2025 Books Read

Here we are with my 2025 Books Read post.  I started it a little later than usual this year because it took me a while to finish that first book.  

If you haven't been following along all these years, here's how this post goes.  The books I read are in reverse order - newest first.  * means ebook.  # means 'new to me and underappreciated'.  If there's a number at the end, it's where the book's at in a series.  The links go to Goodreads where I may or may not have written a review.  (Check back on Saturdays for my weekly Reading Wrap-up to see reviews.)

I set my goal for this year's reading at 70.  We'll see how that goes.

Okay, with that out of the way, let's begin...

30) Primordial Threat by MA Rothman (8/28/25) - SF*

29) Five Complete Hercule Poirot Novels (8/18/25) - mystery

28) The Devil's Angel by Margaret Bernard (7/26/25) - UF*#

27) Space Academy Dropouts by Phipps & Suttkus (7/6/25) - SF humor*#

26) Sweet Harmony by Noel Bailey (6/25/25) - magical romance*#

25) The Danger by Dick Francis (6/15/25) - thriller

0) Novella by Name Withheld (6/9/25) - SF*

24) The Face in the Water by Kathleen Pennell (6/8/25) - mystery*#

23) Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep) by Philip K Dick (6/5/25) - dystopian

22) You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming (5/29/25) - action/hard-boiled crime

21) On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming (5/24/25) - action/hard-boiled crime

20) The Singing Stones by Phyllis A. Whitney (5/17/25) - romantic suspense

19) Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (5/15/25) - mystery

18) Bill and the Last Cup of Coffee by Lance Lassen (5/8/25) - dystopian action/humor* (I read the ebook, but this is the link to the paperback. In the time between now and when I downloaded the book, the ebook page has been removed and the paperback was set to 'out of print'. :sadface:)

17) Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (5/5/25) - action/hard boiled crime

16) In Plain Sight by Dan Willis (4/27/25) - magical hard-boiled crime*

15) Dr. No by Ian Fleming (4/26/25) - action/hard boiled crime

14) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (4/20/25) - dystopian

13) Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming (4/16/25) - action/hard boiled crime

12) Islands in the Sky by Arthur C. Clarke (4/11/25) -  science fiction

11) Murder by the Script by Lisa Pevey (4/8/25) - cozy mystery*

10) Festive Fonts and Fowl Murder by Lisa Pevey (4/7/25) - cozy mystery*

9) The Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett (4/6/25) - suspense

8) A Murder in Cursive by Lisa Pevey (4/3/25) - cozy mystery*

7) The Ebony Swan by Phyllis Whitney (4/1/25) - romantic suspense

6) The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip (3/29/25) - fantasy

5) Murder by the Letter by Lisa Pevey (3/27/25) - cozy mystery*

4) Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout (3/26/25) - noir crime

3) Moonstruck: Retribution by Silver James (3/20/25) - paranormal romantic suspense*

2) President Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer (3/14/25) - noir crime

1) Child Star by Shirley Temple Black (1/8/25) - autobiography

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy this reading journey with me.

2024 Books Read

Yeah, yeah... this is way later in the year than I would've started one of these lists, but I was working and not reading up until recently, which meant I didn't actually finish many books before now, so I didn't see the point.  However, I'm reading again, so I thought I'd make a reading goals thing on Goodreads.  And this post.  If you've been here before you know the drill...

(psst... * means ebook, # means underappreciated)

36) The Lost Girls by Allison Brennan (12/18/24) - Romantic Suspense

35) Three Witnesses by Rex Stout (12/15/24) - Hard-boiled crime

34) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (12/9/24) - Mystery

33) Dragon-Eyed Dream by L. Darby Gibbs (12/6/24) - Fantasy*#

32) Natural Selection by Janna Ruth (12/2/24) - UF*#

31) Death at Rosewood Manor by Eva Bernard (11/30/24) - Cozy Mystery*#

30) Zombie Math by J. Sharpe (11/25/24) - Zombie Apocalypse*#

29) SLAN by A.E. Van Vogt (11/22/24) - SF

28) Caesar Now Be Still by Frank Schildiner (11/19/24) - Hard-boiled Crime*#

27) The Raff Memorandum by Nick Webster (11/17/24) - Suspense*#

26) The Border Legion by Zane Grey (11/9/24) - Western

25) The Case of the Waylaid Wolf / The Case of the Restless Redhead by Erle Stanley Gardner (11/2/24) - Mystery

24) Love Blooms by Jennifer Faye (10/31/24) - Romance*

23) Moonstruck Mafia: Boston by Silver James (10/27/24) - Paranormal Romantic Suspense*#

22) Biker Funeral by Jamie Mason (8/31/24)  - Hard-boiled Crime*#

21) James Herriot's Dog Stories by James Herriot (8/30/24) - Literature

20) Brother Assassin by Fred Saberhagen (8/24/24) - SF

19) The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife by Erle Stanley Gardner (8/12/24) - mystery

18) Oblivion's Cloak by Dylan McFadyen (8/9/24) - epic SF*

17) The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie (8/4/24) - mystery

16) The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks (8/2/24) - fantasy

15) The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie (7/24/24) - mystery

14) Cinder by Marissa Meyer (7/21/24) - SF dystopian

13) Mystery of the Haunted Pool by Phyllis A. Whitney (7/19/24) - YA mystery

12) The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie (7/15/24) - mystery

11) Sweet Smell of Revenge by Pam Clifford (7/10/24) - mystery*

10) The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brook (7/8/24) - fantasy

