Tom Piccolo

Next up is The Slip by Lucas Schaefer. Hard to set expectations higher for me than a description that starts: “For readers of Jonathan Franzen and Nathan Hill…” Freedom, Crossroads and Wellness are three of my favorite novels ever. Some lofty aspirations. Excited to see if it lives up. #booksky

Finished 2025 Booker Prize winner,“Flesh.” Calling the writing “spare” is an understatement. Not sure exactly what to take away from it. There’s a line in it that reads: “He has a strange feeling that something very significant has happened, only he isn’t sure what.” That sums it up nicely. #booksky

Martyr! Was one of the best books I read last year. But I’m recommending it because of the extended Simpsons character cameo.

Found four novels on my To-Be-Read list at my local library’s book sale. All for $5 #booksky

Will add this to my list. Kavalier and Clay and Wonder Boys are a couple five-star classics for me. Also enjoyed his debut, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.

Biggest stretch of the game right here. Knicks down 1 in crunch time. POR sends a hard double at Brunson who gets off it leading to an OG corner 3. On D, brunson switches onto Avdija and OG baits him into a bad pass and steal. OG kicks ahead for the Deuce triple. 6 point swing in 30 secs.

Don’t see this a ton from OG - running PnR and creating the lob. Love to see possessions like this to take the load off Brunson.

1. Wellness by Nathan Hill

The best book I read this year! It felt like this had enough meat on the bone to sustain multiple novels. Chock full of themes about love, forgiveness and hope. The perfect intersection of admiring and enjoying a piece of fiction.

2. Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

One of two 5-star novels I read this year. And they have some things in common. Both epic, sweeping ambitious novels that allow you to sink into the and really know the characters. I loved spending time in this one even as characters made painful decisions.

3. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

The first book I read in 2025 & it has stuck with me the whole year. Brilliantly written w/ thoughtful explorations of the heaviest topics out there: life, death, family, ambition. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the ending but appreciated the big swing from Akbar.

4. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
This one is an ecological thriller with mysterious characters at its center similar to her previous novel, Migrations. WDS is an incredible portrait of a place. It (similar to What We Can Know) veers into melodrama but is forgiven because of the writing.

5. What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

I almost DNF’d this one before plowing through & boy I’m glad I did. At first the dystopian story wasn’t grabbing me but there’s a shift midway through this story that is immensely rewarding. Packed with dense themes and ideas about what we can learn from the past.

6. What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown

My brother asked me for a recommendation as he tries to get into reading this year and this was my pick. Has mystery/thriller/ page-turner elements to it. A compelling coming of age story. Weighty but not too too heavy. A fun read with something to say.

7. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

A comfy family saga from another author whose work I have previously enjoyed (Commonwealth). I’d put Patchett in the class with Lily King as far as writing relationships and family dramas. Very well-told story, even if the stakes aren’t sky high.

8. Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Another incredibly-written and harrowing read. I originally picked this one up so I could appreciate the film adaptation but it was so brutal that I never got around to the movie. I was blown away by the ending though. Admired this one a great deal.

9. Heart the Lover by Lily King

I just finished this one yesterday. Beautifully written, poignant, insightful. And so damn sad. This was a prequel + sequel to Writers and Lovers which I enjoyed a great deal. King writes relationships as well as anyone.

10. Pronto by Elmore Leonard

This was my second Leonard novel after reading Get Shorty last year. This guy can write crime fiction (like saying LeBron can play basketball). No fat on these stories. Lean, gripping & cool. Read this one on vacation on a lake with a beer in my hand. Perfect setting.

The only resolution I actually stuck to in 2025 was to read more. I finished 16 books (all novels) and DNF’d two after legitimate tries (~100+ pages read). Here’s a countdown of my favorite 10 reads of the year ending with the best book I read in 2025.

What an impressive outing from Diawara. Loved this drive and kick from him, taking a stalled possession and creating something out of nothing, resulting in the hockey assist.

Mitchell Robinson and Steven Adams racing for offensive rebound records is McGwire-Sosa for the nerds.

Just great ball movement in transition from the Knicks, everyone for Miami gets sucked into the paint.

Stat I was surprised to see: The Knicks give up the FEWEST FGAs at the rim per game in the league per @nba.com tracking stats. Going to continue to monitor that, especially as Mitch plays more.

He used to be one of the most fun guys to watch. Really a shame if that’s the kind of performance he’s putting on consistently.

Spectacular sequence from Bridges who hustles back to disrupt the MEM fast break before sprinting the length of the floor for the easy lay-up. Morant's lack of interest in this game continues as he gets toasted by Mikal here.

Here he gets the switch and attacks immediately drawing the foul. Nice creativity from the offense and good decisions from KAT.

Loving these KAT inverted pick-and-rolls with deuce as the screener. This time he simply steps back and drains the three. (1/2)

The play before they used the same strategy on this DHO to Brunson leading to the Deuce triple. Brunson making the right play.

Grizzlies throwing soft double teams at Brunson off pick-and-rolls doesn't seem like the best option. Here he hits Hart on the pocket pass resulting in an OG dunk

Interesting stat around NYK's shot clock mgmt. However, it does feel like NYK is making better use of time vs. last season. They are making more passes per game (rank 5th in NBA this season vs. 18th last year), moving faster on OFF (13th in OFF speed vs. 27th) & driving more (6th in drives vs. 16th)

The story of these last two games has been Mitch's game-changing activity. This play counted in the box score as an OReb for OG, but we know who deserves the credit.