Happy New Year all!
I read more books last year than I have in a while. I think it’s because I lowered my reading goal. This year I have the same goal as last year of 12 books. I usually track my reading using Goodreads. In 2025 I finished 32 books.
My Country, Africa which was one of the first books I read in 2025 turned out to be one of my favorite reads for the year. Another excellent read from the beginning of last year was I Who Have Never Known Men. James by Percival Everett won the Pulitzer prize for fiction in 2025.
These four were just okay. Rejection was a collection of interconnected short stories about you guessed it Rejection. If you’ve read this book you know which short story will stay with me forever. No spoilers but if that happened to me I’d have to move to Mars. Sipsworth was cute but I don’t think I was in the mood for that type of story when I read it. I reviewed Knife here.
I reviewed Blindess here.
Matriarch was my favorite of this set (Reviewed here). I’m not a fan of hardcover books so I’m patiently waiting for it to come out on paperback. I hope the paperback has the same beautiful cover.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This was the standout from this group.
An excerpt from the Goodreads summary of the book notes: “One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This chronicles the deep fracture which has occurred for Black, brown, indigenous Americans, as well as the upcoming generation, many of whom had clung to a thread of faith in western ideals, in the idea that their countries, or the countries of their adoption, actually attempted to live up to the values they espouse. ”
I reviewed Small Boat here and Martyr! here.
I reviewed Human Acts here. 107 Days was a good quick read. In addition to being a NYT bestseller 107 Days will be a reminder of what was behind the other door as the whole world reckons with the outcome of the door that was picked for years to come.
I ended the reading year on a high note. skin & bones was a good read about friendship, love and family. The last book I read in 2025 was the memoir by Cynthia Erivo, Simply More. I didn’t know much about Cynthia before this read. I might be the only person that hasn’t seen Wicked the play or the movie yet. I listened to the audiobook version of Simply More which Cynthia narrates. She has a very soothing voice which is not surprising for someone who uses their voice as an instrument. There was nothing particularly groundbreaking about the advice she shared but it came across as a good conversation with a dear friend.
I’ve noticed that I trip myself up when I set too ambitious of a reading goal. I do have plans to read more translations, more Baldwin and more challenging books this year but I’m not trying to go crazy. I will keep you posted.
Stardate:2600006.01
