From Autobiographies to Fiction: My Year in Books

The year 2025 has concluded, and 2026 is already a few days into the new year. Every year, I participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge, and I’m happy to report that I met my goal of 20 books for 2025. In fact, I read one additional book, bringing my total to 21. As of November, I was three books behind and unsure if I would meet my goal, but I powered through November and December and got it done.

I discovered that I really enjoy reading autobiographies and memoirs. I read a total of five in that category this past year. I expect I’ll read about the same number in 2026, along with other fiction I enjoy. Today, I want to highlight a few books from my 2025 list that I particularly liked and would recommend.

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

One book that had been recommended to me many years ago by my Uncle Michael was The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. I finished it early in the year. It was one of my longer reads, but I enjoyed the story. It’s one of those books where, as you read, you can vividly picture the events unfolding like a movie.

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen was a book I discovered through Amazon’s First Reads program. I liked it so much that I bought the second book in the series and finished it over the summer. The story follows a retired spy trying to enjoy a peaceful retirement, only to be pulled back into the world of espionage when a murder occurs next door. It was a fun, fast-paced read.

The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

Another book I picked up through Amazon First Reads was The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb. I enjoyed both the story and the writing style, and I’ve already placed a hold for another one of his books.

Autobiographies and Memoirs

I started diving into autobiographies during the summer, beginning with 107 Days by Kamala Harris. I enjoyed it so much that I moved on to Becoming by Michelle Obama. From there, I read Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance, followed by Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah. I finished out the year with a quick read by Carrie Fisher called Wishful Drinking.

Those are the highlights from my 2025 reading, and I’m looking forward to the 2026 challenge. I’ve increased my goal from 20 to 25 books this year. To meet that goal, I’ll need to read about two books each month. It might be tough, but I’m excited for the challenge.

What were your favorite books in 2025? What are you planning to read in 2026? Feel free to share your list in the comments—I’d love to discuss them with you.

Have a great week, and I hope 2026 is off to a fantastic start for you!

The Slow and Steady Reader: My Book Progress

My reading journey has slowed a bit over the past month or two. I am still reading every night, but my reading has dwindled from multiple pages each night to just a few pages. Part of this lack of reading is due to being tired or staying up late and then trying to read. I enjoy the time I am able to spend reading, but I need to start making time to read during the day and not just keep it for when I am going to bed.

I have had The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara in my reading queue for many years. I am working to try and finish this book. It was recommended by my Uncle Michael who is a history professor at Rutgers University. Yes, it has taken me a while to read this book. I added it to my library in December 2014 and I have read a little of it each year before typically heading over to another book to read. My focus is to finish this book this year. I find it interesting and very well written. I know why Michael recommended this book. 

I am 67% through the book, and I am hoping over the next week or two I will be able to finish this one and mark it off my list. I think it will happen, so more on this in a later post.

The other book I am reading at the same time is Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder. Nightbitch is a book I added to my queue back in November 2023. I added it because it sounded interesting and was due to be released as a motion picture. Well, the motion picture was released, and I am still working to finish this book. Granted, reading two books at once and only a few pages each evening means it is going to take me a while on both instead of focusing all efforts on one book. 

This is an interesting story that caught my attention when I first saw it advertised back in 2023. A mother turning into a canine is an interesting tale of a mother who is lonely and exhausted, dealing with new things happening to herself and embracing those changes. I have not yet watched the movie, but once I am done with this book, I do plan to watch the movie.

For 2025, I set my reading goal to read 20 books. I have only read two books so far in 2025 and I am behind schedule. Last year, I had set my goal for 25 books and only read twelve last year. Way behind schedule for the past year, so I decided to drop from 25 to 20 books for 2025, but it appears it will be a struggle to get through my goal of twenty books for 2025. A long way to go, but so far I am not doing great. Again, I hope to add another book or two to my completed list in April as I finish The Killer Angels and Nightbitch.

On December 17, 2021, I started my reading journey making it a point to read each and every day. I have kept that goal reading every day. The Kindle app tracks my reading which I like and prompts me to read if I have not read anything by evening. As of the writing of this update, I have read for 1,192 days or 177 weeks in a row. There have been some close calls where the clock is about to roll over to midnight and I have not read for the day, but I am able to open Kindle and read a few pages before the new day starts.

Once I finish The Killer Angels and Nightbitch, I will go back to reading books relating to detectives or crime. Those are quick reads and I can usually get through them in a month.

If you have a book you enjoy, I would ask you to use the comments on this post to let me know the name of the book. I am always looking for books to add to my "to read" shelf.

Until next time, have a great week and I will talk to you next week.