Reading Wrap Up / January 2025

[@jenntendo64system]

My first book of 2025 was Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. I wasn’t going to continue after the second book but I changed my mind after hearing Helen Fielding speak at the Women’s Prize event last year. I was strangely moved by this book - in addition to being funny, it was also sad and poignant at times. Fielding really is a brilliant writer - quick & clever & very sharp. Bridget is so relatable in her endearing messiness. A great start to the year!

[@chadjacobson2679]

My first book of the year was Kelly Link’s the Book of Love. Not usually my sort of book though I like fantasy. It was certainly a bit too long, especially in the beginning. But her otherworldly prose kept me interested.

[@BooksAreMyThing]

I’ve just started The Magic Mountain, a book I wanted to read for a very long time since I read Colm Tóibíns’s The Magician. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about it.

[@RyYa-h7h]

My first read of the year was Belarusian translation of Pride and Predjudice by Jane Austen. And by translator's excellence I was impressed. The book that will stay with me from this however is Serhiy Zhadan's Mesopotamia (translated into Belarusian wonderfully, although half of the book is prose and half is poetry, so one of the translators is actually a poet).

[@pamwhite768]

My first book of the year was The Vegetarian by Han Kang, out of curiosity after her Nobel win. It was a very interesting read. I also read Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka which I really liked.

[@rachelatherton7402]

I started the year finishing off Shadow of the Wind but my first full book of the year was Tom Lake. I love them both. So enjoyable. I have just finished reading The White Book by Han Kang, it was my first experience of her writing which I found so beautifully haunting.

[@MountainShadow8]

I read Mishima and found his writing beautiful, before I knew about him. It may be better that way, as it is with some other authors it seems.

[@raymondconners]

I love Murakami and Mishima.

[@sonjatonnesen8619]

The Magic Mountain sounds wonderful, looking forward hearing more when you’ve finshed it

[@penelopegough6050]

My first was Elif ShafakThere are Rivers in the Sky. I picked up The City and its Uncertain Walls from the Library yesterday and a copy of Our Evenings popped up on my library ereader . Very exciting . And Can’t wait for Juice. I’ve been on a holiday with friends and although I read a little at night it was not as I usually read 😂. Too much talk. Not enough quiet time. Home now so back to my usual reading schedule. Good reading month for you Eric. Thanks for sharing.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Shafak's new novel is a great one to start the year with! Hope you get a chance to read Hollinghurst's latest as well. So good. Yeah, I find I don't get much reading done on holidays either. I need my quiet reading time in the mornings at home. :)

[@paulinanowak8625]

I felt like I needed to start my year on a lighter note so read "All I know about love" by Dolly Alderton. Then I read "Kairos" by Jenny Erpenbeck, which is how I found your channel. I was on the fence about that one and needed to confront my thoughts with someone else's, and I must say that your review was on point! I'm currently reading "Hamnet" by Maggie O'Farrell and loving it so far. The Empusium is on my reading list for February too, so I'm delighted to hear it's been picked for your Feb book club :-) I share a mother tongue with the author and will be reading it in the original language. I can't wait to hear what you think of it. Love your videos, caught up with quite a few these past few days.

[@jackiesliterarycorner]

For January I read Flamebringer by Elle Katherine White, a final book in a trilogy. The trilogy was called Heartstone and was a fantasy retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Next I read Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. I listened to Dissolution by CJ Samson. I read The American Senator by Anthony Trollop, Lolas' House by M. Evelina Galang my first non-fiction, Grace of Kings by Ken Liu, and Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann.

[@sandaleenqaiser]

My first read of the year was Mohsin Hamid's 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist'. The allegory of Am(Erica) somehow felt more relevant than ever.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Great, I’ve read another book by Hamid but not that one.

[@eyesonindie]

I'm gearing up to read The Magic Mountain this month, too! (Also inspired by wanting to read The Empusium). But now I've ordered a bunch of books from the Republic of Consciousness Prize longlist (they sound so good!!) so who knows how I'll fit it all in! Thanks so much for sharing these great books!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yep, so much to read and The Magic Mountain is a commitment!

[@gillianlaker1033]

I read The Magic Mountain last year - the way he handles time is amazing. I particularly liked the skiing episode. The first book this year was Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown which I loved and made me determined to visit Orkney. I'm currently reading Ramona Ausubel's No-one Is Here Except All Of Us. It's quite dreamy and fairytale-like. An isolated Jewish town recreates itself through the power of story-telling as the outside world of the holocaust swirls around it. I'm not sure if it will end well.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I look forward to getting to that scene in Mann's novel. And Ausubel's book sounds so interesting!

[@heathersneddon8866]

My first book was Yoko Ogawa: Mina's Matchbox which was excellent. Last book of the month was the wonderful Our London Lives by Christine D Hickey ❤

[@tonyjensen7474]

My first of the year was Richard Powers’s Playground. Really beautiful writing in that.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

I loved the underwater scenes!

[@marciaalbaum2597]

the sunflower house it was terrific

[@TheEmzies]

I also read Juice in January. Agree that it is an excellent read.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

🧡

[@johnkimourada711]

Stone Yard Devotional was my first read of the year. It was a book that took on so much without ever feeling like too much.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Yes! So good!

