My Year in Reading - 2025
My physical pile of TBR books is as high as ever, my “want to read” list is as long as ever, but I’m grateful to have read many memorable and worthwhile books in 2025. I have now been officially retired (from my full-time work) one year. Something I’d most looked forward to in retirement - more time to read, especially on warm days on our back patio. But I also discovered a super comfortable reading chair in our loft — a room I barely ever entered pre-retirement! I read my Kindle on many planes, I listened to many an audiobook while walking and driving, I re-read a couple of classics, and I dipped my toe into the world of NetGalley: reviewing ARC’s (Advanced Reader Copies).
Shout out to friends and family for book recommendations (and gift books on the TBR pile!), my book club, my two libraries, and the Cuyahoga County Public Library for its incredible Writers Center Stage series.
My Favorite Fiction of the Year
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai
I finished it in late December, so it’s fresh on my mind, but I have a feeling I will long remember this spellbinding book…it did not feel like 670 pages!
This Is Happiness, by Niall Williams
Gorgeous prose, a beautiful story about the simple joys of life.
The Wedding People, by Alison Espach
Beautiful character development, good sense of suspense.
My Friends, Fredrik Backman
Vivid descriptions, full of humanity. Uncanny ability to portray adolescents with empathy.
My Honorable Mentions
Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConaghy
Rules for Visiting, Jessica Francis Kane
The Turner House, Angela Flournoy
Buckeye, Patrick Ryan
Isola, Allegra Goodman
Good Material, Dolly Alderton (maybe the funniest book I read all year!)
Run for the Hills, Kevin Wilson
Black Cake, Charmaine Wilkerson
The Correspondent, Virginia Evans
Pineapple Street, Jenny Jackson
The Dearly Beloved, Cara Wall
The Names, Florence Knapp
The God of the Woods, Liz Moore (I don’t usually read this genre, but loved the suspense!)
All Adults Here, Emma Straub
Books That Didn’t Hit For Me
(Many of these are highly rated, but just not for me…)
North Woods, Daniel Mason
Stone Yard Devotional, Charlotte Wood
Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu
All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker
Best Books About Writing: I Highly Recommend All of These!
Dear Writer, Maggie Smith
Writing Creativity and Soul, Sue Monk Kidd
Permission, Elissa Altman
Favorite Non-Fiction
The Many Lives of Anne Frank, Ruth Franklin
Awake, Jen Hatmaker
What Matters Most, James Hollis
True to You, Kathleen Smith
Everything Is Tuberculosis, John Green
Good Soil, Jeff Chu
The Bohemians, Norman Ohler
A Wilder Shore, Camille Peri
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days, Rebecca Donner
James Baldwin: Living in Fire, Bill V. Mullen
A Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl
God’s Hotel, Victoria Sweet
Recommended Professional/Church-Related Books
(Certainly there is some crossover from some on the other lists!
All of these help me to understand our present moment - many explore deconstruction, the current state of the mainline church, and white Christian nationalism)
Why Christians Should Be Leftists, Phil Christman
The Vanishing Church, Ryan P. Burge
The Seven Mountains Mandate, Matthew Boedy
The Missionary Kids, Holly Berkley Fletcher
A Beautiful Year, Diana Butler Bass
Better Ways to Read the Bible, Zach W. Lambert
Why Religion Went Obsolete, Christian Smith
Money, Lies and God, Katherine Stewart
Miracles and Wonder, Elaine Pagels
The Tears of Things, Richard Rohr
Follow Your Bliss and Other Lies About Calling, Bonnie Miller-McLemore
Ghosted: An American Story, Nancy French
Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy, Cait West