December 2025. What are you reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Book of Goose by Yiyun Yi

I'm about halfway through . . . enjoying it, although it's a bit slow. Her prose is beautiful.

Now finished and can recommend . . . it's a really lovely and existential testament to the dynamics of childhood friendship and how fiction is not quarantined from reality.

Moving on to "The Correspondent," which already has me charmed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“A Marriage at Sea.” So far, I think the couple is nuts and the incident completely foreseeable. But it’s an interesting story.

Thanks for this feedback— it’s on my to be read list as I tend to love ocean adventures and voyages.

I think you’ll like it. It’s a fairly quick, easy read— I’m almost finished. The subject matter is obviously not easy, but the author uses clear, unfussy prose that flows well and makes you want to keep reading.

[Anonymous]

Finished Red Queen, by Juan Gomez Jurado. Really enjoyed it… it’s like a Spanish version of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: a gritty crime thriller set in Spain, with a complicated heroine and a detective from Bilbao a checkered past working together to solve a series of kidnappings. Waiting for the second book in the trilogy to arrive at the library for pickup.

Also finished Now is Not the Time to Panic, by Kevin Wilson. Didn’t really care for this one. It was a quick read, but I found the whole story to be pretty unrealistic and the main character didn’t show any growth at the end, as an adult; it’s like an extreme case of arrested development and she’s stuck obsessing about her adolescence. I might check out other books by this author, but this one didn’t do it for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to read Hamnet but not getting into it (only 20 pages in). Was supposed to be read for my book club this week and we'd go see the movie, but I can't make the movie night, so not as inspired.

I have the Everlasting by Alix Harrow and am excited to get into it.

The Correspondent unexpectedly arrived at the library from my holds.

Jan Karon has a new Mitford book out for Christmas and that also came in from holds.

I loved Hamnet. So fantastic.

I thought Hamnet was spectacular. That said, if I recall correctly, the very beginning (e.g. first 30-40 pages) were a bit confusing and less "readable" than the rest of the book. So it may be worth just digging in for bit more!

[Anonymous]

Another Hamnet reader, and fully agree—stick with it to p. 50ish and then decide.

[Anonymous]

I just finished “An Echo in the Bone” (7th in the Outlander series)…another good installment, though the battle scenes weren’t my favorite. I was thinking I’d need a break before starting the 8th book, but the last 50 pages may have changed my mind!

I’m also wrapping up 4,000 Weeks (Time Management for Mortals), which I liked more than I expected to. It pairs well with “Essentialism,” which I will need to revisit.

I read Kevin Kwan’s “Lies and Weddings” over the long weekend…enjoyable, but a bit predictable. Still a fun ride.

I started “Dark Renaissance” (NF about Christopher Marlowe) today…debating committing to it or starting “Coming Up Short” (Robert Reich).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just finished “An Echo in the Bone” (7th in the Outlander series)…another good installment, though the battle scenes weren’t my favorite. I was thinking I’d need a break before starting the 8th book, but the last 50 pages may have changed my mind!

I’m also wrapping up 4,000 Weeks (Time Management for Mortals), which I liked more than I expected to. It pairs well with “Essentialism,” which I will need to revisit.

I read Kevin Kwan’s “Lies and Weddings” over the long weekend…enjoyable, but a bit predictable. Still a fun ride.

I started “Dark Renaissance” (NF about Christopher Marlowe) today…debating committing to it or starting “Coming Up Short” (Robert Reich).

I read the Outlander books in a marathon. I couldn't stop! But then we waited a decade for Bees to come out and I could get past the first 50 pages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heartwood by Amity Gaige A thriller told from 3 different POV’s. It was very easy to transition between the different chapters.The MC is a nurse who decided to hike the AT after being a hospital nurse during COVID. I wish her character had been fleshed out more!

Leaves of Grass audio by Walt Whitman. 18 hours long and listened in the evenings. Very glad to have listened. He loves his country and I didn’t realize he had served as essentially a male nurse during the Civil War. Powerful.

Leaves of Grass is phenomenal. You will love the very last poem. It's amazing. He greatly admired Abraham Lincoln. I think there are mentions of him in Leaves of Grass but also maybe in other poems outside of it. I think When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed is one. And I remember one about watching his funeral train go by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to read Hamnet but not getting into it (only 20 pages in). Was supposed to be read for my book club this week and we'd go see the movie, but I can't make the movie night, so not as inspired.

I have the Everlasting by Alix Harrow and am excited to get into it.

The Correspondent unexpectedly arrived at the library from my holds.

Jan Karon has a new Mitford book out for Christmas and that also came in from holds.

I loved Hamnet. So fantastic.

I thought Hamnet was spectacular. That said, if I recall correctly, the very beginning (e.g. first 30-40 pages) were a bit confusing and less "readable" than the rest of the book. So it may be worth just digging in for bit more!

I also thought Hamnet was stunning.

[Anonymous]

Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

Listening on audio (Audible), and so far I really like it. The MC has an interesting “voice”, and the audio reader is good, too.

Fingers crossed it keeps my attention. I’ve been in a slump lately when it comes to finding books that grab me - lots of DNF last month.

[Anonymous]

I recall really loving Hamnet when I read it but I also couldn’t tell you a single thing about it now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heartwood by Amity Gaige A thriller told from 3 different POV’s. It was very easy to transition between the different chapters.The MC is a nurse who decided to hike the AT after being a hospital nurse during COVID. I wish her character had been fleshed out more!

Leaves of Grass audio by Walt Whitman. 18 hours long and listened in the evenings. Very glad to have listened. He loves his country and I didn’t realize he had served as essentially a male nurse during the Civil War. Powerful.

Leaves of Grass is phenomenal. You will love the very last poem. It's amazing. He greatly admired Abraham Lincoln. I think there are mentions of him in Leaves of Grass but also maybe in other poems outside of it. I think When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed is one. And I remember one about watching his funeral train go by.

Yes, so beautiful and moving! I am now inspired to visit Lincoln’s final resting place in Springfield, IL. Incredible how inspirational Walt Whitman’s writing is.

[Anonymous]

Just read Small Things Like These - it's short and fantastic. Now on to The Correspondent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

Listening on audio (Audible), and so far I really like it. The MC has an interesting “voice”, and the audio reader is good, too.

Fingers crossed it keeps my attention. I’ve been in a slump lately when it comes to finding books that grab me - lots of DNF last month.

This is the book I always recommend to people who say they don’t read much but would like to. I loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

Listening on audio (Audible), and so far I really like it. The MC has an interesting “voice”, and the audio reader is good, too.

Fingers crossed it keeps my attention. I’ve been in a slump lately when it comes to finding books that grab me - lots of DNF last month.

This is the book I always recommend to people who say they don’t read much but would like to. I loved it.

Me again. I wanted to add that this is one of the few books with an absolutely perfect ending.