2025 Reading List - Final

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.)

It is common for me to have 3 books going at one time - one in each type.  I love long stories so finding an author that provides 9 or 10 books following the same characters in a continuing story is great fun for me.  Although I consider my book choices eclectic,  End-of-the-World, apocalypse, EMP, zombie fiction seem to dominate my reading choices.  Escapism is my entertainment.  Improving my brain is a low priority.  😂

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

*********** 

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: 

1. 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. 🥹 
2. I probably missed a few titles on my book lists.

(*) Two Books were very important to me this year:

• 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.  

I enjoyed creating this list in 2025, but I am pretty sure I won’t keep it up for 2026.  Things that sound interesting to do in January, often loose their luster for me by June.  I am just not that disciplined any more.  This year, 2026, I will turn 79.  That is perilously close to 80, for gosh sakes.  The only thing I am disciplined about any more is my nightly leg exercises - and that is only because I need those 2 appendages to get me from point A to point B unaided and with the least amount of pain!  I was forced to do 'the cane and the walker thing' for about 1 1/2  years, and it was so very depressing.  Now that I am back on my two legs - I intend to stay that way. And staying that way involves keeping strong legs.

Getting back into the blogging habit is something I hope to do in 2026. 

Happy New Year to all.