TTT: Most Anticipated Books of the First Half of 2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books of the First Half of 2025

If you know me well you are probably rolling your eyes at this list, or me making this list at all. Afterall, I never pay any attention to what is coming in the book world. I'm always looking back at what books I missed. In order to put anything down for this post I consulted Goodreads' list of most anticipated books of 2025 and I picked a few that sound good. In the process I found two or three books it is very likely I will read sometime this year. The others? I'm not sure how hard I will try. The graphics are straight from the Goodreads page (in case you couldn't tell.) I've posted them in the order I'm most likely to read.

1. I know I will read this book because I am a huge John Green fan.

2. Another favorite author. I think of her as a YA writer so I am interested in this one written for adults.

3. Another book I'm likely to read. I pretty much read everything Brooks has written.

4. I know nothing about this book except what I read in the above blurb, but it sounds good.

5. Vuong is a poet and writes beautifully but the other book I read by him was quite disturbing. This is a definite maybe.

6. I might read this since I've read all the other books in the Hunger Games series. I didn't care for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, so I'll have to wait to read others' reviews first.

7. This book sounds fun and funny but I don't usually read Sci-Fi so there is a big question mark if I'll manage to read it or not..

8. Every Backman book I've read I liked but I haven't read that many (only the ones listed in the blurb, actually.) Will this be one I read?

9. Which Anne Tyler wrote this book? The one I like (Accidental Tourist) or the one I don't (Breathing Lessons)?

10. I know. Stephen King!!!! But I don't do horror. How horror-full is this one? As good as he is I probably won't read it.

And two others that piqued my interest:

-Anne 

A Look Back at 2024 Through My Sunday Salon Posts

Taking a peek back on 2024!

As I look back on a year of my Sunday Salon posts, 2024 comes back into focus before many events will begin to fade from my memory. Please click on the hyperlinks to read more about my year.

Our grandsons splashing in puddles. January 2024.

Yesterday Don looked out the window at our backyard and commented that January days remind him of the song "In the Bleak Midwinter". I agreed and thought back to this post from January 27, 2024 where I tried to address how to cope with the winter doldrums. I didn't say we should all jump in puddles, but it does look fun, doesn't it? [January 27.]

Fred and George playing with the new quilt. February.

Our daughter, Carly, moved home to live with us for a short time with her two cats, Fred and George, during a transition between renting and buying a new townhouse. My sister gave me a small homemade lap quilt for my birthday that month. I put the quilt on the green chair and the cats claimed it. They slept on it, pigged it so the other couldn't get on it, made tunnels with it, and fought over it. When the cats and our daughter moved into their new home, the quilt went with them. (The cats have continued their fascination with the quilt since the move, carrying it around the house in their mouths including up the stairs. No easy feat.) [February 25.]

Mom turns 95 in March.

Our Easter family photo was supposed to be a sweet one. Jamie had other ideas.

Much of my extended family gathered to help Mom celebrate turning 95 in March. She still lives in her own home and is very healthy. This post included several photos with the funniest being this one of my family taken the week before Easter. Jamie is not happy to be photographed.  [March 24.]

Canyon Overlook Trail, Zion National Park. April.

In April we took a big family vacation to Utah to visit several of the national parks. While there I read a book called Leave Only Footsteps. My Sunday post was a combined review of the book with stories and photos from our fabulous time. [April 14]

Tulip festival love. April.

One week after we got home from the Utah trip, we headed north to take in the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The weather that day was warm and beautiful and Don and I had such a fun time together enjoying the colorful flowers set against a blue sky. Being retired sure is fun. Click on the link to see many more photos from the day. [April 21.]

Aurora Borealis. Photo taken just outside our front door. May. 

I'm in my 60s. I had never seen the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) until this year and I was so psyched to witness it. [May 11.]

Three sisters. Frogner Park in Oslo, Norway. June.

Grace and Kathy, my sisters, and I went on a sisters trip to Norway and Germany in late May/early June. We visited our 3rd cousin in Norway after doing some sightseeing. Then we flew to Germany to visit our niece and her family. Look at us! You can tell we are sisters! What a wonderful, meaningful trip. We did so much I had to blog about it twice. [June 9, June 16.]

A day hiking in Mt. Rainier National Park. July.

