Biblioracle: My favorite new page-turners from Rob Hart, Laura Lippman and Megan Abbott
How am I going to possibly discuss three books in one column, as I feel I must this week? The fact of the matter is that there are too many books worth recommending coming out year-round now and it just so happens these three writers have new books coming out within a week of each other this month.
One advantage is that these three books are by writers whom I've previously extolled in these pages, so I can, to some degree, cut to the chase, give you my impression of the book and let you, the reader, go from there.
Let's get to it before I waste any more words describing what I plan to do for the benefit of you, my treasured audience of dedicated readers.
Rob Hart's 'The Medusa Protocol' is a sequel to 2024's 'Assassins Anonymous' a thriller centered on Mark, once known as 'the Pale Horse,' the deadliest hired killer in the world, but who has renounced his murderous ways and joined a 12-step program for hired assassins. When forces from his past come for revenge, Mark needs to get himself out of the bind without killing anyone and ruining his non-killing streak. To say too much about 'The Medusa Protocol' is to give away parts of 'Assassins Anonymous,' which readers should start with first, but trust that both books are fun, quick involving adventures where you find yourself rooting for the deadliest people on the planet.
Laura Lippman is my favorite crime/suspense fiction writer working today with an oeuvre that includes a very satisfying detective series (Tess Monaghan) and better than a dozen stand-alone novels, including my favorites, 'Dream Girl' and 'The Lady in the Lake.' Her newest, 'Murder Takes a Vacation,' is a fun departure, a cozy mystery with Mrs. Blossom moving from her supporting role as the assistant to Tess Monaghan to the central character as she heads off on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Paris and riverboat cruise up the Seine.
On the flight to Paris, Mrs. Blossom meets the dashing Allan, who sparks the first romantic feelings she's had in ages since Mr. Blossom's death years before. Allan winds up dead and Mrs. Monaghan realizes she has the skills to solve the mystery. Less gritty than the usual Lippman fare, but great fun with her meticulous attention to character. Here's hoping for more novels with Mrs. Blossom in the lead.
Megan Abbott is my favorite suspense/crime fiction writer working today. The order of those two words matter, because while there are often criminal (or sinister) activities at the center of her books (my favorites: 'Dare Me' and 'The Fever'), the chief pleasure is in the way she teases and develops the dread flowing from out of the central mystery. 'El Dorado Drive' is set in the Detroit suburbs and is the story of three sisters, the Bishops, who have seen their personal/family fortunes decline along with the region itself. They dive into 'The Wheel,' a multi-level marketing organization that promises riches and liberation for women who want to work on their own terms. As always happens in a Megan Abbott book, things go terribly awry and a novel of family and financial intrigue that will keep you guessing unfolds.
Abbott packs more emotion and information into a single sentence than some writers can do in a page, making for and gripping reading experience.
Three very different books that will keep you turning the pages. Why not read them all?
John Warner is the author of books including 'More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.' You can find him at biblioracle.com.
Book recommendations from the Biblioracle
John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you've read.
1. 'Empire Falls' by Richard Russo
2. 'The Ruins' by Steve Wick
3. 'After Oz' by Gordon McAlpine
4. 'All the Broken Places' by John Boyne
5. 'Safe Houses' by Dan FespermanI don't know what happened to this author named David Shafer. I've never seen another book by him, but his first, 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' is a super smart, very involving thriller that seems like a good fit for Jordan.
1. 'Emma' by Jane Austen
2. 'The Matriarch' by Tina Knowles
3. 'Big Little Lies' by Liane Moriarty
4. 'Pineapple Street' by Jenny Jackson
5. 'Remarkably Bright Creatures' by Shelby Van PeltThis book is a little slower burn than some of the novels on this list, more literary, less commercial, but I think it's a good fit for Jemma, 'The Book of Goose' by Yiyun Li.
1. 'A Season on the Brink' by John Feinstein
2. 'Feherty' by John Feinstein
3. 'A Walk in the Woods' by Bill Bryson
4. 'Confederates in the Attic' by Tony Horwitz
5. 'A River Runs Through It' by Norman MacleanI'm hoping Lyle is not yet familiar with the work of Patrick McManus, the funniest writer of outdoor adventures ever. He can start with 'A Fine and Pleasant Misery.'
Get a reading from the Biblioracle
Send a list of the last five books you've read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com.
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New York Times
2 days ago
- New York Times
Are pro golfers getting angrier, or are we just always recording?
