1. Mikhail Fishman, The Successor: Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Putin, and the Decline of Modern Russia.  One of the best books to read on how Russia moved from “had some democratic elements in place” to autocracy, on a step-by-step basis.  The story is told using the career of Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2014, as a lens.  The author has biases of his own, but they do not detract from what is valuable here.

2. Siri Hustvedt. Ghost Stories: A Memoir.  About her history with her now-deceased husband Paul Auster, and how she dealt with his death.  Moving and insightful, recommended.

3. Thomas Mann, Doctor Faustus, a new translation by Ritchie Robertson.  An imperfect, problematic work, too caught up with its own Germanness, and lacking dramatic tension.  Still, an important work and this new translation is much better than the old one.

Elsewhere, here is Beeple on AI and Monet, for the terminally online only.