It’s that time of year again! Today’s #spellbooksaturday is a wrap-up of my 2025 reading, highlighting the gems (and the duds) of the past year. I’m happy to say that I met my reading goals (just in time!), and as always, my TBR list grew exponentially.
FAVORITES
📚 Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
Move over Margaret Atwood, Butler is the absolute queen of dystopian fiction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ [Spellbook Saturday feature available here.]
📚 Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Thorough, thought-provoking, and deeply engaging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ [Spellbook Saturday feature available here.]
📚 I’m Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America by Rebecca Little & Colleen Long
Rebecca Little and Colleen Long give a fabulous, comprehensive, and compassionate perspective of a very nuanced and challenging topic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ [Spellbook Saturday feature available here.]
FLOPS
💩 The Poppy War Trilogy by R.F. Kuang
I know including this series on my list of flops is going to be controversial (and I want to defend myself by saying I loved Babel), but I found the graphic violence to be really off-putting and the third book to be an absolute slog. ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (Rounding up from 2 ½.) [Spellbook Saturday feature available here.]
💩 The Watchers by A.M. Shine
Based (loosely) on the Celtic mythology of changelings and the fae, strangers are trapped in a bunker and terrorized by unseen horrors. An interesting enough idea, but the story is underdeveloped and predictable, and the writing is sophomoric. ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
💩 Devil House by John Darnielle
Multiple narratives converge in this fictional exploration of the world of true crime. Without a doubt, the most tedious, self-indulgent thing I’ve read in ages. ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Did you meet your 2025 reading goals? What was your favorite book read in the past year? Did you enjoy any of my flops? Dislike any of my favs? Share in the comments!
I have a Bookshop.org list of #spellbooksaturday features for folks to peruse, but in the spirit of transparency as a Bookshop.org affiliate, I receive a small percentage of book sales purchased through my links. If you find that off-putting, feel free to shop directly through Bookshop.org or your own local bookseller! My only goal here is to resist Amazon and the mega-rich.
DID YOU ENJOY THIS SPELLBOOK SATURDAY FEATURE? SHOP THE LIST ON BOOKSHOP.ORG, OR CHECK OUT SOME MORE READING RECOMMENDATIONS…
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