9) Midnight Clear by Silver James (7/1/24) - SF holiday romance*

8) Hercule Poirot's Casebook by Agatha Christie (6/30/24) - mystery

7) Perfect Pending by Lucia Ashta (6/25/24) - paranormal romance*

6) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (6/14/24) - mystery

5) The Case of the Mythical Monkeys / The Case of the Angry Mourner by Erle Stanley Gardner - mystery

4) The Goggle-Eyed Pirates by Lee Falk - adventure/mystery

3) The Case of the Green-Eyes Sister / The Case of the Spurious Spinster by Erle Stanley Gardner - mystery

2) The Case of the Darling Divorcee / The Case of the Runaway Corpse by Erle Stanley Gardner - mystery

1) Award Science Fiction by Various - science fiction

0) Rumor Has It (Duke Noble, Private Investigator #1) by B.E. Sanderson - hard-boiled crime

Saturday Reading Wrap-up 7/13/24

Hello again.  It's Saturday and that means time for the reading wrap-up.  Yay!

No new books this week, but that's okay.  I've got plenty to keep me busy for a while.

Books Read:

11) Sweet Smell of Revenge by Pam Clifford (7/10/24) - mystery* - 4 stars.  New to me but not underappreciated.  Picked this up for free from a post on the Crime Fiction Addicts page.
No Review.

10) The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brook (7/8/24) - Fantasy - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated, although I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would give this one star.  Heathens.  I picked this up used off Amazon for $5.84.
Review: "I finally got a new paperback copy of this. Still just as awesome."

No DNFs this week.

Currently reading... an Agatha Christie paperback - The Pale Horse.  It's not her usual fare and it's a tad weird, but I'm muddling through.

What was on your reading plate this week?

Ju-Lo-Wri-Mo stats 7/12/24:
Starting word count: 12791
Ending word count: 13285
New words: 494

Saturday Reading Wrap-up 7/6/24

Well, here we are again.  Between the holiday and the stay-at-home life, I have little idea what day it is anymore.  Independence Day didn't help.  But yay, I remembered today was Saturday.  Not that I have a lot to talk about, but at least I remembered.

I picked up 4 new ebooks this week - 2 mysteries, an urban fantasy, and a romance.  Woohoo.  No more new hardcopies for a while after last weekend's book binge.

Books Read:

9) Midnight Clear by Silver James (7/1/24) - SF Holiday Romance* - 5 stars.  Not new to me but definitely underappreciated. Paid full price at the time - $1.99
Review: "A totally different premise from Silver James, but in keeping with all of her books, this was awesome. I bought it and downloaded it when it came out, but I just now finally got Amazon to put the darn thing on my Kindle. As soon as it was actually on there, I inhaled this story. It rocked. I loved it - loved the characters, the premise, and the romance."

8) Hercule Poirot's Casebook by Agatha Christie (6/30/24) - mystery - 5 stars.  Neither new to me, nor underappreciated.  Picked this up for $2 at the thrift store.
Review: "This is a total binge on Hercule Poirot and I loved every minute of it."

No DNFs this week.

Currently Reading... The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks.  One of my favorite books of all time.  I just shelled out for a paperback copy so, of course, I'm reading it again.  Yay.  When this is done, I'll pick out one of the ebooks to read.

What was on your reading list this week?  

ETA: I forgot the update on Ju-Lo-Wri-Mo Day 5.  Oops.

Starting word count: 7685
Ending word count: 8210
New words: 525

2023 - Books Read

It's that time again.  If you didn't already know it, I log every book I read throughout the year.  I've beem doing it since 2007. This is that post for 2023.  I start it when I finish the first book of the year and I keep moving it as I go along.  And there are links to all of these posts on the left side, underneath the books I've written.  

* = ebook
# = new to me and underappreciated (which means I haven't read this author before and it has less than 50 reviews on Goodreads)
if there's a number there, it's the book's place in a series (I do this if I remember, but I usually don't)

The book list is newest first, but they're numbered, so you can kinda guess that.  Last year, I had a goal of 75 books and I only got to 72.  This year, I'm going with a 50 book goal (because I'm now working full time.)  Feel free to play along.

Anyway, let's get this party started...

16) In Too Deep by Tracy Alvarez (5/21/23) - Romance*
15) Dead Set by Martin Shannon (5/15/23) - UF*
14) Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow by Dr. Jan Pol / David Fisher (5/11/23) - NF
13) The Shivering Sands by Victoria Holt (4/30/23) - Historical Romantic Suspense
12) The Wrong Victim by Allison Brennan (4/4/23) - Romantic Suspense
11) Cloudy with a Chance of Witchcraft by Mandy M. Roth (3/31/23) - Paranormal Romance*
10) Rainbow in the Mist by Phyllis A. Whitney (3/28/23) - Romantic Suspense
9) Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage by Sontag & Drew (3/24/23) - NF
8) The Road to Paradise Island by Victoria Holt (2/6/23) - Historical Romantic Suspense
7) Delicious and Suspicious by Riley Adams (1/31/23) - Cozy Mystery
6) Three Men Out (Nero Wolfe) by Rex Stout (1/20/23) - Crime
5) Domino by Phyllis A. Whitney (1/17/23) - Romantic Suspense
4) Spinsters in Jeopardy by Ngaio Marsh (1/14/23) - Mystery
3) Kill Shot by Vince Flynn (1/8/23) - Political Thriller
2) What Lies Beneath by Adam Croft (1/2/23) - Suspense*
1) Snowflakes and Sparks by Sophia-Leigh Robbins (1/1/23) - Romance*
0) The Cat Who Came for Christmas by Silver James (1/1/23) - Holiday Paranormal*