Books Read in 2025

I was putting these summaries in pages, but I don't think my nonexistent subscribers look there, and so I have decided to use posts instead.

In 2025 I read 88 long works and 33 short works. Most of the Nonfiction I read was part of the BookTube Prize. Reading was lower in February due to travel and lower in July and August because of golf and visitors. Also the National Senior Games were in July in Des Moines and no reading got done during the games.

Highlights:

• I listened to entire set of Sherlock Holmes stories by Conan Doyle and narrated by Stephen Fry. I also read a pastiche of the Holmes stories and another story by Doyle that didn't include Holmes.
• I dipped my toes into several new mystery/detective series include Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache, Ramona Emerson's police photographer Rita Todacheene, Nevada Barr's series set in National Parks, and the new series by Nilima Rao featuring Sikh Police Sergeant Akal Singh and set in Fiji.
• I participated in judging the Nonfiction category for the 2025 BookTube Prize.
• There was some binging other than in Conan Doyle works: Jeff Lemire, one of my all time favorite serial artists; John Scalzi, who is always good for light by thoughtful reads; and I read some middle grades, picture books, and fairy tales that I thought were important.
• ChatGPT and I had many discussions about books that I could read, and together we came up with a curated list of books that would stretch my boundaries including fantasy, witchcraft, and other supernatural topics.
• I have tried to stay away from Audible Originals because I find they are not always the best quality, but this year I moved from binging true crime podcasts to the category of podcast novels, and found some I liked and one that pushed my boundaries a little too much.

For this list of books I have put the following information.

• the month read
• a rating out of 5 - I rarely give a 5 rating, so these can't be compared with, say, GoodReads or Amazon ratings. Also, these are the ratings from March 29, 2025, and I might feel differently about these later.
• work length - novella or shorter is Short, novel or longer is Long.
• Fiction/Nonfiction
• format or content depending
• a short description or reading note

The books are listed in alphabetic order by title. Links to blog posts are provided where possible.

• "A Disappearance in Fiji" by Nilima Rao (January, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - historical mystery debut set in 1914 Fiji, following Sikh Police Sergeant Akal Singh as he investigates the disappearance of an indentured Indian woman from a sugarcane plantation, uncovering the harsh realities of colonialism, indentured servitude, and racism in the British Crown Colony. The book is praised for its atmospheric setting, compelling characters, and its blend of a traditional police procedural with sharp social commentary
• "A Fatal Grace" by Louise Penny (May, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
• "A Nearly Normal Family" by M. T. Edvardsson (May, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - See blog post link.
• "A Rule Against Murder" by Louise Penny (June, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
• "A Study in Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle (March, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - This year I listened to the entire canon of the Sherlock Holmes stories, mostly narrated by Stephen Fry. I recognized a lot of the stories and so I am sure I have read most of them before. I probably read many of them as a teenager, but didn't know at the time how to find out the chronology and what the entire oeuvre was.
• "A Very Typical Family" by Sierra Godfrey (May, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - See blog post link. A debut novel about estranged siblings forced to reunite in their childhood home in Santa Cruz to claim their inheritance, leading them to confront past guilt, family secrets, and the possibility of forgiveness, all while searching for their missing brother and navigating new relationships, including a romance with a marine biologist. Yes, yet another "let's all get together to learn the secrets of our family that we've never understood." Also, a rather weak romance. Well-written enough, but not fresh enough for this old story.
• "All Fours" by Miranda July (February, 5, Long, Fiction, Novel) - All Fours follows a 45-year-old perimenopausal woman who, after having an extramarital affair during a road trip, has a sexual awakening. She starts spending many nights away from home at a run-down motel, and in the process remodels one of their rooms.  Her experience in that room changes her life and the lives of others that have a connection to the room. The novel was shortlisted for the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction.
• "All That Is Secret" by Patricia Raybon (November, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - The story centers on Annalee Spain, a Black woman in the 1920s who investigates her father's murder in Denver. It falls under the category of murder mystery/detective fiction set in historical times. Interesting story, but too much standard narrative (love story, set up for sequels) for me. I like the Atlanta cops much better.
• "All the President's Men" by Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein (July, 4, Long, Nonfiction, History) - Subtitle: The Greatest Reporting Story of All Time, this is a non-fiction account of  investigative journalism and the exposing the Watergate scandal.  I am pretty sure I have read this before, but I think it deserves reading again. Frankly, I find the story complex, and while these events occurred during my lifetime, I was naive and sheltered at the time, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the details. When I first went to Washington DC in 1980 on a college trip to a conference on government with John Guetzlaff, we stood on the balcony of a building and saw the Watergate Apartments. I don't know if that was the building where the National Democratic Party office was or not, but I remember John being impressed, and clearly more knowledgeable about the topic than I.  I could probably read this book two or three times and still not quite get it all. I bought this at the Kyle (TX) Library Thrift Store on 3/25/2023, but I listened to it instead. 
• "Ballad of the Whiskey Robber" by Julian Rubinstein (June, 4, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - See blog post link. Subtitle: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts  
• "Beyond Suspicion" by ITN Productions (August, 2, Short, Nonfiction, True Crime) - Beyond Suspicion: The Criminals Who Betrayed Our Trust is a true crime podcast series produced by ITN Productions for Audible, released on April 30, 2025.  Hosted by award-winning broadcaster and former law student Yinka Bokinni, the series explores how criminals can blend into everyday life, utilizing respectable professions to hide their crimes. I assumed this would be a book, and so I'm treating it as one. Forgettable stories, though.
