the rest of my 2025 reading journey
Between throwing myself headlong into a longterm creative writing project, wading through grief, becoming a tíe, and getting sick for the better part of a month, I haven’t been focused on blogging.
Before we get too far into the new year, I want to properly send off the rest of the books that I read in 2025 because it was a lot! There were a couple unexpected favorites in the mix that I would love to pick up my own copies of one day.
Without further ado, here are my quick reviews from August - December.
August 2025
1. Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
Jackson has become one of my favorite authors, but I don’t know if this one was for me. There were parts that exhibited all of the hallmarks that I love about her psychological, gothic horror, but the meandering stream of conscious narrative focalization made it disorienting to follow what was actually happening at a given moment. The first part of the book was especially powerful as we follow Natalie the day of one of her father’s dinner parties and learn about the warped dynamics of the Waite family. Her father uses her as a sounding board for pompous, naval-gazing lectures about writing and consistently puts her into compromising situations. Her mother, clearly unhappy in her marriage and seething with resentment and insecurity, unloads a lot of emotional baggage onto her in the kitchen. And her brother is largely absent from her life—acknowledging each other from a distance but not offering any meaningful support.
Natalie endures a horrible tragedy at the party that she tries to bury deep down as she heads off to college. There are some fascinating parallels to the family at the college and powerful imagery, but I found the prose really hard to get into midway through the book. I kept getting lost about what was happening and had to flip back and reread sections. When I was into the book, I was sailing through it, but there were times when I was very checked out and felt like I was forcing myself to trudge through so that I could move on to read something else. I think it might warrant a reread in the future in case this had more to do with my own mental place when reading it.
2. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto
After how much I enjoyed audiobooks last month, I picked out a couple more for my commute in August. Vera Wong was such a delight from beginning to end. Vera is such a fun busy body character amateur sleuth. She has an opinion about everything from her son Tillie’s dating life (or lack thereof) to who the likely suspects are for the dead body that turned up in her tea house. It was a joy to get to know the full roster of characters, how they were connected to the citing incident, and to follow Vera’s reasoning for eliminating each person one-by-one. Easily one of the most enjoyable contemporary mysteries that I have read lately - charming, funny, clever - and I plan to listen to the second entry next.
3. Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
What a fun, wild ride. This was another great audio listening experience for me, though I did have to re-listen to parts at no fault of the book but my lack of sleep combined with the summer heat. The narrator, referred to only as Mother or Nightbitch, discovers that her body and mood are changing and warping and the only way she is able to cope is by playing dog games with her son. Like running around on all fours, eating the occasional bite of raw meat, and digging in the backyard. It’s a gross, dark, funny examination of postpartum life - kind of the horror/fantasy-leaning version of My Work by Olga Ravn. I can definitely understand why it might not be for everyone, though.
4. The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I checked this book out on a whim and found myself fairly engrossed while reading it. We follow three generations of women hunted by witches: international, graduate student Minerva (90s) researching Beatrice Tremblay (Great Depression) - an obscure, fictional contemporary of H.P. Lovecraft who wrote a horror novel inspired by the disappearance of her friend - and Nana Alba (1900s) whose family was deeply troubled by a murky, supernatural past. This is my first time reading a novel by Moreno-Garcia and I enjoyed switching between these three narrative perspectives and observing the parallels across their lives. I’m also delighted that I was able to piece together the mystery while reading (though there were a few details that certainly caught me off-guard along the way) and she wrapped the story together in a satisfying way.
5. The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
Sarah Beth Durst is 2/2 with me for her cozy romantasy series; in fact, I might have liked this one even more than the first because there is a stronger emphasis on internal conflict here. The romance was cute, but not the main draw for me. I liked the world and the individual growth for the two protagonists (Terlu Perla, the disgraced, former librarian who used magic to create a certain sentient spider plant, and Yarrow, the lone keeper of the enchanted greenhouse whose entire community left the island one-by-one - the romance blossoming between them felt more like a bonus. The callbacks to the first novel were deeply satisfying and I’m eager to here more about the new world if she writes another volume. My one complaint, similar to the first book, is that there are certain phrases and descriptors that get overused, such as Yarrow’s shrugging or Terlu’s gut reaction to wave off any potential mutual attraction. This is pretty common in a lot of contemporary romance that I have been reading, but it’s a small peeve of mine.
6. Ivy and Bearlock Holmes: the case of the Missing Flower by Kristyna Litten
This was an adorable, illustrated chapter book with small puzzles that could be easily solved by most six-year-olds (minus one multiplication problem - at least, I wouldn’t have known how to answer until third grade.) The artwork is adorable and I love that the story focuses on and elder and child - something I’d like to read more of not just in children’s literature, but in general. I already recommended the series to my brother, because I can just imagine him reading this alongside his daughter one day.
7. Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix
A novella equal parts conceptually fascinating and devastating. We follow the internal stream of conscious of an emergency radio operator for the French coastguard who declined to send aid to the migrants sinking in the Channel, arguing that they were in (or, at the very least, very close) to the English side and would need to call their emergency line as a result. While being interrogated by the police, the narrator insists to herself, to us, that she made the right decisions and is no more culpable than the sea itself. The story is loaded with philosophy about culpabilit.
8. Walking Practice by Dolki Min, translated by Victoria Caudle
This is another Kayla of BooksandLala “made” me read it. This was an odd one about hunger and loneliness, an ambivalence of sexual and gender preference in the grander scheme of those two needs, and the overall weirdness of bodies. I also appreciated reading the notes from the Caudle about how she approached translated the structure of a few key sections into English. It makes me wish that I could read the book in its original language.
September 2025
1. It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken
The title is a perfect encapsulation of grief, and the novella itself is set in such an unexpectedly touching setting (a post-apocalyptic world festering with zombie infection) to explore that philosophy. It’s written in a very lyrical, poetic style that might not be for everyone, but it was very much for me - especially given the kind of year I had.
2. Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart: And Other Stories by GennaRose Nethercott
Overall, a good collection of short stories. There were a couple misses, but the ones that I connected with have stuck with me for months—especially “A Diviner’s Abecedarian,” “The Thread Boy,” the titular story, “Homebody,” and “A Haunted Calendar,” and “The Plums at the End of the World.”
3. Sato the Rabbit by Yuki Ainoya
4. Sato the Rabbit: The Moon by Yuki Ainoya
5. Sato the Rabbit: A Sea of Tea by Yuki Ainoya
These are beautifully illustrated stories about a little boy who becomes a rabbit and has many adventures—ordinary and extraordinary. I would definitely like to buy these and read them to my niece one day. They seem like excellent bed time stories.
6. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Speaking of bedtime stories, when I was suffering through a bout of insomnia, this book was such a wonderful companion. The chapters are short and swift, but the characters and themes are memorable and resonant. Robot with a human “heart” is an old trope that always gets me and this one really got me. I’ll definitely read the rest of the series.
7. A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder by Dianne Freeman
This year, I started going to the library a couple times a month. Even though I still primarily read on my Kindle, there is something pleasant and cozy to holding a physical book - plus, I want to support libraries in every way that I can. I read the first book in this series a couple years ago, and since the full set was available for check out, I decided to make my return to the world. It’s a fairly simple cozy, historical mystery series but I’m quite fond of it.
8. You Weren’t Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White
The first sentence of the book haunted me so much that I knew I had to read White’s first foray into adult fiction.1 The content was so heavy that I needed a very long break from reading anything remotely distressing, but it feels like one of my most important reads of the year. The novel is an exploration of the basest, most deprived parts of ourselves and the ways society (and the entities representing it) take advantage of those feelings/needs. It deals with deep, existential body horror and dread, physical and psychological self-harm, and is brimming with political commentary. Crane is such a complex protagonist and I highlighted a lot of passages that stuck with me. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it in the “wow this was entertaining” sense, but it has been on my mind ever since I first read it and I would definitely revisit it again one day.
9. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
The perfect soft, squishy romantasy escape after a heavy reading experience. I was skeptical that I would enjoy this series because I haven’t had the best track record with fantasy in general, but I adored Emily, Wendell, and their academic journey through the snowy backdrop of Hrafnsvik researching the Folk for an ambitious encyclopedia. Unlike some of the other faerie books that I read as a kid, Fawcett’s series provides an interesting range of folk. I love Emily’s fascination with them, despite the real danger in some of those situations, and also the lessons she learns about building relationship with other human beings - something that does not come intuitively to her.
10. Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
While I did not enjoy the sequel as much as the first entry to the series, it was still a fun read. The mystery itself was a bit heavier, but Vera remains just as endearing as always in her ability to pull people into her orbit as she thirsts for a good mystery. I also loved the lesson that she learns in this book about forming friendships that aren’t solely connected to her work, including friends with people closer to her age that will understand more intimately the kinds of loss and longings that she has been harboring.
11. Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukess
This is an okay mystery, relatively straightforward in how it unfolds, with a very sweet romance. It also features a tangled exploration of grief: how do you grieve someone you had a very complicated relationship with, especially when they held so many secrets from you? Cath was a fairly prickly main character, though not without her reasons. I did appreciate the closure she experiences at the end of the book, though.
