Favorite books of 2025

This was a good year for reading and, while I can’t mention all the good books I read, I’ve put together a list of my favorites. I’m afraid the list is rather long. If necessary, forgive me. Or not. Some of these books I was able to discuss with members of the book club I belong to, a highlight of each month. In a way, I’m discussing them with you now. Please let me know your favorites from the year.

Fiction

Rachel Joyce, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2013): This was one of my favorites, about an ordinary old man who took on an extraordinary task, that of walking the length of England under the belief that this would save his friend from dying. He suffers, makes some strange friends, and reflects on his life.  A book about transformation. I also read the sequels, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy (2014) and Maureen   (2022).

Rachel Joyce, Miss Benson’s Beetle (2020): Similar to Harold Fry, this story features a frumpy old spinster who has a passion for beetles. She decides to journey to New Caledonia to try and discover the fabled  Golden Beetle. Her quirky traveling companion and the adventures they encounter make this a highly entertaining, and inspiring, book.

Dean Koontz, The Bad Weather Friend (2024): A combination fantasy/suspense novel about Benny Catspaw, a man who is “too nice.” He gets fired from his job, loses his girlfriend, but discovers he has been assigned a craggle, a critter with supernatural powers who is like, but not the same as, a guardian angel. They battle global injustice and try to save the world from destruction. Very entertaining.

Sara Nisha Adams, The Reading List (2021): This very good novel weaves the stories of several people who all mysteriously find a list of books “for whoever needs them.” As people read, some of whom have not before been interested in literature, they come together and their lives are touched for the better. 

Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys (2019): This historical novel, a Pulitzer Prize winner, tells the story of the  Nickel Academy, a juvenile reformatory in Florida, based on a real school that operated for 111 years. It deals with injustice and cruelty, focusing on two boys, one of whom escapes. The story follows him through life as he tries to recover from the trauma. Hard to read, but important.

Jennifer Ryan, The Kitchen Front (2021): I loved this book—even cried at the end. The historical background is England during World War II and a BBC radio show, “The Kitchen Front,” that gave recipes to British housewives using only the rations granted. The story revolves around four women who enter a cooking contest, with prize being co-hosting the radio show.  (I also read The Underground Library, 2024, by the same author, another WWII historical novel of the library set up in an underground shelter in London during the blitz.)

Richard Powers, Playground (2024): Fascinating tale of four people whose lives finally converge on the island of Makatea, on the verge of a decision that will determine its future. The playground is 1) the ocean, the real protagonist of the book—its vastness, beauty, life, and endless variety and 2) a brilliant AI platform named “Playground” that threatens to overpower human intelligence. In a sense the book represents the contest between artificial intelligence, humanity, and the mysteries of nature.

Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer (2000): Takes place in the farms and forests of Southern Appalachia in a humid summer when everything seems to procreating—plants, animals, and complicated human beings. Three intertwined stories of people trying to find their relationship with nature—and with each other.

Linda Sue Part, A Single Shard (2001): This Newbury Award winner is the haunting story of an orphan boy in 12^th century China, homeless and living with an older man who is crippled. The boy, Tree-ear, becomes enchanted with the beautiful celadon pottery and is apprenticed to one of the skilled artists. Shows the boy growing, maturing, taking a great risk, and being rewarded beyond his expectations.

Ariel Lawhon, The Frozen River (2023): A stunning story based on the true history of Martha Ballard, a mid-wife and healer in colonial Maine, 1789. Martha becomes involved in solving a murder mystery, fighting the injustice of men in the town who are leaders and oppressors. I loved it for the view of colonial life; a midwife’s profession; the brave, intelligent, honest heroine; and the portrayal of a good marriage. A bit of brutality, but the topic was brutal and the author did not fudge. Or exaggerate.

Marie Benedict, The Mitford Affair (2023): Historical novel based on the Mitford sisters in upper society London in the years leading up to WWII. Two of the sisters become fascists, even being drawn into Hitler’s inner circle. The political and the personal intertwine when another of the sisters has to made a decision between family and country.

Marie Benedict, The Queens of Crime (2025): Incredibly clever plot has a group of female crime writers join to solve a real crime and thus prove their worth to the male writers who don’t give them their due respect. The leader of the group is Dorothy Sayers and her cohort is Agatha Christie, which makes the book especially fun to read.

 

Non-Fiction

John Simpson, The Word Detective: Searching for the Meaning of It All in the Oxford English Dictionary: A Memoir (2016): Simpson spent over four decades working for the OED, the last 20 of those years as Chief Editor. He relates the later history of the OED, from 1976 to 2013, including its breakthrough into the age of the Internet, making it accessible to the masses (me) as never before.

