New year and new reading goal. This year, I have a goal to read 70 books. In 2024, my goal was 65 books and I read 62. I thought I’d stretch it out a bit for 2025 and shoot a bit higher. I am going to make a concerted effort to read more than 5 books in at least 4 months of this year. From October to December, my reading naturally slows down because I’m so busy doing other things.
My pattern is that I usually get through 5 books each month and sometimes 6. From February through August, I’m going to shoot for reading 7-8 books. Whew!
JANUARY READS
The Gown
This book falls in the historical fiction genre and is very good. I fell in love with many of the characters and enjoyed following their lives. The story is about a seamstress who works on the wedding gown for the future Queen Elizabeth. There is a bit of intrigue as the granddaughter of the seamstress find some embroideries that were left to her but she has no clue why. I enjoy stories that go back and forth from current time to the past with connected characters.
Don’t Believe It
Seems like I have a book by this author every month! I enjoy psychological thrillers by this author but I do believe that I have read them all. This book was good but it was also my least favorite of the bunch. I think that’s because I figured out the killer pretty early as well as some of the other shocking twists. I will acknowledge that there was one huge twist that I did not see coming. All in all, it’s a good read if not great.
I did just find out that there is a new book coming out in late July this year. I will definitely read it!
The Color of Water
This book has been around for a long time and it highly recommended to me by a woman in one of my book clubs. This book is by the same author of the currently very popular book, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. Having read the new book first, I can very clearly see the tribute to his mother in it. The Color of Water is all about the author’s mother and the search for his identity. It’s pretty unbelievable all he and his 11 siblings went through and how they survived. Definitely a great read or listen.
Queenie
I have had this on my TBR list for a very long time and I’m so glad that I finally got to it.This book is a fantastic listen. Parts of it are very funny but it is in some ways a very heavy story. A Jamaican british woman is working hard to find her place in the world, her job, her community. She makes some really bad decisions and the people who care about her are at a loss as how to help her. She has a tight cast of friends around her who are characters in their own right and add to the story. The Hulu show has also been recommended to me and I think I’m going to give it a try.
The Housemaid’s Secret
Freida McFadden books have been all the rage for the past few years. I have read several of them myself. The Housemaid series is the newest series with 3 books. I read the Housemaid a while ago and have recently finished up the last two in the series. This author is one that people love or hate or say things like “I just don’t get the hype!” Her books are easy to read, are not graphic, definitely have many moments of tension, uses twists liberally, and usually ends the book in a way that might make you gasp. I’ve enjoyed this series and some of the other stand alone books that I’ve read.
The Housemaid is Watching
See above!! This is the final book in the series. The first one was definitely the best but these two hold their own. In October 2024, The Boyfriend, was released and I’ll put that one on my to be read list. Another one to add to the list is The Crash which was released just a few days ago. I’m not sure that this one is my cup of tea but we’ll see. Sometimes, it’s easy to go for what you know when you don’t know what you want to read.
Reading Journey-Goal is to read 70 books:
January-6 books read; 64 books left to read;total read=6
If you have any book recommendations, please list them in the comments.
