Ron Charles

In today's Halloween edition of the Book Club newsletter, I'm giving away my copy of "The H. P. Lovecraft Experience Deluxe Box Set":
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This week, I turn my august critical attention to a work of literature called "My Brother's Butt Is Haunted": s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?tra...

Book Club: Philip Pullman’s imaginary world has become more like our real one

Happy news leads this week's Book Club newsletter:
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The Fight to Restore Chicago’s Magnificent Mile to Its Glory Days The area’s crime rate is down, and cheaper rents have prompted retailers to lease new space.

WSJ today on Chicago’s savage, crime-infested war zone:
“Visits to the Magnificent Mile are nearly back to prepandemic levels. The area’s crime rate is falling…. And other parts of Chicago’s retail scene have recovered faster.”
www.wsj.com/real-estate/...

It’s almost as though he was saying something larger about the way people used to cling to the form of the Scriptures while ignoring the content… Fortunately, that has no relevance to the way we live today.

Average Obamacare premiums are set to rise 30 percent, documents show The price increases — affecting up to 17 million Americans who buy coverage on the federal marketplace — are by far the largest annual premium increases in recent years.

"Insurers have cited the expiration of extra subsidies as a reason for hiking premiums BECAUSE THEY ANTICIPATE HEALTHY PEOPLE DROPPING COVERAGE."
There it is, folks. Once Republicans introduced adverse selection back into the insurance market, it was doomed.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

At Least We Owned the Libs Sure, it was a huge bummer that they cut funding for fixing the streets in our town. We enjoyed going places. But, overall, it’s worth it for the t...

“The water’s been brown for weeks. It’s a drag, but I bet there’s an Ivy-educated lib walking around Bushwick in a really bad mood right now. So it’s totally worth it.” www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/at-...

Feels like it's been months since somebody wrote an essay about discovering John Williams's "long forgotten" novel "Stoner."

Gen Z Wants to Build Credit. It Has Few Options.

“Gen Z borrowers have seen the steepest decline in credit scores of any age group this year.”
So much winning!
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/b...

Shutdown Fight Reopens Debate in G.O.P. Over Health Care

Perfect:
“Mike Johnson replied, ‘We’ve got pages and pages and pages of ideas on how to reform health care.’ He did not elaborate.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/u...

Remember, 13 minutes ago when the White House was warning Americans against "violent, divisive rhetoric"?
Good grief....these people.

A press release arriving today announces, "Critics are no longer driving the conversation."
My first thought was, "How did I just get an email from 1952?"

What’s the Deal With All Those FanDuel Ads?

"Do you ever feel conflicted about being in a business that is associated with addiction?"
"I’m really comfortable with what we do."
(So chilling....)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/b...

Book Club: To understand our divided America, she started with her hometown

When Nanette Vonnegut -- Kurt's daughter -- was about 8, her mother sat her down for The Talk.
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Inside billionaire Peter Thiel’s private lectures: Warnings of ‘the Antichrist’ and U.S. destruction In leaked recordings of private lectures by tech billionaire Peter Thiel he argued that “the Antichrist” is likely to take the form of a critic of technology.

Jesus wept.
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Review | Mitch Albom’s ‘Twice’ is somehow both bonkers and bland Albom’s new novel is somehow both bonkers and bland as it follows a man who can go back in time and redo his past.

Mitch Albom’s new novel, “Twice,” is about a man with the miraculous ability to travel back to any point in his life and make a different choice. A few hours after starting “Twice,” I knew exactly which choice I would make differently.
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...

Republicans to Spend Shutdown Playing Golf at Five-Star Resort Senate Republicans don’t seem too worried about the government shutting down.

Senate Republicans don’t seem too worried about the government shutting down....as they have a glorified resort vacation scheduled just days after the looming deadline. trib.al/j9UA4yF

Ryan Walters resigns as Oklahoma's top public schools official to lead conservative educators' group Oklahoma's top public schools official, Ryan Walters, says he's resigning to lead a conservative educators' group.

Excellent news for Oklahoma’s students:
apnews.com/article/okla...

Thanks — and I concede your point about McEwan’s zigzag motion.

All I want to know this morning is which Cava does White House border czar Tom Homan go to?

Judge Steven Merryday's dismissal of Trump’s lawsuit against the NYT may be my favorite literary review of the year:
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Vaccine Panel Postpones One Vote and Reverses Another Amid Confusion

The Kidneystone Kops....
"This reversed a vote on Thursday to allow coverage, apparently because some members had misunderstood the way it was worded."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/h...

No plans to leave!

Harris book draws blowback from Shapiro, Buttigieg. Here’s what’s in it. The same people criticizing what she said about them in her new book about the 2024 campaign could be among those she faces in 2028 if she runs again.

Here’s what’s in Kamala Harris’s upcoming campaign memoir, “107 Days”: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The Aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s Murder. Plus, the Rise and Fall of CBS. Podcast Episode · On the Media · 09/13/2025 · 50m

Brilliant and brave: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

Review | Dan Brown clearly had fun writing his new book. It’s contagious. Robert Langdon is back in “The Secret of Secrets.” Prepare for 600 hilariously hectic pages of murder, mayhem and New Age murmuring.

Unsurprisingly, Dan Brown's "The Secret of Secrets" debuts at No. 1.
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/0...

Rightwing provocateurs using their faux concern about “violent rhetoric” to encourage more violence is some truly Shakespearean villainy.

Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push Citing concerns about DEI, the U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. “How low can you go?” one advoc...

Citing DEI concerns, the Trump administration has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states.

Their funding had previously been approved through Sept. 2028.

“How low can you go?” one advocate asked. “How can you do this to children?”

5,000 Podcasts. 3,000 Episodes a Week. $1 Cost Per Episode — Behind an AI Start Up’s Plan Former Wondery exec Jeanine Wright is leading a new firm, Inception Point AI, that's betting on flooding the zone with audio content: “I think that people who are still referring to all AI-generated c...

The nightmare will be played in stereo: "Why pay a celebrity podcast host millions when you can create your own using AI?"
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...