The Land and Its People by David Sedaris

The Land and Its People by David Sedaris is a fun book of essays by the humor writer.

His latest work follows in the tradition of previous efforts like Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays on Ice, and Happy-Go-Lucky, with Sedaris providing short chapters on his life, with the veracity of the stories being as he says "true enough."

In The Land and Its People, topics include his sister Amy Sedaris, him looking to replace the household work done by Hugh for after his hip-replacement surgery, and his efforts to win at the gamified Duolingo language learning app. 

Big Fan by Michael Schur and Joe Posnanski

Big Fan by Michael Schur and Joe Posnanski is a fun work of nonfiction subtitled Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love. Things that stood out in the book...

Mike's thesis (which Joe latched onto) about sports fandom: 1. Life is boring, and sports provide entertainment. 2. Life is chaotic, and sports provide order. 3. Life is lonely, and sports provide community.

Joe at the 2000 Australia Olympics match where Rulon Gardner beat Aleksandr Karelin in Greco-Roman wrestling, and Joe after lived a sportswriter's dream hearing stories from Gardner's mom and dad.

TV writer Megan Amram and how her phoneme-color synesthesia causes her to see in her head letters, numbers, and words with different colors, helping make her incredibly quick at things like crossword puzzles and other mental gymnastics.

Liverpool soccer fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" at a match.

MLB reporter Tim Kirkjian: "anytime you go to a baseball game, you might see something you've never seen."

The semifinal of men's basketball at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where Steph Curry torched Serbia. 

Joe and Mike (and Mike's kids) hugging Mookie Betts, who they refer to as the "Greatest Living American."