At the beginning of 2025 I saw a book list on a blog that I follow - 5 Acres and a Dream.
This was the first time I encountered a blogger’s book list. Leigh’s 2024 books list was HUGE. Suddenly I wondered about my own reading/viewing habits.
My list for 2025 was born. I added a number rating to help me remember my impressions of the author’s work without a wordy review.
A few notes about my reading list.
- Kindle books: My Kindle is filled with various kinds escapism fiction obtained through Kindle Unlimited. Kindle Unlimited is offered through Amazon and is a monthly subscription service. Many of the titles on my Kindle list are only offered in Kindle versions and frequently are independently released by the author. While this usually results in less proofing and editing, it does provide many exciting hours of enjoyment that would be missed if you limit your reading to only traditional publishing.
- Audible books: My Audible books are a mix of escapism, best sellers, biographies, history, thrillers, etc.
- Actual books generally are reference books. And this year there are only 2 titles. (Much to my surprise.)
Numbers Rating Definitions:
(1) - Awful: Didn’t finish - sometimes they are so awful that they didn’t even make the list! God forbid someone see a title that was actually trash - and wondered why I thought there was any reason to start reading it.
(2) - Disappointing: Finished it but will not follow the author.
(3) - Ok: Probably will not follow the author unless the characters grow on me.
(4) - Very good: Enjoyable. Fun. Informative. Probably will read other books by this author.
(5) - Exceptional. Can’t wait for the next book. Will haunt this author’s works going forward
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THE 2025 LIST
Actual Books
Thriving Beyond Fifty - Will Harlow Mac, MCSP, Cert. MA - I follow him on his YouTube and he is excellent.
In the Shadow of Man - Jane Goodall. In process.
Audio Books (mostly from Audible.Com)
Glock Grannies: Cozy Mystery, Book 1 - Shannon VanBergen - (2)
Baskets and Beignets: Miss Fortune Mysteries, Book 27 - Jana Deleon (4)
The Naturalist - Andrew Mayne (1)
Night Watch - Jayne Anne Phillips (1)
The President’s Daughter - James Patterson and Bill Clinton (3)
Conclave - Robert Harris (4)
Wild Storm - Richard Castle (3)
Big Dumb Eyes - Nate Bargatze (3)
Oracle - Andrew Pyper (3-4)
Oracle 2 The Dreamland Murders - Andrew Pyper (4)
Oracle 3 Murder at Grandview - Andrew Pyper (3)
All or Nothing - Michael Wolf - (5)
Crocodile on the Sandbank - Dramatized Adaption - Elizabeth Peters (5)
Dungeon Crawler Carl - Matt Dinniman (4)
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario - Matt Dinniman (3)
Nobody’s Girl - Virginia Roberts Giuffre (*)
107 Days - Kamala Harris ( * )
America Falls - Scott Medbury - In process
Kindle Books (mostly from Kindle Unlimited found on Amazon)
Chaos Gains: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller, Book 5 - Harley Tate - (4)
Chaos Evolves: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller, Book 6 - Harley Tate - (4)
Hope Sparks: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller, Book 7 - Harley Tate - (5)
Hope Stumbles: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller, Book 8 - Harley Tate - (5)
Hope Survives: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival thriller, Book 9 - Harley Tate - (5)
The Lotus Key: An Eden Black Archaeological Thriller, Book 6- Luke Richardson - ( 4 )
Gravewater Lake - A. M. Strong and Sonya Sargent (3)
Shelter in Place: Frozen Blackout - An EMP Post Apocalypse Prepper, Book 1 - Clay Wise (5)
Off The Grid: Frozen Blackout - An EMP Post Apocalypse Prepper, Book 2 Clay Wise (5)
The Road Ahead: Frozen Blackout - An EMP Post Apocalyptic Prepper, Book 3 Clay Wise (5)
Neighborhood Watch Books 1-10 EE Isherwood (5)
No Small Caper: A Small Town Cozy Mystery - Cynthia Hickman - (4)
Caper Goes Missing: A Small Town Cozy Mystery - Cynthia Hickman - (3)
A Strange Game for Caper: A Small Town Cozy Mystery - Cynthia Hickman - (3)
Capers Dark Adventure: A Small Town Cozy Mystery - Cynthia Hickman (3)
Caper Finds a Clue: A Small Town Cozy Mystery - Cynthia Hickman (3)
Caper Steals Christmas: A Small Town Cozy Mystery - Cynthia Hickman (3)
Broken Bayou - Jennifer Moorhead (4)
Antarctica Station - A. G. Riddle (5)
Deeper Than the Dead - Debra Webb (4)
After the End - 7 Book Series - Sam J Fires (5)
EMP After the Lights: An EMP Post Apocalypse Prepper Survival Thriller - W. Stone (5)
Not Another Zombie Book - D. B. Randelia (3)
Last Mom Standing - Mary Jane Owen (4)
The Tox Shot: The ‘Z’ Word - R. S. Merritt (4)
The Sox Shot: No Rest for the Bitten - R. S Merritt (4)
The Last Patient of the Night - Gary Gerlacher (5)
The Faulty Bloodline - Gary Gerlacher (5)
Sin City Treachery - Gary Gerlacher - in process
While these lists aren't embarrassingly short, they aren’t as long as I anticipated. I think that is for 2 reasons:
- I stream a lot of stuff on TV. After dinner when I am settling down in my chair, I stream movies and TV shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime. I have a list of interesting selections waiting to be viewed on both streaming platforms. I considered keeping another list of titled streamed, but decided against it. That list would probably be embarrassing as it might be longer than the combination of my reading lists. 🥹
- I probably missed a few titles on my book lists.
- Nobody’s Girl: The most impactful and memorable book I read this year was Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Assigning a number rating to this book seemed wrong. It raised so many emotions. It was a riveting story and sad at the same time - knowing that in the end her personal history that she fought so hard to overcome finally caught up with her and ended in suicide. There is no number that captures Virginia Giuffre’s story. But the words “Fearless Truth Teller” does fit!
- 107 Days: Needles to say, I was a supporter of the Democratic ticket in the last election - regardless of who was running. I thought hearing Kamala’s telling of her experiences as she tried to gain the presidency in an impossibly short time was worth hearing. I was so very disappointed when she didn’t win. But I don’t consider this loss hers alone. The Democratic Party and Joe Bidden had a hand in her loss as well. She is a warrior and she did the impossible nearly winning in the popular vote.
7 comments:
Yours and Leigh's listed remind me that I need to write out my own, all audiobooks check out through the Libby app. Thanks for sharing yours!
It is good to know both legs are working well now. There you go…
I'm glad to hear your legs are better and yes I'm sure doing your exercises help so keep up the good work. You managed to read a lot of books so don't sell yourself short. Happy New Year.
So very glad to hear that both your legs are working well again! Yay!! I only read six books this last year . . . I'm hoping to read more in 2026 and "Nobody's Girl" is at the top of my list. I started it this morning.
So glad I keep checking in with you! I kind of know about the legs. I didn’t lose function but apparently lost strength in them even though I walk almost every day. I turned 80 (hurray, I made it! boo, so much time spent in upkeep!). No matter what we do, things inevitably deteriorate. Our job is to slow it down as much as we can and keep on truckin’. Look at Grandma Moses, Jack Lalanne (who swam in the ocean into his ‘90’s) and so on. Things are getting kind of rusty chez moi but I refuse to let that stop me! Just getting better at work arounds. Glad you are doing your exercises! And try to walk as much as you can. Eva Marie Saint (who is one of my icon inspirations) walked every day into her early. 80-s at least, although she is about 88-89 now, so who knows) and looked amazing and relevant in a You Tube video. Thanks for your reading list, I am reading now more than ever. Mind therapy and Fun! In fact, I try to make “Fun” one of my goals every day (along with getting rid of a pile of 30 or so years of junk, darn it! Like eating an elephant, I suppose. One bite at a time.). We are the early part of the Boomer generation so lets just Boom along!
It is great to see you posting again, Elaine! I enjoyed reading through your list, and I just want to say that having discovered Will Harlow on Youtube this past year makes me wish all physical therapists were so kind and seemingly wanting to help older patients.
You did it! I'm really happy to read your list. Quite impressive. I love your rating system too. Gives me ideas for books to read this year.
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