Reading List for 2025

Welcome to my end of year report and 2025 reading list. Before we get to the book list let me write down some end of year thoughts. 

2025 was a seriously hard year. It made 2024 look like a walk in the park, and 2024 was bad. Even before I did the tally of books read for the year, I already knew I read a lot less than previous years. In the big picture, the Pendejo In Chief and his Party of Stupid regime have been terrible for the United States to the point the rest of the world is basically staying away from this country. Closer to home, some stress from work and changes in the workplace. Last summer we also had to travel out of state for a funeral. Overall there is a constant tense energy in the air. Best I can do is take it a day at a time and make sure I do my best to care for myself and those close to me.  

On social media, these days my two primary places are Bluesky, which during 2025 starting taking some serious turns towards enshittification, and Mastodon; I am on the mas.to server, but you can connect with me there if you are on any of the many Mastodon servers. I am keeping my eye out for other social media options in part in case I need to leave Bluesky and in part because I do like trying out new sites. 

I still keep my presence on Facebook, mainly due to my library's FB page which I help maintain. I know my superiors are leaning to deleting it, but they also still use it for announcements and outreach, and despite low stats, anecdotally I know students still in FB do see our stuff. For now, I am hanging in there and only logging into Facebook when necessary. 

I do have a LinkedIn I have not used in years, but I am afraid I may need to start using it, in part because our college has gone all in on LinkedIn and their learning modules, so I may need to get more active on it in part to access the learning modules and show students how to use them. So far, I have not needed it. We'll see how that may go. 

Overall, I am keeping my social media relatively minimal, mainly Bluesky and Mastodon. Reminder you can always find me here on the blog, at least for now. 

On blogging, this blog remains my primary blog and site.Here you can find book reviews, cartomancy reviews, some book and reading related content, and a few miscellaneous posts. If interested, I usually post here on Fridays, but I may post other days as needed. 

My professional blog, Notes from a Simple Librarian, remains open, but I am not worrying about it much. I may do a post here or there if I find something in librarianship I want to write about or make a note on some LIS reading I may have done, but otherwise it's mostly dormant at this point. While I do continue reading the LIS literature, I don't always have the time to make notes and post them on the blog. I am not reading as much in the LIS literature as I could be reading, but it is what it is. I am doing the best I can in terms of keeping up with the profession. Overall, I've made peace with that. 

My second blogging focus is on Alchemical Thoughts, my cartomancy and commonplace book blog. I continue to enjoy writing about parts of my cartomancy and magic craft journey on the blog. Despite the clusterfuck that was 2025, I still managed to do some writing over there on my cartomancy and magical craft, doing and posting spreads, and other writing and commonplace notes. If interested, I tend to post to this blog on Wednesdays, other days as needed. 

On things I've mentioned previously: 

• My politics/social issues/activist stuff moratorium has softened quite a bit. Given the Hard Times, I feel I cannot completely tune out politics/social issues/activist stuff. I still try to keep tuning into that to a minimum, but I cannot completely tune it out. One way for me to do my part is to keep learning and educating myself, so I am reading more books in those areas. 
• My boycott against the publishers that sued Internet Archive, their imprints, and any other defending those publishers continues strong. I do not foresee ending it any time soon, and while I know I am only one librarian and reader, I am making my displeasure known. On a positive, as I mentioned last year, is that I have discovered many new to me independent publishers putting out some very nice work I want to read. I still have the intention of writing a bit more on how this boycott has worked for me. We'll see if I find the time. 
• A reminder: Want to see what movies and media I watched? Click on the blog tag for "Film and television."  I do brief reviews of movies and media I watch, mostly movies that are new to me, i.e. not brand new (think back list).  

As one year ends and a new one begins, I am grateful to my four readers who support me and keep coming back to read what I write and/or share it with others. Thank you, and I hope you keep coming back. If you can, feel free to bring a friend or two.  

 

So here is the 2025 list. If you see a book title with an asterisk (*), that is a book I reread. If I have written a review for a book, it is on this blog. 

 

January: 

 

• Graham McNeill, The Iron Warriors Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000).
• Elaine C. Kamarck, Lies that kill. 

 

February: 

• Peter Mohrbacher, Angelarium: Oracle of Emanations (kit with card deck and book).

