Finally -- an overview of the books I read in 2025. This was a far better reading year than I expected, with a grand total of 73 books read in 2025. Those books represented 20,573 pages. (The total books was a record since I started recording books in 2002, pages a bit short of 2022's 21,994.)
Last year's totals were 47 books and 4947 pages, so it was a great improvement!
I've listed my Top Ten (or so) below, all books by category/genre following. Please note that because something didn't get in the top ten, didn't mean it wasn't good. It might have just meant that it was part of a series and the series should be considered as a whole.
Links under the titles of each book are to my book review posts from last year with more detail about each one. I didn't include many of the mystery series I love so much here because it felt a bit redundant, but many of those would be in my favorites!Top Ten (plus two)
These weren't always my favorite books of the year, though most were. But these were the ones that stick with me the most for any variety of reasons.
Be Ready when the Luck Happens by Ina Garten. I'm a fan of Ina Garten and "The Barefoot Contessa" (her recipes always seem to work!) So it was fun to discover more of her back story, and it is quite an impressive one! She writes much as she would if you were sitting down for a chat, so the style is engaging (and one keeps wanting to turn the page!). And yes, she includes some recipes.
Taste by Stanley Tucci. Actor, commentator and Italian food fanatic, Stanley Tucci tells of his love for food, of flavor and of family, recounting delightful stories of the impact food and cooking has made in his life. If you've seen his television travel shows through Italy, you know he's a fan! Especially poignant is his battle with oral cancer that left his sense of taste lacking -- a great loss for a foodie. Again, a fun, delightful style with lots of good recipes!
Dinners with Ruth by Nina Totenberg. The NPR Supreme Court correspondent writes of her friendship with former justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. A biography, in a sense, of both Ginsberg and Totenberg herself, we learn of their lives, how they have intersected, and the warm friendship developed between the two of them.
Through the Banks of the Red Cedar by Maya Washington. Washington, daughter of Eugene Washington, former Michigan State Football star, Minnesota Viking and Denver Broncos, writes of her father and how he and his contemporaries from Jim Crow south were recruited by MSU during the turbulent sixties, leading the team to championships. (This was very rare at that time in history.) She presents a picture of both her father (a fascinating guy who maintained his job at 3M throughout his pro career and after) and especially of the racial and political situation during his youth and how coming north after growing up in the segregated south was a revelation. (I would put this one in the top five.)
Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin Clint Hill was the Secret Service agent assigned to be with Jacqueline Kennedy during her tenure as First Lady. In what first seemed like an assignment he didn't want, they grew to be great friends and good comrades. This one follows his time with Mrs. Kennedy, the travels together, the challenging political times and the tragedy of JFK's death. (Hill was the agent who leapt into the car to protect Mrs. Kennedy during the assassination.)
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman The most recent in the "Thursday Murder Club" series is a delightful addition, following the gang of retirees through two cases -- one involving a missing friend of Joyce's new son-in-law who had previously asked for help. The other involved a threat to the lives of Ron's son Jason and his sister.
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell Now a major film, this book, which can trigger emotions of grief, tells of Agnes (better known as Anne Hathaway), wife of William Shakespeare, their marriage, and particularly the death of their son, Hamnet. Hamnet's death affects the couple in different ways and is a powerful story of grief. But it's definitely not for everyone.
Lula Dean's Library of Little Banned Books by Kirsten Miller A great book? No. A fun book? Yes. Lula Dean wants to ban many books in her small Southern town. But not everyone agrees, and one mysterious person has come up with a way to change that -- and in doing so, changes the lives of many of the town's citizens.
Let's Just Say it Wasn't Pretty by Diane Keaton This would definitely be in my top five. The late actress' honest look at aging was written 12 years before her death at age 67. She offers powerful insights into the various elements of aging, how it affected her and her career, her family relationships, her passion for renovating houses and even some of the relationships with her male co-stars.
My Friend Anne Frank by Hannah Pick-Goslar The memoir of Anne Frank's childhood friend tells two stories -- that of her friendship with the young Anne before the Franks went into hiding and then her own story that followed, as the Goslars tried to stick out the war in Amsterdam -- until they, too, were sent to the concentration camps. It can be a tough one to read. And a good reminder of what could happen again.
