Tag: 25 in 2025

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Focused Reading List

I really enjoyed the #25in2025 challenge that I completed last month; it was a nice way to make sure I read some of the backlist books I had on my TBR. My TBR has grown quite a bit over the last couple of years, and sometimes picking what to read next can be overwhelming. Since I enjoyed that challenge so much, I decided to make myself a focused reading list for the rest of the year.

My focused reading list has 25 books on it. They are all fiction and are all readily available to me, whether through the library/Libby/Hoopla, already on my Kindle, or as a physical book on my shelf. The publication dates range from 2011-2024. I am not limiting myself to these books if there is something else I really want to read, and I am still planning to read one nonfiction book each month.

Here is the list (alphabetical by author):

  • What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
  • Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldress – Legends & Lattes #0
  • A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
  • The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont
  • The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
  • Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
  • Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – The Infernal Devices #2
  • Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare – The Infernal Devices #3
  • Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev – The Rajes #3
  • The Emma Project by Sonali Dev – The Rajes #4
  • Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde #1
  • Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman – Class Mom #3
  • Smells Like Tween Spirit by Laurie Gelman – Class Mom #4
  • The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
  • How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
  • Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison
  • Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
  • Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • The Bride Test by Helen Hoang – The Kiss Quotient #2
  • Modern Persuasion by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #1
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman
  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout – Amgash #5
  • The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
  • More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa – Days at the Morisaki Bookshop #2

I am really excited about this list and have already started reading some of the books!

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25 in 2025 Wrap Up

At the beginning of this year, there was a challenge floating around Bookstagram called the #25in2025 challenge. The idea was to identify 25 backlist books from your TBR that you wanted to read this year.

I came up with my list in mid-January, and I am excited to say that I have now read all of the books! (To be totally transparent, I did replace two of the books from the original list when they were hard to track down.)

There were some really good choices in this bunch, and I am so glad I did it. Here is the list of what I read as part of this challenge:

Fiction/Romance

  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
  • Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg
  • What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
  • How to Get a (Love) Life by Rosie Blake
  • How to Stuff Up Christmas by Rosie Blake
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  • The London Flat: Second Chances by Juliet Gauvin
  • Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison
  • Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison
  • Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison
  • The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
  • The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
  • Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick
  • Lawyers and Lattes: Happily Ever After in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi
  • Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Thrillers

  • Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman
  • Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman
  • Twisted by Jonathan Kellerman

Nonfiction

  • The Great Sex Rescue by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky
  • Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley
  • Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark by Janet Kellogg Ray
  • The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
  • How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby
  • God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines

Have you read any of these? Did any of them stand out to you?

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What I’m Reading – May 2025

What I’m Reading Now

Fiction – Plymouth Undercover by Pamela M. Kelley – Court Street Investigations #1

Nonfiction – The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis by Karen Swallow Prior

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • How to Get a (Love) Life by Rosie Blake
  • Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games #0.5
  • The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up by Laura Pearson
  • Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
  • Lethal Prey by John Sandford – Lucas Davenport #35; Virgil Flowers #16
  • Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman – Petra Connor #1
  • Twisted by Jonathan Kellerman – Petra Connor #2

Nonfiction

  • The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You’ve Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky

Short Stories

  • The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman – The Once Upon a Time Bookshop #1
  • The Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman – The Once Upon a Time Bookshop #2
  • The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman – The Once Upon a Time Bookshop #3
  • The One That Got Away by Mike Gayle
  • The Sublet by Greer Hendricks
  • The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez
  • The Tomorrow Box by Curtis Sittenfeld
  • Giraffe & Flamingo by Curtis Sittenfeld
  • Sebastian and the Troll by Fredrik Backman
  • The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin

What I Added to my TBR

Fiction

  • How to Find Your (First) Husband by Rosie Blake
  • The Gin O’Clock Club by Rosie Blake
  • Lessons at the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan – School by the Sea #3
  • Studies at the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan – School by the Sea #4
  • Meet Me at the Seaside Cottages by Jenny Colgan
  • The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan
  • Betting on Good by Wendy Francis
  • Same Time Next Week by Milly Johnson
  • The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod
  • The Many Futures of Maddy Hart by Laura Pearson
  • I Wanted You to Know by Laura Pearson
  • Missing Pieces by Laura Pearson
  • Nobody’s Wife by Laura Pearson
  • The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine by Laura Pearson
  • The Woman Who Met Herself by Laura Pearson
  • In the Woods by Tana French – Dublin Murder Squad #1
  • Storm Peak by John A. Flanagan – Jesse Parker Mystery #1
  • Avalanche Pass by John A. Flanagan – Jesse Parker Mystery #2

