And now it's July... somehow half of 2025 is behind us! That makes this the perfect time to reflect on my reading year to date. Back in January I decided to again forgo all challenges, including goodreads. My plan was to make rough monthly tbr lists, while leaving room for flexibility. I wanted to at least try every selection of the MMD Book Club, plus the selections from my bimonthly World Lit book club. Plus I wanted to participate in buddy reads and community reads. I'm happy to report that so far I've mostly managed to stick to that plan.
By the numbers
As of June 30...
I've read 26 books, in keeping with my comfortable one book per week pace
27% nonfiction, slightly higher than last year
15% in translation
4 books from my Classics Club list
4 buddy reads/ community reads
MID-YEAR FAVORITES
Fiction
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky
You Are Here by David Nicholls
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard
The Annotated Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Nonfiction
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
(audiobook narrated by the author)
Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put by Annie B. Jones
(audiobook narrated by the author)
How is your reading year going? What book has been your favorite?
You've read some good ones. I'm especially interested to read The Correspondent and The Enchanted April. Your reading plan sounds nice and non-stressful. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteSusan - I wouldn't be surprised if The Correspondent is at the top of my list at the end of the year. I really loved that book! The Enchanted April was a reread, but my first time actually reading it in April. Definitely added to the experience.
DeleteWe have some similar faves! A Fever in the Heartland was both terrifying and encouraging. So far this year has been pretty good for me in terms of reading. I just read Endling by Maria Reva and loved it, and I'm about half done with The Names by Florence Knapp, which so far is great.
ReplyDeleteAmy - I just got Endling from the library... hoping I can get to it before they claw it back. Sounds very unusual!
DeleteI'm getting mighty close to getting The Correspondent and am looking forward to it. Your stats are great and achieving the goals you set out must be satisfying. I didn't join up with the Goodreads challenge this year either.
ReplyDeleteI did go ahead and participate in Paris in July and once I got started, I am planning all sorts of books and meals for the theme. It's been fun.
I like a buddy read but don't have anything scheduled yet for the rest of the year. Question - do you find the annotated version of Gatsby makes a difference? I am reading about Fitzgerald now in A Moveable Feast.
Tina - I always enjoy reading the Paris in July posts even if I don't participate... so many fun possibilities! As for the annotated editions, it got to the point where the annotations kept pulling me out of the story. Now my method is to read a chapter, then go back to the annotations at the end of each one. Seems to work much better. I do enjoy the extra info and context.
DeleteThanks for letting me know about the annotated version. I see where you could get distracted stopping and reading the notes. Also, the Paris in July is such fun and I will be cooking up some treats for a post soon.
DeleteTina - Can't wait to see what you'll be making!
DeleteThis has inspired me! I am making Palmiers in a few days once I grab tapenade from Trader Joes and I have already made Jaques Pepin's fettucine with summer vegetables. They are old favorites but I haven't made them in a while.
DeleteTina - An interesting aside, Jaques Pepin lives in a nearby CT town and is often spotted at restaurants. He's also been at local indies promoting his books. Always a treat to spot him!
DeleteForegoing challenges is definitely liberating. I still keep a GoodReads challenge, but that's more of a log than anything else. I like not having the pressure of having to read something, though I'm in a JASNA bookclub and a GoodReads one, but both are very manageable.
ReplyDeleteI really should check out The Correspondent.
JaneGS - I've always loved epistolary novels and have developed a soft spot for older protagonists (!) so The Correspondent was a practically perfect book for me.
DeleteGood for you to stay flexible with your reading plans. Since creating my Summer Reading challenge list, I've added 5 new books to my stacks (thanks, Mom!), but hate to veer off course. They'll be here this fall, but they are so tempting! Oh, and I have 8 books that I'd love to get to, but they're nonfiction and I'm saving those for November. From your mid-year favorites, I have The Correspondent in that stack of 5 new books. Several others you've read here are on my TBR list, but I don't have copies at this point. I wish I could say that I agree with you on How the Light Gets In, but I was disappointed. I'll get my review posted sometime this weekend. My quarterly favorites are here.
ReplyDeleteLes - I can practically guarantee How the Light Gets In will not be on my end of year list, and mostly included it here to have a total of ten books. I loved catching up with those characters, but found it a little too heavy-handed politically. I have Maynard's The Bird Hotel on my kindle and hope to get to that one before the end of the year. I'd be curious to know what other books your mom recommended!
DeleteMy mom gave me Kate & Frida, The Names, The Eights, I Cheerfully Refuse, and Long Island. My husband really enjoyed I Cheerfully Refuse, too!
DeleteLes - Those all look good! I enjoyed Kate & Frida almost as much as Love & Saffron and Long Island is already on my list. The Eights is new to me and sounds great, that's the era Vera Brittain (Testament of Youth) went to Oxford. I'll look forward to your thoughts on all of them.
DeleteI can't quite wrap my head around a mid-year check-in for me. I think I have too much going on right now. But, I love seeing your list!
ReplyDeleteHelen - Hard to believe we're here already. With all you've got going on, you deserve a pass from the midyear lists!
DeleteI just put Run for the Hills on hold at my library and am really looking forward to it. The rest of these look fantastic and there are several books on your list that I want to read - especially the Annie Jones book.
ReplyDeleteKatherine - I thought Run for the Hills was great, but my mother wasn't quite as enthusiastic. Hope you like it, but I'm sure you'll enjoy Annie's book.
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