25 Books in 2025

 As always, at the end of the year, the list of grand plans I had comes to the forefront of my mind-- the crafts I would make, the recipes I would try, the idea that 2025 was the year I would finally exercise consistently... I've gotten better at not berating myself for the things I didn't do. 

What I did do in 2025:

+ taught so many classes

+ directed the high school version of SIX

+ made slipcovers for my living room furniture with my mom's help

+ continued my quest to find the perfect pair of clogs

+ got into the Lake of the Ozarks for the first (and only) time

+ spent a lot of time with my daughter

And, I read. I read 25 books this year, which is nice because last year, I read 24. Here's my list: 

1) Whose Names are Unknown - Sonora Babb

2) Dark Tales - Shirley Jackson

3) The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

4) No One is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood

5) Slow Days, Fast Company - Eve Babitz

6) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot

7) Bright Young Women - Jessica Knoll

8) Disaster at 39,000 Feet - Enfys McMurray

9) Tom Lake - Ann Patchett (audiobook read by the incomparable Meryl Streep)

10) The Late Americans - Brandon Taylor

11) The Wood in Midwinter - Susanna Clark

12) The Britannies - An Archipelago's Tale - Alice Albinia

13) Ordinary Wonder Tales - Emily Urquhart

14) Hangsaman - Shirley Jackson

15) My Antonia - Willa Cather

16) The Strange Bird - Jeff Vandermeer

17) Intermezzo - Sally Rooney

18) Fall on Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald

19) A Map of the World - Jane Hamilton

20) Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

21) North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

22) Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

23) Dead Man's Cellphone - Sarah Ruhl (play)

24) Pride and Prejudice - Kate Hamill (play)

25) All the Lives We Ever Lived - Katherine Smythe (finished today!)

Yes, I did include the books I taught, because I read them thoroughly. My favorite read this year was Urquhart's essay collection. I deeply love Gaskell's works, so teaching one of her novels was a dream come true. And, I'm directing the Hamill adaptation of P&P in the spring. Curious to see if I can push it to 26 books in the new year!