An art-history political noir set on the eve of the Spanish Civil War, the funniest Le Carré adaptation, and more

Roundup 09/14/2025

Greetings from Read Max temporary HQ in beautiful Ojai, Cali., where the entire Read Max executive team is celebrating the nuptials of an important client, and welcome to our weekly roundup column, in which I pick out some worthwhile and often overlooked books, articles, movies, and music to recommend to paying subscribers. For this week’s round-up, I’ve got:

• A political noir set in 1930s Madrid that lands somewhere between Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh;

• essays, columns, newsletters, and articles on the problems with abundance’s big tent, A.I. snake oil as a normal technology, and the parapolitical Scooby Doo;

• a smart, sleazy, and surprisingly funny Le Carré adaptation;

• four new albums I love.

If any of that sounds interesting--and if you want to support Read Max in its continuing mission of explaining the future to relatively normal people--please subscribe below. Subscribers get access to these weekly emails and to the comprehensive Read Max Master Lists of Good Movies to Watch and Good Books to Read--as well as preferred pricing on merchandise like the Read Max “EMAIL SUPPLY” caps. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you.

I love to hear from readers who want to recommend a cool book or movie (or whatever!) to me, or from readers who are looking for specific kinds of recommendations. Just leave a comment or drop me a line at maxread@gmail.com.

Finally, please note that I may receive a small commission if you purchase books via links in this email.

Now, the roundup: