Happy Friday, gentle readers. I hope this weekend provides you with time to relax, refresh, and renew. As for me, I will spend the weekend kicking myself in the posterior for having fixed our sprinkler system. Between the sprinklers and the monsoons, our backyard is starting to look like a patch of land from the Triassic Period. I will spend this weekend pushing a lawnmower and avoiding triceratops.
Normally, I reserve this space for snarky comments about some obscure news item, and I shall return to that format next week. After all, in the Biden era, the jokes are plentiful and pretty much write themselves. But I have a pet project that I want to share with you.
I am a book nut. I have shelves of books that I will eventually get around to reading, and my wife has decided that I am not allowed in a Barnes & Noble unsupervised. I have no one to blame but myself. Looking over my stacks, I began to wonder if there were some books that I may need to add to my collection. That got me thinking about what books everyone should read. With that in mind, I decided to ask people in and around the conserv-o-sphere for their suggestions. I asked a wide variety of folks for their suggestions. For those who did not reply, your contributions will be missed. To those who did, you have my thanks. Without further ado, here are…
The Books Everyone Should Read (As Told to Me by Various Famous People)
Andrew Klavan, author, screenwriter, and host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” on The Daily Wire:
Along with the Bible, this is the official list. All others are bogus.
Spencer Klavan, author, podcaster, and editor at The Claremont Institute and American Mind:
Victor Davis Hanson, historian, author, and podcaster:
Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee:
Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA:
Larry Elder, presidential candidate, author, and broadcaster:
Dave Rubin, author and host of The Rubin Report:
Michael Medved, broadcaster, author, and film critic
Peachy Keenan, author of Domestic Extremist: A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War, contributor to American Mind and The Federalist:
And finally,
Lincoln Brown, some random guy who writes for PJ Media:
You didn’t think I wasn’t going to slip my list in there, did you?
Please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments.
Wine Recommendation: Because nothing goes better with a good book than a good wine, except maybe a really good scotch.
So it is summer. During summer, you want something nice, light, and refreshing. A wine that will go great with some grapes and cheese on the back deck or that will allow you to become just a little tiddly after that 5K or bike ride. My wife suggested this wine after having a glass following a bike ride through a local canyon. I give you the 2021 Simonsig Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc.
This wine was a really nice surprise. It is extremely dry. Think Sahara or Mojave. It also tends to the acidic side. As such, it made my list of favorites. And, it is very crisp. I picked up a very nice hint of citrus, specifically lemons. Other reviewers say they can taste melon and a little bit of peach. I didn’t detect peach at first, so I went the extra mile and made the sacrifice to taste it again. And yes, there is some peach, but it does not override the overall taste. This is the perfect summer wine, so if you have spent the day out doing something strenuous, drink plenty of water. But when you get home and get showered, pour yourself a glass of this wine. As I said above, it would go well with some cheese and fruit, but it would match up nicely with seafood, like shrimp or crab. Depending on your tastes, you could even pair it up with sushi. It is normally priced around $11.00 to $14.00. My bottle was on clearance for $12.50. It is well worth keeping around for the warmer months. It’s best when enjoyed within two years of the vintage.
That’s it for me. Have a good weekend. Please pray that a velociraptor does not eat me while I mow my yard, and I’ll see you on Monday.