A recent major champion stands on the third tee at Riviera Country Club. It's the second round of one of golf's marquee events, and he hits a poor drive, the kind of shot at the wrong moment that just sets you off. He can't stand it. He smashes his driver into the nearby cart path, so hard the driver head explodes. Shrapnel flies into the crowd. One large chunk shoots just by a spectator and continues into a nearby fairway. Chaos. Advertisement The spectator and her husband shout at the player. So do other gallery members. He mumbles an apology. The PGA Tour finds out. It sends a letter of inquiry to the player. He doesn't respond for at least two weeks, is hit with a hefty fine and must pen a letter of apology to the spectators he nearly hit. It's an embarrassing public moment for both the player and the tour. Amidst the last few months of viral golf explosions, unconvincing apologies and a dramatic banishment from one of golf's most iconic venues, you might be assuming this is a story from the summer of 2025. You might be wondering if it was Wyndham Clark, or Rory McIlroy, or perhaps Tyrrell Hatton. Nope. This was 1992. And it was the 1989 Open Championship winner Mark Calcavecchia. The great Bobby Jones, the winner of the Grand Slam and creator of Augusta National, a man who tore up his scorecard at the 1921 Open Championship and walked off in anger during the third round, once said, 'I would forgive almost any behavior in a man when he has a golf club in his hand.' That's the topic at hand this summer, because suddenly golf-adjacent temper tantrums are jumping the shark from funny little anecdotes to viral, controversial talking points. It's the summer McIlroy, two months after the crowning achievement of his career, threw clubs and smashed a tee marker at the U.S. Open. A week later, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka was caught doing the same. Wyndham Clark, two years removed from a U.S. Open win that thrust him into stardom, has done the most damage, quite literally. His driver's biggest impact at the PGA Championship was the hole it left in a T-Mobile sign, which just happens to be one of his sponsors, and who tried to save him by turning it into an activation. He was not so lucky at the U.S. Open, where he destroyed a locker and was asked by Oakmont Country Club to not return until, among other things, he undergoes anger management therapy. 🚨🗡️🤬 #WATCH — Wyndham Clark broke his driver w/ a violent outburst at the PGA. Marshall (@CMDeiulio11) who was standing nearby took to X: 'I'm the Marshall holding the flag. Scared me to death.' T-Mobile signage was broken, a company who sponsors Clark. — NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 19, 2025 This is the summer that golf outrage became a thing. But if you ask anybody around golf the past half century, they'll tell you the only difference between now and then is that everybody is making a big deal of it. 'This story has been going on since the time of professional sports,' says Billy Andrade, age 61 and a four-time PGA Tour winner. 'This isn't anything new.' Advertisement Why is it so much bigger now? Cameras. Social media. Outrage culture. Pick one. The fact it used to be a luxury to get an entire tournament round on TV, but nowadays between Golf Channel, ESPN+, Peacock, NBC and CBS, you can theoretically watch every minute of a round from the first group to the last. It's all right there for us to see, and in turn it's all right there for somebody to record and post a clip online to get clicks and attention. But is any of this actually any worse than before? Tommy Bolt, a 1958 U.S. Open winner, is more famous for his on-course antics than the golf itself. They called him 'Terrible Tommy,' constantly throwing clubs into the water or cursing up a storm. Tour officials created new rules because of his behavior. One time, he cursed so much that officials informed him of a $100 fine for each expletive. As the old story goes, Bolt pulled out his wallet, grabbed $500, and turned to each official to say, 'F— you, f— you, f— you, f— you and f— you' while handing each of them a $100 bill. 'It thrills crowds to see a guy suffer. That's why I threw clubs so often,' Bolt once told Golf Digest. 'They love to see golf get the better of someone, and I was only too happy to oblige them. At first I threw clubs because I was angry. After a while it became showmanship, plain and simple.' Brandel Chamblee recalls playing with a golfer who once hooked his drive into the water. Chamblee and the rest of the group started walking, only to turn around when they heard a slight hissing noise. The man had unzipped his pants and begun urinating on his driver. 'If any of these were nowadays, now everybody is a journalist, and these all would have gone viral and people would have thought tour pros were a bunch of babies,' Chamblee said. Steve Pate and Thomas Pieters have both broken clubs around the back of their neck. Woody Austin banged his putter against his head over and over until it bent. John Huston played the final two holes of a U.S. Open qualifier with a hastily-made tourniquet, after the shaft of a tossed club ricocheted back and stabbed him in the arm. Advertisement Two-time U.S. Open winner Curtis Strange was so mad during a 1982 tournament at Doral that as he walked behind his caddie Gene Kelley, he impulsively kicked the bottom of the bag Kelley was carrying. Both went flying to the ground. Kelley needed surgery to fuse two vertebrae and later sued Strange; They settled out of court. Jose Maria Olazabal punched a wall at the 1989 U.S. Open, breaking his hand and forcing himself to withdraw. Oh, and smashing tee markers? 