2025 Books

 Top 10% of books this year:

• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
• The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
• Daughter of Fire by Sofia Robleda
• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
• The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (counting them all as one book)

After April, the months that I read these books may not be accurate. Although GoodReads updates automatically when I finish a book on my Kindle, I am not always diligent in adding my audiobooks (via Libby, Audible, and others) to GoodReads. I try to update my master list about once a month, but I really lagged after April, always thinking, "I should do that soon." Then my life got really chaotic in August - Saeed came for the school year, and then my mom was diagnosed with cancer. And then even more chaotic in September when I made three trips to Texas - one to visit my mom, and she died while I was there, next for her memorial service, and finally to pick up my dad for him to move across the country to live with me. October, November, and December are such a blur, I can't even begin to parse out what books I listened to and when. Consider this list approximate.

You may notice that many of the books after April don't have much commentary, and the fact that I can't remember much about them probably speaks to my thoughts about them.

January:

1. Blank by Zibby Owens - Not a great way to kick off my reading year.

2. The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World* by Melinda French Gates - I found this really interesting, and I'd love to hear a more updated take on some of Melinda's opinions. It was interesting to read about how she described her marriage to Bill, especially now that they divorced.

3. Give Her Credit: The Untold Account of a Women's Bank That Empowered a Generation by Grace L. Williams - Interesting and worth a read, but not terribly gripping.

4. Remarkably Bright Creatures* by Shelby Van Pelt - It's popular for a reason. Cameron was annoying. Other characters were good.

5. Froi of the Exiles* by Melina Marchetta - Second time through on this series. This one is not my favorite.

6. Daughter of Fire by Sofia Robleda - This reminded me of Gods of Jade and Shadow and made me want to learn more about Central American history.

February:

7. Quintana of Charyn* by Melina Marchetta - A good conclusion to the series, but this one drags quite a bit and is longer than it should be.

8. Tom Lake* by Ann Patchett - I loved so much about this story and the narration by Meryl Streep. The back and forth in timelines is done beautifully. I loved that the modern story takes place during Covid lockdowns, but it isn't a book about the pandemic. The relationships, the growth, and the overall narrative were just so good.

9. The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon - This one was really slow for the first third. Even when it picked up, I still felt like there was a lot of dragging. I loved the end; it just took a while to get there.

March:

10. Tenth of December* by George Saunders - Eric told me to listen to this series of short stories. We found ourselves laughing hysterically and also being astoundingly depressed as we discussed some of them.

11. Finding Chika* by Mitch Albom - This was a sad book, but it was so full of love and light.

12. The Nickel Boys* by Colson Whitehead - I had seen this book on lists for a while. I saw a preview for the movie January. I put it on hold without knowing anything about it. It was so dark and so heavy. And yet it is so important to grasp the ugly parts of our history, especially at a time when people are trying to erase it.

April:

13. Valencia and Valentine by Suzy Krause - This was sweet, but it was pretty slow for a long while. 

14. The Frozen River* by Ariel Lawhon - I loved everything about this book. First 5-star rating on GoodReads in a while.

15. The Unmaking of June Farrow* by Adrienne Young - I always enjoy a good time-travel story. This one was a little confusing. The aspect of looping genealogy is fascinating.

16. Atomic Habits* by James Clear - Probably better to read this one in print for the purpose of taking notes.

17. Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident - Rather needlessly long, but still interesting.

18. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus* by Dusti Bowling - I was surprised by how much I liked this. It was also around the time of reading this that a misdiagnosis (that had actually been several misdiagnoses for the last 30 years) was diagnosed as being more similar to Tourette's than all the other diagnoses she'd been given.

May:

19. Shelterwood* by Lisa Wingate - Good.

20. The Rise of Wolf 8* by Rick McIntyre - In an alternate life, I am a wolf-watcher. I'm impressed by McIntyre's dedication and rigorous study. What a gem. Please come talk to me about wolves.

21. Summer of '69* by Elin Hilderbrand - She's associated with light, easy beach reads. But this series is so good.

June:

22. The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center - I was not terribly surprised to learn this was her first novel, not only because some of the technology in the book felt old, but also because the writing was not up to the caliber that it is now. I love Katherine Center, and I say skip this one.

23. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt - Could it be a podcast series? Yes. It also SHOULD be because many people will listen to a podcast sooner than read a book this long. With that said, this topic is so important, and we need all the parents and educators to read it.

24. Tress of the Emerald Sea* by Brandon Sanderson - Some downright funny parts, but it was so long the family was a little checked out by the end.

25. Swan Song* by Elin Hilderbrand - Great finale.

26. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 by Beth Brower - The first is a little slow, but how quickly I fell in love with this main character.

27. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2 by Beth Brower - There's a cult following for this series for a reason.

28. Sunrise on the Reaping* by Suzanne Collins - Look, I really enjoyed this book while I read it. But it must have been pretty forgettable because I saw somebody holding a copy in November and thought, "Oh yeah, I still need to read that," and it was several hours later when I remembered that I had, in fact, already read it.

29. Dopamine Nation* by Anna Lembke - Just read The Anxious Generation instead.

July:

30. The Rose Code* by Kate Quinn - Very good. I was all in on this one.

31. Darling Girls* by Sally Hepworth - I had to read the description to remember a single thing about this book, and I still remember almost nothing about this book.

32. The Rom-Commers* by Katherine Center - I don't remember much from this book except that it made me laugh a lot, and it was surprisingly sweet. Katherine Center is my latest go-to.

I think I actually read more in July, but my Kindle was probably in airplane mode so I could finish some Libby checkout, and I think those books don't register on GoodReads until I turn off airplane mode, so they show up as later reads in GoodReads, and as mentioned above, I have no memory of this year.

August:

33. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3 by Beth Brower - Loved.

34. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4 by Beth Brower - Loved.

35. The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner - This was a hard one. Down with abusive communities.

36. The Nine* by Gwen Strauss - So fascinating. A little difficult to keep track of the many people, but their stories are so worth telling. Down with facism. Down with the patriarchy. (Women in the French resistance were discouraged from talking about their experiences after the war. So many heroes have died unknown. And obviously we shouuldn't promote heroism for the sake of fame, but women can be strong, and we should shout it from the rooftops.)

37. Things I Wish I Told My Mother* by Susan Patternson and Susan DiLallo - Ugh. Look, the book was alright. I just have a beef when the main problems this mother and daughter have are hardly problems at all. Also, I finished right before my mom got her cancer diagnosis, so the timing was not great.

September:

Could I have read on every plane ride? Yes. Did I? No. I watched a lot of movies and cried a lot. Special shout-outs to: my first time watching the Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis version of Freaky Friday (after seeing its sequel with a bunch of ladies in the theater); Coco; Field of Dreams (my first time to see it!); and Encanto.

38. Love Your Life* by Sophie Kinsella - I wanted something light in this time of grief. I barely remember this. It was probably funny? I can't even remember.

39. House of Dreams: The Life of L. M. Montgomery by Liz Rosenberg - Hoo boy. Picked this up at the library in the summer and finally got around to it. So much of it felt like the right amount of sadness to be cathartic as I dealt with all the heavy things that September brought. But then it took a real turn in Maud's older life, and let me tell you, I was NOT prepared for it. I think this book is beautiful, with truly lovely illustrations, but this woman led a tragic life. I want to read more of her books. I obviously love Anne of Green Gables, but I also love the lesser-known The Blue Castle. Her favorite was The Story Girl, which I just could not get into. I'd love to read the Emily series. Maybe in 2026. Anyway, read this book if you are in an emotional state to handle the sadness of her adult life. But do not read it in the month that you watched your mom die.

40. Daisy Darker* by Alice Feeney - Delightful, even the second time through.

October:

41. The Only One Left by Riley Sager - Very good thriller, a little silly at the end, but they usually are.

42. Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh* - Pretty dark, very gripping.

43. A House Full of Females* by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich - Well-written history. I'm not a fan of polygamy, but I think this book approaches it pretty fairly.

November:

44. Pro Bono* by Thomas Perry - Perfectly fine.

45. The Book of Lost Names* by Kristin Harmel - Meh. I loved the aspect of forgery and making codes during WWII, but the mixed faith relationship and the statements about it didn't resonate with me. The writing was not stellar. And the ending was eye-roll-inducing.

46. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4 by Beth Brower - No bedtime can stop me.

47. Operation Hail Mary* by Andy Weir - Just as delightful (and a little long), as I remembered it. We loved sharing it with our kids on our trip to Washington for Thanksgiving.

December:

48. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5 by Beth Brower - To quote a friend during a discussion at our ward Christmas party, "Beth Brower must be protected at all costs."

49. Everyone is Beautiful* by Katherine Center - Young motherhood feels distant, but even this experience doesn't totally resonate with me. Still, I love Katherine Center.