[@neetupd8510]

My first read in 2025 was My sister's keeper by Jodi Picoult and it was a 5 star read....A very good novel!😊 It would be a great pick for a book club read....

[@EricKarlAnderson]

That’s good to hear!

[@moviemagus1921]

These sound so good! Juice is going up on my TBR now :D The first book I read was Dog Park by Sofi Oksanen. It was a great read but maybe a little too long for the story itself.

[@GeraldineRowe]

My first read of the year was The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard. I thought it would be a fun light read and while it was fun it was so much more than I'd expected. Highly recommended. Later in the month I read My Friends by Hisham Matar, mostly because of your reviews. I didn't think I was going to like it at first but it ended up being my first five star read of the year. I'm old enough to remember the shooting outside the Libyan embassy (I'm just a year or so younger than the narrator) and I found that passage very emotional.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Thanks for the Pollard recommendation! And I'm so glad you found My Friends to be so powerful.

[@alexiarichardson651]

I'm also currently reading The Magic Mountain! Seems like there are quite a few of us. I'm also currently in a German clinic, so that is a really interesting parallel for me (I will be really upset if I'm still here in seven years 😉)

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Hope you recover soon (and enjoy the book!)

[@BookwormAdventureGirl]

I want to read some Han Kang this year. Love the cover of A Guest in the House. It’s been a while since I’ve read Tim Winton. Maybe I will check out Juice. 😊💙

[@EricKarlAnderson]

😊📚

[@Rosiemayj]

So lovely to see your reading wrap up for January when I got home after a long day at work 😊 My first read of the year was Small Bomb At Dimperley by Lisa Evans, I enjoyed the humour in this novel so much, reminiscent of Barbara Pymm, I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. I also read Days Without End by Sebastian Barry, which was really brilliant

[@Rosiemayj]

I also read The vegetarian, which was my first Han Kang, I really really enjoyed this book

[@EricKarlAnderson]

That’s good to hear! 😊📚 so glad you enjoyed that novel by Evans. I loved her novel Crooked Heart. And so glad you loved Days Without End and The Vegetarian.

[@debbiesavage6272]

First was Time of the Child loved it. Just finished Tartufo by Kira Burton really enjoyed it too great start

[@debbiesavage6272]

Kira Buxton

[@annier5914]

my first read of the year was hello beautiful by ann napolitano!! i thought it was pretty solid - a well-written, poignant family saga

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Oh great! I’ve been wanting to read that.

[@rnee1000]

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. It's a unique story, expertly plotted and beautifully written! Don't miss it.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Oh I've been meaning to read that.

[@ΛΕΜΟΝΙΑΤΑΣΟΥΛΑ]

My first book of the year was the vegetarian! I came late to the game but I enjoyed it!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

That’s great to hear!

[@booksandsarcasm4713]

I felt very similarly about The Coin.

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Glad it wasn’t just me! 😅

[@KatrinaMuritala]

I read the house of my mother really good read

[@cindyhaiken5644]

My first read of 2025 was a Persephone Book, The Lady and Her Husband by Amber Reeves. I enjoyed it and it was ahead of its time but I did not love it. Funny how much importance we place on that first book of a new year! I’ve been thinking about reading Sweet Vidalia and really appreciate your thoughts!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Picking a Persephone Book to start the year is always a good choice!

[@jamesduggan7200]

The first thing finished in 2025 was Michael Crichton's Sphere, which is a major motion picture starring Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sharon Stone. It was for a live show and I enjoyed it very much, especially comparing the two versions of the story. I have not yet started Mann's Magic Mountain, mostly because I'm working my way through Steinbeck's East of Eden, Similarly, I haven't yet tried Han Kang, but I did read from the oeuvre of another Nobelist, Sinclair Lewis, an old favorite of mine. However, as expected It Can Happen Here is not representative of his best work.

[@user-qo6tz1oe1v]

My first book of 2025 was In A Country Of Mothers by A. M. Homes. Read a total of 10 books so far

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Wow, impressive you’re reading so much! 📚

[@janethansen9612]

The Coin is the first book I read for the year, and I did not like it. Juice was good, lots to think about in it and afterwards I find I am still thinking about it. The other stand out was Towards Eternity by Anton Hur which I very much enjoyed even though I'm not much of a sci fi reader, but it was really lovely.

[@rosemarybrandl7895]

The coin is long gone.

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

The best reads in January Shy Creatures The House of Broken Bricks

[@natalie.natalie.natalie]

I wonder recently who in literature tells about true life and who just made life up as a form of projection. I was so sad to hear that Alice Munro has such a dark biography and I feel betrayed by her as a woman and daughter 😢

[@natalie.natalie.natalie]

Murukami yes also in my twenties 😂 but he could not make it to my maturity. I am worried that those stories feed into darker and dangerous predator romanticism. 😢

[@rowan5109]

How do you find time to read that many books in a month?

[@aletachristopherson7847]

I am w you on The Coin! I didn't like it. I didn't dislike it. Confused. Just a bizarre book.

[@joanieb3849]

I love Murakami but totally could not stand this book