Last week I read my 100th book of the year. It happened to be The Sirens’ Call by Christopher Hayes (deep dive into how our devices suck our attention away from everything good in the world).

One hundred books? Yeah, I read a lot.

For context, I’m not on the same furious pace I set last year and I’m even behind 2023. But yeah, it’s still a lot.

Trends in 2025 reading so far…

• Romance: I somehow stumbled into the romance genre lately, and it’s taking off. Last year I added the category to my reading spreadsheet (yes, before then I didn’t even acknowledge it as something I would read) and it hit 5%. So far this year it’s at 14% and rising (my current read is romance and about a quarter of my to-read stack is romance). Why romance? I might spend the rest of this year teasing out the answer to that question: Do I find the formulaic plots comforting in a time of intense turmoil? Is the characterization deeper and better than other genres? Is the titillating voyeurism a knee jerk response to trad wifery?
• Diversity: The number of diverse books I’ve read (defined as written by or starring a person of color) has tanked this year. Normally I’m in the 50% range, so far this year I’m at 37%. When there’s a literal battle being waged against diversity in society at large, it’s hard not to see this as a capitulation. I’m not sure if I could draw a clear line between the two, or if this is just a natural ebb and flow.
• Library: My local library closed for renovations in April, and I’m curious to see the impact that has. So far no change in the stats, though I did go a month or two without checking out any library books and made a big dent in my new books shelf (until this month when I went on a bender and checked out 10 books).
• Goals: In recent years I’ve set a number of reading goals for myself. It gives a little direction to my reading and ensures I’m finding things with intention. I’m missing a few goals so far, particularly the diversity ones (more Black authors in February, more women in March, more Asian authors in May, etc.).

What’s worth reading?

Here are a few of my five-star reads so far:

• Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor – I haven’t been able to get into her books lately, but this one was incredible.
• The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick – Incredible voice.
• Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez – The wry, honest voice of the main character is so great I could read about him doing chores.
• The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams – Loved the jock narration voice and tweaking the typical romance storyline by focusing on a married couple.

How Do You Read So Much?!

I wrote a whole book about it. Don’t worry, it’s short.