I read a lot and when I finish a really good book all I want is for someone to ask: “please tell me about what you’re reading!” so that I have an excuse to talk about it. Alas, this rarely happens. So you, dear bookish people, are going to be my guinea pigs for a new series of posts about what I’ve recently read and loved. If you have also recently read and loved something and are dying to share, please don’t hesitate to share in the comments because I DO want to hear all about it.
Let’s talk books.
January 2025
Note: affiliate links will be included below.
I am going to cheat and talk about something I finished right before the new year started. The Briar Club by Kate Quinn had been on my list for a while and I should have read it earlier. It was so much fun.
I loved the historical setting and the twisting plot, but my favorite part was the diverse cast of characters that live in the house. Each chapter is from a different perspective, but not in the jumping around way that is so common. Each chapter is long and goes deep into one person’s perspective but then you do not return again to their perspective. With each different person you add a piece to the puzzle of the plot and you also understand the time period a little better. How Quinn invented such a range of interesting characters with depth and perspective and then wove them all together is genius. I also truly love, love, loved how the house was a character as well. That might sound weird, but to me it worked and I found it’s affection for the people in the home so endearing.
Just What to Do by Kyle Lukoff and Hala Tahboub tugged on my heartstrings in the most perfect way. This picture book answers the question: What do you do when someone you care about is sad about a loss? There is no easy answer to this as we are all different and that’s pretty much exactly what this book tells the reader. Along the way though are the sweetest, most perfectly childlike attempts to cheer up friends and family. It is a darling book with sparse text and gentle illustrations seeped in empathy.
What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci is sort of the follow up to his book Taste which I also loved. This book, especially when listening to it on audio read by the author (which I highly suggest!), feels like you’re sitting down to dinner with Tucci and hearing about his latest foodie exploits.
Although I don’t always agree with his assessment of things (I for one thoroughly enjoy hot weather and dessert), I admire his candor and decisiveness and absolute obsession with all things food. He is funny and clever and interesting on these pages and reading (or listening) leaves me feeling so happy and hungry!
Better Than the Movies & Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter. I absolutely loved this sweet pair of young adult romances. They span senior year of high school until early college so they’re on the older side of YA. I highly recommend them to anyone who loves a good RomCom movie.
The main female character is obsessed and wants to create soundtracks for movies. She falls in love enemy-to-lovers style with the boy next door. I found these characters so delightfully layered and endearing. Better Than the Movies tells this initial love story where Wes agrees to fake date Liz to help her win over a different boy. Nothing Like the Movies that was new in 2024 is the sequel. They are now in college and their happily-ever-after didn’t go as planned. Wes is determined to get a second chance. If you just want something sweet and fun and sappy in the best kind of way, these are for you.
The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin is a World War II story set in London. I know, there are so many of these. I read a lot of them. Some I like. Some I don’t. A few rare ones I really love and this is one of those. It focuses on the period of more than eight months where the Germans relentless bombed the city. I felt like I experienced the war from an entirely different angle through this book.
During this horrible time, Grace is finding where she fits in the world. She moves to London shortly before the war, while many other are fleeing. She stumbles into a job in a bookshop and that changes the course of her life forever.
This is my favorite part. More than anything, this is a book about books. It is about how we read them to escape. It is about how books bring people together, even in the darkest of times. The author surrounds Grace with so many interesting, layered and lovely characters. The different examples of friendship and love and community that are built through books in this story are beautiful. There are definitely hard parts, but in the end it is a story of survival and of books.
Notable Mentions I also Read & Liked
- Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor – I got a little tired of the just communicate-already-ness of this one but I loved the historical look at the Queen’s early years. It was the most unique of the holiday books I read this year. Amazon Link
- The Wedding People by Alison Espach – like A Man Called Ove this begins with incredible sadness which I don’t overly enjoy in my reading life. However, if you push through that, I really enjoyed the matter-of-fact commentary of the world around the main character. I found myself laughing out loud several times (only slightly embarrassing when you’re in public). Amazon Link
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – this is only a notable mention because this was my third time reading it. It was one of my absolute favorites the year it was released and is good in both written and audiobook form. I re-read it this month for book club. It is historical fiction perfection in my opinion. Amazing characters, so well written and a time period that you don’t often find addressed in historical fiction. A note of caution; some really horrible hard things happen in this book so best to avoid if you aren’t in the right place for that. Otherwise, I think this is a must read. – Amazon Link
- In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer – I almost included this above because of all the books I read this month I think I talked about this the most. I love the concept of this series, although I’ve found I’m terrible at explaining it. It’s historical fiction with a time travel element that’s completely unlike any book I’ve ever heard of. I didn’t love this one (the second in the series) as much as the first but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. – Amazon Link
- The Favorites by Layne Fargo – this book is like a car crash; everything happening is horrible but I couldn’t look away. Well written in the sense that the plot and pacing are perfection. You never know where it’s going and you’re usually horrified when you get there. The book is set in the competitive world of ice dancing with two pairs of Olympic hopefuls in the middle. The relationships are full of drama and the whole thing feels like a soap opera at times, which I don’t usually like at all, but there is something about this book that makes it incredibly hard to put down. Amazon Link
