On Reading In January 2025 (Best Of)

I have written and deleted this opening so many times that I thought maybe I should just open with the fact that I have no idea how to write an intro about a month filled with absolute horrors, that was also an excellent reading month for me. I deeply know, and understand, that everything can not be tinged with the sorrow of the time or else the joy, the good things, the things I need (that we all need) to keep moving forward (to keep fighting and resisting and making it impossible for them to take even more) will be at the bottom of a pit of despair and there is no Dread Pirate Roberts to rescue us. (I know Fezzik, Inigo, and Miracle Max saved DPR from the pit of despair but the other way sounds better, just go with it.)

But sometimes we deeply know and understand a thing and still find it difficult to apply. So here I am trying to apply it, the joy of my great reading month.

January is always my best reading month. While it would make sense that it’s based on a New Year’s resolution to read more it actually comes down to two unrelated things: I finish a lot of books that I started reading in 2024 (like a clearing off of the table) and my excitement for upcoming 2025 titles (that I have galleys for) propels me into reading like a Hungry Hungry Hippo.

I hear many people talk about how they use books as an escape from the current world but I am discovering that I can’t stop thinking (fighting and arguing in my head) while reading an ebook or print book. Frustrated from lack of focus I either end up giving up on the book or go slower than I naturally read, which turns into a different kind of frustration. If it weren’t for audiobooks (which I deeply LOVE for so many reasons) I would probably be reading almost nothing. So thank you everyone involved in the production of audiobooks.

While I don’t make goals that involve an overall quantity of reading, I do sometimes try to prioritize things like voices, genres, or topics. Last year I prioritized finally getting to backlist titles that I was still really excited to read and that resulted in me reading absolute gems. Naturally I’m continuing that this year. In I-should-not-be-shocked-but-I-didn’t-do-it-on-purpose: my reading leaned even more into genre, and I read a lot of romance.

In total I read 34 books and “really liked to loved” half of them which is a hell of a great reading month. (1 DNF; 1 I figuratively threw across the room because of a mental illness boogieman ending; 8 ≤ 3.5 stars).

Standout

Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore: Beautifully layered book about love, grief, family, and finding your place.

Exactly what I wanted them to be in the best possible way

The Broposal by Sonora Reyes: Best friends to lovers romance—I have read and will read everything Reyes writes, especially for the great character voice.

Cold as Hell (Haven's Rock #3) by Kelley Armstrong: A remote mystery, secret town, procedural that always has a murder to solve and thriller plot pacing.

Dead in the Frame (Pentecost and Parker #5) by Stephen Spotswood: Historical PI duo with great voices and mysteries, this time taking readers into the The Women's House of Detention.

Kills Well with Others (Killers of a Certain Age #2) by Deanna Raybourn (March 4): A group of middle age assassins with past and present chapters about their jobs. I love that they bicker like old married couples.

Back After This by Linda Holmes (Feb 25): A romance that takes you into the world of podcasting.

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood: A romance that takes you into the world of diving. Hazelwood always has the magic formula of character voice and pacing that keeps me reading past my bedtime.

The Library Game (Secret Staircase Mystery #4) by Gigi Pandian (March 18): A wonderful mystery series for fans of puzzle mysteries.

Camp by L. C. Rosen: A fun queer romance set at a Jewish camp. I always love the humor and character voice in Rosen’s novels.

Prioritizing backlist = excellent reads

The Heart Principle (The Kiss Quotient: Book #3) by Helen Hoang: I saved this as long as I could because there isn’t another Hoang book and I love her romances so much. It’s a romance about finding your voice.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi: A romance with a friendship that I love, that deeply explores grief and “moving on”.

Outstanding audiobook production

Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz: If Bethany Joy Lenz has never thought about audiobook narrating before she should now—and the cameos were a really nice surprise.

Nerd purr

The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne by Kate Winkler Dawson: This is a history and true crime book that uses a real historical case that produced two previous books: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Catharine Read Arnold Williams’ arguably first true crime publication in the US.

New (to me) voices I will continue reading

Rental House by Weike Wang: A slice of life novel on a marriage that unfolds by taking readers into two vacations they took with their in-laws.

Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove: A biracial woman moves to her father’s reservation and ends up on a missing woman’s case. I loved Reservation Dogs and this uses the Deer Woman mythology, as did the episode Deer Lady Saves the Day, and I am always here for Deer Woman/Lady.

Five days into February and I’ve already read 2 of the best of 2025 books, so even if the rest of the month goes downhill it’ll still be a win. Stay tuned for how that turns out.