2025 books read ... though I"ve probably left some off because I forgot to document them before they got sucked back to the library or kindle unlimited. oops.
1 A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid.... I read it for my January grad school residency..... the book is about Antigua, where I went every summer of my childhood. Mom's best friend Taylor was raising her kids there. Of course we visited. The book was especially good because of its familiarity to me.
2 Please Be Advised by Christine Sneed. Hybrid oddity. Very unique and cool read. quirky wonderful, story of a company told through office memos (the author spoke at residency in January)
3 Lucy, by Jamaica Kincaid .... i loved A Small Place so wanted to read more by JK. billed as a novel but likely semi autobiographical, Lucy leaves home, Antigua, and works as an au pair as she grapples with self identity.
4 Being Reflected Upon ... poems by Alice Notley.... beautiful, stream of conscious poems navigating grief and nostalgia
5 All the Colors of the Dark... Jan book club (MP)
6 Mama Day... Jan book club(KS) ...
7 Mary Jane... Jan book club (CB)
8 reread Fourth Wing by R. Yarros. Love.
9 reread Iron Flame by R. Yarros. V.good.
10 new release, love the series: Onyx storm by R. Yarros.
11 Everything Happens for a Reason by Kate Bowler .... grief and resilience. strong read.
12 Miracle Creek by Angie Kim .... a reread because a friend was RAVING about how good it was ... and when i looked it up, I already owned it on my kindle. so. with no recollection til part way in, i reread and really enjoyed again. this makes me think I maybe could just quite buying/checking out books and just reread the ones on my kindle and my shelves. haha.
13 The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult .... really great book... weaving current times and a Nazi living in the US. loved by all as a baseball coach. interwoven with WW2 historical fiction. intriguing. really well done.
14 Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti .... i got it cause it was weird ... and I've totally bought in. Weird hybrid collage of words.
15 Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. Brie LOVES this book and I finally read it so that I could tell her I love it too. It's not KH's best book, but it was plenty entertaining.
16 There There by Tommy Orange.... novel about native americans in northern cali. Aaron from school was reading it and I owned it... .so it jumped to the top. well written. smart book. like the characters.
17 House of Thorns and Roses ... Feb BC (LS)
18 The Uncommon Reader ... Feb BC (FH)
19 The Wishing Game.. Feb BC ( MBH)
20 If Some God Shakes Your House by Jennifer Franklin .... poetry ... a modern day tale of the ancient Greek story of Antigone ... defying expectations and gender norms in this version.
21 Story Genius by Lisa Cron. a reread. I'm still no a story genius, but hopefully I'm learning.
22 Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. same as above. a reread. trying to learn through repetition as it didn't stick the first time through. haha
23 How to Clear Your Clutter by Karen Kingston. I read it because I need to clear my clutter. hope it helps!
24 Persuasion by Jane Austen ... cause sometimes you just want to read an old book. pretty sad ... but hopeful.
25 No Matter How It Ends A Bluebird's Song by Kat Lehmann ... a haiku memoir: beautiful!!
26 Paladin's Grace
27 Paladin's Strength.... by T. Kingfisher. Fantasy romance .... liked..... don't think i'll read the rest of the series.
28 Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman... some stories I know, some were new .... i'm reading mythology to garner ideas for some writing I'm doing.
29 Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton. lovely book. my intentions same as above.
30 Secret of the Sirens by Julia Golding. Sophie mentioned it as one of her favorite childhood series and I CAN"T BELIEVE I didn't read it with her. So I read it now. clever YA. smart book. wish I had read it with her.
31 Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka ... she wrote the Swimmers about a funny group tied together by a swimming pool (that broke) .... and i loved that so i read this .... Very emotional. Japanese "picture brides" brought to the US and married to strangers.
32 Kate Bowler, Have a Beautiful Terrible Day
33 Kate Bowler, The Lives We Actually Have...... read this and the one above because my pal, DM, brought Kate Bowler to town as a speaker. good reads... great speaker. more self help than I generally read but found worthwhile.
