The Books of May

May was a most eclectic reading month. There were several mysteries (of course!), a sweet novel, a fantasy, and a book of essays on finding joy. 

April Reads

For a person who doesn't read a lot of fiction (in the form of novels, not mysteries) two of the best books I read this month fall into that category. Of the three mysteries were solid too, including one by one of my favorite authors, two were excellent or very good; one just OK.

 

The Books of March

March ended up being a surprisingly good -- and diverse -- reading month. How i managed eight books last month is a mystery to me! There were, of course, mysteries, but I also read two fiction novels, a biography and a delightful humor book. Or, was it political satire? Or an animal behavior book? I'll let you decide! 

(And thank you all for lovely comments and support! Surgery went well, and not as miserable as the previous two times! YAY!) Now, onward to books!

Belated Christmas and an Update!

My friend Suzanne, who lives in London, Ontario, came to visit this week. We were celebrating Belated Christmas. (And belated birthdays, too.) We decided to give up on presents for birthdays (being of an age where we really don't need anything and are or will be downsizing!) But we still like to shop for each other, so doing one big bash a year is perfect.

 

I was changing sheets on Suzanne's bed and on mine. I had an assistant. 

Reading in February

Three books this month. Is it the headaches that stopped me from doing more? Maybe. And I'm half through another that I'm not sure I can bring myself to finish. So, onward, to two mysteries and a truly delightful novel based on the life of a woman as remarkable as her fictional counterpart.

 

January Books

I had high hopes for January reading and ended up with four books, three mysteries and one novel. I did clock in a lot of pages -- most were pretty big. But more important, they were good, too. 

The 2025 Book Wrap Up!

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!

The December Books

I guess I read a bit more than anticipated in December, wrapping up the year with mostly mysteries, which are my "comfort food,"  along with one dearly loved re-read. (OK, I read that book one chapter a month but I finished this month!) Five books -- I'll take it. And they were all worth the time.

 

November Books and an Update

(If you're not into book chat, see the note at the bottom!) 

I'm not sure what I was doing in November. Yes, prepping for my art sale took a lot of time. Yes, there were three days of the sale. But that was over mid-November and let's be honest -- I didn't prep 24/7 for that. Somehow, I only managed to read two books, both mysteries. And both were worth my time.

September Books

Well, you can't say my reading has been anything less than diverse this month! Yes, there were mysteries (one a short story collection), novels, memoirs, and travel. Quite the combination!

There were some hits and misses here for me, but who knows? They might be your cuppa tea! 

The Books of July

Gee, I love a good summer for catching up on reading! At the lake there are fewer distractions and for whatever reason, I don't feel overly guilty if I read during the day! Not surprisingly, mysteries make for good lake-reading fare but I also enjoyed a couple of memoirs and revisited a childhood favorite. 

 

This is a long one (ten books), but if you enjoy reading, onward!

The Books of June

June wasn't a bad reading month. (When it's really hot, that's about all you can get the energy to do!) Again, mysteries took center stage, but I also managed to include some fiction and a series of somewhat twisted short stories that I found oddly delightful. (Don't judge me.) 

 

At Home: The May Books

After a wimpy April for reading, May proved more productive and more diverse. This month we have a two memoirs, a fantasy, a novel set in the late 1800s, two British mysteries and a collection of essays. 

At Home: April Books

After a bit of catch-up of at home activities, I thought it was FINALLY time to share the April book list. April was a tough month for me and when it's tough I go for comfort food. In this case, as you might expect, my reading was heavy (again) on the mysteries! I surrounded myself with some of my favorite characters by some of my favorite authors -- along with  introduction to a new one.

 

I confess, I was about four pages out of a fourth book -- one of what I call my "Bathroom and Waiting Room" books. (These are books with short bits that you can read, put down, and return to  whenever you choose!) I guess it's only fair to put that on in the May books! Onward!

At Home: Books, Birds, Buddies and Grandboys!

I'm having a hard time getting my brain around the season. It's almost June and summer will be here before we know it and yet spring seems oddly erratic -- cold or rainy one day (or two or three), then a short burst of warm, and back to cold. Stormier than usual. The sun was out today and we tried to plant flowers at the cemetery but so many trees were down, we couldn't get to the grave. That's a story for another day. On a cheerier note, things have greened-up a lot! I'm sure you all delight when you have the chance after winter to see what is my favorite color combo come to life -- chartreuse against a blue sky! And now, there is more green!

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Still catching up on pre-storm activities and there were some good times. One such day was celebrating friend Kate's birthday with a road trip to IKEA and a stop at my favorite Italian grocery in Livonia/Northville for lunch.

At Home: The Books of March

I finally feel like I'm getting closer to my reading stride! March was productive and with a good mix of subjects (but most, as usual, mysteries). The four mysteries (by Ann Cleeves, Deborah crombie, Louise Penny and Donna Leon) are all "series" books with beloved characters. Add to it a bio-fiction book and a non-fiction look at a favorite composer and you have my March list!

At Home: Reading Through February

I thought I should share the February books before March passes us by! February was a short and slightly disruptive month in my world. I had exhausted my supply of short books to add to quantity but I have several good ones to share with you this month.

January's Book Shelf

The Polar Vortex has its challenges. But it brings with it time to dig into those Christmas books! Here's a look at a couple of foodie-biographies, a fiction novel (novella?), a political biography, a fun mystery and a lovely art book.

Year In Review -- The Annual Book Report

At long last, it's time to look at last year's books, the favorites (and the also-rans.) 2025 was far from my best reading year -- but within that year were plenty of wonderful books. I only pulled in 47 books this year, with a total of 14,947 pages. But I was pleased to see that my "favorites" list crossed many genres -- non-fiction, biography, mystery and history. I also found some authors new to me, meaning I can expand the hunt for used volumes. Here we go! (Links connect to the posts in which I reviewed the books.

At Home: Books from October through December!

Will it surprise you to know that my reading really tanked in October, November and December? So, I'm putting these three paltry months together! Some of my reviews are a bit shorter than usual because I didn't write them right after finishing the book!