Started: JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative by Devin Grayson and Phil Jimenez

Started: DC Finest: Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

Started: Persians: The Age of the Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Started: Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

[This is the back-up book I'm now trying to read with my kids after realizing The Borrowers wasn't good for their level.]

Started: The Borrowers by Mary Norton 

I was originally thinking I would do this as part of my Reading Books With My Kids project, but once I started reading it to them, I realized it was not really at their level at all.  (I guess the lesson here is to always preview read the books before attempting to introduce them to my kids.)  We'll see what happens to this one.  We started it yesterday, and after finishing the first chapter, I apologized to my kids, said this book was too difficult, and proposed something else.  But my daughter wants to keep reading it, so for the moment we'll see how it goes.  

Either way, I'm way overdue to read this book just for my own sake.  (Believe it or not, I have never read The Borrowers series).  So we'll see how long my kids want to keep reading it, but if they decide to stop reading it, I'll probably still finish it up by myself and review it here.

Starting: The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (Since I'm reading the revised version with my kids, I thought I should check out the original so that I could compare them.  I'm using the version on Gutenberg.)

Started: The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Revised, Newly Illustrated Edition by Hugh Lofting adapted by Melissa Dalton Martinez

This is part of my "reading books with my kids" project.  We actually started this book at bedtime last night, but I had already shut down my computer at that point, so I'm posting today instead.  

I have vague memories of Doctor Dolittle from my own childhood.  It all seems familiar, but I can't remember anything definite.  One of my elementary school teachers might have read this book, or a version of this book to us.  But without any definite memories, I'm not going to count it as a reread.

Starting: A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin and Gao E translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang

Starting: A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin and Gao E translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang

Links to stuff mentioned:

* My review of Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en: https://youtu.be/50s5xZSp0sg

* My review of Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong: https://youtu.be/Vs3rx7QW2mw

Wikipedia article on Classic Chinese Novels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Chinese_Novels

I mentioned in a previous video that I was going to stop doing "Starting Videos": https://youtu.be/cmaIdb3Mn2w

...but I make an exception for big reading projects.  And this is definitely a big reading project.

Started Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6iMcM85L9dcWvKxN6kGZKg

A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin and Gao E Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBl7dpw5Awdc&si=CcZVBsrHS-0VjFxj

Started: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen by Jack Kirby

Started: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl  (This is a reread, since I had this book read to me as a child.  It's also a reread of a reread, because I reread this book back in 2021, and reviewed it on this blog.  But now I'm reading it to my kids, so I'm reading it again.)

Started: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Started: The Newsboy Legion by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby: Volume One

Started: Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

(This is a reread.  It was read to me when I was in 1st grade.)

Started: Superman: Exile

Started: Superman: The Triangle Era Omnibus Vol. 2

Started: Blowback Season 1

[Notes: Now that I'm done with my 3 audiobooks (here, here and here--review of the last one coming soon--I'm going to go back and do a podcast next.  The last one I did was on the ancient world, so I thought I'd have my next one be on modern history just to balance things out.  (Also Blowback has been recommended to me by a few people as a good podcast.)  Blowback is divided into seasons, so I'll do this similar to how I did the Revolutions Podcast--I'll listen to each season twice, and then review the seasons individually.  Then, possibly, once I finish the last season, I may listen to the whole thing from start to end, and come back with one final review of all my thoughts.]

Listening Progress

May 10, 2026--Episode 1: Rosebud

May 11--2: American Psycho

May 12--3: Curveball

May 13--4: Mars Attacks

May 14--5: Dead Links

May 15--6: Year Zero

May 16--7: Resistance

May 17--8: Electioneering

May 18--9: How Do You Fuck That Up?

May 19--Bonus: Our Man In Baghdad

May 20--Bonus: Iraqi Horror Picture Show

May 21--Bonus: Shock Corridor

Finished First Listening: Started Second Listening

May 22--Episode 0: Iraqnophobia

May 23--1: Rosebud
May 24--2: American Psycho

May 25--3: Curveball

May 26--5: Dead Links

May 27--6: Year Zero

May 28--7: Resistance

May 29--9: How Do You Fuck That Up?

May 30--10: The Iraq War Did Not Take Place

May 31--Bonus: Our Man In Baghdad

June 1--Bonus: Shock Corridor

Addendum: June 1, 2026  Blowback Podcast just today released a trailer for a new miniseries based on the US-Israel relationship.  (Actually a bit of research reveals they had posted a trailer on their Youtube channel 5 months ago, but I must have missed that.)  Given how sensitive people are about the whole topic of Israel is right now, I don't really want to have to talk about that subject if I don't have to.  (Yes, I'm being a coward.)

So, I'm going to abandon my plan to review Blowback season by season, and just listen to the whole thing from beginning to end (twice) and then review it.  (It might be better that way anyway.  Sometimes when I'm reviewing a podcast season by season, I don't have a lot of intelligent things to say about every season).

June 2--Season 2: ep2: Lo Hicimos

June 3--S2E3: New Normal

June 4--S2E4: Secret Honor

June 5--S2E5: Fish is Red

June 6--S2E6: Nothing to Lose

June 7--S2E7: Anadyr

June 9--S2E9: Cuba Libra

June 11--S2E10: Infinite Crisis

June 13--S2 Bonus 1: Red-Handed Sleight of Hand

June 14--S2 Bonus 2: Lo Distinto Se Parece

June 16--S2 Bonus 3: Watch Out for That Boy

June 17--S2 Bonus 5: Massive Retaliation

June 18--S2 Bonus 6: Neverland

July 7--S2 Bonus 7: Sweet Dirty Tony's Baadasssss Song

July 14--S2 Bonus 8: The Capital of Terrorism

July 18--S2 Bonus 9: The Most Beautiful Cause

July 20--S2 Bonus 10: Havana (Derangement) Syndrome

July 24--S3E1: Stop Me Before I Kill Again

July 27--S3E2: The Uninvited 

July 31--S3E5: Train to Busan

August 3--S3E6: National Smile Week

Started: The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald

Started: The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald read by Tamaryn Payne. Audiobook

This is an audiobook.  It is also a reread.  I originally reviewed this book on March 9, 2006.  

[I don't know if anyone cares about this but me, but this breaks the rules I set out for myself in this post, which is two audiobooks for every podcast.  This is now my 3rd consecutive audiobook, but I wanted to revisit this book sooner rather than later, because I am in the process of revising some of my chapters on goblins in my story, and I wanted to go back and refresh my mind on the traditional literary portrayal of goblins.]

Started: Animal Farm by George Orwell  (This is a reread.  I've read this book several times before, and I've mentioned this book on this blog before here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.  But I've never reviewed it on this blog before, so I figured it was time to read it one more time, and give it a proper review.)

Started: Wizards of Mickey