Midsummer is so beautiful in the Pacific NW. This post highlights much of that beauty often spent with friends and family. [July 14.] 

Two concerts sandwiched between a vacation with family. July.

I titled the July 28th post: "Concerts, Vacations, Politics, Oh My!" We traveled to Oregon for a family vacation the day after seeing John Legend in concert at a local winery. Then we raced home to attend a Chris Stapleton concert in Seattle. I was still hopeful about politics and a portion of this post was dedicated to that hope. [July 28.]

Highlights of our trip to the Northeast: Boston and Maine. October.

When friends, Ken and Carol, invited us to stay with them in a rental house in Maine for a week we jumped at the chance to visit a part of the country we've never been to before. We added several days in Boston to explore the historical sites, as well. We crammed so much into our whirlwind of a ten-day trip. We'd happily go back in a heartbeat. [October 20.]

Mom, age 95, and her cousin-in-law, age 99, reuniting at the Oregon vs. Illinois football game. Don and his brother, Jon, "helping coaches make halftime adjustments." October.

A good deal of our Fall was taken up with football and politics. This post reflects both. I was so sure that Kamala was going to win. Sigh. But at least we have the happy memories of unlikely family reunions now that Oregon and Illinois are in the same football conference. As season ticket holders, we spent a lot of time in our car zooming up and down the freeway which also gave us lots of audiobook listening time. On this particular trip Don and I listened to Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by actress Judi Dench. Loved it! [Oct. 27.]

The days after the election. November.

A few days after the disastrous election, I published this post called "Self Care". It was one of the most popular Sunday Salon posts of the year. I take it I wasn't the only one needing self care and wondering how to move forward. [Nov. 10.]

Our family together at Zoolights at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. December.

On December 7th my Sunday Salon post was entitled "Stuff." I talked about all the stuff we have. The topic originated with my recognition of all the Christmas decorations we have but don't use. It was a very popular post with lots of commenters saying they have the same problem with stuff. The very next week my husband won a raffle and got about $1500 worth of new kitchen gadgets. Ha! I'm trying to get rid of stuff and we get more of it. This is a fun post because it also talks about all the events we participated in leading up to Christmas, like going to Zoolights with Don's cousin and her family. [Dec. 14.]

One of my last posts each year is my Survey of Books where I talk about books I loved and others I didn't. I look back on these posts often to remind myself which books I was reading when and what I thought of them. I hope you take a moment to peek at the survey. [2024 Survey of Books.]

The Chinese Garden at The Huntington, Pasadena, CA. Dec. 31, 2024.

We spent our last day of 2024 in Pasadena sightseeing -- visiting the famous Vroman's Bookstore, wandering The Huntington's galleries and gardens, and a fabulous dinner -- all in advance of the next day to take in the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl game. You can see by our clothing colors, we are proud Oregon Duck fans.

Good-bye 2024! Hello 2025!

-Anne

Review: THE BOOK OF DOORS (+Friday56 LinkUp)

Title: The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

Book Beginnings quote: 

In Kellner Books on the Upper West Side of New York City, a few minutes before his death, John Webber was reading The Count of Monte Cristo.

Friday56 quote:

"The young have the loudest dreams,” Drummond murmured, more to himself. “Unfettered by life and reality."

Summary: Cassie Anderson works at a bookstore in NYC. She befriends a lonely man who often comes to the store for a company and a coffee. The night he dies he is reading The Count of Monte Cristo. When Cassie finds him, there is a small book next to him on the table, a gift book for her. The inside inscription reads "Any door is every door. All you need to do is step through them." This is the book of doors, a magical book with magical powers. When Cassie gets home she and her roommate Isabel discover they can travel the whole world simply by picturing a door in another place and stepping through to visit a new place. It is fun in the beginning. But Isabel is worried that no good will come from it, and she is right. Other people, with their magical books want hers and soon she and Isabel are being pursued all over the world and back and forth throughout time.

Review: My daughter read The Book of Doors first and highly recommended it to me. I started it a few days before Christmas and just couldn't put it down, or didn't want to put it down. It has been a long time since I have been so captivated by a book. The book is very dark. The underbelly of the world seeking a book from two regular, innocent girls. In a way the book of doors reminded me of the ring in the Tolkien series. Everyone wanted it and most of those seeking it were up to no good and willing to exert deadly power to get it. At first this darkness really put me off. But soon, as the good guys started to emerge, and as the time travel started up, I was hooked. I had to know how this all was going to possibly work out. Many deep ad confusing conversations with my daughter ensued, too, as I have a hard time figuring out how time travel works out when placed against the "now." Anyway. We had fund discussions.

