The still-to-be reads from 2024
Intermezzo - Sally Rooney *****
Followed by the Lark - Helen Humphries ***
The Inheritance - Cauvery Madhaven ****
Still Life - Sarah Winman *****
The Postcard - Anne Berest *****
The Pages of the Sea - Anne Hawk DNF
The Adversary - Michael Crummy (2nd Reading) *****
Walking with Ghosts - Gabriel Byrne *****
Bewilderment - Richard Powers *****
The Overstory - Richard Powers DNF - tiny italics and my poor eyesight
The Wife Who Risked Everything - Ellie Midwood *
A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihar 0
Fresh Water for Flowers - Valerie Perrin *****
The Hypocrite - Jo Hanya *****
I'll Be Seeing You - Elizabeth Berg *****
Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata *****
How the Penguin Saved Veronica - Hazel Price ****
Dolly - Anita Bookner *****
The Killing Kind - Jane Casey *
Nun The Less - Patricia Brown Not rated, a friend.
Standing in Gaps - Seamus O'Rourke ****
American Mother - Colum McCann/Diane Foley ****
The Outside Boy - Janine Cummins **
Advice for Murders - Vera Wang *****
Cassandra at the Wedding - Dorothy Parker *****
The Precious Days - Ann Patchett *****
Signal Fires - Dan Shapiro *****
Isola - Allegra Goodman *****
King of Ashes - S.A. Cosby ****
Waiting for Gertrude - Bill Richardson DNF
Homecoming - Kate Morton **
Will and Testament - Vigolis Hjorth ****
The Secrets of Primrose Square - Claudia Carroll **
Heart Be At Peace - Donal Ryan ***
The Post Mistress - Sarah Blake *****
Question 7 - Richard Flanagan *****
A Truce That is not Peace - Miriam Toews *****
The Ruin - Dervla Mc Tiernan ***
The Narrow Road to the Truth North - Richard Flanagan *****
101 Days - Kamala Harris *****
Four Red Sweaters - Lucy Adlington *****
Nobody's Girl - Virginia Giuffre *****
We Did OK, Kid - Anthony Hopkins****
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So there you have it, the list of books read or dropped (DNF) for 2025. Rated with 5 for superb and thus downward. At my advanced age I don't have time for books not to my interest anymore. Our Annual Jolabokaflod (literally book flood) celebrated at Solstice/Christmas yields treasures for the year ahead. We put great thought into our book selections for those we love. So these gifts are treasured and endure. And it has the added bonus of taking all the angst out of the seasonal gift madness.
Let me know if you have questions on the 2025 books or share your own favourite reads of the past year. I do recommend keeping a book journal. I have done this forever, it seems.
Thanks for that list. If one had time to read only, say, four of your favorites, which four would that be?
ReplyDeleteSheila, go with the 5 stars. I loved the Veronica and the penguins
Deleteand the Convenience Store Woman. But any of the 4 or five stars.
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My first choice would be Nobody's Girl by Virginia Giuffre. Did the publishers note all the changes in the book made by her family, after Virginia died.
ReplyDeleteIt was library issue so not sure Hels. Maybe check on line to see which one?
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I have never kept a book journal and have no wish to start one now. I read mostly fiction, nothing heavy or intellectual. I don't keep track of books year by year, I just read. I'm currently setting up my new kindle, and it is charging in the background right now, before I keep downloading all the books from my Amazon library. I do have "real" books, but buy far fewer than I used to, lack of space is an issue, and I also have two dozen "heavier" (Dan Brown etc) tomes from a neighbour who is clearing out clutter prepapring for her eventual move to the local nursing home.
ReplyDeleteI have given away a couple of Kindles. My eyesight isn't that great and I find them a little aggravating. There's something about the feel and smell of books I love. Especially when they're gifted or second or third hand. I love thinking of those before me who read it.
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An excellent list. You had a fine year of reading - and it doesn’t get much better than that. Miriam reads far more fiction than I and I will pass on your list to her. She will appreciate it. All the best - David
ReplyDeleteDo tell Miriam about the Penguin Book, David (and I think you'd enjoy it too). Quirky and funny and the way a book should be.
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I'm a fan of Elizabeth Berg & Miriam Toews. Talk Before Sleep was my introduction to Berg's writing. Fight NIght was a humorous departure for Toews. I read 23 books in 2025 (the best in my opinion) were those by Kate Quinn - The Diamond Eye, The Briar Club, The Rose Code.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think of Kate Quinn's Mona?
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I just finished The Correspondent. It is probably one of the best books I have read in my lifetime. Maybe it's because I am the age of the main character when the book starts. She writes letters, sort of like I do social media, and she can be a curmudgeon (like I am becoming). One difference, which may happen so can't rule it out, she loses her vision. The story makes ones appreciate and better understand one's life.
ReplyDeleteI've tried to track this Delaine but the library only carries electronic and it's still in hardcover at bookstores. Nevertheless I will persist. I love letter books. Charing Cross Road I've read a few times. thanks for the rec. I love your recs - have read many.
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I waited weeks, maybe months, to get my copy from the library. Some books that I put a hold on come immediately and others take forever. This one, I'm assuming, is so popular that it took a long time. I turned it back in as soon as I finished it so others could get the chance to read it. It is a very special book. However, a younger friend of mine said she had not heard good things about it from her young friends. I think I can understand that. It is definitely a book for a "certain age."
DeleteI will wait for them to get a hard copy. Several electronics but not interested. Only us oldies would understand a book like that. I still have all my mother's letters.
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I whish now that I had kept a book journal when I was a kid. There's so many books I'd like to re-read, or have kids or grandkids read, but cannot find because I do not remember the titles.
ReplyDeleteI started mine when I joined my first book club Charlotte and even though I can't go anymore I still maintain a book journal and contribute now and again to BookReads. I love re-reading old favourites.
DeleteI was very pleased at 39 books this year as the previous year was dismal due to health issues. I am so grateful for books.
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You have me interested in Veronica and the Penguins and I will check with the local library. All of my reading is done by library borrows whether hardcover/paperback, Kindle or audio books. I did not recognize any of the same books in my 2025 reading list. I keep an online listing and last year's total was 79 in all formats.
ReplyDeleteConsider me impressed Beatrice. I will check out your list. So pleased that many of my readers are book lovers too. I miss my book club no end. I cracked 100 one year but that's long ago. I am also a library lover but our Jolabokaflod every year is such a thrill.
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Good list! I've put on hold at my library some of your reads. I just finished (in 2 nights) Daisy Darker. I'm not saying it was the most well-written novel I've ever read, but it certainly held my interest.
ReplyDeleteElle I am reading Fredrik Backman's latest now. "Friends" if you loved A Man Called Ove you will love this. I'll check out Daisy Darker.
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