the absence of the title – leads him down a self-destructive path including dysfunctional relationships (particularly his one with Siouxsie), substance abuse, and depression. While such a life (losing a parent young, and struggling because of it) is all too common – even among international music stars – the robust perspective and emotional clarity Budgie displays throughout the book is fairly unique among memoirs I’ve read. On the other side of so many years of self-loss, he is unflinching and brutally frank about his traumas, choices and regrets. A frequently dark and difficult, but also profoundly beautifully written book, which I read over a couple of days. (As a musician, it’s also a joy sometimes to get some background around the more immediate process and history of albums I love, and this had a lot of that as well.)
The Violent Take It By Force – Matthew Taylor
As a recovering Christian of many years (I was raised Baptist, with a grandfather who was pastor of a church, I attended Sunday School and sang in choir, and was fully baptized when a preteen), I have always been intrigued by the intersections of religion and political ideology. In 2025, a far-right Christian supremacist group called Mayday USA held two anti-trans rallies in my current hometown of Seattle. The first was held the spring in Cal Anderson Park, the central gathering space in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Seattle’s long-time historically gayborhood (Cal Anderson was himself the first openly gay Washington State legislator), and resulting in a violent Seattle Police Department response to counterprotestors, made up of trans folks and their allies. A few months later, Mayday USA attempted to hold another rally and march, and it was moved to the less-provocative GasWorks Park, with counterprotestors shifting tactics to a massive kazoo ensemble playing Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” to drown out the anti-trans bigotry being spewed. Additionally a few organizations, including the trans-led Lavender Rights Project, held programs elsewhere in town to counter this second rally. I had heard about this book via a podcast just before this, but LRP’s Executive Director Jaelynn Scott referenced it specifically during the LRP event, which I attended, underlining the need to learn more about Mayday USA, its founder Sean Feucht, and the emerging movement to which both had emerged from, since they and similar Christian nationalist-based organizations are at the forefront of many active and ongoing anti-trans, anti-queer, and misogynistic/sexist policies being enacted across the country. In this book, Matthew Taylor lays out the history of this movement — the New Apostolic Reformation — which began as a more fringe faction of the Christian right, but is quickly becoming the most influential branch of non-denominational Christianity. The NAR movement is one in which many prominent leaders are considered modern-day prophets, and faith healing, speaking in tongues, and divine intervention are considered everyday occurrences. Most importantly, the NAR movement promotes a belief in “spiritual warfare” — which requires both material and religious activism and intervention at all levels of society — to bring about a theocratic, Christian supremacist world. While this may sound like most of the Christian right, the NAR is seen as not just the most dynamic force in current Christianity in the US (and in other areas of the world as well), but also one of the most effective and penetrative at levels of government. Major organizers of January 6th were figures from this movement, and it has built a massive subcultural media, news, and cultural infrastructure over the past few decades.
Taylor’s overview of this movement — its history, prominent figures, theology, politics, and tactics — is an invaluable explanation of how far-right evangelicals and/or Christian conservatives can support Trump and Trumpism, when it is clear he is not a godly man. Many commentators and observers — including myself — have just seen this alliance as purely transactional, with Trump presented as the more likely leader to give far-right Christians what they want via political means — such as the end of Roe. v. Wade through appointment of anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court. But Taylor makes a very compelling and important argument that such buy-in only goes so far, and doesn’t explain the messianic trappings that many MAGA folks have propped up around Trump. Instead, he details a theology and ideology based in a narrative where particularly ungodly people are used as instruments by God to achieve godly ends. This enables many far-right Christians influenced by NAR teachings to accept Trump’s awfulness and corruption, since so many NAR leaders have effectively prophesied that he is God’s imperfect vessel towards the inevitable struggle to achieve God’s kingdom on earth. Anyone similarly intrigued by the intersection of religion and politics at this time of reactionary backlash would be well-served to read this book.
Love in a F*cked-Up World – Dean Spade
Spade’s book comes at a critical juncture for anyone struggling with how to move towards a more liberated and transformative world, post-pandemic lockdown and George Floyd (also see his book Mutual Aid, an honorable mention below). In it, he argues that without more healthy individual, interpersonal, and collective practices around relationships at all these levels, our social movements will continue to be hamstrung and impacted by conflicts occurring at these same levels. In other words, he asks the question: how can we expect to be successful in pushing for revolutionary visions such as abolition and collective care in larger society when we continue to not live those out in our interpersonal relationships? What work do we need to do — at the individual, interpersonal, and collective levels — to equip ourselves to better handle conflict, unhealthy attachment dynamics, and reactivity, so our movements can better weather ruptures between organizers, and collective struggles around accountability and repair?
