May 2025 Reading

by Jen | Jul 2, 2025 | Books, Monthly Reading

Updated 2025 Reading Stats

So far in 2025, I have read:

46 books
32 fiction books
14 non-fiction books
1 classic book

May 2025 Reading

Intimacies

Katie Kitamura

Fiction, Literary Fiction

I was very close to giving up on this book. However, it is fairly short so I pushed through and finished. I felt like not much happened, and I didn’t see the point of the book once I was done. And I didn’t find enough amazing things in the writing to make it worth reading. That sounds harsh, but I honestly finished the book and shrugged.

Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell

Gabe Henry

Non-Fiction

I enjoy reading books about the English language and what a pain in the ass it is. This one was particuarly fun to read as it covers all the different attempts over history to simplify English spelling. What makes it fun is that you can “play along” by trying to read the different attempts yourself.

Black Woods, Blue Sky

Eowyn Ivey

Fiction

I loved the author’s book The Snow Child so I was eager to read her newest book. I was not disappointed! Ivey creates another gorgeous story that contains magical realism that actually truly feels like it could be real. This is due to her ability to instill a sense of magic and wonder into the Alaska wilderness, which lends itself to her style of storytelling. The last few pages of this book had me in tears. Be sure to read it for something truly special.

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

Sarah Wynn-Williams

Non-Fiction

I’ve been working my way through books about all the different social media companies so why not add Facebook to the list? This book is quite damning for both Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. The title Careless People could really sum up almost anyone with power in Silicon Valley. I truly think that social media has caused immense damage in the world, and this book helps explain some of that damage and why and how it happened.

Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

John Green

Non-Fiction

I love when an author becomes engaged with a cause or issue and plunges headlong into researching and writing about it. John Green became obsessed with tuberculosis and writes about its long history. A physician friend of mine once said she feared tuberculosis more than COVID and now I understand why.

Mobituaries

Mo Rocca

Non-Fiction

If you like your history or non-fiction on the lighter side, this book is for you! The author provides “mobituataries” (his word) for different people and things. I was not familiar with the author’s podcast of the same name, but I would definitely tune into it based on this book. I will never hear Billy Joel’s song “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me” without thinking of this book and its chapter on Beau Brummel.

We All Live Here

Jojo Moyes

Fiction

I was very excited to see a new book being published by Jojo Moyes as her books are always enjoyable. This one was just OK for me—not her best but not awful either. If you’re a fan, you’ll probably read this regardless. If you’ve never read one of her books, I recommend starting with her wonderful “Me Before You” trilogy.

Just For the Summer

Abby Jimenez

Fiction, Romance

This is my third Abby Jimenez book, and I’ll keep reading them because she does a great job of writing romances that are inhabited by real-life people who have real-life problems. I look for her books when I need a lighter read, but there is always something a little more than I expect from a typical romance book.

Famous Last Words

Gillian McAllister

Fiction

I’ve been on a bit of a Gilliam McAllister kick since loving her book Wrong Place, Wrong Time and Just Another Missing Person, which were both top-notch thrillers that kept me reading late into the night. This is her latest book, and I thought it was nowhere near as good as her other ones. If you’re just starting out with this author, I’d start with the two other books I mentioned.

The Blue Hour

Paula Hawkins

Fiction, Mystery

This book was just OK for me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t fell in love with it either. I always feel bad when authors have a huge hit with their first book (for Hawkins this was The Girl on the Train) and then don’t really recapture that success or quality in their subsequent books.

Elon Musk

Walter Issacson

Non-Fiction

I have to be upfront. I don’t agree with Elon Musk’s politics or his behavior, but I found this biography very informative and interesting. This book didn’t really change my dislike of Musk, but it did give me a more nuanced view of him and his various companies. I even found myself thinking that some of what he does (e.g., the style of the SpaceX contracts, the asking why about requirements) seem like good things. The book also corrected some inaccuracies I had.