A running tally of the books that I have reviewed this year, updated and reranked after each book that I finish. Explore the latest reviews and discover hidden gems with insights from BarlinsBooks, your literary companion for top new releases.

★★★★☆ Teddy Roosevelt's sons embark on a quest in 1929 to obtain a specimen of a giant panda, an animal rarely seen and wholly unknown at the time.

★★★☆☆ A British couple decide to sail from England to New Zealand in the 1970s, only to be stranded in the middle of the Pacific after a whale destroys their boat.

★★★☆☆ Part memoir, part history of fire, author Thomas recounts his time with the Los Padres Hotshots while positing ways to deal with megafires.

★★★★★ A thoroughly researched exploration of the rise in mental illness among Gen Z, paired with several suggestions for how we can fix it.

★★★★★ Sparked by a viral obituary, this unlikeliest of memoirs introduces us to the crazy Corren family and their larger-than-life mother.

★★★★☆ An exposé on a fraternity-led Xanax trafficking ring, focused on Greek life and the pervasiveness of benzodiazepine use at colleges.

★★★★★ A nostalgia-inducing romp through the most impactful songs of the '90s, focusing on their meaning to the decade and to music overall.

★★★★☆ Gladwell revisits how social epidemics take off with a new set of stories to illustrate variations of concepts from The Tipping Point.

★★★★☆ An entertaining look at a few lesser-known influential people throughout U.S. history, presented in a conversational and engaging way.

★★★★☆ A memoir that exposes the role of PR firms in our news cycle and the ways they manipulate information to support their wealthy clients

★★★★☆ The account of the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, and their football team's pursuit of a championship across two seasons.

Inspired by an underwhelming list from Goodreads, this counts down a far superior list of the Top 50 books of the last 5 years (2020-2024).

★★★★☆ A thoroughly-researched and compelling account of the University of Washington rowing team's quest to win gold at the 1936 Olympics.

★★★★☆ An in-depth look at six of the wrestlers (and the rise of wrestling in the 80s) based around the Iron Sheik becoming champion in 1983.

★★★★☆ Focused not just on the recent rise of F1 but its entire 75-year history, this is an entertaining look at the evolution of the sport.

A running tally of my "Best Books of 2023", updated each time I finish a book throughout the year.

★★★★★ Both entertaining and helpful, Duckworth systematically lays out a plethora of evidence for why passion + perseverance = success.

★★★★★ When a young woman goes missing, kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel, her mother makes it her life's mission to bring them to justice.

★★★★★ A thoroughly researched examination of the exploits of Stéphane Breitwieser, the most prolific art thief the world has ever known.