As we settle into January 2026, there's a collective yearning to reclaim the slow, carefree summer month that often slips away amid the relentless news cycle. For veteran journalist John Hanscombe, the traditional antidote is simple: a good book, a comfortable deck, and a cool drink in hand.
Diving into Fiction and Political Reality
Hanscombe's summer reading marathon began in early December with a classic page-turner. He kicked off with John Grisham's latest legal thriller, "The Widow." The novel follows a small-town lawyer who sees a golden opportunity when an elderly client with a vast fortune names him in her will, only to find himself the prime suspect in her murder. Hanscombe notes Grisham's signature skill for early hooks and clever misdirection.
From fiction, he turned to a political reality that was, at times, stranger than fiction. Niki Savva's "Earthquake" provides a searing insider's account of the Liberal Party's devastating defeat in the May 2025 federal election. While the first half compiles Savva's columns, Hanscombe found the second half—which details the disastrous campaign and its bitter aftermath—to be utterly compelling.
Historical Adventure and Espionage Legacy
A self-confessed aviation and history enthusiast, Hanscombe was drawn to Midge Gillies' "Atlantic Furies." The book chronicles the daring women who raced to become the first to fly across the Atlantic a century ago, battling immense technical challenges and pervasive social prejudice that believed women had no place in a cockpit.
No summer is complete for Hanscombe without a spy novel, and he found a worthy successor in a famous literary lineage. "Karla's Choice" by Nick Harkaway, son of the late John le Carré, brilliantly resurrects the iconic spymaster George Smiley. Hanscombe praises Harkaway for capturing his father's moral complexity and analogue tradecraft, hoping it signals more to come.
A Harrowing Memoir of Survival
Finally, Hanscombe is working his way through a profoundly confronting memoir: "Nobody's Girl" by the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre. This account by a survivor of the Epstein-Maxwell sex trafficking ring details her traumatic childhood and the manipulation that led her into their orbit. It stands, Hanscombe reflects, as a stark warning about the impunity of the powerful and a testament to immense courage.
The Power of the Page
For Hanscombe, this journey through different worlds and realities has helped restore a precious piece of the January spirit. In a world of overwhelming headlines, he argues that books remain a vital sanctuary, offering quiet friendship, wise counsel, and patient teaching. He invites readers to share their own summer reading adventures, asking what books have captivated them and if any are worth revisiting time and again.
The article also includes a selection of reader comments responding to other major news events, including the dramatic capture of the Venezuelan president and its geopolitical ramifications, underscoring the very noise from which a good book can provide a much-needed respite.