• "Binti" by Nnedi Okorafor (March, 3, Short, Fiction, Novella) - Book 1 of 3. Binti is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction novella by Nnedi Okorafor, the first in a trilogy, about a young Himba woman who leaves Earth for a prestigious university in space, only to find herself in the middle of a deadly conflict between humans and the alien Meduse.
• "Blind Spots" by Thomas Mullen (January, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a speculative crime novel set in a near-future world where a pandemic has caused global blindness, and people rely on brain-implanted devices called "vitters" for sight. The story follows homicide detective Mark Owens as he investigates murders in this new reality, where the technology that provides sight can be hacked, leading to a conspiracy where perpetrators can alter what witnesses "see". It's a futuristic police procedural that blends sci-fi with noir
• "Body of Evidence" by Patricia Cornwell (April, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Dr. Kay Scarpetta book
• "Booth" by Karen Joy Fowler (July, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Historical fiction. I was disappointed that this was fiction. It is the possible story of John Wilkes Booth's parents and siblings, how they lived and the troubles they faced. His father was an actor, and was away from home most of the time, rarely sending money home. His father wanted an older brother to follow in his footsteps, but JWB also wanted to be an actor. We follow JWB's life into adulthood. I didn't think it spent enough time on how he became "radicalized" and the people he "conspired" with.
• "Broken Angels" by Richard K. Morgan (October, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - A sequel to Altered Carbon, set 50 years later, it follows Kovacs as a mercenary on the planet Sanction IV, who gets involved in a dangerous treasure hunt for an ancient alien spacecraft, blending sci-fi, war, and spy thriller elements with high-tech action, political intrigue, and philosophical theme. It made me realize that I didn't need to read Altered Carbon again. I didn't appreciate the politics or the violence.
• "Broken Monsters" by Lauren Beukes (November, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a genre-bending supernatural thriller set in a decaying Detroit, following homicide detective Gabi Versado as she investigates a series of bizarre murders where victims are found fused with animal parts, leading her to a killer who is creating grotesque, artistic tableaus from human bodies, blurring the lines between crime, horror, and urban fantasy. I didn't think the story here was quite as good as The Shining Girls, but still compelling. I will look for other books by Lauren Beukes. Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT
• "Challenger" by Adam Higginbotham (April, 3, Long, Nonfiction, History) - Subtitle: A true story of heroism and disaster on the edge of space  BookTube Prize Octofinals. I was disappointed to find out that this book won the Nonfiction BookTube prize in 2025. Yes, it was a well-written book, but I did not think it was a well-written as The Barn or The Siege. The specific story about the Challenger might not have been told before, but there are so many books about the space program. It has been 40 years since these events, and so it is not even topical, while The Siege told a story that, while also dated, was untold, and the story of The Barn, while even older, was important. 
• "Columbus Day" by Craig Alanson (April, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - first book in the Expeditionary Force military sci-fi series, following U.S. Army soldier Joe Bishop after Earth is invaded by aliens (the Ruhar) and then "saved" by another alien race (the Kristang). Humans are recruited into an expeditionary force to fight the Ruhar, but Joe discovers his new allies are deceptive and he teams up with a sarcastic, ancient AI named Skippy to survive and uncover the truth, leading to a humorous and action-packed story about humanity's place in a galactic war. I was hoping this would be in the lines of A Long, Long Way to an Angry Planet, and granted Skippy was an amusing character, but the story was a little too drawn out and the setup for subsequent story too obvious. I don't need to read the next in this series.
• "Constituent Service" by John Scalzi (June, 3, Short, Fiction, Novella) - a humorous novella by John Scalzi about a recent college graduate, Ashley Perrin, who becomes a community liaison for a city district with a large alien population, dealing with bizarre municipal issues like alien parades, sewer problems, and a chicken with a grudge, in a story often compared to Parks and Rec meets sci-fi. Well, I've never seen Parks and Rec, but anything by Scalzi if fine by me. 
• "Darwin's Radio" by Greg Bear (September, 2, Long, Fiction, Novel) - explores human evolution through a genetic "plague" called SHEVA, which reawakens dormant retroviruses in human DNA, causing rapid, radical changes in newborns and threatening humanity with speciation. The story follows scientists Kaye Lang, Christopher Dicken, and Mitch Rafelson as they race to understand the phenomenon, which is linked to discoveries of prehistoric human remains, and confront the political and social fallout of this evolutionary leap. The book won a Nebula Award and was nominated for a Hugo Award. Well, for something that was award winning, the story is not very memorable. The only think I remember is how it dragged.
• "Death at the Sign of the Rook" by Kate Atkinson (June, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Jackson Brodie novel.
• "Doors" by Ed McBain (December, 2, Long, Fiction, Novel) -  Purchased 2023/11/11 ABC Books, Springfield on a trip there to visit Mary and Kelly. This was not an 87th Precinct story. It follows a burglar and his cohort. The term Doors refers to the barriers the thief has to pass through and unlock to get to his prize. He is always looking for the next fix. A study in the underworld. He tries to go straight, but just can't do it. Tedious.
• "Down the River unto the Sea" by Walter Mosley (January, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - 2018 novel by Walter Mosley, the first in the King Oliver series, featuring disgraced ex-NYPD detective Joe King Oliver, who is framed for sexual assault and later seeks justice for himself and a journalist accused of killing corrupt cops, uncovering a deep-seated conspiracy within the force. The book won the Edgar Award for Best Novel and explores themes of institutional racism, corruption, and redemption through a gritty, noir lens
• "Eifelheim" by Michael Flynn (December, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a Hugo-nominated science fiction novel that blends historical fiction with hard sci-fi, centered on a small German town that vanished in 1349 during the Black Death. The story follows a modern historian and physicist investigating the mystery, which uncovers that the town was the site of humanity's first contact with an alien race whose spaceship crashed nearby, forcing the local priest, Father Dietrich, to act as an ambassador. The narrative alternates between the medieval setting and the modern investigation. I liked the story in the past better than the present. I appreciated that the priest and some of the town accepted the aliens for what they were and found ways to fit them into their understanding of the world. OTOH I felt the science in the present day a little hokey. Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT
• "El Deafo" by Cece Bell (December, 5, Long, Nonfiction, Graphic Novel) - a Newbery Honor-winning graphic novel memoir by Cece Bell about her childhood experiences with hearing loss, using a bulky hearing aid that gives her "superpowers" to hear everything, which helps her navigate school and find friendship while feeling different. The book, illustrated with anthropomorphic bunnies, humorously and poignantly explores themes of deafness, loneliness, and finding one's place, following Cece as she transforms into the superhero alter-ego "El Deafo, Listener for All". This is one of the books I got as part of the Identity and Representation first-year-seminar I taught in fall of 2016. I didn't read it until this year, and I really was able to identify with the character. I thought the author did a great job of describing issue such as hearing, but not understanding, and how louder is not better.
• "Eleven Numbers" by Lee Child (January, 3, Short, Fiction, Novella) - a standalone thriller about an American math professor, Nathan Tyler, recruited by the White House for a top-secret mission in Russia to decipher a code related to nuclear access, which quickly turns into a dangerous spy game with unexpected twists and double-crosses
• "Essex County, Vol. 1" by Jeff Lemire (May, 5, Short, Fiction, Graphic Novel) - Subtitle: Tales from the Farm. Gotta love Jeff Lemire. This 3 book series tells the story of a group of people who live in a Canadian town. There is a lot of hockey here - played on frozen ponds and on professional rinks. The books are each from different viewpoints and set at different times. Each is a beautiful story itself, but they all come together in the end. Each life is hard and sometimes tragic, but it is uplifting as well. I left these for my sister to read when she come to visit and she stayed up all night to finish them.
• "Essex County, Vol. 2" by Jeff Lemire (May, 5, Short, Fiction, Graphic Novel) - Subtitle: Ghost Stories  
• "Essex County, Vol. 3" by Jeff Lemire (May, 5, Short, Fiction, Graphic Novel) - Subtitle: The Country Nurse  
• "Exposure" by Ramona Emerson (June, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - As opposed to the Nevada Barr book, which I found to be nonstarter for her series, I am eager to read more of Ramona Emerson. I think the protagonist being a photographer is novel enough in the use of forensics in crime novels to be interesting, but I also like the introduction to the Native American culture as well. Again, this is a book where I can't remember the storyline, but my remembrance of the characters is quite vivid. I want to hear more about the photographer and her family.
• "Furious Hours" by Casey Cep (January, 4, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - Subtitle: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, a biography of Harper Lee. The last trial is that of Alabama serial killer Reverend Willie Maxwell with Harper Lee's attempt to write a book about him, exploring themes of murder, insurance fraud, racial politics, and the justice system in the Deep South. The book details how Maxwell was accused of murdering family members for insurance money, was defended by a lawyer who later defended his killer, and was ultimately assassinated at his last victim's funeral, all while Lee reported on the case for years
• "Gideon the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir (November, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - This had potential. Gideon is a servent of a part of a larger society. His planet (the Ninth house?) has been falling to pieces for years. The princess Harrowhawk runs the show and makes everyone believe that her parents are really behind the decisions, but they have effectively been in stasis for a long time. She has to compete with the other houses for who will become the new immortal and Gideon is her second, even though Gideon has no formal training and Harrowhawk is her sworn enemy. Fantasy, witches, dead things, and humor. A little too much witchcraft and magic for me.
• "Grief is for People" by Sloane Crosley (February, 3, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - explores the loss of her close friend and former boss, Russell Perreault, to suicide, interwoven with the experience of her own apartment being burglarized during the pandemic. The book uses her signature wit and sharp observations to navigate profound grief, examining themes of friendship, loss, and the search for meaning through art, philosophy, and the minutiae of daily life, ultimately challenging traditional notions of closure. BookTube Prize Octofinals
• "Hidden Valley Road" by Robert Kolker (December, 4, Long, Nonfiction, Science) -  Subtitle: Inside the Mind of an American Family , audible.com wishlist, Oprah's book club(s), selected Apr 2020. This was a fascinating book. The history of a family where half of the children developed schizophrenia. We get a biography of the parents and detailed medical history of some of the boys. We also get information about the two girls in the family and how the mental illness of their 6 brothers had an impact on their development and lives. The book bounced back and forth between the family and the history of the study and treatment of schizophrenia, and I wish it had been able to spend more time on the science.