Nonfiction

  • How I Changed My Mind About Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science by Kathryn Applegate (Editor) and J.B. Stump (Editor)
  • The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say about Human Origins by Peter Enns
  • Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood by Kate Swenson, Adrian Wood, and Carrie Cariello

Short Stories

  • The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman – The Once Upon a Bookshop #4

TBR Stats/Goal Updates

  • I currently have 160 books on my TBR. Of those, 17 are nonfiction and 143 are fiction.
  • I finished 5 more of my 25 in 2025 list, bringing that total to 18.
  • I have read 46 books so far this year (my goal is 75).
  • One of my goals was to read 2 nonfiction books each month. So far this year I have read 1 per month.

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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What I’m Reading – April 2025

What I’m Reading Now

I am currently reading Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman. It was published in 1998 and was the first in his Petra Connor series which ended up only having two installments. I am really enjoying it.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick (Contemporary Fiction)
  • Pick Me Up by Cecelia Joyce (Romance)
  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Fantasy)
  • Pages to Fill by Travis Baldree (Fantasy Short Story)
  • The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (Romance)
  • Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg (Contemporary Short Stories)
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Young Adult)
  • Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison (Chick Lit)

Nonfiction

  • Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark? The Bible and Modern Science and the Trouble of Making It All Fit by Janet Kellogg Ray

What I Added to my TBR

In March, I added 27 novels and 2 short stories to my TBR.

TBR Stats/Goal Updates

  • I currently have 171 books on my TBR (yes, it keeps growing!)
  • Of those, 17 are nonfiction and 154 are fiction
  • I finished 7 more of my 25 in 2025 list, bringing that total to 13
  • I have finished 28 books so far this year, so I am well on my way to my goal of 75
  • One of my goals was to read 2 nonfiction books each month. So far this year I have read 1 per month. I’m not mad about that; I have a hard time making myself read nonfiction even when I am interested in the topic.

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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Legends & Lattes

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree started out as a self-published novel and was so successful that it was picked up by a traditional publisher and is currently being translated into 9 languages.  I’m not sure how it got on my radar, but I’m so glad it did!

📜Summary📜

Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.

💬My Thoughts💬

I absolutely loved this book!  Everything was on point – the characters, the setting, the friendships that develop, the slow burn romance, the twists and turns of the plot.  I enjoyed following Viv as she left the life of an adventurer and began a new life as an entrepreneur, and I especially liked how she was able to create a community for herself and develop strong relationships with a trusted few.

Reading this book took me back to my teens and twenties when I lived for fantasy and science fiction. If you like cozy or slice-of-life fantasy, I highly recommend giving Legends & Lattes a read.

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The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper was Phaedra Patrick’s debut novel, published in 2016. I have read several of her more recent books and was interested to go back and read the ones I had missed. I’m glad I started with this one because it was quite enjoyable.

Arthur Pepper’s wife passed away a year ago, and he has continued living with the same mundane routines he always had. On the anniversary of her death, however, he finds a mysterious gold charm bracelet among her things and embarks on a quest to find out where each of these charms came from.

As he follows the clues he uncovers, he learns a lot about the woman his wife was before they met and is himself taken on a journey of hope, healing, and self-discovery.

I found this to be a sweet and engaging story. I sympathized with Arthur as he stepped way out of his comfort zone, and I enjoyed meeting all of the quirky characters along the way. Some of them were quite ridiculous, but Patrick somehow makes them work. I also liked how Arthur’s relationship with his children changed and grew throughout the book. 

I highly recommend this book, and this author. I still have a few books of hers to catch up on, and I am very much looking forward to them.

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The Color of Compromise

The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby

This was an intense and compelling read. Tisby takes us through the history of racism in America and highlights the ways that the church has participated in and contributed to the problem during each period. 

Each time progress has been made, there has been a corresponding backlash either outright opposing the forward movement or simply failing to be supportive. After slavery was abolished, we saw the introduction of the KKK and Jim Crow laws. After the Civil Rights Act was passed, we saw segregation academies established and white communities resisting residential desegregation. 

Tisby goes on to discuss the organizing of the religious right at the end of the twentieth century and the rise of law-and-order politics. He also delves into the more recent responses to the black lives matter movement and the 2016 presidential election. 

In the last chapter, titled “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” Tisby offers practical ways to address racial injustice in America. He presents solutions that go beyond the conventional advice to focus on the relational aspects of race and instead combat the structures and institutions of racial inequality in our country.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The combination of historical overview with practical strategies for implementing racial justice in our churches and communities is incredibly powerful.

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What I’m Reading – March 2025

What I’m Reading Now

I am currently reading The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. This was published in 2016 and is part of my 25 in 2025 challenge to read some of the backlist books on my TBR. It was also her debut novel. I just started it but I like it so far.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • Lawyers and Lattes: Happily Ever After in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi – I found this author during a stuff your Kindle day a year or so ago and liked the free book enough to want to get this one. This book was entertaining enough that I have added book three to my TBR.
  • The London Flat: Second Chances by Juliet Gauvin – I had enjoyed the first book in this series, which I got during a stuff your Kindle day a while back, but this one fell flat for me. I didn’t find the plot believable.
  • Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison – Fun read! The action flips between the present day and the characters’ time in junior high and high school. I actually liked the chapters from the past better than the present; the author does a good job writing the younger characters. The present-day plot felt a bit childish to me, like the characters hadn’t really grown up since high school, which perhaps was the point.
  • What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg – I didn’t love it, even though Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers. It started out good, but I just lost interest partway through.
  • Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb – I have been a longtime fan of the In Death series, and this book delivered on all fronts. I loved it!
  • Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman – I am a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, so I had high hopes for this collaboration with his son Jesse. I thought it was alright, but it didn’t pull me in like the Delaware books do. I couldn’t really relate to the main character, or any of the characters, very much, and I didn’t find the storyline very compelling.
  • The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak – I am still mulling over this one and plan to write a review soon. I gave it three stars for now.
  • Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman – I usually love the books in the Alex Delaware series, but this one didn’t hold my interest very well. The main draw of the series is that Delaware is a psychologist, and the crimes usually involve some psychological twists and turns. This one felt like more straightforward police work to me.

Nonfiction

  • The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby – This book was so intense. I am still processing it and plan to write a full review soon.

What I Added to my TBR

  • Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher – my Amazon First Reads pick for February
  • The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez – bonus short story from Amazon First Reads
  • A Good Indian Girl by Mansi Shah – a recent release from this author I discovered last year
  • More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa – a sequel that I want to read
  • Feeling the Fireworks: Starting Over in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi – #3 in the South West series
  • Twisted by Jonathan Kellerman – #2 in the Petra Connor series, I have #1 on my 25 in 2025 list

TBR Stats

  • I currently have 152 books on my TBR
  • Of those, 20 are nonfiction and 132 are fiction
  • I have finished 6 of my 25 in 2025 challenge

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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Mini Book Reviews

Here are quick reviews of the books I have read so far this month…

⭐⭐⭐

Lawyers and Lattes by Rebecca Paulinyi – I found this author during a stuff your Kindle day a year or so ago and liked the free book enough to want to get this one. This book was entertaining enough that I have added book three to my TBR.

⭐⭐

The London Flat by Juliet Gauvin – I had enjoyed the first book in this series, which I got during a stuff your Kindle day a while back, but this one fell flat for me. I didn’t find the characters’ actions believable.

⭐⭐⭐

Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison – Fun read! The action flips between the present day and the characters’ time in junior high and high school. I actually liked the chapters from the past better than the present; the author does a good job writing the younger characters. The present-day plot felt a bit childish to me, like the characters hadn’t really grown up since high school, which perhaps was the point of the story.

⭐⭐⭐

What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg – I didn’t love it, even though Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers. It started out good, but I just lost interest partway through.

What are you reading now?

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25 in 2025

While I plan to read more than 25 books in 2025, I want to make an effort to reduce the number of older books on my TBR.  Listed below are 25 backlist books I am planning to read this year. The publication years range from 1998 to 2022, with 20 of them being before 2020. I am not participating in any official challenges for this, but I did make a shelf on Goodreads so I can keep track of my progress.

Fiction:

  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
  • Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg
  • What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
  • Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy
  • Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy
  • How to Get a (Love) Life by Rosie Blake
  • How to Stuff Up Christmas by Rosie Blake
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  • The London Flat: Second Chances by Juliet Gauvin
  • Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison
  • Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison
  • The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
  • Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman
  • Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman
  • The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
  • Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick
  • Lawyers and Lattes: Happily Ever After in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi
  • Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Nonfiction:

  • The Great Sex Rescue by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky
  • Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley
  • Baby Dinosaurs on the Art by Janet Kellogg Ray
  • The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
  • How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby
  • God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines