January has been short story/novella month for me. I started on novels, first with Shibumi, then Tom Wood’s latest Victor tome, Firefight. But since then it’s been:

Eleven Numbers: A Short Story – Lee Child
“Archangel” – Frederick Gero Heimbach
New Kid in Town: A Jack Reacher Story – Andrew Child
Orders of Magnitude – Yuval Kordov

All have been very entertaining. Frederick’s and Yuval’s respective stories are spectacular.

Regularly scheduled reading will now resume as I turn back to Jack London’s White Fang.

I’ve got our youngest reading the Junior Classic edition, and I’m reading along, but with the original big-boys-and-girls edition. 📚

I thought it was pretty entertaining. Took me back to the Mack Bolan novels my grandfather used to share with me. 📚

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First novel read in 2025 is Trevanian’s Shibumi.

If I’m being totally honest, I wasn’t at all impressed. 📚

If you love reading thrillers, and you haven’t cracked open Jack Stewart’s Battle Born series, you need to correct this ASAP.

I just finished Bogey Spades, coming out mid-November, and it is fantastic. Jack keeps upping the ante and leaving you wanting more. Pre-order it now! 📚 www.amazon.com/dp/164875…

Cover of Jack Stewart's book 'Bogey Spades'

I feel seen.

Just had two more added today, though one has vaulted to the “reading now” list.

Graphic depicting to-read pile relevant to different building heights

It was an absolute pleasure getting to meet Marc Cameron today, and Jack Stewart was a great host with superb questions that pulled amazing stories from Marc. A good time spent with my best bud Nathan as well. If you get the chance to hear Marc speak, I highly encourage you to!

Marc Cameron (r) and Jack Stewart (l)
Me and Marc Cameron
Me and Jack Stewart
Me and Nathan

A little over a third of the way through, Rob Kroese doesn’t so much break the fourth wall in High Plains Grifter as crack it. (It is not narrated in first person.)

Nevertheless, hilarity ensues. 📚🤣

I’m somewhere between a third and halfway through Rob Kroese’s A Grift Too Far, and if this thing wasn’t already off the rails in the first 20 pages, it most certainly is now. 📚🤣

And yes, I absolutely turned a Jack Carr book signing in to my own personal Jack Stewart book signing. Had to get his autograph on my copy of Outlaw, his awesome Clancy-esque thriller. 📚

And what a trooper, coming straight from the office to hang out!


Me with Jack Stewart
Cover of Jack Stewart's book Outlaw
Jack's signature for me in Outlaw

Great seeing Jack Carr at Half Price Books again. I’m thinking Jack is going to need a bigger venue in Dallas in the future. Happy pub day, Jack!


Me with Jack Carr at his Red Sky Mourning book signing
Jack Carr Red Sky Mourning crowd