Best Books Read in 2025

This was a good reading year. Well, I didn't have a lot of choice of activities in January and February. I listened to a LOT of audiobooks. Then in November, I neglected to add titles to my spreadsheet. Trying to fill in the missing ones was problematic since I read some books online, and others I already, in a fit of efficiency, took down to our library building and put them away. I have a record of reading/ hearing 117 books. It is more for certain... maybe 10 more? Not sure.

The total certain pages are 34,377 for what it's worth. 62% were what I call "escape reading"- just for enjoyment and no other purpose. Those were primarily fiction mysteries.

Here's the western sky at 5:42 pm on Christmas Eve. We can already tell that it's staying light noticeably later. Hooray! I'm definitely feeling the negative effects of the long hours of darkness.

Now that I've paid the photo tax...

Here are the ten books I have selected as the best reads of 2025, in alphabetical order.

Title	Author	Genre
Brief Review
The Cranefly Orchid Murders	Cynthia Riggs	cozy mystery
This is another series I recommend if you like cozy mysteries. Each title has a plant in it. This series is set on Martha's Vinyard and stars the nonagenarian, Victoria Trumbull. The atmosphere and characters of the New England setting are wonderfully done. If you have any experience with people from and life in this area you'll have plenty to chuckle at. I love the details of the island setting and the unusual place names. This is regional fiction at its best.     In this particular story, an elderly woman who owns "Sachem's Rock" does not want to leave it to her estranged family. But everyone wants that land. Developers, the tribal nation, the village, conservationists. Who will win out?     I have reviewed most of the books in the series at Victoria Trumbull mysteries. (I have to order the others through interlibrary loan to finish them.)
Force of Nature	C.J. Box	thriller
I listened to this whole series while I was down with the shingles. The hero is Joe Pickett, a state game warden in Wyoming. This is just the kind of series I like every so often. They are violent and a little off-beat, with a cast of remarkable characters. I choose this as one of the best.     Joe Pickett's friend, Nate Romanowski, has a past in Special Forces, but he ran afoul of most authority figures long ago. He lives off the grid both literally and emotionally. His former commander is out to eliminate all those who know anything about a high-level crime. He figures he can draw Nate out of hiding by targeting his friend Joe Pickett and Pickett's family.     Each book stands alone, but the convoluted situations will make more sense if you read them in order.
Lost in the Wild	Cary Griffith	survival
The true stories of two young men who became lost in separate incidents in the Minnesota Arrowhead are told in a parallel fashion. Both survived- one because he used his knowledge and common sense, the other from pure luck. (This was a re-read for me- perhaps the third time. It's still great.)     I find survival stories gripping because with the amount of time I've spent outdoors alone, sometimes pushing limits more than my friends would like me to, I think about the scenarios that could result in my needing to use these kinds of skills.
Oxcart Angel	J.A. Arnold	juvenile fiction
This is historical fiction for middle grades through junior high. I bought it in North Dakota because it was inexpensive, and I'm always looking for a variety of writing examples for middle grades.     Well. This is an excellent book. It's one of the best examples I've read of showing the reader, not telling.     Claire is 13 years old. Her father is French and her mother was Native American. She calls herself a Metis, but most everyone despises her as a half-breed. After her mother's death, she and her father load the few things that will fit on an oxcart. They barter for a half-dead ox to pull it and head for Minneapolis from their home on the Canadian border in Pembina.     Although written for a young audience, this is a great tale of what life was like at the time in the Dakota territory during the Civil War.
The Private Patient	P.D. James	mystery
If you like classic mystery, you just can't go wrong with P.D. James, but I think this one is especially good. This was a re-read for me. It's the last book in the Adam Dalgliesh series.     An investigative reporter who carries a terrible facial scar from childhood finally decides to have it removed. She sets up an appointment with a famous plastic surgeon who offers care in London or at a manor house in the country. She chooses the manor house.     The plot is complex even for James. I just found it satisfying.     I'm working on reviewing all of the Adam Dalgliesh books
Sons of Fortune	Jeffrey Archer	literary fiction
Archer typically writes books that span several generations, skillfully weaving in both the history, culture and relationships of the characters and their extended families. This one not only has all that, but it's a "separated twins" tale.     The baby boys end up going to different homes after their birth. Another baby born on the same night does not live, and a nurse feels it is unfair for one family to have two boys and the other none. She tells the twins' mother that only one of them lived, and gives the second baby to the woman whose child died.     The boys grow up in different social classes never knowing about the other. They end up going to similar private schools- one on merit the other by social position. We see their lives moving closer and closer together, but will they meet and realize who they are?
Thunderstruck	Erik Larson	true crime
Is this history or true crime? Yes. The stories of Marconi's struggle to understand wireless communication is juxtaposed with one of the nost famous murders in British history- that of Dr. Crippin's killing of his wife.     Crippen was the first criminal in history to be apprehended with the use of radio communication.     Erik Larson has written some great books, and a few that are sort of middle of the road. I thought this one was really good.
When You Find My Body	Denis Dauphinee	survival
This is the true story of Geraldine Largay who disappeared on the Appalachian Trail in 2013. Her body was found several years later. She kept a journal through all the time she survived.     To me, this book is riveting. There is a lot we'll never know about what happened to her: how she actually lost the trail, why she made some of the decisions she did. But it did answer some of my questions about her story. She was an experienced hiker, that is true. What she was not was experienced in outdoor skills which is not the same thing. If she'd been more educated on those topics she would certainly have survived.
The Sabateur	Andrew Cross	espionage thriller
This is based on the true story of Norwegians who risked everything to sabotage the Nazi heavy water plant, critical to Germany creating an atomic bomb, during WWII.     It is based on recently declassified documents, and is a great war thriller about a topic you've never heard much about.
When Understanding is Enough	Dale Jackson	self-help
Yes, this is written by a good friend of mine. But that's not why it made my top ten list. Some of us just aren't wired to be very empathetic people. Sometimes, when we do care about someone, we don't know what to do to actually be helpful.     Dale gives clear guidelines for how to listen constructively to those who need understanding more than they need advice. Hint. Everyone needs understanding more than they need advice. Easy-to-understand and process guides like this really are worthy.

I was fairly productive today. Yeah me.

See Best Books Read in 2024