WRBA Review: June
WRBA Gets a Moment in the Sun
Many thanks to KGNU Radio in Boulder for inviting me to discuss Who Reads Books Anymore? If you’d like to learn more about the origins of the show, why I quit my career as a vet to write books, and why readers are lovely human beings, listen to the full interview here.
My Favorite Book from June
I read ten books in June, and if I could recommend only one, it would be Madness, Rack, and Honey by Mary Ruefle, a series of lectures sure to seduce writers and nerds of the written word. While many books on the writing life devolve into technical rule-making (sorry, Annie Dillard, I’m looking at you here), Mary Ruefle admits early on that she does not understand poetry.
This humility, coming from a poetry professor and Guggenheim fellow, won me over immediately, and may even heal my years-long distrust of “interpreting” poetry inculcated back in high school. Such openness breaks the barrier between teacher and student, allowing Ruefle to take the reader dancing from topic to topic, whether it be the true nature of Emily Dickinson’s dress buttons or the strangest poetry reading in history (it involved a translator shooting himself in the head with a cap gun).
All of these intellectual adventures are infused with the authority of someone who not only loves reading poetry, but has tangled with its thorny branches and emerged to share marvels of her own making, including this very book. I’m inspired.
Next, onto something more comprehensible: book recommendations from strangers.
Books Recommended on WRBA
June was a busy month for the show, including a couple airport episodes, and the strangers did not disappoint.
THE CIRCLE MAKER by Mark Batterson
The most moving recommendation of the month came from a woman at Newark airport who didn’t hesitate for a second. Asked for a self-help pick, she instantly named this book:
It changed my life. I’ve been sober for 13 years. It helped me quit drinking. Helped me realize I had to go back and get my MBA so I could be better at leading people. And then that triggered a whole bunch of other things that I realized I could change. I could have a spiritual experience that would transform my life and help me be of better service to others.
CULPABILITY by Bruce Holsinger
This stranger at Nordstrom Rack turned out to be a megareader clocking a whopping 25 books a month. Stirring up the comments section, she drew a sharp line between the murder mysteries she reads for fun (“that’s not real reading”) and the more serious books she believes actually matter. Culpability was among the latter:
It’s a really good book. It’s not an easy read, but it’s one of those books that you just should read, because it’s what we’re responsible for in the world today.
THE METAMORPHOSIS by Franz Kafka
This mustachioed reader at the mall (who works at the Buckle and also read Dostoyevsky in the past month), made a strong case for The Metamorphosis by Kafka:
You can probably get through it in two hours. It’s an allegory for how your utility plays a role in the lives of the people around you. And it’s an interesting perspective.
MADONNA IN A FUR COAT by Sabahattin Ali
A Nordstrom Rack employee finished three books in June. She picked this one above the rest:
It’s a really atmospheric read. One spot. One character. It’s really fun.
WE BURNED SO BRIGHT by TJ Klune
Seven books in a month, and this was the one that stood out:
It was really lovely. The world is ending and the people know it’s ending. How do they act?
WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart
Short and to the point, with a warning attached:
I liked the twists and turns, so be prepared.
GRANT SPEAKS by Ev Ehrlich
A history reader at Denver airport knew exactly what he’d hand a newcomer to the genre:
Grant is a really unique guy. Could be tough as nails when he wanted to, and could be a softie at other times.
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by Matt Dinniman
Dungeon crawlers are everywhere, including Denver airport:
It was good. I’m a D&D guy, so I just like that kind of thing.
ONYX STORM by Rebecca Yarros
Another Denver traveler:
It’s a good, easy read.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien
The best reason to read Tolkien again:
You know Elijah Wood? He’s now doing DJ stuff. He had a set in Denver, and I was like, oh, might as well. So then I just reread it.
FEEL THE FEAR… AND DO IT ANYWAY by Susan Jeffers
Maybe reading the title is enough? When asked for a key strategy to overcome fear, he said:
Just like the book says. Feel the fear and do it anyways.
THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE by Stephen R. Covey
A traveler from Curaçao in Newark airport, studying to become a psychologist, named her all-time favorite:
I like how practical it is.
IF THE TREE COULD SPEAK by Tim Tebow
The month’s most honest review:
It was okay. I thought it’d be a little bit better, but it was all right. Yeah, I’d recommend it.
Also mentioned in June: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and Mindset by Christian Bischoff (from a German sports journalist in town for the World Cup), plus The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and the Warhammer titles Sons of Sanguinius by Nick Kyme and a Space Wolf novel by William King.
Support the Show
I hope the WRBA Review offers a fun way to discover new books and to better understand the role they play in our culture. If you’d like to support the show, you can preorder my second novel, The Whirlpool of Lebanon, a darkly comic tale of an eccentric Kansas rancher with a sick wife who discovers a fountain of youth in his pasture (out September 2026).
Early praise
“An exquisitely constructed novel with a large cast of believable, well-rounded characters you come to care about. Pass captures the nuances of High Plains village life, which many have attempted but few have achieved.”
— Bryan L. Jones, author of North of the Platte, South of the Niobrara
“A well-crafted comedy about the bad side of miracles.”
“If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to go back in time—for better or worse—then this book is for you.”
— Becky Mandelbaum, author of Bad Kansas (Flannery O’Connor Award)
Preorder The Whirlpool of Lebanon
Thanks for reading (anything),
Will Pass