34 West with Giraffes ... March BC (TP)
35 Time of the Child ... March BC (SB)
36 Little White Lies... March BC (DR)
37 The Peacock and the Sparrow... March BC (@JM)
38 The secret life of sunflowers .... I LOVE vincent van gogh.... .this is a beautifully woven story of van gogh's sister in law's struggles and a current time line of an auctioneer in Cali.
39 Picture Perfect by J.Picoult..... an anthropologist and a movie star ..... nuanced relationship .... like they are in real life, but deeper exploration than most books.
40 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins .... a HUNGER games book. i hate the premise of children set up to kill children, but i'm totally bought into the world that SC created. this is my favorite sort of dystopian novel with a well developed, believable world. and hamitch. it is his story. I read it FAST and then read it again slowly. a fave of mine ... if you like her other books you'll appreciate this too.
41 Whisper and Shout: Poems to Memorize edited by Patrice Vecchione ..... I bought it at a used bookstore in LA: The Last Bookstore. I"ve read all the poems but memorized none yet. I still have time. haha
42 The Many Lives of Mama Love ... April BC (JR) a favorite... a memoir
43 The God of the Woods ... April BC (KJ)
44 The Secret War of Julia Child's... April BC (JH) ... weirdly real seeming historical FICTION
45 The Great Divide .... April BC (@JM) ....Fiction about the making of the Panama Canal. Learned a lot.
46 Orbital by Samantha Harvey .... I love a good space book ... usually with a fantasy, sci fi, dystopian tilt.... but this one is realistic fiction.... well, as much as i can vouch for it having never been to space. I read it because it won the Booker award. Highly regarded book. I loved it.
47 The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li ... excellent.... award winning even. two imaginative girls in post war france are story tellers and writers..... and their lives veer and part and of course they fight. Really great. A favorite.
48 The Book of Alchemy : a Creative practice for an inspired life .... by Suleika Jaouad... a compilation of creativity essays by lots of known creative folks. good read. sat on my coffee table for ages.
49 Translation from Icelandic: A Woman Looks Over Her Shoulder by Brynja Hjalmsdottir, translator: Rachel Britton. Universal story of being in a world that is hard on women.
50 I Hope You Remember by Josie Balka.... Brie made me read it ..... the poet is a viral tiktok star .... making poetry main stream. i liked it.
51 In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado..... wow. super intense book. linked essays on abuse. so well done.
52 The Briar Club... May BC (DB) great for book club discussion
53 The Frozen River ... May BC (MM)
54 Take My Hand (Perkins-Valdez) .... May BC (@JM)
55 Broken Country ... May BC (KB) AND June BC (AF) .... love story, lots of twists
56 Whom the Gods Would Destroy .... by Richard Powell. This is my fave book of my middle school/high school years. I reread the hard back pretty regularly BUT it finally came out on kindle. So i read it in the new way! (and I learned that I stay up reading later with a kindle book than I do with a physical book cause of that whole book light difficulty. haha.
57 If Tomorrow Never Comes .....easy romance book ..... cute
58 Flashes of Insight by Lynda Allen.... magical realism unless you believe in premonitions..... and menopause... and mystery. fun.
59 Lion .. june BC (CG) .... this was a daughter's memoir about her remarkable father. it was a great discussion.
60 The Pact by Jodi Picoult... BC @my house. I've been re interested in JP books. so current, always some surprising twists. this one was not my favorite but it was really great... and was excellent for talking about at BC
61 Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill. Julia thought I should read this book. so I did. excellent.....
62 Foster by Claire Keegan .... July BC (SB) .... a reread from i think two years ago.... beautifully written and worth rereading
63 Variation by Rebecca Yarros .. because I loved her Fourth Wing Series..... this was a romance... hot guy and a ballerina. I liked it.... but not like I've been captured by Violet et al. in FW, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm
64 The Short Story of the Novel by Henry Russell.... saw it at book club at CG's house...... was intrigued enough by the title that I was thumbing through it and offered it to me to read. It covers specific historically significant novels, genres, themes, and techniques. Worthwhile.
reading now: Artemis by Andy Weir
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