Alistar McGrath, C.S. Lewis: A Life (2013): Best biography of Lewis I’ve read. Learned a lot about his relationship with Mrs. Moore, his response to the war (refusing to deal with it), his relationship to Tolkien, the conflicts with Oxford, and his relationship with Joy. A treasure.

Connie Dawson, John Wimber: His Life and Ministry (2021): I learned a lot of details about his life, and especially his struggles and the attacks against him. The book summarized the tremendous influence of his life on the church.

Carolyn Maull McKinstry While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement (2011): The author was a child and a member of the Birmingham Sixteenth Street Baptist Church that was bombed on Sept. 15, 1963. She tells the story of her experience, with background of the whole civil rights movement especially in Alabama. She details aftermath of the bombing, how it affected the country and how it affected her. Excellent resource for understanding the suffering from the black point of view.

Claire Hoffman, Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson (2025): An incredible history and a well-documented book. Tracks her rise to fame as a powerful Spirit-filled preacher and evangelist, to the point where her crusades attracted thousands. Her mysterious disappearance in 1926 and later strange reappearance sparked controversy and court cases that drug on for several years and tarnished her reputation. Good book about a complex person.

Bianca Bosker, Get the Picture: a mind-bending journey among the inspired artists and obsession art fiends who taught me how to see (2024): Bosker, a journalist, decides to dive into the contemporary art scene in NYC, trying to understand the art, and why art in general matters. Has incredible experiences in the five years she ends up spending there. In some ways it reads like an anthropological case study. Fascinating.

Safiya Sinclair, How To Say Babylon: A Memoir (2023): One of the best books I’ve read this year. Sinclair tells of growing up in the Rastafarian sect in Jamaica, a “communistic Christian commune.” Learning about the sect was fascinating, but Sinclair’s personal story griped me more. In this male dominated culture, with the father as autocrat, she was abused into believing she had no worth. This is the story of her coming to discover her identity and rise to become a recognized writer and poet. A tribute to the human spirit.

Kristin Gault, The Way We Walked: Friendship, Faith and the Camino de Santiago (2025): the book chronicles the walk Kristin (my daughter) and her friend Heather took on the famous Camino de Santiago, starting in mid-Portugal and following the coast up to the northern Spanish city of Santiago, with its famous cathedral. Details the challenges the women faced—physical, mental, spiritual— the transformation it worked, and the satisfaction on reaching the goal. Interesting description, with lots of humor, as well as inspiration.

Poetry

Nancy Thomas, editor, An Arc of Grace: selections by Quaker poets of the Pacific Northwest (2026): Maybe putting this book on the list is cheating because it isn’t published yet. But I spent a good part of the year with the poems of 14 good Quaker poets, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The book includes black-and-white photos of various Quaker photographers to match the mood of the poems. Prepare to purchase! And enjoy!

Note: I am posting this blog from a hospital bed! Much to my surprise! (Do you see how devoted I am to keeping up on my blog?) Fortunately I wrote it yesterday.

Favorite books of 2024

 I read a lot of books in 2024, some poorly written, some good enough, and some excellent books that inspired me with their content and made me happy with their wonderful way with words. For me a good book combines both substance (what it says) and form (how it’s written).

It helps to be part of a good book-reading-group. I am. I hesitate to call it a club. We’re too informal for that and have no officers or protocol. We just meet regularly and have lively discussions. But, to be honest, I’d read just as much even if I were not in a group.

The following are some of the year’s favorites, not listed in any priority and being published in any year (not just 2024). I limited the list to ten fiction and ten nonfiction books. It was hard and I eliminated some good books. But, oh well. It’s interesting to see that all but one of the fiction books were written by women. The women also dominated the nonfiction and poetry categories. I wonder what that means.

Fiction

Ann Patchett, Tom Lake (2023): Patchett’s books always please me. This one tells of a mother and her three grown daughters, in the setting of a summer theater camp. It’s about telling stories and keeping secrets. How much do we really know about our parents?

Isabel Allende, The Wind Knows My Name (2023): Story of three children in three different generations, all raised in contexts of violence. Portrays well the trauma of being refugees.

Patti Callahan, Becoming Mrs. Lewis (2020): A fictional portrayal of the romance between CS Lewis and Joy Davidman. Extensive research gives this view of their relationship plausibility.

Geraldine Brooks, Horse (2023): Historical fiction that weaves the narratives of three people living in three different times whose stories eventually intersect. It circles around the sport of horse-racing and the story of one remarkable horse, Lexington. Touches on themes of racism, animal rights, relationships between animals and humans, and the relationship between science and art. Provocative. 

Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry (2022): One of my favorites this year. A funny feminist story of a woman chemist in a world of men. When fired from her job, the protagonist applies her science to the art of cooking and becomes a popular television personality. The book treats serious subjects with humor.

