2025 Reading List

I read a lot this year. I also read a lot of lighter, escapist type of books and that trend does not seem to be changing in the new year. Reading is one sure way of not thinking about current events. As usual, I am going to list the titles and authors, page count, and genre. I will mark those I thought were of wider interest and were exceptionally good. I will also link to any blog posts I wrote about a specific title. 

F = Fiction
NF = Non-fiction
M = Mystery
RA = Read out loud
L = Listened to
* = I particularly recommend 

The totals for 2025:

115 books read totaling 35,393 pages
    25 non-fiction
    45 fiction
    47 mystery
25 books not finished
1 book read out loud
11 books listened to

And now to the list.

1. The Treasure Hunter's Club - Tom Ryan (M)(368 p.)
2. The Gardener's Plot - Deborah J. Benoit (M)(321 p.)
3. All This & More - Peng Shepherd (F)(469
4.The Puzzle Box - Danielle Trussoni (F)(320 p.)
5. A Psalm for the Wildbuilt - Becky Chambers (F)(147 p.)*
6. Miss Morgan's Book Brigade - Janet Skeslien Charles (F)(314 p.)*
7. Fortune Favors the Dead - Stephen Spotswood (M)(321 p.)
8. Mrs. Polifax and the Golden Triangle - Dorothy Gilman (M-L)(194 p.)
9. Murder Under her Skin - Stephen Spotswood (M)(348 p.)
10. Mrs. Polifax and the Whirling Dervish - Dorothy Gilman (M)(221 p.)
11. The Stone Sky - N. K. Jemison (F)(398 p.)*
12. Secrets Typed in Blood - Stephen Spotswood (M)(304 p.)
13. A Spindle Splintered - Alix Harrow (F)(119 p.)
14. Mrs. Polifax and the Second Thief - Dorothy Gilman (M-L)(192 p.)
15. Murder Crossed her Mind - Stephen Spotswood (M)(361 p.)
16. Mrs. Polifax Pursued - Dorothy Gilman (M-L)(238 p.)
17. Dead in the Frame - Stephen Spotswood (M)(355 p.)
19. Evidenced-Based Horsemanship - Dr. Stephen Peters and Martin Black (NF)(89 p.)
20. Mrs. Polifax and the Lion Killer - Dorothy Gilman (M-L)(224 p.)
21. The Flying Circus - Susan Crandall (F)(354 p.)
22. Shift: Managing Your Emotions -- so they don't manage you - Ethan Kross (NF)(213 p.)*
23. The Stockholm Octavo - Karen Englenmann (F)(420 p.)
24. Mrs. Polifax, Innocent Tourist - Dorothy Gilman (M-L)(224 p.)
25. The Bookseller - Cynthia Swanson (F)(336 p.)
26. Mrs. Polifax Unveiled - Dorothy Gilman (M-L)(224 p.)
27. The Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon (F)(427 p.)*
28. Quiet in her Bones - Nalini Singh (F)(374 p.)
29. A New Kind of Country - Dorothy Gilman (NF)(125 p.)
30. Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from Consumer Culture - Shannon Hayes (NF)(276 p.)
31. Uncertain Voyage - Dorothy Gilman (F-L)(192 p.)
32. The Five Dysfuntions of a Team - Patrick Lencion (NF)(220 p.)
33. The Crook Factory - Dan Simmons (F)(435 p.)
34. Magic Kingdom for Sale - Terry Brooks (F)(324 p.)
35. Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence - Daniel Goleman (NF)(258 p.)*
36. Murder at Gull's Nest - Jess Kidd (M)(324 p.)
37. Weeds and other Good Things to Eat - Charles Elmer Fox (NF)(126 p.)
38. The Book that Wouldn't Burn - Mark Lawrence (F)(559 p.)
39. This is Your Mind on Plants - Michael Pollan (NF)(247 p.)*
40. The Tainted Cup - Robert Jackson Bennett (M)(406 p.)*
41. The War I Finally Won - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (F)(385 p.)*
42. The Book that Broke the World - Mark Lawrence (F)(364 p.)
43. Revenge of the Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell (NF)(304 p.)
44. The Amalfi Curse - Sarah Penner (F)(325 p.)
45. A Drop of Corruption - Robert Jackson Bennett (M)(456 p.)*
46. Revenge Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger (F)(381 p.)
47. Re-Regulated: Set Your Life Free From Childhood PTSD and the Trauma-Driven Behaviors that Keep You Stuck - Anna Runkle (NF)(174 p.)
48. 100 Ways to Motivate Others: how great leaders can produce insane results without driving people crazy - Steve Chandler (NF)(214 p.)
49. The Religion of Whiteness: how racism distorts Christian faith - Michael O. Emerson & Glenn E. Bracey III (NF)(171 p.)*
50. Sapp Holzer's Permaculture - Sapp Holzer (NF)(214 p.)
51. Marble Hall Murders - Anthony Horowitz (M)(579 p.)
52. Spent - Alison Bechdel (F)(257 p.)
53. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman (F)(323 p.)*
54. Booked for Murder - P. J. Nelson (M)(321 p.)
55. Trouble Island - Sharon Short (M)(323 p.)
