I really don’t know what to tell you to read for the beginning of 2025 from the books I’ve already read. I have yet to read a real winner from my list of best New Years books, and I have already told you my favorite reads from 2024. Perhaps I should reiterate them. Best reads of my 2024 (which does not mean they were published in 2024):

Little Women , Louisa May AlcottThe Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, Deb Perelman Prophet Song , Paul Lynch (2023) Lessons in Chemistry , Bonnie Garmus (2023) Hamnet , Maggie O’Farrell The Great Believers , Rebecca Makkai Firekeeper’s Daughter , Angeline Boulley Stay with Me , Ayobami Adebayo The Lathe of Heaven , Ursula K. LeGuin Universal Love , Alexander WeinsteinMidnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie Cat’s Cradle , Kurt Vonnegut Martyr! , Kaveh Akbar (2024!) The Chocolate War , Robert Cormier North Woods , Daniel Mason (2024!) Harold and the Purple Crayon , Crockett JohnsonHow to Write a Mystery, Mystery Writers of America Trail of Lightning , Rebecca Roanhorse

And I suppose we could add to that Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neil Schusterman, which I finished right before the end of the year. And definitely The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. Not to mention The Polar Express (Chris Van Allsburg) and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh! (Mo Willems).

We have burst into the new year with all sorts of lists of books that are meant to be published in 2025 (which barely stretches halfway through for obvious reasons). I have my eye on Rebecca Yarros’ Onyx Storm (Empyrean #3) and Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life, which is not especially sophisticated of me. As for new stuff, I wait to see who goes home with awards or what books keep me returning to hover over them at bookstores. Other than that, I’ll be playing catchup from last year’s top books when I’m not reading for work or for book clubs.

January’s most obvious, expected publications include:

The Stolen Queen, Fiona Davis (historical fiction mystery)Homeseeking, Karissa Chen (historical fiction)Good Dirt, Charmaine Wilkerson (historical fiction)Beautiful Ugly, Alice Feeney (domestic thriller)The Crash, Frieda McFadden (psychological thriller)Immortal, Sue Lynn Tan (romantasy)Water Moon, Samantha Sotto Yambao (cozy romantasy)Lightfall, Ed Crocker (Everlands trilogy #1, high fantasy)All the Water in the World, Eiren Caffall (dystopian sci fi thriller)Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor (sci fi saga)Hammajang Luck, Makana Yamamoto (cyberpunk mystery)Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, Grady Hendrix (psychological horror)Out of the Woods, Hannah Bonam-Young (tomance)The Starlight Heir, Amalie Howard (romantasy)Onyx Storm, Rebecca Yarros (Empyrean #3, romantasy)I Am Not Jessica Chen, Ann Liang (YA fantasy dark academia)You’ll Never Believe Me, Kari Ferrell (memoir)The JFK Conspiracy, Meltzer and Mensch (history)The Harder I Fight the More I Love You, Neko Chase (autobiography)Realm of Ice and Sky, Buddy Levy (history/biography)Black in Blues, Imani Perry (history)Penitence, Kristin Koval (coming-of-age crime fiction)We Do Not Part, Han Kang (literary fiction)What Happened to the McCrays?, Tracey Lange (domestic fiction)A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young (magic realism mystery)Beg, Borrow, or Steal, Sarah Adams (romance humor)The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, Emma Knight (coming-of-age domestic fiction)Too Soon, Betty Shamieh (literary fiction saga)Confessions, Catherine Airey (literary fiction saga)The Life of Herod the Great, Zora Neale Hurston (historical fiction)The In-Between Bookstore, Edward Underhill (transgender time travel)Yeonnam Dong’s Smiley Laundromat, Kim Jiyun (Korean domestic fiction)Darkmotherland, Sumrat Upadhyay (dystopian political fiction)Rosarita, Anita Desai (literary fiction)She Doesn’t Have a Clue, Jenny Elder Moke (mystery romance)The White Peril, Moses Omo (civil rights memoir)Three Wild Dogs, Marcus Zusak (memoir)

Sure it’s a week into January, but my December best reads were, as already shared above:

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!, Mo Willems ** The Polar Express , Chris Van Allsburg ** The Best Christmas Pageant Ever , Barbara Robinson ***

I adored the children’s chapter book by Miss Robinson, hilarious and poignant. And I actually made my teen children sit down on the floor of a bedroom so I could read the updated Pigeon series to them. It ended up being more of the same in a good way, filled with bright illustrations, interaction and—it turned out—surprise. As for The Polar Express, well that’s a classic. And agreed.

And by this slim list we can ascertain that my December reads were not, overall, very good. I was disappointed by The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, which I will review for you shortly. And I was pleased but not wowed by Mr. Dickens and His Carol (Samantha Silva), Whiteout (six different authors), and “Afterward” (Edith Wharton). I won’t even mention the two real stinkers that I read. Not here, anyway.

As for this month’s book clubs, we really have them lined up.

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1), Neil Schusterman (finished already and really enjoyed it)Miss Iceland, Ardur Ava Olafdottir (am currently enjoying)Children of Time (Children of Time #1), Adrian Tchaikovsky (having trouble connecting with therefore daunted by sheer heft)Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis (slogging through even though I can appreciate it)Spare, Prince Harry (the only one untouched so far) North Woods , Daniel Mason (which I read last summer and loved)

My other possible reads this month (which I put into some ginormous spreadsheet that is flexible based on what I didn’t get to the month before; and I know I won’t get to them all this month), are:

The First Five Pages, Noah Lukeman (writing)Abba’s Child, Brennan Manning (Christianity)Not Your Grandma’s Menopause, Inez Haynes (health, obviously)Overwhelmed, Brigid Schulte (New Years reading)Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie (finish once and for all!)James, Percy Everett (best book of 2024, singular “book” intended)Coming Home, Brittney Griner (bought for me off a wish list by my daughter)The Sandman Vol1, Neil Gaiman (finish once and for all!)Maniac Magee, Jerry Spinelli (work-related)Kingdom of Copper (Daevabad #2), Chakraborty (continue a series)I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Michelle McNamara (work-related)Best American Mystery Stories 2015 (work-related)The Eyes and the Impossible, Dave EggersThe Bee Sting, Paul Murray (bests/award winners of 2023)Intermezzo, Sally Rooney (bests/award winners of 2024)