2025 Favorites

I tend to go for the serious reads.  Long books full of tragedy, heartbreak, and death.  The exceptions this past year were IT which I read because I was curious about the HBO series getting lots of buzz, The Hail Mary Project, which was recommended to me by the same trusted reader who recommended Hamnet, and the whimsical Winslow Hoffner’s Incredible Encounters because I know the author Michael Thompson and have read his previous work.  Here’s the list of recommended books I read in 2025

Energy by Richard Rhodes, nonfiction. This book begins slow but picks up as it looks at the earliest discoveries of electricity, the earliest uses of petroleum, and the birth of the nuclear age. The author includes the personalities of those who try and fail and try again. Some succeed and achieve unimaginable wealth  Other fail and their names are forgotten, but their failures provide the important stepping stones for others to succeed.  Recommend for those interested in the history of energy production in Europe and North America. 

IT: A Novel by Stephen King, fiction.  Wild ride that I hesitate to recommend solely because of the less than politically correct descriptions. Other than that, I enjoyed meeting all the characters as young people and as adults.  Once IT finally shows up, I was ready for the book to end. It’s always that was with fictional monsters.  They never live up to the horror of the real ones.

The Mother Next Door by Andrea Dunlop and Mike Weber, nonfiction, is about real monsters. Child abuse by the one person no one is supposed to suspect – the mother.  The author teams up with Detective Weber to investigate the strange phenomenon of Munchausen by proxy, referred to by the police as MPB. I hesitate to recommend because could be a trigger for some people, but if you can overcome the unsettling topic, it’s a fascinating story.

One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus, fiction is a very enjoyable “what if” based on an idea supposedly thrown about in 1870s to send white women to marry Cheyenne men to “civilize” them. The result is an emotional look at the lives of a wide variant of women who’d been abused in white society finding purpose and love among the Cheyenne.  I have no idea how much research the author did into Cheyenne society or whether actual Cheyenne would find it offensive, but I enjoyed it.

The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick, Nonfiction.  I am a Nathanial Philbrick groupie. I’ve read several of his books, including In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower.  The Last Stand didn’t disappoint.  For those who want more fact than fiction to the buildup and aftermath of the battle of Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand, I recommend The Last Stand.  Hubris and greed are the real culprits, as with so many wars and genocides.  Heartbreaking and insightful.  Highly recommend for history buffs.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, fiction about keeping secrets and the toil it takes.  A father gives up his Down syndrome daughter without telling the child’s mother.  The story is told from many different perspectives, which dampens the drama and mystery since we know more than the characters. Recommend with reservations due to the excessive melodrama.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, Fiction.  Much more interesting than I thought it would be. Set in Romania during the crumbling of the communist regime, the story follows a boy on the edge of manhood trying to navigate life in an authoritarian society. He doesn’t know who he can trust among family and friends. Frightening mystery in a fascinating time.

Eden Undone by Abbott Kahler, Nonfiction.  Truth is stranger than fiction in this tale of a bunch of nutty Germans deciding to leave post-World War One Berlin and create paradise in the Galapagos. Nothing works out as they hoped. I wouldn’t believe it if the author didn’t have photos and news articles to back it up.  Really crazy.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.  A trusted book-lover recommended Project Hail Mary and I admit I was skeptical.  I’d enjoyed the movie The Martian but hadn’t read the book.  I’m so glad I jumped into this fanciful story of good people trying to save the world.  Much needed boost during troubling times.  Highly recommend

Winslow Hoffner’s Incredible Encounters by Michael Thompson, Fiction is the little cousin of Project Hail Mary.  Like Andy Weir’s novel, this incredible encounter is filled with mostly good people trying to figure out a mystery.  Unlike Andy Weir’s novel, the mysteries here are in the deep ocean, not outer space. Family friendly recommendation.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, Fiction.  I love Shakespeare.  I love Hamlet. I’ve seen Hamlet performed numerous times at Blackfriars American Shakespeare Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia.  Do you need to be familiar with Shakespeare or Hamlet to enjoy Hamnet?  Probably not, but it sure does help.  I recommend this emotional book and beautiful movie. 

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, fiction.  Enjoyable mystery with multiple generations of characters.  Good read, not too heavy. 

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson, nonfiction.  Above I mentioned that I am a Nathanial Philbrick groupie.  I’m also an Erik Larson groupie. I’ve read Devil in the White City, so I decided to give The Demon of Unrest a go.  Good decision. This book should be mandatory reading for every American.  Maybe for every human, but Americans seem especially prone to stumbling into war.  If you questioned the morality of slavery, The Demon of Unrest will assure you that slave owners weren’t merely immoral, they were also arrogantly stupid.  

Podcasts

Empire: World History, with William Dalrymple and Anita Anand.  Very interesting podcast by two historians looking at the rise and fall of empires through the lives of the men and women who made it happen.  Highly recommend.

Beekeeping Today Podcast, with Jeff Ott and Dr Becky Masterman.  My favorite podcast never overloads listeners.  Highly recommend for beekeepers and honeybee enthusiasts.