Ten Before the End Update

A few weeks ago I posted a list of 10 books that I wanted to read before the end of the year. I am very happy to say that I was able to complete the entire list!!

It was touch and go for a minute because when I put The Seven Year Slip on hold, it had a several month wait. But it finally started moving and I was eventually able to borrow it this month.

Here are the books from my Ten Before the End list:

  • Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont
  • Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
  • Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
  • A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
  • Modern Persuasion by Sara Marks
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman
  • The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
  • What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

This was a fun little challenge!

What I’m Reading – December 2025

What I’m Reading Now

The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms – This is a novel focused on the place of social media in our lives. It is okay so far.

Queer & Christian: Reclaiming the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table by Brandan Robertson – This book has given me a lot to think about. It goes beyond the regular discussion of Bible passages that have been used to condemn the LGBTQ community and covers some really interesting topics.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
  • What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Aoyama
  • Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes #2)
  • The Library by Bella Osborne
  • 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John Scalzi (short story)
  • The Toy Car by Rose Tremain (short story)

Nonfiction

  • Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop: A Memoir by Alba Donati

What I Added to my TBR

  • In the Paris Fashion by Sophie Beaumont
  • Jigsaw by Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware #41)
  • Revenge Prey by John Sandford (Lucas Davenport #36)
  • The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer
  • Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer
  • Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer
  • Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer
  • The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods
  • Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh by Rachael Lippincott
  • The Midnight Train by Matt Haig
  • Now That I Know You by Heart by Amy Hagstrom
  • Goblins & Greatcoats by Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes #1.5)
  • Not Quite Done with Dating by Bella Osborne
  • You & Me and You & Me and You & Me by Josie Lloyd
  • The Shippers by Katherine Center
  • Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell
  • A Ferry Merry Christmas by Debbie Macomber
  • The Phoebe Variations by Jane Hamilton

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 186 books on my TBR. Of those, 6 are nonfiction and 180 are fiction.
  • At the end of June, I created a focused reading list of 25 books I would like to read by the end of the year. So far, I have read 23 of those books. One was a DNF, and the last one is still on hold with Libby, so I’m hoping it will be available in time.
  • I have read 113 books this year (my goal was 75).
  • My nonfiction goal is 1 per month, which I have met so far with a total of 11.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:

What I’m Reading – November 2025

What I’m Reading Now

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods – I’m still in the early chapters of this novel, but it weaves together the past and the present with a touch of magical realism. I’m enjoying it so far.

What I Recently Finished

  • Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand – Paradise #3
  • Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout – Amgash #5
  • Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
  • A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
  • This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
  • Modern Persuasion by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #1
  • Woodworking by Emily St. James
  • Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – The Infernal Devices #2
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman

What I Added to my TBR

  • The Twilight Garden by Sara Nisha Adams
  • In Your Dreams by Sarah AdamsWhen in Rome #4
  • A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss
  • Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss
  • Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
  • I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
  • A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont
  • The Night Bus by Tessa Bickers
  • The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev
  • The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev
  • How Simi Got Her Groom Back by Sonali Dev
  • Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
  • Nantucket Second Chances by Pamela Kelley
  • Vanyel and Vixen by Mercedes Lackey
  • Love and War in Woodhouse Hall by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #3
  • Love From Northanger Parks, Katie by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #4
  • Unraveling Carrie Woodhouse by Sara Marks – 21 Century Austen #5
  • Sweeten Up Ginny Darcy by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #6
  • Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon – The Deed of Paksenarrion #1
  • Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
  • Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay
  • The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay
  • A Portrait of Emily Price by Katherine Reay
  • The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay
  • The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John Scalzi
  • The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 179 books on my TBR. Of those, 9 are nonfiction and 170 are fiction.
  • At the end of June, I created a focused reading list of 25 books I would like to read by the end of the year. So far, I have read 21 of those books.
  • I have read 105 books this year (my goal was 75).
  • My nonfiction goal is 1 per month, which I have met so far with a total of 10.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:

What I’m Reading – October 2025

What I’m Reading Now

Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand – this is #3 in her Paradise trilogy. It’s not my favorite series but I do want to finish it.