• "His Last Bow" by Arthur Conan Doyle (April, 3, Long, Fiction, Short Story Collection) - Narrated by Stephen Fry "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge"[note 3] "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" "The Adventure of the Red Circle" "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" "His Last Bow"  
• "Hitchhikers" by Ben H. Winters (April, 3, Short, Fiction, Novella) - A time travel story. A woman is about to marry her domineering lawyer fiance. In a way, she's doing it because she never believed she'd have such an opportunity despite the difficulties of their relationship. That is all turned upside down when a homeless woman starts parking in front of their house. The fiance expect her to get rid of the old woman, but that when they meet she's not sure she can...or should make her leave.
• "I Heard Her Call My Name" by Lucy Sante (March, 4, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - The memoir follows Sante's process of gender transition and coming out as a trans woman at age 67.. BookTube Prize Octofinals
• "I Want My Hat Back" by Jon Klassen (December, 4, Short, Fiction, Picture Book) -  Advent Calendar Recommendation 
• "If You Come to Earth" by Sophie Blackall (December, 4, Short, Fiction, Picture Book) -  Advent Calendar Recommendation 
• "Ivy and Bean" by Annie Barrows (December, 3, Short, Fiction, Middle Grades) -  Advent Calendar Recommendation 
• "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann (January, 5, Long, Nonfiction, History) - Subtitle: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, a twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history. Set in Osage County and include people I have been associated with, including Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum. A terrible abuse of power allowed white men to become the effective owners of the oil rights of the Osage, and when having financial power was not enough, they resorted to killing off the Osage that got in their way. Very difficult to read, although that is not why it took me a couple of years to finish. I had put it aside, and it was on my list of books to finish in 2025. I restarted the book from the beginning.
• "Kowloon Generic Romance, Vol. 1" by Jun Mayuzuki (January, 2, Short, Fiction, Graphic Novel) - I got this because I was fascinated with the lore of the Kowloon Walled City. I wasn't intrigued enough to read more of the series.
• "Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy" by Karen Abbott (June, 4, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - Subtitle: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War, Civil War women, might have repeat info from Female Husbands @abookolive 
• "Light from Uncommon Stars" by Ryka Aoki (November, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a fantasy/sci-fi novel about a violin teacher, Shizuka Satomi, who made a deal with the devil to find seven violin prodigies to sell their souls for fame, but finds her curse complicated by a transgender runaway and an alien refugee in a California donut shop, leading to themes of found family, identity, and love.  The best part of this book was the donut shop/spaceship. I think it was a strange blend of Faustian storyline with screwball space opera.
• "Local Gone Missing" by Fiona Barton (May, 2, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a mystery novel about Detective Elise King investigating the disappearance of a local man, Charlie Perry, in the seaside town of Ebbing, where tensions between long-time residents and newcomers are high. The investigation unfolds amidst a chaotic music festival, uncovering secrets and hidden connections as Elise, on medical leave, unofficially digs into the case, revealing a dark underbelly beneath the town's idyllic surface. Well, a forgettable mystery. I have having trouble bringing any of it to mind and I wonder if this internet description is missing some of the things that would have make it more memorable.
• "March Violets" by Philip Kerr (November, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - first novel in Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy, introducing hard-boiled private detective Bernie Gunther in 1936 Nazi Germany, who investigates the murder of a wealthy industrialist's daughter and son-in-law, getting entangled in high-level Nazi politics and the corruption of the era. The title refers to opportunistic Nazi party members who joined for personal gain, and the book is known for its dark, historical atmosphere, blending crime fiction with pre-WWII German history, including the Berlin Olympics. This falls under the category of murder mysteries/detective fiction set in historical times and I wonder if I worked with ChatGPT to get this recommendation.
• "Me & Mama" by Cozbi A. Cabrera (December, 3, Short, Fiction, Picture Book) -  Advent Calendar Recommendation 
• "Murder at the Patel Motel" by Achilles Stamatelaky, Zackary Grady, Maulik Pancholy (June, 3, Short, Fiction, Podcast novel) - A fun mystery story that involves a family who own a hotel and the murder of the patriarch of the family. Twists and turns with regard to alliances and what each of the family knows and understands about the other. Well worth the listen.
• "Murder by Other Means" by John Scalzi (September, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Follow up to John Scalzi's The Dispatcher - How do you commit murder when the person will just show up somewhere else alive again?
• "Nine Dragons" by Michael Connelly (March, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Nine Dragons is the 14th Harry Bosch novel by Michael Connelly, published in 2009, where a routine murder investigation in Los Angeles leads Bosch to Hong Kong after his daughter is kidnapped by a triad, forcing him to confront his personal life and a dangerous crime syndicate in a high-stakes, "fish-out-of-water" story. The novel explores Bosch's vulnerability as a father and brings his professional and personal lives together. I had watched some (all?) of the Bosch television series. I found the stories intriguing and enjoyed the ensemble cast, but I didn't find Bosch's character to be likeable. I was curious about the novels behind the series.
• "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell (October, 4, Long, Nonfiction, Science) -  Subtitle: The Story of Success. I got this because I read Malcolm Gladwell's book on bombers, which I thought was extremely well written. I had avoided this book because of its popularity, and I thought that it would just be a rehash of other books on statistics, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think I was more interested in the biographies of the people described in the book, and buy in to the 10,000 hour rule. I particularly liked the history of the Beatles - a story I hadn't heard before - and of Bill Gates and why he was able to engage in coding at a time when others couldn't because of the opportunities he had.
