The latest installment in 2023's Reading Gauntlet includes three histories, one book on geological evidences for Noah's Flood 4400 years ago, and two pieces of fiction. Of the three histories, my favorite was Needham's 2000 Years of Christ's Power: The Middle Ages. Bauer's history of the medieval world was a close runner-up, and though Justinian's Flea was good, it was poorly marketed (most of the book was about the reign of Justinian the Great rather than on the bubonic plague that rattled the Byzantine Empire during his reign). Of the two pieces of fiction, my favorite (no surprise) was Stephen King's Later. I'm always reminded how much I enjoy reading King, and I've added some more of his books to my reading challenge for the year.