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – I was reading this at the beginning of last month too, and I haven’t made much progress. I am not super invested in it and it is a physical book, both of which make me less likely to pick it up and read.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde #1
  • How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
  • Framed in Death by J.D. Robb – In Death #61
  • Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde #2
  • Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont

Nonfiction

  • Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood by Kate Swenson, Adrian Wood, and Carrie Cariello

What I Added to my TBR

  • This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
  • Christmas Island by Natalie Normann – Verry Hygge Holiday #2
  • The Life She Could Have Lived by Laura Pearson
  • Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde #3

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 160 books on my TBR. Of those, 9 are nonfiction and 151 are fiction.
  • At the end of June, I created a focused reading list of 25 books I would like to read by the end of the year. So far, I have read 15 of those books.
  • I have read 96 books this year (my goal was 75).
  • My nonfiction goal is 1 per month, which I have met so far with a total of 10.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:

Ten Before the End

Ten Before the End

An account I follow on Instagram shared a list of ten books they want to read by the end of the year and my first thought was that’s what I need to get my reading mojo back. I have only read two books so far this month, which is pretty low for me.

Here are the ten books I want to read before the end of this year:

  • Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
  • The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
  • What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
  • Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
  • The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont
  • Modern Persuasion by Sara Marks
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman

Have you read any of these? Do you have books you want to get in before the end of 2025?

What I’m Reading – September 2025

What I’m Reading Now

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – The Infernal Devices #2 – I was encouraged to read this series by a good friend who loves fantasy books. I used to read a lot of fantasy years ago but have gotten away from it in the last couple of decades. It’s well written and an interesting story.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – I have seen this around for a while and was intrigued enough to check it out. The main character seems to be autistic-coded, which is interesting.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • The Bride Test by Helen Hoang – The Kiss Quotient #2
  • The Emma Project by Sonali Dev – The Rajes #4
  • The Sandy Page Bookshop by Hannah McKinnon
  • Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison
  • The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
  • Wedding at Bella Beach by Kate Wentworth – Bella Beach #7
  • Smells Like Tween Spirit by Laurie Gelman – Class Mom #4
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle – Time Quintet #1

Nonfiction

  • The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say about Human Origins by Peter Enns

What I Added to my TBR

  • The Storytellers by Sue Heath
  • Something to Look Forward To: Fictions by Fannie Flagg
  • The Road to Cardinal Valley by Earlene Fowler – Ruby McGavin #2
  • The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye
  • Confessions of the Other Sister by Paige Harbison
  • Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan
  • If I Could Turn Back Time by Beth Harbison
  • Christmas Wedding at Bella Beach by Kate Wentworth
  • Butterfly Inn by Kate Wentworth – Butterfly Lane #1
  • Once and Again by Rebecca Serle

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 163 books on my TBR. Of those, 10 are nonfiction and 153 are fiction.
  • At the end of June, I created a focused reading list of 25 books I would like to read by the end of the year. So far, I have read 11 of those books.
  • I have read 89 books this year (my goal was 75).
  • My nonfiction goal is 1 per month, which I have met so far with a total of 9.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:

Feel free to add me as a friend on Goodreads or StoryGraph. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

What I’m Reading – August 2025

What I’m Reading Now

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang – The Kiss Quotient #2 – I somehow read books 1 & 3 of this series but missed book 2! This is a fun romance featuring an autistic main character written by an autistic author.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman – Class Mom #3
  • Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
  • Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory
  • After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev – The Rajes #3
  • The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland – Lost for Words #1
  • How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
  • The Nantucket Restaurant by Pamela Kelley
  • Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand – Paradise #1
  • What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand – Paradise #2
  • More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa – Days at the Morisaki Bookshop #2

Nonfiction

  • Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry by Beth Allison Barr

What I Added to My TBR

  • The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison
  • The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun – The Charm Offensive #1
  • Tilda Is Visible by Jane Tara
  • The Love Haters by Katherine Center
  • The Forever House by Veronica Henry
  • Right Place, Right Time by Ali McNamara
  • The Sandy Page Bookshop by HannahMcKinnon
  • Introducing Mrs Collins by Rachel Parris
  • Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory
  • The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory – The Wedding Date #1
  • The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory – The Wedding Date #2
  • The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory – The Wedding Date #3
  • Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory – The Wedding Date #4
  • Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory – The Wedding Date #5
  • While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory – The Wedding Date #6
  • The Storytellers by Sue Heath
  • Something to Look Forward To: Fictions by Fannie Flagg

