2025 Book List

Does she have a book list this year? Is she doing this blog thing anymore? Was it just some kind of a ten-year project and now it's over?

All valid questions and to answer them: yes, I have a 2025 book list; yes, still hanging in with the blog; and don't worry, I'm planning to keep this thing going for the foreseeable future. 

Last month—yes, the month I didn't post a single thing around here—this blog turned 10. It seems hard to believe I've been sharing bookish thoughts with the internet at large for ten whole years now, but it's actually true. It has morphed over the years and there are some months I go radio silent, but I've pretty much stuck to my stated goal "to be intentional about what I read and to share about my literary adventures." And overall, it's pretty fun so I'm going to keep doing it. Thank you for coming along for any part of it. 

After taking stock at the end of last year and beginning of this year, I've admitted to myself that I get the most out of my reading life when I make myself a smaller book list at the beginning of the year (about 20 books or less) and complete the entire list while adding in comfortable re-reads, buddy reads with friends, or something that just catches my attention at the right time. The first year I made myself a book list—and subsequently started this blog for personal accountability—was 2015 and that was kind of a figuring things out year. From 2016-2018 I stuck to the smaller list that I could actually finish format and loved it. From 2019-2024, I experimented with internet challenges, TBR Jars, longer lists, and letting my whims guide me, and while all of that was fun and I read some really great books, I ended each year feeling less satisfied with my reading life than I was in the 2016-18 era. So we're going back to what works best for me and this year, I made a starting list of 20 books. 

Morning & Evening : Charles Spurgeon

Desiring God : John Piper

Living Life Backward : David Gibson

The Poetry of Robert Frost Complete & Unabridged

Franklin Pierce : Michael F. Holt

President James Buchanan : Philip Shriver Klein

The Devil in the White City : Erik Larson

Seabiscuit : Laura Hillenbrand

Two Gentlemen of Verona : William Shakespeare

Coriolanus : William Shakespeare

David Copperfield : Charles Dickens

A Separate Peace : John Knowles

Hannah Coulter : Wendell Berry

A Gentleman in Moscow : Amor Towles

Before We Were Yours : Lisa Wingate

The Age of Innocence : Edith Wharton

Brideshead Revisited : Evelyn Waugh

A Farewell to Arms : Ernest Hemingway

Animal Farm : George Orwell

Frankenstein : Mary Shelley

This year's list is made up of books I plan to read with my sister-in-law (hey, Caroline!), a couple that my husband picked out for me (Desiring God; Living Life Backward), some that will have feature film adaptations I want to see coming out this year (Animal Farm; Frankenstein), and, of course, my signature Shakespeare plays and presidential biographies. I've already finished reading two books from the list (and two that are not on this list), and if you glance over to that "Currently Reading" widget to the right, it's true that I'm actively reading nine books right now. Which maybe accounts for my blog silence. But it's all fun and I'm looking forward to the books I'll read in 2025. 

As for this blog, can I ask you a question or three? What do you like? What do you not like? Is there anything you'd like to see around here? I can't promise that anything will change, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. I truly do appreciate all of you who take the time to read my silly ramblings and cheer me on in my reading ventures. 

What have you been reading lately?