2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Setting a higher goal for myself in the new year. I'm really excited for 2025 :)

...................................2025 Personal Goal...................................

.....Progress: 22/30

1. So B. It - completed 1/1/25
2. The Last Thing He Told Me - completed 1/4/25
3. The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose - completed 1/14/25
4. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy - completed 1/26/25
5. Love in the Time of Cholera - completed 2/13/25
6. The Homewreckers - completed 2/18/25
7. On Mystic Lake - completed 2/27/25
8. Rules of Civility - completed 3/16/25
9. The Cove - completed 4/1/25
10. The Locked Door - completed 4/4/25
11. Piranesi - completed 4/8/25
12. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life - completed 4/16/25
13. All Quiet on the Western Front - completed 4/25/25
14. The Nightingale - completed 5/12/25
15. Little Fires Everywhere - completed 5/18/25
16. Commonwealth - completed 5/28/25
17. The Maze - completed 6/17/25
18. The Silent Patient - completed 6/30/25
19. Jackdaws - completed 7/26/25
20. Home Front - completed 8/3/25
21. The Overnight Guest - completed 8/12/25
22. Crow Lake - completed 8/27/25
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30.

You can do it, Soph!
Best of luck - I hope you have a great reading year, regardless how many books you end up reading! 😊

Lisa wrote: "You can do it, Soph!
Best of luck - I hope you have a great reading year, regardless how many books you end up reading! 😊"

Thank you!

#1 - So B. It
This reread was like a big cozy bear hug for me, I'm so glad I kept it around and started the new year off with this book. And as an added bonus and great surprise, towards the end of the book I flipped a page to find the original receipt from when I purchased the book! I found that so.. is uncanny the right word? that when I picked it up I was thinking about how I have had it for so long that I didn't even remember how I acquired it or when. And then like the universe heard me, there it was! Ironically, I purchased the book at a Borders (oh how I miss Borders) in Davis, CA in summer 2008. Which brought me back to memories of my dad taking my sister and I, two eager bookworms, to Davis for books and ice cream and whatever else we used to do there. How special it was to find that, especially when you consider the story. It still felt just as significant to me after all these years. I also blew through it, but that was to be expected since it is a middle grade book. Loved it!

#2 - The Last Thing He Told Me
Forgot to mark this one as picked up, but this was a buddy read for this month. Now I understand what the label "slow burn" is supposed to mean. Have to say though, I didn't care too much for the ending and maybe I'm a b*tch, but as a stepmother and biological mother I couldn't really relate to Hannah's "maternal instinct" over Bailey. It just didn't seem all that realistic for the specific family's dynamic, but then again my stepchildren's mother is not dead so *shrug*. Decent story, good read. Big plot hole in the ending.

#3 - The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose
As expected, this book didn't change my life. I got some very thoughtful and inspirational quotes out of it that have since gone up in my workspace, and maybe a little insight, but that's really it. Nothing super transformational although I will say that it seems like a good read to start every new year with, so I might do that.

#4 - How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
So this one ended a bit differently than I expected it to, it transformed away from the topic of social media and more into redirecting our attention from screens/technology and into the actual world around us and the people in it (like face to face). Overall it was great to read this, but it has left me wanting another option on the topic of social media and ditching it. I guess I'd say it was less about "the attention economy" than it came off in the beginning. Still a useful read, but less useful than I thought and wanted it to be.

#5 - Love in the Time of Cholera
I finished last night and I am so excited to talk about it lol... this was a great read for me and more different compared to One Hundred Years of Solitude than I expected. But then again, I'm not super sure exactly what I did expect. I agree there really wasn't very much magical realism and that was ok. It was a great story.

(view spoiler)[I am a sucker for a life or love story that isn't movie-production-perfect and that highlights the reality of life; which I felt like Love in the Time of Cholera embodied to a point. The way that young Fermina suddenly realizes she doesn't love (or maybe just doesn't want to?) Florentino, and how Florentino waits decades for the chance to woo Fermina again. How after five decades pass he starts to realize that he may never have that chance and struggles to handle that idea and come to terms with his aging. And finally how after Fermina does become a widow their relationship has to be re-established very slowly before he is able to love her outright.

I do feel a bit underwhelmed at the ending, however. It feels open-ended which I know is a common way to end a story (and truth be told I'm not the biggest fan of "perfect" endings because reality isn't perfect), but I guess I just thought that that the story would carry on until the passing of either Florentino or Fermina. Do we think they truly continued to go up and down the river for the rest of time? Did they maintain their honeymooning phase or did they grow frustrated with each other after being stuck on the boat after some time? I wish I could know (hide spoiler)].

#6 - The Homewreckers
Meh meh meh.. was decent and then turned bad. Too disappointed to say much else.

#7 - On Mystic Lake
Decent read, enjoyed the easy mindlessness of it. This book was like reading a Lifetime movie and those are good to throw in the mix every once in a while. I was definitely satisfied with the ending and loved the early 2000s vibe!

