The Seventeenth Line

This year was a really good reading year for me. I read 50 books, which is more than I’m usually able to read in a year, I average around 30 books, and quite a few were surprisingly good.

First Book I Read

I like to start the new year off with a book that I expect to be good. I think of this as a gift to myself. Plus, it helps me jump back into reading in the new year after all of the hubbub around the holidays.

I really enjoyed the first book I read this year, You Could Make this Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith. Smith, who is first and foremost a poet, shared the story of her marriage coming to an end. Sad, yes, of course, but also beautiful, vulnerable, and full of charm. She writes with such fondness of her neighborhood, the same small town where she’s spent her life. By the end, I found her story of this transitional time in her life quite up lifting. Plus, she’s Gen X, with good taste in music and tattoos, so of course I’m rooting for her.

Three Books That I Most Enjoyed Reading

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe is not what I typically read, I’m not even sure how I came to pick it up, but I’m so glad I did because I found the story delightful, witty, and heartfelt. It’s very of the moment in terms of pop culture, with TikToc and OnlyFans playing a part in the storyline, but at it’s heart it’s about being young and navigating life, making bad decisions or maybe more so the best decisions possible in tough situations, and having messy but meaningful family relationships. I’ve recommended this book more than once.

I love spy movies but I’ve never been drawn to reading this genre. In fact, The Peacock and the Sparrow by I. S. Berry, a first time novelist and former CIA operations officer, is the first true spy novel I’ve read. I really liked the way Berry brought the location to life, from street names, to descriptions of markets, to the mundane traffic and weather, the Bahraini setting, both bleak and beautiful, feels real. It’s clear Berry know of what she writes. Berry’s writing was so good that I searched out essays she’d written for journals and literary magazines. I hope Berry has another novel on the way!

I’ve liked everything I’ve read by Liz Moore and Heft, her 2012 novel, is no exception. After reading God of the Woods last year I wanted to read more by Moore and borrowed both Long Bright River and Heft from the library. Long Bright River was good, I’d recommend it and the TV show on Peacock based on the book was enjoyable, but Heft was exceptional. Every character is flawed in some way, struggling with bad decisions, limited options, and past mistakes, and each character also has a goodness in them, they are people that you root for and characters that you miss after you’ve closed the cover. Ultimately, Heft is a novel about the pain of living with loneliness and the importance of human connections. It is a lovely, lovely, lovely novel.

Two Celebrity Books I’m Surprised I Enjoyed Reading

I don’t count myself a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger but I have a new found appreciate for him after reading his advice book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life. I enjoyed learning that he did construction work during his early days in Los Angeles while training for Mr Olympia (it was sweet to hear him reflect about driving past building that he had helped build). That “day job” helped support his body building efforts, which was his stepping stone to acting. And, as we know, acting became a stepping stone to his political career.

I never watched One Tree Hill, but I do have an interest in cults, which is what drew me to the memoir, Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show, by Bethany Joy Lenz. As a young actress living away from family, Lenz found a welcoming group of creative young people in LA who shared her faith. Soon enough, an older couple started showing up at bible study, befriending Lenz and inviting her to live in a large, shared house in the Pacific Northwest. Eventually Lenz found herself financially supporting this new found “family” with her earning from her acting work. It was surprising that her co-starts or other professionals from the TV series didn’t intervene and heartbreaking to read how her career was controlled by this group (she gave up a role in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, a childhood dream!).

Four Honorable Mentions

As I said, it was a good reading year and there are a few more books worth mentioning.

Girls, Girls, Girls by Shoshana von Blanckensee is a coming of age novel that will transport you to a 1990’s gay-friendly, sex-positive San Francisco.

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston is a sweet romance with a unique take on the right person, wrong time trope.

Birding to Change the World a Memoir by Trish O’Kane is inspirational and a good reminder that activism makes a difference.

Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky is an odd little story, weird and magical, creepy and tender, and ultimately quiet full of sorrow.

2025 Recap and Plans for 2026

All in all, 2025 was a really good reading year for me. I read a mix of both fiction and non-fiction. I enjoyed some escapism reading and a few books that required deep reading. I discovered new authors and read a few of my favorite authors.

I didn’t have a reading project in 2025, instead I let myself wander in terms of my book choices, picking up books I normally wouldn’t, and I think that unfocused approach worked well for me this year. I haven’t yet decided if I’ll have a reading project for myself and, if so, what the project will be.

Looking ahead, I’ve decided on my first book for 2026 and I plan to start it this coming weekend.

How was your 2025 reading year?

What are you planning to read in 2026?

Happy New Year and cheers to good books!