26ish books 2025

[Tinkhasflown]

A shiny new thread for 2025.

All welcome and note 26 is just a number. Everyone can set their own target and you are welcome here even if you only read 2 books a year.

I personally count the larger novel style books I read to my children and audio books I listen to. Others don't and there are no rules.

I look forward to all your suggestions again this year.

13. The End of the World is a Cul de Sac - Louise Kennedy. This is actually a series of short stories, all about different women in rural Ireland. 4*
14. A girl is a half formed thing - Eimear McBride. About a girl.s relationship with her brother who had a brain tumour as a child, but deals with violence and abuse. The stream of consciousness is interesting but annoying and often difficult to follow. Maybe it would be better in print than audio, however, I'm not even convinced about that. 2*
15. I Owe You One - Sophie Kinsella. A light easy read but just ok 3*
16. Nesting - Roisin ODonnell This was a brilliant read, about a mother of two young children and pg with her third grabs clothes off the line and ups and leaves her abusive husband. 5*
17. The Dutch House - Ann Patchett An enjoyable read. A little too neatly wrapped up in the end though.
18. Dear Mrs Bird - A.J Pearse A lovely light read, set during the war. I listened on audio.
19. Yours Cheerfully- A.J Pearse Book 2 of this seties set during the war. Again, I listened on audio.

I had another couple of DNF:
Liane Moriarty - Three Wishes. I was listening on audio and couldn't stand listening to the narrator!
Caoilin Hughes - The Alternatives. Again tnis was audio but didn’t grab me.
Carmel Harrington - A Mothers Heart. It all felt a bit predictable so I DNF.

Had a bit of a slump this year so not read that much and haven't really been keeping proper track, but here's my list according to Goodreads:

Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
The Husband by B.B. Thomas
Butter by Asako Yuzuki
Cousins by Aurora Vinturini
Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (probably my favourite so far)
The Trial by S R. Masters
All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Tampa by Alissa Nutting (DNF)
A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck
Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata

19: Welcome to the Word, Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg
This was a little dated but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It felt in a similar vein to an Ann Tyler.

20: Birdgirl by Mya-Rose Craig
I bought this a few weeks back when I listened to her talk about birding, and I found it really interesting.

16 - Creation Lake - Rachel Kushner glad I only paid 99p for this as it was a slog, with unbelievable characters and very little plot. Not for me!

21. The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard. I really enjoyed this but there were some really dark plot points I just wasn't expecting at all, I thought it would all be really gentle. It was in keeping just a shock!
Edited - should have said, this is the first of the Cazalet series.

17 - Wild Dark Shores - Charlotte McConaghy
Amazing read - couldn’t put it down. I think I’m going to need some recovery time to process this book!

Done!

1. Cult Trip, by Anke Richter
2. Out of the Wilderness, b y Elishaba Doerksen
3. The House of My Mother, by Shari Franke
4. Born Into the Children of God, by Natacha Tomey
5. The Passionflower Massacre, by Nicola Morgan
6. Unveiled, by Theophila Pratt
7. Shame, by Jasvinder Sanghera
8. Heaven's Harlots, by Miriam Williams
9. The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig (I put this off for a long time, because it was over-hyped, and I don't usually enjoy over-hyped books)
10. Breaking Free, by Rachel Jeffs
11. Stolen, by Louise Monaghan
12. Through the Narrow Gate, by Karen Armstrong
13. Cloistered, by Catherine Coldstream (recommended if you're interested in what life as a more modern-day nun)
14. Diddly Squat: Home to Roost, by Jeremy Clarkson
15. Girl on a Wire, by Libby Phelps
16. Come Back Lucy, by Pamela Sykes (I saw this recommended on here, and was surprised that I'd missed such a book as a child)
17. Surviving Centrepoint, by Ella James
18. The Way of the Hermit, by Ken Smith (my favourite of this entire list!)
19. My Story, by Elizabeth Smart
20. Missing Me, by Sophie McKenzie (I read the others in the series as a teen, and found this on a second-hand book exchange table)
21. Dark Horses, by Susan Milhalic
22. Love as Always, Mum xxx, by Mae West
23. The Calling, by Fleur Beale
24. In the Clearing, by JP Pomare
25. Pilgrim's Wilderness, by Tom Kizzia
26. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George (I read 'My Side of the Mountain' as a teen, and recognised the author's name, so I thought that I'd give it a go)
27. Sold, by Zana Muhsen
28. Unorthodox, by Deborah Feldman
29. Counting the Cost, by Jill and Derick Duggar
30. The Book of Essie, by Meghan MacLean Weir

It's not a high-brow list, but I demolished quite a chunk of the classics years ago, and now I only really return to my favourites periodically. I've just started 'Empty Cradles' by Margaret Humphreys (filmed under the title of 'Oranges and Sunshine'), and have a glorious stack of TBR books threatening to topple over and suffocate me in my sleep!

Happy reading, everyone!

14 The Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi

Such a sweet and heart-warming read (albeit sad in places).
The Chibineko Kitchen provides memorial meals - delicious food that evokes memories of, and somehow a final encounter with a departed loved one.

I really enjoyed it and sped through it!
Realise I love Japanese literature.
4 stars out of 5.

18 - In the Family Way - Laney Katz Becker I downloaded this thinking it would be a light read but it was much more than that - a real exploration into life as a 60s woman in America. Really good, fairly quick read.

15 Bleachers by John Grisham

Unexpectedly loved this! About American football which is not my thing but there is more to it than the sport. Think fame, relationships, the highs & lows, hero to zero...
Never read a John Grisham before but I really liked his style so will be trying others out. 4 out of 5 stars.

19. Murder on the Orient Express Agatha Christie. Another annual holiday read is always a Christie book. Loved this, just a lot of fun to read.

19 - North Woods - Daniel Mason. This book was utterly exceptional - it was so unique, beautifully written, clever and haunting I would give it 100 stars if I could. Firmly one of the best books I have ever read.

@Yuja
I’ve been wondering about getting North Woods for a while now. I love the cover and the premise sounds great. Think I will buy it after I’ve read the new Cormoran Strike, which is out on the 2nd September 🙌🏻

@MonkeyTennis34 I wasn't sure about it before reading it to be honest, and it took me a couple of chapters to get the feel of the novel but it really is excellent - recommended! I got ambushed by a waterstones book seller a couple of months ago who said it was the best book he ever read and all the staff had loved it which is why I picked it up in the first place.

13. No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai.

This is a thought provoking, semi-autobiographic novel, considered a modern classic in its native Japan.

Yozo, the suicidal protagonist, is awful but pitiful, and clearly very mentally unwell. He's academically bright & superficially charming, but arrogant and lazy, preferring to act like a clown to avoid attention and meaningful relationships. Self-loathing and riddled with anxiety, he masks 24/7 to avoid any conflict whatsoever. He's also a misogynist, and pretty manipulative of everyone he meets.

Whilst the novel is pretty bleak, especially when you read Dazai's Wikipedia page, it's one that will stick with you. There are also reflections about not quite fitting in that will resonate with a lot of people. Definitely recommend.

10: Nobody Walks by Mick Herron (audio). Another Slough House spin-off, beautifully written and narrated. We find out a bit more about the pre Slough House life of one of the characters with another delve into the murky goings on around spies in London.

Another Slough House book is out in Sept, with that and the Strike book it's going to be a good reading month.

