Karl's Reading List

Published by WIPF & Stock Publishers: Eugene, Oregon, 2025. Grant Romoser-Claunch and his family have been through hell. Their son, Simon, was diagnosed at a young age with cancer, and this book contains Romoser-Claunch's reflections on, and processing of, the diagnosis and following treatments. It is a deeply moving account, which - as the parent of a son whose age is similar to Simon's at the time of treatment - hits home a little harder than perhaps it would otherwise. At one point, when the hospital has just informed the family of the cancer's return, Romoser-Claunch writes: "During dinner Simon - only just having turned two years old - prophetically roared, "I'll beat it again!" Filled with pride and hope, trusting and believing it to be true more and more each time he said it, we all cried and erupted with cheers and affirmations." (page 104) Wow. I tear up a little even writing that out.  I can't imagine going through such a journey. T...

Published by Wordsworth Editions Limitied/Classics: Hertfordshire, 1993. First published 1818. I don't think this needs a lot of introduction. Frankenstein is a very popular book, having been continually in print since it was first written in 1818 by a then 18-year old Mary Shelley. A young scientist, mad with power, creates a creature and brings it to life, only to be overwhelmed by what he has done and reject the creature, leading to the monster growing up alone, isolated, and resentful.  The question "Which one of the two is the real monster?" has been asked ever since the book's publication, a fact not helped by the public association of the term 'Frankenstein' with the monster, when it is the name of the scientist - it's almost as if the question could be "Which is the real Frankenstein?" However, in the book the creature is a little more monstrous than I had anticipated: he is lonely and misunderstood, but he is also quick to violence, and ...

Published by Lawrence & Gibson Publishing Collective: Aoetearoa/New Zealand, 2023. Taking a break from looking at potential Level 2 texts, this is a potential Level 1 text instead! At the heart of Turncoat is an extended metaphor, an allegory, in which Māori culture and worldview is represented by the book's portrayal of humanity as a whole, and non-Māori culture - aka, the European-centric worldview - is represented by literal aliens, who invaded in past centuries and have now interbred with humanity to the point that most humans look just like them. Our main character, Daniel, is one such human, who understands and operates in Alien culture (called the Hierarch) all the time, but still seeks to influence the Hierarch to honour the original covenants they signed with humanity all those years ago. The metaphor isn't subtle, and at times it purposefully (often humorously) becomes incredibly obvious, particularly for readers from New Zealand. So, in place of Captain Cook bein...

Published by Marshall Cavendish Ltd: Old Compton St, 1987. A facsimile reproduction of an edition published in 1933. First published 1819. Ivanhoe is an interesting one... I actually thought I'd read it a number of years ago - it appears on my 2018 list as a completed book - and at the time I enjoyed it. However, when I decided to re-read it, I realised that the book I have previously read was an abridged version of the story, and so I made sure that this time around I hunted out the full text. It was a much longer, slower process to read than I remember it being last time... Perhaps an abridgement is actually the right choice for the average reader! In terms of story, Ivanhoe makes the interesting choice on not mainly focussing on the titular character! Getting more 'screentime' than Ivanhoe are characters including the Saxon 'swineherd' Gurth, the jester Wamba, the Saxon thane Cedric, the mysterious 'Black Knight', the Jewish moneylender Isaac, his daughte...

Published as an audiobook by Blackstone Audio, Inc: 2013. First published 1536/1559 in Latin, 1541/1560 in French. Translated into English by Henry Beveridge, 1845. Audiobook narrated by Bob Souer. There is a real artifice to creating a yearly book list, that is sometimes more apparent to me than others. In terms of the placement of Institutes at this point in this list in this year, it becomes very apparent to me, because this is an audibook I started listening to in (I seem to recall) 2024. That means that I actually listened to the vast majority of this book (which at normal speed is 67 hours long - I did listen to parts of it at 1.25 speed) in 2024 and 2025, and yet, because it was finished now, I add it to my 2026 list. Potentially I could have divided it into four reviews, matching the four books/volumes of the overall work, but as it is gathered together under one title, I'm mostly happy with my decision. Still, I'm happy to be able to add it to any list, because this ha...

Published by Allen & Unwin: NSW, Australia, 1997. First published in 1995 as Vallen. Translated from Dutch by John Nieuwenhuizen, 1997. Another book I read as I look for a Year 12 text. This is a very well written and slightly disturbing book, which follows Lucas Beigne, a teenager from Belgium living with his mother in the house of his late grandfather. There is some scandal in the past that involved his grandfather, but Lucas is unsure what the details were; his mother won't tell him. Lucas also has a neighbour, Caitlin, who has returned from America, who he remembers not being allowed to play with when he was younger, but who now he is captivated by. To begin with, the book looks like it might follow the growing feelings between Lucas and Caitlin, but we are also aware, from the book's framing device, that there will be some sort of accident ahead, in which Caitlin gets terribly injured and which Lucas feels guilty for. This gives a mild sense of unease to the proceeding...

Published by Gefen Publishing House Ltd: Jerusalem, Israel, 2026. A very interesting book about a little-known community of people, Endless Exodus tells the history of Ethiopian Jews, from the stories about their possible historical origins, to the the modern desire for many of them to undertake ' aliyah ', or emigration to the nation of Israel. The book is presented in coffee-table format, with wide pages and prominent photographs throughout. Indeed, the history - while interesting - is less of the focus than the photographs themselves, providing a context for the photographs rather than the other way around.  I found this book fascinating, in highlighting a faith community that I had very little knowledge of, and providing an insight into how people in other parts of the world live. Recommended for anyone who enjoys history, geography, religious studies, and anthropology. Completed 10 February 2026. Previous Book ~ Next Book (LibraryThing Prize Books) Previous Book ~ Next B...