It is no secret I love to read. I have been known to reread a favorite book the way I rewatch a favorite movie. Since my sons chagrin at my love of historical fiction, I tried to branch out a bit. Alas, I fell back into easy beach thrillers (I read all 20 of the Pike Logan series by Brad Taylor) when the going got rough with Tolkien.

I have yet to figure out exactly how GoodReads works, I have written out my 2025 list of books. I recommend almost all of them (or I wouldn’t have read them!). So, in no particular order, please enjoy:

The Hobbit, J R R Tolkien

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, JRRT

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, JRRT

Spymaster, Brad Thor

Eva Luna, Isabel Allende

Lord John and the Private Matter, Diane Gabaldon

My Name is Mary Sutter, Robin Oliveira

All Women and Springtime, Brandon Jones

Lord John and the Brotherhood, Diana Gabaldon

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, Lisa See

Sound of Thunder, Wilbur Smith

Hotel New Hampshire, John Irving

First Gentleman, James Patterson and Bill Clinton

Six Days in Bombay, Alka Joshi

Sparrow Falls, Wilbur Smith

Night School, Lee Child

A Tarnished Canvas, Anna Lee Huber

My Name is Emilia de Valle, Isabel Allende

Violetta, Isabel Allende

Edge of Honor, Brad Thor

The Quiet Librarian, Allen Eskens

The First Ladies, Marie Benedict

An Inside Job, Daniel Silva

The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian

The Cemetery of Untold Stories, Julia Alvarez

Brad Taylor’s Pike Logan Series 

The Library Book, Susan Orlean

The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush, Susan Gregg Gilmore

Winter Sisters, Robin Oliveira

The Correspondent, Virginia Evans

A Slowly Dying Cause, Elizabeth George

My Beloved, Jan Karon

The Boylen Traitor, Philippa Gregory

The Black Wolf, Louise Penny 

Exit Strategy, Lee Child

Oral History, Lee Smith

Fox and Furious, Rita Mae Brown

The Hour I First Believed, Wally Lamb

The Lies They Told, Ellen Marie Wiseman 

Take My Hand, Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Love Y’all, Marla