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.

Another few to catch up on.
19 Wifedom by Anna Funder. This one will definitely stay with me. It's about Eileen Orwell. She was an amazing woman, and totally written out of Orwell's biographies, let alone her contribution to his work.

20 The Affair by Claire Allan. I actually can't remember that much about this - I've read a few of hers.

21 Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. If you've seen the film... This is nothing like it!

22 China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan. I actually liked this one better than the first one but they are a bit of escapism.

23 The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith. Loved this, these books are so good.

24 Less by Patrick Grant. Really practical which is refreshing after most environmental books are all doom and gloom.

33 Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Having read Half a Yellow Sun a while ago I had high expectations of this. And it didn't disappoint.

Its on Kindle Unlimited for anyone who has that and wants to read it for free.

I LOVE Purple Hibiscus.

Two more from me - I'm on a roll:

25 The House of my Mother by Shari Frankie. Affecting, but definitely reads like it was written by a 23 year old.
26 What it Feels Like by Sophie Kinsella. Very short - not chick lit - quite moving.

34 Strange Fruit - Lillian Smith.
A powerful read for sure but unsurprisingly with difficult subjects and language. Written in 1944.

13: Clown Town by Mick Herron. The latest in the Slough House series, all the familiar characters are back with another twisting, turning set of interconnected events. Brilliant observations and one-liners as usual and Mumsnet was namechecked.

7?) the sea, the sea - Managed to finish. Just. There are some interesting passages and the middle actually got interesting... but it drags in many places, and in the end I am not sure it will stick with me..... Not reccomending unless you really love the idea of being inside a very egotistical men's mind for a whole book.

8. The familiar - Leigh Bardugo Reading for a book club, hoping for some lighter reading....

8- no where near as far as id hoped to be Due to a challenging year. Just finished the shadow sister, having read the 1st 2 books in this series at the start of the year. Started the pearl sister and hoping to finish the set before the end of the year!

19 One Day I Shall Astonish The World by Nina Stibbe

I've read a couple of Nina Stibbe books and this one was very much in a similar style - funny, light hearted, easy read. This time about female friendships and the ups and downs they may bring. It was quite sad in places but had some brilliant one liners and observations. 3 out of 5

20 So Late In The Day by Claire Keegan

A (very!) short story about misogyny. I love her style of writing and did enjoy this but felt a little short changed as it was only 47 pages and I read it in about 20 mins. Luckily it was a library book as I wouldn't have wanted to pay £8 for it! 3 out of 5

25: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
A great book but not at all what I was expecting. Set in 1970s Alaska with a theme of domestic abuse. I really thought that Leni's love story was actually a bit cheesy and would have been so much better had it just been a friendship.

26: Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
Lots of short chapters on overcoming anxiety. Exactly what I needed this week.

1. I haven't been entirely honest with you, Miranda Hart
2. The Cracked Mirror, Chris Brookmyre
3. Fairy Tale, Stephen King
4. Storm Child, Michael Robotham
5. All the other mothers hate me, Sarah Harman
6. There are rivers in the sky, Elif Shafik
7. A Killer's Wife, Victor Methos
8. Guilty, Martina Cole and Jacqui Rose
9. Apt Pupil, Stephen King

Apt Pupil was really quite horrible.

25. Unlawful Killings by Wendy Joseph KC. Several studies detailing possible murder or attempted murder cases. Explains some legal background, how juries are chosen, some case law. Interesting and I would recommend it. Not at all textbooky.

I wanted to keep a record of what I have read this year and I hope it will prove interesting to others. I have not included the childrens’ books I have read which would make the list a bit longer. Having written the list below I realise I have hit 25. I have read lots of long books and so I think my total equates to many more!

1. Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson - I enjoyed but didn’t love it

2. Atomic habits - not a lot new here for me but I thought it was good

3. The Women by Kristin Hannah - it felt like she had planned out the novel in advance and was writing parts of it to fill in the plan. I liked the Vietnam part and found that very interesting but not the rest. I would not really recommend it.

4. The Demons/Devils by Dostoevsky – I generally enjoyed it but then I got to the end and had to read the chapter in the original version that the publishers would not publish at the time. This completely changed my view of a main character and made me really angry. I can’t quite forgive this.

5. The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – generally great. Includes probably the best court room scene ever written

6. Bleak House by Charles Dickens – takes a bit to get going like all his books but it really was great. Great legal stuff again

7. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens – a lot of traipsing about, I think it is hard for modern readers to get the shame and stigma of the debtors’ prison. Some parts are excellent.

8. The Inheritance Games – Jennifer Lynn Barnes It is YA, I really enjoyed it

9. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens – excellent but the central premise at the end is ridiculous

10. Dog of the North – terrible DNF Could not care less about any of the characters. Life is too short to waste on this

11. Still Life by Louise Penny – the first in the three pines series. I could tell it was a debut novel as it had some good bits and signs of potential but generally it is pretty terrible. Universally disliked by my book group. Someone else said the series gets better around book 5, I guess this must be correct as she has written over 20 in the series and they are best sellers!

12. The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier – brilliant. Would recommend, interesting history and family dynamics. Strong female character. I have not read any of her other books but would like to read more after this.

13. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas– loved it. A rip roaring adventure. A bit overdone in places, the end is terrible to modern women

14. Raising Hare – loved it, I love books like this. I love hares. It is quietly moving.

15. A Game of Scandal by Laura Wood – Marketed as YA but I am not sure I agree with the classification. I really like Laura Woods “YA” books. I don’t like chick lit so do not like her adults ones. This is the third in the series and is good but the first in the series is the best. I would recommend

16. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – Not my personal favourite, the first part with the child cruelty was a bit much for me to bear.

17. Dombey and Sons by Charles Dickens – I think this would put people off Dickens. At least half the book is covering the same thing in a very slightly different way. The end is far too neat

18. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amos Towles – I absolutely loved, loved, loved this. It really appeals to me. I cannot believe some people do not like it!

19. One Moment in Time by Lianne Moriarty – I really enjoyed this. A light but interesting read. Recommended

20. The Measure by Nikki Erlick – Absolutely terrible. Rubbish plot seemingly used to make heavy handed progressive politics statements.

21. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney – terrible. I was disappointed this was written by a 33 year old women, I thought it was misogynistic. I also thought she seemed very inexperienced and thought she was being really clever but had very little to say. If I was 19 I may have been blown away but it but I am not!

22. Dark Woods by Daniel Mason – Absolutely fantastic. I did not like the first very pages and they nearly put me off but it is brilliant. Wonderful writing, moving, interesting, clever. The lady in the book store said it was one of the best books she has ever read!

23. The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason – I try to avoid war books having read many of them and if they are good they are traumatic. I seemed to have blocked this out and started it because Daniel Mason is such a good writer. It is traumatic. It is very well written, interesting and moving. I wish I had not read it though as it has some horrible bits in it

24. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese – I really enjoyed this. I would not have read it if not encouraged by a friend. There is a lot of medical detail which in hindsight is remarkable. It is a bit of a saga with a wide sweep, some great detail about characters. I did not rate his portrayal of women and particular the repeated idea that women owed men sexual favours as a matter of kindness (he did not say this but I got that impression). Peters out a bit at the end

25. How not to invest by Barry Ritholtz – not as good as I had hoped, not that much new in it

I have this book. I just can't bring myself to start it!

She uses quite a lot of humour at first (anecdotes about jurors fainting at the sight of blood in photos, nervous witness knocking everything off ledges in the witness box) so it has a light touch, and it's written in something of a novelists style. Very human and not too much focus on the grim / legal aspects.

Welcome to the thread @icedpuddles
You’ve certainly hit Dickens hard this year!
I’m reading Dombey & Son as part of a Mumnet read along led by Piggywaspushed
I think that it started strongly but has got a bit meandering of late, but I think that’s a danger of books that were serially published, there’s a lot of filler to get the word count up.
You’ve made me want to move A Gentleman in Moscow up my TBR list, and add The Glass Maker to it.

Oops just realised I got the title wrong! It is North Woods by Daniel Mason, not Darks Woods. Very much recommended, beautiful, lyrical, clever, historical, personal. Wonderful writing

Thank you for the welcome. I thought I would only manage about 4 books this year so I didn't post earlier. Now it is near the end of the year and I recognise it is a lot to post the year's worth of reading.

I had never read any Dickens before but thought I would give it a go and enjoyed him so much I read all those books. I may read Great Expectations but I am not that interested in reading any of his others at the moment. Having read so many so close together you notice the similarity of some themes and I think his writing got better as he went on. Saying that, he is a great writer, I like the large range of characters,the sub plots, the clever interwhining of the story threads, I genuinely find the books funny at parts.

The comparison of older entirely non edited novels with modern heavily edited novels is interesting. I thought the Glass Maker could have been two or three times longer as there was a lot else that could have been written. In the acknowledgements Tracy Chavlier thanks her editor for the tight edit. The editing does stop the bagginess of the older novels but I am not sure it is always the best thing and may more be influenced by publishers thinking long novels are a harder sell.

The Glass Maker was popular with my book club though not universally loved as 1 member DNF. However, those of us who liked it really liked it and liked so many different bits of it. Add it to your list (I found the first bit a bit slow).

I recommended A Gentleman in Moscow to two friends and one liked but did not love it, the other loved it. I would read it again and I almost never read books again. I really enjoyed it, I thought it was gently moving. It is not factual but I like autobiographies and it basically follows someone's life. I did not like the end.

I’m reading North Woods right now…it is beautiful…unusual, elegiac, loving it!

I’ve read other Tracy Chavlier novels and enjoyed them icedpuddles so I think I’d be in the ‘loved it’ category.
Great Expectations is my favourite Dickens so I’d definitely recommend that when you’re less ‘Dickensed’ out.
I must admit I thought I was on The 50 Book Thread (for anyone wondering where I get off welcoming you to a thread I never appear on!) I normally watch & lurk on this thread, it’s great for recommendations.

@icedpuddles I love Tracy Chevalier. I haven't read the glass maker in hoping to read it next week. My favourite book of hers is remarkable creatures.

@MonkeyTennis34 yes, elegiac is the word. It is so well written and I found it really interesting. I think parts of it stay with you

@DesdamonasHandkerchief I am not going to get to 50 so thought it would be best to post here! I like literary fiction so I am looking for quality books and it is useful to hear recommendations from others.
I may try Great Expectations soon, it depends what catches my attention next...

@Decafflatteplease @DesdamonasHandkerchief it sounds like you should try the Glass Maker and I should try another Tracy Chevalier but as she has written so many it is hard to decide which one, so thank you for the recommendation @Decafflatteplease

A single thread is also excellent @icedpuddles