 

March: 

• William J. Barber II, White Poverty.
• Leiji Matsumoto, Captain Harlock the Classic Collection, Volume 3. 
• Jackson Lanzig, Star Trek: Day of Blood.
• Simon Spurrier, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Volume 6: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon.
• Kieron Guillen, Star Wars, Volume 7: The Ashes of Jedha.
• Michele Santamaria and Nicole Pfannenstiel, Information Literacy and Social Media.
• Barbara Moore, Tarot Spreads. 
• Pamela Chen and Ashley Cassaday, Steampunk Faerie Tarot (kit with card deck and book).
• Alana Fairchild, Crystal Mandala Oracle (kit with card deck and book). 
• Charlie Claire Burgess, Radical Tarot.

 

April: 

• Bill J. Leonard, Appalachian Mountain Christianity.
• Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, Harley's Little Black Book. 
• Lawrence R. Samuel, Literacy in America. 
• Minerva Siegel, Tarot for Self-Care. 
• Mark Ryan, et.al., The Wildwood Tarot (kit with card deck and book).
• Archie Goodwin, et.al., Eerie Archives, Volume 3. 
• S.A. Barnes, Ghost Station. 

 

May: 

• Various authors, Honour Imperialis (Warhammer 40,000). 
• Aaron Sigmond, Cigars: a Biography.

 

June: 

• Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin, Easy Lenormand (kit with card deck and book).
• Colette Baron-Reid, The Enchanted Map Oracle (blue edition. Kit with card deck and book).
• Elie Mystal, Bad Law. 
• Dan Abnett, Prospero Burns (Horus Heresy, Book 15). 
• Christian Blauvelt, Be More Vader. 
• Cassandra Snow, ed., Tarot in Other Words. 
• Darkness Prevails with Carman Carrion, Appalachian Folklore Unveiled. 

 

July: 

• Cory Doctorow, The Internet Con.
• Alec Macgillis, Fulfillment. 

 

August: 

• Samantha Rose Hicks, Talking with the Tarot. 
• Jim Davis, Garfield Fat Cat 3-pack, Volume 14.*
• Connie Banta, et.al., This Book is Free and Yours to Keep. 
• Shaun Bythell, The Diary of a Bookseller.
• Randy Crutcher, Cosmic Cat Wisdom Cards (kit with card deck and book).
• Paul Kepple, Housewives Tarot (kit with card deck and book).
• Tom Gauld, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories. 

 

September: 

• Jack Chanek, Tarot for the Magically Inclined. 

 

October: 

• John O'Conner, The Secret History of Bigfoot. 
• Mara Einstein, Hoodwinked. 
• Becky Siegel Spratford, ed., Why I Love Horror. 

 

November:  

• Garry J. Shaw, Cryptic. 
• Laura and Sandra Caputo, Otherworld Oracle (kit with card deck and book). 
• Chuck Collins, Burned by Billionaires. 
• Adam Szetela, This Book is Dangerous! 
• Bill Parente, et.al., Eerie Archives, Volume 4. 

 

December: 

• Pietro Alligo, Joker Tarot (kit with card deck and book). 
• Courtney Weber, Hekate: Goddess of Witches. 
• Stephen Starring Grant, Mailman.  

 

 

Number of books read in 2025: 50, including 1 re-read.  

 

 

Number of books read in 2024: 83, including one re-read (the 2024 list).

Number of books read in 2023: 80, including 3 re-reads (the 2023 list). 

Number of books read in 2022:  82, including 5 re-reads (the 2022 list).

Number of books reading in 2021: 69, including 3 re-reads (the 2021 list).

Number of books read in 2020: 80, including 5 re-reads (the 2020 list).

Number of books read in 2019: 72   (the 2019 list).

Number of books read in 2018: 74, including 2 re-reads (the 2018 list).
Number of books read in 2017: 84 (the 2017 list).
Number of books read in 2016: 92, including re-reads (the 2016 list).
Number of books read in 2015: 123, including 2 re-reads (the 2015 list).
Number of books read in 2014: 152, including 2 re-reads (the 2014 list).
Number of books read in 2013: 173, including 2 re-reads (the 2013 list).
Number of books read in 2012: 117, with 6 re-reads (the 2012 list).
Number of books read in 2011: 119, with 3 re-reads (the 2011 list). 
Number of books read in 2010:  119, with 6 rereads (the 2010 list).
Number of books read in 2009: 98, with 5 rereads. I believe this is the first time I started to actively track rereads. (the 2009 list).
Number of books read in 2008: 111 (the 2008 list).
Number of books read in 2007: 85 (the 2007 list).
Number of books read in 2006: 106 (the 2006 list).
Number of books read in 2005: 73 

 

Commentary and thoughts on numbers:  

 

As I mentioned, I felt that I read less this year, and sure enough, I read quite a bit less in 2025. One reason is just have to look around at the current clusterfuck. I also did pick up a few omnibus editions and other long books that took me a long time to read. Heck, I am still slowly getting through Alhazred, which is seriously long. I am carrying that one into 2026, and with luck may finish it this year. Yet I've also just been tired between work and the world around me, so felt like reading less, or often just fell asleep at end of day after reading a page or two in a book. It was a rough year for reading, yet I am grateful I did still read the amount of books I did. We'll see how 2026 goes. At this point, I am not making predictions on how many books I may read in 2026. I will just keep reading, and we'll see at the end of 2026. Oh, a positive note: I did complete all of my reading challenges for 2025. As of this writing, I am still deciding which reading challenges, if any, I may do for 2026, so stay tuned. 

 

The numbers: 

 

 

 

Annual reading report elements: 

 

Numbers: 

 

Re-reads: 1, the Garfield book, which was a comfort read. 

 

Best reading month: March with 10 books. 

Worst reading month:  A tie between February and September with 1 book each. September makes sense as it is very busy season in an academic library. February was just not that good last year. and it is also somewhat busy time at work. 

 

Books read in print: 37

E-books reading (includes galleys): 13

Read in audio: 0. 

 

I prefer print, and that preference remained strong in 2025.  

 

Graphic novels (includes comics): 8

Manga: 1

 

I usually read a few more graphic novels, comics, and/or manga, so that is another small sign of how bad 2025 was for the reading mood.  

 

Fiction (not including manga nor graphic novels): 4

Nonfiction:  37

 

I am more a nonfiction reader than fiction, and this year is no exception. For me, I can pick up nonfiction a bit easier because it feels like I can drop it and pick it up again easier if I get interrupted. Fiction tends to require more concentration to follow a plot. However, fiction tends to work better for me when I need some serious escapism. At least two of the fiction books I read were omnibus editions that contain more than one novel, so technically if I had picked up the individual works, my fiction number could've been higher, but that is a small detail. Lately, I've been trying to read short stories to see if I can get into fiction a bit more. So far, not too successful as I pick up a short fiction collection, read a story or two, then can't seem to get back to it. It feels like a symptom of the malaise of the Hard Times. However, I am not ready to give up yet. One bit of fiction I do enjoy is Warhammer 40,000; I tend to stick with those, so there is that. I will just keep trying other fiction a bit at a time. As for nonfiction, I have plenty of choices to read. 

 

Library books: 

 

• Berea branch, Madison County Public Library:1
• Eastside branch, Lexington Public Library: 11
• Hutchins Library, Berea College: 12
• Interlibrary Loan: 0.  

The Lexington Public Library tends to have a larger selection of comics and graphic novels. However, their key feature for me is that they offer unlimited renewals. As long as no one else recalls a book or puts it on hold, I can keep renewing it. As a slow reader I find that feature very helpful. Madison County Public Library needs to get with the program; they still restrict loans to two renewals. For me, even though it is a bit of a drive, it is easier to make the trip to the Eastside branch once a month or so while I also go do the monthly Costco run. I can just stock up on a few books out of Eastside which can last me for a while and not worry about having to rush them back. In addition, in 2025 I started making more of an effort to read some of the books my library gets. Those are more academic, so I balance those with what I borrow from the public library. In addition, reading books from my library allows me to get a better sense of what is coming into the collection, and once in a while it is useful for research consultations when I can recommend to a student a book on their research topic that I have actually read. 

 

In terms of e-book options, I have access to Madison County Public and Lexington Public holdings through Libby. In addition, Madison County Public also has Hoopla. However, I have not felt a need to use Libby nor Hoopla as much given I can find plenty to read in print. So most of my e-book reading is either galleys or a book or two I may own. 

 

Books I own: see my list of reading challenges for 2025. I read 24 books I own last year, which is pretty darn good for me.  

 

Books borrowed from anyone (not family) or recommended by others: 0.