• "Patriot" by Alexei Navalny (March, 4, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - I saw the other day that there is more evidence that Navalny was poisoned in prison. This was a powerful book and I think an important story of politics in Russia and the fate of those that disagree with the Putin regime. It starts out as a memoir, but ends up being a prison diary.  BookTube Prize Octofinals
• "Paycheck" by Philip K. Dick (June, 3, Short, Fiction, Short story) - 1953 Philip K. Dick science fiction short story about an engineer, Jennings, who has his memory wiped after a two-year contract to protect corporate secrets, only to find his payment is a bag of seemingly useless items that are actually clues to a future he must navigate to survive and uncover a conspiracy involving time travel. Second read.  PDK has a great way of focuses in on issues.
• "Pepper and Me" by Beatrice Alemagna (December, 3, Short, Fiction, Middle Grades) -  Advent Calendar Recommendation 
• "Postmortem" by Patricia Cornwell (April, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - debut novel by Patricia Cornwell, published in 1990, that introduced the world to Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta in Richmond, Virginia, as she hunts a brilliant serial killer known as "Mr. Nobody" who strangles women, while also facing internal sabotage and personal danger, winning multiple awards for its groundbreaking use of forensic science in crime fiction. HWC has read many of Cornwell's books and I thought I would try them out. I read this and Body of Evidence. I'm sure when they came out they were groundbreaking, but in the 35 years since, the public finds this sort of science more mundane.
• "Recursion" by Blake Crouch (December, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a mind-bending science fiction thriller about a mysterious phenomenon called False Memory Syndrome, where people experience vivid memories of lives they never lived, leading to a global crisis that threatens the fabric of reality. The story follows New York City cop Barry Sutton and neuroscientist Helena Smith as they team up to confront the force behind the syndrome, which is linked to a technology that allows people to relive memories, before time and reality unravel completely. Well, it was one of those forgettable science fiction books. Without this internet description I wouldn't have remembered the book at all. 
• "Red Sparrow" by Jason Matthews (October, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - I read several books in a row that included sex acts. Sadly, that is what I remember most from this book. The story is that the woman spy was trained to use seduction as part of her modus operendi. She is sent from Moscow to the U.S. to gain important information. Meanwhile, in the U.S., a man in counterespionage has lost his contact in Russia, and needs a new contact. He and she meet. Instead of trying to turn each other, the fall in love. Oy vey.  Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT 
• "Rose Red & Snow White" by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm (April, 3, Short, Fiction, Fairy Tale) - Listened to on YouTube  
• "Shades of Grey" by Jasper Fforde (October, 2, Long, Fiction, Novel) -  I first borrowed this in 2018, but must not have listened to much of it because I didn't remember any of it when I listened to it in 2025.   a dystopian novel set in a world called Chromatacia, where social hierarchy is determined by one's ability to perceive color, with higher colors (like Red) having more status than lower ones (like Grey). The story follows Eddie Russet, a Red who moves to a backwater town and falls for Jane Grey, a Grey, disrupting his life and leading him to question the rigid, color-coded society and its rules, which are enforced by a system of merits and demerits. 
• "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson (November, 5, Long, Nonfiction, Science) - a non-fiction book about two American divers, John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, who discover a sunken German U-boat off the coast of New Jersey in 1991, leading them on a six-year quest to identify the wreck (U-869) and its crew, a dangerous and obsessive journey that tests their skills, friendships, and marriages. I loved this book, and I wish the title were more memorable. The storytelling was great and I wonder where this book was recommended to me.
• "Shakespeare" by Judi Dench (July, 3, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - Subtitle: The Man Who Pays The Rent, these are conversations between Judi Dench and Brendan O'Hea, where they discuss Dench's extensive career playing Shakespearean roles, from Lady Macbeth to Cleopatra. The book offers an intimate, witty, and honest look at her process, rehearsal anecdotes, and personal interpretations, revealing the "secrets" of her craft. I found this tedious and difficult to finish, but my sister loved it. She pointed out that the interviews were read by a narrator, not Judi Dench, but that the dramatic readings of excerpts of Shakespeare's plays were in Dench's voice.
• "Slow Horses" by Mick Herron (September, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT. See blog post link.
• "Slow Noodles" by Chantha Nguon (October, 3, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) -  Subtitle: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes. This was one of the books I read for the BookTube Prize that focused on immigration, but in this case the movement of the family was all within Asia. The author tells the story of growing up in a well-to-do family in Cambodia before she and her mother have to flee to Saigon. She spends the next 2 decades enduring the hardship of an emigrant with no money or resources. She ends up in a camp in Thailand, and there she marries. Throughout the book she describes the dishes she loved and learned how to cook, and the recipes are laced with her emotional state and comments about the politics that led her to this nomadic life and periods of hunger, violence, and despair.
• "Starling House" by Alix E. Harrow (October, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - This was a haunted house story. It starts out well, like many books, and then fell into cliché. This is another of 3 books that I read in a row that had sex scenes in it. These were much most tame than those in Red Sparrow, and like teenage sex. I'm not included to read more of Alix Harrow. Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT.
