{"id":3391,"date":"2026-01-08T14:21:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T22:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/?p=3391"},"modified":"2026-01-08T14:21:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T22:21:43","slug":"books-of-2025-in-the-rearview-mirror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/?p=3391","title":{"rendered":"Books of 2025 in the rearview mirror"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2025 may have been a sucky SUCKY year in terms of, well, everything on earth, but it was a banner year for reading for me. I read 61 books, a new PB, and only about a half dozen fell into the &#8220;hated it&#8221; category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For 2026, I am sticking with my 2 books clubs because I love them. One club is dedicated to reading books from the Amnesty book club list and although we seem to be down to just 3 regular members, I adore them and the books we&#8217;ve read have been the most enlightening. The second club is the Big Island &#8220;read whatever you want&#8221; club, where we each share what we&#8217;ve read over the past month. This is a wonderful group of women with varied tastes in reading, which exposes us all to a wide range of interests. I&#8217;ve read several books this year based on recommendations from this group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I also need to rethink my rating system. It&#8217;s become apparent that a single, one-dimensional rating system is not really sufficient to convey important details. I&#8217;m not sure where to go with this yet, but I&#8217;m hoping I&#8217;ll be able to evolve a better system through my 2026 reading. In fact, that&#8217;s my only challenge for 2026: to develop a more informative rating system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And with that, if you are interested in a quick recap of the year, here you go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>The Best of the Best<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/strong>, by Margaret Atwood. A classic and way too prescient.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>This Is Happiness<\/strong>, by Niall Williams. It&#8217;s about happiness, and that&#8217;s how it will make you feel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Ministry for the Future<\/strong>, by Kim Stanley Robinson. A hopeful view of fixing the climate crisis, one we will not achieve.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Premonition<\/strong>, by Michael Lewis. How to properly fight a pandemic (hint: do everything the opposite of what we did during COVID)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>This Is How You Lose the Time War<\/strong>, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. A love story set across all time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn<\/strong>, by Betty Smith. A much better positive outlook story than the Alchemist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Do Not Say We Have Nothing<\/strong>, by Madeleine Thien. My favourite of the Amnesty books.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Small Things Like These<\/strong>, by Claire Keegan. A short and simple story that packs a powerful punch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Because I like the author, and you might too<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Written on the Dark<\/strong>, by GGK<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Trespasser<\/strong>, by Tana French&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Secret Place<\/strong>, by Tana French<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Hunter<\/strong>, by Tana French<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A Shimmer of Hummingbirds<\/strong>, by Steve Burrows<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A Tiding of Magpies<\/strong>, by Steve Burrows<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A Dance of Cranes<\/strong>, by Steve Burrows<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A Foreboding of Petrels<\/strong>, by Steve Burrows<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A Nye of Pheasants<\/strong>, by Steve Burrows<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A Deceit of Lapwings<\/strong>, by Steve Burrows<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>If you want a new perspective<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A Life Worth Living<\/strong>, by Nicole Flynn<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Serviceberry<\/strong>, by Robin Wall Kimmerer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>How to Pronounce Knife<\/strong>, by Souvankham Thammavongsa<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>We Have Always Been Here<\/strong>, by Samra Habib<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Good Citizens Need Not Fear<\/strong>, by Maria Reva<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Inconvenient Indian<\/strong>, by Thomas King<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Laughing All the Way to the Mosque<\/strong>, by Zarqa Nawaz<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Message<\/strong>, by Ta-Nehisi Coates<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Island of Sea Women<\/strong>, by Lisa See<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>real ones<\/strong>, by Katherena Vermette<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Cozy fun, no need to think to hard<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies<\/strong>, by Catherine Mack<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A Room With a View<\/strong>, by E. M. Forster<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Evvie Drake Starts Over<\/strong>, by Linda Holmes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Flying Solo<\/strong>, by Linda Holmes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>How To Read A Book<\/strong>, by Monica Wood<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Bookshop on the Corner<\/strong>, by Jenny Colgan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Book Club for Troublesome Women<\/strong>, by Marie Bostwick<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tom Lake<\/strong>, by Ann Patchett<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone<\/strong>, by Benjamin Stevenson<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Sentence is Death<\/strong>, by Anthony Horowitz <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Death at the Sign of the Rook<\/strong>, by Kate Atkinson<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Briar Club<\/strong>, by Kate Quinn<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Sciency books make me happy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Parable of the Sower<\/strong>, by Octavia Butler<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Year\u2019s Best Science Fiction: 24th Annual Edition<\/strong>, Daryl Gregory<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Oryx and Crake<\/strong>&nbsp;by Margaret Atwood<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Poppy War<\/strong>, by R. F. Kuang<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog<\/strong>, by Chad Orzel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>A collection of books that don&#8217;t fit my categories, but all worth reading!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Frog Music<\/strong>, by Emma Donoghue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Black Swan Green<\/strong>, by David Mitchell<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman<\/strong>, by Lindy West<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>What\u2019s Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies<\/strong>, by Tim Urban<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open Secrets<\/strong>, by Alice Munro<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Look What Flew Through the County<\/strong>, by Yvonne Buys<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ducks<\/strong>, by Kate Beaton<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Human Croquet<\/strong>, Kate Atkinson<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Elegance of the Hedgehog<\/strong>, by Muriel Barbery<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Murder on the Inside: The True Story of the Deadly Riot at Kingston Penitentiary<\/strong>, by Catherine Fogarty<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>August Into Winter<\/strong>, by Guy Vanderhaeghe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>The Worst. Maybe give these a pass.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Alchemist<\/strong>, by Paulo Coelho. Ugh, this spiritual self-help stuff is not for me. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert<\/strong>, by Bob the Drag Queen. Why you should never read a book by a reality TV star. Likely you didn&#8217;t need to be told that.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Blue Monday<\/strong>, by Nicci French. At least one of these two authors is not a good writer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Beautiful Ugly<\/strong>, by Alice Feeney. Just plain dumb.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Life Impossible<\/strong>, by Matt Haig. A controversial take, with apologies to those who loved this one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2025 may have been a sucky SUCKY year in terms of, well, everything on earth, but it was a banner year for reading for me. I read 61 books, a new PB, and only about a half dozen fell into &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/?p=3391\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8xTNS-SH","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3391"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3394,"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3391\/revisions\/3394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}