56. The Word is Murder - Anthony Horowitz (M)(387 p.)
57. The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz (NF)(138 p.)
58. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig (F-L)(288 p.)
59. A Darker Shade of Magic - V. E. Schwab (F)(398 p.)
60. Starter Villain - John Scalzi (F)(262 p.)
61. A Beautiful Blue Death - Charles Finch (M)(309 p.)
62. The Naming of the Birds - Paraic O'Donnell (M)(323 p.)
63. The Second Chance Convenience Store - Kim Ho-Yoon (F)(196 p.)
64. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers - Jesse A. Satanto (M)(333 p.)
65. Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett (F)(392 p.) [If you haven't read any Terry Pratchett, you should really do so]
66. Death of the Author - Nnedi Okorafor (F)(435 p.)
67. Dinner with King Tut: how rogue archeologists are re-creating the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of lost civilizations - Sam Kean (NF)(420 p.)
68. The World's Greatest Detective and her Just Okay Assistant - Liza Tully (M)(385 p.)
69. Shy Creatures - Clare Chambers (F)(385 p.)
70. Murder with Peacocks - Donna Andrews (M)(332 p.)
71. The Society of Unknowable Objects - Gareth Brown (F)(337 p.)
72. Weaving as an Art Form: A personal statement - Theo Moorman (NF)(101 p.)
73. Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett (F)(342 p.)
74. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy - Becky Chambers (F)(148 p.)
75. Wool - Hugh Howey - (F)(584 p.)
76. Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett (F)(403 p.)
77. The Magician of Tiger Castle - Louis Sachar (F-L)(303 p.)
78. This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtah & Max Gladstone (F)(195 p.)
79. The Blue Castle - L. M. Montgomery (F)(202 p.)*
80. Aunt Dimity's Death - Nancy Atherton (M)(244 p.)
81. Ultra-Processes People: the science behind food that isn't food - Chris van Tulleken (NF)(313 p.)*
82. The Serviceberry: abundance and reciprocity in the natural world - Robin Wall (NF)(112 p.)
83. Aunt Dimity and the Duke - Nancy Atherton (M)(238 p.)
84. Fabric: the hidden history of the material world - Victoria Finlay (NF)(450 p.)
85. Embroidering Boundaries: Afghan women creating a future - Rangine Hamidi & Mary Littrell (NF)(164 p.)
86. Aunt Dimity's Good Deed - Nancy Atherton (M)(276 p.)
87. Aunt Dimity Digs In - Nancy Atherton (M)(275 p.)
88. Aunt Dimity's Christmas - Nancy Atherton (M)(214 p.)
89. Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil - Nancy Atherton (M)(245 p.)
90. The Milk Lady of Bangalore: and unexpected adventure - Shoba Narayan (NF)(244 p.)
91. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro (F)(288 p.) [This counts as the year's most disturbing book]
92. Aunt Dimity: Detective - Nancy Atherton (M)(229 p.)
93. Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday - Nancy Atherton (M)(199 p.)
94. Shady Hollow - Juneau Black (M)(219 p.)
95. The Long Call - Ann Cleeves (M)(375 p.)*
96. Aunt Dimity: Snowbound - Nancy Atherton (M)(226 p.)
97. Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin - Nancy Atherton (M)(288 p.)
98. The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths (M)(303 p.)
99. The White Lady - Jacqueline Winspear (F)(318 p.)*
100. The Heron's Cry - Ann Cleeves (M)(382 p.)
101. Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea - Nancy Atherton (M)(245 p.)
102. The Janus Stone - Elly Griffiths (M)(317 p.)
103. The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch (F)(499 p.)
104. Foundryside - Robert Jackson Bennett (F-L)(503 p.)
105. The Dentist - Tim Sullivan (M)(353 p.)*
106. The Librarians - Sherry Thomas (M)(352 p.)
107. Aunt Dimity Goes West - Nancy Atherton (M)(227 p.)
108. After the Armistice Ball - Catriona McPherson (M)(302 p.)
109. Separation of Church and Hate - John Fugelson (NF)(283 p.)
110. A Suitable Boy - Vikran Seth (F-RA)(1349 p.)[Yes, we really did finish it!]
111. The Lost Hour Between Worlds - Melissa Caruso (F)(383 p.)*
112. The Impossible Fortune - Richard Osman (M-L)(352 p.)* [This is the most recent Thursday Murder Club book, a series which I highly recommend.)
113. Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi (F)(272 p.)
114. Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: the education of a craftsman - Peter Korn (NF)(167 p.)




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