• "Still Life" by Louise Penny (May, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - The first Chief Inspector Armand Gamache book in the series, but probably not the first I read. I got these based on Mary Johnston's recommendation. It is somewhat quirkly, Gamache and his team have to investigate a murder in a town in Canada that is actually not on the map. The locals are quirky: a gay couple that run the local inn, a man and a woman who are both artists, but the man thinks of his wife as a lesser artist and that's not true, an enigmatic bookstore owner with a past, and an older woman who spends time on the same bench each day in quiet conversation. Add to that a haunted house, visitors that drift into the town, and enough death to give Cabot Cove a run for its money. The individual plots are too drawn out and forgettable, but the characters and the town make up for that. I got into a jag and found 5 of them to listen to.
• "Thank You, Omu!" by Oge Mora (December, 3, Short, Fiction, Picture Book) -  Advent Calendar Recommendation 
• "The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols" by Nicholas Meyer (May, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Subtitle: Adapted from the Journals of John H. Watson, M.D., Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel featuring Holmes and Watson investigating the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fabricated antisemitic text. A pastiche novel is a literary work that imitates the distinct style, tone, or characterization of previous authors, genres, or periods, often combining various elements into a new, cohesive whole. Isn't that just a fancy way of saying fan fiction?
• "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle (March, 3, Long, Fiction, Short Story Collection) - Stephen Fry version. "A Scandal in Bohemia" "The Red-Headed League" "A Case of Identity" "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" "The Five Orange Pips" "The Man with the Twisted Lip" "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches"  Listened to in 2024 and again in 2025, but had read this as a teenage
• "The Barn" by Wright Thompson (April, 5, Long, Nonfiction, History) - I was terribly disappointed that this book did not win the BookTube Prize for Nonfiction. This is the story of the murder of Emmett Till told by focusing on the location of his death: a barn in rural Mississippi. An important book and powerfully told. Subtitle: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi  BookTube Prize Octofinals
• "The Brontes" by Phyllis Bentley (May, 4, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - I picked this book up at the Greene County Library booksale in Springfield, MO. I then passed it on to my sister. A good beginning-to-end treatment of the 4 Bronte siblings. I particularly liked the images in the books, showing buildings and places they would have known and documents and other artifacts of their lives.
• "The Case of the Cautious Coquette" by Erle Stanley Gardner (March, 2, Long, Fiction, Novel) - The plot doesn't really matter, because this is a 1947 Perry Mason mystery, and so you've got the idea already. I bought a group of about 30 of the books, and read a couple, but then I decided to watch the TV series instead. I would like to get the subsequent made-for-television movies to finish out the set. Reading this and watching the series led me to watch the first year of the Ironside series. My mental image of the floor he lived on at the police station and what it actually looked like in the series diverged significantly. (My version was much better.)
• "The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle (April, 3, Long, Fiction, Short Story Collection) - Narrated by Stephen Fry "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" "The Problem of Thor Bridge" "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire" "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs" "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client" "The Adventure of the Three Gables" "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier"[note 5] "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane"[note 5] "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman" "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger" "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place"  
• "The Cruelest Month" by Louise Penny (May, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
• "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (April, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - 2022 historical science fiction novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, reimagining H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau in 19th-century Mexico. It follows Carlota Moreau, who lives on a secluded estate with her father, a scientist creating human-animal hybrids, and the melancholic overseer Montgomery Laughton, until the arrival of the patron's son, Eduardo Lizalde, disrupts their world and forces them to confront dangerous secrets and passions. The novel explores themes of colonialism, feminism, and religion, blending gothic romance with science fiction and historical events like the Caste War of Yucatán. I continue to read Moreno-Garcia and for the most part enjoy her books.
• "The Deep Blue Good-by" by John D. MacDonald (March, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - the first novel in John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, introducing the hard-boiled, houseboat-dwelling "salvage consultant" who recovers stolen property for a 50% cut. In this book, McGee helps a woman named Cathy escape the clutches of the manipulative and predatory Junior Allen, who has stolen her inheritance and left her broken. The story establishes McGee's character, his houseboat The Busted Flush, and his "knight-errant" code of ethics as he hunts down the villain across Florida's waterways. I'm not exactly sure what attracted me to John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series. I thought it was related to other series, but I don't find a reference of it. I also didn't know that MacDonald had died in 1986, so if I read more and like them, there are a limited number of books in the series.
• "The Dispatcher" by John Scalzi (September, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Gotta love John Scalzi. Didn't know this was part of a series. Could that be a good thing? One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone - 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back.. Google Books 2nd read
• "The Expanse" by Hallie Lambert, Georgia Lee, James S.A. Corey (May, 4, Short, Fiction, Graphic Novel) - Subtitle: Origins, The backstory of each of the characters on the Rocinante. A fun little book that left me wanting more.
• "The Final Wife" by Jenny Blackhurst (June, 2, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a psychological thriller about Anna Whitney, who confesses to stabbing her husband, Luke, but can't remember the details, leading police to uncover Luke's deceitful life and multiple suspects, including his ex-wife, mistress, and Anna herself, all of whom had a motive to kill the narcissistic man. The book is known for its twists, multiple perspectives, and fast-paced plot, though some readers find the writing or character development lacking, while others praise its suspense and unpredictability. Well, I have very little memory of this, and so I think I agree with the lack of character development.
• "The Fire Kimono" by Laura Joh Rowland (October, 2, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT. See blog post link. 