My rating: 5 stars.

Sorry folks, I just got back from a short trip and completely forgot to post a Friday56 link-up until Friday morning. Thanks for joining me anyway.

Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader (If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it! 

*Visit other blogs and leave comments about their snippets. Expand the community. Please leave a comment for me, too!  

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

How did I do on my yearly reading goals and challenges?

Time for a final accounting of how I did on my 2024 reading goals and challenges...

2024 Yearly Goals and Challenges 

1. One Big Book 

Personal Challenge

Read one book during the year that I consider a challenging book; a book I've avoided reading for years due to its daunting nature. Must be completed by 12/31/24.

My 2024 One Big Book was: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mandel

DONE!

 

2. Pulitzer Challenge

Personal

Read the current Pulitzer Prize winner announced in May of each year. +Read others from my list.:

1. 2024 winner: Nightwatch by Jane Ann Phillips. Completed June 28, 2024.

2. 2004 winner: The Known World by Edward Jones. Completed Sept. 21st.

3. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Completed March 1, 2024

4. Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. Completed April 9, 2024.

5. A Bell for Adano by John Hersey. Completed September 5, 2024

6. A Death in the Family by James Agee. Completed October 16, 2024.

7. A House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday. Completed Nov. 21, 2024

DONE!

Plus I completed my personal challenge to read all the prize winners from the 21st Century.

My Pulitzer Project finale post is here. It took me years to read all the books and months to create the post about the project.

3. National Book Award Challenge

Personal

Every year the National Book Award is given out in five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction. Poetry, Translated Literature; Young People's Literature. My goal is to read two of the five winners (or finalists) per year. This award will be announced mid-November.

I read one winner and two finalists. DONE!

 

4. Discussion Challenge

Hosts: Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Begins at Midnight.

Post a discussion topic related to books, reading, or related topics.

I'm aiming to complete the beginning level, Discussion Dabbler or 1-10 posts in 2024. 

Tracking topics/dates:

1. Looking back at reading lists

2. Ranking Pulitzer Prize winners

3. NYT Best books of the Century

Low bar. I only had to do one and I did three. DONE!

 

5. Goodreads Challenge

Read 100+ in 2024

I will keep track of my books on the Goodreads website.

I read 122 books. Challenge met!

 

6. Classics Club List

Host: The Classics Club 

About ten years ago I created a list of 50 classic books I wanted to read. I kept adding titles to the list faster than I read them. I still have about 25 books left on that expanded list. This year I want to read at least five books from my list.

Tracker:

The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Death in the Family by James Agee

The Postman Always Rings Twice by Cain

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo

I read 9 classics, not all were on my list, however. DONE, sort of!

7. Super Past Due Reviews

A personal challenge

Write three super past due reviews (over a year old)

Reviews completed tracker:

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

I wrote two and only have one left from my original list. 

8. Big Book Summer Challenge

Read 400+ page length books during summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day). My goal is 4 big books.

Tracker: 

1. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. 400 pages.

2. The Women by Kristin Hannah

3. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

4. Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

5. The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller

6. Symphony of Secrets Brendan Slocomb 

DONE+

9. Printz Award

Personal

Read the Printz Award winner and finalists. (Announced in late January) 

Award Winner: The Collectors edited by A.S. King

Honor Books: 1. Gather by Kenneth Cadow

2. The Girl I Was, Am, and Never Will Be by Shannon Gibney

I read three of the five books.

10. Write reviews for all book club selections.

Personal

My reviews for all 23 books here.

11. Women's Prize for Fiction, a personal challenge: 

A. 2020 and forward -- read two of the finalists/winners for each year (only three books remaining.)

B. 2010-2019 -- read one of the finalists/winners for each year (Only two books remaining.) (Details)

2015- How to Be Both by Ali Smith

2016- (The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie)

2021- Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyassi

2024a.- The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright

2024b.- Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan

I read 4 of the 5 Women's Prize Winners/finalists I challenged myself to read. The Portable Veblen goes back on my reading list for 2025.

-Anne

-Anne