Laurel County Public Library discussion

QOTD: How many books did you read in December? What were your favorite and least favorite reads of the month? How many books did you read in 2025? What were your favorite and least favorite reads of the year?

I finished 2 books in December. My favorite was Home for Christmas and my least favorite was Circe, but it wasn't a bad book by any means (I gave it 3 stars).

In 2025, I read 43 books. My favorites were A Court of Mist and Fury and When the Moon Hatched. My least favorite of the year was These Precious Days: Essays.

LCPL wrote: "QOTD: How many books did you read in December? What were your favorite and least favorite reads of the month? How many books did you read in 2025? What were your favorite and least favorite reads o..."

i only read one book in december lol. last year was a weird reading year for me and i read less than i usually do, but i read 26 books. my favorite was the angel of indian lake by stephen graham jones and my least favorite was a toss up between fire exit by morgan talty or the country will bring us no peace by matthieu simard. they were both two-star reads, so not completely terrible but pretty boring and forgettable.

LCPL wrote: "QOTD: How many books did you read in December? What were your favorite and least favorite reads of the month? How many books did you read in 2025? What were your favorite and least favorite reads o..."

December
How many - 13
Favorite - The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and Green: The Beginning and the End by Ted Dekker Both books where entertaining, made me think and stayed with me long after finishing.
Least favorite - Violet by S.J.I. Holliday The whole book was, talk about drinking, drink, get drunk, wake up hung over. Over and over again, just different setting.

2024
How many - 172 Lot of short stories here.
Favorite - The Man Who Knew How by Dorothy L. Sayers Wow!
Least favorite - Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo My only one star book for the year.


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LCPL wrote: "QOTD: How many books did you read in December? What were your favorite and least favorite reads of the month? How many books did you read in 2025? What were your favorite and least favorite reads o..."

I didn't read any books in December.

I read 59 books in 2024.

I didn't realize how hard it would be to pick a favorite, so here are my top 3 in no particular order:
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
My Heart is a Chainsaw by SGJ
Blackouts by Justin Torres

3 Least favorites:
The Siege by Ismail Kadare
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
The Wall by Marlen Haushofer

LCPL wrote: "QOTD: Are there any January releases you're excited for?"

Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
Too Soon by Betty Shamieh

QOTD: What’s a book that felt life-changing to you?

A book that felt life-changing to me was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It became my favorite book of all time after I read it and I need to read it again.

LCPL wrote: "QOTD: What’s a book that felt life-changing to you?"

there's a few answers i could give here, but i think i'm gonna go with an unkindness of ghosts by rivers solomon. it's in my top three books of all time and deserves so much more readership than it gets. it meant so much to me throughout college that it was what i chose to write my capstone paper on. it's crazy how much they were able to pack into 350 pages. i haven't re-read it in years and yet it's still so fresh in my mind. i really wanna pick it back up this year.

QOTD: What’s the last book you stayed up too late to finish?

The last book that I stayed up too late to finish was A Court of Mist and Fury.

LCPL wrote: "QOTD: What’s the last book you stayed up too late to finish?"

i think i slept like 3 or 4 hours the night i finished the angel of indian lake by stephen graham jones lol. so back in like april of last year

LCPL wrote: "QOTD: What’s the last book you stayed up too late to finish?"

I think it may have been like late summer of last year when I was reading the Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson. I was waking up in the middle of the night to read another chapter or two lol

QOTD: What’s a trope you’ll never get tired of?

I enjoy many tropes, but one of my favorites is the found family trope.

LCPL wrote: "QOTD: What’s a trope you’ll never get tired of?"

I like survival situations.

QOTD: What is your current winter reading routine? If you don't have one, what is your favorite way to consume stories during the winter? (Do you like to have a cozy reading session at home, listen to audiobooks on your commute or at work, read on your kindle before bed, etc.)

I don't have one set reading routine, it kind of depends on my mood and what I'm reading. If I'm reading at home and wanting to annotate then I love reading at my desk with a coffee or cup of tea. I also really love getting cozy in bed and reading on my Kindle before bed or after I wake up. I love a quiet night of reading or a slow, peaceful morning to read. While on the go, I typically will read my Kindle or listen to an audiobook. I also enjoy visiting my favorite coffee shop, ordering an iced latte or matcha, finding a cozy corner and reading. Basically, I go with my mood and read whenever I can.

QOTD: What’s a book you wish you could unread and experience for the first time again?

