Here we are at the start of your Reading Year. So what will it be? Reading for duty, or reading for pleasure? I love to read. It is both a duty and a pleasure. I read for both reasons, as it is my duty and it is my pleasure.
I am one of those people who is compelled to read everything, for better and worse. From food labels to labels on clothes, to, well, name it. I likely feel obligated to read it. But mostly I enjoy reading to learn, to explore “strange new worlds” and generally just escape into another realm full of characters I will only meet in my imagination. Such is the gift of reading. As you may have read in my previous post, I aspire to read great classics of literature (check out this post) . But this happens at such an alarmingly slow pace that it’s embarrassing. I mean, I average maybe one true classic a year…I am not ready to swim with the Hardcore Literary gang…at least not yet. I’m still swimming at the low end of the reading pool. But a girl can hope…dream, aspire, right?
I thought I would share a few of my reading standouts from the last year, and check in with you and your reading goals for this year, if you indeed do have them. My main and only social media activity is through GoodReads. I love this platform, which keeps track of my reading each year, as well as archives of all my reading adventures past and present.
As I look back on my reading for last year, I see a few that were special, powerful, or unique. I won’t finish a book for the sake of finishing it if I really don’t like it. So if I finish a book, it’s worth finishing, even if it was not a favorite.
I felt that the majority of poetry I read this year was -meh… or challenging…sometimes that’s a timing thing…wrong book at the wrong time. I am super picky about poetry. Like a fussy eater, I don’t go for the typical fare. But I know what I like. I find a lot of contemporary poetry to be … out of the reach of many. Either in your face or so far away, it’s too much work to try to figure out what the writer is saying. Maybe it’s just me. There are a majority of poetry journals, I peruse and find not worth buying or reading. All that to say, I read an exceptional collection of poetry this year by a New England poet, Kelly D. Belmonte. I did write about this in this Fall Reading post. I think I have written about Kelly’s book at least three times here now! Eye of the Beholder by Luci Shaw was also on the plus side of my reading list.
The Librarian of Aushowicz and The Hobbit stand out to me as memorable. Rebecca and The Frozen River also rounded out my Fiction reading for 2025.
As far as the non-fiction genre, Bruised and Wounded- Struggling to Understand Suicide was a very powerful and small read. I also found GRACE- A Model for Grieving – A Five Step Guide for Healing After Loss, to be one of the more helpful books on the topic of grief.
On another note, I have to mention author Marta Molnar. I highly recommend her. I was introduced to this author through a local art gallery director, and thoroughly enjoyed the creative historical story she has woven together. The Secret Life of Sunflowers was a hard-to-put-down book for me. I am interested in reading her other books this year.
As far as the most memorable book of the year to me, I have to say Rebecca by Daphne Demaurier absolutely won me over. Its haunting prose and story took me in completely. I found DeMaurier’s writing to be intoxicating. I started The House on the Strand, but set it aside. I am not ready yet to walk with the author…but Rebecca. That was the surprise classic of the year that blew me away.
Want to keep up with my (slow) reading on GoodReads? Just go here.
Here are some past reading updates:
Reading Update-No Slothful Summer
I’d love to know your reading plans and desires for the new year. Let me know if you are tackling anything classic or monumental. Or if you are just putzing along looking for your next great read…like me! Happy reading!
Enthusiastically, Dawn
Enthusiastically, Dawn 
Leave a Reply