2025 is a wrap, and I can’t say I’m sorry to leave it behind. It was a difficult year, one of changes and uncertainty and loss. I had surgery, I grieved for my father, I lost my career, I spent four months unemployed, and I started over again in a new job. There were highs as well as lows, but I’m a planner at heart (as I’m guessing many of you are) and this was a year where I had to adjust to the changes and just hang on.
It was also a year that challenged the way I see myself. I didn’t think my identity was tied to my work, until suddenly I didn’t have it any more. It was a year I had to keep reminding myself to let things go and look for the positives. Maybe you’ve heard of the “We Do Not Care Club”? That was something that kept me grounded this year. That, and Mr. CG, who constantly reminded me that whatever happened, we were in this together.
Of course, it isn’t all about me. It was a year where so many terrible things happened in the world, particularly in this country. And those terrible things just keep on coming. I realize that many people are more vulnerable than I am – people from other countries, people who can’t work, or who will be deprived of necessary benefits like health care, child care, and food supports. It’s hard to know what to do and how to help, when things already feel so tenuous.
One last note, I was saddened by the passing of Sophie Kinsella. I read her novel/memoir What Does It Feel Like? this year, and I’ve enjoyed several of her novels (I recommend I Owe You One). Kinsella is a reminder to me that even if I’m put off by the idea of “chick lit”, I shouldn’t judge books by their covers. Kinsella’s books are clever and funny and romantic, and she died too young. I have a few more of her books on my shelf and I look forward to reading them.
Here’s what I read in December:
- The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury (print)
- Good Material by Dolly Alderton (ebook)
- Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari (audio)
- The Best American Food and Travel Writing, edited by Padma Lakshmi (print)
- Lit by Tim Sandlin (ebook/ARC)
- Good Girl by Aria Aber (audio)
- To the End of the Land by David Grossman (audio)
Screenshot
" srcset="https://thebookstop.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/food-travel.jpg?strip=info&w;=300 300w" tabindex="0" />My favorite reads:
I loved Songs for the Brokenhearted and To the End of the Land, which you can read about here.
Many of the essays in The Best American Food and Travel Writing were fantastic, and gave me a lot to think about. Two that stood out were simply about 1) eggs and 2) grilled cheese. Some of the most interesting combined history, politics, and economics, like the essays about watermelon and racial stereotyping, growing grapes in the West Bank, and the impact of the avocado in Mexico.
If you’re looking for a complex, nuanced story about love and personal growth, check out Good Material, about a comedian who struggles to get over the girlfriend who’s left him. This book reminded me, at times, of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in that the love story and the characters are far from black and white.
Disappointing reads:
I was disappointed by Lit, which was clever but ultimately there wasn’t much there.
On the blog:
I reviewed The Marriage Method, Lit, and To the End of the Land. I also wrote about books published in 2025 that I still want to read, books about complicated families, and what I learned from the Reading Jewishly 2025 Challenge.
Books for challenges:
I finished all four challenges in December! It was a bit of a push at the end, but I’m glad I completed them.
- Reading Jewishly: To the End of the Land, Songs for the Brokenhearted
- Nonfiction: The Best American Food and Travel Writing
- 52 Book Club: The Halloween Tree
- Backlist: Good Material
What I’m reading now:
I just started V.E. Schwab’s Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil and Megan Bannen’s The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. The fact that both titles refer to burial is a total coincidence.
What’s coming up:
In January I’ll be posting about my favorite reads and new-to-me authors in 2025, and my challenges and goals for 2026. I’ll also be writing about ARCs I’ll be reading in 2026. The first one will be The Shark House by Sara Ackerman, a book about shark attacks in Hawaii and a woman’s long-buried trauma. It sounds fantastic.
That’s my December wrap-up. Wishing you all a very happy New Year and thanks for reading with me!
