I’m not messing around with my 200-book reading goal this year.
You may remember that I didn’t reach my goal of reading 200 books last year, so I set the same goal for 2025.
I started the reading year off strong by finishing 20 books in January.
My Favorite Books of January 2025
Of the 20 books I read last month, I gave seven perfect grades. That’s a pretty strong reading month! Those consisted of two nonfiction books and five fiction books. Here are my reviews.
Atomic Habits
I read Atomic Habits by James Clear in print, which always takes me longer. But I’m so glad I have the physical book because I can see myself returning to it often.
The book is about identifying habits worth keeping and those you need to change and then how to make those adjustments. The most helpful part of the book is the little behavioral tips Clear provides to help you make your desired changes.
For me, the most challenging part of the book is identifying the habits you want to change and not trying to do everything at once. Perhaps that’s why I think I’ll return to it?
Love, Mom
In Love, Mom, Mackenzie Casper’s mom is a best-selling thriller author. But when Mackenzie’s mother dies in what seems like a tragic accident, Mackenzie starts getting letters from the deceased.
What she learns is that perhaps her mother’s books aren’t quite as fiction as they seem. Who knows more about her mother’s secrets, and how can Mackenzie uncover them?
More or Less Maddy
No one writes medical fiction like Lisa Genova. Of course, being a neuroscientist probably doesn’t hurt the efforts.
More or Less Maddy is about Maddy Banks, a freshman at NYU who has bipolar disorder. The book is an excellent look at Maddy’s struggles with mania and depression and how she and her family cope with the disorder.
One of the things that really struck me about this book is how the writing almost seems manic during Maddy’s episodes of mania. It was super honest and powerfully written, and provides a good look at how out of control a person with bipolar may feel and how they may want to be considered.
Raised by a Serial Killer
Imagine suspecting that your father might not just be abusive — he may have killed people. Then, imagine what you would do when you began to suspect that your father may have killed multiple people — that he might be a serial killer.
This is no made-up scenario for April Balascio. Her father was Edward Wayne Edwards. He’s known to have killed at least five people, at least some of them while becoming a speaker on rehabilitation and an FBI informant.
Balascio wrote about growing up with Edwards and becoming aware of his crimes in her book, Raised by a Serial Killer. It’s a fascinating look at how people can wear multiple faces and learn to get away with unspeakable things. It’s also about the damage those people leave behind, including in their own families.
Say No More
Having a troubled sister is challenging. If your sister is as troubled as Audrey Hoedemaker, it can even land you in trouble.
Maureen has always loved her little sister, even when the younger girl started showing signs that she was living a troubled life. In fact, Maureen even took her sister in. That’s when she learned she was a con artist and maybe even a murderer.
But now it’s too late. Maureen is the one in trouble. Did her sister set her up?
Say No More by Caroline Overington is an Audible Original, which means you can only find it on the platform, but it’s totally worth a listen. I was shocked at the plot twist. I’m going to read more of Overington’s work.
Some Boys
I love a realistic YA novel that looks at the complexities of growing up and how young people survive and sometimes even thrive in situations far beyond their years. Patty Blount’s book Some Boys is just that.
Grace had the biggest crush on Zac, the start of her school’s lacrosse team. So did one of her best friends, but it seems that Zac chose her.
Grace thought she was lucky, right until Zac raped her and left her lying in a field near a party the police busted up.
When Grace comes forward with what Zac did, it seems no one believe her, especially with the video Zac circulated. She becomes the school outcast, and even her former best friends are coming after her.
It seems like no one is on Grace’s side, except her mother, who is doing her best to support her daughter.
But Ian found Grace in the field that night. He took her to the hospital, and he has questions that don’t quite fit with what he knows of Grace. Will Zac’s best friend uncover the truth and help give Grace the strength she needs to move on?
Tell Me Three Things
Remember what I wrote above about YA? It still applies here with Julie Buxbaum’s book Tell Me Three Things.
Jessie is struggling. As if her mother’s death after battling cancer wasn’t hard enough, now her dad has suddenly remarried to some rich woman and uprooted them from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Jessie doesn’t fit in with the kids at her new private school or really anyone in LA, including her snotty stepbrother. She misses home and her best friend.
Then Jessie gets an email from Somebody/Nobody. He offers to help her understand the people at her new school. The closer they get via email and text, the more Jessie wonders who SN is and when he’ll choose to reveal himself.
Happy Reading!
There they are, my favorite books of January! It’s interesting that I read two YA novels in the same month since I don’t read them often. Either way, I hope you’ll find something on the list to read and love. As always, happy reading!