• "The Garden Against Time" by Olivia Laing (March, 3, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - Subtitle: In search of a common paradise. The author buys a house specifically for the historic garden and the history of the previous owner. She spends a year bringing the garden back to life. She provides a history of gardening in the UK and details about various plants as well as a biography of the famous garderner she took over from in currating the property she bought.  BookTube Prize Octofinals
• "The Gone World" by Tom Sweterlitsch (March, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a 2018 science fiction novel that blends police procedural, time travel, and cosmic horror, following NCIS agent Shannon Moss as she investigates a murder in 1997 that is connected to a spaceship lost in "Deep Time" and a future apocalypse known as the Terminus. The story involves Moss traveling through potential futures to solve the present-day case, uncovering a cataclysmic event that threatens humanity's end. It's known for its mind-bending concepts, complex plot, and focus on trauma, often compared to Inception meets True Detective. Every time I look at this title, I have to look up the description, but then I remember images from the book, especially the looping back around to the same place/time. Definitely mind-bending, but just not my cup of tea.
• "The Gone-Away World" by Nick Harkaway (October, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT. See blog post link. 
• "The Grey Wolf" by Louise Penny (September, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
• "The Horrors of Slavery" by Robert Wedderburn (August, 3, Short, Nonfiction, Essay) - Read by @JDraper on YouTube
• "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyle (March, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Narrated by Stephen Fry, Novel Found in OneNote Listened to on Audible, but had read this before, OneNote: Read as a young teenager and reread since then.
• "The House Across the Lake" by Riley Sager (March, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - psychological thriller novel by Riley Sager about a recently widowed actress, Casey Fletcher, who retreats to her family's Vermont lake house and becomes obsessed with watching her glamorous neighbors across the lake, leading her to uncover dark secrets and a major plot twist involving supernatural elements. I don't know what attracted me to this story, maybe the comparison between it and Rear Window. I found it compelling enough to keep listening to it, and I don't remember the supernatural aspects behing too far out there to turn me off.
• "The Husbands" by Chandler Baker (May, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a mystery novel about Nora Spangler, a lawyer who feels overwhelmed by the unequal division of domestic labor in her marriage, and discovers a sinister secret in an idyllic neighborhood where the husbands are perfectly helpful, leading to a "Stepford Wives"-style plot with a dark twist. Good premise and some good bits, but I didn't think it held together at the end.
• "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett (January, 5, Long, Fiction, Novel) - The classic noir novel featuring Sam Spade. I have seen the movie several times and this is at least the third time I've read this book, the last time in 2017.
• "The Man with the Watches" by Arthur Conan Doyle (February, 2, Short, Fiction, Short story) - This is not Sherlock Holmes story. I suspect that I listened to it on YouTube.
• "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle (March, 3, Long, Fiction, Short Story Collection) - Narrated by Stephen Fry "Silver Blaze" "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box"[note 1] "The Adventure of the Yellow Face" "The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk" "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott"[note 2] "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual"[note 2] "The Adventure of the Reigate Puzzle" "The Adventure of the Crooked Man" "The Adventure of the Resident Patient" "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty" "The Adventure of the Final Problem"  Probably read as a teenage, listened in 2024 and 2025
• "The Mimicking of Known Successes" by Malka Older (May, 3, Short, Fiction, Novella) - a Hugo and Nebula Award-nominated novella that blends a cozy, Holmesian-style murder mystery with a sapphic romance, set in a future where humanity lives on floating platforms in Jupiter's atmosphere after Earth became uninhabitable. The story follows Investigator Mossa as she investigates a disappearance on a research outpost, leading her to her ex-girlfriend, Pleiti, a scholar of Earth's past, forcing them to confront their past relationship and the future of humanity's return to Earth. This is a little hard to remember mostly because it is short. I think I might have liked a longer treatment and more in-depth world building.
• "The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley (September, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a debut novel that blends sci-fi, romance, and historical fiction, centered on a secret UK government agency that recruits "expats" from history to study time travel. The story follows a civil servant tasked with assisting Commander Graham Gore, a 19th-century naval officer from a doomed Arctic expedition, as he adjusts to the 21st century, leading to a forbidden romance and a thriller plot that uncovers the Ministry's true, darker motives. I so wanted to like this book and thought it had a good premise, but Commander Graham Gore was unbelievable - a romanticized image of a Victorian man. The romance part was pretty good, but the story fell apart.
• "The Nanny" by Gilly Macmillan (June, 2, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a psychological thriller about a woman, Jocelyn Holt, who returns to her childhood home and uncovers dark family secrets after human remains are found on the estate, linked to the mysterious disappearance of her beloved nanny, Hannah, 30 years prior. Told from multiple perspectives
• "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle (April, 3, Long, Fiction, Short Story Collection) - Narrated by Stephen Fry "The Adventure of the Empty House" "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist" "The Adventure of the Priory School" "The Adventure of Black Peter" "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" "The Adventure of the Three Students" "The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez" "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter" "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange" "The Adventure of the Second Stain"  
• "The Rook" by Daniel O'Malley (October, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT. See blog post link.
• "The Secret Daughter" by Forest Sounds (August, 3, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - a 2025 Audible Original nonfiction audiobook documenting Nikki Carlson's, an adoptee, search for her biological roots. Her search uncovers a dramatic, true story involving New York high society, Italian aristocracy, and a fierce legal battle over a $20 million inheritance. This was interesting. Her supposed father was an enigmatic character and I'm not sure anyone will know the whole truth.
