Saturday Dad Reads Week of June 21

Cotton Malone is an American ex-patriot living in Copenhagen, Denmark trying to create a new life for himself as a antique bookseller. However, he can’t seem to shake the vestiges of his past career as a Justice Department lawyer. Although, Cotton wasn’t just any run of the mill lawyer billing his hours. He was a part of the Justice Department’s Magellan Billet, a highly secretive group whose objective is to handle our nation’s most sensitive intelligence and diplomatic situations.

In The Alexandria Link, Malone’s life of relative peace is shattered when his apartment and shop are firebombed, and his ex-wife frantically seeks his help to rescue their son who has been kidnapped. His son’s kidnappers, hoping to lure in Malone, want his connection to the “Alexandria Link,” an individual who may possess information on how to locate the ancient and thought to be destroyed Library of Alexandria. If found, information on the ancient Middle East thought to be contained in the library, could create a cataclysmic shift in global geopolitics. From Copenhagen, to England, then Portugal and finally the Sinai Peninsula, Cotton Malone will seek out and utilize the Alexandria Link to prevent a potential diplomatic catastrophe.

Steve Berry is a former lawyer and elected legal official so it makes sense that his main protagonist, Cotton Malone, has a legal background as well. Among the other 23 titles that he has written, the Cotton Malone series stands out the most in Steve Berry’s bibliography. The series has become so popular, driving sales of all of Berry’s books that per his website, one of his books is purchased every 30 seconds. Additionally, a 2010 NPR survey cited the first Cotton Malone novel, The Templar Legacy, as on of its “100 Best Thrillers.”

Not only has Steve Berry been a prolific writer for the past few decades, he and his spouse have also established the "History Matters” foundation, an organization that seeks to assist in preserving historical sites and artifacts. Berry’s work has also afforded him to be one of the founding members of the International Thriller Writers association.

His next book, a standalone novel titled, The List, will be released next month (July 2025).

You can find Steve Berry at his website linked here.

After conquering, much of the known world, Alexander the Great decided to shift his focus to a new frontier, collecting and housing all of the world’s knowledge under one roof. Although he would not live to see this dream come to fruition, those who ruled after Alexander, namely Ptolemy I and Ptolemy III, saw to it that the Library of Alexandria was established and built, ultimately becoming a destination for leading scholars of the ancient world.

The library grew to hold immense numbers of scrolls containing untold amounts of knowledge. Ptolemy III was particularly invested in the library’s growth as he made an edict that not only sent book hunters throughout the Mediterranean, but he required that any ship that called at the port of Alexandria hand over all books that were onboard so that they may be copied for the library’s use.

According to legend, the library burned on multiple occasions, but just as the historical record doesn’t give us any insight as to what the library’s architectural design looked like, accounts are rather unsure as to what actually became of the library and its storehouse of the world’s knowledge. Past scholarship has posited that the library was lost to fire during one of the many sieges of Alexandria in ancient times and this could, in fact, be partially true. However, more modern scholarship maintains that given that the city changed hands so many times over the centuries, the knowledge that was contained in the library was filtered and most likely destroyed because of the likelihood of the presence of information that could pose a threat to the ruling power (much like as what happens in the plot of The Alexandria Link).

Despite what my wife may sometimes think, I enjoy spending time with my family. However, 4 kids ranging in age from 17 to 6 is a lot. It’s a lot of noise, activity, and emotions. Constantly. Throw a massive Great Dane into the mix and things at our house are nearly always close to chaos.

When my wife and kids go to Florida for a week (this week) at the beach with other family, I’m disappointed. I enjoy the beach. I enjoy the drive. I’ll miss time with my family. However, someone has to stay with the dog because he’s just too big and dumb to take to the kennel.

The side benefit of this is that I have the chance to enjoy some relative quiet for a few days and do all of those little home projects I’ve been eyeing. Additionally, I also get to do all of the following, most of which are not conducive to having children around:

1. Watch all of the inappropriate comedies I’ve yet to see, namely the new season of Shane Gillis’s Tires and Tom Segura’s Bad Thoughts.

2. Watch one or more of my all time favorite, yet incredibly violent movies like Gangs of New York or Boondock Saints.

3. Eat pizza, cheesesteaks, hoagies, and grilled meat as often as I want.

4. Go “mantiquing.” Yes, that’s correct. I’m hitting up a flea market to look for books, old video games, mugs, tools, and sports memorabilia.

5. Take Penn State to the National Championship in College Football 2025 on the old Playstation.

6. Sit on my deck with a stack of books and a cooler full of beer for an entire Sunday afternoon.

Now, obviously getting things done around the house and yard is the priority, but anything on that list above sounds like a damn good incentive to cut the grass and pull weeds.

Given that list, you might be tempted to wonder: “Does this dude really enjoy his family?”

The answer is yes, an overwhelming yes. By Monday morning, the novelty will have worn off and I’ll miss everyone. The house will be too quiet and I’ll long for a little bit of the chaos. But for right now, the dad abides alone.