Octavia Butler, Kindred (1979): Combines fantasy, realism, and time travel as a contemporary black girl finds herself back in the era of slavery, trying to understand her family story. Brings to life the suffering caused by racism, both in the past and today.

Celeste Ng, Our Missing Hearts (2023): A futurist novel about the fight against injustice set in a dystopian, totalitarian society. Again, the theme of racism is strong. Reminds me of Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451.

Kristin Hannah, The Women (2024): Story of the women who served as nurses in Vietnam, the challenges they faced in war, and those faced as they returned back home. An important book.

Barbara Kingsolver, Demon Copperhead (2022): This one is a Pulitzer Prize winner and I can see why. It’s hard to read the story of this young man who grows up with everything traumatic, violent, and wrong against him. As he progresses through young adulthood so many horrible things happen to him, it’s hard to read. Yet grace continues to show up in the people here and there who befriend and believe in him. It’s a valuable window into what so many people in our culture go through.

Niall Williams, This Is Happiness (2021): I found a new favorite author in this Irish writer. This coming-of-age story is set in a small Irish village early in the 20th century, and the setting is as much a protagonist as the people in the tale. Beautiful and insightful descriptions, both of the landscape and of human nature.

Non-fiction

David Brooks, How To Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen (2023): A good book on being an authentic, other-centered, kind person who helps the ones she’s with become more of themselves. I’m a David Brooks fan.

Judy Meliner, Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner (2015): Fascinating memoir of a forensic investigator’s internship in New York City. Goes into detail of all that an autopsy in a criminal cast involves. Especially gripping is the chapter on 9/11.

Sarah McCaman, The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living and Leaving the White Evangelical Church (2024): Provocative book documenting the stories of young adults, raised in evangelical churches, who are leaving, disillusioned. I identify with many of the reasons young people leave the church but I don’t agree with the totally black picture she paints. There is still much life in the church.

Barbara Mahany, The Book of Nature: The Astonishing Beauty of God’s First Sacred Text (2023): Mahany says that God speaks to us in two main ways: through Scripture and through nature. This book focuses on nature and the need to pay attention. Give specific details about different phenomena of nature. To be read slowly and reflectively.

Patrick Bringley, All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me (2023): Memoir of Bringley’s ten years as a guard at this famous museum in New York. He tells stories of the different pieces of art as well as his personal experiences and his gradual becoming an art lover himself. I especially appreciated his reflections on art and how to enjoy art.

Nancy French, Ghosted: An American Story (2024): Fascinating story of a woman who ghost-wrote biographies of political figures, especially Republicans. During the time of Trump, she began to get uneasy as she felt forced to write things she felt were untrue. When she decided to no long write these stories, she was “ghosted” by the party, loosing her career and suffering harassment. Hard to read.

Carolyn Weber, Surprised by Oxford (2013): Memoir of a young Canadian woman who won a scholarship for graduate work in Oxford. It’s a triple love story: Weber’s falling in love with England and Oxford; her relationship with a Christian young man who explained the gospel to her and eventually won her love; and her finding God for herself, the focus of the story.

Barbara Brown Taylor, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others (2019): Brown, a Christian professor of world religion to undergraduates, tells of her experiences as she takes a positive approach to other religions and brings students to worship services in each of the traditions. She finds so much good that she identifies what she calls “holy envy,” wishing that some of the practices could be incorporated into Christianity. She says that this approach to other faiths has actually strengthened her as a Christian.

Kristin Gault, Gifts of Sight: Discovering God's Love through the Lens of Visual Impairment (2024): Probably one of the best books of the year, and I say this because I believe it, not because the author happens to be my daughter (brag, brag, brag). Kristin combines her own experience as a teacher of the visually impaired with her larger life story, sharing spiritual insights that have risen from her profession and life.

Allen Cheney, Crescendo: The Story of a Genius Who Forever Changed a Southern Town (2019): Inspiring biography of a man who grew up poor and abused, but who discovered music early on and was soon recognized as a musical genius. An amazing rags-to-riches story.

Poetry

Jessica Jacobs, Unalone (2024): Poems based on the book of Genesis by a poet who is also a Hebrew scholar. Many of the poems are wonderful (and I rarely use that word). I wish I’d written this book!

Nancy Thomas, The Language of Light: poems of wit, whimsey, and (maybe) wisdom (2024): Okay, right. It’s my book. But I’m actually pleased with it and invite you to discover it for yourself. Available on Amazon.com.

It’s almost 2025 and I look forward to lots of things in the new year. One of those is, of course, books There’s a world of books I haven’t read. I wonder what treasures I’ll discover.