• "The Seven Year Slip" by Ashley Poston (December, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Waggoner-Wood Sister's Book Club, See blog post link.
• "The Shining Girls" by Lauren Beukes (October, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT. See blog post link.
• "The Siege" by Ben Macintyre (June, 5, Long, Nonfiction, History) - BookTube Finals - This is the story of the takeover of the Iranian Embassy in London by a faction of Iranians seeking independence from their government. It is a well-written account of the siege told from all sides. We have good backgrounds on the players and it follows the events from beginning to end. Sadly, due to bad timing, the group that took over the embassy were not able to get their message across, everyone thought the perpetrators were from some other place and backed by some other group other than what they really were. There were some Keystone Kops moments in the assault, but it turned out not too badly. This is an episode of the time that I hadn't heard of, and I thought it was fresh and worthwhile.
• "The Sign of Four" by Arthur Conan Doyle (March, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Narrated by Stephen Fry, Novel  
• "The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook" by Susan Briscoe (July, 4, Short, Nonfiction, Crafting) - Subtitle: Patterns, Projects and Inspirations  Everand. I have been working on various sashiko projects this past year as part of my "Wear it, repair it, or share it" project. This is a valuable book, and I wish I could get it in paper format.
• "The Valley of Fear" by Arthur Conan Doyle (April, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Narrated by Stephen Fry, Novel  
• "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown (December, 5, Short, Fiction, Middle Grades) -  Advent Calendar Recommendation 
• "The Woman They Could Not Silence" by Kate Moore (June, 4, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - The true story of a woman who was committed to a sanitarium by her husband for simply being assertative. This is her story and the story of the health care system in the Victorian era, such as it was in Illinois at the time. She extricated herself from confinement and then became an advocate for others who had spent decades locked away from family and friends for no reason other than being inconvenient.
• "Track of the Cat" by Nevada Barr (June, 2, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Another recommendation by Mary Johnston. She likes that these books are set in National Parks, but I found the story and the characters rather plain and ordinary. I was not inspired to read another of Nevada Barr's books.
• "Travel By Bullet" by John Scalzi (September, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Follow up to John Scalzi's The Dispatcher - If when you are killed you'll just show up back at where you are most comfortable, why not use murder as a mode of transportation?
• "Unlicensed" by Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink (June, 4, Short, Fiction, Podcast novel) - It seems that I have many, many books on my TBR and yet I'm always looking for something to listen to. In 2024 I binged on several podcasts. This year, I found stories like this that were told in podcast formats. Unlicensed is the story of a privated detective Lou Rosen, who has lost her license, and recently divorced Holly Hatch, celebrating 2 years of sobriety, as they champion the underdog in several David v. Goliath stories. Clever and upbeat. 
• "Unlicensed 2" by Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink (June, 4, Short, Fiction, Podcast novel) - Subtitle: Season 2  
• "Unlicensed 3" by Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink (June, 4, Short, Fiction, Podcast novel) - Subtitle: Season 3  
• "Unorthodox" by Deborah Feldman (July, 3, Long, Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir) - Subtitle: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. There were some salacious videos going around about the series developed from this book. While the series was developed in conjunction with Feldman, the television story had bits to it from other women's lives, and so those images that drew me to the book were not in the book. However, it was an interesting story. I particularly liked her descriptions of growing up in Williamsburg, and it made we want to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I like how she dealt with her restrictions on reading by finding ways to hide books and read on the sly. I enjoyed hearing about her relationship with her family. Not so pleasant were the abusive episodes with men in the community. Yes, this ended up being yet another coming of age book, but worthwhile.
• "Vanishing Treasures" by Katherine Rundell (April, 2, Long, Nonfiction, Science) - Subtitle: A bestiary of extraordinary endangered creatures. This book gives background on several endangered species. Short and I didn't feel it provided anything new on the topic.  BookTube Prize Octofinals
• "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (November, 5, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Purchased from Amazon in 2007, but I didn't read this book until 18 years later. BJ recommended it, but I didn't see the attraction, but I recently listened to it and loved it. 
• "We Found A Hat" by Jon Klassen (December, 4, Short, Fiction, Picture Book) -  Advent Calendar Recommendation 
• "We Solve Murders" by Richard Osman (November, 3, Long, Fiction, Novel) - Selected from guided recommendations from ChatGPT
• "Welcome to Night Vale" by Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink (June, 2, Short, Fiction, Podcast novel) - One of the Podcast novels I dove into this year. This is about a fantastical town with strange characters and stranger laws of physics. I was hoping it would have interesting characters that I could like, but since I don't remember any of them, it must have missed the mark.
• "Wool, the graphic novel" by Jimmy Palmiotti, Hugh Howey, Justin Gray, Jimmy Broxton (May, 4, Short, Fiction, Graphic Novel) - Subtitle: The Graphic Novel; I read the novel several years ago but ran across this graphic novel. I think this was the first story in the ever popular, fan fiction rife, Silo series.
• "Wrong Place Wrong Time" by Gillian McAllister (January, 4, Long, Fiction, Novel) - a psychological thriller about a mother, Jen, who witnesses her teenage son, Todd, murder a stranger on Halloween night, only to wake up the next day to find it's the day before the murder, forcing her to travel backward in time to unravel the mystery and prevent the crime. Each morning she wakes up further in the past, reliving the days leading up to the murder, discovering clues, and piecing together the events that led to her son's horrific act