12. Obit by Victoria Chang
Easily my favorite poetry collection I read this year. Chang writes about her grief in the years leading up to and following the death of both of her parents to their respective illnesses via a sequence of obituaries. Each poem announces the death not of a person, but a concept: the day her dad’s memory died, the day her mother’s language died, the day her own hopes died. It was such a compelling poetic structure and very inspiring to me with my own project.
October 2025
1. We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
Honestly, this was a slog to read especially considering how quick and immersive my experience was reading Bunny. There’s a lot of retreading the same ground. It felt like it could have benefited from significant paring down.
2. Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
This was a cozy autumn read about the trials Belle must complete in order to keep use of her magic powers after failing an assessment test by her coven. There’s a big mystery in the background spanning generations of witches, an extremely rude and sexist boss at the bookstore that Belle felt too inadequate to lead on her own, an unlikely mentor, and a budding romance. It was nice to see Belle’s cynicism and negative self-esteem challenged throughout the novel and the structure of the coven provides clear criticism of generational power imbalance. I did try to read the sequel, but a couple chapters in, I just couldn’t get into it.
3. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
After a couple okay mysteries and one bad horror, I wanted to get back to something I knew would be a hit and I was so glad to be back in Fawcett’s fae world. With the encyclopedia published, Emily’s newest scholarship is to map out the Otherlands in the hopes that she might find the door to Wendell’s home. This time the duo are accompanied by a fellow professor and Emily’s niece to the Austrian Alps, the last place where a former fae scholar researching portals had been seen, where they are under constant attack by assassins out for Wendell who sustains long-term side effects following their initial encounter in Cambridge. There is also a lot of internal tension as Emily questions her trust in Wendell and the folk.
4. My Death by Lisa Tuttle
The premise of this book was so interesting to me and I enjoyed Tuttle’s writing style, but the latter half of the book fell apart a bit for me. I don’t see it as inherent flaw if I am able to sense the direction the book’s mystery is headed in (to a degree, I think that it is important that readers are able to sense that) but the manner in which it was revealed lost a bit of its steam for me. Even so, there were great moments of existential dread that I thoroughly enjoyed.
5. Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Club: Final Face-Off by Lee Knox Ostertag
What a lovely conclusion to this series! We follow the final member of the original trio, Tyler/Sunny as he struggles with bullying, identity, and self-confidence. Despite having been in a consistent member of the campaign, he doesn’t believe that he has friendships that extend deeply beyond the table and learns to open up more. I’ve seen a couple negative reviews on Storygraph from people who were disappointed that most of the focus was on Tyler, but I think that’s the point: for us to get to the core of each of the main trio. This time it was his turn and I think that provided us with a nice full circle moment to where the party will head to beyond the scope of the trilogy.
6. Baby-Sitter’s Little Sister Graphic Novels: Karen’s Ghost by D.K. Vingst
This one was a bit different from some of the other entries in the series. Karen’s class is hosting a ghost story competition for their Halloween party, which she naturally takes very seriously and is determined to come up with the best story. Specifically, she wants to tell the story of the ghost haunting her dad’s house. The problem is that she doesn’t know the full story, just bits and pieces, and wants to know all the details for accuracy. It does that classic kids story of “did something supernatural really happen or was that just Karen’s imagination?” Not super memorable to me reflecting back on it months later, but it was nice to read in October.
7. Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen
This was such a delightful story. Angelica/Jelly is your class overachieving, burned out student trying to find a a direction in life that inspires her rather than one she feels obligated toward. She has a good support group in her parents and best friend, Christine, but lately she has found herself opening up the most to a social media account for Peri - the bear mascot of the local theatre where she has decided to intern. It’s a sweet story about learning to open up to other people to share your burdens, to reciprocate that process with the other people in your life who are also going through problems, to express rather than repress emotions, and reconnecting with old friends. It’s a cozy slice of life from this community with a lot of history that was charming and makes me excited for what might come next from Trung.
8. Fat Girl Finishing School by Rachel Wiley
I’ve been a fan of Rachel’s poetry since I first heard her perform “Dry Cake Wishes and Tap Water Dreams.” This collection was full of great, personal pieces that hooked me in. I’d really like to read more chapbooks this year because they put me in the mood to work on my own project.
November 2025
1. Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
This was another pickup at my local library after previously returning it on Libby. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but I found myself immersed in. Reyna and Kianthe’s story running from their respective responsibilities in pursuit of a life in the country where they can spend more meaningful time together. I like that they found new shared responsibilities, grew protective of the citizens of Tawney, and tried to find solutions to their problems together. I’m glad that I gave the series another chance and I’m already halfway finished with the sequel.
2. Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin by Erin Hunter
Another end to a pleasant graphic novel trilogy. I was so skeptical about reading anything related to the Warrior Cats franchise, but I had fun with this one - especially any scene where they act extra feline like kneading the ground before they plop down into bread mode. I’m not going to continue with the novels, but if they ever do another run of graphic novels then I will likely check them out!
3. The Vet’s Daughter by Barbara Comyns
What an unexpectedly somber novella from start to finish. This is my first time reading a work by Comyns and I love her writing style a lot (her description of setting and environment, the way the world is focalized through the narrator), but this was also such a heavy, sad story. It reminded me, in some ways, of Earthlings by Sayaka Murata. It’s not quite as brutal, or surreal, but they both depict abuse, trauma, and societal failings to protect vulnerable people.
4. A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver
I didn’t get a lot out of reading this, but I imagine it would be a helpful starter for someone who is new to writing poetry and looking for inspiration on how to get started.
5. I Want to be a Wall, Vol. 1-3 by Honami Shirono
A surprising find at my local library on the recommendation shelf! This was such a sweet trilogy about two people who meet through a matchmaker and decide to get married knowing that they have no romantic feelings for one another. Yuriko is asexual and Gakurouta is in love with his straight, childhood friend. The newlyweds navigate life together, growing a strong platonic bond, and support each other through their respective sexualities and how each is viewed by Japanese society. It was bittersweet!
6. A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder by Dianne Freeman
Easily my least favorite of the three books from this series that I have read so far, but it was still fun. There was just a little too much going on and the climax felt like it was asking me to suspend too much of my disbelief (particularly how certain characters reconcile their differences.)
7. The Menu of Happiness by Hisashi Kashiwai
The individual stories weren’t as compelling as the previous two books, but it was delightful to enter into the familiar pattern of this series. I’ve said it before, but I am will always check out Kashiwai’s writing because it is just so comforting to me. Like a bowl of warm soup.
December 2025
1. Spread Me by Sarah Gailey
There were so many good things about this speculative novella that got me: visceral body horror, existential dread, isolation, loneliness, identity crisis. I know it was unavoidable to reference The Thing, so the author leaned into it with the crew being dodgy about each other mentioning it, but it stood out to me even more because I had rewatched the movie about a month prior to reading it. And while I love this book for what it is, I do think that a lot of the tension gets let out too quickly compared to the film. That didn't stop me from enjoying the it though so I'm 2/2 with Gailey and will look into more by her.
2. Find More Birds: 111 Surprising Ways to Spot Birds Wherever You Are by Heather Wolf
My first read toward my Winter personal curriculum! This is a very approachable beginner’s guide to birding. Written in list form, and organized by specific categories, it helps provide vocabulary, common practices, advice for improving observation skills, and also ways to connect with community. In my notes, I wrote down some ideas for skills to practice such as keeping a soft gaze, being more present with the sights and sounds around me, and practicing patience and stillness.
3. Tove Jansson: The Illustrators by Paul Gravett
Second read for my Winter curriculum. This is a short biography on the Finnish illustrator, painter, and author Tove Jansson famous for creating Moomins. She lived such an interesting life growing up in a family of artists and starting her career at a young age. Due to the nature of The Illustrators series by the publisher Thames & Hudson, the focus is more on her career as an illustrator with lots of examples from children’s literature, political cartoons, comic strips, and advertisements though it also touches on her novels and paintings/murals. It’s a great coffee table style book with a combination of biography and elegant visual elements. I’m interested in the Dick Bruna (the Dutch creator of Miffy) book by Bruce Ingman.
4. The Winter of the Dollhouse by Laura Amy Schlitz
While scrolling through Instagram, I saw a post featuring the cover of this book and was intrigued by the premise even though middle grade books aren’t something I typically read any more. I’m so glad that I gave it a chance because it ended up being one of my favorite reads of the year. We follow Tiph, a moody preteen contemplating running away from home, who bumps into an old woman outside an antique doll shop. The two strike up a decidedly unlikely friendship and bond over their interest in dolls and tense relationship with their parents. Meanwhile, there’s a parallel story about two dolls, Gretel and Little Red, who want to be played with a child who will love them. It’s a sweet coming of age story that conveys the magic of playing with toys and its ability to help adults heal their inner child.
5. Detective Beans: And the Case of the Missing Hat by Li Chen
6. Detective Beans: Adventures in Cat Town by Li Chen
This duo was a gift from my younger brother and he really nailed what kind of series I love to read: cute little animal friends solving mysteries (even very small ones!) The first book is one, longer form mystery while the second is a series of short stories that gives us a broader look at the town. The art style is adorable and the sense of humor reminds me so much of Adventure Time. I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading these and I’m happy to have them on my shelf to revisit and share with others.
Thank you for reading! ʕᵔᴥᵔʔ
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“Crane doesn’t know this yet, but he’s been pregnant for almost three months already.”↩