#12BooksOf2025
September: another tie between a nonfiction title---Emotional Labor by Rose Hackman---and a fiction title---The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai.

@TheEllieMo

My January 2026 #bookspinbingo strategy involves some specific titles but mostly categories, the titles for which I'll fill in as I see what comes available from the library when, so there are a lot of blank spaces on my card at the moment (the categories and corresponding numbers are on the opposite page). #bookspin and #doublespin are both "Christmas books", and I finished my first of these last night before the spin.
@TheAromaofBooks

This darkly funny pseudo-stream-of-consciousness novel is a quick read and an interesting look at daily life when everything feels like it's falling apart. It feels also like a cautionary tale about refusing the connections that are around us and/or losing our selves in our connections. (One of my Christmas library books from my spouse.)

Photo: Brooklyn Public Library, December 2016.

It's a new record! My Year in Books is up within 24 hours of the new year starting! https://imperfecthappiness.org/2026/01/01/2025-my-year-in-books/

Many thanks to my spouse for being (mostly) patient about me using the device on which he would like to watch football to post about books.

#12BooksOf2025
August: One Man's Meat by E.B. White. My teenage son says, "Pause," whenever I say the title, but I love this quiet, reflective book of essays by the author of Charlotte's Web (before he wrote Charlotte's Web).

@TheEllieMo

Trying something a little different for January's #bookspin doublespin list. I have been having a problem putting titles on my list and then not getting them from the library in time to read them that month, so I'm being less specific with most of my selections. We shall see how this goes with this month's #bookspinbingo. I'm nervous that, without the titles right here, I'll just go full mood-read mode. Which is fine, too.
@TheAromaofBooks

Completed December #bookspinbingo card. 1 bingo! And a couple of books I *almost* finished before the ball dropped that will be on my January card.

@TheAromaofBooks

So...this is a conversion story masquerading as a crime thriller? Anarchists, a secret grotto, a great balloon chase, some interesting social commentary ("When duty and religion are really destroyed, it will be by the rich."). I have no idea why I put this on my TBR, but I'm done with it now. Soft pick. #Roll100 2025 (but first finished of 2026 because I was too sleepy to finish it last night)

#12BooksOf2025
July: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor. I loved this novel and thought it was brilliant. Earlier in the year I read Playground by Richard Powers (liked but not a fave) and was struck by how similar the themes are but how differently the two authors handle them.

@TheEllieMo

My son recommended this book to me, and when I got to Part II, I understood why (although explaining the connection would be a spoiler, so I'll leave it vague). I'm not generally a fan of Sherlock Holmes mysteries, but this one is enjoyable. I like how the complexity comes from misjudging the path that led to the conclusion rather than from contrived and unlikely twists.

#12BooksOf2025
In June, my family continued our tradition of listening to Kevin Wilson books on road trips with Run for the Hills. It wasn't our favorite of Wilson's novels, but it was my favorite read from June.

@TheEllieMo

#12BooksOf2025 May was a tie, one fiction---Erasure by Percival Everett---and one nonfiction---The Bill of Obligations by Richard Haass.

@TheEllieMo

Finally, some time to read (with an appropriately hued beverage).

A note on the background: My kids played games with friends last night, and I'm waiting them out to see if they'll put them away on their own. Same with my spouse's scientific papers.

#12BooksOf2025 Day 4: The Home Place by J. Drew Lanham, another win resulting from trying to read what my kids are reading in school (this is one my college kid read for an environmental nonfiction class).

@TheEllieMo

When I read Modernist literature, I feel more empowered than usual to interpret it in exactly the way I want to regardless of the author's intention. I don't pretend to know what Nabokov means with this novel, but I see the many ways in which we are complicit in incarcerating ourselves in a false mode of existence. We are more than advertisers, corporations, and those seeking our votes think, but recognizing this takes awareness and courage.

A contemplative look at the nature of memory and how the experiences of our youth can stick with us in unexpected ways. It's also about the challenges of family and navigating both their expectations of us and how these are colored by their own experiences/biases/traumas, which reminds me of so many other books of the recent past. I like it quite a bit, but I'm not sure I love it. #BookerPrize2025 Longlist

#12BooksOf2025 Book 3: Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

@TheEllieMo

Thank you for the lovely #NaughtyListHolidaySwap, @BarkingMadRead ! I'm so excited to read the books, the bookmarks are awesome, and the decorative sign is perfect for the "Spirits and Spirits" (ghost stories and cocktails) party we're hosting this weekend!

And thank YOU for hosting #nlhs, @WildAlaskaBibliophile and @TieDyeDude !

January: The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck
February: I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

#12BooksOf2025 @TheEllieMo

Christmas book stack, including both new books and the traditional library books my spouse has gotten for me every year for the past 25-ish years (different books each year, always library books). Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and a very lovely Thursday to all who celebrate...Thor's Day? (Spouse also got me bee-themed coupe glasses, which I appreciate along with the tagged.)

My #jolabokaflodswap with detail of the beautiful presentation (I kept the book paper to use on future gifts!). I can't wait to curl up with some dark chocolate treats and see what this book I've been hearing so much about is like. Thank you so much, @LMJenkins !
@MaleficentBookDragon

Is Cincinnatus in perimenopause? Because I can totally relate to this paragraph. The rest of this very Modernist novel-in-translation...I'm not sure.

Our epic Christmas Week rainstorm is rolling in so the lighting is icky, but the cookies are yum. Cookies, coffee, book: The holiday has officially begun at my house.

1) Gained clarity around my goals and priorities for teaching and volunteer work.
2) Made progress recognizing my unhelpful/maladaptive behavior patterns and taking responsibility for addressing them.
3) Narrated my first full audiobook.

2025 has been an uncomfortable learning year, and I suspect 2026 will be similarly challenging, but thank you, @Eggs , for the reminder to celebrate the positives. #majicmonday

#Jolabokaflodswap arrived! @LMJenkins @MaleficentBookDragon

Did someone from Litsy send me this sweet tote? It arrived from the store/distributor with no note, and I'm 97% certain I didn't order it for myself and then forgot I ordered it. I'd love to know whom to thank!

It took me a while, but I finally got my November Bookends Post up: https://imperfecthappiness.org/2025/12/20/bookends-november-2025/

Now to settle in and enjoy some tea and a book (and maybe a cat or two) while I try to fight off the winter cold I've managed to come down with this week. Fingers crossed that with that prescription (cats, tea, books, rest), I'll be 100% (or close to it) before the big holiday hustle begins!

This novel takes the term "housewife" literally. It's a creepy and emotional look at the way that patterns of behavior and cultural expectations keep women tied to certain roles and how little time changes that. It reminds me a bit of "The Yellow Wallpaper." Despite the spooky occurrences, the direction the novel took left me feeling more hopeless than creeped out.

I usually audiowalk, but I opted not to listen to the tagged while walking through the fog the other night. The ambience was creepy enough without adding a creepy story. I'm content to listen at home and let my family startle me by walking into the room.

I was a little surprised that I only missed one question. I don't think of myself as a huge Home Alone fan, but I guess I saw it during my formative years so it stuck with me. Also I'm pretty sure I saw it about a dozen times, so that probably plays into it.

Thanks for the tag, @dabbe ! #TTT

I appreciate the nonlinear way that this novel is told. It mimics the way that memories come to mind, one leading to another without respect to chronology. The father-daughter relationship here also feels accurate, portraying the desperation that can overtake even the most settled of grown-ups when their connection to a parent---especially a parent whose presence is unreliable---is threatened. Insecure attachment...the gift that keeps on giving.

This book is not perfect. It's got more of the author's own life in it than I prefer, and Clayton invokes two individuals whose writings I find insufferable, but it also brings together so many elements that speak to me and puts different experiences, relationships, and reactions into context. It offers validation, research (such as it is), and actionable suggestions, and these are valuable enough to me that the positives outweigh the negatives.

I visited the rose garden in the mist yesterday, and the roses looked candied. #beautybreak

I had a lovely morning! Dropped my teen off to rehearse for Tuba Christmas then audio-wandered around the park and the zoo listening to the tagged and pondering what it is I want separate from others' needs. The highlights were misty roses (I'll probably share those photos later) and a pair of red-shouldered hawks in the Andean bear enclosure. And the tuba playing, of course. I love brass ensemble music at the holidays.

1) Both a joy and a ?: Younger kid drove to school today (learner's permit fun!).
2) Birthday week brought exploration of parts of town I don't usually get to explore, including a cute coffee shop, AND a class of 4-year-olds sang me "Happy Birthday".
3) Seasonal foliage and decor at the park.
4) I adopted an avocado tree and named it Larry.
5) Semiannual haircut!

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

My teen had a concert at a local college, and after we dropped him off for his call time, his dad and I wandered campus and (of course) ended up at the library where we found these adorable reshelving carts with "Hello! My Name Is" badges. The names are Shelvester Stallone, Arnold Shelvinator, Buffy the Vampire Shelver, and Mishelve Obama. I find them delightful.

