Best Books of 2025

 Fran compiled a list of the best books she read in 2025. I have received SO MANY of these lists in email from people I don't actually know, so it is at least refreshing to hear from someone we have read 304 books with, right?  Here is the list, which she labels as the Best of the books she read this year. 

There is no particular order.

• My Beloved by Jan Karon
• West with Giraffes, by Lynda Rutledge
• Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich
• Memorial Days, by Geraldine Brooks
• True North, by Andrew J Graff
• God of the Woods, by Liz North
• Boxcar Librarian, by Brianna Labustes
• We All Live Here, by Jojo Moyes
• Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
• When the Moon Hits Your Eye, by John Scalzi
• Three Days in June, by Anne Tyler
• A Short Walk Through a Wide World, by Douglas Westerbeke
• Run for the Hills, Kevin Wilson
• Phoenix Pencil Company, by Allison King
• Heartwood, by Amity Garge
• California Dreamers, by Amy Mason Doan
• Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
• The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore, by Anika Fajardo

January 2026

This month, we will be reading House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende. Our very first book was Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende, and we have read four of her books in our 25+ years as a book group. House of the Spirits was her first book, and it has been called "one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century."

This book is 448 pages in length, a little longer than we usually read, but keep in mind that this is a l-o-n-g month for us, with five weeks between our meetings. 

There aren't a lot of copies in the Contra Costa Library (currently 3 of 6 are available), so get your copy now, and give yourself some time to read it. 

Our next meeting is Friday, January 23rd. Sheila will lead the discussion, and Denise will bring our book selections. 

December 2025

 Our last book of the year, December 2025, will be Awake in the Floating City, by Susanna Kwan. This is her debut novel about two of the last people living in a flooded San Francisco of the future. There are copies available in the Contra Costa Library, and in Libby. 

Note that this month, we will NOT be meeting on the fourth Friday, but before Christmas, on December 19th. Same place - Sheila's, and same time - 5:30pm. We look forward to the Spode Christmas plates on the table, and hopefully a pleasant dinner.

Next month's books will be brought by Sheila, and Mae will lead the discussion.