The Books I read In 2025
2025 Books Read:
No particular order (I’m adding books as I read them in 2025)
All links are Amazon affiliate links, which means if you purchase a book from any of these links I will receive a small compensation (and it is greatly appreciated!)
Fiction:
How to Read A Book by Monica Wood: I enjoyed this one. It was about a 19-something-year-old woman who had gone to jail for manslaughter and was just getting out after about 2 years in. It all centers around the book club that started in the jail and the community that formed because of it. Some parts are cheesy and predictable but over all very good.
The Three Lives Of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan: I loved the characters and the character development In this book. It was a compelling story and worth the read.
The Wedding People by Alison Espach: I LOVED this book. The character development was beautiful and there are these places where the main character is committed to not lying to the bride and her honesty is breathtaking making you wish that the whole world would be that brutally honest with each other. I loved it and can’t wait to read more of this authors work.
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin: This book was a great read. Really beautiful and interesting.
Margot’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe: This is about a very young woman, a freshman in college. Margot is the daughter of a hooters waitress and a pro wrestler, she has an affair with her English professor and ends up pregnant and then explores what she does to make a living. This book really made me think, it explores double standards ect. It's a super interesting read.
Notes On Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach
All Fours by Miranda July: I know this was one of the top 10 books according to the New York Times for 2024 but I didn’t like it. I can’t put my finger on why. I know a lot of women found parts of it shocking, I’m not sure it had that effect on me. But I think there are a lot better books around the feeling of aging, feeling unseen ect. This book just did not do it for me.
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner: I liked this one, it’s fiction but it almost reads like a memoir about sisters.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant: I think I first heard of this book a few years after college. Someone told me to read it and I never did. It’s been on my to read list for that long (almost 20 years). It was a good book and an interesting read maybe not a favorite although I’m not sure why, just a good read.
No Two Persons By Erica Bauermeister: This book is more of a book of short stories that are all linked together. I don’t realize that going into it and it left me wanting more but not in a good way. Left me wanting more in the sense that I wanted a greater culmination at the end or something. If I had known going in that they were linked short stories I wouldn’t have had that feeling. They were great stories!
Life Impossible by Matt Haig, he's the author of The Midnight Library, and I was nervous about reading this. Would he try to make something like the midnight library? Could this book be as good? Well, this book was not like The Midnight Library, yet it also held magic and intrigue and dealt with big life questions. It was really good!
Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford; I LOVED this book. It was sweet, and heart warming and revived the book of the world.
Historical Fiction:
The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash: This was a book at the start of unions in the South at textile mills
Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon: This book was fabulous with a brilliant heroin in her 50’s. This book is a bit of mystery, and it does cover a rape and a murder. It is worth a read.
Isola by Allegra Goodman: I loved this book. It was about a woman in the late 1600’s left on an island alone for a few years. It’s based on a true story and it’s beautifully written! I highly recommend this one.
Jackie by Dawn Tripp: This one is good it’s historical fiction about Jackie Kennedy. I read it for book club but I’m not sure if I would have picked it up on my own.
Fantasy:
The Voyage of The Damned by Frances White: This book was delightful! I had no idea what to expect when it started and fell more and more in love with it as I listened. The main character is funny and sweetly sarcastic in all of the best possible ways and the audiobook narrator nailed it!
Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, 1) by Rebecca Yarros: I listened to this one on the drive to OH and was riveted! I listened in graphic audio, which was new to me, and I wasn’t sure I would like, but now I’m hooked. It’s about an early 20-something-year-old originally trained to become a scribe has been told she has to become a “Rider” by her General mother. Riders are supposed to be volunteers. Riders bond to a dragon during their first year of training. They can communicate telepathically. The main character, Violet, is an underdog. It does get a bit steamy with her love interest but this book is the whole package of character development, action, intrigue and love.
Iron Flame (The Empyrean, 2) by Rebecca Yarros: I can say that you don’t want to start listening to a series in Graphic audio and then flip to the regular audio. It’s not wrecking the book for me but if money were no object I would just buy the graphic audio. I’ll keep you posted on what I think when I’m done.
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (The Shepard King Book 1)
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig (The Shepard King Book 2)
Horror/Thriller:
The Unwedding by Ally Condie: I started reading this and got halfway in before I realized it was a thriller. Last year, I realized I hate thrillers. I still hate thrillers, not my thing. I need to do a much better job of reading about a book before I start reading. This book was fine if you like thrillers. I hated this but I was at least halfway through and needed to know the ending.
Memoir:
Unprotected by Billy Porter: This was a fantastic memoir!
Crying In H Mart by Michelle Zauner: I loved this memoir so much! It’s a memoir about mothers and daughters, identity, and grief.
Biography:
Books of Essays or short stories:
In-Depth Market Research Interviews With Dead People: Tempur-Pedic by Alison Espach
Non-Fiction
Personal Development:
Books I did not finish! DNF
The Comfort of Crows: I know this book has been recommended to me on numerous occasions. I straight-up did not like it. I tried it more than once and just couldn’t get into it. I think part of why is that these should each be taken separately as little essays or reflections, and I was trying to listen to it like an audio book and it’s not meant for that.
All links are Amazon affiliate links, which means if you purchase a book from any of these links I will receive a small compensation