SPECIAL MENTION:
I'm picking these two out for special mention. First, "When Wanderers Cease to Roam" was a re-read. I have always loved this book; always will. "The Secret of Ghosts" is the final book in the Maisie Dobbs series. It can be hard to wrap up a series of so many books in a satisfying way -- closing the loose ends, bringing in the characters past and present, and still presenting a good story. Jacqueline Winspear did this.
When Wanderers Cease to Roam by Vivian Swift This art journal is filled with wonderful photos and delightful commentary as Swift tracks one year in the life of the new village into which she has moved, with some fond looks back at some of her travelers before "staying put."
The Secret of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear This is the final book in the Maisie Dobbs series and it was incredibly satisfying. Set in post-World War II, it weaves two mystery plots together for the investigative psychologist. But what makes it satisfying for long-time fans of the series is how Winspear neatly brings in characters from the past and "settles" their lives, giving them all the ending they deserve.
Biography/Memoir
Be Ready when the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
Taste by Stanley Tucci
True Gretch by Gretchen Whitmer
Dinners with Ruth by Nina Totenberg
Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin
Famous Father Girl by Jamie Bernstein
Through the Banks of the Red Cedar by Maya Washington
A House in the Country by Ruth Adam
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Let's Just Say it Wasn't Pretty by Diane Keaton
A Pig In Provence by Georgeanne Brennan
My Friend Anne Frank by Hannah Pick-Goslar
When Wanderers Cease to Roam by Vivian Swift
Mystery
Death at the Dress Rehearsal by Stuart Douglas
The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter
The Templar's Last Secret -- Martin Walker
Fell Murder by E.C.R. Lorac
The Gray Wolf by Louise Penny
A Killing of Innocents by Deborah Crombie
The Glass Room by Anne Cleeves
The Golden Egg by Donna Leon
Tour de Force by Christianna Brand
The Riding Tide by Ann Cleeves
A Chateau Under Siege by Martin Walker
Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey
The Hollow Man by Caroline Graham
The Secret of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear
Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation by James Runcie
My Friend, Mr. Campion by Margery Allingham
Telling Tales by Ann Cleeves
Murder in Vienna by E.C.R. Lorac
Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves
Beastly Things by Donna Leon
The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
Murder at Claridges by Jim Eldridge
Trixie Belden and the Mystery in Arizona by Julie Campbell
Last Seen Wearing by Colin Dexter
Murder at Aldwych Station by Jim Eldridge
An Amateur Corpse by Simon Brett
London Particular by Christianna Brand
The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne
The Lake District Murder by John Bude
The Jewel That Was Ours by Colin Dexter
The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen
The Mistletoe Murders by P.D. James
By It's Cover by Dona Leon
The Blood Card - Elly Griffiths
Falling In Love by Donna Leon
The Corpse of St. James by Jeanne M. Dams
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James
Murder on the Serpentine by Anne Perry
Big Ben Strikes Eleven by David Magarshak
Past Reason Hated by Peter Robinson
Murder in Three Acts by Agatha Christie
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
A Necessary End by Peter Robinson
Fiction
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Before the Coffee gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
The Moral Treatment by Stephanie Carpenter
An Astronomer in Love by Antonie Lurain
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida
French Braid by Anne Tyler
Lula Dean's Library of Little Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar
Non-Fiction
The Husband Hunters by Anne DeCourcy
Hope: Pandora Revisited by Alderburgh Art Collective
The Upstairs Delicatessen by Dwight Garner
Bath by John Curtis
How Sondheim can Change Your Life by Richard Scoch
Essay/Humour
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
3 comments:
OMG A TRIXIE BELDEN BOOK!
I lived on those for years and years of my childhood. I thought I was the only one. No one I've ever talked to has even heard of them.
And I absolutely adore David Sedaris--him, his writing, his voice, his everything. I was thrilled to be able to see him in person in Cleveland years ago. What a treat! Do yourself a great favour and read Calypso; I think it's his best by far.
I enjoy reading book roundups and you are a bit of an eclectic reader like me. I will check Diane Keaton's memoir, some memoirs are fascinating. I could not finish Hamnet, just didn't grab me. The last of the Maisie novels would be fun. I think I will do a book roundup one of these days.
...you must be a mighty fast reader!!!
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