#8 - Rules of Civility
Great read and I love being exposed to new authors who have that real, special gift for writing such as this.(view spoiler)[ I gotta say, the Tinker/Anne thing threw me a little bit and I didn't quite see that coming. I definitely don't like Eve at all and the way she was willing to just use people to get places she wants to be. I did really enjoy Kate's experiences skirting the New York upper class. Of course I took a special liking to Wallace and his gentleness; but I have to say I really liked Kate and Dicky together. They seemed unconventional but balanced with the differences in their personalities, though he was boyish and I suppose that's why Towles had him sent off to Texas by his father in the end. I am intrigued to read Eve in Hollywood but also might just be annoyed the entire time. (hide spoiler)]

#9 - The Cove
I don't think I actually finished this the first time I read it, but that was long ago anyways. It was an OK read, not the most entertaining and quite incredulous at multiple points. But a read nonetheless! Now to move onto the second in the series.

#10 - The Locked Door
Another one I picked up and didn't notate in the journal, but a good one nonetheless. This was a very quick and enticing read - yet a lazy read. Not the best thriller I ever read, not sure this honors the hype I've seen around this author.

#11 - Piranesi
Boy was I enthralled with this one. I loved the beginning and still enjoyed the ending/resolution but just a little less. The beginning, and by that I mean the House, was such an excellent exercise in creativity, prose, and storytelling and I found myself so inspired with that. I wasn't at all disappointed with the ending but it was interesting to see how the author led us exactly where she wanted us to go, without sacrificing too much from the reading experience. Like it was "predictable," but that word has a negative connotation that I don't want to slap on this good story. I think the synopsis of this book kind of leans towards mystery, which inadvertently some people automatically equate with thriller, and that might set some readers up for disappointment as this is not a thriller at all really. While I do love a good thriller, I found it refreshing to depart from that here and become more invested in the main character and his life rather than the plotline.

#12 You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
For the first like 2/3rds of this read, I thought maybe I will be inspired and retain something from this; but we kind of fell flat in the last third. Especially when she started talking about money. I get that her point is to adopt a Just Do It attitude and leave your fears behind, so that you are more apt to "make it happen," but as a parent who's currently paying the equivalent of a second mortgage on daycare and has a responsibility to keep those humans, I don't know, alive, it felt ever so slightly out of touch. And while Jen does mention that of course people with families are afraid to lose it all, it's just not as simple as she makes it out to be and it's glaringly obvious. Of course, the point of this book is stop making excuses and take a leap of faith for yourself, so being practical and responsible for the well-being of your family isn't meant to be a topic of this particular self-help manual I suppose. There was something inspiring and motivating in the chapters about faith, manifesting, overcoming fears and excuses, meditating, etc.. but alas, I am not any more ready to jump up, quit my job and go buy a car I currently can't even get approved for than I was before I read it.

#13 - All Quiet on the Western Front
10/10 read. I think it's my first WWI era novel, and boy if it isn't still prevalent today in 2025. Sad, horrific, depressing. It was also great to read about how the 2022 movie departs a little bit from this novel to highlight the armistice a bit more. This is one of those that should be required reading for all.

#14 - The Nightingale
It was nice to take this one a little slower and pace myself with it. I do feel like all the review blurbs on the back and inside cover of this book hyped it up for more than it was worth, though. While it was a great story and lovely to get the perspective of what the French people suffered at the hands of the Nazis, some of it did drone on and the prose was not really significant. I will say I thought there was good character development for the two sisters for the most part. But it was just odd how some things were overtold - i.e. how every time Vianne cooked a meal it was suddenly like reading a Food Network transcript. I do appreciate the way she closed Isabelle's story realistically instead of in a romance-fantasy fashion. However I do wish we would have read about (view spoiler)[her passing (hide spoiler)] directly instead of second-hand in the final chapter.

#15 - Little Fires Everywhere
Glad that I jumped into this one. I like it a lot and found a lot of inspiration from it, as it's definitely my kind of story - reflecting on the imperfect realities of life. The harsh and the uncomfortable. I am going to give my jumbled brain some grace and leave it at that for now!

#16 - Commonwealth
This was a great read and exactly my kind of bread and butter with the familial relations. Simple and not unrealistically twisty. Loved it! The prose was also elevated for me. I enjoyed this one very much!

Hi Soph! Looks like you're crushing your higher goal! Way to go! I'm rooting for you! I hope you've been enjoying lots of amazing books in your reading journey so far this year! Happy reading!

#17 - The Maze
Nothing crazy impressive, but I have to admit I really love Dillon Savich as a character and like reading about his life. Of course there's all the classic too fast, too serious, not realistic love mushy mush, but oh well! I think that's part of the point, right?

#18 - The Silent Patient
I love love loved the prose of this book and the clear knowledge of the author in his background, but I feel like this one fell a little flat on the hype. I could see where he was going about halfway in and I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but the prose and his beautiful syntax more than makes up for it.

#19 - Jackdaws
I am pleasantly surprised with how invested I got into this storyline towards the end. It was exciting and captivating, and people died which was sad but quite real. I have to say I enjoyed this read more than I thought that I would.

#20 - Home Front
Definitely enjoyed this book and all of it's perspective. Gut wrenching and sad, and the message is real. Quite cheesy as it tends to be, but enjoyed nonetheless.

#21 - The Overnight Guest
Ok so I have ZERO idea when I actually started this (and kind of really don't remember when I finished it, lol), but I'm going to go ahead and count it for starting in August just as a default since I don't really remember; I am fairly sure I did start it sometime this month though. This was a decent read but somewhat frustrating at times.

#22 - Crow Lake
I enjoyed this story very much - right up my alley - and the prose I thought beautifully simple. So glad I found this little gem hiding in the library bookstore! It was very inspiring and I even went a wrote a chapter of something I've had in mind after finishing this!