I'm not a big fan of the Creative Writing MFA Meta-fiction genre, but I love an unreliable narrator, so those two things together kind of even each other out (and Robbie is unreliable, even to the point that it's difficult to tell when the story takes place...Robbie says she's a "Zoomer" at 23, but Simone is GenX at not yet 40; the math doesn't work*). Like young MFA students, the novel is a bit precious, but also clever and reasonably enjoyable.

I had a busy but fun birthday yesterday. I even had a few moments to start a book while enjoying patio coffee. I always worry that I bring sadness to artistic baristas by opting for alternative milks that don't do well for foam art. I should probably always pick oat milk (except that I like almond better).

Today is lots of meetings, recording auditions, and later a concert my teen is playing in, so I'm glad I got a little downtime yesterday.

#NLHS and #JolabokaflodSwap went out today. #NLHS is in two boxes because one thing was the tiniest bit too big for the one box and I knew if I delayed to wait for the right size box for everything, I might not get the swap out in time.

@WildAlaskaBibliophile @TieDyeDude @MaleficentBookDragon

Maybe a little more straightforward than I'd like as far as the symbolism goes, but it's a cute idea, and I was invested for the duration of this short novel. There's a lot here about the limitations of shaping ourselves to please others, feeling like we don't belong and worrying that we'll never be loved and clinging to things and people out of fear. It's a very young book in that sense. I mean, I'm older than the MC's parents. #tob26 longlist

I've mentioned it on Litsy before, but volunteering with the literacy-focused nonprofit Words Alive is one of the highlights of my week. The organization is having a big fundraising push, and if you'd like to learn more about Words Alive and the work I do with them, please visit the link below (and if you're moved to donate, that would totally rock):

https://charity.centuryclubsd.org/fundraiser/6848737

I searched the internet hoping the reality TV show The Swan was made up for the book, but alas, it really aired. For two seasons. I would have known if I hadn't forgotten about the existence of Extreme Makeover.

When one of the avocado trees we grew from a pit died, I bought a salvia to plant in its place. I can see it from my regular reading and tea-drinking spot, and I love watching the hummingbirds and bees and hoverflies visit. It gives me the sense that I'm collaborating with Nature. (No hummingbirds in this photo, but I know they're out there.) @Eggs #MajicMonday

I finished this one late last night. It's not really my thing, but my sister and I are trying to reinvigorate our Sisters Book Club, and this book has sisters in it. I like the descriptions of New Zealand and of surfing, but there are too many emotional non sequiturs and about-faces for my taste. I felt like the author was trying to manipulate my emotions, which isn't something I enjoy. It's a decent story, though.

Received my #nlhs #naughtylistholidayswap! I opened the box not knowing it was the swap, but once I figured it out, I didn't open any of the contents and I set it aside for opening day. @BarkingMadRead

I'm waiting on one more item I ordered to arrive and then I'll be packing up and shipping my swap. Hopefully that will go out Tuesday, but I'll update when it's on its way.

@WildAlaskaBibliophile @TieDyeDude

I don't totally get this novel, but it seems to be about a true crime author who is reckoning with the reality of his profession and at a deeper level about how a story can be factually accurate without being true. There's no such thing as objective storytelling. The author has to pick sides---protagonist, antagonist, villain, hero---which is by definition not objective. There's also something vulnerable here about how we've all been children.

I audiowrapped some presents while listening to the tagged book. In related news, after 26 years, our previous little tree was too dilapidated to continue, so we got a "big" one (5.5 feet tall) to start using this year. It's our first time with a tree we put on the floor instead of on a table. I want to get some creepy ornaments for it, but my family aren't as into the idea.

This book totally hit the spot for me. It's tragic and terrifying on a global scale while at the same time fiercely personal and quiet. I love how the story unfolds and the feeling of hope that accompanies the fear and uncertainty. The way I feel reading this one reminds me of how I felt reading Smith's There But For The, which isn't really anything like this one in plot or structure. #tob26 longlist

If only Alexis Coe could write all the presidential biographies, the #USPresidents challenge would be a breeze! I tend to be very cautious about biographies because so many of them are exhaustingly detailed and give little sense for the personality of the subject. Not Coe's biography of GW! She does an excellent job of highlighting the events that illuminate his personality without getting readers lost in the weeds.

@Amiable @TEArificbooks

December #bookspinbingo!

@TheAromaofBooks