may: 13, 14, 15 & 16

water moon, by samantha sotto yambao (i read this for my adult battle of the books competition and it's not one i would have picked up otherwise.  the world was magical and the author really asked you to accept that paper cranes were time or that a market could exist in the clouds.  i grew to understand the world, but this isn't a book i was super comfortable with or fell in love with.)

paper girl, by beth macy (i listened to this audiobook over several months.  i've heard this book described as a liberal version of hillbilly elegy, as the author goes back to her homework in ohio and see how it has changed since industry left and the local newspaper shut down.  she does an effective job of combining statistics and current events with the lived experiences of people in this small town, and by extension many small towns.  she also reflects on trump's election and modern day politics and the impact of those on driving people apart.  it was a depressing read at times with twinges of hope, and i'm glad i read it.)

how to solve your own murder, by kristen perrin (another battle of the books pick.  a charming little cozy murder mystery - not my typical genre, but i was happy to dabble it for the competition.)

murderland, by caroline fraser (i loved this nonfiction book, though the subject matter is dark - the author's premise is that iron smelting and leaded gasoline and other environmental factors played a role in the pacific northwest having a disproportionate number of serial killers in the 1970s and 80s.  the author grew up in the area and takes us through her own personal history alongside the history of ted bundy and others.  it was fascinating and she's an incredible writer.  i loved her previous book, a biography of laura ingalls wilder, and now i think i would read anything she's written.  highly recommend this, if you can handle some horrible murder details.)

april: 9, 10, 11 & 12

war and peace, by leo tolstoy (arron and i loved this book, which we read from late november to early april, about 75 pages a week.  we had weekly book club talks over dinner.  i read a short companion guide along the way.  this book is both pretentious (did we read it because we felt like educated people have read this book?  yes we did) and an actually great book (the character development was brilliant and the observations about humanity were spot on).  if you have a 1,400 page book in you, i would like to recommend this one.)

portrait of a thief, by grace d. li (i read this for the adult battle of the books competition i've joined, and it was fine and relatively enjoyable but not worth recommending to others.)

when women were dragons, by kelly barnhill (veronica recommended this book to me and i really enjoyed it - a world in which women in the 1950s spontaneously turn into dragons instead of accede to patriarchal demands, and then the implications for those they leave behind.  really intriguing premise and had enough plot to keep it going.  i'd recommend this!)

dungeon crawler carl, by matt dinniman (well, now i'm obsessed.  i alternated between listening (in the car and on walks) and reading (in bed) and then as soon as i finished i forced arron to listen to it and i listened to it all the way through again.  i love carl and princess donut.  i loved the audiobook narrator.  i didn't think i would enjoy a litrpg book but it turns out i really did.  read this book!)

march: 5, 6, 7 & 8

not my father's son, by alan cumming (i listened to the audiobook and it turns out i read it before!  thanks, blog for reminding me of that when i got halfway through and was like I HAVE DEFINITELY READ THIS BEFORE HOW ELSE COULD I KNOW WHERE THIS WAS GOING.  loved it - great memoir - would highly recommend if you have any interest in alan cumming.  he reads the audiobook, which is excellent!)

imbeciles: the supreme court, american eugenics, and the sterilization of carrie buck, by adam cohen (this was not a light read but was an important one and i was glad to dive into this (really problematic) era of american history.  i definitely recommend this to people who like reading nonfiction.)

isola, by allegra goodman (i read this because we were considering it for a summer reading book for students; we ultimately decided not to pick it but i am glad i read it - historical fiction that was pretty interesting and compelling.  well written.  i'd recommend!)

the road to tender hearts, by annie hartnett (i looooooved this book and have added the other books by this author to my list.  funny, touching, compelling - i really wanted to know how the storyline was going to play out.  my version of an excellent beach read that you could read in a weekend!)

february: 3 & 4

atmosphere, by taylor jenkins reid (i listened to this audiobook and really enjoyed it.  love story around a NASA mission...with enough of a twist to keep it interesting.  taylor jenkins reid can tell a compelling story!  would recommend.)

the wilderness, by angela flournoy (the author is coming to pittsburgh next week and i'm going to see her speak - that was the impetus for reading this book.  it follows four friends through chapters narrated by all four women - relationships (that you see from multiple perspectives), life changes, reflections on society.  i liked this book, though four narrators and a non-linear storyline did make it a bit hard to follow.  i'll be interested to hear more from this author!)

january: 1 & 2

when will there be good news?, by kate atkinson (this is the third book in the jackson brodie series and i enjoyed it.  mystery without being formulaic and with a depth of characters you don't always find.  i'll be continuing with the series!)

before i forget, by tory henwood hoen (this was a book of the month club pick and i liked it more than i thought i might.  it's about going home again, our relationships with our parents, and how the past impacts our present.  i won't be running out to recommend it to anyone, but i'm glad i read it.)

2025 in books

this year i read 42 books, which is fewer than last year but in line with the last five or so years of reading.  9 of those books meet some sort of diversity standard (as in, the main character or author is not white) - not a terribly impressive number and one i hope to change for next year.  and 23 of those books (more than half) were from the library. 

a goal of mine in 2026 is to read more books that i own - ones i want to read but keep putting on the back burner as something new and exciting comes out.  let 2026 be the year that i whittle down my stash!

my favorite books of 2025:

nonfiction:

• eve, by cat bohannon
• prairie fires: the american dreams of laura ingalls wilder, by caroline fraser
• travels with charley in search of america, by john steinbeck
• everything is tuberculosis, by john green

fiction:

• lonesome dove, by larry mcmurtry
• wild dark shore, by charlotte mcconaghy
• the slip, by lucas schaefer

december: 42

i only read one book in december...which isn't entirely true, because i read 400 pages of war and peace as well, but i am still 1,000 pages away from finishing that.  i only *finished* one book in december:

the slip, by lucas schaefer (this is a book by a college classmate of mine and it was so fucking good.  how is this a debut novel?  how do i know someone who wrote a book this good?  there's a non-typical sex scene but otherwise i recommend this to everyone, with the caveat that there are a lot of characters to keep straight.  but there are so interesting and the mystery is so good and i read the last 75 pages on super speed claire mode so i could find out what happened.  loved it!)

november: 39, 40 & 41

black woods blue sky, by eowyn ivey (this was an odd book, creepy and mysterious, that i think i really enjoyed.  great to read in the winter, as it's set in alaska...if you're up for a little mysticism, i would highly recommend this!  but i don't think i can give it a wholehearted recommendation for everyone.)

little town on the prairie, by laura ingalls wilder (book 7 of 9!  i don't think i'd ever read this one...the blackface scene, which i knew was coming, was interesting to encounter.  as with all the little house books, we take the bad alongside the nostalgia...)

lightbreakers, by aja gabel (this was a book of the month club pick that i don't imagine i would have picked up without that recommendation.  a main character had a child die at age 3...he joins a time travel experimental project with the promise that he can go back and relive moments with his kid.  can he change the past?  we find out the answer to that in the book.  again, hard to know who to recommend this to: i can't imagine i would recommend it to anyone with young kids.  i'm glad i read it - it's well written - but it's in my free little library right now ready for someone out there to grab it.)