A book I wish I could unread and experience for the first time again would be The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

QOTD: What’s a genre you’d like to explore more this year?

I want to read a lot of fantasy this year, which is my favorite genre. But I'd also like to delve more into sci-fi this year, and maybe sprinkle in a bit more nonfiction than I do normally.

QOTD: Who’s an author you’ll auto-buy every time?

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: Who’s an author you’ll auto-buy every time?"

V.E. Schwab is an auto-buy author for me.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: Who’s an author you’ll auto-buy every time?"

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, but it is an auto-borrow.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: Who’s an author you’ll auto-buy every time?"

Colleen Hoover!

QOTD: What’s a movie or show you’re looking forward to in 2025?

I'm looking forward to seeing the live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What’s a movie or show you’re looking forward to in 2025?"

The live action HTTYD, Paddington, Super-Man, and the new Captain America so far for movies.

TV shows- The new season of All Creatures Great and Small released on PBS, and hopefully later this year we get season 3 of The Gilded Age.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What’s a movie or show you’re looking forward to in 2025?"

Sweet Magnolias Season 4

QOTD: What’s a book you’d recommend to someone who hasn’t read in years?

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What’s a book you’d recommend to someone who hasn’t read in years?"

I would probably need to know their preferences first. I almost always recommend Alex Michaelides, Kate Quinn, or Kim Michelle Richardson.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What’s a book you’d recommend to someone who hasn’t read in years?"

Either Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir or Bird Box by Josh Malerman. Both books are easy to get into and stick with. But like Elizabeth said, it would depend on their preferences.

QOTD: Which book made you fall in love with your favorite genre?

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: Which book made you fall in love with your favorite genre?"

the troop by nick cutter

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What’s a book you’d recommend to someone who hasn’t read in years?"

I'd say without knowing anything about preference, I'd go with No Exit by Taylor Adams. It has short chapters and it's a fast-paced thriller.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: Which book made you fall in love with your favorite genre?"

My favorite genre is fantasy. The book that made me fall in love with that genre was HP.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: Which book made you fall in love with your favorite genre?"

My favorite genre is sci-fi. My first book was so long ago, I am going to guess. It was probably either A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle or The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.

QOTD: Do you prefer stories set in the past, present, or future?

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: Do you prefer stories set in the past, present, or future?"

My favorite stories aren't set in the real-world. They're set in magical, fantasy worlds. But, I'd say that I prefer stories set in the present.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: Do you prefer stories set in the past, present, or future?"

the past. I mostly read historical fiction. But I like when it alternates between past and present as well.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: Do you prefer stories set in the past, present, or future?"

Depending on what I'm reading I enjoy a past/present rotation throughout the chapters.

QOTD: What’s the longest book you’ve ever read? Was it worth it?

I think the longest book I've read so far is still It at 1,156 pages. Was it worth it? I enjoyed it for the most part, with the exception of a scene that was unnecessary and I felt the ending kind of ended abruptly, like he just wanted to be finished with the book.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What’s the longest book you’ve ever read? Was it worth it?"

Pages 1152: The Stand by Stephen King. Yes, worth it. One one my favorite books of all time.

Pages 1152: Shōgun by James Clavell. Yes, worth it. I enjoyed it very much.

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What’s the longest book you’ve ever read? Was it worth it?"

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
It was 703 pages. And so worth it!

QOTD: What's on your February TBR?

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What's on your February TBR?"

Fourth Wing
Iron Flame
Onyx Storm
The Reading List
A Court of Wings and Ruin
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty
Queenie

Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What's on your February TBR?"

TBR February

Continuing from January
- Eragon by Christopher Paolini
- Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
✔ The September House by Carissa Orlando

Planned
- My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart
- Ymir by Rich Larson
- Black: The Birth of Evil by Ted Dekker
- War in Heaven by Charles Williams
- Murder in Grub Street by Bruce Alexander
- Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli
- The Queen of Bedlam by Robert McCammon
- Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
- Rewind by Catherine Ryan Howard

Maybe
- Blood Sister by Dreda Say Mitchell
- Panacea by F. Paul Wilson


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Laurel County wrote: "QOTD: What's on your February TBR?"

the only ones i know of for sure are:
blob by maggie su
queen of the damned by anne rice
one day everyone will have always been against this by omar el-akkad
an unkindness of ghosts by rivers solomon (re-read)