'The place you want to do it is the Hawaiian Open with actual real pineapples,' Andrade said. So many golfers lay claim to smashing those pineapples at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu at the event now called the Sony Open. Corey Pavin. Brad Faxon. Craig Stadler. Calcavecchia. Imagine the sight of Stadler, known as The Walrus with his big, droopy, mustache, thinking it was plastic as he smashed the pineapple and instead covered himself in pineapple pulp. Calcavecchia remembers hitting one and spraying the poor marshal nearby. Most of these stories, if they didn't end up involving lawsuits or fines, were simply told after the fact, locker room and barroom tales passed around between golfers. Most golf writers around in those days simply didn't write about them, not because they were covering for golfers or scared to. It just wasn't news. It's something that happens on golf courses all the time. Chamblee has become something of golf's moral voice over his decades as a Golf Channel analyst, a smart, insightful former pro who enjoys pontificating on larger issues in the game. So, yes, he was on the broadcasts as criticism mounted this summer over McIlroy, Clark and the rest. He says he didn't want to criticize any of those actions too heavily, because he knew he had done the same things, if not worse. The difference was he wasn't the kind of star who always had cameras on him, so most went unnoticed. Advertisement Chamblee does concede it is happening more often. And it definitely happens more often with the biggest stars. He has a multi-point theory for why that is. • One: More documentation. The mere fact there are so many people with phones, so many people watching at home and rushing to clip anything they can to get it online to go viral. Simply, there are more eyeballs. • Two: Easier equipment replacement. Golfers used to sometimes go their entire careers with the same driver. There was a mystique to finding the perfect shaft that worked for you. You'd think twice about breaking any club, because it might take you years to ever have your equipment that dialed. Nowadays, golfers can walk over to the equipment truck and order up a new driver like it's a food truck burrito stand. • Three: Money. In both ways. A $100,000 fine for Calcavecchia was deflating. That was a fifth of his total earnings most years. Now, these stars are worth tens of millions, if not more. No fine can even put a dent in their life. But it works both ways. They are also playing for so much money that the tensions can escalate. • Four: Tiger Woods. This is perhaps the most interesting. You see, each generation of golfers looks up to one or two before them. It sets the tempo for how that generation acts. Jack Nicklaus famously never broke a club in tournament play. Tom Watson is known as golf's great gentleman. If Ben Hogan or Arnold Palmer ever lost it on a golf course, no one thought to write it down. But Woods didn't worry about any of that. He cursed, threw clubs and made scenes, all while being the most televised, closely watched golfer in history. 'As much as we like to talk about the influence of Tiger Woods, I like to call a lot of the younger players today 'Tiger's progeny,' and they grew up watching him lose his mind,' Chamblee said. 'He was the greatest golfer anybody had ever seen, and it clearly didn't bother him in any meaningful way in terms of how he played. He'd blow up, and he'd get over it. So I felt like those outbursts were, to a large extent, normalized.' Advertisement Woods was criticized by golf's elder statesmen for his behavior, with Watson saying Woods 'has not carried the same stature' of other great players before him. None of these people are coming out and saying Woods was a bad example as a whole, but they are conceding that it became even less taboo these past 30 years. Now, you look at the best players in the game, and nearly all of them lose it sometimes. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is known for his ability to keep cool through 72 holes, but he throws absolute fits on the course. He slams his clubs, throws balls into the trees and rants to himself constantly. Jon Rahm underwent constant scrutiny earlier in his career for his tantrums, and still goes viral frequently for an expletive-laced outburst. Broadcasts always have a microphone on Tyrrell Hatton, hoping for a viral soundbite of him scolding himself or criticizing the course. In reality, this is all a conversation about frames, both in what images we place inside the frame and how to frame them altogether. Bolt was funny. His outbursts got covered, because most people got a kick out of them and it added to his legend. Tennis great John McEnroe was funny. Even Hatton now is funny, rarely criticized for his rants as much as highlighted to show his quirks. Most viral videos of golfers smashing tee markers are posted tongue-in-cheek with a caption like, 'See, even the pros are like us.' As Chamblee put it, Wyndham Clark's outbursts aren't funny to people. McIlroy is a lightning rod for discourse, and those who hate him will use it as a 'gotcha' moment in a way they simply would not for so many others. U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell took to social media the day of Clark's locker room rampage to say, 'This is minimal regards what I've seen other players do,' adding it's often from 'players you'd never expect.' Because in reality, none of this is new. Players threw tantrums 100 years ago, and they'll continue to 100 years from now. The only thing that may change is how we feel about it. (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Andy Lyons, Simon Bruty / Getty) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Cosmopolitan
01-08-2025
- Cosmopolitan
Who Is Julia Garner's Husband, Mark Foster?
Between The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Wolfman, and Weapons, Julia Garner has had a *very* busy couple of years…but somehow, she's managed to keep her private life out of the spotlight. You may not even realize that she is married (!!) and has been since 2019. Julia Garner's husband, Mark Foster, isn't just some rando, either—he's a singer and musician best known as the front man for indie pop band Foster the People. (Remember when the song 'Pumped Up Kicks' was playing legit e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e back in 2010? Yeah, you can thank Mark for that. Music vid incoming!) Although they first met all the way back in 2013, it took several years for them to start dating. Once they did, however, things moved FAST, and in a matter of 18 months, the two got engaged and then married in a fabulously low-key ceremony. Here's everything you should know about Julia's hubs, including how he met the actor and how he rose to fame with Foster the People. But first? A moment for this dreamy Gucci ad they did together: After graduating from his Cleveland high school in 2002, Mark decided to move in with an uncle in Los Angeles to pursue a music career. During that time, he worked several odd jobs, played with a few different bands, and even had a brief career as a commercial jingle writer before Foster the People was finally born. 'I felt like an 18-year-old Hunter S. Thompson,' Mark told the Los Angeles Times when asked about that time in his life. 'I was just diving into this Hollywood Hills subculture and taking it all in. I wasn't shy about taking my guitar out at a party. I wanted to be the center of attention.' Mark eventually founded Foster the People (initially called Foster & the People) with drummer Mark Pontius and producer Zach 'Reazon' Heiligman, and they played their first show in October 2009. His longtime friend Cubbie Fink later joined as bassist, and in late 2010, the group hit it big after their single 'Pumped Up Kicks' became a viral success. Today, the band is composed of Mark and keyboardist Isom Innis, and since its inception, Foster the People has released four albums: Torches, Supermodel, Sacred Hearts Club, and Paradise State of Mind. During his first few years in Los Angeles, Mark struggled with addiction while balancing several jobs and attempting to launch his music career. 'It got pretty dark,' he told Rolling Stone. 'My friends thought I was going to die. I was blind to it. When I was 19 years old, it got to a point where I said, 'Enough is enough.'…I saw time was just passing me by. I wasn't being productive.' According to Mark, it was a run-in with an old friend that convinced him to reevaluate his life. '…My friend ran into me and he just—he started crying,' Mark explained to NPR. 'And that kind of—that was the first thing that shook me up, 'cause this was, like, a kid that partied with me for a lot of it, you know. And I was like, wow, it must be serious if he's worried—just 'cause I was so skinny.' Julia isn't the first celeb Mark has romanced. He also apparently dated Nina Dobrev for, like, a month back in 2014. Ofc, the two never actually confirmed the relationship, so it's unclear how long they dated (or if they even dated at all). Regardless, pls enjoy this photo of them together from 2012 with Nina's ex Ian Somerhalder, with whom Mark is apparently also friends: Mark also sparked dating rumors with Michelle Trachtenberg for a hot minute in 2012, but again, rumors were never confirmed and they were short-lived. In January 2013, Mark met his future wife at the Sundance Film Festival, where her horror film We Are What We Are was making its debut. The two bonded over the fact that Julia's grandma lived in the same small town outside of Cleveland that Mark's dad lives in, as she later told Vogue. But they didn't exchange info at the time, and they didn't speak again until Mark found Julia on Instagram. Julia told the Hollywood Reporter that Mark started Liking all her pics after giving her a follow. 'I was like, 'Who's this guy Liking all my photos? Is this a stalker?'' she joked. 'I clicked on him and I was like, 'Oh, Mark. Oh, he's cute. I'm going to follow him back.' Then he DM'd me.' In April 2019, during a cross-country RV trip before Julia left to begin filming season 3 of Ozark, Mark decided to pop the question. The two had been dating for about 10 months at that point, and as Julia told Vogue, the proposal went down in Flathead Lake, Montana, where Mark read her an original poem before asking her to marry him. After they got engaged, Julia and Mark debated between having a big wedding or simply eloping. Initially, they'd planned on a June 2020 celebration, but luckily, they ended up tying the knot before the COVID-19 crisis became global. 'For some reason, I was like, 'You know what? Let's not wait until June. Let's just do it, because who knows?'' Julia explained to the Hollywood Reporter. In December 2019, the two had a quiet ceremony at New York's City Hall, where Julia's parents had gotten married 40 years earlier. The next day, they held a reception at Public Hotel, where Mark surprised Julia with an original song, 'Lovers in a Stream,' for their first dance. Although their schedules keep 'em busy, Mark and Julia still seem to make *plenty* of time for each other (and cheering each other on). Mark has shared TONS of mushy posts in honor of his wife and her accomplishments, and he raves about her in interviews, too. When she won her Best Supporting Actress Emmy in 2019 for her work in Ozark, Mark had a major Proud Partner Moment™ on IG. 'Congratulations, you beautiful angel of a human,' he gushed in a since-deleted post. 'It brings me immeasurable joy to see you lifted up and recognized by your peers, your industry, and your fans. You deserve every bit of love and respect. You're so incredibly special. I consider myself the luckiest guy on the planet to be able to watch whatever you do from the front row, with a bag of popcorn and your hand wrapped in mine.' Um…😍. Pls keep on being adorable, you two.
Business Wire
31-07-2025
- Business Wire
Game Developers Conference Appoints Games Industry Luminary Mark DeLoura Executive Director of Innovation & Growth
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Game Developers Conference (GDC), the world's largest and longest-running event serving professionals dedicated to the art and science of making games, has appointed longtime GDC advisor and videogame advocate Mark DeLoura as the Executive Director of Innovation & Growth, a new leadership role to ensure GDC's strategy, programming and presence are future-facing and deeply connected to the industry it serves. Heading into its 40th edition, GDC is transforming into a Festival of Gaming, expanding its scope to represent the full game-making ecosystem and better meet the needs of the contemporary games industry. GDC 2026 will return to the Moscone Center in San Francisco next year, Monday, March 9 to Friday, March 13, 2026. Mark's career has been defined by an intellectual curiosity and an exploration of the endless possibilities of game development around education, inclusion, civic engagement and the public good. In his more than three decades experience he has held such wide-ranging titles as journalist, technical director, vice president of technology, consultant, advocate and senior advisor. On the console side, Mark helped launch iconic game platforms like Nintendo 64, GameCube and PlayStation 3. He has authored programming books and served as the editor-in-chief of Game Developer Magazine, helping generations better understand game technology. Mark's history with GDC goes as far back as helping oversee the original event's transition from the Computer Game Developers Conference (1988-1999) into the inclusive, globally relevant platform now known as the Game Developers Conference, and he has served as an advisor for the event for more than 10 years. Mark's technical and academic understanding of game development culminated in his role as the Senior Advisor for Digital Media at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Obama. In his ongoing advocacy of the positive influence of gaming technology, Mark's new role as Executive Director of Innovation & Growth of GDC puts him center stage in an exciting effort to shape the next chapter of GDC. In its 40th edition, the new GDC will be a reimagined platform that reflects the entire game-making ecosystem, and Mark's vision, grounded in years of industry insight, will help to shape this broader strategy and ensure it delivers meaningful value to every corner of the community. 'Mark has been a longtime member of the GDC family,' said Nina Brown, Vice President of Gaming at Informa Festivals. 'We could not have a better leader joining to help change the game as GDC becomes an inclusive Festival of Gaming to better serve the industry we all love. He is among the rare few that have the holistic perspective of the rapidly evolving industry from the inside out.' "GDC has always been a home for people who care deeply about making games and now it's transforming into something even more ambitious!" said Mark DeLoura, GDC's Executive Director of Innovation & Growth. 'It's incredibly exciting to step into this role to ensure that GDC remains connected to the community while expanding to serve everyone who is shaping the future of games.' For more details on the Game Developers Conference, please visit the GDC's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, X or BlueSky. Official photos are available via the Official GDC Flickr account: About GDC The Game Developers Conference® (GDC) is the world's largest professional game industry event with market-defining content for programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision makers and others involved in the development of interactive games and immersive experiences. GDC brings together the global game development community year-round through events and digital media, including the networking meet-up's, GDC Vault, Independent Games Festival and Summit, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. GDC is organized by Informa PLC, a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organizer in the world. To learn more and for the latest news and information visit
