Latest Reviews

A Victorian Time Traveller stands beside an ornate brass time machine overlooking the White Sphinx, Eloi ruins, shadowy Morlocks, and a distant red sun in H. G. Wells’ future Earth.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells Review

Does the H.G. Wells Sci-Fi Classic Hold Up? The 1960s film adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine hooked me as a kid.[…]

A spring reading wrap-up scene with stacked books, flowers, a sailing ship, dragon, robot, pocket watch, gothic castle, and crypto coin symbolizing fantasy, history, science fiction, self-help, and nonfiction reads.

ClayReads Spring Wrap-up

Clay | July 3

Spring 2026 Reads Wrap Up: Epic Fantasy, History, and Self-Help Reviews It’s that time of the year ClayReaders, where I do my Spring[…]

A person stands at a crossroads between a narrow dark tunnel and a bright network of interconnected ideas, symbolizing the power of generalists, exploration, and cross-disciplinary thinking.

Review of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

Clay | June 26

Why Generalists Thrive in a Specialized World David Epstein’s Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World has been at the edge of[…]

Books I Keep Recommending

A large, intelligent spider confronts a lone astronaut on an alien terrain with webbing in the air and a lush Earth-like planet and spacecraft looming above — capturing the central tension of Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Children of Time

Adrian Tchaikovsky

Evolved spiders, a dying human race, and an ending I didn’t see coming.

Trust

Hernan Diaz

Start slow, finish stunned. This Pulitzer winner is a masterpiece.

A lone astronaut in a white spacesuit floats tethered near a large cylindrical spacecraft, facing a glowing yellow star in deep space. The scene captures the isolation and intensity of interstellar travel, evoking the themes of survival and discovery from Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

A lone astronaut, an alien friend, and a race to save Earth. Pure joy.

Armored SecUnit “Murderbot” with a glowing red visor stands guard on a rugged alien world during a dangerous planetary survey.

All Systems Red

Martha Wells

My mom begged me to read this for years. She was right.

The Courage to Be Disliked

Fumitake Koga & Ichiro Kishimi

The book that changed how I think about other people’s opinions.

The Haunting of Hill House

Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson wrote the blueprint for psychological horror.

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Books that changed how I think

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I follow my curiosity and share what I find.