Through examining seemingly unrelated topics such as abolition/anti-carcerality, Buddhism, and attachment theory, Spade grounds this book in a few general premises: 1) while we may be affected in differing ways by different forms of systemic oppression and forms of harm growing out of them, we all have some level of complicity in them, and capacity to harm ourselves; 2) treating people who create harm as disposable is both counter to abolitionist principles and stymies our movements; 3) most harm is created in response to lived experiences of harm, so if we are committed to ending violence and harm, we must be committed to making space and creating pathways for healing and change even for those who harm us (as we also wish them for ourselves); and 4) if we truly wish for liberation, we need to get comfortable with the discomfort we will experience along the way, as we, our beloveds (partners, friends, family, etc.), and our communities wrestle with how to learn new ways of being in healthy relationship, and bring compassion (for self and others) to bear for all those working in good faith to grow and change. This multi-sphere vision of healthy relational practice and the necessity of addressing unhealthy dynamics at the individual, interpersonal, and collective level reminded me of Jessica Fern’s discussion of the nested model of trauma in the book Polysecure, which essentially says that attachment wounding can happen not just in the family sphere, but in various spheres of life (for example, my own wounding as a Black man growing up in an anti-Black/white supremacist society that denies my full humanity), with triggers from one (let’s say a racial microaggression or outright racist interaction) sometimes leading to harmful reactive expression in another (some misogynistic behavior towards a different person). Finding ways to better alchemize the harm we all experience in this oppressive world can strengthen our ability to respond in ways more likely to align with our visions of a more humane and liberated world. Spade has since begun a podcast to discuss and explore many of the ideas presented in this book, also called Love in a F*cked Up World.
The Quiet Damage – Jesselyn Cook
This is a truly compelling account of the destruction that has been wrought by the QAnon conspiracy theory — both from its initial days as a fringe idea to its integration into mainstream political discourse. Cook excavates how QAnon has particularly changed and divided not just communities, but families, and the nearly impossible reconciliation of many of its adherents with both reality and their loved ones ater having fallen down the rabbit hole. No matter how ridiculous it sounds, the fact that so many supporters of the right have come to believe and maintain their beliefs in this conspiracy theory — even following many of the revelations of the Epstein files — makes understanding this movement essential for the left’s future work to counter the right.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
A Spectre, Haunting – China Mieville
Mieville is predominantly a speculative fiction writer, but he’s also a scholar of Marxism, with a book called October (2017) providing a detailed history of the 1917 Russian Revolution in a gripping narrative form. This book is an engaging critical dive into the Communist Manifesto, which I’ve never really read. I became aware of this book while creating a booklist focused around radical politics (histories, thought, organizing strategies and tactics, etc.) following the November 2024 election. Recommended for anyone interested in wrestling with one of the most influential and impactful leftist texts of the last century, in an accessible way.
In the last few years, I’ve become a fan of a handful of political podcasts, with The Bulwark — founded by anti-Trump, now former Republicans — one of my primary regular listens. The team of commentators in the main podcast of the same name, which Miller hosts, as well as some of the other satellite podcasts produced by Bulwark Media provide a powerful mix of humor, moral clarity, and integrity, which they bring to bear in their critiques of Trump, MAGA, the GOP, Democrats, pretty much everyone. This book by Miller is essentially his account of his own journey away from the GOP as MAGA and Trump emerged. What’s refreshing about the book, however, he doesn’t just point the finger at others (though there is a lot of that, to be sure), but he also examines his own role as a political operative in coarsening the political landscape, and empowering figures who have become some of the most ardent Trumpists. He tries to make sense of his own mental justifications — as a openly gay Republican — for enabling homophobic politicians, as well as detailing how other colleagues he worked with — some of whom are still prominent in the party — made similar calculations. It’s a mostly heart-breaking but frequently hilarious book, one of many that can help explain how we’ve gotten to where we are.
This is a beautiful, but brutally raw book of poems by a friend of mine from my Charlottesville days. This collection, Bobby’s first, delves into a roiling mix of anger and grief combined with wonder and joy, as he digs into his deeply fraught relationship with his own father even as he celebrates the tiny blessings experienced as he himself becomes a father. Bobby is one of the most tender men I am fortunate to know, and I found this book both very full of his gentleness, and surprising in its moments of ferocity and pain. Definitely a rewarding read about how both brokenness and wholeness can be found through family.
This book came out in Fall 2020, exactly when many folks were struggling to figure out what collective struggle and change work could look like coming out of the Black Lives Matter/George Floyd uprisings and the COVID lockdowns. Spade’s book provides an invaluable breakdown of the concept of mutual aid as a collective organizing principle and model, making critical distinctions between it (as a truly grassroots, relational, and community-based form of organizing meant to directly address community needs and change inequitable social conditions) and philanthropy (a more professionalized, institutionalized form of addressing those same issues). He also addresses — most importantly — with to make decisions in ways disruptive of hierarchy, how to deal with conflict in a more generative way, and how to minimize or avoid burnout. Another important book for folks interested in social change work.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet – Becky Chambers
A Closed and Common Orbit – Becky Chambers
These are the first two books in a science fiction trilogy (I started the third book, but haven’t finished it). Both are really funny, sweet, enjoyable reads. The first is the story of a character who joins the crew of a spaceship to escape a past she regrets. It includes interspecies romance, comic relief, politics, some deep philosophical questions, well-rounded characters, and a few moments of heartbreak as well. I can’t say much about the second book, or I’d spoil the first, but I honestly liked it slightly better than the first, with two astonishingly compelling primary protagonists.
TRADE PAPERBACKS (COMICS SERIES)
My trade paperback count (collections of individual comics issues into a single volume) is only four, but up from three last year. FYI: I put “et al” in recognition of the fact that while the first person listed below is usually the primary author, there are other folks (colorers, letterers, editors, etc.) who contribute to comics. No major standouts this year.
- Live Wire: Vol 1, Fugitive – Vita Ayala, et al
- Epitaphs from the Abyss Vol 1 – Jason Aaron, et al
- The Domain – Chip Zdarsky, et al
- Doctor Mirage – Magdalene Visaggio, et al