Favorite Books of 2025

The River We Remember

by William Kent Krueger

A shocking murder takes place in the small town of Jewel. Narrow-minded assumptions, wrapped up in the precious beauty of the midwest. Complex, engaging, evocative. Touched my heart.

Eruption

by Michael Crichton and James Patterson

The Big Island of Hawaii prepares for its volcano to erupt. Scientists forecast an anomolous event of immense intensity with life-threatening consequences. A major complication is the effect the eruption will have on the inner structures of the volcano, which contain a long-held secret cache of toxic materials. I don’t know how much of the earth science is actual fact, but this thriller surely kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put it down!

A Pocket Full of Rye: A Miss Marple Mystery

by Agatha Christie

This was my first Agatha Christie book. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of writing and plot complexity. Christie cleverly uses a nursery rhyme for the foundation of clues that are analyzed from different angles.

Rex Fortescue, a detestable, high profile businessman, is poisoned. Inspector Neele, a keen observer and astute listener, interviews several murder suspects. First we think it’s Rex’s wife, Adele, but when she is also poisoned, our attention turns to the housemaid, Gladys. Miss Marple arrives on the scene at the midway point. At first glance, she appears to be a quiet, bumbling intruder interested in the deconstruction of the murders. The patient inspector finds her insights to be valuable and wise.

Tautly written, with illuminating dialogue, dashes of humor, and plenty of surprises, this book was a fabulous revelation. I will be sure to read more Agatha Christie!

The Lincoln Highway

by Amor Towles

I finally read this great book, which had been recommended by several people. It was lengthy, but worth the effort. I like Towles’ writing style and how he weaves in many people and their backstories.

Emmett Watson returns home after serving 15 months in a juvenile detention center for involuntary manslaughter. Both parents are deceased and the family farm has been foreclosed. Emmett’s intention is to pick up his younger brother, Billy, and head to California to begin a new life. His plans are quickly derailed when 2 detention center friends (Duchess and Wooly) appear. They’ve concocted a different journey that takes all of them to New York City. It’s an unpredictable, zany ride, with some lengthy rabbit holes.

I adored Billy and grew to like his older brother, Emmett. I wasn’t crazy about Duchess, finding his behavior maddening. Wooley was odd, yet very interesting. The girl-next-door, Sally, was awesome and provided a romantic subtext. Overall, good story-telling. In the end, I found myself caring for the characters and wanting the best for all of them. 

The Women

by Kristin Hannah

Raised in a conservative, sheltered, seemingly idyllic home, Frances “Frankie” McGrath begins to question the future her parents have assumed for her. After her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she is inspired to join the Army Nurse Corps. Thrust into the mayhem and horror of an EVAC hospital in Vietnam, Frankie learns on the fly and becomes a surgical nurse. She builds unbreakable bonds with her 2 nurse roomies, endures daily trauma, falls in love with 2 doctors, and manages to make it home alive. However, she doesn’t receive the welcome she expects or deserves, finding instead that her wartime service is not even acknowledged. Additionally, the anti-war movement is in full swing: veterans are often mistreated and maligned. Frankie also had to deal with PTSD. It’s an absorbing, graphic, fast-paced story that has you cheering on Frankie and her friends. Highly recommend!

Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

by James McBride

When a skeleton is found at the bottom of a well, we are spun back in time to a mixed Pennsylvania community of African American, Jewish, and European immigrants. In their kaleidoscope of cultures and values, they share, protect, love, and quarrel with one another. McBride’s affection and respect for his characters shines through in his adept handling of dialogue and story. Highly recommend!

When We Flew Away

by Alice Hoffman

While walking past the Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, MA), this book’s cover caught my eye. The title intrigued me. A few days later, I got it out of our library.

The story is told through Anne Frank’s eyes before the Nazis arrested her and her family. This fictionalized account of the years preceding Anne’s diary feels horrifyingly real. It is an intense look at the gradual accumulation of anti-semitic sentiment and restrictive policies of Amsterdam. The parallels to what ICE is doing right now in the United States are alarming.

The Comfort of Crows

by Margaret Renkl

Reese’s Book Club Pick 2024

Renkl provides deeply personal observations of the natural world and its rhythms over the course of a year. The poetic cadence tempers scientific information with an honoring of flora and creatures. Gorgeous artwork by her brother, Billy, accompanies the entries. A sensitive, caring tribute.

Failure to Quit: Reflections of an Optimistic Historian

by Howard Zinn

This collection of essays on history and politics expresses Zinn’s ultimate optimism and hope. His perspective and analyses inspire me and bolster my hope. I find his words to be wise and comforting…

Several years ago, when Reagan announced the blockade of Nicaragua, 550 of us sat-in at the federal building in Boston to protest and were arrested. It seemed too big a group of dissidents to deal with, and charges were dropped. When I received my letter, I saw for the first time what the official complaint against all of us was: “Failure to Quit.” That is, surely, the critical fact about the continuing movement for human rights here and all over the world.

French Braid

by Anne Tyler

A portrait of a family over the span of 7 decades. In the beginning, I saw the flaws and peculiarities of the characters. I thought Tyler was leading us toward a sad, uncomfortable place. But, by the end, she had braided together the strands of assumptions, aging, small moments, quiet love and affection into a relatable, subtlety complex story. Highly recommend!

The Gatsby Gambit

by Claire Anderson-Wheeler

My partner, Peggy, recommended this clever mystery, which introduces Jay Gatsby’s fictional younger sister, Greta, as an amateur sleuth. The familiar characters and extravagance from The Great Gatsby provide the backdrop to an engaging read. Greta notices small details, verbally spars with aristocrats and laborers, and tries to keep her attraction to handsome Nick at bay. Totally enjoyable!

James

by Percival Everett

Pulitzer Prize Winner 2025; National Book Award Winner 2024; Kirkus Prize for Fiction 2024, and many other accolades.

Excellent book, one of the best I’ve ever read! James is who we first came to know as Jim in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer novels. In this book, we hear a different narrative told in James’ words, in his dual languages: one for the whites and one for the slaves. Huck is the minor player, Tom is barely mentioned. It is a powerful story about perception, race, rage, agility, adaptation, and survival.

The Language of Flowers

by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Emancipated from the foster-care system at age 18, Victoria lives on the street as she struggles to find a job and safety. She discovers meaning in flowers and connects with the owner of a flower shop. Trust and stability slowly grow. The story deftly weaves backward and forward in time. A very absorbing, well-written book. The characters stayed with me for several days, and I had a little difficulty starting my next book!

The Island of Missing Trees

by Elif Shafak

Reese’s Book Club Pick 2021

Beautifully written with rich, lyrical language that seamlessly integrates cultural differences and Cyprus history. Tender love story between a Greek boy and Turkish girl whose romance is forbidden. They meet secretly and safely in a tavern owned by 2 gay men. A fig tree grows in the middle of the tavern, and it is a unique, cornerstone storyteller witnessing the myriad changes occurring around it. Heartbreaking and healing, a big yes to this lovely book!

A Fatal Grace

by Louise Penny

CC de Poitiers, an unlikeable newcomer to Three Pines, is brutally murdered. Inspector Gamache has many suspects to sort through, and an unusual, sophisticated killing method to decipher. Engaging and suspenseful.

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