Tag: book review

It should be noted as the first thing in this post that I am not doing this again this year. There are a few states that have got harder and harder each year to find something that I want to read for them and every year there are books I end up carrying on with that I’m not enjoying so that I can tick the state off. And this feeds into the next issue: the last two months of the year always turn into a mad rush to get things finished – rather than reading what I fancy. And this is when I end up reading those books that I’m not enjoying so that I can get to the end.

But more importantly I find myself thinking about whether I should read x book now or save it to be a state for next year because I’ve already ticked that state off this year. Sometimes that’s the next book in a series, sometimes it’s a new arrival altogether. I’d even already started a chart for 2026 with the things I had in stock and which states they match to. Add to that the fact that with Beverly Jenkins’ Blessings series seemingly complete and I’m nearly at end of the Cupcake Bakery Series and I’m out Kansas and Arizona and it just makes me feel tired thinking about it.

It’s also one too many things to do – I can try and reduce the to-read pile and I can try and reduce the NetGalley backlog, but I can’t do those two *and* read 50 states and the 50 states is the thing I enjoy least. So it’s going and that’s my New Year’s Reading Resolution. That said, here is the final 2025 list, which I completed at 1.30 in the morning of the 28th – a few days earlier than usual but some of these read with much suffering on my part when I would rather have given up on them.

And as this is the last time, here’s a link back to all the lists from previous years: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020, that last one reminding me that this was a pandemic era development and like so many things from the annus horribilis that was 2020 we can quietly let it go. This isn’t quite the last thing you’ll hear about the 50 states – there’s definitely a Recommendsday coming for some of these, but also there’s a bunch of books in series on here that I’m sure you’ll hear more about at some point too.

Pinch, punch, first day of the month etc to you all – and watch out for April Fool’s jokes today. I used to enjoy going through the newspapers on April first to try and spot the joke stories and adverts. I have a long ago memory of one for a car company (BMW I think) boasting about a new feature on their cars that would turn the oven on from the car to help you with the dinner prep when you got home. I remember how outlandish it seemed at the time – and now here we are in the smart home era with devices of all sorts controllable from your phone – should you want to. Anyway, to today’s book…

The Rest of Our Lives follows Tom, who drives his 18-year-old daughter to college in Pittsburgh – and then keeps driving. Various aspects of his life are not going to plan and he drifts himself into a road trip to try and escape. Years earlier when his wife had an affair, Tom had decided that when their youngest child left for college he would leave the marriage – and that moment has now arrived. But it’s also arrived at a moment when he’s just been suspended from his job after his students complained about the politics of his law class, and he’s got a health issue that he’s busy ignoring but from the descriptions you get of it, he really shouldn’t be.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this from the blurb – it could have been a Rich People Problems novel but it’s actually more of a mid life crisis novel. Tom’s in denial about his health, doesn’t want to tell his wife about his work situation or to deal with the underlying issue in their relationship so he finds an excuse to up and run. He doesn’t seem to have anyone in his life that he can talk to properly about things, so you see him find excuses for what he’s doing to the people he meets – right up until the point that he can’t any more. It’s not a long book, but it’s got a lot going on and leaves you with some things to think about as it deals with male loneliness, morality and mortality. It doesn’t have the level of resolution that I get from my regular reads of mystery and romance – but I enjoyed it never the less and it’s a thought provoking read that I think would work really well for book clubs and people who like to read book-club type books.

The Rest of Our Lives came out last week. My copy came via NetGalley, but as you can see I’ve already seen it in the shops, so you should be able to get hold of it ok. And of course it’s also in Kindle and Kobo for £3.99 at time of posting, which is pretty good for a new release hardback.

Happy reading!