Can't remember when I last updated to be honest but my last few have been:

27 - The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru
Quite a long, weighty book which moves through what feels like several lifetimes of the central character. He was engaging and likeable and there's a lot of darkness but as typical with Kunzru a lot of lighthearted AND dark humour to go with it. The last section (hard to give details without major spoilers) dragged a bit and wasn't anywhere near as interesting as the first 4 5ths

28 - Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
Not my usual read at all (even the cover would usually put me off) but a friend gave it to me and I enjoyed it much more than anticipated. A woman in a rural Indian village is abandoned by her physically abusive husband and everyone assumes she killed him. Other women start coming to her for help on how to kill their husbands - but it deals with (again using humour brilliantly) so many issues around domestic violence and hatred of women. There's a gentle love story at the periphery that doesn't get in the way and challenge to women to face the situations when we are against each other when we should be supporting each other

29 - Earth and 30 - Fire by John Boyne
we're doing his Elements series for book club, I'd previously read Water which I loved and wish was a full novel, and need to get Air read this week. Earth was fantastic, story of a footballer charged with aiding a rape. Just told from a very complicated, difficult and sympathetic standpoint (though the antagonist is pretty one dimensional) and just stunningly written. I had a bit more trouble with Fire just because what the protagonist does (again no spoilers!) feels so far fetched and erring on the side of misogyny from Boyne's POV as a male writer which was so unlike him I find and uncomfortably disappointing.

31 - Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
Disappointing. I feel like every book I've read since the Great Alone (followed it with The Nightingale, The Four Winds and The Women) has been a little less good and The Great Alone is one of my favourites of all time. This dragged, felt like a beach read, got dark way too late when by then I'd lost any sympathy for the central characters. I finished it but might be a while before I pick up a Kristin Hannah again....

28 The Ministry of Time - Kaliane Bradley

I really enjoyed this. Loved the characters and the reveal.

32 - Air, John Boynes
4th in the elements series and started off great but the ending was so neat and tidy and overly sentimental. Shame. Water and Earth were utterly fantastic but Fire and Air took the shine off them a bit

16 Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth
Described as a 'Withnail & I with girls' - about two best friends and their drink / drug fuelled antics and how it affects their relationships.
An easy read, very funny in parts.
3 stars out of 5

1. Sleep walkers scarlett Thomas. Was ok not really what I expected and took a while to get into

22. The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb. I absolutely loved this, I was staying to late to read more and only reading it when I could give it time.
The central character is very unlikeable company at times, MN would be telling him to give his head a wobble and his wife to get her ducks in a row to LTB. However, he does have few redeeming features and the characters around him are well drawn.
At the start he's spiralling with alcohol and benzo addiction and I was thinking "if it's hundreds of pages of him having yet another swig from that hidden bottle I'm going to be so bored". But then, very quickly, he does something really truly utterly horrific as a result of being mashed, and the rest of the novel is the fallout. It's a difficult read in terms of subject matter and plot but an easy read in terms of writing style. There were a few unexpected twists towards the end that I didn't see coming but felt were entirely plausible.
Wally Lamb has done a lot of work with prisoners and I think it shows, it felt more true than if he'd just done a few visits and a bit of research.

Like most of his novels it does have a sub interest theme. In this case it's race related history, however it does tie in with the experiences of the characters, and without being too preachy.

8 - Rivers of London - Was captivated and entertained, but I am unlikely to read the others.... I am in a more literary mood this year 😳

Still working on "There are more things" by Yara Fowler

Started "The sea, the sea" by Iris Murdoch. Someone please tell it gets better!!!! I am very close to giving up..... and I hardly ever DNF....

21: The Book About Getting Older by Lucy Pollock
Read this primarily to get a steer for my DF who has a form of dementia, but actually it got me really thinking about getting older myself.

22: Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Like the others in the Cazalet series, just so good. I almost don't want to read the last one, I feel I need to savour it. I might save it for Christmas!

17 The Lighthouse by Alison Moore

Her debut novel, long listed for the Booker Prize - and I can see why. This is a very well written, clever book that explores the loneliness of the outsider and the idea that we are bound by our past, and how this shapes us as people, as well as our future. Sad, gripping, beautiful.
A solid 4 stars out of 5.