2025 Books

Oh, hello.

More to come on an end of year round up but needless to say, something had to give in 2025 and this little blog suffered the consequences. But we might as well keep the end of year book wrap tradition alive, right?

I read 29 books this year (and yes it kills me just a tiny bit that I didn't round my list off at 30).  

Only women authors for 2025! This was not intentional at first but when I realized the trend about 8 months into the year I decided I'd keep it going.  As usual there were some greats and there were some duds. Through it all I was very happy to just be reading.

2025 Reads:

Brightly Shining - Ingvild Rishoi

The Rachel Incident - Caroline O’ Donoghue

The Shop Dogs of Parnassus - Ann Patchett

What Now? - Ann Patchett

The Safekeep - Yael van der Wouden

Foster - Claire Keegan 

Be Ready When the Luck Happens - Ina Garten

The Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon

Anne Frank Remembered - The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family - Miep Gies

The Vaster Wilds - Lauren Groff

The Story of a New Name - Elena Ferrante

The Wedding People - Alison Espach

Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson

Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving & Leaving New York - Sari Botton (editor)

The God of the Woods - Liz Moore

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism - Sarah Wynn-Williams

Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan

The Best of Everything - Rona Jaffe

Beautyland - Marie–Helene Bertino

The Swimmers - Julia Otsuka

Counting by 7s - Holly Goldberg Sloan

The Gifts of Imperfection - Brene Brown

Under the Tuscan Sun - Frances Mayes 

You Could Make This Place Beautiful - Maggie Smith

Those Who Leave & Those Who Stay - Eleana Ferrante

Heart the Lover - Lily King

Tilt - Emma Pattee

Great Circle - Maggie Shipstead

Show Don't Tell: Stories - Curtis Sittenfeld

I adored The Rachel Incident, Heart the Lover (Lily King for life!) and Curtis Sittenfeld's story collection. Beautyland was a surprise win for me, picked up on a friend's recommendation. I continue to power through the Eleana Ferrante series for better or for worse. (And ten years after they were all the rage.) I will admit that they do get better as they go and traveling to Italy helped but oy! cut 400 pages out of each novel and we'd still get the point.

Thankfully nothing sticks out as a terrible read for me from my list. More than anything there are a few titles that I see and think to myself - huh. I have zero recollection of reading that. Guess not everything can leave a mark.

I've spent the last week or so plowing my way through copies of The New Yorker and other magazines; gearing up for my 2026 year of reading. Male authors will be allowed this year. Away we go!