Ron Charles

All in the Family Complex A new novel from National Book Award finalist Karan Mahajan traps generations inside a Delhi compound where resentment and ambition thrive.

Karan Mahajan’s new novel *The Complex* unfolds like an endless family gathering — an Indian version of Hotel California: You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave.

My review (with a short video from Mahajan):
roncharles.substack.com/p/all-in-the...

Now Congress Is Coming for the Books A new bill would punish schools that let students read about gender identity or "lascivious dancing"

A new bill in Congress would punish schools for letting students read about gender identity — or even “lascivious dancing.”

Somewhere, Kevin Bacon is very nervous.

roncharles.substack.com/p/now-congre...

Orwellian snitch line shuts down. Will guv end assault on teachers? • Virginia Mercury It’s stupefying to penalize educators by having them face undue scrutiny on the one hand and then begging them to flock to Virginia on the other.

Something like former Gov. Glenn Youngkin's disastrous snitch line: virginiamercury.com/2022/11/10/o...

The ban works indirectly with cutting funding to offending schools.

I'm always up for some "Music Man"!

Now Congress Is Coming for the Books A new bill would punish schools that let students read about gender identity or "lascivious dancing"

A new bill in Congress would punish schools for letting students read about gender identity — and “lascivious dancing.”
Book bans aren’t fading. They’re evolving.
Today’s newsletter: roncharles.substack.com/p/now-congre...

War Is Hell for Bonds—Especially Now Plus, markets don’t like K-pop.

Heartbreaking.
www.wsj.com/finance/inve...

M.L. Stedman Is Back — With Another Impossible Dilemma In “A Far-Flung Life,” the author of “The Light Between Oceans” spins a wrenching tale of love tested by secrecy.

M.L. Stedman’s new novel feels like a Greek tragedy transplanted to the Australian outback.

My review of “A Far-Flung Life.”

roncharles.substack.com/p/ml-stedman...

@rjhartigan.bsky.social is going to clear up what happened to Amelia Earhart once and for all ;) Join us for a conversation at People's Book on Mon. 3/2 @7pm about her new book, Lost. She'll be in conversation with @roncharles.bsky.social - I promise, we'll all learn something!

Weird to hear Republicans screaming about socialism as they go about creating a state-controlled economy….

The Collapse of Presidential Rhetoric From Lincoln’s eloquence to Trump’s 108-minute harangue

From Lincoln’s eloquence to Trump’s 108-minute harangue

open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

Do I Still Matter? Two new books — and a lot of free time — got me thinking about how we yearn to matter.

@roncharles.bsky.social calls Heather L. Reid and Phillip Mitsis's translation of Lucian "so immediate you can feel the athletes flinging sweat into your eyes." Read the full How to Compete review here:

In Tayari Jones’s ‘Kin,’ Friendship Persists as Lives Diverge The author of ‘An American Marriage’ returns with a novel about two girlhood friends who set off in different directions.

The author of ‘An American Marriage’ returns with a novel about two girlhood friends who set off in different directions.
roncharles.substack.com/p/in-tayari-...

Do I Still Matter? Two new books — and a lot of free time — got me thinking about how we yearn to matter.

Producing yesterday’s newsletter was delightful chaos. When I sat down to copy-edit, the power went out. I jumped in the car & rode w Dawn to school, where she set me up in the English office. Then we saw JASON REYNOLDS in the school auditorium!
open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

Thanks, David.

Comedy in a Country on Fire In ‘Rebel English Academy,’ Mohammed Hanif scorches state terror from the inside.

Mohammed Hanif's new novel drops readers into a dazzling bazaar of history, tragedy, and farce.
open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

Love, Actually (and Scientifically, and Otherwise) From the Kinsey Institute to “Wuthering Heights” to hand-painted Valentines

Roses are red, violets are blue.
A Valentine’s Substack, written for you.
open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

I’ve Been Laid Off. I’m Not Done. After 20 years at The Washington Post, I’m suddenly on my own — and still writing about books.

After 20 years, I've been laid off at The Washington Post.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security has weaponized administrative subpoenas to attack free speech, according to privacy and civil rights groups.

Terrifying story about how the Trump administration is ramping up efforts to spy on and intimidate anyone who questions its actions:
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Now I can buy my 15th house!

“If we get one person a little bit wrong” = Shooting a mother in the head and calling her a “fucking bitch.”
So unfair how the media overreacts….

“All the hoopla” = Killing two Americans.

I still miss you in The Post!

Live updates: Man fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis believed to be U.S. citizen Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the incident, and Gov. Tim Walz provided few details.

Good Lord…..
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R), the highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress, said,” We are grateful no Border Patrol officers were harmed.”
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

Opinion | Lawfare for Dummies, Monetary Edition DOJ’s criminal subpoena to Fed Chair Jerome Powell is a self-defeating fiasco.

"In the annals of political lawfare there’s dumb, and then there’s the criminal subpoena federal prosecutors delivered Friday to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell."
www.wsj.com/opinion/jero...

So hard to decide... Should I work with Copilot for eight minutes to craft an inane reply that sounds like it came from the Borg Queen's middle school son or just write the reply myself?

This week, JD Vance lost the 2028 Republican primary for president. No one comes back from shocking the nation’s conscience this deeply.

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Pay Falls Slightly to $74.3 Million in 2025 The executive's future at the company has been in question in recent months amid retirement rumors.

These days, we’re all suffering.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

Jan. 6, 2021: A visual archive of the Capitol attack NPR’s Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.

Striking one of his most Orwellian and anti-American poses, Trump called the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol "a day of love."
NPR is keeping the history and the truth alive.
apps.npr.org/jan-6-archive/

"Households in the bottom 10% income bracket are expected to see $2,160 less annually as a result of those policies, or about 5.6% of their average income, starting in 2026. The top 10% is set to see a net benefit of $9,670."