Don Bott (Author of 40 Years, 40 Stories)

Don Bott rated a book it was amazing What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I had never before read an Ian McEwan novel. Shame on me. His writing style alone — the smooth prose, the witty and sometimes snarky narrative voice — would likely make a novel worth a five-star rating. But add a rich and often surprising plot and ma ...more
Jan 03, 2026 08:21PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — What We Can Know by Ian McEwan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Don Bott rated a book really liked it Vanished (Callahan & McLane, #1) by Kendra Elliot (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sometimes on the cold, listless first days of the new year you want a simple page-turner. Not much to think about and characters to care about, even if they could be far more complex and more realistic. “Vanished” fulfilled that simple wish. Despite a ...more
Jan 03, 2026 04:23PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Vanished by Kendra Elliot. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Vanished by Kendra Elliot <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Don Bott and 2 other people liked Michelle Balmeo's review of The Correspondent: "Oh my goodness, what a disarmingly lovable, flawed but endearing narrator. I had grown tired of the contemporary multi-voice novel, but this novel in correspondence was surprisingly fresh and delightful. I intentionally chose this particular book to " Read more of this review »
Jan 03, 2026 07:10AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Correspondent by Virginia Evans <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jan 02, 2026 06:48PM · like
Don Bott rated a book it was amazing The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Add me to the list of believers … This is one fantastic book by a promising writer. The last time I read epistolary novels was when I was a literature major more than four decades ago. The device of a book made up of letters feels quaint and dated — a ...more
Jan 02, 2026 06:33PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Correspondent by Virginia Evans <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Don Bott rated a book liked it Moderation by Elaine Castillo	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I picked this book because of a flattering NY Times review, though I knew I was taking a risk. The main character and most of the surrounding characters are 20- and 30-somethings from the tech industry: hard-working, intelligent, cynical, purposeless ...more
Dec 29, 2025 03:40PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Moderation by Elaine Castillo. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Moderation by Elaine Castillo <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Don Bott rated a book it was amazing Wellness by Nathan Hill	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Let’s not bury the lead: This is a fantastic book by an immensely talented author. Although there are many fascinating characters in this book, from past and present, the main two are Jack and Elizabeth, whose initial attractions to one another we enc ...more
Dec 26, 2025 09:11AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Wellness by Nathan Hill. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Wellness by Nathan Hill <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Don Bott rated a book it was amazing Heart the Lover by Lily King (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
If you’re looking for something to read in a day, something with rich and complex characters and an easy-to-follow storyline, you should seek out “Heart the Lover.” Most of the novel is a reflection of the narrator’s days as a college student. She fa ...more
Nov 28, 2025 04:42PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Heart the Lover by Lily King. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Heart the Lover by Lily King <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Don Bott rated a book it was amazing What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I had never before read an Ian McEwan novel. Shame on me. His writing style alone — the smooth prose, the witty and sometimes snarky narrative voice — would likely make a novel worth a five-star rating. But add a rich and often surprising plot and ma ...more
Nov 25, 2025 10:29AM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — What We Can Know by Ian McEwan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Don Bott voted for My Friends as Readers' Favorite Fiction in the Final Round of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards. Cast Your Vote
Nov 25, 2025 10:27AM · like

Don Bott rated a book it was amazing

What We Can Know
by Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author)

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I had never before read an Ian McEwan novel. Shame on me. His writing style alone — the smooth prose, the witty and sometimes snarky narrative voice — would likely make a novel worth a five-star rating. But add a rich and often surprising plot and ma I had never before read an Ian McEwan novel. Shame on me. His writing style alone — the smooth prose, the witty and sometimes snarky narrative voice — would likely make a novel worth a five-star rating. But add a rich and often surprising plot and maddeningly complex characters, and this is one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Summarizing it is a challenge. The story, in part, takes place 100 years from now, in what was once England but is now a series of islands, having survived wars and climate disasters. And yet this is not science fiction. The main character in this period is Tom Metcalfe, who is a historian, studying the early decades of the 21st century.

In particular, Tom is trying to find a poem known as a “corona,” 15 sonnets woven together, where the last line of one becomes the first line of the next. Apparently, the famous poet Francis Blundy composed this for his wife, Vivien, and recited it to her on the occasion of her birthday party in 2014, a party that came to be known as “the Second Immortals Dinner.”

Even as I write this, I suspect the plot does not sound very interesting to those reading it. And yet, the lifelong quest to discover this poem, which may or may not still exist, sets Tom into an obsession that explores matters of culture, epistemology, aesthetics and even politics. Tom worships a world that he has never been able to inhabit, a world he distorts to his own pleasure. Even his partner Rose suspects that he is more in love with the idea of Vivien, long since dead than he is with her, and she is standing in front of him.

The joy and also the frustration of this book involves the characters of Francis and Vivien and, to a lesser extent, the friends who surround them. It is easy to draw the same conclusions as Tom that Vivien is a saintly, sacrificial figure beaten down by her husband. But ultimately we learn more about their lives and their very complex relationship.

Because of the narrative perspectives McEwan allows us to experience, we are able to “know” a great deal about this poem, the man who wrote it and the woman who received it as a gift. But we learn from this book that mostly we know far less than we think, mostly we misinterpret and wander aimlessly.

This will not be the last book of his that I read. ...more

Don Bott rated a book really liked it

Vanished (Callahan & McLane, #1)
by Kendra Elliot (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes on the cold, listless first days of the new year you want a simple page-turner. Not much to think about and characters to care about, even if they could be far more complex and more realistic. “Vanished” fulfilled that simple wish.

Despite a ...more

Don Bott and 2 other people liked Michelle Balmeo's review of The Correspondent:

"Oh my goodness, what a disarmingly lovable, flawed but endearing narrator. I had grown tired of the contemporary multi-voice novel, but this novel in correspondence was surprisingly fresh and delightful. I intentionally chose this particular book to " Read more of this review »

Don Bott rated a book it was amazing

The Correspondent
by Virginia Evans (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Add me to the list of believers … This is one fantastic book by a promising writer.

The last time I read epistolary novels was when I was a literature major more than four decades ago. The device of a book made up of letters feels quaint and dated — a ...more

Don Bott rated a book liked it

Moderation
by Elaine Castillo

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I picked this book because of a flattering NY Times review, though I knew I was taking a risk. The main character and most of the surrounding characters are 20- and 30-somethings from the tech industry: hard-working, intelligent, cynical, purposeless I picked this book because of a flattering NY Times review, though I knew I was taking a risk. The main character and most of the surrounding characters are 20- and 30-somethings from the tech industry: hard-working, intelligent, cynical, purposeless. That is not my world nor would I ever want it to be. I would rather make less money, be less stressed and bring a sense of purpose and optimism to my world every day.

But this isn’t just a Silicon Valley book (where everything takes place in Vegas). Girlie Delmundo (not her real name) is a first-generation American with close ties to her vast extended Filipina family. As such, we watch her moan about her many obligations to cousins and aunties while always putting these relatives first on the priority list. Though she, at first, is not making much money as a platform moderator, she is constantly paying down the debts of family members. There isn’t much in her life that she can call her own, given how indebted to others she feels. All of which makes her somewhat heroic — but also boring.

Then suddenly, shortly after her company buys out a major virtual reality company, she is promoted several rungs up the ladder. She is finally full-time, very well compensated and ready to enjoy benefits and a pension. The problem: She is immediately fascinated — and soon smitten — by the new boss, William Cheung, who lands suddenly from London.

Given the three story strands — stressful tech world machinations, cultural obligations and romantic intimations — it is inevitable that the narrative jumps around and the tone never quite settles. And honestly, Girlie seems like a very different person depending on the world. Her character is richly drawn, just not always consistent.

The narrative voice is strong as it captures Girlie’s complex and often troubled world. The point of view is third-person, but the spotlight never leaves Girlie. Of the many secondary characters, two are important: William and Girlie’s cousin Maribel. But, despite the richness of Girlie’s portrayal, Maribel comes off as superficial and almost silly, and William is somewhere between wooden and stammering.

For most of the book I was hovering between a 3 and 4 rating, but two factors locked in the lower number. One, the ending feels rushed and unbelievable, given everything that precedes it. I actually like the ending; I just wish I could believe it. Two, the crazed abundance of dashes, especially in dialogue, made the reading difficult. Why can’t anyone talk normally? What follows is just one of literally dozens of possible examples of dialogue I could have chosen to illustrate the annoying staccato:

“Our parents and their generation weren’t exactly—receptive to the idea of mental illness. My own mother—” He stopped short. “Well. She’s—had some form of—what you’d call clinical depression for— since I can remember.”

Three full sentences. Five dashes. And this — continues throughout the book in — ways that — make no sense — but just annoy. ...more

Don Bott rated a book it was amazing

Wellness
by Nathan Hill

Rate this book

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Let’s not bury the lead: This is a fantastic book by an immensely talented author.

Although there are many fascinating characters in this book, from past and present, the main two are Jack and Elizabeth, whose initial attractions to one another we enc ...more

Don Bott rated a book it was amazing

Heart the Lover
by Lily King (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

If you’re looking for something to read in a day, something with rich and complex characters and an easy-to-follow storyline, you should seek out “Heart the Lover.”

Most of the novel is a reflection of the narrator’s days as a college student. She fa ...more

Don Bott rated a book it was amazing

What We Can Know
by Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I had never before read an Ian McEwan novel. Shame on me. His writing style alone — the smooth prose, the witty and sometimes snarky narrative voice — would likely make a novel worth a five-star rating. But add a rich and often surprising plot and ma I had never before read an Ian McEwan novel. Shame on me. His writing style alone — the smooth prose, the witty and sometimes snarky narrative voice — would likely make a novel worth a five-star rating. But add a rich and often surprising plot and maddeningly complex characters, and this is one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Summarizing it is a challenge. The story, in part, takes place 100 years from now, in what was once England but is now a series of islands, having survived wars and climate disasters. And yet this is not science fiction. The main character in this period is Tom Metcalfe, who is a historian, studying the early decades of the 21st century.

In particular, Tom is trying to find a poem known as a “corona,” 15 sonnets woven together, where the last line of one becomes the first line of the next. Apparently, the famous poet Francis Blundy composed this for his wife, Vivien, and recited it to her on the occasion of her birthday party in 2014, a party that came to be known as “the Second Immortals Dinner.”

Even as I write this, I suspect the plot does not sound very interesting to those reading it. And yet, the lifelong quest to discover this poem, which may or may not still exist, sets Tom into an obsession that explores matters of culture, epistemology, aesthetics and even politics. Tom worships a world that he has never been able to inhabit, a world he distorts to his own pleasure. Even his partner Rose suspects that he is more in love with the idea of Vivien, long since dead than he is with her, and she is standing in front of him.

The joy and also the frustration of this book involves the characters of Francis and Vivien and, to a lesser extent, the friends who surround them. It is easy to draw the same conclusions as Tom that Vivien is a saintly, sacrificial figure beaten down by her husband. But ultimately we learn more about their lives and their very complex relationship.

Because of the narrative perspectives McEwan allows us to experience, we are able to “know” a great deal about this poem, the man who wrote it and the woman who received it as a gift. But we learn from this book that mostly we know far less than we think, mostly we misinterpret and wander aimlessly.

This will not be the last book of his that I read. ...more

Don Bott voted for My Friends as Readers' Favorite Fiction in the Final Round of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards.

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	40 Years, 40 Stories: Lessons for Educators in their First or Final Year of Anytime in Between it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	being Lehigh: an essay in photographs by H. Heist, Don Bott (Goodreads Author), Marvin Simmons 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1997 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Don’s Year In Books

Don Bott’s Followers (3)

Don’s Bookshelves

Don’s Friends (124)

2026 Reading Challenge

Don Bott

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Combine EditionsDon Bott’s books

rssDon’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

See a Problem?

Preview — Vanished by Kendra Elliot

See a Problem?

Preview — The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

See a Problem?

Preview — The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

See a Problem?

Preview — Moderation by Elaine Castillo

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Preview — Wellness by Nathan Hill

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Preview — What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

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