26ish books 2025

I read a grand total of 16 books all year in 2024. I've just finished book 9 in 2025! I've really found my reading mojo again.
The last ones have been:
6 Five Little Pigs - the January Agatha Christie 2025 read along book. I really enjoyed the different structure of this with Poirot interviewing all suspects and then their written statements.
7 Honeybee by Dawn O'Porter An easy, and funny at times, enjoyable read.
8 Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent This went a complete different way to what I imagined at the beginning. I was disappointed with the ending though.
9 The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre A brilliantly clever book. I was intrigued by the two ver different 'detective' characters and how they would come and work together and thoroughly enjoyed it.

@Totorosfluffytummy A History of Loneliness is one of my all time favourites.It’s about time I reread it.

Hi all, I'm joining late. I love this thread for book recommendations!
Had a very difficult last few months & didn't manage to read any books during the last 3 months of 2024.
Started 2025 with Double Indemnity - James M Cain. This is the 3rd James M Cain book I've read and I've loved all of them.

1. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng - I found this book thanks to this thread and really enjoyed it, didn't want it to end.
2. “The Machine Stops” and “The Celestial Omnibus” - E M Forster. Two short stories in one book, I loved both & highly recommend them.
3. A History of Loneliness - John Boyne - just starting this.

So far

1. The Safekeep by Yale van der Wouden
2. Fire by John Boyne.
3. Birnham Wood by Eleanor Catton
4. Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson. An audio book and either the writing has gone off or I prefer this author when reading her in actual book. A very neat ending with the best bits for me being about the aging process of Jackson Brodie. Also memories of Jason Isaacs.
5. The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. I enjoyed this immensely having recently seen the film. The nature writing, descriptions of a chaotic 20s life and the slow journey of recovery made this a delight.

DNF Doppleganger by Naomi Klein. Whilst I sympathised with point being made, I think I got the gist and it didn’t hold my interest sufficiently. A BorrowBox audiobook, so sent back early.
Have finally started Intermezzo and am enjoying it so far.

@Tinkhasflown
I too loved We Begin at the End.

I recently finished his latest book, All the Colours of the Dark which was also excellent.
Such a talented author and British!

I'm about half way through my second book. Reading mean streak by Sandra brown. Very hooked and cannot wait to be able to read some more tonight!

Whew - finally finished The Bee Sting which I started the year off with. I did enjoy it ( but like RaininSummer I didn’t like the lack of punctuation in Imelda’s chapters). But it was so long so I’m looking for a much shorter read next.

1. Wuthering Heights- Emily Brontë
2. The Bee Sting - Paul Murray

@Decafflatteplease @Lua

I know what you mean.

I like how It's easy to read, and structured -- also it's interesting to read and compare it to the series.

I DNF because I felt things got repetitive, and I just needed a little bit more levity (and hope I suppose)

2: They Don't Teach This by Eniola Aluko. Eni is a former England footballer with over 100 caps, and now a sports executive and broadcaster, this is the story of her upbringing, how she became a professional footballer whilst qualifying as a lawyer and her battles against sexism and racism, it is inspirational reading.

4 - The Rachel Incident - Caroline O'Donaghue - I enjoyed this, easy read with some laugh out loud moments

3: The Last Chairlift by John Irving
I’m a massive Irving fan but this was way too long at 889 pages. It’s a shame because I would have really enjoyed it had it been shorter.

4: Lundy - Official Guide
I’m counting this because it was more than a pamphlet. Interesting guide to a place I really love.

On book 4 now and about halfway through. So glad I have managed to get back into reading. It has been so much better than the endless social media scrolling!

Book 4 "This Book May Save Your Life" by Dr Karan Rajan. Quick and interesting read, he's an engaging writer, though a few too many puns but that's what you get from a medical communicator like him.

I need to get my reading head back on. Since the new year I've read one book and dnf'd another. Far too easy to just watch TV when I'm tired instead of reading 🙄

Loved it!

Just finished my first book of the year

1. the storm sister by lucinda Riley. I enjoyed this book once I got into it. Took a while to get started as felt quite similar and repetitive from the 1st in the series at first but was different once I got into it.

I've got both these on my tbr pile!

@MayfairRose I am not disliking it per se, but I don't manage more than a few pages before I go to sleep..... so not a page turner!

I have the feeling that I dropped in into someone conversation, IYSWIM, like I am missing something.... but I am perhaps 20% in only.
Did you gave up on it?

Finished The Bee Sting by Paul Murray and it definitely wasn't my favourite read. In particular the chapters with no punctuation were very hard work. In contrast, I am loving Circe by Madeline Miller.

I read this last year and felt exactly the same as you. The ending was too neat and easy

@Lua Thoughts on Queenie? I read approximately 70 % on my Kindle.

A terrible kindness by Jo Browning Wroe. 3/5 by me on Goodreads. Good enough but not great.

The blurb has you believe it's set around the tragedy in Aberfan wales, it starts there but it's really about a chap who volunteers there as an embalmer. It continues on about his life, complex family dynamics that just seem pointless and apparently PTSD. But I am not sure about that last bit. It was OK.

4. Smart Women by Judy Blume. I admit I love Judy Blume so she'd have to do a lot wrong to up me off but I enjoyed this. Range of female characters from tweens up. Lots of family dynamics at play, mother / kids especially, including adult kids...the adult women behaved less maturely than the kids...story romped along and kept me gripped. The premise is one woman gets involved with her friend's ex husband, both already have children and then there's loads of fall out. Maybe one for a holiday or long journey, or just when you want something enclosing but not weary. That's not a slight because it's a such a skill to write at that pitch snd keep it clever. It was perfect for me recovering from illness, the book I had before getting ill became hard work.

The run up to Christmas is always a disaster for my reading habits and it's sometimes hard to get back into the swing of it afterwards when I try to make time for exercise and getting out into whatever natural light is available.

So far I've only managed one book - So Many Ways to Die, an unusual Agatha Christie.

I'm working on Capote's Women, by Laurence Leamer.