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 165 books on my TBR. Of those, 11 are nonfiction and 155 are fiction.
  • Since I completed my 25 in 2025 challenge, I created a focused reading list of 25 books I would like to read by the end of the year. So far, I have read 6 of those books.
  • I have read 80 books so far this year (my goal was 75).
  • I read 1 nonfiction book this month, which is my goal. My total for the year so far is 8.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:

Feel free to add me as a friend on Goodreads or StoryGraph. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

What I’m Reading – July 2025

What I’m Reading Now

The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland – Lost for Words #1 – I recently read the second book in this series and wanted to go back and read the first one. I am just starting it, but I have heard good things about it.

Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman – Class Mom #3 – I read the first two quite a while ago and am finally getting around to reading this one. It promises to be a fun read.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • In the Woods by Tana French – Dublin Murder Squad #1
  • Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod – Austentatious #1
  • Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev – The Rajes #2
  • Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree – Legends & Lattes #0
  • The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

Middle Grade

  • Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
  • Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Nonfiction

  • God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships by Matthew Vines
  • How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice by Jemar Tisby

What I Added to my TBR

Fiction

  • A Month in Provence by Gillian Harvey
  • Other People’s Summers by Sarah Morgan
  • Stolen in Death by J.D. Robb – In Death #62
  • After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • I Don’t Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson – Kate Reddy #1
  • The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida
  • Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
  • My Beloved: A Mitford Novel by Jan Karon
  • The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh
  • The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  • One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

Nonfiction

  • The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For and Believe by Richard Rohr
  • A Black Theology of Liberation by James H. Cone

TBR Stats/Goal Updates

  • I currently have 158 books on my TBR. Of those, 12 are nonfiction and 146 are fiction.
  • I read 3 of the books from my 25 in 2025 list, which means I have finished all 25 books on that list!
  • I have read 68 books so far this year (my goal is 75).
  • I read 2 nonfiction books this month instead of my usual 1.
  • Here is some additional data from StoryGraph.

Feel free to add me as a friend on Goodreads or StoryGraph. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

What I’m Reading – June 2025

What I’m Reading Now

In the Woods by Tana French – this is the first in the Dublin Murder Squad series and was recommended to me by someone on Bookstagram. I am just a few chapters in and am warming up to it.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • Plymouth Undercover by Pamela Kelley – Court Street Investigations #1
  • Found in a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland – Lost for Words #2 (I didn’t realize until I was partway through that it was the second in a series, but I don’t think it detracted from the book and I plan to read the first one now)
  • Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher
  • How to Stuff Up Christmas by Rosie Blake
  • Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison – Shoe Addict #2
  • A Shoe Addict’s Christmas by Beth Harbison – Shoe Addict #2.5
  • The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn
  • More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova
  • Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick

Nonfiction

  • Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley

Short Stories

  • The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman – Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories #4
  • Death Row by Frieda McFadden

What I Added to my TBR

Fiction

  • The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland
  • The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland – Lost for Words #1
  • Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
  • Anne of Avenue A by Audrey Bellezza
  • On Fire Island by Jane L. Rosen – The Fire Island Trilogy #1
  • Modern Persuasion by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #1
  • Take a Moment by Nina Kaye
  • Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle – Time Quintet #1
  • Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
  • Homemaker by Ruthie Knox – Prairie Nightingale #1
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman
  • Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts
  • Woodworking by Emily St. James

TBR Stats/Goal Updates

  • I currently have 161 books on my TBR. Of those, 16 are nonfiction and 145 are fiction.
  • I finished 4 more of my 25 in 2025 list, bringing that total to 22.
  • I have read 58 books so far this year (my goal is 75).
  • I have adjusted my nonfiction goal to 1 per month, and I have maintained that pace thus far.

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

I have also joined The StoryGraph to see what it is like. My handle there is bookwormtrish if you would like to be friends. I am still getting used to it, and my favorite thing so far is the detailed stats. Here is my May Wrap-Up from the site:

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!