 

Other numbers of interest to me:

 

• Erotica: 0. The Hard Times are just awful when it comes to reading erotica. I may have read a short fiction piece here or there, but nothing worth mentioning. As I wrote at the start of 2025, I have a feeling 2026 will not be better in terms of improving the mood to read erotica. Having said that, an observation, it seems some erotica writing has declined, at least the publishing of anthologies and collections. I am sure plenty of it is being written in forums, Literotica, and similar places but I am just not seeing actual more traditional publications in erotica as I used to see a few years ago. I may out of curiosity look into that, but it is not a priority at this moment. 
• LIS and reference: 3. One of them is an LIS book. The other two are not technically LIS, but their topics are relevant to the field, so they get included here. 
• Tarot and Oracle (includes deck companion books): 16. 
• Other esoterica/pagan/spirituality: 1.
• Netgalley: 2. Netgalley this year implemented Thorium and the associated DRM that goes with it. I tried it out, and to put it charitably, it is a pain in the ass to use. It's so bad I have decided I am no longer requesting anything new out of Netgalley. I will post reviews for some older items, that I may have a copy via a library, but otherwise Netgalley is pretty much dead to me. 
• Edelweiss Plus: 8. This has become the reliable way to get e-book galleys for review. Their system, Adobe, works. I am not a fan of Adobe's DRM, but compared to the clusterfuck that is Netgalley's new system, it works. I pray to the Cosmic Joker Edelweiss does not follow Netgalley's way because at that point they'll be dead to me too. While I enjoy reading newer works as ARCs, it is not an essential thing for me, and I have plenty of books I can borrow to keep reading and doing reviews.   
• On a side note, EBSCO, one of the big library database vendors, just went with Thorium for their e-book DRM. I usually don't read e-books from my library because they are on EBSCO, J-Stor, or some academic publisher, and they are all a pain in the ass to download and read when compared to the ease of using Libby. My electronic resources librarian tells me that very few patrons actually download a full e-book from our holdings. Mostly our patrons may download a chapter here or there for research, but no one is really reading whole e-books from our collection. But that is another story for another day. 
• Other books offered for review, i.e. not Netgalley nor Edelweiss Plus. These books come from a publisher, author, editor, etc. that offered me a book or that I requested. Once in a while a book comes in unsolicited, so I may be on someone's list, which is fine: 1, and it was a duplicate since I got it via Edelweiss Plus for review. Happens sometimes.  
• Books in Spanish: 0. This was not even on my radar in 2025; that's how bad the year was. 
• True crime: 0. This was not on the radar much either. In addition, it seems a good amount of books in this genre are published by publishers on my boycott plan, so they tend to be a bit harder to find for me. 
• Food and drink: 0. Also not on the radar. 
• Poetry: 0. Not even a priority at this point, and to be honest, not sure if I will pick up any poetry in 2026.
• Appalachian and regional: 3. I am adding this category this year. This is not an area that is within my reading profile, but I do make a small effort to read a bit in this area given my place of work and our student population. Three for the year is pretty good. 
• Books that broke the politics/social issues/activist moratorium: 10. As I mentioned above, the moratorium is softening, and I am gradually stepping away from it. In the Hard Times, I do need to be informed, and I need to be able to share what I learn with others.   

 

This time last year I was reading the following books. Links go to the reviews: 

• William J. Barber II with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, White Poverty. (As you can see, I started the year breaking moratorium here).
  
• Various authors, Honour Imperialis (Warhammer 40,000. This is an omnibus edition of three novels by different authors plus a few short stories). 
• Xueting Christine Ni, ed., Sinophagia: a Celebration of Chinese Horror. I ended up dropping this one, but I am still keeping it in the TBR list to try again later. 
• Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, Harley's Little Black Book. 
• Barbara Moore, Tarot Spreads. 

 

As we start 2026, I am reading the following books: 

 

• Ellen Datlow, ed., Christmas and Other Horrors: a Winter Solstice Anthology.
• Danie Ware, The Rose at War (Warhammer 40,000. An omnibus with some short stories and novellas featuring the Adepta Sororitas). 
• Hu Anyan, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing. 
• Soma Chaudhuri and Jane Ward, eds., The Witch Studies Reader.  
• Donald Tyson, Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon. This is a carry over from last year, and I hope I can finish it in 2026.  

 

Finally to wrap up, here are a few bloggers I have found who do end of year reading lists and surveys: 

 

• Counter Craft offers their best books they read in 2025, that were NOT published in 2025.
• Feed Your Fiction Addiction has their end of year book survey. Sadly, they just announced they are closing down their blog after 2025.  
• Based on a True Story has their wrap up. 
• Jessamyn West has her 2025 reading list and commentary. 
• Literary Saloon points out to a few people who still do end of year reading posts.  

 

As I have mentioned before, finding other bloggers doing this is challenging given there are few active blogs out there that provide good writing consistently. It seems every year one or two blogs I follow go extinct. As for me, I will keep on blogging as long as I can. 

If you made it this far, thank you for reading and stopping by. I wish you all a safe, happy, and prosperous 2026, and may you find many good books to read.